Distance to Outlet for Projector?? (1 Viewer)

[Domonic A]

I am wiring an outlet in my ceiling for a fromt projector I plan to purchase in the spring. I am running the electrical now.

How far from the screen shoul I put the outlet for the projector. I know every projector has a different throw distance based on screen size. What is a safe distance if I do not know what projector I am getting yet. I was thinking about 14' and just off center.

Thanks for your help,

Domonic

 

[Steve Lucas]

It's really hard to say what distance...it really does depend on which projector and which screen. Mine is 18.5 ft from a 106" screen. You could take an educated guess and if you are off, you could get some of that electrical cord channel from Home depot that people use to cover cords running up walls. It has an adhesive backing and would stick to the ceiling.

 

[Shawn Keeler]

I agree with Steve. Projector models can vary so much in the area of throw distance. From inches to feet. What stage of construction are you in? The reason I ask is, depending on which way your ceiling joists are running, you could run it long then pull it back when you know exactly where your projector is going to be. Just a thought!?! Good luck!!
Shawn Keeler

 

[Yeoh Wee Nam]

If you are using a LCD projector, a estimated throw distance will be 2 or 2.2 multiply your screen width.

 

[Domonic A]

I am going to be using a DLP projector.
Un fortunetly the ceiling rafters are running across the room so it makes it hard to move the outlet. Plus I have a wire coming of the other end for two outlets in the front of the room for my subs.

 

[Kevin Stewart]

I placed my outlet at the top of the back wall (currently building as well). By doing this, if ceiling mount the PJ all the way to the back, the outlet will be right there. If I have to move it forward, I can just run the line along the ceiling and cover it with a cord channel or tape and paint to match ceiling (which will probably be black). I don't think anyone will ever even notice it. If I decide to use a shelf to hold the PJ on the back wall, the outlet will still be in a good location for that too.




Stew

 

[Jack Ferry]

Domonic, if you haven't already done so, you may want to take a look at the throw distance calculator on Infocus' website.
(http://www.infocus.com/service/softw...site_region=1&)

After checking the numbers there, I decided to go with Kevin's approach and plan for a back wall placement. (I've got 16' from screen to back wall.)

 

[Domonic A]

my room is 30 feet from front to back so putting one on the back wall is too far. I think I will plan for around 16 to 18 feet.

Thanks Agin for your help,

Domonic

 

[Torgny Nilsson]

I also installed an electrical outlet and conduit for cables in my ceiling before deciding on a projector. I ended up putting the outlets 12 feet from my anticipated screen and offset about a foot to the side.

I did cheat some though as the outlets are actually 15 feet from the front wall. The extra space is taken up by an entertainment unit and I planned to install a pull-down screen in front of it, about 3 feet from the wall. That way, if I decided on a projector that needed to be up to 15 feet from the screen, I could rearrange things and manage that with a wall mounted screen instead.

But in my case, 12 feet turned out to be a good choice as the projector I finally decided on, the BenQ 8220, projects an 89 to 109 inch (diagonal) image from that distance. Any farther back and the smallest image I could have gotten would have been too large for the 100 inch screen I wanted to end up with. But the BenQ is a short-throw projector; other projectors should be farther back.

So I would very much second the advice that you think carefully about what projector (or at least what brand) you want before installing the outlets.

 

[Charles Elliot]

I had the good fortune to have my media room below an attic, which made this a very simple solution, put it about 12 feet from the screen in the attic attached to a roof support, and not cut any holes until I wired the PJ, when I did it was easy, I just ran a power cord to the outlet in the attic, and I could put the hole wherever I wanted.

I recommend having an electrician do this as there are codes to be considered...

I hate cutting any holes until I know for sure where stuff will go.