There is a guy local to me with NIB Sanyo PLV-1080HD. Should I hop on it at $1200?
Just after a 2 second google, I found vendors with similar pricing. Now, on one hand, I cannot personally vouch for any of them (though some have excellent feedback ratings), but OTOH it's not like this is once-in-a-lifetime deal. IOW, you have the freedom to keep researching.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001GCUIK8/ref=asc_df_B001GCUIK8985557?ie=UTF8&condition=new&creative=380345&creativeASIN=B001GCUIK8&linkCode=asm&tag=cnet_mp-2604-20
Unfortunately this isn't in a basement. But most of my movie viewing will happen at night anyhow.
Is this a dedicated theater? Multipurpose? Living room?
I was thinking that with the ceiling height I could get a center channel going at ear level.
A worthy goal, but display height is something to be concerned about as well. I'll post a portion of what Midnight Sensi recently said to me, while discussing in rmk's thread.
You advised me before I mount and choose a screen size I shoot the image on the wall. That was good advice, because while I was close with the screen size, it was amazing to me how much of a difference a little height up/down made. It affects immersion, how well the sound seems to come from the screen. Too low it was a problem with your feet being in the way or looking at the floor, whereas too high some of the immersion of the image seem to be lost.
I guess before he does anything I'd recommend putting up a big white sheet and deciding where the image should be and how big. Two ladders, a rope, and cheap sheets.
I usually don't go so far as throwing up a sheet, but I always DEMAND you fire the pic up first without choosing screen yet.
I am still kind of hoping that with all the new 1080p's coming out that I could get a used Sanyo/Panasonic 720p unit for ~$600 but people still feel like asking ~$800. I was thinking this just because the 3D projectors are going to start hitting in a year or two OR I could hold on 5 years and wait out for an LED projector (assuming they hit the market in the time frame).
After a bit of reflection, I absolutely vote for 1080p as the bare minimum, today.
I can optimally place the projector anywhere from 15-20 feet back. What is going to be an optimal screen size/zoom setting?
Optimal screen size depends entirely on
you. Hence, I say fire the pic first. As well as the sources you will feed it. You will then also see how display height works out with speaker height. In fact, you will most likely have to figure out a compromise that works best for you. IMO, the amount of light control of the room (yes, the walls, ceiling, and even floor) will matter more than ideal PJ placement, assuming it's not completely maxed out multiple ways.
EDIT: an anecdote. I once calibrated not noticing that my lighting was still on, dimmer set to maximum. (still pretty dark). Oops. I recalibrated after killing the lights, and the settings were extremely different. IOW, the reflected light control, and ambient control overall matter a lot. I use two large Ikea black rugs in the front to kill the white carpet's lighting. Helped
tremendously.
I went gargantuan. Once in a while I second guess myself, and as you know, I see a lot of setups on forums. When this second guessing happens, I ask numerous friends/family, and the response is always the same: Are you kidding me?! Don't touch a thing! Big is best! haha.
My lower than ideal center speaker placement has been ameliorated, at least a bit, by having a decent amount of space from front wall, and signicantly treating the floor, close to the front wall boundary. About 80 lbs worth.
BTW sawazlot, I have a near impossible time believing the unit is really 1200 lumens. My guess is that it's probably not even half of that. At least when it's anywhere close to the ballpark of being calibrated. Even the light cannon BenQ W6000 is "only" +800 lumens in best mode (which normally implies high lamp as well).
