[Aminator]

I got the keys to my new house today and am looking at making the lounge a dedicated cinema room..

However I know nothing about screen sizes vs throw of the PJ

The room dimensions are

3.65M wide x 4.34M long

The PJ I am probably looking at is the Panasonic Panasonic PT-AE3000

Now the problem is I want a flush mounted electric screen (wife friendly)

which I have found here:

Sesame Screen 16:9

BUT..the formats are all 16:9 and the PJ can display in Cinemascope format2.35:1

Should I take advantage and get a screen to compliment this or stick to a 16:9 screen ? and if so is there anywhere that manufacture a flush fit 2.35:1 electric screen ?

Im really lost when it comes to this as its my first foray into PJ land

Thanks

[markswift2003]

With a room 4.3M wide, I'd assume a throw distance of about 3.6M to allow for the screen to be off the wall and for the body of the projector.

At a throw of 3.6M you can get a screen with a width between 1.5M to 3M with 2.3M optimum.

This is about 7.5 Foot, and as most screens are measure in feet, I'd be going for either an 8 foot (2.4M) or 9 foot (2.7M)

To do your own calcs, have a look here:

Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projection Calculator - Throw Distance and Screen Size

That Sesame Screen you posted doesn't look much cop - it has one vital ingredient missing - a black border! So the contrast will look pants on it unless you can paint the wall black!

Also, 2.35:1 movies look pretty nasty on a 16:9 screen - the grey bars top and bottom really wash the contrast out, so I'd recommend either a 2.35 dedicated screen, or a multi-aspect ratio screen.

As far as multi aspects go, and with a flush mount, have a look at these:

Screenline - Trento

Not cheap, but good value for multiaspect AND flush mount.

Impact Screen Solutions are the UK importer - ask for Dan

01273 735476

If you want a dedicated 2.35 screen, then there's plenty of solutions, for example:

Beamax | Who else wants an instant home theatre that makes you the envy of your friends?

And welcome aboard.... You're on a slippery slope

Mark

[nobby]

hi mate

welcome to the joys of planning your first ever av room ... a constant journey of tinkering, replacing, upgrading etc btw ... you have been warned!

in terms of your setup, i am doing upgrading now on the visual side of my setup namely new pj and screen so sort of in the same boat as yourself

the advice given to me in terms of my new setup was to go Anamorphic and opt for the 2.35:1 screen ratio. Most HD material (Blu Ray) is using this format... the size of your room is not a million miles to what my room dimensions are and this is the route i am going.

if watching movies is the main reason in using your dedicated room 2.35 is the way to go ... i use my room for sports (footy on sky etc) as well but have accpeted that i may loose some quality when viewing this in future ... if you plan to watch alot of tv, sports etc as well u may be advised to stick to the 16x9 setup that is the current trend

in terms of screen size i have got ordered for me a custom made A series fixed frame from Beamax (2.35 is a custom build on this type of screen from beamax btw) 290cm viewable (300cm total width) with a 1.2 gain

if you are creating a dedicated h.c. why spend the extra funds on an electric screen? get yourself a decent fixed frame (as above) and use any savings you have for other kit needed for your room. what will the electric screen do for you if its going to be a dedicated room?

Unless of course you want electronic masking therefore check out carada.com and their masquerade solution but these are expensive gimmicks in my opinion ... NB i have took loads of advice on this and feel its a heck of money to spend just to get rid of borders. if money is no object then of course go for it

this is my advice of course and is the road i am going down ... it justs adds to the expense IMHO

this might help you in determing where to place your pj - i'm changing to a jvc hd350 and purchasing a prismasonic lens to carry out my image change (cinemascope). in order to do this i think my pj will be mounted around 4m from the screen to fill this screen ... so you should have something similar in terms of distance to play with ... not sure what the panny needs in terms of throw to fill this size of screen best letting other owners tell u

u can spend crazy sums of money in doing this. everyone will be able to give advice and say this and that; but the advice given to me was keep it simple, get a good fixed frame screen, decent pj and an anomorphic lens system within my budget and you will be OK. best thing is determine a budget and stick within that otherwise u'll shift from pillar to post

hopefully u get something from this post and no doubt others, but good luck and keep us posted on your thoughts.

at this moment my room is getting redecorated and prepped for the new kit ... in the next few wks i should be in a position to provide further info, as i am waiting on screen and lens kit to be delivered and for installation work to begin

ENJOY (if you can)

Originally Posted by Aminator

I got the keys to my new house today and am looking at making the lounge a dedicated cinema room..

