Projector placement (1 Viewer)

[Jonty Rees]

I just bought a Sony HS3 projector, and I'm grappling with the issue of where to put it. It's pretty flexible in that it can be adjusted to work from the side, but I'm wondering how much that degrades the picture. Since it's a short throw projector, it can't be all that far from the screen, and ideally should be a little bit closer to it than the viewer is. That rules out mounting on the wall behind the sofa.

My big question is whether I should drop it from my fairly high ceiling on a long pole to get the image down low enough for optimum watching, or just set it on a table either beside or in front of the viewers. The table option is easy for adjustments, etc, but I'm a bit concerned about picking it up and moving it all time, spilled beers, etc. This is a general use room at the mercy of 3 dogs and 2 kids. A retractable pole from the ceiling is the ideal solution, I think.

I also ordered a screen off Ebay. I went with the "bigger is better" theory - 96"x72" for $154 shipped matte white manual Da-lite. Any thoughts on screen size? I know it's preferable to fill the screen to the edges, but I'm thinking a big screen gives me the option to fill it or get in closer and just project on to the center of it.

 

[Ron-P]

Congrats on the new PJ.

I would hang it from the ceiling, if you can. I had my Panny on a table when I first bought it and it was too vulnerable where it sat. I bought some galvanized pipe from Home Depot along with some floor flanges and made my own mount. Works great, the PJ is out of harms way and it was inexpensive. You can see a pic of my mount via the Driftwood link below.

I know it's a bit late, but a light colored gray screen will give you much better blacks w/o affecting whites, colors or overall brightness much. My Panny came with a Da-Lite Matte White and it got rolled back into the box after doing some research on gray screens. It's something you should at least look into.

 

[Jonty Rees]

I like the mount idea. I'm also inclined to keep the unit out of harms way, but I have a 9' ceiling, which means I'd like to drop the projector down 2ft if possible. Not a problem for me, but since this is already our main living/family/rec room, my wife has aesthetic considerations. There's a big ugly fan in the middle of the ceiling right now, which she would like gone, but a fixed projector protruding 2ft into the room may present problems. I need a dedicated space like yours - did you just frame out a whole building in your garage? Cool. I see that your projecter is mounted upside down - is that how all the mounts work? How does it know not to project the picture upside down?

AFA the screen goes, I did think about going silver or grey, but the price was right and I got an itchy ebay finger last night. If it really sucks, maybe I could spray paint it, although I think uniformity would be difficult to achieve.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I have 12' ceilings

That is exactly what I did with my screen. I was very patient in the painting process, applying a very fine layer each time and allowing the paint to completely dry. It took days to complete the painting of the screen. I used this...

http://webhome.idirect.com/~orange1/htpics/paint.jpg

 

[todd s]

Ron, great use of the garage. I do have a question. When it rains and I open my garage. Water drops from the open garage door onto the floor. Do you have something on top of the theater to prevent any water damage?

 

[Ron-P]

Thanks. For starters, out here in SoCal, it doesn't rain much and when it does not much gets on the actual door, my house faces North which sees very little water when it rains. If water does get on it, the theater has a roof; OSB over the top of the 6" joists which are stuffed with R-13 insulation which then have a layer of 1/2 drywall on the inside. So, water dripping off the door is not much of an issue at all.

 

[JackHC]

Neil, how did you attatch you bracket to the ceiling? I have drywall with rafters in a lower level room. I have a sony vplhs20 and am thinking of using 2 lag bolts for the front of the bracket but that leaves the 3rd hole with just drywall.

 

[Ron-P]

Jack, I simply built a base plate that spans two ceiling joists. I used 3/4" MDF for the plate and 2.5" lag bolts for mounting. Very secure.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I installed 2x8's above the drywall in the location around where I knew I was going to install the projector. That way, it gave me more flexibility as far as where I would finally anchor the mount without having to install it off a joint.

 

[SteveFred]

Hey Ron,

What type of paint or material is on your walls, Its looks good.


Steve

 

[Ron-P]

Thanks Steve. It is called "Ocean Front Black" from Home Depot. It is a heavy duty rubber backed felt material. Worked great for killing reflections w/o deadening the room. They do not stock black any more but do have other colors. It was about $2.95 per yard.