It seems that I have more room than I originally thought in terms of distances. One thing I didn't mention was, as a large part of the selling point to dearly beloved, the ability to play a game system such as the Wii is required.
That shouldn't be a problem in most cases, however, it would be almost necessary to have it hooked to an AV receiver so that you could do the input control thing - and have audio. Some projectors you may have been looking at may claim to have audio, but this is Audioholics, and we wouldn't consider these 2W speakers to be "audio." Additionally, the projectors with audio and very high brightness are usually business projectors, which were never made for video of any kind, and though brighter, would have disappointing output for a home application.
I'm also looking to get a refurbished model, (inexpensive - around $500), off Ebay as part of the process of "getting the system into the house". It's much easier to upgrade later once she is used to it... I'm finding less 16:9 available than the 4:3 in the price range because I was also looking for some better quality tombstoning or lens shift because I thought that I would need to offset it so that games could be played. I calculated that to get and 8x4 screen size, (or close), I would need 15-16' between projector and screen, (throw ratio?). I thought that the distance would place the projector right over the "playing area" and with the low ceiling that would be risky. I have 5 1/4' on the other end of the pool table, 8 1/4' of pool table and what I thought was a smaller space back to the "immovable object" turns out to be another 11 feet give or take.
I am going to say in general that DLP projectors don't have as much lens shift or keystone correction, so if that is high on your priority list, you will probably want to opt for an LCD projector.
I think it'll work with the projector "dead ahead/on center", with a 16:9 aspect ratio projector. The light issue shouldn't be too bad because at that end of the basement there is only a single 6x3 window that I can easily block. Couple that with a higher lumen lamp and a higher(?) contrast ratio I should be good to go.
That still doesn't really answer my question. Are you going to mount it on the ceiling, simply set it on the pool table, mount it on a shelf on the back wall opposite of the screen, something else? The mounting location is a very important consideration for projector selection. Fortunately the drop ceilings you mentioned will be very useful for cabling if you desire a ceiling mount (the best option for you IMHO). If you get a projector geared toward Home Theater, it will have a brightness of no more than 1500 lumens, which is not very bright if you want much ambient light around. At this time, budget (<$1000) projectors and even more expensive ones don't get much brighter, as they are designed for dark rooms.
I would agree with BMXTRIX to an extent about used projectors, however, I think an LCD based projector is probably ok to buy used, and I am not just saying this because I am trying to sell one
. The DLP system is much more fragile than the LCD or LCoS ones, as there are much more mechanical parts to fail in a DLP. I have experience with three DLP projectors, and all three of them have failed miserably, one after a few days (and its replacement a few months later, and its replacement a few months after that - don't buy an Optoma), the other two after a few years of light use (Sharp and BenQ). I have also set some used LCD ones up for people and they worked just fine, and fit in their budgets better. I haven't yet had a bad experience with LCD, though they do have negatives in comparison to DLP as far as black levels/contrast ratios. They can lose convergence in shipping, but even a new one can do that. The only problem at that point is that you may or may not have a warranty to back you up. If you buy from someone who has taken care of their projector (cleaned the filters, no smoke or pets, etc.) I don't really see as much of a problem if that is what you have a budget for.
As you are shopping for projectors, there is an easy way to check whether it will be compatible with your setup.
For example, here is a projection calculator for the projector I haven't got around to selling:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sony-VPL-HS60-projection-calculator-pro.htm
You can pick almost any projector from the drop down list. It is kind of finicky to use but it works great to be sure you get the right projector for your setup. The lighting recommendations are also just that, a recommendation, and if you can completely control ambient light in your room, those don't matter too much.
I see a few potential problems with the Wii, but I will discuss those in a bit.
And I will take a breath for a moment...
