Need advice, to hang Pan. AE900U on the ceiling or place on wall opposite of screen

[ehurnie]

I just bought a Pan AE900U and am going to buy a 118" screen. Should I hang this projector from the ceiling or place it on the wall opposite of the screen. The screen will start 5 to 10" from the ceiling. The lens will be about 18 feet away from the screen if placed on the rear wall. I want to know if the picture will be less skewed due placing it more level with screen by putting on the wall or is there away to adjust this when hanging from the ceiling.

 

[wilkenboy]

With 18' throw and an 118" diag screen you are asking a lot of this unit. With a screen gain of 1.0 you may be unhappy with the brightness level, especially as the bulb ages.

The lens shift will allow you to hang from a ceiling. Ideally you utilize as little lens shift as possible - this gives you the best color uniformity across the entire surface of the screen.

Another note - you will want that screen center as close as possible to neutral to your eye level as possible. A screen placed too high (where you have to look too far up to see the center) will result in neck or eye strain with long watching periods. Kinda like sitting in the front rows of a movie theater. You may notice in most modern theaters the screen and seating are oriented so that most viewers are actually looking down slightly toward the center of the screen. That's on purpose.

For 18' mounting distance and 1.0 screen gain you're going to want a screen in the 106" range or lower, seated 1.5x the screen width.

For 18' mounting distance and 1.3 screen gain you could do 118", but be aware that the acceptable viewing cone will shrink - plan your seating accordingly.

If in doubt go play with the projector calculator over at projectorcentral.com.

Hope this helps!

~Josh

 

[ehurnie]

Thanks for the advice. My viewing distance is going to be about 17 ft. With a screen size of 118 the calculator gives a range for the projector to be 12ft to 23ft away. Is it better for the zoom to be higher or lower, picture wise and bulb life wise.

 

[wilkenboy]

Be careful with this - just because you can make the projector do it with the calculator does not mean you will get acceptable brightness onscreen. When I run the calculator with your settings (18' throw, 118" screen size, zoom = 1.33x, screen gain =1.0) I get the following warning:

Recommend higher brightness, reduce image size or increase screen gain.

This is the calculator trying to tell you that despite the ability to physically produce this image size, it may not be bright enough.

118" is going to be pushing this projector's brightness limits any way you slice it. Could you live with this picture? Probably. But I've seen the 700u and the 900u pushed beyond their screen size limits on unity gain screens and its just not as nice.

I don't know that bulb life and zoom are related... but as a rule of thumb you don't want to push the edges of the zoom or the lens shift unless you have to. Both can create subtle distortion of the picture and/or color near the edges of the screen.

If you are dead set on a 118" screen then look at some units with a gain of 1.3. These screens in effect "focus" the light back toward the centerline producing a brighter image, but only within a certain cone from the centerline. Move off of that centerline and the image will dim... much like the older LCD displays do.

Best regards,

~Josh

 

[ehurnie]

The screen I plan on getting has a gain of 1.4. I will hang the projector from the ceiling maybe 14 ft. Im not set on 118, I can get smaller. What size would you recommend for 14 ft away, would 110 work.
Thanks,
Joe

 

[mtrycrafts]

The screen I plan on getting has a gain of 1.4. I will hang the projector from the ceiling maybe 14 ft. Im not set on 118, I can get smaller. What size would you recommend for 14 ft away, would 110 work.
Thanks,
Joe

Let me put my thought on this matter even though you received good feedback.

You need to know the distance of the top of the white part of the screen from the ceiling. The projector lens height from that number is limited, depending on what the maker has established as the max offset distance. That is what this called.
I would recommend finding out the throw distance for that projector, a minimum and maximum distance. I would suggest the minimum distance as many projectors will have more light on the screen at minimum distance than further back.
You would need to know the after calibration light output for that projector. Perhaps you want to visit AVS where they have a projector board.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Some projectors with longer throw zoom lenses including the AE900 and Z4 actually lose a bit of light output as you move the projector further back in the zoom range. This can be a significant drop, for an increase in versatility of installation. This really means that you should be installing it a bit closer in the range than you might be able to with other projectors.

Now, the gain of 1.3 to 1.5 should be sufficient to make the projector look gorgeous in a light controlled room. As with all projectors, any ambient light in the room will really kill the image quality. I have seen the AE700 in a room on a 106" diagonal and a .8 gain screen and it looked great. I have little doubt that it would look stunning at up to about 120" diagonal... but no larger.

The AE900 allows placement up to about 6" about the top of the screen, but I would strive to mount closer to the top edge of the screen to eliminate a bit of the necessity for lens shift.

Under the worst conditions - all the way back, located as high as possible utilizing a lot of lens shift and zoom I feel that you would STILL be psyched with the image quality produced.

How about...

Get the screen, hang the screen, then temporarilty test the projectors from a few locations and see what works best for you? You may find that you are perfectly happy with the projector at the back of the room.

 

[ehurnie]

Thanks for all the feedback, I'm trying to get educated and you'll are helping a lot, I'll mount the screen and then try the projector in a couple of locations. I'm also going to go with a smaller screen.

 

[wilkenboy]

Thanks for all the feedback, I'm trying to get educated and you'll are helping a lot, I'll mount the screen and then try the projector in a couple of locations. I'm also going to go with a smaller screen.

If you want to wait a bit on the screen, go ahead and try the projo in a few locations, then decide on screen size and location and pull the trigger.

~Josh

 

[BMXTRIX]

Oh yeah! Second that!!!

The absolute best way, is that if you aren't time sensitive and haven't painted your walls...

Get the projectors first.

Test it at several locations and heights and distances and sizes. Find the one YOU like best. Then get the screen and mount (as needed) for the final size and location that you have figured out.

This really is the absolute best way of doing things as it gives you and your family a chance to really evaluate before a final decision is made and shouldn't leave you feeling... 'Gee, I wish I had gone larger'.

 

[ehurnie]

This weekend i'll give that a shot and see what I like the best, everyone has been a big help, and I appreciate all the input you'll have provided.

 

[mtrycrafts]

This weekend i'll give that a shot and see what I like the best, everyone has been a big help, and I appreciate all the input you'll have provided.

Don't short change yourself. Those larger screens are addictive

How large is the room, I may have missed this

 

[ehurnie]

my room is 13 by 19 with 8 ft ceilings.

 

[mtrycrafts]

my room is 13 by 19 with 8 ft ceilings.

So, you have the screen on the 13ft wall? Floor standing speakers?

A 100" wide screen would be about 9 ft wide, leaving 2 ft on the sides for speakers, or all 3 under the screen? That would be like the smaller screens in a multiplex

 

[nick.h]

Hi,

I have a Panasonic AE700 which does a 145" Screen. Looks great.


Cheers

Nick