Room - 2.5m x 4.5m....How to arrange with projector...?

[robo989]

Righty there, I'm moving into a new flat tomorrow or saturday. I got one room spare that is going to double up as a spare bedroom. The dimensions are...

4.5m x 2.5m (With a window on the end), it looks like this....

_____________

W
__________D__

W = Window (Quite wide)
D = Door
(The gaps at the ends are walles still, can't seem to get them to appear right on the forum)


Now, me projector (A DLP Yamaha AX-830) is coming tomorrow and I'm off to IKEA in the afternoon and was looking for some advice in furniture to buy, and where to place the projector etc...

I'm abit stuck as obviously the screen can't pull down over a window right? On the other side of the room would be ideal near the door, wouldn't it? But I can't mount anything to the ceiling (walls are fine)....So where would the projector go? Can't really have a shelf in the middle of the room?

Then I thought maybe do it width ways? But would that leave everthing abit squashed, and is a 2.5m "throw" too short?

I'm hoping to have a screen about 85-100 inches wide and get the boys round for a smoke and a few beers etc so would like it luking nice...

Basically would really like some advice on...

Location of projector & screen including height of both
Ideal furniture to get that is comfy

Thank you so much for any help with this

[rossnewark]

What about trying a blackout blind over the window - at least when that is pulled down you would have a surface to project on to and you would be eliminating the light source.

That allows you mount or put the PJ on cupboards at the back of the room near the door.

[jacko5]

Originally Posted by robo989

Righty there, I'm moving into a new flat tomorrow or saturday. I got one room spare that is going to double up as a spare bedroom. The dimensions are...

4.5m x 2.5m (With a window on the end), it looks like this....

_____________

W
__________D__

W = Window (Quite wide)
D = Door
(The gaps at the ends are walles still, can't seem to get them to appear right on the forum)


Now, me projector (A DLP Yamaha AX-830) is coming tomorrow and I'm off to IKEA in the afternoon and was looking for some advice in furniture to buy, and where to place the projector etc...

I'm abit stuck as obviously the screen can't pull down over a window right? On the other side of the room would be ideal near the door, wouldn't it? But I can't mount anything to the ceiling (walls are fine)....So where would the projector go? Can't really have a shelf in the middle of the room?

Then I thought maybe do it width ways? But would that leave everthing abit squashed, and is a 2.5m "throw" too short?

I'm hoping to have a screen about 85-100 inches wide and get the boys round for a smoke and a few beers etc so would like it luking nice...

Basically would really like some advice on...

Location of projector & screen including height of both
Ideal furniture to get that is comfy

Thank you so much for any help with this

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I don't think the Yamaha has vertical lens shift, so basically you have two placement options. You can place it right way up on a low table, or hang it from the ceiling upside down. If you prefer not to mount on the ceiling, you can fit a shelf high up on the wall and hang the projector from the underside of the shelf, using a ceiling mount. Make sure the throw range of the PJ will fit.
Your room is a similar layout to mine and I have a pulldown screen in front of my window, in front of a blackout blind and heavy floor to ceiling curtains and it works perfectly.

[robo989]

Originally Posted by jacko5

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I don't think the Yamaha has vertical lens shift, so basically you have two placement options. You can place it right way up on a low table, or hang it from the ceiling upside down. If you prefer not to mount on the ceiling, you can fit a shelf high up on the wall and hang the projector from the underside of the shelf, using a ceiling mount. Make sure the throw range of the PJ will fit.
Your room is a similar layout to mine and I have a pulldown screen in front of my window, in front of a blackout blind and heavy floor to ceiling curtains and it works perfectly.

oh dear, what on earth us lens shift? Should I be worried....lol starting to think this was a bad idea...damn those ******s at amtrack didn't bother making the delivery today for my projector ....charming

I'm starting to get worried, I thought it was just a case of plonking me projector on a surface at the rear of the viewing area, preferably high up. Fiddling about with a few knobs and zooming the image abit etc...?

Was I horribly mistaken, do I really need to measure everthing to the inch and do calculations to find the distance to mount it and all that?

Ooopsy

Thanks for any adivce\tips (Also do projectors come with ceiling mounts when you buy them or have to get them seperate?) (thanks)

[jacko5]

Originally Posted by robo989

oh dear, what on earth us lens shift? Should I be worried....lol starting to think this was a bad idea...damn those ******s at amtrack didn't bother making the delivery today for my projector ....charming

I'm starting to get worried, I thought it was just a case of plonking me projector on a surface at the rear of the viewing area, preferably high up. Fiddling about with a few knobs and zooming the image abit etc...?

