Dean we'll use it primarily for watching movies, the 73" Mitsubishi will stay in the room and the pull down screen will be mounted in front of the TV so that for day to day viewing the TV will be used but I want to be able to pull down the screen for viewing movies and some TV programs with the projector.
For primarily watching movies, what features would I need to be looking for? The light in the room is not an issue, all ambient light in the room can be eliminated on the brightest of days.
If your primary use is movies, no gaming/computer and minimal HDTV then that simplifies things a lot. First I would go with Randy’s suggestion of a 2.35:1 screen and live with the smaller 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 images with dark vertical bars which I also agree with Randy are less distracting than the horizontal ones and easier to DIY mask should you choose to do so.
For movies you can look mostly at the projectors performance as the various features are more of a convenience than a necessity. Here is a guide at ProjectorPeople that covers a lot of what to look for:
http://www.projectorpeople.com/resources/buyersguide.aspSome key things I would prioritize for movies are:
Placement needs - no point in getting a projector that won’t throw an image in your room. Look at zoom and horizontal and vertical image adjustment.
Brightness in best or movie mode - is it bright enough for your screen size, room conditions and projector distance. The brighter the image the more pop and wow it inspires, however to bright can cause eye strain.
Image detail - a detailed but “film like” image not a hyper-real digital video like image.
Black levels - darker blacks will enhance everything including colours and make the “black” bars less noticeable
Shadow detail - how well you can make out what’s in dark screen areas can make or break a lot of movie genres.
Colour accuracy/adjustment - if you don’t want to pay for professional calibration then how accurate is it out of the box or when adjusted by a layman.
Fan/iris noise - if the projector is going to be close to you fan or dynamic iris noise could be very irritating.
Remote control zoom/picture adjustment - ceiling or high shelf mounted projectors could be a pain if you want to adjust the zoom to maintain constant image height on a 2.35:1 screen.
Variable frame interpolation - can help reduce motion judder and enhance the 3D feel of animated movies. Can also reduce motion blur in sports. To much makes the image look digitized and stark. Not all manufactures do this well.
Warranty - Sony sucks, Epson rocks everyone else is somewhere in between.
Some things to consider:
Placement - the closer the projector is to the screen the brighter the image. The farther from the screen the more accurate the image especially at the edges of the screen.
1.78:1/1.33:1 - a 104” diagonal 2.35:1 screen will only give you about an 80” diagonal 1.78:1 image. Only slightly bigger than your Mitsubishi.
Personally if you were considering the AE3000 and still want a projector for under $2,000 unless you have a particular need/constraint contraindicating it the AE4000 is the way to go unless other manufacturers drop their prices accordingly.
A couple other links relevant to the discussion if you or others haven’t already seen them:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/advice/dlpvslcd/3LCD_vs_DLP_vs_LCoS.phphttp://www.projectorreviews.com/advice/HomeTheaterProjector-FAQs/index.phpCheers,
Dean
