Help! Projector Selection and Set Up (1 Viewer)

[nbratski]

Hello Everyone! I'm new to this forum and I'm in need of some help. I recently purchased a new home and my dream has always been to have a home theater with projector and large screen around 100" give or take. I have been to a couple of local shops here in Milwaukee and I've been less than satisfied with the sales people. It seems like both places are so desperate to sell that they weren't listening to what I want.


First off, I want to spend between $1500 - $2500 on a projector. I want to be able to hook up a blue ray player, 2 video game systems and my cable. I want the best picture quality in that price range. There is minimal light in the room and it can become perfectly dark if need be. I would like to be able to have some lights on and still have a good picture for entertaining sports events. I've read good things about the Panasonic PT-AE4000 but one of the guys at the shops I went to (which was not a Panasonic dealer) said I would have to have the projector some 26' away. I read the specs but it's greek to me. Anyone have a experience with that projector?


The wall where the screen will go is 15 feet long and 8 feet high so there is pleanty of room. The only problem is the placement of the projector itself. The viewing area has a raised ceiling (which is the 8') but it is only 10 feet deep. Is it possible to still get a 100" screen if the projector is 8'-10' from the screen? I wouldn't normally mind putting the projector on the lower portion of the ceiling which is about a foot lower but behind the viewing area is a bar so I don't want to obstruct the view.


Any input would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

 

[Jim Mcc]

With a 10' throw distance(lens to screen) the Pan. 4000 will give you an image from 52" - 101" diagonal. If you go to Projectorcentral.com and click on "Calculator Pro" it will give you different scenarios. Do you have an A/V receiver with enough inputs for all your devices?

 

[nbratski]

That's another thing the guy at the shop told me. About 6-8 years ago I payed $2500 for a top of the line receiver and I was now told it's obsolete. I hate to see that kind of money be worthless now. It has pleanty of inputs except for HDMI. From the research I've done it looks like HDMI is the way to go. I've also spent tons of money on component cables. The guy at the shop was again talking greek to me saying something about even if I use my component cables, the signal still comes out HDMI or something along those lines. Is there any way around having to buy a new receiver?


Thanks for the help!

 

[Jim Mcc]

He was talking about about a new receiver with HDMI conversion. It takes the signals input into it, and converts them to HDMI to the display. A way around buying a new receiver is to use optical or coaxial digital audio for sound. But without HDMI for sound, you won't be able to listen to the new HD audio codecs.

 

[nbratski]

I'm still hoping for some suggestions for projectors in the $2000 range that can have a large picture in a short distance.