have a themescene h30a pj and beamax r 77" screen which my grandads gonna help me put up on tuesday, however i'm not sure how i go about doing it all to ensure i get the proper setup for the best picture...

the beams in the ceiling run front to back and the room is about 13' long

the projector calculator at projector central gives me a distance of 11' odd for the correct throw.

however how do i make sure this is correct without having to mount everything and then try to get the image to fit. as i dont want to have to do it over again.

should i mount the screen first where i want it and then the projector? however if i do that chances are the ceiling beams wont be in the right place and the projector wont be centered in line with the screen. but if thats the case then the screen cant be mounted in the middle of the wall can it?

the type of mount i have is a themescene branded mount that allows some drop and has a joint to allow side to side and front to back movements plus it swivels.

anyone else mounted their kit that can provide some pointers/insight on this?

ta
Ciq.

[inzaman]

Could you get your Grandad to hold the screen where you ideally want it, you could then hold the pj where you would ideally like it, i.e from the beams, then turn it on and see how far off the image is. There will be some flexibility in the zoom range so distance from screen is not the major issue its more the lining up left and right that will be the issue.

You may then have to move the screen left or right slightly to get the image to fit perfectly, once it does then that is your spot or spots. Its a real shame the 30a doesnt have some for of lens shift as it would then be a doddle to set up.

[Mr Bump]

Mount the screen where you want it, first. Then find the position back from the screen that is in the middle of the manual zoom for the PJ - so that you can twist the zoom and make it both larger and smaller than the actual screen size - the last thing you want is for it to be on the edge of either of these extremes. Now find the point that is exactly the center of the screen - that is where you want the center of the lens to be. Then work out when the mount needs to be screwed in to place the lens where you want it (on many mounts this is off center from the lens) Now, like you said, chances are there won't be a roof joist at that exact point, so what you do is find the two joists to either side of this point and screw a small bit of 2x4 onto the ceiling and then the PJ mount onto this. You can tart the 2x4 up later with some edging and even paint it if you want. Here's a photo of what I did in my old room:

As you can see, it is screwed into the joists to either side of where I actually needed the PJ to be. Hope this helps!

thanks for the replies guys

that 2x4 idea sounds like a plan mr bump. i was thinking i might have to do something like that up in the loft but that would make things easier. and if it's painted up it like yours it shouldnt notice either. good idea

[stripe]

Good suggestions guys, I was about to post a similar thread.