Put it in the corner....

[Dak]

I have a 14'x12'8 room and want to put a projector in one corner to point at a screen in the centre of the other end of the 14 room (ie about 13' away from the pj).

I cannot wall mount the pj in the middle (huge window) and cannot ceiling mount (partner objection and anyway large light fitting in the way) so I have been looking at the pj's with some kind of correction for this corner placement (I think only Sony do this?).

My dealer has told me that the pj's that do this all give poor picture quality and that I should go for a sony or the new marantz at £6k each and place it in the middle.

Given that my pj budget is £3-4k MAX this was no help at all.

This must be a problem that others have experienced and solved surely? Please share your experiences and views. My previous pj is an ex-work thing onto a white painted wall and it has just died (and was awful).

Dak

[Gary Lightfoot]

Some pjs do have this feature, but for video sources the results do vary from pj to pj. You have to see the pj in action to decide for yourself if the picture is ok for you.

The new NEC HT1000 officialy reaches the UK in January and has thise feature. It should be less than £3000 and has a good specification. Not sure how good it is at this though. Again, you'll have to see it for yourself.

There were some issues with it regarding PAL playback, but according to some people in europe, this seems to have been fixed.

Have a look over at avsforum.com and even post a question to see if someone has a pj with this function, and if it is any good.

Gary.

[JonMace]

Try the sony hs10

[meva]

Most digital keystone I've seen hasn't been that bad, depends on how fussy you are. Watch out for rainbows on the NEC HT1000 though. I'd go for that ahead of the Sony if you don't get rainbowitis though, the picture is terrific ( I'm sure NEC will have the Pal tearing sorted).
Another thing to consider is screen size, the HT1000 will give a big picture at 12-14 feet, whereas the Sony will give a much smaller one (long throw ).

[Flimber]

Sony HS1, currently at RS for £1,200 has the "sideshot" feature you seek, IIRC. Their stock is unlikely to last long though...

Mike.

[ebury]

hi all,im also on the lookout for a projector to put near the corner of my room(same problem with central hanging lights! )my options so far from reading all the various threads are -panasonic ae300(unofficial sideshot?)sony hs10/hs2,sanyo pz1,nec1000.any other suggestions?only other problem is my room is not very long(15feet)please help!!!!

[Insp.Gadget]

Dak, I'm also in the same boat (central light, not wanting to trash the living room ceiling ) so I've been doing some research on the HS10 (well within your price range). Unfortunately Sony seem to be very tight-lipped when it comes to disclosing the actual offset angle that you can realistically use.
I have a fact sheet on the HS-1 which tells me what that's capable of, but they haven't released anything similar for the HS-10. Does anyone know the details for this ?
If anyone has seen the HS10 in action using sideshot can they comment on the quality ?
Other than that my main concern is fan noise, I've just read over on the avsforum that the Sony has a 33db fan noise when some of the others (i.e. ae300) only has a 29db rating which is more appealing.
Greg

[Walter mitty]

Have you considered putting it on a coffee table or such?

It does have it`s plus points...when you`ve finished with it it can go back in it`s bag to keep off the dust........

I have mine ceiling mounted and I have central light fitting, it aims down below the light as the PJ does`nt go flush with the ceiling you can lower it to an acceptable height.....If it`s possible that is

[MAW]

Check also the connectivity issues. Current sony and panny offerings dont do horizontal synch at 15.625khz, which you will need to use a RGB-VGA converter for STB and possibly DVD player, to get best quality. My NEC is using such a device right now, and Chistine is getting dirty, must go....

[ebury]

can anyone confirm the sanyo pz1 does do horizontal and vertical correction like the sony models?at nearly £1000 pound cheaper it has to be better than the hs10?

[Insp.Gadget]

ebury, it does, although not in the same way as the Sony's by the looks of it. From what I can see it needs to be pointing straight at the wall/screen and then the unit automatically calibrates itself on the fly when the user moves the image via the scrolly wheels on the front. The Sony's allow the PJ to be positioned at an angle and then you manually corrects the trapezoid like image it throws using the digital keystoning.
I was tempted for the Z1 but think in terms of resolution the extra money is worth spending on the HS-10 IMO (thinking long-term).

Check this video of the Z1 in action out..........

http://www.grobi.tv/scripts/index.cfm

[Insp.Gadget]

Dak, have you thought about having a large pull down screen in front of the window and placing the pj on the other side of the room ? Granted you would need blinds for watching during the day as the light would probably penetrate the screen otherwise but that's exactly what I'm planning on doing with my bay window. just a thought.....

[ani4ani]

This is a link to a spreadsheet that calcs the throw & SS2 for HS2 & HS10 - it was an answer to a post I put up.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sklou...10hS2Throw.xls

[Dak]

Thanks for the replies, from a purely selfish point of view, good to know I am not the only one with this problem.

I thought about the coffee table thing but know I am too lazy to put it away and so having it on a shelf in the back corner is better - and out of reach of the kids / cat / dog / cleaner !!

Unfortunately I cannot reverse the room as suggested as the doorways (and 'er indoors) make this impossible.

Looking like the HS10 or maybe the Nec then. I want to get the new Arcam DVD player with PAL progressive scan. Does this raise any issues?

I have been recommended Vutec screens - anyone tried these?

Keep the comments coming - need all the help I can get !!
Dak

PS I have drawn up a bitmap of the room but don't know how to post it......

[Dak]

Thought:
I have been looking at the specs and the screen calculator sites but presumably there must be an 'aesthetic maximum' ??

What I mean is, if I am sitting 10 feet from the screen, what size screen is ideal for good viewing and not having to crane the neck or get a bad case of 'tennis neck' ??

Thanks
Dak