hey everyone!

I am nearing the end of my theater building experience, and now have entered the dreaded step, I have feared for over a year. . . .

Hanging the projector (yes, the sound you just heard was me crapping my pants).

I wanted to know what you all thought of this particular mount:
http://www.mountdirect.com/NPL_Projector_Mount_p/npl.htm

I have a Panasonic PTL500U (purchased 2 years ago) a 52x92 screen (i believe). It will be around 13 feet from the screen. I have the exact numbers somewhere, but not here directly in front of me.

Regardless. Has anyone used, or seen or heard of this mount? And should I just skip it? And any last minute tips on "how not to" destroy my ceiling would be great. But, no pressure.

thanks everyone! I am going to go change my pants now. :eek:

Don't sweat it.
I was nervous my very first time, wondering how it was gonna work, lining up with the screen, it tricky getting it perfect.
It works out...and after your first time tinkering, you'll be an expert too.

OK, here's paranoid. I went so far as putting the empty projector box, with a pillow in it, on top of my ladder. I moved the ladder under the projector, then (as my thinking went) if the mount or projector failed, I'd be just fine. For the record, when I move the projector now... no safety nets :)
Anyhow, this looks like a good mount at a good price.
Follow the directions as far as mounting goes. Screwed into a stud is best.

Well, again, I hate to sound pathetic here, but this really is the last huge section of my HT that needs to be completed, and its the one section I have dreaded all along.

There are those that seem to just "put it up" and BAM, they're done, it sounds so easy.

Then, I read other threads on this same subject, and its like reading a trigonometry book. Calculations, percentages, off-sets, distance calculations and a host of other calculations I had no clue even existed. I know things seem complicated at first, but, when you are not a handy man, and can't stand tools and popping holes in things, well, its about a thousand times more intimidating. Also, my studs in the ceiling will certainly not line up with the center of the screen, which, just leads me into hysteria.

THIS is the ONE thing, the ONLY thing, that has stopped me cold in my tracks. I will admit, I have ZERO confidence in this last section. (You hear that sound again? Yeah, thats me, crapping my pants).

I knew I would get to the "icing on the cake" and freeze. And here I stand!! :mad:

Has anyone suddenly just hit a wall in their HT? I mean, a section that is just ridiculously intimidating?

I mean, I'm serious, I don't think I can pull this off. I can see myself centering it incorrectly, dropping the projector, having no studs to work with, the wrong screws, bad mount, not enough clearance. . .yadda, yadda!

Ok, I'm going to write a book here, but alas, there is my HT Soul, laid bare on a AVS forum. I'm starting to panic. :rolleyes:

First thing to do is some planning.

Where does it need to go and where are the joists. If you don't have a joist handy you can always put up a piece of 3/4 plywood that hits at least one joist and paint it to match the ceiling.

I did a google on your projector and found out that the lens is not centered so that means you have to calculate the offset (you might actually have to read the manual).

you can measure from the top two corners of the screen an equal distance and scribe two arcs on the ceiling. Then do it again a little farther back. connect the two arc intersections with a a line and all points along that line are centered with the screen.

Now if you know the projector offset, you can draw a parallel line on the ceiling. Your mount should be on that line. remember that the projector is upside down.

Another method is to throw that projector up. Then project an image on the wall and once you get a square image hang the projector right there and call it a day.

I just bought this mount for my mits hd1000u and it was a breeze to hang and align my projector to my screen. and you can't beat the price :)

Take a deep breath and relax. You need to make sure that your anchoring that mount into studs not just drywall (unless you have a really light projector). Cut a piece of 3/4" MDF to straddle the joists if necessary. At least use toggle bolts.

Here are the potential problems
1 - Your projector MUST be mounted at the right height and distance from the screen. You probably don't have more than +/- 1 foot compensation with your zoom lens. The projector doesn't shoot straight out! You need to make sure that you understand where the image is going to wind up on the screen before you mount the projector.

