Home Theater install HELP! (1 Viewer)

Hey guys Ihave a question,
I had a friend that was building me a home theater and he was going to help me install but he moved and I dont know how to install and I need help.I have Dishnetwork hopper as tv source. Here is the list of equipment he gave me. Your help is most appreciated. I also wanted to let you know that the projector was to be mounted about 9 feet from wall I also need help with offsets. Thank you

Dell 2300MP modified bulb
Tview Gold XGA box
Dell Optiplex SX270 pc has XBMC on it
D Link 8 port 10/100 desktop switch
wifi adapter

Screen size? (Secondary, seating distance? )Ceiling height?

The room is 24x24 with ceiling height of 8 feet. Screen is a white wall with a mesument of 24x8. My builder installed a ceiling fan port and I wanted to use that for the power and mounting point for projector it is 6 1/2 feet from front wall.

That is a great joke with that projector.

6.5 feet yields a 48" image.

9 feet(what you originally said, but didn't specify front or back wall) yields 67".

And holy hell is that going to be bright...

a 9 feet projected 67" is 154 fl....

Best joke I've heard in weeks.

I didn't ask for it to be a joke I'm asking for help as I've never installed a projector I can always move the projector back

You are going to have to move it to a shelf on the back wall.

Ok thank you. He also said for me to use the xga box to progressive scan?

That Dell is...1. Not intended for TV/movie(hence why the Focus Tview is there)2. A dinosaur.3. Intended for business useThere is no DVI, nor HDMI. What I would do...Sell it on Craigslist for $100.Buy another $600 projector with HDMI.

Can you recommend a good projector 1080p

Well, The BenQ 1080ST(short throw) is intended for this purpose, and could use your 6.5 foot spot.ST projectors tend to have soft focus at the edges(cause of the edge angle).A sharper picture requires a longer throw. InFocus and BenQ each make

I have another question I have someone with an Epson PowerLite 83 that they were going to sell is that projector worth getting.

martymcfly said:

I have another question I have someone with an Epson PowerLite 83 that they were going to sell is that projector worth getting.

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I don't think so, the rated contrast is 400:1, they never meet rated specs and i believe it's a business projector for presentations and a 1024x768 resolution, it's also 4/3 and in my opinion i don't think it's worth buying for home theater.

hey foxycan you give me a small list of good projectors I would like to start researching on Craigslist

For around the $600 to $700 mark brand new and probably a lot cheaper second hand.

Benq W1070
Optoma HD131Xe
Optoma HD25e ( exact same as HD131Xe except it's got a white casing )

Discontinued but available second hand

Epson 8350
Panasonic AE-4000

The above are the ones i would look for in your budget, three are DLP with 3D and two LCD models without 3D, in my opinion the Optoma has better black levels than the Benq but needs careful calibration to get the best out of it, i can help you there.

Just noted your distance, is it under 9 feet, that can make it more difficult to get a larger screen, 10 to 11 feet would be better, you might indeed want to look at a short throw projector like the Benq W1080 which is the same as the Benq W1070.

The Epson and Panasonic models are both discontinued and are decent models, the Epson could give you an 84 inch screen size at 8 feet 5 inches using it's zoom, same goes for the Panasonic i listed, for the Optoma models you will get around 80 inch at 8 feet 8 inches or 77 inches at 8 foot 5 inches, the good thing about the DLP models is they don't lose much in the way of brightness when using the zoom, have you factored in the cost of 3D glasses if you go for a 3D projector.

The Benq W1070 would get you around 98 inches at 8 foot and 5 inches.

:EDIT: I'm not that keen on LCD these days, mainly due to dust blob and uniformity issue, it's very annoying having to open a projector and clean the panels, but the two above are worth a look if nothing else can be found within your budget

So the Benq is the best way to go?

martymcfly said:

So the Benq is the best way to go?

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How much distance is there between your wall on one side and where the screen will go on the other side, exactly how much. ?

If I went from the screen wall to the back of the couch the room is 15 feet

martymcfly said:

If I went from the screen wall to the back of the couch the room is 15 feet

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If you could put the projector on the ceiling or on a cabinet at the back of the room and move that couch forward at least 3 feet you would not only improve your sound quality but could buy any of the above projectors i mention and a few more besides.

Should I mount it at the 15 foot line Btw I have a Dell 2300mp that a friend gave me it's been modified with a car halogen bulb it's got hours and hours of life left do you know someone that might be interested in it.