Was I horribly mistaken, do I really need to measure everthing to the inch and do calculations to find the distance to mount it and all that?

Ooopsy

Thanks for any adivce\tips (Also do projectors come with ceiling mounts when you buy them or have to get them seperate?) (thanks)

Don't be alarmed, it sounds a bit overwhelming at first, but with your room size placement shouldn't be a problem. Every projector has a throw range for a given screen size. ie a minimum and maximum distance from the screen in order to fill the screen using the zoom lens.
It is best to buy a pulldown screen with a large black border at the top (30-40)cms. for example. This makes it easier to line up the image with the screen.
It is important to line up the PJ lens with the vertical centre of the screen. You don't want to have to twist the projector to line it up as this will distort the image.

Ceiling mounts are usually bought separately, but sometimes come included as part of a package deal.

[ShortySco]

New guy (2nd post) and projector newbie..... but here's what i've learned so far....

If you cannot place your projector square on to the screen then as you can imagine the image will distort.

You can use lens shift (preferrably), or digital keystone to correct this, with the digital keystone i gather that you loose picture quality whereas lens shift is done optically thus being preferable.

However if thye projector can be put in a position where it is dead centre then you have nothing to worry about there.

Some projectors have neither of theese (Like the one i'm waiting for delivery of, optima hd700x) and so must be placed square on (On the left/right plane)

It'd be best to check measurements....etc, but you could just stick it in there and see what happens.

Shorty

[robo989]

Oh I see, there shouldn't be a problem then. You basically mean the front of the projector has to be exactly parallel to the wall its projecting to and not at a left\right angle?

That should be fine

I'm a little confused about the up\down angle though, as if the projector is mounted on the ceiling, wouldn't there be a problem as it would naturally have to point downwards, otherwise you'd lose half the picture if it was also completely parallel....But then pointing down would make the image look dodgy and streched due to the angle, no?

thanks for your advice people.

[ShortySco]

Yes the Vertical positioning is the same as i (Poorly ) described for horizontal positioning.

If you have vertical lens shift, you have more scope in the hight you mount it, but if not then you could tilt the projector and use digital keystone correction (But sacraficing a little in quality).

I tried to look at the specs for your PJ but couldn't find any reference to that model, just an AX-830 amp, or a DPX-830 projector.

The DPX-830 appears to have no lens shift, just digital keystone correction (Vertical and horizontal) in this case, you'd want to mount it so as that you need to use as little keystone as possible.

You may find these links interesting reading...

Keystone (Wiki)
DXP-830

Also mounts, i've seen good enough looking ones at £20 but most seem to be in the £100 region

I looked at screens and settled on a fixed frame, i rekon they look better and i'd imagine less prone to any creases/bumps, but i just can't get over the prices and decided to go DIY.

Rob

[ShortySco]

Originally Posted by robo989

I'm a little confused about the up\down angle though, as if the projector is mounted on the ceiling, wouldn't there be a problem as it would naturally have to point downwards, otherwise you'd lose half the picture if it was also completely parallel....But then pointing down would make the image look dodgy and streched due to the angle, no?

thanks for your advice people.

Also, I dont think they project the image straight, it's like the picture starts at the height of the lens and moves downwards.
Actually i think it's the height of the lens and an offset (Which increases as the distance form PJ to screen does).
Or if table top mounted then lens upwards (Because it's mounted upside down on the ceiling and right way up on a table)

So, ideally, you'll mount it far enough from the roof to give the picture at the right height but without tilting the PJ, if it starts getting silly then you have keystone correction.

I'm sure it'll all work out just as you want.

All that said, i'm new to this too and am just regurgitating all the stuff i've read.

Rob

[jacko5]

Originally Posted by robo989

Righty there, I'm moving into a new flat tomorrow or saturday. I got one room spare that is going to double up as a spare bedroom. The dimensions are...

4.5m x 2.5m (With a window on the end), it looks like this....

_____________

W
__________D__

W = Window (Quite wide)
D = Door
(The gaps at the ends are walles still, can't seem to get them to appear right on the forum)


Now, me projector (A DLP Yamaha AX-830) is coming tomorrow and I'm off to IKEA in the afternoon and was looking for some advice in furniture to buy, and where to place the projector etc...

