Im looking for a VERY SHORT THROW Projector. I sit 10.5ft away from the screen, and my projector will be 10.5ft from the back of the projector (6 inches of breathing room in the back of it) to the front of the screen.

I am testing out the PT-AX100U as i was quoted 110 inches where I was sitting and it has 2000 lumens. Is that the best choice? My max budget is $3.5k, but i would like to keep it under $2.5k.

Commex,

You don't say how large a screen you'd like. The AX100, Epson 810, and Epson 400 will probably do about 92" diagonal in your placement situation ( about 9.5 from lens to screen ). This is just about a 1.5 width to seating distance ratio that most people want.

If you'd like to go larger, then an inexpensive and easy solution is to mount the projector backwards ( lens facing you ) and shoot onto a mirror on your seating wall. This is an easy way to increase your throw, and thus you image size. All you have to do is select the horizontal flip mode on the projector ( rear projection mode ).

If you place the projector's lens about 3 feet from the wall, you should be able to angle the beam down sufficiently ( if ceiling mounted ) so the return bounce clears the projector body.

Jonathan

If i decide to shoot it off a mirror, wont the projector beam be staring right at me very brightly?

If you are willing to go up to $3.5k you might want to look into the 1080p projectors which are now going for about that.

Commex,

Sorry to disappoint but at the widest throw possible, the front of the AX100U would have to be 11' 3" away from the screen to do 110" diagonal (54 x 96). You could cut a hole in the wall and mount high with a shelf in the next room. If the adjoining room is a closet, pantry or your bedroom, this potentially could be an awesome set-up. Just won't do if its an outside wall, 'tho.

Since the projector is 11.78" deep, I figure it could go on a 12" shelf and you could overhang the front up to the "feet" and get about 2" across the entire back for ventilation. Your cabling can run between the shelf and the wall...most wall systems give a 3/8-1/2" gap on the back of the shelf. 10.5' + 6" = 11' - 11.78" - 2" = 9.85' or 118" maximum to the screen. Honestly, best not to play it too tight. Calculated with a throw distance of 9.8' you can get a 45" x 80" (92" diagonal) screen with a couple of inches wiggle room in the zoom for sizing to the screen. (If you mount at its limits, you'll be moving the projector to zoom it.)

At 1280 x 720 resolution, you would get 16 pixels per inch horizontally and vertically. Figuring your visual acuity at 1/30th of a degree of arc, the viewing circle calculates like this:

80" wide/1280 and 45" high/720 = .0625" x .0625" sized pixels
.0625" x 30 (for 1 degree of arc) x 360 (degrees in a circle) = 675" circumf. of view circle
675"/12"= 56.25' / 3.14159265 (Pi) = 17.90' diameter of the viewing circle
17.90 / 2 = 8.95' where you sit at the center of a viewing circle, the screen is roughly 9 ft away, and unless you have exceptionally keen eyesight, you cannot see any pixelation whatsoever and never will. Recommended 36 degree THX viewing is just a little over 10 ft...perfect!

If you upconvert using an OPPO or some such to 1080i (and the Panny AX100U will display 1080i seamlessly...no flicker, no motion...just very fast, quiet processing) you could go with a larger screen but the short throw won't allow it. At 1080i you could let kids take the cheap seats much closer to the screen...up to 6 ft away. Prepare for screams. (i.e. My young grandson fled from the room when the wolves appeared in "Chronicles of Narnia".)

Many dealers highly recommend you place the projector before you buy a screen. With the lumen output of the AX100U, and the reasonable size involved, DIY screen is a consideration.

On the other hand, 45 X 80 (92") and 49 X 87 (100") are not that expensive. You'll be stretching it at the 49 X 87 however. You need 10'-2.5" throw for it and its right on the wide throw limit. You might get it if the screen hugs its wall closely and you put the projector either near the top of the screen or near the bottom, correcting with the lens to the screen center. That extra few inches diagonally could make the 100" screen workable with your short 10' throw distance.

Some of the members use bigger screens and have made creative DIY systems to black out unused screen height along with curtains to draw open or closed for more or less screen width. If your long term plans are to use such a fine system for a dedicated Home Theater, then there is something to be said for a larger screen even if you can't fill it up right away. Once you start watching it, you tend not to notice the parts of the screen that are not filled but you will see slight geometric distortion (a slight curve to the projected edge perhaps) that would be resolved neatly if it fell on a straight black velvet edge.

Incidentally, Da-Lite's HD screens are surrounded with a 2" wide black velvet edge on all four sides. Their 52X92 is actually 56X96 with a 2" black surround. I suppose that is technically a 111" screen to some but you need a 10.8" throw to fill the 52 X 92 viewing surface...sorry. I'm sure other mfgrs have similar features to Da-Lite.

If i decide to shoot it off a mirror, wont the projector beam be staring right at me very brightly?


You'd want to make sure that all of the light hits the mirror and reflects towards the screen. A projector's beam is mostly very bright if you're are staring at the beam from the point where the beam itself hits your eyes. I don't think it would be much problem if you used the mirror cleverly and correctly.

puY. Neht ouy dluoc raew d-3 sessalg dna a rolleporp tah elihw gniweiv ot etelpmoc eht tceffe. hud! :rolleyes: :D ;)

What language is that?

Check out the NEC WT610. It doesn not use a lens at all and is capable of a 100" diagnal from under a meter away.