New HT Room

[rmk]

Thanks for the tip Westcott. If Carada made an AT screen, they would be at the top of my list but I have a screen wall in mind that will hide the LCR's and subs and for that I need a large AT screen.

I have had good luck with the Elite Cinetension II powered, tensioned screen and they make AT and hi-gain screens in powered or fixed. I'm thinking that I need a really good quality screen to go with the new PJ so I may just have to bite the bullet and go Stewart or SMS. They cost as much as the projector and that seems out of whack to me but I'm new to the video side of the hobby and still following conventional wisdom.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Look at Da-Lite screens also. If you do a screen wall, you can fairly inexpensively backlight the screen so when you want to show off your speakers you just turn those lights on. The reason it comes to mind is I've been playing with those Lutron lighting systems lately. Do you use a Crestron or Pronto or some sort of universal controller?

The dual spuds have to be awesome in that room, while I didn't have Internet I was wondering what your impressions of that would be!.

 

[westcott]

Look at Da-Lite screens also. If you do a screen wall, you can fairly inexpensively backlight the screen so when you want to show off your speakers you just turn those lights on. The reason it comes to mind is I've been playing with those Lutron lighting systems lately. Do you use a Crestron or Pronto or some sort of universal controller?

The dual spuds have to be awesome in that room, while I didn't have Internet I was wondering what your impressions of that would be!.

Ditto on looking at the DaLite selection and definately go tensioned if you are dead set on going down the roll down path.

 

[rmk]

Look at Da-Lite screens also. If you do a screen wall, you can fairly inexpensively backlight the screen so when you want to show off your speakers you just turn those lights on. The reason it comes to mind is I've been playing with those Lutron lighting systems lately. Do you use a Crestron or Pronto or some sort of universal controller?

The dual spuds have to be awesome in that room, while I didn't have Internet I was wondering what your impressions of that would be!.

Thanks Sensi, good idea on the backlighting. Actually there are two can lights in just about the right place to do this. I'm using a Harmony (RF/IR unit) and already have a Lutron switch on those lights that is Harmony controlled.

If I go cheap (relativly speaking), I think I will stay with Elite. They are in Calif and the shipping is easier. It seems that most of the folks who have spent $7K plus on a projector buy the expensive screens (SMS/Stewart). I need to re-read the Audioholics screen comparo. Even though it's a couple of years old it should still be a good guide.

The main problem I'm having is that the AT screens seem to be less bright and it has been reccomended that I get a screen with at least a 1.3 gain. It seems that most AT's are 1.0 or essentially no gain. If I keep the screen size to 120" or so (I have 106" now and want bigger) it may not be a problem.

 

[Duffinator]

The SO was complaining about the lack of SQ in the family room system. It had been gutted after the HT room was built last year and at first she didn’t want ANY audio equipment in there.
I have always been a fan of Monitor Audio so I picked up these components for a song (relatively speaking) and it now sounds great. Tough large open space to fill and the speaker placement is less than ideal but for a secondary system it really sounds good. Listening to the new Seal CD right now

Components:
HK 445 AVR
Oppo DV970HD
Comcast HD-DVR
Speakers
Monitor Audio
Radius R270 L&R
Radius R90 surrounds
RSW-12 Sub
RSLCR Center
All speakers are the Rosemah finish and match the Entertainment Center pretty well.

Those look nice. Let me know when you are ready to upgrade again. I had the R90's as surrounds in my previous home and now Coy is using them. While that's a large open space it's a lot smaller than it used to be!

 

[rmk]

Those look nice. Let me know when you are ready to upgrade again. I had the R90's as surrounds in my previous home and now Coy is using them. While that's a large open space it's a lot smaller than it used to be!

Yes, about half the size

Thanks, the Radius are really nice little speakers. I'm selling a piano black pair of R270's and Rosemah R45's on Agon right now.

 

[MidnightSensi]

I kind of have the thought that if your going to spend 7 grand on a projector, get the Stewart or Da-Lite. It's more money, but you won't have to wonder. I was thinking of a clever analogy but I couldn't think of anything appropriate. If you go the backlite route I'd go with a fixed screen and save the money that way (Because I agree the motorized ones can be a headache based on friends experiences).

Just my opinion though, if you go with the Elite you'll probably be just as happy.

 

[rmk]

I kind of have the thought that if your going to spend 7 grand on a projector, get the Stewart or Da-Lite. It's more money, but you won't have to wonder. I was thinking of a clever analogy but I couldn't think of anything appropriate. If you go the backlite route I'd go with a fixed screen and save the money that way (Because I agree the motorized ones can be a headache based on friends experiences).