However I know nothing about screen sizes vs throw of the PJ

The room dimensions are

3.65M wide x 4.34M long

The PJ I am probably looking at is the Panasonic Panasonic PT-AE3000

Now the problem is I want a flush mounted electric screen (wife friendly)

which I have found here:

Sesame Screen 16:9

BUT..the formats are all 16:9 and the PJ can display in Cinemascope format2.35:1

Should I take advantage and get a screen to compliment this or stick to a 16:9 screen ? and if so is there anywhere that manufacture a flush fit 2.35:1 electric screen ?

Im really lost when it comes to this as its my first foray into PJ land

Thanks

[Aminator]

Hi chaps, thanks for your replies has certainly helped me.

The reason I can't have a dedicated fixed screen is due to the way the room is laid out.

On the solid wall the door is located to one side so when open it will cut into the screen space. Also, another contributing factor is the fact that I dont think the mrs would be overly happy if I painted one of the walls grey!

So it leaves me only being able to hang it on the opposite wall, the compromise here is that its going to hang infront of two windows..I am getting french blinds put in but I think I will also put some kind of curatins in to stop all light coming through..

Also, Sky HD only spits out 4:3 and 16:9 so I think it would not look ideal on a fixed screen imo as its unadjustable.

I Spoke to Dan at Impact Screens who told me a new multiaspect ratio screen came out just last month that accomodates 2.35:1 & 16:9 by way of two independant screens, I think its also flush fit too which is a bonus.

He is calling me back in an hour to let me know the proce on it as he doesnt know himself as its so new.

I hope its not going to burn a hole through my wallet but am prepd for the worst!

[markswift2003]

He's a good man Dan, I'm sure he'll sort you out ok!

It's not going to be particularly cheap, but the difference between having correctly masked aspect ratios and not is like light and day and once you have seen it done I guarantee you'd never go back to the grey bars again!!

It's worth asking about the 4-format screens as well, because you can then set the drops to 16:9, 1.85:1, 2.35:1 and 2.11:1 which covers pretty much all the bases!

Mark

[nobby]

hi

you have your reasons for having to purchase electric ... hopefully you get something within your budget

i guess i am lucky in away that the room is completely square and is only used for hc purposes

i toyed with the idea of purchasing electric screen with auto masking etc but the costs where just obscene ... i mean it was thousands ... i could in no way justify this, so in reality i had no option

let us know how you get on with your quotes etc on your solution and again good luck on progress

regards

Originally Posted by Aminator

Hi chaps, thanks for your replies has certainly helped me.

The reason I can't have a dedicated fixed screen is due to the way the room is laid out.

On the solid wall the door is located to one side so when open it will cut into the screen space. Also, another contributing factor is the fact that I dont think the mrs would be overly happy if I painted one of the walls grey!

So it leaves me only being able to hang it on the opposite wall, the compromise here is that its going to hang infront of two windows..I am getting french blinds put in but I think I will also put some kind of curatins in to stop all light coming through..

Also, Sky HD only spits out 4:3 and 16:9 so I think it would not look ideal on a fixed screen imo as its unadjustable.

I Spoke to Dan at Impact Screens who told me a new multiaspect ratio screen came out just last month that accomodates 2.35:1 & 16:9 by way of two independant screens, I think its also flush fit too which is a bonus.

He is calling me back in an hour to let me know the proce on it as he doesnt know himself as its so new.

I hope its not going to burn a hole through my wallet but am prepd for the worst!

[Aminator]

Sorry forgot to update, spoke to Dan who got a price on the multi aspect ratio screen for an 8ft it's 2040 and for a 9ft it's about £150 more, I think it was Inc vat but can't remember off the top of my head. I think it's not too bad a price given they are two independant screens in a flush fit single housing as opposed to something like electronic masking etc

[james1978]

Aminator,Could you give more info on this screen,As i could do with on of these.
eg price,sizes and where to buy.

[markswift2003]

Originally Posted by Aminator

Sorry forgot to update, spoke to Dan who got a price on the multi aspect ratio screen for an 8ft it's 2040 and for a 9ft it's about £150 more, I think it was Inc vat but can't remember off the top of my head. I think it's not too bad a price given they are two independant screens in a flush fit single housing as opposed to something like electronic masking etc

It's definately worth it - there's nothing like a 2.35:1 film correctly framed, and those prices are pretty good. So is it going to be the 9foot then .....

[Aminator]

depends if the mrs will let me blow 2k on the screen and 2k on the PJ plus AV receiver etc etc.. shes into the idea which is a start and shes gradually enthusiastic, but just not sure if that will hold when I tell her the costs