Help !! Which Projector for strange room layout !!

[dboy998]

Hi All,

N00bie registered user here. I moved house about a year ago and the missus has allowed me full use of a spare room as a geek room. woohoo.

The plan is to fit a projector and screen.

Heres where my problem starts, i have spent a bit of time (almost a year) looking around and every time i find a decent proj i can afford the room constraints let me down.

I have attached a jpg which will hopefully explain my situation better than a few words.

Basically i am looking for at least a 1080i project, with HDMI input (which i will be connecting to a spare onkyo TX-SR605 i have) I have a budget of £1500 to spend on the proj itself.

The room will have little or no ambient light due to a small window which has a blackout blind fitted. The only other light source when the proj is in use will be from the beer fridge in the corner and maybe an uplighter so nothing major at all.

you will see by the picture that i have limited throw distance which is the main problem, i can install a proj on the down slope of the ceiling but not much more than a couple of feet from the apex otherwise there is a risk of hitting your head on it when you go to sit down on the sofa, so i reckon i will have a mx throw distance of about 7 or 8ft....

I would like to be able to fit at least an 85" - 90" screen and am desperate for some advice from all you guys.

This seems to be one of the few sites where the reviews are straight and true, non biased and not full of copied sales jargon !!!!

If someone is able to help me find a projector that meets my needs there will be a beer or two in for you without a doubt.

[binbag]

Welcome to the Forums

Why not table mount it? In a dedicated room you can make it as permanent as a ceiling mount and the offset will apply equally to the top or bottom of the screen. The longer throw will open up your choice of PJ considerably.

[dboy998]

thanks for the suggestion bin bag. even if i table mount i will only get about 9 or maybe 10ft throw at best, and not going to be able to play on the wii if its table mounted so the missus wouldnt be to pleased lik lol.

are there any projectors at all that i can consider now?

[jacko5]

Originally Posted by dboy998

Hi All,

N00bie registered user here. I moved house about a year ago and the missus has allowed me full use of a spare room as a geek room. woohoo.

The plan is to fit a projector and screen.

Heres where my problem starts, i have spent a bit of time (almost a year) looking around and every time i find a decent proj i can afford the room constraints let me down.

I have attached a jpg which will hopefully explain my situation better than a few words.

Basically i am looking for at least a 1080i project, with HDMI input (which i will be connecting to a spare onkyo TX-SR605 i have) I have a budget of £1500 to spend on the proj itself.

The room will have little or no ambient light due to a small window which has a blackout blind fitted. The only other light source when the proj is in use will be from the beer fridge in the corner and maybe an uplighter so nothing major at all.

you will see by the picture that i have limited throw distance which is the main problem, i can install a proj on the down slope of the ceiling but not much more than a couple of feet from the apex otherwise there is a risk of hitting your head on it when you go to sit down on the sofa, so i reckon i will have a mx throw distance of about 7 or 8ft....

I would like to be able to fit at least an 85" - 90" screen and am desperate for some advice from all you guys.

This seems to be one of the few sites where the reviews are straight and true, non biased and not full of copied sales jargon !!!!

If someone is able to help me find a projector that meets my needs there will be a beer or two in for you without a doubt.

With your room constraints and budget in mind, it has to be an LCD projector, most of which have a good zoom range together with vertical and horizontal lens shift.
You may be better to look at a low hours used model like the Panasonic AE2000/3000 models, or a Sanyo Z2000.

[dboy998]

Originally Posted by jacko5

With your room constraints and budget in mind, it has to be an LCD projector, most of which have a good zoom range together with vertical and horizontal lens shift.
You may be better to look at a low hours used model like the Panasonic AE2000/3000 models, or a Sanyo Z2000.

Jacko5, Thanks for that, i had looked at the AE2000 and its awesome but i didnt think it would give me a very big screen at a throw distance of 6ft or 7ft, did i work it out wrong? I think its the same for the Z2000

I did coem across the Acer S1200 Ultra short throw projector but thats not gonna give me anywhere near 1080i but out of interest does anyone have one??

Thanks for the help here guys...

[jacko5]

Originally Posted by dboy998

Jacko5, Thanks for that, i had looked at the AE2000 and its awesome but i didnt think it would give me a very big screen at a throw distance of 6ft or 7ft, did i work it out wrong? I think its the same for the Z2000

I did coem across the Acer S1200 Ultra short throw projector but thats not gonna give me anywhere near 1080i but out of interest does anyone have one??

Thanks for the help here guys...

All digital projectors have progressive displays, so you are looking for 1080p. I don't think any 1080p projector is going to give you a 92" diagonal image from 6-7ft.
You may find a used 720p PJ that could do it, try looking at the specs for 720p Panasonic or sanyo pjs.

[dboy998]

Originally Posted by jacko5

All digital projectors have progressive displays, so you are looking for 1080p. I don't think any 1080p projector is going to give you a 92" diagonal image from 6-7ft.
You may find a used 720p PJ that could do it, try looking at the specs for 720p Panasonic or sanyo pjs.

