I want to put up a projector up in my man cave. The wall with the screen is 156 inches wide by 91.5 inches tall, which gives me up to a 180" diagonal screen. First I want opinions on if a 720p or 1080p projector should be used? I will be sitting at 12-13 feet and I want the screen to be at least 120 inches. I am open to suggestions. Budget loosely @ $2000. I don't know if this is feasible as I have not done a whole lot of research yet. Thanks guys!

Here are a couple of pictures of where it will be located. The far wall in both pictures is where the screen will be. I don't know how the mounting will work with the HVAC ducts. could use some advise here...?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg128/bluffing024/Projector002.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg128/bluffing024/Projector001.jpg

I'm always a believer that bigger is better but sitting 12 to 13 ft. away from the screen I'd shoot for a 120 inch max diagonal image instead of 120 inches wide. Just IMO based on our experience and we sit about 12 feet from our screen.

If a home screen is too big relative to seating/viewing distance if can be like sitting in the front row at a commercial theater which, to most people, is not the ideal place to sit.
GoodLuck

Yeah, when I said at least a 120" screen I mean that in diagonal. :)

Any suggestions on projector, screen, mounting ect?

There are so many PJs and screens to choose from and all have their supporters. We enjoy our Panasonic projector which has been very reliable with regular use. We tried both and prefer a gray screen - others will recommend white.

I'm sure others with more solid preferences will post shortly. Most ANY projector is a good one compared to no projector.

I don't know if it will affect anyone's suggestions but as for use, it will mostly be playing the 360, watching movies and football.




Can what I am planning be done on $2000 and be a decent to good setup?

http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=23153&itmname=Panasonic+PT-AX200U and http://www.projectorpeople.com/screens/proddtls.asp?productID=23537
This will work for you and be well under your budget and easy to install also. Some more advice, get your cables from monoprice.com and cover or paint that ducting black.

bguzman

Yea that might be pushing it, I sit very comfortable 20 feet from 140" diagonal. From time to time I even shrink the screen, particularly for racing games, it can be impossible to focus on the entire thing on that level heh.

I think 1080p will probably be out of your price range too. Particularly if that $2,000 is for the entire project and not just projector. I sure hope those speakers in the picture aren't what you plan on using! :D

As always I'd recommend looking at the Panasonic AX200U.

How far do you intend to throw the image?

Yea that might be pushing it, I sit very comfortable 20 feet from 140" diagonal. From time to time I even shrink the screen, particularly for racing games, it can be impossible to focus on the entire thing on that level heh.

I think 1080p will probably be out of your price range too. Particularly if that $2,000 is for the entire project and not just projector. I sure hope those speakers in the picture aren't what you plan on using! :D

As always I'd recommend looking at the Panasonic AX200U.

How far do you intend to throw the image?

I don't know how far the throw will be. I am very flexible on where to mount the PJ as long as there is hardware that can get around the ducting. I will be putting all the hareware (360, DVR, AV receiver ect.) upstairs and running one HDMI down to the PJ and converting the remotes to work on RF instead of IR. As far as the budget goes, it is for the PJ and screen.

I think 1080p is a must at anything over 130". Epson 6100 is a good choice. If you go 720p then the ax200 is the only way to go. You will have to experiment as to what is the best size/brightness trade off for you.

I think 1080p is a must at anything over 130". Epson 6100 is a good choice. If you go 720p then the ax200 is the only way to go. You will have to experiment as to what is the best size/brightness trade off for you.

I'm pretty happy with my AX200 at 140" :D.

My Epson 6100 works amazingly. It is my first pj and its in my living room. If you check out the owners thread I have put some screenshots up. I sit about 12.5 ft away and a 140" screen is great for me for watching movies.

My Epson 6100 works amazingly. It is my first pj and its in my living room. If you check out the owners thread I have put some screenshots up. I sit about 12.5 ft away and a 140" screen is great for me for watching movies.

Do not try gaming from a close distance it might make you sick. I am not a gamer, but I decided to try a game on the projector. I rented COD4 and tried it on my projector. I usually sit 11 to 11-1/2 feet from a 106" screen. I guess that I was a little anxious, I sat on the very front edge of the couch and leaned forward toward the coffee table. This placed my eyes about eight feet from the screen (0.96 screen widths). After awhile I got motion sickness. I live on a lake and spend a lot of time on boats (been on a couple ocean cruises) and this is the first time that this has happened to me.

To the OP. If you are going to view from less than 1.5 screen width then i would look at 1080p projectors. In other words a viewing distance less than 13'-1 1/2" foe a 120" screen.

The Sanyo 1080HD can be had for 1400 from BB and then spend the rest on the screen or save some money and go with something 720p like the Epson 720 or Panny AX200.

I would assume that you will need to cut down your max width due to that HVAC vent. Don't want that to be blowing on the back of the screen creating waves while watching movies.

My suggestion would be to get an AX200, frame, drywall, and paint your screen wall white ( behr ultra white ceiling paint or Kilz ), then play around with various different image sizes before making final decisions on screen size and seating distance.

The AX200 is bright enough to handle a very large screen, and the smoothscreen will reduce any SDE even with a large screen and close seating distance. It's lens shift is also flexible enough to let you mount it in a variety of positions that would suit your room.

This would be about half your budget, and leave you about $1000 for sound / screen. I would put the remaining money mainly in the sound department. I'm sure you'll be happy with a simple white painted wall for a screen ( with a painted black border ), especially in the beginning. Look at the DIY screen sub-forum for paint mixtures as a next step up. After a while, you can upgrade to a professional screen. After that a 1080p projector ... after that ... well, it never ends.

Jonathan