I was all set to order an HD1000u, when I found that there could be mounting problems with it. I want a 96x54 inch screen, with the bottom of the screen at 30 inches off of the floor (ceiling mount PJ). The room is 27' deep, with a ceiling height of 103".

If I am reading the calculator correctly, it won't work... I really want this to work, so I'm hoping someone can tell me that I'm working the calculator wrong or that there is another way to do it.

I "assume" that I could tilt the PJ a little and use keystone correction to fix it (it does have keystone correction, right?) but I would much rather stay away from manipulating the image like that.

What about zoom? (doesn't it have a zoom?) I think the calculator shows the front of the projector mounted 158.2" to 191.5" from the screen... I'm guessing that is at full or no zoom ---- how does moving it forward or back and adjusting with zoom affect all of this?

The ceiling will be a standard drop ceiling, and I guess I can sink the PJ up into the ceiling and gain a few inches in height - will that cause overheating problems?

As a last resort - what would you recommend as the best PJ for <$1200 that will work in my situation?

If you don't want to use keystone, your only choices under $1200 would be one of the LCD's: Pan. 900, Sanyo Z4. I think they're both $1200 or less.

I was all set to order an HD1000u, when I found that there could be mounting problems with it. I want a 96x54 inch screen, with the bottom of the screen at 30 inches off of the floor (ceiling mount PJ). The room is 27' deep, with a ceiling height of 103".

If I am reading the calculator correctly, it won't work... I really want this to work, so I'm hoping someone can tell me that I'm working the calculator wrong or that there is another way to do it.

I "assume" that I could tilt the PJ a little and use keystone correction to fix it (it does have keystone correction, right?) but I would much rather stay away from manipulating the image like that.

What about zoom? (doesn't it have a zoom?) I think the calculator shows the front of the projector mounted 158.2" to 191.5" from the screen... I'm guessing that is at full or no zoom ---- how does moving it forward or back and adjusting with zoom affect all of this?

The ceiling will be a standard drop ceiling, and I guess I can sink the PJ up into the ceiling and gain a few inches in height - will that cause overheating problems?

As a last resort - what would you recommend as the best PJ for <$1200 that will work in my situation?

According to my calculations, with a flush ceiling mount, the bottom of your screen would be approximately 25.68" off the floor. This is a reasonable height for a screen...why are you set on 30"?

Yes, you could keystone to get your 3" or so but that's generally not something that most people recommend.

Zoom does not affect image offset.

Look at the pictures on the page in my sig for "unnamed theater"....

The front wall is pretty much built, and was done so with plans for the bottom of the screen to be 30" off the floor.

The bottom "shelf" is 24" high - and there is a 5'5" "hole" for the screen, so that it would be centered with 6" above and below.

If I could manage even 25" off the floor, that would clear the shelf, but the screen wouldn't be centered without rebuilding the top extension... I guess I could shorten the bottom and lengthen the top if it just came down to that.

I'm going to order *some* projector this weekend. I just hope I can find a way to be sure the HD1000 will work, as it is my top pick right now.