I'm abit stuck as obviously the screen can't pull down over a window right? On the other side of the room would be ideal near the door, wouldn't it? But I can't mount anything to the ceiling (walls are fine)....So where would the projector go? Can't really have a shelf in the middle of the room?

Then I thought maybe do it width ways? But would that leave everthing abit squashed, and is a 2.5m "throw" too short?

I'm hoping to have a screen about 85-100 inches wide and get the boys round for a smoke and a few beers etc so would like it luking nice...

Basically would really like some advice on...

Location of projector & screen including height of both
Ideal furniture to get that is comfy

Thank you so much for any help with this

Just a bit more information for you. If you have an 85" wide screen the throw range would be 3.61-4.38 metres. That means your projector would need to be mounted within this range (ie) from the front of the lens to the screen surface. I suggest you aim for roughly midway.

[robo989]

Thanks again posting its appreciated

Righty well the projector is actually a DPX-830....couldn't quite remember the model name

...Called up Sound & Vision today where I ordered it from and they said that the damn thing hasn't even been sent and that as its been discontinued they won't get anymore....great, oh well....going to order from somewhere else tonight...

just my luck

[amalarul]

Ok I think you cannot drill holes in the ceiling but ok with the walls right? So that means a ceiling mount is out of the question for you. What I suggest might not be ideal and might sound a bit silly (please don't laugh) but I'm suggesting an easy and quite practical solution. It might not be the most effective solution but it should be ok.

This is if you don't already own a screen. So I believe the window is in the middle of the wall right? So why not install curatin rods and get a very thick white curtain stitched (we have it at my place to black out the room). In your case it will serve two purposes 1. It will be a curtain for the room to black it out and 2. You can project the image onto it and it being white and thick should be good enough. You just have to make sure that the curtain is flat like a wall once you pull it across the window so if its a heavy curatin it should be ok.

You can have your projector on a shelf or mount on the other side of the room projecting onto the curtain/screen. You can have a couch or whatever under the projector as long as it doesn't hinder the entrance.

[robo989]

Originally Posted by amalarul

Ok I think you cannot drill holes in the ceiling but ok with the walls right? So that means a ceiling mount is out of the question for you. What I suggest might not be ideal and might sound a bit silly (please don't laugh) but I'm suggesting an easy and quite practical solution. It might not be the most effective solution but it should be ok.

This is if you don't already own a screen. So I believe the window is in the middle of the wall right? So why not install curatin rods and get a very thick white curtain stitched (we have it at my place to black out the room). In your case it will serve two purposes 1. It will be a curtain for the room to black it out and 2. You can project the image onto it and it being white and thick should be good enough. You just have to make sure that the curtain is flat like a wall once you pull it across the window so if its a heavy curatin it should be ok.

You can have your projector on a shelf or mount on the other side of the room projecting onto the curtain/screen. You can have a couch or whatever under the projector as long as it doesn't hinder the entrance.

Hi mate, lol no I've heard a lot crazier things thats a good idea what your suggesting, only I spoke to the landlord today and he's fine with drilling anywhere now it seems, I have a friend who's quite handy with the old DIY stuff, it just looks like I'm going to have to have the cabling exposed and tacked along the ceiling and wall, but I'm sure it won't look too bad.

What you say makes sense and to be honest I would do it, but I can't actually remember if the window is exactly centre or not...

I've got a quick question though if thats ok, these screens that pull down, can they be placed anywhere or do they have to be against a wall to work properly, as I was thinking of going with your suggestion, but having a screen that pulls down that is attached to the ceiling about 30-40 cm away from it (just clearing the curtains that are there already).

Do you think I'd still need a blackout screen for that or would thick curtains suffice?

Thanks, Rob

[amalarul]

Ha ha yeah I couldn't believe I actually typed that. lol.

Anyway if your existing curtains are thick enough and they black out the room upto a certain degree then no worries. If not try to make the room as dark as possible because since the projector is beaming the image towards the windows (ambient light source) it might effect picture brightness and contrast.

On to the other point, no the screens don't really need to be against a wall to work properly. As long as an A/C or a fan is not blowing wind in its direction you should be fine because the screen may tend to sway if there is wind since there is no back support like a wall for instance.

So I hope this helps. Cheers.