G
goldenfleece
Guest
Hi all.
Hope for some good advice here. Let me explain. I am dismantling my 16mm home cinema and want to replace the system with video projection. I already have a good auto-masking screen system for 1.33:1, 1.85:1, 2.35:1 and 2.55:1. I am not changing this but can adapt the size of the projected image to suit.
Bottom line here is cost. I looked at chanigng from 16mm to video CRT projection 2 years ago but prices were horribly high. Now I believe LCD projection can compete with 16mm film in terms of resolution and clarity of the image, depending on source material of course. Can anyone advise me of a good budget priced projector that will do the following, as this market is somewhat obscure to me at the moment. I have to un-learn 16mm projectors and get to grips with video proj.
My cinema is small, 20 ft long, currently the max screen width is set at 10 ft (scope), or something like 6ft 1.33:1 (4:3). So I dont need a fantastic sized image. I wont even use the old proj box which is 20ft away from the screen, this will be dismantled to extend the room which also doubles as games room and will give me an extra 6ft of space. I was thinking of mounting a vid proj from the ceiling, or even from the floor in a suitable mounting platform, probably only 10ft away from the screen. So image throw length is not needed to be more than say 12ft max.So I want a proj that has a zoom function to adjust pic size on fairly small distances.
2) Not looking for state of the art pic quality as this stage as this will be my 1st vid proj, and I understand prices are falling so fast it would not be good investment to spend £3K or more. 2nd hand prices on Ebay seem very low to me.
3) Want something compact, that may also be removed from mounting for use in second room from time to time, so nothing that weights 10 tons like the old CRT 3 beam projectors.
4) Want something that can switich from 4:3 to 16:9 anamorphic and unsqueeze the imagelike widescreen TV set does, pref auto but can do this manually of course. Easy operation, focus and colour controls etc, and nothing that takes days to set-up. Plug and play proj in a word, for a first dive into the video cinema pool.
5) I am thinking of a budget of less than £1600 if possible, as if I get to like video projection over 16mm, I will then upgrade properly after a year or so and eventually rebuild the whole cinema, which is currently kitted for celloloid projection, mono sound system, etc. Upgrading to Dolby digital 5.1 will come in the NEw year.
Any one recommend a good reliable, not to heavy yet verstatile proj for less than my budget? Not bothered about computer inputs, wont be using it for that, just want S video, maybe scart, etc, standard video input sources. I have VHS and DVD sources, and sattelite of course, but will mainly want to watch movies in the correct aspect ratio, and not live TV very much.
Obviously I am not going to get state of the art projection on my budget, but something approaching the richness and contrast of 16mm film would be acceptable at this stage. I wont be using the projector in daylight at all, as the whole room has remote control blackout (100%), so nothing with fantastic power is required. My 16mm projector only gives 650 lumens with its 250W lamp, so that's not much, and that is quite bright enough for me.
Any advice or references to web sites, etc, feel free to help me find my way through the jungle. Hope to actually set up a full web site with the changeover from 16mm to video all shown as I work on it. A lot to do, but the most important thing for me first is to source a good budget projector.
Hope for some good advice here. Let me explain. I am dismantling my 16mm home cinema and want to replace the system with video projection. I already have a good auto-masking screen system for 1.33:1, 1.85:1, 2.35:1 and 2.55:1. I am not changing this but can adapt the size of the projected image to suit.
Bottom line here is cost. I looked at chanigng from 16mm to video CRT projection 2 years ago but prices were horribly high. Now I believe LCD projection can compete with 16mm film in terms of resolution and clarity of the image, depending on source material of course. Can anyone advise me of a good budget priced projector that will do the following, as this market is somewhat obscure to me at the moment. I have to un-learn 16mm projectors and get to grips with video proj.
My cinema is small, 20 ft long, currently the max screen width is set at 10 ft (scope), or something like 6ft 1.33:1 (4:3). So I dont need a fantastic sized image. I wont even use the old proj box which is 20ft away from the screen, this will be dismantled to extend the room which also doubles as games room and will give me an extra 6ft of space. I was thinking of mounting a vid proj from the ceiling, or even from the floor in a suitable mounting platform, probably only 10ft away from the screen. So image throw length is not needed to be more than say 12ft max.So I want a proj that has a zoom function to adjust pic size on fairly small distances.
2) Not looking for state of the art pic quality as this stage as this will be my 1st vid proj, and I understand prices are falling so fast it would not be good investment to spend £3K or more. 2nd hand prices on Ebay seem very low to me.
3) Want something compact, that may also be removed from mounting for use in second room from time to time, so nothing that weights 10 tons like the old CRT 3 beam projectors.
4) Want something that can switich from 4:3 to 16:9 anamorphic and unsqueeze the imagelike widescreen TV set does, pref auto but can do this manually of course. Easy operation, focus and colour controls etc, and nothing that takes days to set-up. Plug and play proj in a word, for a first dive into the video cinema pool.
5) I am thinking of a budget of less than £1600 if possible, as if I get to like video projection over 16mm, I will then upgrade properly after a year or so and eventually rebuild the whole cinema, which is currently kitted for celloloid projection, mono sound system, etc. Upgrading to Dolby digital 5.1 will come in the NEw year.
Any one recommend a good reliable, not to heavy yet verstatile proj for less than my budget? Not bothered about computer inputs, wont be using it for that, just want S video, maybe scart, etc, standard video input sources. I have VHS and DVD sources, and sattelite of course, but will mainly want to watch movies in the correct aspect ratio, and not live TV very much.
Obviously I am not going to get state of the art projection on my budget, but something approaching the richness and contrast of 16mm film would be acceptable at this stage. I wont be using the projector in daylight at all, as the whole room has remote control blackout (100%), so nothing with fantastic power is required. My 16mm projector only gives 650 lumens with its 250W lamp, so that's not much, and that is quite bright enough for me.
Any advice or references to web sites, etc, feel free to help me find my way through the jungle. Hope to actually set up a full web site with the changeover from 16mm to video all shown as I work on it. A lot to do, but the most important thing for me first is to source a good budget projector.