[Gator123]

I am moving into a new house and had to leave my beloved built from scratch dedicated home theater in the basement of my old home. The new house is in Florida, so no basement to finish into a theater. The only room I can use is an 11' x 12' bedroom, so that is what I will have to make work. I purchased a Panasonic PTL-500U (which has a short throw), to use as the projector to go along with the 52" x 92" Dalite High Power screen I kept. I will have one row of seating at about 11 feet from the screen.


The rear wall is 12' 3" away from the front wall and I was going to shelf mount the projector. However, due to the limited clearance behind the projector (it is rear venting) and since the majority of the rear wall is actually the front wall of a closet, I am now considering just putting the projector inside the closet and cutting a small hole for the lens in the drywall and either putting in a piece of glass, or just leaving it open and putting some trim around it. I figure that will help reduce the fan noise from the projector, remove all video wiring from the room, and will let me put the lens a little more toward the middle of the 10.7' to 12.9' range indicated by the calculator on the Panasonic web site.


The closet is about 2 feet deep, 6 feet wide and 8 feet high, with two large louvered metal bi-fold doors along the majority of the front. I plan to put my receiver, DVD player, XBOX and cable box in the closet as well.


I guess my concern is the potential heat build up in the closet and my questions are as follows:


1. Do you think the closet is large enough to let the heat dissipate or would I need some type of equipment fan in the closet that would vent into the attic above?


2. Has anyone else mounted their projector outside of their room like this, and if so, is there a special type of glass I should get for the "window" I will be projecting through, or is it better just to case in a small opening to project through?


3. Any other general thoughts on this set up or anything I should watch out for with a closet mount?


Thanks,


Craig

 

[CptnRandy]

Craig,


1 - no, it's not big enough. You should strongly consider pulling air from the theater, past the projector and equipment, and out of the closet. And remember, you'll need to have a separate thermostat for the theater, too.


2 - You can put glass there - it will need to be "optically perfect", but it's probably not necessary. Leaving it open will allow cool air form the theater to be drawn past the projector by the vent fan. The noise should be minimal.


3 - Getting the equipment out of the room is a great idea - easy access for wiring is well worth it.


Good luck!


Randy

 

[garyfritz]

I recently finished off my basement, and in addition to the HT room I also have my office down here. I have two computers in a closet just about the size of your closet. Those two computers (one in particular) throw off a lot of heat, though I suspect not as much as a projector. (Though your 500U is only supposed to have a 130W bulb, which isn't all that much power.) Your amp will probably also generate a lot of heat.


My computers will cook themselves in that closet if I leave it closed. In fact they do a pretty amazing job of heating my entire 10x13' office -- which is great in the winter but might not be so good next summer!!


My recommendation: absolutely put the gear in there, especially the projector. But you WILL need to exhaust hot air from the closet. Out through the other side of the closet (into another room) would be best since it would get the noise out of the HT.


A glass window isn't necessary (I think) but would help cut down the noise even more. There is a special kind of glass that will reduce reflections and maximize light transmission -- see e.g. Edmund's .


If you weren't already planning it, you might also consider cutting a hole in the wall for your equipment, and recessing the equipment rack into the closet but still making it accessible from the HT.


Gary

 

[Gator123]

Randy and Gary - Thanks for the informative replies. It sounds like using the closet for all the equipment and the projector is definitely the way to go. The closet backs up the entry foyer right by the front door of the house, so I doubt I will be able (WAF) to swing venting it there. Is there any advantage to venting into another room in the house as opposed to going straight up into the attic? If there is, I guess I can get some type of decorative vent cover and just do it when the wife is not home.


I am sure there are many posts in the archives I can search, but is there a general consensus as to which fan (brand and model) is the best for this type of application as far as being quiet and venting enough air? Do these fans kick on automatically when the closet gets to a certain temperature?


I have thought about making the equipment accessible from the theater, but unfortunately the entire front of the closet is composed of those metal folding doors and while there is a nice angled side wall to the closet right at the entrance to the room that I could cut a hole in and would work perfectly and look real nice, because of the angle of the wall, there does not appear to be enough depth behind it to allow for the equipment. However, I will have to measure it again and see if I maybe I can squeeze it in there.


Thanks again,


Craig