Where should I be looking?

[ImcLoud]

I know nothing about projectors, but we went to one of my wifes co-workers houses for a party over the weekend and they had a projector, the picture was good and he said it was like $500 with the screen...

But it made me think, I may be able to talk the wife into putting a tv in our front parlor if it was kind of invisable when we werent using it...

Heres what I am thinking, not sure if this will even work...

1- I will have to put the screen in front of a bay window.. But it will only be used at night so not a huge deal {I dont think}, I figured a screen above the windon molding, white to match the molding...

2-I want to put the projector on the coffe table which is about 7ft from where the screen will be, not even sure if this is enough distance...

3-I dont want ot put a cable box or even a dvd player in this room, I want to use somesort of wireless AV device.. I use a cheap on with my security cams to get a signal in the rear garage, and the picture and sound isnt bad...

So is this possible or should I just move on...

 

[BMXTRIX]

If you want a picture, then spend $500 on a crap projector and use your wall.

If you want home theater, then get a decent home theater projector like the Epson 3020e or the 5020e which feature wireless HDMI transmission. You can't really get the projector 7' away from any large screen, but you could go with a rear shelf mount, or a high ceiling mount.

I can say that we had a 106" projection setup in our family room and with a retractable screen and the projector ceiling mounted most people didn't even know it was there at all.

Really though, the Optoma GT750e is a decent very entry level projector, and you can pick up a wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver set for under $200 to go with it and get HD video to the projector wirelessly on a serious budget.

The screen will be about $2,000 for a quality tab-tensioned (proper) screen. Or under $500 for a piece of junk electric. Or $100 for a manual screen which will be just as good as the piece of junk electric.

Here's some cheap ones:
VApex Projection Screens VApex VA Fixed Frame

Their tensioned electric screens are the way to go to stay cheap and have at least reasonable quality.

I'm not sure if you can find a white case, but you could have a soffit built around it to hide the screen if you wanted, or go with a better brand like DaLite.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Proper screen will go a long way improving the image, but even cheap $100 (or cheaper) DIY screen will easily beat the wall
Make a Projection Screen for under $100
Cheap DIY 100" Projector Screen
Beginner's Guide To Simple DIY Painted Screens
Make sure to calculate throw distance before buying/making screen

 

[ImcLoud]

The wall is not an option since its a 3 bay window, The ceiling is not an option because they are 24 feet high going to my upstairs loft and there is easily 4 different pitches with flats and a round center, plus my wife would flip out if I start hanging stuff from the ceiling in that room lol...
Back wall is an open wide base stair case to the upstairs.
This room has sunken floors super high ceilings {we get an 18ft xmass tree}. and a hanging chandelier in the center, with an opening to the front mudroom, another to the dining room that has oval archways and not more than 12 inches of wall in any given space, then an opening to the center hallway, and the upstairs is all open on the rear and side, then to make it worse the entire back wall is a staircase {spindle and railings he entire way, lol...

So the only option is the coffee table...

I want to spend no more than $1000 on everything and use my 2.2 system for sound... I was thinking this Newegg.com - ASUS P1 Ultra-light HD Portable 200 ANSI Lumens short throw LED projector w/ Auto Keystone Correction and this Newegg.com - EliteSCREENS M80UWH 80" Projector Screen and the wireless av system would put me around 1000...

We have a tv in every room, except the kids bathroom, downstairs bathroom, dining room, my office {but I have dual screen pc,} and this parlor.. The kitchen the master bath, guest room bath, dining room, loft, ect all have tvs, so this is not the main tv room, and I just want it to watch a movie once and a while on a HUGE screen... Vs the 55" in my theater..

 

[BMXTRIX]

The Asus is a toy. It just really isn't usable as a real projector. Even cheap home theater projectors put out 5x or more light. Those little pocket projectors are good toys, but not appropriate for use in any real theater.

Most notably are the severely low lumen count and the lack of an HDMI input.

Read: ASUS P1 Pico Projector Review

The Optoma GT750e which I mentioned earlier is simply a minimum for use in my experience.

Optoma Projectors: Optoma GT750E DLP projector

The review:
Optoma GameTime GT750E Projector Review

If you are absolutely insistent upon a pocket projector, then the Optoma ML500 (or similar) is the only way to go:
Optoma ML500 LED Projector Review

LG also has a 700 lumen LED driven projector which has little in the way of reviews, but does appear to put up.
FRYS.com | LG

 

[Grador]

Just to give you a point of reference, a 60 watt lightbulb is 800 lumens. [Lumens are a measure of total light energy given off]

 

[ImcLoud]

alright thanks guys, so NO on the mini, Im not set on a mini by any means, just seen it and thought it would work...

What would be the best $1000 system you would buy?

 

[BMXTRIX]

Your setup itself is compromised, which is a big factor in this. If you don't really have a place to rear mount the projector, then you must go with short throw and there are ZERO 1080p home theater options, so you are going to have to go with 720p at best. This is, once again, why I keep going back to the Optoma GT750E. It has a short throw, which means it can be front of the room situation on a coffee table.

You can then pair it with a tensioned flat electric 92" screen from Focupix for just a few hundred bucks.

Focupix TensionFlat 16:9 WidescreenTab Tensioned Electric Projector Screen w/Remote - 92"

They have other sizes/options. The tensioned electric screen (TENSIONED!) is the key to getting a really high quality image, and is extremly important with short throw projectors. Because of the severe projection angle with those projectors, if you have any waves in the fabric, such as you will get with a manual pull down screen or standard electric screen, it will create signficant distortion on the screen.

That's about the least expensive, highest quality setup you will be able to achieve and stick close to $1,000.

As I said, you may need to build a soffit for the screen, or you just may need to paint it yourself.

If you think the screen is pricey, you should check out what tensioned screens are generally going for on a place like eBay...

tensioned screen 92 | eBay

 

[ImcLoud]

Thanks, for all the help, this isnt going to be as easy as I thought.... Do they sell a tripod for these things so I could mount it behind the couch and then it could be further from the screen...

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks, for all the help, this isnt going to be as easy as I thought.... Do they sell a tripod for these things so I could mount it behind the couch and then it could be further from the screen...

Projector stands are available, though a bit unusual to be using.

Projector Stands | B&H Photo Video

 

[TMC]

You might want to look into a used In-Focus Screenplay 7200, 7205, 7210. Its a DLP, 720, and throws a pretty nice picture. There are several on E-bay right now. A new lamp is like $120. If it needs a color wheel that's another $120 or so. And the projectors are selling for very good prices. As a matter of fact, I've been using a 7200 for over 9 years in my basement theater with a 120" screen and it has worked extremely well.