Hello all,
I just purchased my first every projector, Panasonic PT-AE2000u. I also ordered a Carada Criterion 1.78:1 in Brilliant White. I am now trying to figure out what type of ceiling mount to use. I am looking at a Chief RPA-U.
I need some help;

Is this the best mount to use?
What other mounts would you recommend?
Any help or suggestions at all on ceiling mounts?

It seems this mount uses 1 1/2" threaded pipe? It is actually steel pipe or conduit that it needs?

All input to help a nu-be is welcome!
Thanks,
Doug:D

I've used plenty of mounts. My recommendation is the RPA-U. Definitely worth the extra cost. You can fintd the 1.5" at HD.

is it 1 1/2" schedule 40 Pipe or conduit?
Thanks

any suggestions for a good vendor to purchase from?
Thanks

I believe AVS carries them. (877) 823-4452. Mark is pretty helpful with the projector stuff.

I went with the Peerless PRS-KIT. I've used a bunch of Peerless wall mounts for my flat panels and they can be had for a great price so I went with them again. No regrets so far.

My ceiling has beams so I needed something that dropped the PJ below the beams and the PRS-KIT was the best choice I could find. So far so good. It has many degrees of freedom so I think it will work well. Very stable too.
I got it from bestpricemounts.com. Here it is:

http://www.bestpricemounts.com/Peerless-PRSKIT0811-Adjustable-Height-Projector-Ceiling-Mount-Kit.html

I went with the Peerless PRS-KIT. I've used a bunch of Peerless wall mounts for my flat panels and they can be had for a great price so I went with them again. No regrets so far.

My ceiling has beams so I needed something that dropped the PJ below the beams and the PRS-KIT was the best choice I could find. So far so good. It has many degrees of freedom so I think it will work well. Very stable too.
I got it from bestpricemounts.com. Here it is:

http://www.bestpricemounts.com/Peerless-PRSKIT0811-Adjustable-Height-Projector-Ceiling-Mount-Kit.html


Thanks, this looks good, the Chief was 218$ by the time I ordered their ceiling plate and extension pipe, I am going to go with the Peerless!

My previous mount was a Peerless. The problem is it was rated at 25lbs max. Moving to the JVC or Sony place it at or above the weight limit. Other than that it was well built. The model mentioned looks much stronger and should work as well as the Chief at a lower cost.

Do you guys use rather more or rather less zoom? Meaning if I could move the projector more towards the screen, should I do that? :confused:

TIA
Nima

The closer to the screen the less zoom, the less zoom the less light loss, If you want the brightest picture possible you want your projector at the minimum distance needed to fill your screen...at least I think this is correct...:confused:

Do you guys use rather more or rather less zoom? Meaning if I could move the projector more towards the screen, should I do that? :confused:

TIA
Nima

My 2 cents....Peerless makes better plasma/LCD mounts...Chief makes better projector mounts. I sell both and have used for for installs and this is what I have found.

Thanks for the input. I ended up with the chief, it was a little pricey, especially with the ceiling plate and pipe but it seemed a lot more solid.
The only downside is I wish the bar(pipe) was adjustable.....




Thanks, this looks good, the Chief was 218$ by the time I ordered their ceiling plate and extension pipe, I am going to go with the Peerless!

I'm not so sure the 25 pound weight limit for the Peerless is in fact an accurate number. It's really solid, I imagine it could handle another 10 pounds easily. I'm an engineer and it seems to me that the 25 pound value is based on the mounting hardware, not the actual mount itself. Add some better grade 8 or higher screws and I bet it'll handle 35 pounds (not that it needs to in my situation but sounds like it might for others).

My .02. I'm sure the Chief is a well made piece. Just trying to relate my experience with my Peerless. I've never used any Chief anything but I like their name. Anything named Chief sounds killer.

The closer to the screen the less zoom, the less zoom the less light loss, If you want the brightest picture possible you want your projector at the minimum distance needed to fill your screen...at least I think this is correct...:confused:

Depends on your screen type and size though. The screen manufacturer gives you the recommended throw range for their screens. Close as you can go is not always the best. My fhg3 needs to be 1.6x throw range per diagonal screen size. SO my 114 inch has the best picture at approx 15 ft even though I could bring it up to 12 ish.

Do you guys use rather more or rather less zoom? Meaning if I could move the projector more towards the screen, should I do that? :confused:

TIA
Nima
You get to trade off light level against picture quality to some extent. The closer you are, the more light you have. But the zoom lens performance is typically worse at wide angle end with more barrel distortion and somewhat less resolution. By increasing the distance, you get to use the telephoto portion of your lens which performs better. Now the projector you have may suffer more or less due to these factors...

Also, if you are closer to the screen, the accuracy of of the mount matters more. If you are further away, slight differences show up less.

So if it were up to me, I would put it as far back as possible.

25 lb is about all that the Peerless PRS-style product can handle before you get into slippage issues. Have any of you installed the PRG-style Peerless projector bracket yet? That thing is absolutely cool. Uses a gear mechanism to align image. Way easier than turning multiple screw adjustments

Thanks for the input. I ended up with the chief, it was a little pricey, especially with the ceiling plate and pipe but it seemed a lot more solid.
The only downside is I wish the bar(pipe) was adjustable.....

So I went to my local HomeDepot and they cut and re-threaded the bar(pipe), at no charge. The cutter/threader buggered up the finish on the bar/pipe but it went up in the ceiling anyway so no worries. I literally could hang from the chief, I tried it.....