Hello AVS Forums…
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve posted but I’ve been reading these forums for quite some time now. It is just a wealth of information and I am thankful for stumbling upon it a few years back. I am posting today because I am FINALLY in the PLANNING stages for fixing up and furnishing our already-finished 1,200 SF basement. When we moved in 3 years ago – as any man would be - I was excited to get moving on the basement with a sick A/V set up. However, we’ve had countless other priorities and, well, after $100K in renovations, repairs, replacements and upgrades, I still have yet to put a DIME into the basement! Good things come to those who wait, right? I’ve spent the last few weeks touching up the bare white walls with spackle and primer, tearing out the baseboards, cutting out some damaged drywall and tightening up the stairwell and treads a bit. I am slowly attacking this basement and if it takes me 2 or 3 years to complete it, so be it. At this juncture my wife and I are deciding how and where to lay everything out (bar/counters, refrigerators, etc.) and I need a little advice on the audio/video end of things to get me started. Yes, the location of EVERYTHING ELSE revolves around where I decide to put the screen (or the TV) as options are quite limited. Let’s face it, the A/V system will be the most important thing down in the basement!
In recent months I have been reading about PJs on this board and I can say that I am leaning hard in the direction of a projector in the $2K range (something along the lines of a BenQ W7000 or a JVC – I am not even CLOSE to deciding on that at this time). In this first picture, I am actually standing under a drywall bulkhead (that houses ductwork) and I am facing the wall that I think I would like to project on. The distance between the window (left) and the little bump out on the right is approximately 13.75 ft (165 inches). Plenty big. The wall is standard 8’ high.
This second photo is a shot I took standing with my back to the wall that I would project onto – looking back at where I would install my PJ. Just for reference, the bottom of that bulkhead is 80” off the floor and it extends up to another 14-15” to the ceiling.
I could hang the PJ from the ceiling with the rear of the PJ unit butting right up next to the bulkhead (which would result in a 12’ throw at that point) OR I could make a cut-out in the side of the bulkhead (which I have seen done here on the forums) and set the PJ up in the cut-out and gain another foot or so of distance – say maybe 13’ or 13’ 5”. I got extremely lucky because that side of the bulkhead has no ductwork in the way, which is what this 3rd picture shows from inside the bulkhead (I was able to get this shot because I have cut out a section of the bottom of the bulkhead where the previous owner overflowed a toilet and leaked through the ceiling).
Let me also say that the power/cables/HDMI’s for the projector (and other speaker wires) would run thru this bulkhead into a storage room about 7 feet away where I will have my equipment rack. I would like the equipment rack to be in-wall style and I plan on building that myself as well.
The projector calculator is telling me that for a 12’ 6” throw – for say a BenQ W7000 – I would be looking at a diagonal screen size of about 88”. As I said before, if I can set it back in a cut out in the bulkhead I MAY be able to stretch it to 13’ 5” or so which would take me up to the low 90’s for diagonal screen size. I do not have the option of hanging a PJ any further away from the wall (underneath the bulkhead) because it would obviously be hanging way too low.
This last photo is a snapshot of my basement layout and for the sake of getting it on here tonight, I just hand wrote in some of the details that relate to my initial vision for the A/V system.
With all of that said, my questions are as follows:
1) What is the typical/recommended height that PJ’s are mounted in a situation like this for projection on an 8’H wall? Would a PJ mounted at a height of 84”-85” still work if I were to put it in a cut out halfway up the bulkhead and have a throw ranging from 12’ 6” to 13’ 6”?
2)I am perfectly fine with a diagonal screen size of 88” – 93” but would I still get the same quality of picture - 2D & 3D – with a throw that short? Is that generally considered too short for most projectors on the market today? (I am CLUELESS when it come to projectors)
I do have one other option for the PJ and that is to put the screen on the adjacent wall but the width of that wall is much smaller. I would also lose an incredible amount of opportunity to run my cables/wires/speaker wires through my bulkhead and into my storage room where I would like my equipment rack (due to power sources available in there).
The last option would be to stick to buying a flat screen around 65” in size but who the heck wants to do that?
Your comments and advice would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Does anyone know of any good A/V techs in the MD/DC area that would be willing to come out and see what I have and give me professional advice as to what can be done and what cannot? I've got one hell of a challenge wiring the front and center channel in-wall speakers (since the walls are finished) and that one really has me boggled...
