Been stalking avsforum for a while now, absorbing as much info as possible. I have been planning my theater for a while as well, but with the uncertain economy, I haven't made the plunge yet. I have however been given a gift! I received an Infocus LP280 projector for free from my boss. It was used sparingly around the office, but he bought a new Epson and was going to toss the InFocus. So I now have a projector for my basement, and as of right now, I have it sitting on a coffee table shooting an image on a 4:3 manual pull down screen. Not ideal by any means, but for just starting out, it's sweet! My question is regarding ceiling mounting the unit. I looked on projector central, and on the calculator they do not give the option of ceiling mount like they do for most units.

My question is, am I going to have to use a ton of keystone if I put this thing on the ceiling? I am looking to throw around 100" picture. The calculator gives me a TD of 12' 2" but nothing in regards to how to position the screen in comparison to the lens of the projector. This is really just a temporary unit until I spring for the HD20 but I am not about to scoff at a free projector! I went ahead and bought the universal mount from monoprice but I am waiting to put it up until the basement is painted. I just wanted to get an idea of what I would be looking at in regards to setting up the image properly. I am more than happy to read more into it, but I just needed a little guidance/feedback on what I am getting into. Thanks in advance,

-Dom

Are there threaded holes on the bottom of projector? Normally there's 3 holes. If yes, those are for the ceiling mount. If no, you'll have to keep it on a low table.

Infocus has ceiling mount listed as an option on the 280 page, so it should have mounting holes, but there are universal mounts out there that will allow you to mount it regardless.

If you have some room to maneuver the PJ placement, you may be able to use it with little to no keystone.

No there are definitely holes on the bottom and it has a ceiling mode in the setup. My question is, is how do I figure out the the distance of the center of the lens to the top of the screen like the projection calculator usually does? The monoprice mount offers 6" and 12" extensions but with a 7 foot ceiling I am going to have to go with the shorter one. I didn't know if there was a formula to how that works or not. Here is what I see on projectorcentral:

http://i35.tinypic.com/654jlc.jpg

Can't seem to find a published offset on this unit. I am sure there is a more scientific way to do this but...
I would place the unit on the floor about the distance you want to mount it from the screen. Adjust the size on the wall to be that of the screen and measure the distance from the bottom of the image to the floor.
Not sure if the offset is identical when mounted upside down and the image is flipped but I think it would be close. Add that distance + the distance from the face of the ceiling mount to the ceiling and the total would be approximately where the top of the screen would be from the ceiling so as not to need keystone.
I am a newbie as well and never have done this so take it with a grain of salt..
Good luck and have FUN!

above should work....or you can invert the image, put it upside down on the floor (or a flat surface) and measure from that. Just get your distance and screen size how you want it. Might be faster than scouring all around looking for a published offset.

Thanks for the help guys, can't wait to get this thing setup properly. Even though, I have already been putting it through it's paces. I know it isn't high-def but when you see the look on my four year old niece's face watching Monsters vs. Aliens, it is all worth it! Thanks again.

Even though my projectory (Sony vw60) came with detailed instructions, I figured there is nothing like testing it in real space-time. I set up a temporary shelf and sat it on there. As soon as I was certain that the adjustments could be made, I made the installation permanent with a mount.