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Novice setup - In over my head, LOL......

1096 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by coderguy, Aug 18, 2011

lakergrad

Discussion Starter · Aug 17, 2011

So, I was sold on the idea of a theater setup when my contractor built a new addition on our house. I thought it was simple; buy the components and then plug/play. Obviously, I was a bit overzealous.

So after construction, here's what I have:

Ceiling height: 8'

Distance to projector: 15.5'

Screen size: 120"

I was originally planning to select the HC4000, but after looking at the charts, I'm not sure it will work. I know there are setup options, but in all honesty, I'm not a tech guru. The location of projector is semi-permanent as the power and cable runs were built into the ceiling during construction.

Keeping it simple, does anyone have any suggestions on either the options for making the HC4000 work or another projector which would be better suited?

Thanks!

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mbrennem

· #2 · Aug 17, 2011

This post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post20367755

Seems to have some good info about placement of this projector. Because it has no lens shift you really need to mount it in a specific spot.

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ack_bk

· #3 · Aug 17, 2011

I just plugged your dimensions into calculator pro and the HC4000 should work just fine.

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davidtt485

· #4 · Aug 17, 2011

i have VERY similar dimensions... less than 8 ft and 15 ft exactly with a 120" screen. And i use the HD65 (an older Hd66) the HC4000 is an upgrade from what i have. but my room is completely light controlled with black ceilings and dark maroon walls.

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lakergrad

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 17, 2011

I was mostly worried about the throw based on the projector being moutned from the ceiling. The calculator I tried seemed to show the ceiling height as being too low......

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mbrennem

· #6 · Aug 17, 2011

Yeah, using even a very small drop from the ceiling your screen must be only 12" off the ground which is likely not very optimal. Unless this is Ok for you I think you should look for a projector with lens shift like the Epson 8700 or Panasonic 4000. I have the Epson and the placement possibilities are extremely flexible. But if you don't want LCD there might be other DLP or LCOS options, I'm just not as familiar with those.

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ack_bk

· #7 · Aug 17, 2011

I guess I am confused what the problem is. A 120" screen is 59" tall. With 8' ceilings that gives you 40" of play.

Using this calculator from Mitsubishi I don't see why the HC4000 would not work. You are within the right distance and height:

http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/bu...s/prjcalc.html

What am I missing here?

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lakergrad

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 17, 2011

mbrennem - You are right and that is what my concern. With a 4" drop, it's not even 10"off the floor. I'll have to read up on the Epson and Panasonic.

ack_bk - I used the same calculator. Maybe I'm missing something somewhere......????

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ack_bk

· #9 · Aug 17, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by lakergrad /forum/post/20833945

mbrennem - You are right and that is what my concern. With a 4" drop, it's not even 10"off the floor. I'll have to read up on the Epson and Panasonic.

ack_bk - I used the same calculator. Maybe I'm missing something somewhere......????

Putting in your numbers at Calculator Pro:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Mits...ulator-pro.htm

using a ceiling mount, from 15.5' away from a 120" diagonal screen, I show that from the lens of the PJ to the top of the screen being 20.7". The projector is 5" tall, so that would put your lens about 2.5" or so from the bottom of the projector. If you mount close to the ceiling (say 4" or you could go like 2") that should give you about 14-16" off the ground, no?

LCD is definitely more flexible for placement so you may want to look at the Epson 8350 which is in your budget.

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lakergrad

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 17, 2011

ack_bk - Thanks for the input. Looks like I need to be at 18" of clearance off the floor. I'm close, and have to think there's a way to make it happen. It may mean moving to another projector......

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ack_bk

· #11 · Aug 18, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by lakergrad /forum/post/20834610

ack_bk - Thanks for the input. Looks like I need to be at 18" of clearance off the floor. I'm close, and have to think there's a way to make it happen. It may mean moving to another projector......

I went with an LCD projector for my first build because of placement difficulties with DLP. The only think I prefer about DLP is sports. I watch quite a bit and sports definitely look better on DLP.

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lakergrad

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 18, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by ack_bk /forum/post/20835199

I went with an LCD projector for my first build because of placement difficulties with DLP. The only think I prefer about DLP is sports. I watch quite a bit and sports definitely look better on DLP.

Me too. Sports will be #1 or #2 most watched event, so I may have to get the DLP to work somehow.......

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mechbeav

· #13 · Aug 18, 2011

You could try a DLP with less offset. For example the HD20 would put the bottom of the screen 22.5" from the floor. Not sure if that's enough for you though.

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coderguy

· #14 · Aug 18, 2011

The official Mits calculator is here:
http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/bu...s/prjcalc.html

According to the official calculator, using a 120" 16:9 screen, if you ceiling mount the projector using a special flush mount (which means the top of the PJ about 2" from the ceiling), the screen would be 11.8 inches from the ground, or about 1 foot using no keystone. You could theoretically use a hanging shelf mount from the ceiling and mount it exactly flush to the ceiling, but I am always a little scared of heat if there is less than 2" between the ceiling and the top of the projector (even despite the fact the PJ still vents heat fine), but the top (well technically it's the bottom since the PJ is upside down) might get too hot being up against the ceiling. It probably would be ok even if you left 1/4 inch space, but I don't know.

1 foot above the floor is actually a VERY so-so mounting position for the screen, so it's ok for some, but depends how picky you are. If you recline, then your feet will get in the way up until the screen gets to about 25" above the floor. Most people would prefer the screen mounted anywhere between 25" and 40", depending on the room configuration, seating, and other potential issues. I like it lower than most, I mount my screen between 24" and 30".

However, you could use 2-4 clicks of keystone to compensate, it won't be that noticeable to most people, but some eagle eyes might not like it. Another option is you can slightly tilt the screen forward to match the trapezoidal effect of using no keystone. I have never tried this last method, it might look funny but it might not.

Yet another option is to cut a recession into the ceiling and raise the projector up all the way until the lens is at the very highest point it can go without the image hitting the non-recessed part of the ceiling. Obvious disadvantages to this solution is it requires physical modifications of the ceiling, depending on the ceiling type it could be somewhat hard or it could be a fairly simple job by following an Internet site on how to do it.

The last option to make the Mits work is to floor mount the projector.

There is also the Benq w6000 refurb and then buy a secondary warranty to extend the warranty further (Square Trade warranty I suppose).

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