HELLO ALL

I just built a home and have a small room (approximately 17' deep by 11' wide) which is pre-wired for 7.1 surround, the ceiling height is 12'. I would like to go here plasma and on the wall for more room. I would greatly appreciate advice on size of plasma, brand and any equipment recommend and how many can I fit (should I go this any special type of chairs) ok. My thought process is to buy in January hoping prices have settled. Please give me your dream scenario :)
Also my budget is open on equipment, will control cost on the decor side of it. Should also mention 4 little ones love there xbox 360 so I guess this should be factored in. I will follow you all advice to the letter since I know you guys are the authority on the web for this :)

THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME AND ADVISE

I would post this in the Display Devices Plasma section for a better response. Any reason you are not considering a Front Projection system? You can get into something like that for just a bit more than plasma and get a much better Wow factor. If you have light control, you would not need a second display for use during the day. Just something to consider.

Shan

I agree on the front projector comment. If you have a dedicated "Dream Theater Room" than you have no choice my friend. The WOW factor is 100000X greater than with a dinky plasma. You can get a good quality HD projector and screen for less than a plasma. They are very affordable and you will be blown away as will any of your friends and family that step foot in that room. 11' wide is more than enough room for a good size screen of 96" or even 100". As for seating you can get a row of 3 home theater leather recliners if you look in the accessories thread for about $1000 delivered. That is a great price. If you are waiting until January than take this month to read as much here in these forums as possible. Look at the Front projectors for <$3000 thread. I repeat....to NOT go plasma for a dedicated room.

Agreed with the previous posters. 17x11 is plenty of room for a nice projector and screen.

Everyone has a plasma these days. Get a 100" screen and see this--> :eek:

Nothing like football on a big projector screen... :D

HI ALL THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!
1st how do I get email when you all post?
I thought that plasma had the best picture quality? What front projector do you recommend for a 96" or 100" and when you say light control do you mean pitch black? Cause this room has windows but I can black out totally and yes this room is dedicated.
Awaiting your response with excitement :)

I agree on the front projector comment. If you have a dedicated "Dream Theater Room" than you have no choice my friend. The WOW factor is 100000X greater than with a dinky plasma. You can get a good quality HD projector and screen for less than a plasma. They are very affordable and you will be blown away as will any of your friends and family that step foot in that room. 11' wide is more than enough room for a good size screen of 96" or even 100". As for seating you can get a row of 3 home theater leather recliners if you look in the accessories thread for about $1000 delivered. That is a great price. If you are waiting until January than take this month to read as much here in these forums as possible. Look at the Front projectors for <$3000 thread. I repeat....to NOT go plasma for a dedicated room.

HI

Only one row of 3 recliners? What do you think about d-box chairs?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Nice Guy,

The projector reccomendation depends a lot on your budget and what you intend to use it for. Will you be watching Hi-def DVDs? What about playing video games on it?

Shan

HI SHAN

We would do both if possible...please advise. 4 kids love the x-box 360 and Me:)
We also love movies from dtv hd and then dvd.

THANKS

HI

Only one row of 3 recliners? What do you think about d-box chairs?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Not sure about the D-Box chairs. I do not have any transducers in my seats and with my sub I don't need it. I find it sort of distracting personally plus they are more expensive. I have the Panasonic PT-AE900u wich can be had now for about $1100 since it is last years model. It's a great PJ!! Their new one is the 100u and I hear it has some nice improvements especially more lumens which is good if you have light control issues. In a dedicated room you probably will not need the extra output. The biggest choice is whether to go DLP vs. LCD, both have pros and cons. You can search these pros and cons ad-nauseum in the PJ forums. They are very useful. I went LCD and do not regret my decision at all. I like the flexibility of LCD with it's lense shift. DLP does not have that at the low price point. Screen size should be determined by how far away you sit. I sit about 11ft away from my 118" screen (diagonal) and the picture is fantastic. The back row is about 16' back and the picture is still nice and huge. I used Screen Goo for my screen and spent about $260 on all materials to build it. If you are not feeling that adventurous I would go with the Carada screen as they seem to be the best bang for the $$. Lots of stuff to consider...but it's blast getting it all put together...and even more of a blast finally getting to sit down and enjoy it. Enjoy the ride and keep us posted with your purchases, questions, and post lots of pics so we can see your room come together.

[COLOR=Blue]Hello,

I am just finishing up my remodel for the Home Theatre and Bar in my lower level. HT area is 10' 4" X 17' with the bar area behind it. The best thing I EVER did is put in a Front Projector as you get the most bang for the buck!! I had my eye on the Sony VPL 100 however i did not want to fork out $9999 when the prices are coming down and quality up! I bought a Sony VPL HS 51 LCD and I love the it for the money! I have a 130" wall that I painted screen goo on and the quality is great! I plan on keeping it for 1-2 yrs when the technology should "settle" in abit with 1080P and HDMI 3 or better. I have 7.1 surround system. Think about it you can't change the size on a plasma and YES bigger is better!! We watch football, play XBOX 360, watch XBOX HD DVD movies. I fit 3 home theatre chairs that are slightly angled. My equipment rack is in the back of the room with a IR underneath the front screen. Hope this helps! :)

HI ALL
YES ALL UR ADVISE IS MORE THAN HELPFULL!! I cant believe I am now considering front projection! :) What about the life of the bulb and what type of screen should I go with for the best picture? Screen goo???? Please give me the low down on this or is there something better maybe for a little more money?

