[BritOverseas]

Hi all, another question for all you experts out there.


I have finally finished the build on my HT and I am now looking to buy the screen and projector.


The room is dedicated to it's mission as an HT, there are no windows, the room has been painted matte muted dark colours and has deep coloured accoustic panels on the walls, so there should be no light reflection problems or sound problems.


The room is 14' x 14' and has a ceiling height of 12' and it has the curtains either side and the proper valance on the top to frame the screen.


My intention is to buy a Panasonic PT-AE2000U projector that will be hung from the ceiling at the correct height and beamed to a 100" (ish) screen.


I have looked around at several screeens ranging in price from $4K down to $1K and for various reasons I do not see much of a difference between the $4K and the $2K, only when you get further down the chain do I see a difference.


So, my question would be, which screen is my best bet for around the $2K mark?


It will be fixed and hopefully framed to complete the "professional" look if possible.


Thanks.


Brit

 

[FLBoy]

In that room with that PJ I'd go with a low-gain, high quality white screen such as the Carada Criterion in Brilliant White. No need to spend more.

 

[AVWERKS]

At CES (as we speak) Dalite in conjunction with Joe Kane has a new material called Affinity (.9 gain) screen that is about as transparent (screen coloration artifacts) as is possible right now.


After spending about 1 1/2 hours with JC and his demo, I'm totally blown away by what his combination has produced. Total preservation of detail and uniformity of color at a new level I've never experienced before. This material has no coatings to induce hotspotting or anything to alter the light coming off the surface


The Samsung SP-A900B projector with this new material just leaves you with the most neutral presentation of detail you will get right now.


The conditions are a max width of 8 feet at 16flb 100ire window.


Check out this material if your into maximizing what your pj can do.


The new Pana 3000 is here and looks promising at the $ also.


After walking out of the demo, what struck me immediately was the transition to the real world detail in comparison to what I just saw on video. The subjective transition was the same detail.. meaning very low levels of coloration. That was a revelation to me


regards

David

 

[klopper]

I'm sorry my friend but your room is WAY too small for the symmetrics of a good home theatre Projector room, won't even hold a pool table. A 4*8 table requires 8*16 by itself withholding bar, chairs, couch, etc.


Assuming you'd want an 100" screen, that requires an 8.5 feet wide couch which only gives a major squeezing 2.25 feet for a person to go around each END of the couch without interferring with the projection light or side walls AND the couch would be placed WAY too close to the screen giving 3 ft between back wall and couch and you'd only be at 9 ft viewing distance (consider couch and body width) which is TOO close PLUS I don't think the Pana's vertical lens shift would take on such a huge 12' ceiling to 4.5 foot (eye level)drop at that close of range (12 ft).


Besides that ....a true home theatre system has 6.1 Dolby THX Surround sound and a 14*14 room isn't enough to enjoy the spatial sound separation without built in wall speakers.


I know that my Epson 720 has the best horizontal and vertical lens shift of any projector on the market and it couldn't take on your small room. I'd recommend a large screen LCD or plasma TV and break the walls for the 6.1 speakers!

 

[FLBoy]

klopper- I have read and reread your post, and I'm still not sure whether you were trying to be funny or serious. Right now I'm leaning towards serious, which leads me to make the following comments.


I must have missed the memo about a home theater having to have a pool table and a bar, as mine has neither (unless you count the attached kitchen as a bar). You state that a 100" screen "requires" a 8.5 foot wide couch. Hmm, I must have missed that memo too, as I have a 100" screen, and there are NO couches in my HT--just four comfy chairs.


You said the OP's PJ won't have enough vertical lens shift with a ceiling mount from the 12' ceiling. Apparently you missed the part where the OP said he plans to hang the PJ from the ceiling at the correct height (my emphasis). My guess is that the OP plans to use an extension pole to place the PJ about 7' above the floor, which will keep it out of the way of people's heads and well within the range of his PJ's vertical lens shift.


You also stated that a "true" home theater has 6.1 surround sound. While I agree that surround sound adds greatly to the impact of some movies, whether it is 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, or some other X.1 designed to sell more speakers, is largely a matter of personal preference. At any rate, it is ludicrous IMO to say that "a 14*14 room isn't enough to enjoy the spatial sound separation without built in wall speakers." I probably would not try to install a 6.1 or 7.1 system in a small room, because the movie seating will be too close to the rear wall. A 5.1 system should be fine. I also think it does not matter at all whether the speakers are built-in or self contained. The one audio challenge I would expect in a 14x14x12 room is bass equalization, due to the similar dimensions.


Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. Small rooms do have challenges when it comes to HT. You probably won't be having 200 of your closest friends over to watch the game in a small HT. Done correctly, however, a small HT can achieve a very satisfactory performance level for a small audience.

 

[CowboyZ37]



Quote:
Originally Posted by klopper /forum/post/15530212



Besides that ....a true home theatre system has 6.1 Dolby THX Surround sound and a 14*14 room isn't enough to enjoy the spatial sound separation without built in wall speakers.

6.1? What about 7.1? And what about the Pro-Logic home theaters people ran for a decade, or DD/DTS 5.1 systems, were they not "true" home theaters based on your definition?


Why does it have to be THX certified? Are you saying that a system comprised of something like Theta Digital, Levinson or Mark Levinson components and a Revel Ultima2 speaker system isn't a true home theater because it's a 5.1 non-THX certified system?


"I'm sorry my friend, you've just blown $50K for audio in a home theater that isn't a true home theater. Also, your room is too small."

 

[Bujee1]

When people go down the path of spouting opinions of what is true home theater the opportunity for education is lost and a blow-hard contest ensues.

With due respect to Klopper, the OP asked how to make it work, not how it can't. Let's remain focused.


I have a 14x12 theater with a 5.3 sytem (Yes, three subs!) I have a 1.1 gain screen 12 feet from my lens. 1 row of seats. My projector sits on a shelf at the back of the room. Yes people obstruct the view when they get up. But when the movie's going and the sound sytem is doing it's thing, No One gets up!


I have an EZ Frame fixed 1.1 gain screen. It is transparent enough to suspend disbelief during movies but reflects well enough to watch Desparate HouseWives and the Football Game with the lights on.


I hope that helps. Good luck.

 

[BritOverseas]

All, thanks for your posts, all are welcome.


AVWERKS ; Thanks for your reply my friend and yes, I have decided to go with the 3000 series Panny, looks even better than the 2000 for the cash.


Klopper ; Thanks, but I have no intention of using this room as a Game/HT room (the game room is upstairs and is very capable of taking a pool table, along with the 50" Panny that is already on the wall for TV), I do believe I stated that it was a dedicated HT room, no windows etc etc. and as for THX certification, I will of course be going down that route with the components as well as much as possible with the room, unfortunately, it is hard to get one of the ceilings in the house built at a different level to the others, that is why I am going with Mirage Omnipolar speakers for the room to help with the accoustics.


FLBoy ; You are indeed correct, the PJ will be on an extension pole and after much research on the accoustical situation, (although the HT room was always dedicated, I had to play with the dimensions to suit the house, not the room) I have decided to go with Mirage Omnipolar speakers as they will help greatly with dispersion (as well as the accoustic panels my Wife bought me for Xmas). And to answer your final thought, no, this is NOT designed for 200 people, in fact there are only 6 seats, plenty for me and my family (2 kids) and a couple of friends.


So, getting back to the original question, any more suggestions for screens, need to order in the next couple of weeks.


Remember, complete darkness, don't need to retract it and ALL content will be Blu-Ray or upscaled 1080i/p with a Panny 3000 series.