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve posted but I’ve been reading these forums for quite some time now. It is just a wealth of information and I am thankful for stumbling upon it a few years back. I am posting today because I am FINALLY in the PLANNING stages for fixing up and furnishing our already-finished 1,200 SF basement. When we moved in 3 years ago – as any man would be - I was excited to get moving on the basement with a sick A/V set up. However, we’ve had countless other priorities and, well, after $100K in renovations, repairs, replacements and upgrades, I still have yet to put a DIME into the basement! Good things come to those who wait, right? I’ve spent the last few weeks touching up the bare white walls with spackle and primer, tearing out the baseboards, cutting out some damaged drywall and tightening up the stairwell and treads a bit. I am slowly attacking this basement and if it takes me 2 or 3 years to complete it, so be it. At this juncture my wife and I are deciding how and where to lay everything out (bar/counters, refrigerators, etc.) and I need a little advice on the audio/video end of things to get me started. Yes, the location of EVERYTHING ELSE revolves around where I decide to put the screen (or the TV) as options are quite limited. Let’s face it, the A/V system will be the most important thing down in the basement!
In recent months I have been reading about PJs on this board and I can say that I am leaning hard in the direction of a projector in the $2K range (something along the lines of a BenQ W7000 or a JVC – I am not even CLOSE to deciding on that at this time). In this first picture, I am actually standing under a drywall bulkhead (that houses ductwork) and I am facing the wall that I think I would like to project on. The distance between the window (left) and the little bump out on the right is approximately 13.75 ft (165 inches). Plenty big. The wall is standard 8’ high.
This second photo is a shot I took standing with my back to the wall that I would project onto – looking back at where I would install my PJ. Just for reference, the bottom of that bulkhead is 80” off the floor and it extends up to another 14-15” to the ceiling.
I could hang the PJ from the ceiling with the rear of the PJ unit butting right up next to the bulkhead (which would result in a 12’ throw at that point) OR I could make a cut-out in the side of the bulkhead (which I have seen done here on the forums) and set the PJ up in the cut-out and gain another foot or so of distance – say maybe 13’ or 13’ 5”. I got extremely lucky because that side of the bulkhead has no ductwork in the way, which is what this 3rd picture shows from inside the bulkhead (I was able to get this shot because I have cut out a section of the bottom of the bulkhead where the previous owner overflowed a toilet and leaked through the ceiling).
Let me also say that the power/cables/HDMI’s for the projector (and other speaker wires) would run thru this bulkhead into a storage room about 7 feet away where I will have my equipment rack. I would like the equipment rack to be in-wall style and I plan on building that myself as well.
The projector calculator is telling me that for a 12’ 6” throw – for say a BenQ W7000 – I would be looking at a diagonal screen size of about 88”. As I said before, if I can set it back in a cut out in the bulkhead I MAY be able to stretch it to 13’ 5” or so which would take me up to the low 90’s for diagonal screen size. I do not have the option of hanging a PJ any further away from the wall (underneath the bulkhead) because it would obviously be hanging way too low.
This last photo is a snapshot of my basement layout and for the sake of getting it on here tonight, I just hand wrote in some of the details that relate to my initial vision for the A/V system.
With all of that said, my questions are as follows:
1) What is the typical/recommended height that PJ’s are mounted in a situation like this for projection on an 8’H wall? Would a PJ mounted at a height of 84”-85” still work if I were to put it in a cut out halfway up the bulkhead and have a throw ranging from 12’ 6” to 13’ 6”?
2)I am perfectly fine with a diagonal screen size of 88” – 93” but would I still get the same quality of picture - 2D & 3D – with a throw that short? Is that generally considered too short for most projectors on the market today? (I am CLUELESS when it come to projectors)
I do have one other option for the PJ and that is to put the screen on the adjacent wall but the width of that wall is much smaller. I would also lose an incredible amount of opportunity to run my cables/wires/speaker wires through my bulkhead and into my storage room where I would like my equipment rack (due to power sources available in there).
The last option would be to stick to buying a flat screen around 65” in size but who the heck wants to do that?
Your comments and advice would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Does anyone know of any good A/V techs in the MD/DC area that would be willing to come out and see what I have and give me professional advice as to what can be done and what cannot? I've got one hell of a challenge wiring the front and center channel in-wall speakers (since the walls are finished) and that one really has me boggled...