I have a mostly light controlled room(not absolutely pitch black) room that is 15'x24' with 8 1/2 foot ceilings. i have a solid wall that is 15ft by the 8 !/2 tall. What is the biggest projected image screen size i can create on this wall with what projector under 3k? Your help is appriciated!

p.s. content i will be viewing is blue-ray, ps3, widescreen computer games, sd dvd, possibly hd satellite.

Given the dimensions, an Optoma HD80, for example, can throw an image up to 130 or so inches. With that projector, however, 130 inches might seem too dim unless you get a screen with a gain of 1.5.

Probably the best thing to do is to get the projector you want, and then play around with placement before investing in a screen. If your wall is painted white, this should work fine just for testing purposes. If not, you can get a couple king size sheets (use two layers to prevent too much light from getting through) and use that as a temporary screen as you experament to determine your optimal screen size and brightness. Either of these temporary screens will give you a gain of about 1, maybe a little less. If you want to go for the gusto with the biggest screen size possible, see how the image looks with that size, and purchase a screen based on how much gain you think you might need.

projectorcentral.com has an image size calculator for all the projectors listed on their site. Here is the one for the HD80:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-HD80-projection-calculator-pro.htm

The other consideration is where the image will be on the wall in terms of how high off the floor it is. To determine that you'll need to download the manual for the projector you're interested in and run the numbers given in the diagram which shows all the various image dimensions. While it's true you can move the image up and down by tilting the projector (unless you get an LCD projector in which case you simply use lens shift), you would need to use keystone correction to square the image back up. Ideally you want to avoid using any keystone correction because it will affect overall image quality. So if you want ideal image quality, the height of the image off the floor could limit your screen size unless you don't mind the screen being vertically low off-center.

Thanks for the info. My wall is white, but i will be diy painting it for the screen. i will also like to ceiling mount my projector so it is out of the way. i would love a 130"+ screen size!!!! i was considering the sharp 12000mk2 and panny AX-200. i will look into the Optima as well, thanks!

I think for brightness with more modest gain screens, an HD80 will be fine. I had it with 3 other projectors in my theater at the same time, and compared to the others it was a virtual light canon.

With the Ax200u, you will have a lot of lumens to work with. It really just depends on how big you want it and how much light you can control. The panny uses a smooth technology so screendoor won't even be a problem.

Here's a pic from over in the DIY CIH forum and the poster, not me, who built this screen was using a JVC RS1 which has 700 lumens. Here's the link to the thread, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=854134 , and here's the pic!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/MississippiMan/S-I-L-V-E-R%20SOLUTIONS/UpyoursJackBlack.jpg