ChristW

FPTV Budget breakdown

Hi all,
I'm new to the forums, but have been reading them for a few days; very informative!
I originally posted this in HT Construction, but after reading some more I think this may be the proper forum for it (or at least will generate more ideas). So I'm hoping someone here can help me out.

I'm going to start finishing my basement later this month and have finally started thinking about my budget for equipment. I have an approxamate dollar amount in mind, but I'm not sure how it should be divided amongst the components.

My initial thinking is that I should spend the most on speakers, since speaker technology won't really change as much as projectors. Thoughts?

So assuming a $10,000 budget, what amount of money should I spend on speakers/projector/receiver/screen/etc? If it helps, I'm thinking about spending about $2,000 on the projector (Panny L300U most likely). I'd love to come in at under $10k (might be forced to anyway), but I'm looking for general ideas (or specific components, if people want to go the extra mile) on approxamately what percent of the budget people would spend on what components.

If it mattres, the room is only a 12'x12' area with a closet area for components.
Thanks all - back to reading!
Chris

Jed M

If it was me and I am just throwing these numbers out without research, I would spend
A
3000 projector/screen
3000 processor/amp
3500 speakers
500 dvd
300 cables
= 10,300

B
3500 projector/screen
1500 receiver
4500 speakers
500 dvd player
250 cables
= 10,250

Sorry, I went over on both because I originally didn't add anything for cables. Either way that is probably how I would divide it up. A good receiver to try would be the Rotel 1055 that you could later hook up to external amps if you wanted. If you want to jump into separates right now I would point you toward the outlaw 950/770 or 950/7100 combo. Keep us updated on your progress.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you\'ll give and tears you\'ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.
-R. Waters

Neil Joseph

With a 12'x12' room and with the Panny 300U, what is the screensize you wish to project? You will need a minimum of 18" behind the projector which would place the lens of the projector a minimum of 28" from the back wall or 9'8" from the front wall. Based on that mounting location, the following are your projection size options...

Diagonal Range: 80 - 100 in. ( 6.6 - 8.3 ft.)
Height Range: 40 - 49 in. ( 3.3 - 4.1 ft.)
Width Range: 70 - 87 in. ( 5.8 - 7.2 ft.)

I just want to make sure that you have the room to accomodate the throw of the projector. Sorry, don't mean to sidetrack things but just want to make sure.

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ChristW

Thanks for the projector info -- I was going to go with roughly a 100" screen, maybe a little less (based on the calculations). I was also thinking about getting a Sony projector (don't recall the model offhand; HS10 maybe?). That projector vents from the front, so I could put it closer to the wall, but I think the screen dimensions were the same as the Panny (meaning I could only get up to 100" anyway).

A question regarding the clearance on the back of the projector though; if I enclose the projector in some sort of box (say, 8-10" from the back wall), and have a vent right above the projector going into the ceiling, would that be enough ventilation, or do you really need the space behind the projector? I figured I could help minimize noise by enclosing the projector and get some extra distance between the screen and lens, but not sure if that will fly. Thoughts?

CW