hey guys (and gals) so I'm setting up my first home projection system
(home theatre) but just realized that i have a small setup. so i uploaded a picture and drew the measurements on it so you guys can check it out, to have a better idea of what i'm looking for. the projecter s gonna be on top (ceilin installaton). the screen is gonna be about 15 FEET away from the pj, but the VIEWING (sofa) area is gonna be about 11 FEET from the screen. and this area is usuall somewhat dim. mind you, i took the pic with all lights on (see pic). now whats the best projector to use for this. i'm going to use it for wii xbox360 and movies and occasional tv (cable). i was looking for something inexpensive. now i know in most things, you get what you pay for, but being the fact that its a SMALL AREA, maybe i'm looking at the wrong products? the projectors i find are usually 2000:1 ratio and between 1200 /2000 lumens. and these pj's are around $400-$600 and also, i'm not looking to built a 100" screen. i'm thinking 72" or 80" maybe? not too big but bigger than 50". maybe someone can asner with the necessary lumens and ratio (and THROW ratio? w/e that is). i just don't wanna overpay for features i don't need (again considering my theatre are size being small). also LAST question, should i place my pj on TOP (15 ft away) or between the sofa and the screen (on top of a small coffee table? say about 6 ft away from screen)

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8753/image106copyrh1.jpg

hey guys (and gals) so I'm setting up my first home projection system
(home theatre) but just realized that i have a small setup. so i uploaded a picture and drew the measurements on it so you guys can check it out, to have a better idea of what i'm looking for. the projecter s gonna be on top (ceilin installaton). the screen is gonna be about 15 FEET away from the pj, but the VIEWING (sofa) area is gonna be about 11 FEET from the screen. and this area is usuall somewhat dim. mind you, i took the pic with all lights on (see pic). now whats the best projector to use for this. i'm going to use it for wii xbox360 and movies and occasional tv (cable). i was looking for something inexpensive. now i know in most things, you get what you pay for, but being the fact that its a SMALL AREA, maybe i'm looking at the wrong products? the projectors i find are usually 2000:1 ratio and between 1200 /2000 lumens. and these pj's are around $400-$600 and also, i'm not looking to built a 100" screen. i'm thinking 72" or 80" maybe? not too big but bigger than 50". maybe someone can asner with the necessary lumens and ratio (and THROW ratio? w/e that is). i just don't wanna overpay for features i don't need (again considering my theatre are size being small). also LAST question, should i place my pj on TOP (15 ft away) or between the sofa and the screen (on top of a small coffee table? say about 6 ft away from screen)

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8753/image106copyrh1.jpg

It sounds like you have been looking at business class projectors. You should be sure that you are looking at HT projectors. HT projectors have higher contrast, but nothing under $1,000 will have more than 2,000 lumens. Are you going to blackout that window? Viewing from 11', you might want to go with a larger screen. I view a 106" screen from 11'-6". I would suggest 92" to 100". I would suggest looking at the Sharp DT-510. The 510 is a good 720p DLP projector. The place with the African river name had a good deal on it a couple of days ago, but it is back up now.

I would also look for Mits HC 1500. Best Buy has been closing out this model and if you can find one it should be below $600. If you find so on ebay you might want to list them and get opinions.

If by screen size you are referring to image diagonal and 72 inch will make you happy don't buy a projector - buy a 73 in. television.

If your wall to screen is 15ft. then you should allow about 1 1/2 feet for the projector with room for cables and if that is the case then your throw distance would be approx. 13 1/2 feet which is plenty of room.

Go to projectorcentral.com and use the calculator to get a good idea of the image sizes available @ that distance. An 80in wide screen should net you a 92in image diagonal.

Don't get too hung up on terms like "Business" or "Home Theater" type labels. The image you achieve depends on components of each individual model more than the type.

Example - we have a Canon "business" PJ 1024X768 res. with 4:3 native aspect ratio. It was built with a very powerful image processor with "dual-mode" capability and when in Cinema Mode we can put it side-by-side with our Panasonic "Home Theater" model and the Canon throws a VERY GOOD and competitive movie image. Specifications are, to me, not much more than printing on the side of a box and can be "interpreted" by the PJ maker so always go with your own eyeballs and listen to what they tell you.

