EIKI SVGA-860 for home theater

[karm100fists]

Hello. This is my first post.

Now I know that an older projector that is 4:3 and not HD capable is by no means optimal, but I'm a college student and I don't have any money to speak of.

I think I can pick up one of these for around $30. That's right $30. Considering it was 4k a couple of years ago I think its a damn fine deal .

But now I'm faced with other dilemmas. Screen for one. This thing can make a 33 foot diameter image and still look clean but there's no way in hell I can get a screen big enough. Also most screens are 16:9, I think...

I was looking at those DIY deals and they're probably not worth it from what I've heard. I thought it would be a really cool idea to just paint the wall with something that would make it more like a screen, but I don't know how reliable those things are (like screen goo).

Anyway, I have some questions about how to best use this thing in limited space. I will probably start by just using it on the wall and slowly add more components to make my system usable.

Any suggestions anyone has would be great.


EDIT: on further review it says that the projector supports 16:9 on the website! Not sure about HD though, it has something called HD15 on the connections list (which I think is where you connect the computer) but I'm not sure on whether that means its HD ready or not.

EDIT (again): In my current apartment I can sit up to 14' away from the screen and the projectors' throw distance is restricted to about 17.5'. I think it might look better with a smaller image though. The throw-image ratio is 1.75~2.8.

Anyways thanks again.

That will make the screen

 

[karm100fists]

Edit

Oh yeah, I use my computer as a source for 100% of all AV. I currently have two monitors (17" Samsung LCD and a 21" CRT Monster thats probably giving off some kind of radiation).

For cable I use a Hauppage tv capture card. Unfortunately despite the fact that I asked for a HD ready, 5.1 channel surround capable card, I recieved the lower end model as a gift. Needless to say, once I have the projector I won't use the card any more (guess I'll liquidate it).

But... I have no DVD player and allmost all of my media is on my computer. So is the s-video output on my GEforce FX5600 going to provide as good quality video as the high end recievers?

My ideal situation would be to use ONLY my computer as a DVD player, MP3 player, MP4 player, radio, cd player, etc etc etc....

If any one has reccomendations about how to get the highest quality A/V output from a computer then enlighten me.

My audio system is also in dire need of upgrading. I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing process.