12 ft spacing, above eye level, how large?

If you have 52" of total height available, then the absolute largest image that you could place on the wall (16:9) is 106". A 106" image is 52" tall. The projectors that you listed are all fixed offset projectors. This means that they need to be mounted several inches (lens center line) above the image. If the image is near the ceiling, then none of the fixed offset projectors will work. You might look at the Epson 8350 or any of the other LCD projectors.

I was in the same boat with the fireplace, and ended up with a pull-down screen that goes over the fireplace when in use. Of course I can't have a fire and watch a movie at the same time, but that's ok because I never would anyway due to the light thrown from the fire. You should re-consider having a screen up high like that. Every once in a while it would be ok, but all time it would get old fast.

I agree with Mechbeav. Unless you have recliners, looking up that high is literally a pain in the neck. I know many folks mount panels about the fireplace, and I can't understand that either.

Our livingroom setup is in front of an airtight fireplace insert. The top of the insert is about 36" above ground, and the forced air blows forward and up. The mantle, like yours, is about 52" above ground. We have an electric screen that drops in front of the mantle, but above the insert. Since the insert blows air forward / up from a grill in the top, and the top surface of the insert doesn't get very hot, we find we can burn and watch at the same time without the screen getting hot. The flame window below isn't that distracting. Of course I wouldn't recommend this if you have an open fireplace.

We use a 92" screen, and sit about 12' away. This is a comfortable size for us. The visible screen area is 45" high, so, if you decided on this size you'd still only have 7" from top of screen to your ceiling .. this still isn't enough for the offset of the projectors you mentioned. As mjg100 mentioned, and LCD with lens shift is what you'd need to use if you wanted to ceiling mount. If you table mount on a typical 23" side table or 19" coffee table, the offset of the projectors you mentioned might work if the bottom of your screen dropped to 36" or so.

Jonathan

Epson clearance center has refurb 6100 and 8100 for $899 and $944.......the predecessors to the 8350....

I picked up the Optoma HD66 at PC Richard & Son for $625. Definitely worth investigating. 3D ready.

From the 1080 to 6100 to 8100 to 8350, marginal improvements each new model....as someone new to projectors, you'll be wow'd by any of them....these are 1080....i'd chose one of these over 720.....

If you do go with an epson, search around for 10% discount codes.....

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Don't think the optoma has lens shift....

None of the low cost DLP's have lens shift.

If fighting ambient light is a key factor for you, and you don't have ambient light coming from behind, then you might consider table mounting and using a retro reflective screen like the Dalite HiPower. If you use a moderately sized screen, like 92", and position the projector so that it fills that screen using the shortest throw ( lens zoom can drastically affect the lumen output of the projector ), you can achieve a usable ambient light setup. Good for HDTV / Sports, but movies you'll still have to close the blinds or wait for after sunset.

Jonathan

If I'm right, the center of the lens is higher by a fixed distance compared to the top of the image. So whatever height is the top of your image, add the fixed offset for your projector to it and that will be the lens location.

You are correct, and the offset distance is proportional to the throw distance as shown in the calculators at projectorcentral and elsewhere. If you want the image up high (near the ceiling), a ceiling-mounted low-end DLP won't work. You'll need to place it on a table or go LCD.

The offset is not proportional to the throw distance. The offset is proportional to the image size. Go to the calculator, select a size and then change the throw distance (use upper left box so that screen size does not change) and you will see that the offset does not change as throw distance is increased or decreased (as long as image size is constant). http://www.projectorcentral.com/Mits...ulator-pro.htm

Yes, that is true if you adjust the zoom to keep the image size the same. The zoom range is so small in some of the lower-end DLPs you can't change the throw much without affecting the image size. Thanks for the clarification.

Not necessarily. For example the HC4000 has a large offset. Check out the calculator that mjg100 linked.