Taking the plunge, need the experts help

[bass addict]

Figures, I just finish building a 106" 1.78 screen and the 2.35 bug won't leave me alone. I have some questions concerning setup however.

1). My theater is rather narrow at 10' 8" wide. If I go 2.35 The screen will be from wall to wall, roughly 130". I am having a tough time determining how to place the mains. I have M80's and would have to raise them up quite a bit to place them behind the screen. You guys that are running towers how are you mounting them? I would think they would have to be angled forward quite a bit.

2). Is there anyway to get ahold of some SMX screen material without buying the frame. My total budget is 1500.00, so to make this work so I can't afford a pre built frame I have to go DIY.

3). I am currently running an Epson TW700. It does not have vertical stretch so how would I go about doing this until I pick up a pj (probably be the AE2000 early this summer). If I pick up a Panamorph, would all 2.35 material display correctly without the vs? Then would I just have to move the lens and zoom out the pj for all material less than 2.35?

All input is appreciated. :)

[SandmanX]

We have a SmX Studio Line that may fit your budget.

Check your PM.

Ruben

[bass addict]

pm returned. Would this be better served in the non DIY section?

[CAVX]

Without the ability to scale the image prior to adding the anamorphic lens, your images will be stretched or compressed (pending HE or VC), so geometry is in-correct.

See the the CIH EXPLAINED link in my signature...

Mark

[Prof.]

As a temporary measure for your vertical stretch, the Samsung DVD-1080P7 DVD player is an upscaling player to 1080p. that has vertical stretch..It also displays sub-titles within the image..and is very reasonably priced..
It should suffice until you go HD all the way..

[bass addict]

Without the ability to scale the image prior to adding the anamorphic lens, your images will be stretched or compressed (pending HE or VC), so geometry is in-correct.

See the the CIH EXPLAINED link in my signature...

Mark

Bummer, that makes sense. If I am looking at replacing my PJ in the future it doesn't make any sense to buy a scaler at this time. Hmmm, now I'm in a quandry.

As a temporary measure for your vertical stretch, the Samsung DVD-1080P7 DVD player is an upscaling player to 1080p. that has vertical stretch..It also displays sub-titles within the image..and is very reasonably priced..
It should suffice until you go HD all the way..

There is no way I am going to go back to SD DVD. I am currently running a Samsung 1400 and a Tosh A35 going through an Onkyo 905. My only limiting factor to "true" hi def is my pj at the moment.

Looks like I'm going to have to find a way to pick up another pj with vertical stretch. Sucks the Epson 1080 has it but the 700 doesn't, seeing as about the only difference is the resolution.

[scottyb]

Sony Black Pearl

[bass addict]

Sony Black Pearl

I wish. I am either going to look for a used Epson 1080 or a Panny AE2000.

[oman321]

http://www.digitalconnection.com/products/video/kdhdmi4x1.asp

Here is a scaler that might work with your budget, if you dont change your projector right away. They had it here a while ago as a power buy for about a hundred bucks more. What's also nice about it is that it's also a 4x1 hdmi switcher.
Good luck.

[bass addict]

Thanks for the link. I think at this point if I'm going to spend the money I'll upgrade the pj instead. I do have a question though. If the pj has a 4:3 zoom mode on it would that work? What is the difference between a 4:3 zoom and vertical stretch?

[oman321]

4:3 ZOOM is likely what you need. I have the Epson 400 and zoom ZOOM is what allows me to get rid of the bars top and bottom to then place the lens in front of the projector. Unfortunately as you already know this only works for SD signals and not HD.

I was wondering, you mentioned the EPSON 1080 your thinking about does vertical strech. Is this regular 1080 or the newer version(black). edit: UB version.

I looked at the manuals for both the regular 1080 and the UB they don't seem to support VS for HD signals, I might be wrong but you wanna make sure first.

[bass addict]

I was looking at the 1080 (non UB). I could have sworn it could do vertical stretch (thought I saw it it on the Panamorph site), but will definitely look into it further before deciding. Thanks for the heads up. :)

It's a bummer that the Epson's can't do the zoom in HD mode. :(