A few questions?

[noyce]

Apologies if this isn't in the correct forum. I wasn't sure which category to put it in.
My dedicated home cinema room is virtually built so the fun bit is about to begin but i would really appreciate a few opinions on a couple of matters.

1) I'm aware that pretty much all the films nowadays are in a 16:9 format but is there any reason why i should be considering a 4:3 type screen? I like the idea of a BIG screen and 4:3 tend to look more impressive.(am i way off here?)

2) I can't seem to find a uk supplier of permanently fixed screens. Anyone and recommendations?

3) I am considering the ptae300 projector and am wondering how much of an issue it would be if i didn't have the projector completely central to the screen. (possibly about 15 degrees off)

my progress so far

[cyberheater]

noyce: Just been to your website. I can't believe you built your own home cinema from a flat bit of ground to a complete brick building!

Amazing. How much mate?

Back to the question. Not sure about the screen thing. I use a couple of screens but my more permanent screen is a sheet of blackout blind material stretched over a wooden frame and painted with 3 coats of brilliant white emulsion with a top coat of Dulux Icestorm #5 (a kind of mid grey) and the results are amazing.
You might want to consider it.

In terms of your projector being off center. The AE300 has keystone correction for horizontal and vertical axis to you will okay there.
It should be said however then any digital keystone correction affects the final quality of the image but 15 degrees isn't' too much and should look fine.

Let me know how you get on...

[GrahamC]

Just a little point for you to think about, most films are 2.40:1 on DVD and not 16:9. So thats 4:3, 16:9 and 2.4:1 to think about.

[noyce]

The more i look into the screen the more options i seem to discover

Thanks for your responses, i've been quite fortunate with regards to my building. My mate (pictured with me on the website) is a builder by trade so he has alot of contacts and can get most of the materials considerably cheaper

I'll keep you posted with my progress and if you have any more suggestions please contact me, it is appreciated.

[noyce]

The SevenOaks shop near me are doing the panasonic ptae300 for £1699.
Is this a good price or would i be better off buying online? I'm always a little bit aware buying online.

[Jonathan100]

For a bricks and mortar shop who are going to offer you a lot of advice, viewings, etc that is not a bad price. Particularly if you get to see the actual unit you are about to buy before you take it home. About the cheapest I have seen is £1030 delivered http://www.robertwhyteltd.co.uk/robe...uct.php?ID=136

As for angle correction, the panasonic can do this and still output a straight picture no problem. I have a panasonic 200 (vertcal keystone only) and from my playing about keystone is not the way to go. For starts because it is at an angle the distance to the screen varies across the image resulting in loss of focus, at 15 degrees I think this will be quite noticible. A couple of degrees is fine, but I would worry about 15. The digital correction on the panasonic corrects the image by cropping off pixels to make the image square, to do this it must compress part of the image. From my playing around, even utting the correction on it's first notch makes a visible reduction in picture sharpness, particulalrly on text.

Keystone is a great feature if you want to take the pj to your mates for the evening and stick it on a coffee table, but for a permanent position I would do my very best to avoid it. In that you have built yourself an entire cinema, I am struggling to understand why you can not place it square on with the screen?

[noyce]

Thanks for the info mate. With regard to the position of the projector , it was more out of curiosity really. If there had been no loss in quality i may have been tempted to have placed it in the corner of the room making it possibly less noticeable, but as you have said there is a loss, this is no longer an option.

Thanks once again.

[Bristol Pete]

Please consider the Sanyo Z2 from

www.nexnix.co.uk

It has a higher resolution that the Panny AE300 and most importantly, it has a lens shift option that could prove critical to your set up. It also a late 2003 model -ergo new.

I have the Panny AE300 and its a great PJ but its about to be superseded by the new Z2, Panny 500 amongst other.
This should push the price of the 300 down, but as a regular here I feel obliged to say that your money may be better spent else where.

In essence, despite not seeing any reviews yet, the new Sanyo or the 500 may give you more bang for your buck.

Think about and dont be afraid to ask questions here.

Cap

Originally posted by Jonathan100
About the cheapest I have seen is £1030 delivered http://www.robertwhyteltd.co.uk/robe...uct.php?ID=136

These are described as "graded".
May have dead pixels but within manufacturers spec.

[Jonathan100]

Thanks for telling me that Happy Lad, OK forget robert whyte, theres no point in getting a dead pixel machine.

To Noyce, were you aware that the projector can be ceiling mounted? This keeps it well out of the way of getting nocked and doesn't interfere with any furniture. As correctly pointed out the sanyo Z2 and the pannasonic ae500 are on the horizon, admitadly they are likely to be a bit dearer. Not sure what your budget is but they are probably good machines to consider if you don't mind spending a bit more. Personally I would recommend deciding on a budget then going to get some demos of a shortlist.

[noyce]

Thanks for all your adivce. I have to say that these forums really are superb and everyone's input is really appreciated. I'll keep you all up to date and i would imagine a few more questions are likely to follow.