Help & Comments needed on projector placement

post #1 of 6

10/20/10 at 2:00am

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2 Posts. Joined 10/2009
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Hi guys,

Long time lurker on this fantastic forum but after hours and hours of searching I've still not come to a conclusion on a few things

I have a Sim2 HT3000e and a room that is currently being converted into a dedicated home cinema. I'm pretty happy with all of the seating positions and screen sizing etc but the reason that i was initially going to post was to get some opinions on what to do about the projector positioning. I have decided to go for a 140" wide 2.35:1 screen and purchase a lens at a later date.

There are two rows of seats and behind the second a there is a counter top with bar stools. The projector is going to be mounted above the counter top but due to the height of the screen (which I have calculated based on what I feel looks best from both seating positions) it will result in around a 600mm/23" drop to the bottom of the projector which starts to encroach onto eye level when stood behind the counter. Originally I was going to put a box around the projector but I worry that will be a bit too much considering it's in the middle of the room (behind the countertop is an open space then a bar on the back wall)

I was sure that the lens from the projector could be no higher than the top of the viewing area for CIH cinemas, however when looking through some images of other rooms there seem to be some with tilted projectors which I guess are using keystoning or just lens shift? Any comments or suggestions of how to reduce the 'intrusiveness' of the projector and lens set up would be hugely welcome, in fact any comments about the design as a whole would be interesting!

Also I currently have the joiner cutting a hole in the ceiling to see how feasible a projector lift would be however I feel it would be a shame to spend the money on that when it could go towards a lens!

Thanks in advance

I've attached a couple of sketches:

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post #2 of 6

10/20/10 at 4:12am

8,228 Posts. Joined 8/2005
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Your TR is 2.2:1, so pretty good.

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post #3 of 6

10/20/10 at 4:26am

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Thanks Mark, appreciate the post and have learnt a huge amout from your input on this forum and from your site

Do you have any views on the lens position in terms of height. Is there any way to get around the need to have it in line with the top of the screen? The other option is to move the screen a little higher but I guess I'd prefer an obtrusive box that impacts on the room aesthetics than a compromise on viewing angle

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post #4 of 6

10/20/10 at 4:52pm

8,228 Posts. Joined 8/2005
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Quote:

Originally Posted by convectuoso

Thanks Mark, appreciate the post and have learnt a huge amout from your input on this forum and from your site

Do you have any views on the lens position in terms of height. Is there any way to get around the need to have it in line with the top of the screen? The other option is to move the screen a little higher but I guess I'd prefer an obtrusive box that impacts on the room aesthetics than a compromise on viewing angle

The projector's lens shift should allow you to reduce the amount of hang needed for the projector. In regards to the anamorphic lens itself, it will require to be titled to aim at the centre of the screen, so the higher up it is, the more tilt required. Your throw will help with minimizing the pincushion.

Viewing angles are important. Over the last 3 installs of my own system, I've progressively lowered the screen to where it is now just 2 feet, 3 inches off the floor. Because my is AT, I was able to find a height that worked for both sound (though I now want to redesign the AT screen baffle wall) and picture, so my back row seated eye line is now centre to the screen. Originally, my screen was not AT, so it had to sit above the speakers. And because sound is 50% of the experience, sometimes a compromise has to be reached.

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post #5 of 6

10/21/10 at 6:14pm

GetGray
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Move the Sim2 forward ajust a little (assuming inside the lens zoom range). You can't go up with it IIRC. 100% lens shift only (even with screen top). So move it up so it's out of counter customers harms way, Maybe shape your bar at the center-rear so as to discourge seating dead center where it might impede vision. Like a bowing out in the middle, or half circle, etc. Most people with bar setups use them for "overflow" seating for those rarer occasions when the (8 in your case) best seats are full. So for those situations, the bar customers will just have another disadvantage. Often times HT is all about compromises. I'd think in this case, go with your money seat screen height, let the bar suffer a little, work the bar so the seats aren't dead behind the PJ.

HTH

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post #6 of 6

11/7/10 at 9:28am