Projector, Throw and Screen Size - Help Needed Please (1 Viewer)

[Melissa_]

I need some expert advice, but in lemans terms (please!)

My dedicated home theater room is 13'6"W x 20'L x 8'H with 0-ambient light.

I am looking at either the Sanyo Z4 or the Panasonic 900U but need to know if either will work to allow me to put a 109" (16.9) screen (Da Lite Cinema Contoure) in the front with a throw of only 12.5-14'?

My problem is that the room was pre-wired by the guy we bought the house from and the projector/power wires are cut through at a 12-14' throw.

Will either of these projectors accomodate that throw/screen size?

Any advice/comments/recommendation are appreciated.

Thanks.
Mel

 

[Robert_J]

According to the literature and this calculator, the 900 will work. That's one reason I got mine.

-Robert

 

[Melissa_]

Please excuse my ignorance... But could you explain the calculator to me? I tried it before and it just confused me... Because when I put in the throw I never end up getting the screen size, that's what worried me?

Again, I apologize for my ignorance, but I'm trying to learn... thanks for your time!

Mel

 

[Robert_J]

Step 1 - Set the throw distance slider to 13'.
Step 2 - Slide the zoom slider (the up/down one) until your diagonal measurement is 109".

That's it. At a 13' throw distance, you need a 1.7x zoom to get a 109" diagonal.

-Robert

 

[Cong.L]

Another noob question.

Would increasing the zoom degrade the overall picture quality?

 

[Melissa_]

Robert_J -- Thanks so much for your help! I do appreciate it!!!

It's nice to know there is a place to come to get honest help when you're just not sure about things...

Will decreasing the screen gain help the quality of the picture with having to zoom to 1.7x?

The original screen surface I was looking at ( Da-Lite Cinema Contour HDTV-format) had a gain of 1.3, but in playing with the calculator, I'm wondering if getting the High-Contrast Cinema Vision surface (which has a 0.8 gain) would help picture quality?

What do you think? Would it be a good investment?

Thanks

 

[Robert_J]

Not a clue. This is my first projector.

-Robert

 

[Brian Osborne]

Good Question. I'm looking at one of the BenQ's that is postied on the top of the display devices area.
I was planning on putting the projector just above the second row of seating. That would put throw distance at about 13 foot. Now to get a reasonable size screen (88" max) I'd have to max out the zoom on the 7700.

I have 3 questions...
1. Would increasing the zoom degrade the overall picture quality?
2. Is placement ok just above the seating? Looks like a fairly quiet projector, but I'm still concerned about sound from the projector.
3. Is there anything else I should be considering?

Some info about my plans...
The whole of the room will be about 16x21. The main viewing area will be 12x18 with 2 rows of seats. The first row viewing would be about 8 foot away from the screen, and the second about 12.5 foot away. Both rows will be on risers, the first 6" and the second 10". The screen will be as high on the wall as I can get it so I shouldn't have any trouble seeing over the front row just 4" lower. I could adjust the second riser to 12" if I need to, I'll have all the equipment before construction starts so I can adjust things a little as I go, but with 7'6" cieling to start with inches count.

I've not had ANY experience with projectors at all. Any help or advise I could get would be greatly appreciated.