Just my opinion though, if you go with the Elite you'll probably be just as happy.

I get what you are saying but being a bit of a scotsman, I paid less than half that for the HD100. It is new/demo with warranty. 200 hrs on the lamp and I just ordered a second lamp just in case. You just have to know where to look.

I really wish there was a way to try out screens, small swatches doesn't get it.

 

[MidnightSensi]

I get what you are saying but being a bit of a scotsman, I paid less than half that for the HD100. It is new/demo with warranty. 200 hrs on the lamp and I just ordered a second lamp just in case. You just have to know where to look.

I really wish there was a way to try out screens, small swatches doesn't get it.

I'm the same way, you could probably figure something out similar with a screen though. If there isn't a rush, just take your time and deal hunt once you figure out what you want. Sometimes you find the right deal, or otherwise you go with a less expensive product.

One arguement for going with Carada is you might be able to get them to let you try a few different screens. Worth a try, I doubt it would happen with Stewart.

 

[jostenmeat]

I get what you are saying but being a bit of a scotsman, I paid less than half that for the HD100. It is new/demo with warranty. 200 hrs on the lamp and I just ordered a second lamp just in case. You just have to know where to look.

Damn, you landed a killer price. WTG. When the upgrade bug hits again, say, next week, will you contact me about selling it?

Hey, may I ask where you bought your bulb, and at what cost? I've been playing around with the idea of getting a spare... You can PM if you prefer, thanks!

I really wish there was a way to try out screens, small swatches doesn't get it.

I wouldn't get an Elite, just by the anecdotal consumer mini comparos I've read. However, I know nothing of their AT versions. If you're going AT, I say don't skimp, and get a nice one. Weave, or whatever.

Non-AT: FWIW, the caradas are supposed to have fantastic uniformity, but they require more reflected light control than others, as they will reflect more than some others on the floor/ceiling/walls. Im using HP and am happy as a bug.

 

[rmk]

One arguement for going with Carada is you might be able to get them to let you try a few different screens. Worth a try, I doubt it would happen with Stewart.

That is an interesting idea. If they are open I'll call them on Friday and see what they can do.

Damn, you landed a killer price. WTG. When the upgrade bug hits again, say, next week, will you contact me about selling it?

Hey, may I ask where you bought your bulb, and at what cost? I've been playing around with the idea of getting a spare... You can PM if you prefer, thanks!

I wouldn't get an Elite, just by the anecdotal consumer mini comparos I've read. However, I know nothing of their AT versions. If you're going AT, I say don't skimp, and get a nice one. Weave, or whatever.

Non-AT: FWIW, the caradas are supposed to have fantastic uniformity, but they require more reflected light control than others, as they will reflect more than some others on the floor/ceiling/walls. Im using HP and am happy as a bug.

Here is the link to JVC lamps. I thought the price was pretty good.

If I go with a fixed screen I loose the plasma. If I go fixed non-AT I will have live with the look of the speakers/plasma. If I go fixed AT I can hide the speakers/sub but loose the plasma. If I go powered tensioned AT, I will have to live with the look of the speakers/subs.

There is no obvious good decision

 

[jostenmeat]

Here is the link to JVC lamps. I thought the price was pretty good.

Appreciated. I found a better deal than that last I looked, but if you have had good experiences with this vendor, I may be swayed to pay a few more bucks. I'm still undecided whether to buy a backup in case of blowout, or just take my chances and order from Mack (warranty) when the bulb is too dim. I think I'll take my chances, but I can be soo wishy-washy.

If I go with a fixed screen I loose the plasma. If I go fixed non-AT I will have live with the look of the speakers/plasma. If I go fixed AT I can hide the speakers/sub but loose the plasma. If I go powered tensioned AT, I will have to live with the look of the speakers/subs.

There is no obvious good decision

Hm. I wonder about the possibility of powered tension AT + false wall of sorts, but leaving an area open for the plasma, that will be recessed. I went to look back at your photos, and I think that the plasma might still have a chance to be pleasantly viewable, depending on the viewing angle at the extremes of your seating.

I was helping someone else out at AVS, a real sweet dedicated area, and he liked this similar idea I offered (but, without plasma, simply the screen on the wall). His new Paradigm Sigs were giving off way too much reflected, distracting light.