If you find a great deal on a business PJ make sure it is HDCP and has a digital input (DVI or HDMI) to allow HD digital input.

If you are a careful shopper you can find very good deals on a 720p or 768 res. projector. We bought our Canon for $50 at a closeout store - it was broken but was a CostCo return and came with a very expensive Da-lite screen - I then paid Canon a few hundred $$$ to completely rebuild the PJ.

Next we bought our Panasonic 720p almost two years ago at that same outlet store for $600 - this time a CostCo floor/demo unit with 88 hours on the lamp - no warranty but almost two years later and a lot of hard and regular use it continues to work perfectly.
good luck - Theater in the Home is amazing!

It looks to me that your plan is right. Ceiling mount is best for gaming - less chance of people standing in the light path and putting huge shadows onto your screen. Consider mounting the projector as close to the screen as the zoom lens will allow, though - it will give you a brighter picture and, again, fewer shadows from people standing up in front of the screen. If people watch from 11 feet away, your screen should probably be a little more than half that in width. So, a screen of 7 ft wide, or even 7 ft diagonal would be good. 8 ft. at most, if you will be using a 720p projector and not a 1080p. A 720p projector would be fine for viewing and gaming at that distance, and you can get one for somewhere around $600 if you look hard. Most people agree that home theater projectors (e.g. 720p) make much better home theaters and gaming rigs than business projectors do.
Retro reflective screens like the High Power are great for dealing with ambient light, but they do not work nearly so well when your projector is mounted on the ceiling. So, any decent white screen will be fine, but you will generally want to keep ambient light to a minimum.

Second Act is still selling the refurbished Marantz VP8600 for < $800 that used to sell for $5K. Mounted on the ceiling and projecting 14 feet, you will have the ability to shoot a screen size of 80" to 107". At 11 feet, I would recommend 100" diagonal. Just tape it off on your wall 87" wide by 49" high and see how that looks. Hop on over into the DIY screen section here and pick a paint formula you are comfortable with and you will be up and running in no time.

I just looked at your picture again and saw the window. You will need a pulldown screen. There are several good ones for an affordable price. Dalite High Power would make sure you had all the brightness power you would ever need but a high contrast screen might be good too.

With a HP screen and a ceiling mounted pj, how much brightness are we losing?

wow thanks for the response, and about that window, i'ma cover it up first (no need for it). its one of those windows that its blocked by a giant wall....so....yea....i'm closing it lol. also i was looking at best buy and saw this one Epson - PowerLite 3LCD SVGA Projector. for $600

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8411088&st=projector&type=product&id=1181347723572

what do you guys think? and another thing, the reason i decided a 72 inch is because i don't want to watch a movie or play a game and turning my head everywhere. so for the first guy who replied "buy a tv", buying a 72 inch tv is not exactly a smart move man. its a couple of thousand dollars. and second i need space for my wii fit , shawn white snowboarding and such and stuff. i WAS gonna get a rear projection tv from craigslist, 62 inch for $450 but like i said, i need space since i have a small living room. but yea don't let those terms "home theatre" and "business" get to me. i pay more attention to the lumens and contrast ratio. i have a friend who has a multimedia cheap projector and it looks awesome. but yea that window it going to get covered up. so what do u guys think about hat best buy one? oh wait, it has 200:1 contrast ratio..doesnt that suck?

The Epson might save you a couple bucks but it's not worth the time in my opinion. The smallest screen the Epson can do at 14 feet is 106" diagonal. The contrast ratio is horrible. The resolution is 800x600.

If you have to save money over any other consideration, get the Sharp DT-510 from Amazon and mount it closer to the screen to get the 72 to 80 inches.

Pay a little more and get the Marantz and you will be amazed how much better a great HT PJ can be.

The Epson Powerlite S6 at least has 2000:1 CR and can be found dirt cheap.