New Theater Room

[arkight]

OK I am buying a new home and the room I can use as a theater room is like 13x13. I want to go with a projector. I need some help getting started what would be a good projector and screen I want to spend around 5k less would be good also. Is the room dimension holding me back or can I do something with those dimensions any advice would be appreciated.

 

[AVRat]

Sure you can do it! An Epson 6500 with a Carada 92" Dia. screen.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_6500_UB-projection-calculator-pro.htm

http://www.carada.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=PROJECTION-SCREEN-H092C

A screen this size will need a viewing distance about 10'.

 

[bluebirdy]

Have you checked reviews of ;

InFocus WorkBig IN5104

Have heard very good reviews about it ranging about 4500$.

 

[arkight]

Thanks that is what i am looking for any other suggestions. Is my price range too low of course i would like 1080p and something with a good lam life i woule probally watch alot of TV on it as well or should i try not to do that as much.

 

[BMXTRIX]

There is a long list of projectors which will meet your needs but we need to clarify some items...

1. You need to break down your budget... $5,000 for projector? Or, $5,000 for projector, screen, speakers, receiver, Blu-ray Disc, cable, rack, cabling, etc. Your ability to get a nicer projector slips dramatically if you have a lot of other expenses which go along with that budget.

2. Are you planning to do the installation yourself, or hire someone? An in-wall installation and setup can take a couple of days to do properly - and typically runs in the $1,500-$2,500 range depending on the installer.

Without really knowing this stuff, I will assume you have a flexible budget (somewhat) and want gear which is very good, but not necessarily top of the line, and to that regard the Epson 6500UB or the Panasonic AE3000U are excellent projectors for a bit under $3,000. The Epson 6100 is pretty solid around $2,000 and Sanyo has a model in the $1,500 range which isn't to shabby. All these projectors are LCD and have very good versatility in their lens and setup options and are all 1080p models.

If the room is dark - as in no windows and you intend for it to be a theater, then you MUST pull out a paint brush and get the walls and ceiling painted down to a nice dark color to reduce reflections. You will be fine with almost any screen if you do this.

For a screen, I would follow THX standards if you like sitting in the middle of your local movie theater. That typically means that the width of your screen should be about .66x your viewing distance. So, if you are sitting about 11'-12' from the screen, a 7-8' width or about 100" to 110" diagonal screen is appropriate.

I would go with the Carada Criterion in Brilliant White (1.4 gain) to give the projection solid punch.

Keep in mind, you will want to check the projection calculator at Projector Central to ensure that whichever projector you end up with it will work with the screen you get. All projection calculations are from the LENS to the screen, so a projector which can hit a 100" diagonal from 12' away, but the projector is 18" deep, won't work because you would need a room about 14' deep to accomodate it.

If you want a 100" diagonal, from 11' throw distance, you have over a dozen choices available to you with projectors from $1,400 to $3,500 and while none of them are lousy, I would stick with some of the more typical manufacturers including Sanyo, Epson, and Panasonic. Really though, none of these are lousy...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&mfg=&p=500&p=3500&w=&r=13&br=&ll=&t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=&dvi=&td=11&i=d&is=100&sort=$

 

[BMXTRIX]

Have you checked reviews of ;

InFocus WorkBig IN5104

Have heard very good reviews about it ranging about 4500$.

This is a business projector. While it is likely a decent business projector, it is ill suited for home theater.

It's not 16:9, it is not 1080p, it is way to bright for typical home theater use, and has very poor contrast ratio numbers, and it is far to noisy for a typical home theater.

I would strongly advise against using any business model in a proper home theater if it can be avoided.

 

[arkight]

Thanks BMXTRIX that is exactly what i want to hear. I was think 5K for screen and projector the speakers will come from another stack of money. If you were wondering i am probally getting B&W speakers I have a decent harmon kardon reciever so i will probally keep this for a bit. I was origionally hoping for a bigger room but the wife like this house so much so this is probally what i am stuck with. I have spoke to someone about a projector i will get the modle number and post to see what youall think i have to get it from work.

I am new to projectors so keep the help comming

Thanks

 

[AVRat]

Since your room is only 13' deep, I would definitely keep the viewing distance to 10' or less to minimize audio reflections off the back wall. Even better, start thinking about acoustic room treatments. Square rooms are the worst for audio!

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks BMXTRIX that is exactly what i want to hear. I was think 5K for screen and projector the speakers will come from another stack of money.

I would probably get a JVC RS10, since you can. If you stretched this budget by $1k, then you could get the RS20, and have perhaps the nicest PJ that money can buy at less than $25k. Mebbe.

Otherwise, BMX has layed out as good of a starting foundation as you're going to get.

If you were wondering i am probally getting B&W speakers I have a decent harmon kardon reciever so i will probally keep this for a bit.

I like BW speakers, but as AVRat suggest, treatments are a necessity in a dedicated home movie theater, IMO. The smaller the room, the more bass trapping becomes imperative. Typically, the front of the room benefits you the most in trapping, unless as AVRat noted, you are too close to the back wall. And yes, square is worst, and even heavy treating cannot overcome that, but at least it should ameliorate the effects to some degree. Lastly, the better you can treat your small space, the more you get to hear your speakers, and the less you hear the room.

I was origionally hoping for a bigger room but the wife like this house so much so this is probally what i am stuck with.

Where there's a will, there's a way! This is at least the third time I've posted this build, because I think it's so cool. His budget was way smaller than yours, but I link it for you because the room is 12' x 13'.

Small Budget, Smaller Room HT Conversion.