Place Projector Within 5 Feet of Image Source - Why? (1 Viewer)

[Randy A Salas]

I will have the use of a front projector (Epson PowerLite Home 10) for a month to try it out. I haven't received it yet, but I've been reading over the literature to make sure I have everything set up so I can hit the ground running when it arrives. But I'm being thrown off by one of the requirements in the user's manual.

It says: "Make sure the projector is within ... 5 feet of the image source"--meaning the DVD player, or whatever is being connected for display.

Why? Is this a technical issue (poor image quality if greater distance)? Is it a safety issue (too long a cord)?

For the purposes of the trial, since this will just be a temporary setup, I was planning to run a long component-video cable from my DVD player, where it's part of my TV setup (which, essentially would be behind the portable screen I'll be using), to the projector, about 15 feet away. But if I have to move the player next to the projector (within 5 feet), this will greatly change what I'm thinking.

Anyone have any insight?

 

[Eric Samonte]

That's kinda odd. Long runs for S-Video or components are being done left and right with no report of loss in PQ. FYI, I run components to my pj at 25 feet.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

That's an odd recommendation. Certainly there is no harm in longer runs, but higher quality cables will be necessary for longer runs, or image degradation may occur. OBviously shorter runs are preferred. 5 feet is pretty short though.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Hogwash. If this were true, local cinemas would be in trouble My pevious setup had runs of 20' (component and s-video). My current setup has 33' runs. I have done A-B comparisons between my 30' component and 12' Monster component cables that I had and there was no degradation. Component cables can use very long runs, an advantage over s-video when you decide to go for very long interconnects.

 

[Randy A Salas]

Thanks for the feedback. You all confirmed what I had suspected.

For what it's worth, I also heard from Epson, and a company rep also confirmed that it's not a problem to place the projector farther than 5 feet from the video source. They are checking with their documentation folks to find out the reason that warning was included--and, based on an online search, this is not the first time its projector manuals have carried it.

 

[Jim Williams]

Similarly, most computer printer manufacturers will tell you that your parallel cable should be no longer than 6' long. That is what the specs call for but I have seen parallel cables as long as 25' that worked fine. If the cable length is longer than spec, then the equipment manufacturer does not have to offer support if things don't work exactly like it should.