Bulb life varies by projector. I would guess the average is about 2000 hours, although you lose a lot of brightness at about half that or more. The best screen depends on your environment, the projector you are purchasing, etc.

I would reccomend reading through either the <$3000 or >$3000 projector forums and ask there for advice on what to get. Once you pick your projector, you can hunt for screens byy reading through those and the screen and DIY screen forums.

Do the research and you will end up with a nice setup for a reasonable cost.

Shan

HI ALL
YES ALL UR ADVISE IS MORE THAN HELPFULL!! I cant believe I am now considering front projection! :) What about the life of the bulb and what type of screen should I go with for the best picture? Screen goo???? Please give me the low down on this or is there something better maybe for a little more money?

2000 hours is probably a good average in low lamp mode which you can absolutely use in a light controlled room. Bulbs are generally around $400 or so. But 2000 hours is 1000 movies so that is only $0.40 per movie. Well worth it IMO. Screen Goo is a good alternative to higher priced screens if you are looking to save some $$. I love mine and have no plans of upgrading it. If you look in the DIY screen forum you will find 100's of DIY paint solutions. It will make your head spin. I went with Goo after reading about it because I did read a few reviews that said it was superior to other DIY solutions. Again these were their own testimonies of which others will disagree with. For me it was only a $150 gamble that paid off IMO. Check out their website. A Carada screen in that size would be another $500 or so...it may be worth it for you. I personally don't think you can make a bad choice if you research here....well you could decide to go with a plasma. That would be a bad choice :D

PS...as far as losing briteness in the bulb....that is true...but again in a light controlled room it is not a big issue.

One other caveat about bulb life. You can't be repeatedly turning it on and off. When turned off you must allow plenty of time for the bulb to completely cool before turning the projector on again.

Definately go with front projection, there is no comparison on the wow factor. My 'temp' room is only 12 x 11.5 and I still have enough throw distance for about a 90" screen on the front wall. Yeah I wish the room were bigger but it's what I got to use until we start this spring on the real theater.

I don't remember the brand, but I've heard there was an hd front projector released in the $1k range, which is crazy cheap. For me, I went with the infocus 7210 cause I got a crazy deal on it which couldn't be passed up. Heck I even get my bulbs at 1/2 price.... friend happens to be dealer. While I can't pass on the price to others, it does tell me that there is huge margin in the bulbs, so deals can be found. In fact infocus has a great program where you buy a warranty on the bulb for like $100 where if it dies inside the year they send you a new one no questions asked. I've done this once already. Now no-one can pass that one up.

A plasma will never look quite right for a theater room environment. I use a 42" in the bedrooms and a 60" in the family room, and neither comes close to the enjoyment as the mini front projection theater setup. In fact I doubt I have 10 hours on the family room plasma, as I find myself always reverting upstairs to the theater.

HI ALL
YES ALL UR ADVISE IS MORE THAN HELPFULL!! I cant believe I am now considering front projection! :) What about the life of the bulb and what type of screen should I go with for the best picture? Screen goo???? Please give me the low down on this or is there something better maybe for a little more money?
SandmanX has a thread in the dedicated theater forum and I believe also in the screen forum where he produces his own transparent screens. They are very inexpensive, and from the reviews sound amazing. I've seen screen goo, and it does look 'ok' better than one would expect, but is still nowhere near what a real screen can accomplish. I built mine with material purchased on ebay. Total cost was around $300, mainly for the stupid velvet which was much more than I expected.

As to bulb life, make sure to let it always cool down when shutting it off, and definately get a battery backup should the power go out to allow it to continue cooling.

Your projection theater set up does not have to be expensive. I did it a month ago for around $4,000 without seating. I got a a 720p projector. When the $400 bulb needs replacement it may be time to upgrade to a 1080p. I am very happy with the wow factor. The speakers are really a lot nicer than the rest of the stuff, I got them from a friend. You could get some good new stuff in this price range. The formica screen is great for kids and it looks much better that the Graywolf II screen I started with. A large plasma, HD-DVD and a sound system will be much more than $4,000.

Optoma HD70 video projector $999
Onkyo 674 receiver $550
Four T4 PSB speakers (used) $800
PSB 9C center speaker (used) $200
Mirage BXP400 subwoofer (used) $400
Homemade Wilsonart DW formica screen 100" $175
Projector mount $145
Cables and speaker wire $250
Toshiba HD DVD (open box) $349
Logitech 720 programable remote $139
Scientific Atlanta HD 8300 (Comcast Service)
Leather sectional with recliners on the end

WOW!

I am comming around!!!! Maybe plasma is not the way to go??

Thank you very much for your advise!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I just bought an excellent 50" plasma for the livingroom and I have 100" projection downstairs in the family room. The plasma is great for watching the news and general TV, but doesn't even remotely compare to my front projection system. Theater=Front projection.

Jon

I spent under $1300.00 for my front projection, surround sound and screen. I paid $700 for the front projection, $440.00 for the surround sound system and about $70.00 for the screen that I made myself. I know this is not the top of the line but I get a great picture and sound in my 14' x 15' bedroom. We watch movies at night so I don't have a light issue and the screen is 110" x 60". I also watch sporting events during the day and it's great. What more can you ask for.

Definately go for a front projection setup, you'll love it. Buy as nice of a projector as you can afford, and keep the screen size reasonable.

Tboy