[Moto111]

I have two rooms I can do a theater in . First is my main living room when you walk in but it's a duplex so its on a shared wall so sound system might be a issue . Room 15 x12 would do a 150 electric covering windows. Then a couch behind it in dining area make a bar with stools behind it .

Other room is off on the other side of house about 14x12 sound system won't be an issue . Max screen size prob 120 due to the hvac any ideas or thoughts?

 

[AV_Integrated]

Do you own, or do you rent? How serious do you want this space to be? Are you going to run wires to any projector location that you desire?

I would use the second room in a second. Cover the windows 100% with blackout shades, and mount a permanently tensioned screen (fixed frame) over the far window. I would do that right after I painted the walls and the ceiling a nice dark color. I would get a dark rug to put down to keep reflections to a minimum, then pair it with as good of a projector as my budget would allow.

 

[Moto111]

Own. And the 2nd room I was going to do black ceiling and black screen wall. Then dark red side walls with some movie posters . I would take the trim off window and make sure I put tint on it then a shade on the other one. From the bottom of hvac to floor is 6 feet so a 135 will touch the floor will that be bad?

On other side is the kitchen so was thinking maybe a bar of some sort with stools or doing a 12ft curtain across to make it Pitch black.

Just don't know if il be happy with a 120 lol

 

[Moto111]

No one else has any thoughts?

 

[DavidK442]

Setting up even a modest theater next to a shared wall is asking for trouble. Unless you high pass your entire audio system at 80hz and don't run a sub, the neighbors will complain.

For that reason I also vote for the second room. Given the low clearance under the HVAC vent I would be inclined to back the seating against the staircase wall and place the screen on the clear long wall opposite. This will give you much more room to work with and because the BenQW1070 has a reasonably short throw distance you can still get a decent sized image, likely 10 feet wide. Traffic flow in the room will also be better. Sitting with your back against a wall is apparently a cardinal sin in audio-land. My room is setup essentially like this and besides a significant gain in the lower bass (not a bad thing) and the rear surrounds being overhead like Atoms speakers, I can't complain about the sound. Just put some cheap DIY absorptive panels on the wall behind the seating. You can click on my link to get an idea of the layout.

I also agree that painting the room dark colors and getting a dark rug is essential to the video quality. I own the W1070 myself, and even though the black levels are a bit mediocre it throws a really nice picture in my dedicated, blacked out room. At times I bring it upstairs where everything is painted white and the image looks washed out awful in comparison.
I like to see modest, small room builds. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

 

[DavidK442]

Something else I just thought of, the BenQ needs to be placed a few inches higher than the top of your screen. Placing it under your HVAC will require a VERY slight upward angle and a corresponding Keystone correction. (A video cardinal sin this time.) Maybe I'm just blind, but I have used a couple notches of keystone correction in the past and REALLY had to strain to see the difference, and that was viewing small text.

Anyway, there are my thoughts.

 

[Al Toid]

Honestly, I love the idea of the first room. It sounds like it would be a really nice setup. However, I don't think you would be happy with it for quite a few reasons. The first is the noise complaints you are bound to hear. Second, even though a theater in the main room sounds good, you will have to sacrifice almost all your natural lighting in that room if you ever want to watch a movie or show. That is a lot to ask for from your main living area. There are more reasons, but these 2 are pretty big issues which makes me feel like the second room is the best option.

I for one have a 120" screen with the Benq w1070 and absolutely love it. My room is quite a bit bigger than yours too. I am in a 10'6" wide room by 25' long. I have two couches set up and a bar. The first row is at 8 feet, second at 13 feet and the bar at 15' away and it seems to be perfect. It would seem that a 14' room would have 2 rows. The first around 8 feet and the second at 14 feet. Honestly - the 8' row will be too much for some people. But overall, would be a great setup!

P.S. I have my w1070 in a completely light controlled room. Let me tell you, it makes all the difference in the world. The w1070 will still project an image with light in the room, but it does get washed out. If you can black out the windows, do it. You will not regret it.

 

[Moto111]

I would have loved to put screen on long wall opposite stair case. I just think

1 has to be 5 inchs above screen
2 I would be afraid to drill into that hvac wall, who knows how I could mount the pj.

 

[Moto111]

Could possible do a 120 on the stairway wall if I get those sliding mounts . So of screen may hang over that opening but not big deal . Would have to black out all windows though

 

[CleveKing]

I would have loved to put screen on long wall opposite stair case. I just think

1 has to be 5 inchs above screen
2 I would be afraid to drill into that hvac wall, who knows how I could mount the pj.

According to W1070's manual, the highest distance from top of viewing area in the screen to lens for a 120" screen is 2.95 inches. Don't think 5 inches will work unless the vertical compensation tool corrects for that? I'm not sure.

 

[Moto111]

Think i should just buy the benq1080 and solve my problems? I could go with a 135 and would only take 6 or 7 feet to do it. So i could use the wall opposite the stairs no issue. Or i use the 1070 and do a 120

 

[CleveKing]

The W1080ST costs 300 bucks more than the W1070 for the same quality, the only difference is the throw distance. I would go with 1070 and do a 120" screen, no hesitation.

 

[dreamer]

Think i should just buy the benq1080 and solve my problems? I could go with a 135 and would only take 6 or 7 feet to do it. So i could use the wall opposite the stairs no issue. Or i use the 1070 and do a 120

The newer 1085ST is essentially the same and is currently cheaper than the 1080ST for some reason.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...90957&creativeASIN=B00LTMPOUE&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[txmxer]

screen size is a relative issue. How many seats do you plan to support? What's your primary seating distance?

I would agree with most that you should avoid the common wall room. Kind of the price you pay for living in a duplex. Of course, the sub is going to be the real issue and I suspect that it would be an issue anywhere within the structure. Low frequency will carry throughout. Not that noticeable during the day, but if it's evening or night, a decent powered low frequency could really carry.

 

[AV_Integrated]

I would use one of the window walls, not the HVAC wall for the screen.

The 1080/1085 certainly is a good choice. It's a bit more than the W1070, but unique with the lens design and quality. A real win there.

I would not pull the trim off the windows.

Know what I would do? I would black out whatever window you are covering, then I would paint that wall black. I would put up a couple of 2x4s to bump the screen forward, away from the window and hang the screen so it is 1.5" off the wall. I would then take some LED strip lights and mount them behind the screen's edges so I could turn them on when I wanted to. Add some really cool bias lighting to the setup while still delivering a comfortable setup.

The walls are a tough call IMO. I'm not about to say 'DO THIS!' for you. I think that covering either window has it's merits and drawbacks. It isn't at all a unique situation, and the last time I setup my theater space from scratch I did it in a situation similar to your shorter throw option opposite of the stairs. I put in a nice comfortable wide couch. A 'theater' couch with a loveseat and two additional seats on the ends with cup holders and dividers between the outer seating. It was about a 13' wide couch, and gave everyone a great view of a 106" screen I was sitting about 11' (eyes to screen) from. In my new home, I'm likely to set it up differently, but will have two rows and likely a 150"+ screen size.

Yet, I've done setups for others where I've put the screen under the soffit and it has worked out equally well. You lose a bit on size, but can move the seating just a bit closer, and you get the back area to work in or put a second row of seating into for guests.

Either way, I would keep the windows very much intact and I would just cover them completely with a blackout option. The window behind the screen getting something that isn't removable (even basic cardboard works fine) and the other window getting nice blackout shades of some form.

Should be a really fun setup no matter what you decide.

On the note of audio, you certainly should expect some audio bleed from the bass, but on the ground floor vs. a main or higher floor, it has a long way to go before you are disturbing someone's sleep.