Help me choice a projector and a screen for it with a budget of 3k. (1 Viewer)

[theresme1]

Hey everyone, I have a budget of 3k. Please help me choice the best projector and screen for 3k. My room will be in a controled light setting. I want a set up where I can choice to watch movie in a completely dark or lighted room. Most of my wall and ceiling will be a darker color paint. Thank ahead, guys!

 

[Jim Mcc]

DLP or LCD?


What is your throw distance?


What size screen do you want?


Will you ceiling mount projector or use a shelf? (lens shift needed)


What kind of screen? Fixed, pulldown, electric?

 

[theresme1]

I would like DLP if I can afford it. I will be sitting about 15 ft from screen. The projector will be ceiling mount and the screen will be a fixed.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Most DLP projectors are cheaper than LCD's. Again, what will the throw distance(lens to screen) be? We need that to see which projectors will fit your room. With your seating distance, I'd get a screen about 120" diagonal, in white. As far as screen, I'll let someone else answer that. I'm strictly a DIY screen guy. If you go to Projectorcentral.com click on "Search by Feature" and enter your criteria, it will show you which projectors will work for you. How tall is your ceiling? If it's too low, you'll need a projector with lens shift.

 

[bigshot]

If your viewing distance is 15 feet, you aren't going to want to go too much over 100 inches most likely. I really like my Epson projector. I had my theater professionally installed. It wasn't cheap, but it was done perfectly and unobtrusively. Projection doesn't look good in a lighted room. The darker the better

 

[Jim Mcc]

Originally Posted by bigshot

If your viewing distance is 15 feet, you aren't going to want to go too much over 100 inches most likely.

Wrong. Where did you come up with that?

 

[theresme1]

I really don't know what my lens to screen distance will be exactly. I think if My seating is 15ft away from screen then my projector will be mounted a little behind my seating. So maybe 17ft? I wanted to go with 120inch screen too but I think the wall the screen will be going on is a little too small. It is only 10.5 ft wide. My ceiling is about 8ft. Thank you ahead for any infos.

 

[Jim Mcc]

I agree, a 120" diagonal screen may be too wide. It depends on what size the speakers are, and where they will be placed. Otherwise, drop down to a 110" diagonal screen. The Epson 8700UB will work great with your 17' throw distance, and it's a highly rated projector. It's about $2,200 I think. Check out the reviews at Projectorcentral.com and Projectorreviews.com.

 

[bigshot]

In a room that Is only ten feet wide, any placement of the speakers for a projection system is going to be problematic. For a room this size, I'd say go with a plasma and sit closer, especially if you want to view in normal lights.

 

[mattCR]

Hey everyone, I have a budget of 3k. Please help me choice the best projector and screen for 3k. My room will be in a controled light setting. I want a set up where I can choice to watch movie in a completely dark or lighted room. Most of my wall and ceiling will be a darker color paint. Thank ahead, guys!

I'm doing a test right now of the Benq W1100... I have to tell you, before I put it up, I am incredibly impressed. I mean, really impressed. I've been using an Optoma HD20 for my theater room and this may supplant it. Very fluid and great looking for the bang/buck ratio. As to the screen, trust me, find out what kind of projector you are getting and lumen output after calibrated, then decide your room size and the size of screen you want to pitch it in, and at the end, figure out what kind of screen you want in that room. It will work out considerably better that way.

 

[winniw]

My suggestions...


Epson 8700UB for $2000 http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=26118&itmname=Epson+Home+Cinema+8700+UB


Elite EZ Frame screen 106" for $375 http://www.projectorpeople.com/screens/proddtls.asp?productID=22882


and have money left over for an Oppo 93 for $500, if you need a BluRay player. http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-93/

 

[Jim Mcc]

I definitely disagree with that.

Originally Posted by bigshot

In a room that Is only ten feet wide, any placement of the speakers for a projection system is going to be problematic. For a room this size, I'd say go with a plasma and sit closer, especially if you want to view in normal lights.

 

[theresme1]

Thank you, Guys for all the inputs. The Epson 8700 is definitely a choice I have looked at. Please keep the suggestions coming. Thank you again guy.

 

[smithb]

For a screen, you might want to check out Carada (carada.com). They have screens for a reasonable price (110" for between $700 and $800).


As for size, keep in mind the quality of the content you will be watching. If it is mainly blu-ray or high video quality DVD then go big (e.g., 110"), but if it also contains various lesser quality sources then you might want to go a bit smaller (e.g., 90" to 100").

 

[Jim Mcc]

Why haven't you filled us in on the type/size of speakers you want to use, and where you want to place them? Then we can help you with screen size.

Originally Posted by theresme1

Thank you, Guys for all the inputs. The Epson 8700 is definitely a choice I have looked at. Please keep the suggestions coming. Thank you again guy.

 

[bigshot]

Sitting 15 feet back, the main speakers are going to need to be 8 feet apart to work properly with the center channel. Mains need to be at least 2-3 feet from the walls to project properly. Cram a nice set of speakers into a 10x17 room and you're either going to need acoustic wall treatment, or refections are going to make the sound all muddy. With a 100 inch screen on a 10 foot wide wall, you're going to need to paint the side walls a very dark color or reflected light from the screen will kill the blacks. Turn on the room lights in a room that small and there is no chance of putting the screen in shadow so it will look halfway decent. Projection is great. I have a projection system myself that kicks ass. But the first thing I needed wasn't the projector... It was the proper room for it.

 

[theresme1]

I don't really have a preference on speakers size. I just want something that would fit in my strange 35x10.5 room that would aloud me to set a projection system up and of course sound good. I have a budget of 3k for the sound system. I will use the sound system 70% for movie and 30% for music. As for as placement of speaker goes, I'm guessing I would put the left, right, center and sub up front where my screen would be and the rear about a few feet behind my seating. Some have suggest with my room being so long I should go with a 7.1 system. I understand that my room is strangely shape and projector my be hard to put in, but I've always wanted to have a HT. I love going to the theater and experiencing that big screen and big sound experience so I don't think a flat screen can give me that effect. If I have to, I will just go with a screen size from 90 inches to 100 inches. Thanks again guys!

 

[smithb]

One way to get some lighting in the room without washing out the screen is to setup ambient lighting behind the screen. I did this with my projection system and prefer it to a completely dark room. I have a black cloth front wall and side walls around the screen to minimize reflection.

 

[bigshot]

10x35! Yow. Your problem is going to be sound more than screen. You're going to need to spend a chunk of your audio budget on making the side walls quiet. Thick drapes or some sort of acoustic panelling is going to be needed to prevent the sound from bouncing around like a BB in a boxcar. 7:1 wouldn't necessarily make things easier. It might add to the problem. This isn't a basement room with concrete walls is it?

 

[smithb]

Yes, it would probably be better to do something about the room dimensions first. Something like closing in a space of 17x10 and using the remaining external area for general recreation, bar, maybe an equipment closet to limit what is in the room. I might even think of reversing the dimensions a bit and put the screen on the long wall and use a 5.1 system with surrounds on the side. All depends on how many people you wanted to be able to accommodate. Ten feet wide is not going to seat very many.