2 - I don't see how you can lengthen the mount to move the pj farther from the ceiling. This is important!

3 - How are you going to get the wiring to the projector? You have AC and video cables that your going to have to hide.

By now, you have probably already mounted the PJ - sit back with your favorite movie. Turn off the noisemakers in the room. Enjoy!

Those were my concerns. IMO, having a mount that gives you the ability to tweak positiong after it's hung is a must. With a digital PJ with zoom, distance isn't as big an issue as it is with a CRT.

However, I'd want to be able to shift mechanically left to right and also get roll, pitch, and yaw adjustments so you don't have to do them electrically.

To me, Chief is the way to go - http://www.projectorpeople.com/accessories/proddtls.asp?itemid=14533. It's a bit more expensive but has easy access to everything you need without dismounting and also has cable management built in.

Bryan

Great, thanks guys, appreciate the input.

My projector isn't hung just yet, I am still trying to look at mounts and find the best one. All arrows continue to point towards Chief mounts, though they do come with a bit of a price tag.

This is just the last stage, and I didn't want to jack it up. That was my main concern, considering how complicated the process can be. I'm still on the fence on whether or not to even try it at this point or just have someone else do it. I've done a lot up to this point, but this is my first major hiccup. Albeit the most important part of the whole process.

Thanks for the advice again. I know my joists will not be where i need them to be, so one of the ideas was to straddle the joists with a board. Mount the "mount" to the board, and then, mount the board to the joists (in the proper alignment).

That is just one of the ideas floating around. My studs, joists, do not run horizontally, they run vertically, down the room, so there isn't much surface to work with. its odd. and, well, a pain. :D

I will chime back in when I've discovered the solution, purchased the right mount, and have not electrocuted myself in the process! Moneypit here I come!

ok, so, in a nutshell I've had an electrician come in, and give me a quote on hanging the projector, putting in new outlets, and running cable both for the projector, and my surround bipolar speakers.

here is where I get lost (well one place at least). I have a 52x92 (105diag) screen, which puts my projector (PTL500-U Panasonic) at about 13 feet.

So, after searching the forums, and getting numerous dead ends, (yet I know its out there). . .how do I compensate for the zoom? Where should the lens zoom be at, when you hang the projector, if you want to be able to adjust the image at any time?

Its the one area that I'm still confused about. I know I can bring my projector to 13 feet, and viola. Yet I don't know how to factor in zoom, or if if even matters. Does this make any sense?

I know I can max out the zoom at 13 feet and it will look fine, but then, that's it, no more play room. So. . . what do you do?

I know this is a question that has been asked, probably about a million times, but I can't find a good solid answer on what to do here, so forgive the redundancy of this issue, but I feel like I'm taking stabs in the dark here. :confused:

and, frankly, I just want to get this junk done!!

Have you checked this out yet: Projector Calculator (http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic-PT-L500U-projection-calculator-pro.htm)

For your projector and screen size it looks like the furthest you can place it is 12.8' and that you can place it no closer than 10.6'. Note that this refers to the distance from the lens to the screen.

Further than 12.8' and the picture will be too large. Closer than 10.6' and the picture will be too small.

Anywhere in between is golden. If you want to get even deeper, though, some people believe that zooming can degrade the picture very slightly, and suggest that you set up the projector as far away as possible. In your case, though, you may want to consider setting up as close to the screen as possible, to maximize brightness.

thanks for the reply and info

I have come across this calculator before, however, I was just never clear on where, for instance, to "start" the zoom when it comes time to put up the projector. I feel that a bit closer to the screen, say about 10.5 to 11 feet might be the best, instead of 13 feet back to improve my brightness levels. (but then, there is the opposite camp, as you've mentioned that would prefer it be WAY back, which I feel, at my lumens, would not be optimal).

