Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Question on front projector and screen size

I have a built in entertainment center that houses a 36" Toshiba flat tube CRT which will mainly be used for SD, just bought it about 3 years ago. I would like to get a projector (Mit HD1000U) and a screen about 37 x 67 inches 16:9 aspect ratio. My goal is whenever I want to watch a DVD I can bring out the screen and projector and then put it back when I am done so the wife can watch SD. My question is this possible and what is the best way to achieve this? i.e what type of screen, table mount the projector because I have vaulted ceilings

Room has ambient light fron 3 windows on the side
throw distance from wall to screen is 16 ft.

Thanks Drew

Well here's the first obvious question:

If you're getting a projector, why are you even using the TV? I use my projector for everything, movies, video games, HD TV, and SD TV, unless you have some specific reasoning, using that small TV when the bigger screen is available just seems silly.

Next That's about a 80"ish screen I think, now because you have vaulted ceilings a slide down screen probably won't work, unless you want to have it hanging in the air by either chains or probably poles (so it doesn't move) and that wouldn't be really pretty.

So your second option is something on a stand, but I don't know much about those.

It's possible, I'm not sure how good it'd look since you'd enver have it in *exactly* the same place / angle for the projector. It'd work, but it wouldn't be ideal. That's probably your best choice if you really want a moveable system.

- D

Thanks for the reply. How is the PQ for SD on the projector and how kind of projector do you have?

Drew

Another thing to consider is the limitations of the projector itself. According to the projector calculator on ProjectorCentral.com and data from Mitsubishi's website, your plan for a 76" screen with 16ft throw distance isn't going to work. The image is going to be too big at that throw distance. At 16 ft, the image is going to require at least a 110" screen. Or, the 76" screen is going to require a throw distance of no more than 11 ft.

Also, the 1000U has a fixed lens shift of about 33%. That means that for your stated screen (37" tall), the image offset is about 12". Therefore, the projector will have to be 12" BELOW the bottom edge of the screen or 12" ABOVE the top edge of the screen, depending on how it's mounted. Since you mentioned a throw distance of 16 ft, I presume that the projector will be behind you. If you plan to put it on a shelf behind you, the image will probably be too high to view comfortably if you plan to shoot it over your head. Ceiling mounting would work, though that's not the most convenient thing to do if you plan to put up and take down the projector every time you need use it.

In this case, then, your remaining options are:
(1) place the 1000U on a table in front of you to get the closer throw distance (though I don't know if that'd work for your particular setup).
(2) get a different projector with more flexible zoom and lens shift. If DLP isn't an absolute requirement, then there are 2 popular 720p LCD projectors (Panasonic AX100 and Sanyo PLV-Z5) that are much more flexible for placement. They are somewhat more expensive than the 1000U. The Z5 goes for around $1500-$1700, and the AX1000 for around $2000. However, I believe they both have $200 mail-in rebates until the end of December.

I have a Z2, and I can tell you the lens shift and zoom make it much easier on placement options.

sorry I should of stated a max throw distance of 16ft. I wonder if I should get a 50" plasma instead.

As Randy noted, older Panasonic and Sanyo models can be found for even less. The prior generation models (Panasonic AE900U and Sanyo PLV-Z4) can be found for probably around the same price as the 1000U. There are also a couple of Epson models that have flexible lens shift. As a general rule, LCD projectors seem to have much more flexibility with lens shift than DLP projectors. Don't know if that has something to do with the light engine or optics.