Thanks again jacko, didnt realise all digital projectors had progressive displays.... that does change things i guess as i wouldnt expect a 1080p proj to throw anything huge at that range. Any suggestions on 720 models to look at ? not concentrated on those at all to be honest. Have you seen the Acer S1200 in action by any chance?

No ones quite there for the beers yet though might have to up the anti to a bottle of vodka at this rate

[dboy998]

Any more advice guys??

[bravogolf]

I'm at work in between meetings so just skimmed the thread, apologies if I'm duplicating what’s been said already. Why not ceiling mount the project, it would be out of your way then. Or at the flat opposite wall get a Sanyo Z4 or above, they offer excellent lens shift. I assume you can a stand for the diagonal wall, or cut a shelf, but it would stick out a bit (like adding a L shaped shelf or stand to the angle).

[dwhite]

Originally Posted by bravogolf

I'm at work in between meetings so just skimmed the thread, apologies if I'm duplicating what’s been said already. Why not ceiling mount the project, it would be out of your way then. Or at the flat opposite wall get a Sanyo Z4 or above, they offer excellent lens shift. I assume you can a stand for the diagonal wall, or cut a shelf, but it would stick out a bit (like adding a L shaped shelf or stand to the angle).

Its not a diaganol wall, its his ceiling, thats why there is a problem

[bravogolf]

Ah, ok, i misread the post. My recommendation is to make a bracket a halfway down the diagonal from which the projector can hang (assuming there's strength to hold). Kinda like a backwards L with some supporting fixtures? Not too helpful, sorry

[jebjeb]

Only thing I can find is the Epson Movie Mate 72. It could give you 92" diagonal from 7 and a half feet. But it is one of the all in one jobbies with a built in DVD player and speakers.

There are plenty of options for a short throw in the more class room/business side of things. These projectors will be 1280x800 rather than 1280x720 and many do not have HDMI inputs (but do have DVI). They are also not going to be set up for a better image for films but will still do a decent job.

This is a handy link for going through the options based on throw and image size.

Find Projectors By Feature

As others have mentioned maybe going with something with a big horizontal image shift and mounting it further back therefore lower but at the extreme side of the room. Many of the Sanyo's (including the Z700) and the Epsons (like the TW2800) can do a full half shift which would mean you projector could be mounted inline with the extreme left or right edge of the screen and could then shift the image so it fills the screen. Do remember that image quality will suffer a bit as you are using the edges of the lens.

Jeb

[jebjeb]

Looking at your diagram a bit closer, I think the horizontal image shift option is the best. Mount the projector on the ceiling closest to the wall that doesn't have the entrance door on it (I assume that it is one of the side walls that the door is on).

If you mount it 10 feet back from the screen, you can get up to a 100" screen with a Sanyo Z700. It would be 4 feet off the back wall which will clear you couch ok and will be probably inline with the arm rest of a 3 seater couch. This would mean that it should still have clear line of sight if you are jumping around playing on the Wii a couple of feet in front of the couch. It would be around 6-7 feet off the floor.

Good luck with it all!

[dboy998]

Originally Posted by jebjeb

Looking at your diagram a bit closer, I think the horizontal image shift option is the best. Mount the projector on the ceiling closest to the wall that doesn't have the entrance door on it (I assume that it is one of the side walls that the door is on).

If you mount it 10 feet back from the screen, you can get up to a 100" screen with a Sanyo Z700. It would be 4 feet off the back wall which will clear you couch ok and will be probably inline with the arm rest of a 3 seater couch. This would mean that it should still have clear line of sight if you are jumping around playing on the Wii a couple of feet in front of the couch. It would be around 6-7 feet off the floor.

Good luck with it all!

JebJeb, i think you may have cracked it lad.....

If i have the projector shifted to the right hand side of the room, it would :
A) be right above the unit which will be holding the av receiver and consoles, thus completly out the way of the couch.
B) 10ft back from front wall still actually gives it just over 6ft clearance from the floor.
C) could easily get between 85" and 100" 1080p that way with no "human" interference when gaming

One question, in order to work out if i can actually position it there, how do i go about calculating horiz shift position so i know where proj will have be fitted? (well within a 6" tolerance anyway"

Could well be some beers coming your way jebjeb.

Thanks again

[jebjeb]

No worries mate.

Best bet is to download the manual of which ever projector/s you are interested in. Check the diagrams on lens shift in them to confirm how much horizontal shift it can do.

Let's say you find one which shifts 50% of the screen width. This would mean that the centre of the lens could be in line with the exact left or right edge of the screen.

Now get a set square and put it on you screen wall. Now using a long straight edge or some string, draw out a line at right angles to your screen until you get to the ceiling for mounting your projector. Good idea with giving a bit of wiggle room, so now measure 6 or so inches from this point on your cieling toward the centre of the room. This is where the lens of the projector can be centred.