Happy New Year, and my '09 bring you many fun toys.

 

[rmk]

Appreciated. I found a better deal than that last I looked, but if you have had good experiences with this vendor, I may be swayed to pay a few more bucks. I'm still undecided whether to buy a backup in case of blowout, or just take my chances and order from Mack (warranty) when the bulb is too dim. I think I'll take my chances, but I can be soo wishy-washy.



Hm. I wonder about the possibility of powered tension AT + false wall of sorts, but leaving an area open for the plasma, that will be recessed. I went to look back at your photos, and I think that the plasma might still have a chance to be pleasantly viewable, depending on the viewing angle at the extremes of your seating.

I was helping someone else out at AVS, a real sweet dedicated area, and he liked this similar idea I offered (but, without plasma, simply the screen on the wall). His new Paradigm Sigs were giving off way too much reflected, distracting light.

Happy New Year, and my '09 bring you many fun toys.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have thought about a false wall with AT panels in front of the current setup. That's a cool idea and may be what I eventually do. Right now, I need a projector mount as the universal I used for the Mitsubishi will not work with the JVC. Mounts like that aren't something you can run down to the HT store and buy.

 

[rmk]

I got tired of waiting for the Chief Mount and jury rigged the old mount so that it worked. The JVC is a really nice projector. Amazing colors and pop even with my allegedly sub standard Elite Screen.

I spoke with Carada and they are sending samples of all three screen materials. I am struggling with the powered/fixed and 2.35:1 vs. 16:9 format decisions. A good case can be made for both formats but I’m leaning to 2.35 as most of the new movies are using that format. That said we started watching the Band of Brothers BR collection last night. Just incredible sound and picture on this truly great Bluray series.

Bad shot of the JVC and yet another of the homely speakers and subs that I love more every day.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Nice, I had a feeling Carada would be receptive so sending some screens to test.

 

[Bluesmoke]

How about some blu-ray shots of the JVC in action?

 

[rmk]

Nice, I had a feeling Carada would be receptive so sending some screens to test.

Thanks Sensi, the Carada guys are were very helpful and their prices are good, I just wish they made a powered tensioned screen.

How about some blu-ray shots of the JVC in action?

You might want to look at the quality of my photos and re-think that request

 

[jostenmeat]

I got tired of waiting for the Chief Mount and jury rigged the old mount so that it worked. The JVC is a really nice projector. Amazing colors and pop even with my allegedly sub standard Elite Screen.

I love my JVC. Yours is only better.

I spoke with Carada and they are sending samples of all three screen materials. I am struggling with the powered/fixed and 2.35:1 vs. 16:9 format decisions. A good case can be made for both formats but I’m leaning to 2.35 as most of the new movies are using that format. That said we started watching the Band of Brothers BR collection last night. Just incredible sound and picture on this truly great Bluray series.

This is very tuff. I think 16:9 is great. I personally believe the very best thing about 2.35 AR is either 1) better center speaker placement options, or 2) Not enough height in the HT. I'm not sure if either of those are really major concerns for you.

So, I setup my HT with 2.35 AR in mind, on a 16:9 screen. If the pic is too unforgiving, and its not a full house, I can sit in the back row. With BoB, at first I chose to sit in the back row. (I've watched the entire series already on BD, but on DVD I thought the PQ was very poor, and so I had hesitations to sit close). I had a friend who chose to sit in the front row to be even more immersed. Now, with all this talk from folks about fearing the idea of going too big, the biggest BoB fan I know chose the front row.

Also, I wonder what the heck people do on a 2.35 screen when watching the Dark Knight. I really have no idea what they do. The AR continually changes back and forth between ARs depending on when it was filmed in IMAX.

Then there's that whole cost thing with anamorphic.

I think the best of all worlds would be a zoom type of situation, maybe with auto masking. Because then you can choose to have a larger 16:9, or a smaller 16:9, depending on the quality of the source material. Some BDs looks so good even in 16:9, and I think of cartoons like Meet The Robinsons, that might as well go big there. Then some others aren't as good, and one could zoom out. The problem is that JVC zoom is a pain as its all manual.

Tuffie. Good luck.

 

[rmk]

I love my JVC. Yours is only better.

Yeah well your is brighter

This is very tuff. I think 16:9 is great. I personally believe the very best thing about 2.35 AR is either 1) better center speaker placement options, or 2) Not enough height in the HT. I'm not sure if either of those are really major concerns for you.

