another first theater setup...

Hey Everyone! This is my first post here, I stumbled across the site doing some research for the media room im trying to create. My question is, I'm currently in the middle of building a new home, and I'm trying to figure out If I need to have them do a prewire for surround and projector...I had originally thought yes, however our local media store introduced me to the Epson Ensemble last night, and I LOVE it. However, damn thing is EXPENSIVE @ 7000 + install for the 1080, and 5000 for the 720...I DEFINITELY want to go with a front projection setup, looking for maybe 100" screen in a 16x21 room. I mean, I love the epson and how clean and simple it is, and the fact that it means no surround sound speakers on the wall and a retractable screen is great. I just want to know if I would be happy with the 720...I dont use any blue ray or HD cable or anything (yet and the setup would be mostly for DVDs. I mean would it be better/cheaper to piece a setup together on my own and leave the prewire in with the home? Or Is the 5k a reasonable price for what it is on the 720 ensemble? Thanks for any help guys, I have to make a decision QUICKLY because I have to let them know by Friday whether i want them to leave in the prewire (im not electrically saavy enough to do it myself w/out burning the house down lol)...The epson apparantley doesnt require it because its all run off one wire. I also have to factor in the differing installation costs between a pieced together setup and the ensemble. I AM on a budget, the 1080 ensemble is WAY too much lol. BUt theres not a specific dollar figure involved. Just need a decent setup for a decent price, but not bottom of the barrel Also, a powered screen (wall/ceiling mounted) is a HUGE plus. Thanks for any help everyone, looking forward to exploring the forums more!!!

Re: another first theater setup...

sweet deal thanks, ill look into it...i have definitely decided against the Epson..its just too expensive..its nice, but its outta my range for a while lol

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Going to add on to my initial post as its for the same project. I have done research on the Panisonic Ae300 and decided to use this projector. Coming up in the next few days, I have to give a distance for them to run the power outlet in the ceiling to plug the projector in. I plan on going with a 100-103" screen. I get a distance of 13'1"-13'5" (16:9) using the projection calculator here. Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projection Calculator - Throw Distance and Screen Size , while the users manual gives me a distance of 9'10" to 19'4"...how do i figure this out?? Also, how far back from where the projector is mounted does the outlet need to be? maybe half a foot or so?

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any one? Any help would be HUGELY appreciated. They've started framing and I need to get them the location of the outlet within the next couple days..thanks!

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Awesome, thanks for the help guys..how are you liking your AE3000? From the reviews I've read, i'm really excited to get this up and going. In the manual it states that the closest is for "wide" and the max throw distance for "telephoto". What exactly do these mean? Also would there be any drawbacks for mounting it at the front of the range vs. the middle or back of the range? ie, being able to watch movies in different aspect ratios later or anything? Also, the closer to the screen, the better it would be with more and more ambient light, correct? Thanks for the help guys, greatly appreciated.

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not very much ambient light, there is one window, which will have a black out curtain by it, its in a loft space 13'W by about 21' deep, there are stairs on the side opposite the window, but they dont overlook below, there is a wall there. The projector will mostly be used for movies, probably in the evening, and MAYBE video games every once in a while...so do you think it would be optimal to keep it maybe towards the front of the range (maybe 11' or so) so that if there is a little ambient light I could maybe get a stronger picture? Also, Does the screen need to be bigger than your desired image size. Or can I buy 100" diag screen for a 100" picture. Sorry for all the newbie questions guys, im out of my niche on this stuff.

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Thats pretty cool! I had read about that feature, I just wasnt certain what it really meant until I followed along with your explanation. Thanks for the explanation! I went to a house that is a same model of ours and did a mock up today with different screen sizes and positions using masking tape. We started at 120" just to see if we could pull it off...with a viewing distance of about 12' it just seemed a little too big. So we mocked up a 103" screen and it suits the room size and viewing distance almost perfectly I think. With the back of the couch at roughly 12' (thats where the woman likes it in the room haha), I was planning on putting the projector at about 13'5" which works out pretty consistently with the calculations. the house is also on the same street, and same side of the street as the house we're building, so i tested to see how much we can control the ambient light and we can definitely cut it down to almost nothing with the use of one black out curtain. Then another question arose haha....when looking at where to mount the projector, I read in the manual that it says the distance from the top of the screen to the center of the lens should be between 2 and 6 feet for 100" view. The ceilings are 8 feet on the second level, and the projector screen is one foot from the ceiling on our mock up. So that would put the projector hanging down 3 feet from an 8 foot ceiling......the manual states that you can tilt the projector up to 35 degrees safely...i can put it right up at the ceiling almost and just tilt it without affecting any picture quality, correct? PS thanks again for all the help guys...

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Ill definitely be here updating. Im sure i'll be back with plenty more questions too lol. Im doing the walkthrough with the superintendant next week to go over the electrical layout...so im sure ill be on here with a floorplan and another "how should i lay out my speakers" post haha. Speaking of which, is there any electrical stuff im forgetting about that I should have them do before the drywall goes up? As of now, they are prewiring for 5.1 (im going to see if they'll add another 2 channels), and they are running conduit up the wall and through the ceiling to make it easier to pull wires for the projector..any thing im forgetting?

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Thanks robert. After seeing what the room is going to be like, it looks like I may have to stick with a 5.1 surround for this setup. (the right side of the room is pretty open minus two small posts, indicated on diagram..are there speakers on maybe a floorstand I should use in this instance?) I dont really see where else to mount the speakers. here is a rough diagram, if you could, please advise where the speakers would be best placed. Sorry, its kind of rough, i did it on paint during class lol.

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also, i went to circuit city today and bought this HDMI 700hd High Speed HDMI Cable , the 50ft one, for $100 bucks. Its dumb I know, but I wasnt positive if I was going to need it or not. Is this something I will use for my setup? It just seemed like a decent deal and If i ended up not needing it, i could sell it. Thanks guys!