I'm thinking of converting my 160 lb Sony SD CRT behemoth to a projector-based system. I've looked (and read) around here recently, and it seems that the Infocus IN72 is the hands down winner for champagne picture quality on a beer budget (if I can find an IN72 in Canada, that is).

But then I started thinking about all the other pieces I need:

DVD player - oppo for $200?
HD cable box - $400 from my service provider
Fixed screen - $500 (not really sure about that number, but remember I am way too LAZY to spend 57 hours painting and building my own cheapskate screen)
PJ mount - $150
2 sets of cables (do I really need to run cables from both the settop box and the DVD player to the PJ?) - $100

amp - $200
2 decent speakers (I'm fine with 2.0 system, I think, but I'd like decent sound for listening to concert DVD's) - $400
audio interconnects - $50

blinds for 4 windows - $400 (may not be enough, haven't priced 'em yet)


, so even if I cheap out on a $400 PJ, am I still really looking at $2400 for a minimal setup of all the other stuff to make a go of this? If the IN72 is the defacto poor mans standard PJ, what are the defacto 'buys' for all the other pieces required?

How much have other cheapskates gotten away with for an all-in setup?


Thanks.

I would think that your cable provider would not charge you $400 for the box. Maybe I'm wrong, I have DirecTv and got the HR 20-700 for the cost of shipping.

The projector mount can be made for about $25 in parts from Home Depot, Lowes...

I am using a 96" Daylight Grey Wolf II screen that I bought for $150. It's a pull-down. You could always make your own.

Blackout fabric for your windows should be well under $400.

Just a thought. I DIY whenever I can and spend the real money on the electronics.

I'm thinking of converting my 160 lb Sony SD CRT behemoth to a projector-based system. I've looked (and read) around here recently, and it seems that the Infocus IN72 is the hands down winner for champagne picture quality on a beer budget (if I can find an IN72 in Canada, that is).

But then I started thinking about all the other pieces I need:

DVD player - oppo for $200?
HD cable box - $400 from my service provider
Fixed screen - $500 (not really sure about that number, but remember I am way too LAZY to spend 57 hours painting and building my own cheapskate screen)
PJ mount - $150
2 sets of cables (do I really need to run cables from both the settop box and the DVD player to the PJ?) - $100

amp - $200
2 decent speakers (I'm fine with 2.0 system, I think, but I'd like decent sound for listening to concert DVD's) - $400
audio interconnects - $50

blinds for 4 windows - $400 (may not be enough, haven't priced 'em yet)


, so even if I cheap out on a $400 PJ, am I still really looking at $2400 for a minimal setup of all the other stuff to make a go of this? If the IN72 is the defacto poor mans standard PJ, what are the defacto 'buys' for all the other pieces required?

How much have other cheapskates gotten away with for an all-in setup?


Thanks.
There are a few good Canadian projector deals floating around at the moment. It may pay to look around some more.

Oppo? Nah, get an HD DVD player. ;) Seriously though, they will upscale DVD, and if you were in Alberta you could have gotten one for uber, uber cheap last month.
Screens? What size?
Mount? Depends on the room, projector, and screen. Sometimes you can get away with placing the projector on a shelf at the back of the room.
For movie playback I would STRONGLY advise a 3-speaker system - two mains and a centre.

As for the receiver, you can get some nice lower end 5.1 receivers for about that price. I bought one for less than that actually, and it may end up being my primary receiver, just because the IR sensor on my main receiver is starting to die. (I had bought the cheaper receiver for music in another room.)

I have one of those 160lb Sonys. :)

Purchased:
Optoma HD70 - $800
MountDirect ceiling mount - $45
EasyFlex-06 painted screen - 2 hours, $30 (thanks Tiddler!)
JBL Northridge Front, Rear, and Center Channel speakers - $240
Pioneer VSX-816K $230
Bravo D1 DVD player - $35
Cables, wires, interconnects - Monoprice.com - $100 total

Already had:
JBL SUB10 subwoofer
Dish Network ViP622 HD DVR
Room darkening shades (HomeDepot - $40)

Sold:
Sony STR-D965 Receiver - $100
Fisher Studio speaker pair - $100
Dish Network DVR942 - $200
Sony DVPNS75H DVD player - $50

Canadian pricing for the Pioneer VSX-816K is considerably more expensive, and it sounds like he has no need for 7.1 audio. He would save a lot of money by going with a 5.1 Pioneer.

$60 Phillips upconverting player
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3307840&CatId=1701
$20 Buy a piece of white 4x8 MDF board from Home depot for $20.
$50 mount from www.Mountdirect.com
$40 1 HDMI cable and 1 Component Cable from www.monoprice.com

Now go out and use all the money you just saved on a good projector like the Benq w500 or acer ph530 which are under $1000 in canada.

For reciever and speakers look at some of the Onkyo 5.1 systems. They sound really good for the price copsidering they go for under $300.


You could also look at logitech z5500's. You can find some smoking deals on these. If you are into gaming these are great speakers because they are very positional and have great bass.

I would think that your cable provider would not charge you $400 for the box. Maybe I'm wrong, I have DirecTv and got the HR 20-700 for the cost of shipping.

....

I scratch my head about that one too. They are $450 regularly, found 'on sale' for $400 (Shaw Cable in Vancouver, B.C.). I often wonder if they don't actually want their customers to use their HD service?

I scratch my head about that one too. They are $450 regularly, found 'on sale' for $400 (Shaw Cable in Vancouver, B.C.). I often wonder if they don't actually want their customers to use their HD service?

It's kinda weird that you have to go out and buy a cable box. When my parents got a HDTV, we simply took the old box down to the cable company's local office and traded it out at no cost.

Canadian pricing for the Pioneer VSX-816K is considerably more expensive, and it sounds like he has no need for 7.1 audio. He would save a lot of money by going with a 5.1 Pioneer.I wonder how the pricing works? Sometimes the price is better, sometimes its much worse. Weird.

Oh, on the 7.1 system, Pioneer allows you to re-purpose the 6/7channels to a B set of speakers for another room so you have 5.1 on the A channel and stereo on the B channel. The auto-calibration tool built into it is a very helpful tool as well. Too bad it's so much more.

My list was just to show that you can do it for much less than proposed in the OP post. You just need to look and hang out around here a little longer!

Look on e-bay for stuff, you can buy Motorola HD Cable Box for $30 that need a few capacitor's, canada has a open policy, you supply your box.
Ians you'd be crazy to waste all that money!!
If someone can do HT theater cheap it me!