I am sorry if this is a question has been asked and answered. There's so much info here at different levels of complexity, it is sometimes tough to weed out the more basic questions.

My HT room will be around 19' deep (11.5' wide). I was hoping to place the projector at the back of the room, for ease of conduit runs and astetics. The calculator at Projector Central says that for an 18' throw for the Optoma HD70 (my projector of choice) the screen size is 130" wide.

The zoom factor for the HD70 is 1 - 1.20.

Does all the above info mean that I HAVE to have a screen size of 130". My screen size is going to be more on the scale of 110-120. Will I be able to shrink the image down to fit my screen (with out added hardware)? Or will I have to move the projector forward?

Also this is a low budget theatre build, so I am not really looking for the absolutely perfect image just something good enough to enjoy. HT 2.0 will be the full on tweeked theatre. Point being the real fine tuning nitty gritty stuff is a little out of my means right now (although I do see the importance of all of it if you want the best set up).

As with most everything you learn new, I am in information overload. Trying to plan the room, the equipment purchases and the budget, I think my head might actually explode.

Thank you for taking the time to read that rant and for possibly answering my noobish question ;-)

That's the smallest size image you will get at that throw distance. notice also the footLamberts is only 7. If you have a pitchblack cave, this might be ok, but as the bulb ages you will get less light and the level will be even lower.

You really need to get that PJ up to within 12 to 15 feet from the screen or go with a long throw PJ like the Panasonic AX100u, soon to be replaced by the AX200u.

Hello all,

Hope you are all well.

Dellhop,

I concur with Reconlabtech, and would also like to add that even with that high lumen projector that it is still borderline dim at 110" diagonal from 18'. To solve this your setup of long throw shelf mounting is a perfect candidate for a Da-Lite High Power screen, with a gain of 2.8 to get you a little more room to breath, aka put a light on.'

Hope this helps,

Later,

Tony