Nevertheless, the zoom just throws me off. I certainly want to be able to make adjustments, if need be, later (to simply make "use" of the zoom), however I just want to get this thing up right the first time, and not scream like Homer Simpson because of a huge, or slightly stupid mistake.

I just added some blocking today between ceiling joists to mount a Sharp dt500. However, I did it in the center of the room not compensating for the fact that the lens isn’t centered on the projector. Having never taken this into consideration before, I ask, is there such thing as horizontal offset?

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I didn't think this question deserved its own.

ok, so let me get this straight.

The further back I go, the more zoom adjusting I have, but then loose lumens, and probably degrade the picture quality, to some extent.

the further in I go, I have better use of my lumens output, but loose some of my zooming in/out features?

Am I reading this right?

I am thinking now of mounting around 12 feet to 12.5. Is this then, beneficial, or detrimental?

I want to make the best use of my zoom, but also without degrading my lumens output and my ability to simply zoom in and out when needed.

wow. . . is this making any sense? because it isn't to me. (and sorry live4ten, I don't have the answer to your question, as you can see, I practically don't have one for myself :D )

I'm not quite sure what your getting at, but I'll take a stab. :)

I assume that when you say you want to make the best use of your zoom you mean that you want to have some wiggle room when you install the projector or maybe you want some flexibility down the road for a bigger (or smaller) screen. Those are pretty much the only two reasons to use the zoom (excepting constant height set ups - a different game entirely).

First, a basic observation that may help, the further back you move a fixed projector, the larger the projected image gets, and vice-versa.

Now, let's say you install at 12.5'. Looking at the projection calculator, that means that , with no zoom, you will throw a 102" diagonal picture. At max zoom, you will throw a 123" picture. So you can project an image between 102" and 123". At 12.5' you will not be able to throw larger than a 123" picture, or smaller than a 102" picture.

If flexibility is your goal, mount the sucker in the middle of your sweet spot (around 11.6) and be done with it.

I just added some blocking today between ceiling joists to mount a Sharp dt500. However, I did it in the center of the room not compensating for the fact that the lens isn’t centered on the projector. Having never taken this into consideration before, I ask, is there such thing as horizontal offset?

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I didn't think this question deserved its own.

Most LCD projectors and some DLP projectors (I think) have horizontal and vertical offsets that let you account for slightly off center placement. Just make sure that your projector has that feature and you will be fine.

I'm not quite sure what your getting at, but I'll take a stab. :)

I assume that when you say you want to make the best use of your zoom you mean that you want to have some wiggle room when you install the projector or maybe you want some flexibility down the road for a bigger (or smaller) screen. Those are pretty much the only two reasons to use the zoom (excepting constant height set ups - a different game entirely).

First, a basic observation that may help, the further back you move a fixed projector, the larger the projected image gets, and vice-versa.

Now, let's say you install at 12.5'. Looking at the projection calculator, that means that , with no zoom, you will throw a 102" diagonal picture. At max zoom, you will throw a 123" picture. So you can project an image between 102" and 123". At 12.5' you will not be able to throw larger than a 123" picture, or smaller than a 102" picture.

If flexibility is your goal, mount the sucker in the middle of your sweet spot (around 11.6) and be done with it.

The other nice thing about mounting in the middle of the possible range is it gives you a little flexibility in case you screw up. :D

Cool.

I think I'm aiming towards 12.6 (maybe slightly less). I would like some room to adjust, but would rather have a stronger image with more light output.

Thanks for chiming in with some hints. I had a contractor come out and give me an estimate on setting up the projector, running cables and all that jazz, and it actually wasn't that expensive. So, its down to accepting the deal or not. I have done a lot in this room on my own, but this is one area I may keep hands off, watch how its done, and the next house I buy (which will have a room READY, not retrofitted this time) I can tackle more of my own.

But hey, any last minute hints would still be great if anybody thinks of something. It sounds like the ranges above will be my best bet. :D

thank you, once again!