So, I setup my HT with 2.35 AR in mind, on a 16:9 screen. If the pic is too unforgiving, and its not a full house, I can sit in the back row. With BoB, at first I chose to sit in the back row. (I've watched the entire series already on BD, but on DVD I thought the PQ was very poor, and so I had hesitations to sit close). I had a friend who chose to sit in the front row to be even more immersed. Now, with all this talk from folks about fearing the idea of going too big, the biggest BoB fan I know chose the front row.

Also, I wonder what the heck people do on a 2.35 screen when watching the Dark Knight. I really have no idea what they do. The AR continually changes back and forth between ARs depending on when it was filmed in IMAX.

Then there's that whole cost thing with anamorphic.

I think the best of all worlds would be a zoom type of situation, maybe with auto masking. Because then you can choose to have a larger 16:9, or a smaller 16:9, depending on the quality of the source material. Some BDs looks so good even in 16:9, and I think of cartoons like Meet The Robinsons, that might as well go big there. Then some others aren't as good, and one could zoom out. The problem is that JVC zoom is a pain as its all manual.

Tuffie. Good luck.

Yes it is and there are a lot of variables. The HD100 (RS2) has electronic zoom via remote but the lens shift is manual so if i I go non-anomorphic 2.35:1 and zoom down for 16:9 I doubt the image would center without manual shift.

If money were no object then I suppose anamorphic and masking would be great ... until Dark Knight comes along and blows those boys out of the water (imagine pausing the film to adjust your AR or zoom and masking).

Carada mentioned a new dual masking setup was coming. That on a large (for me) 130" 16:9 might be the answer. Come to think of it for virtually anything other than 4:3, that would be a constant width setup (like mine is currently) so only vertical (top/bottom) masking would be required. Wouldn't help with IMAX AR mixed in though... My head hurts

 

[westcott]

You should check out the new Panasonic projector. It has anamorphic memory settings that automatically can switch back and forth between 16.9 and 2.35 etc.

Lens Memory. Are you interested in Cinemascope 2.35 widescreen format? A lot of home theater enthusiasts who are mostly interested in widescreen movie viewing (as opposed to HDTV sports and 16:9 HD broadcast programming), are considering the wider format 2.35 screens these days since most movies being made are in this format. The problem has always been how to get the picture from a native 16:9 format projector to fill a 2.35:1 widescreen. The traditional method is to use an external anamorphic lens which can optically distort the image from a 16:9 aspect ratio into the wider 2.35 format. This certainly is one option. Unfortunately, anamorphic lenses cost a lot of money. Typically they are more expensive than the AE3000. So they add a huge expense that most people thinking about buying the AE3000 wouldn't want to pay.

The "poor man's" way to solve the problem has been to use a projector with a long enough zoom lens to move the image size back and forth-zooming to wide angle to fill a 2.35 screen, then zooming forward to fill the vertical height of the screen when a 16:9 or 4:3 image is being viewed. This eliminates the need to buy an anamorphic lens, but it introduces the nuisance factor of having to manually adjust the zoom lens and (often) vertical picture height as well every time you change the format of the viewing material. This can get annoying in a hurry.

Panasonic's "Lens Memory" system is a clever and exciting solution to this problem. If you have a 2.35 (or 2.4) screen, you can set up the projector with the lens toward the wide angle end, and fill the screen exactly to the format of a 2.35 (or 2.4) movie. Activate the Lens Memory feature, and it will go through a routine to memorize the exact position you have selected for the lens. Then zoom the lens forward so that a 16:9 picture fits perfectly into the height of your 2.35 screen. Now activate the Lens Memory feature again, and it will memorize this setting as well. Once you have done this, the AE3000 will automatically reset the lens either to 2.35 or 16:9 at the touch of a button. Presto! You've got an easy-to-use solution for 2.35 Cinemascope movies without the burdensome expense of the anamorphic lens.

We examined this feature closely to ensure that the zooming adjustments were precise and that focus was maintained after each re-adjustment. On our test sample, it passed with flying colors. In addition, keep in mind one thing: If your projector is mounted above the centerpoint of the screen so that it is projecting at a downward angle, the center of the projected image will shift vertically when moving from 2.35 to 16:9. The good news is that the AE3000 has the ability to reposition the 2.35 image up or down within the 16:9 native frame, and this capability has been integrated into the Lens Memory feature. So if your projector is mounted above the center of the screen, you can set both the lens position and the position of the image in the frame, and they will both adjust with a single touch of the button.