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recommend a newbie projector setup?


Paducah Home Theater

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So I've been hellbent on sticking with TV's but I'm trying to have an open mind. My concern is that every projector I have ever seen, including a nearly $5,000 4K'9ish JVC and a $2,000 screen has been really washed out and pale. Apparently that is better on a totally blacked out room though, which I have. So, I'm open for suggestions. I have never had one before so I don't want to spend a ton, I won't be able to tell the difference in very minor upgrades. I hope to get something that I can move to the back porch once I can appreciate the difference, then upgrade my theater room.

I'm assuming I need to look at the nicer Epson offerings for the projector, and the lower end Elite screens. I don't know though. Thoughts? This is in a 15x20 room, currently the seats are stretched long ways, the projector would shine on the long wall, although that could change.

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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I started on an epson 8350 freakin sweet started projector. I only changed cause I moved to 2.35 and wanted the lens memory. As far as budget elite if your going with an AT screen from them the budget stuff is crap. I had to get their 4k stuff to make it worth while. If your just getting a regular screen then they might be fine. I will say I payed 450 for mine off of amazon and the frame alone is worth it to me. Very heavy duty. I will hang ok to my screen for a while. Love it.

And you will never be the same. Tv's just won't do it for you anymore. Projector rules all! Best thing I ever did.

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As far as budget elite if your going with an AT screen from them the budget stuff is crap. I had to get their 4k stuff to make it worth while. If your just getting a regular screen then they might be fine. I will say I payed 450 for mine off of amazon and the frame alone is worth it to me. Very heavy duty. I will hang ok to my screen for a while. Love it.

They have a crap ton of models. Can you recommend one specifically? Otherwise, 4K, transparent, not sure what else.

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I can say that my Panny looks that way when I turn my lights up but in a totally light controlled environment, it looks fantastic!  That's to be expected with it being a 1200 lumen projector.  If you do not have a fully controlled light controlled room or at least can get the room very dark, you will need a projector with a lot more lumens (brightness). 

 

FYI, my room is similar at 13' x 19'.  My current screen is an Elite 2.35:1 Cinescope screen.  It looks great to my eyes.  I recently purchased AT fabric from Seymour and will soon be upgrading my screen to a 150" so I can put my LaScala Trio behind it.

 

Sorry I cannot recommend any projectors as the Panny AE3000u has been my first projector.  I can't go with any of the budget projectors because they do not have the Zoom Memory feature that allows me to easily change aspect ratio.

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I picked up a used Epson 8350 here on the forum as my 1st projector and I was hooked , it took me less than 1 month to upgrade . I ended up going with a Sony VPL-HW40ES they can be had for 1800-2000 .

 

The Sony is dead quiet which I like since it is right above my seating . The 8350 was not

Edited by A1UC
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Elite Screens 138 Inch 2:35:1 SableFrame Acoustically Transparent Fixed Projector Screen (54"Hx126.9"W)

That's what I bought. But the material

It came with was complete crap. They sent me the 4k stuff for free. I got lucky. But if you go non AT this same size 2.35 is 399 on amazon with free shipping. But 2.35 requires a pricier projector unless you got something like the epson but ou have to manually zoom all the time which can be a PITA. If you go 16x9 the sony recommended above would be exactly what I would get. Normally 2500 but I think on sale right now at projector people for 2000

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I'd start here to look at specs, features and price ranges. Also be cautious of your throw distance since you might use the long wall.

 

I'm on the long wall also and came within a 1/2" of projecting onto a 120" 16:9 screen.

 

http://www.projectorcentral.com/

 

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm

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There is an installer out of St. Louis who pushes JVC, basically $4,800 for a JVC 4910 4K Eshift projector and $2,500 for a screen innovations zero-edge screen.  It is mostly 4K but not really, all the internals are 1080p then it upscales I think, it's not 4K all the way through.  I'm not entirely sure if that's really worth it or not.  I demo'ed one at his house but it was still hard to tell, sitting in a beige living room at 10 AM with no blackout curtains and light coming in from every window in the house, so it was still fairly washed out.  He was bragging on the screen because it was so bright, which absolutely made no sense to me since it was fairly washed out and pale.  It sounds like a $2,500 setup in a very dark room will do everything I need for it to do.  His recommended solution is $7,300 plus shipping, nearly 3 times what the Sony and a fairly entry level screen is.  I can't justify it when I still prefer the colors of a simple TV.  

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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A cheaper setup in a dark room will destroy just about any setup in a bright room. Period. My first setup cost me 1150$ total and that got me 106" and my epson. Was extremely happy with it. I would have never upgraded had I stayed with my thx ultra setup. But the cinema stuff forced me to change screen width to bigger or smaller to clear the horns. Would have stayed with 16x9 buy couldn't go much bigger because of low ceilings.

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I did a massive amount of research when doing this. The more you spend will usually be an upgrade. I mean yea some are a little better value than others. But It's not like speakers where a 500 speaker can crush a 2000 speaker. Good blacks are not cheap in projector land.

My advise is to read and read. Learn what and why. Different projectors use different techs. Find the one that's best for you. In your price range you won't get one that's really good at everything. So you will need to look for the ones that are really good at what you want the most. Projector reviews.com has great info. Also the projector area at avs has great shootouts.

Movies will never be the same after you get a good projector set up. It's really amazing.

Edited by Pro-Cinema_Head
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Good blacks are not cheap in projector land.

We watched that Hugo movie where the orphan kid builds that robot in the clock tower. The dark scenes are about as pleniful as Batman. I wasn't impressed, it was just tons of shades of light gray and I had trouble seeing what things were. It wasn't even all that big either, less than 100". Just seems like if somebody was going to spend $7,300 on a sub-100" setup, they'd just get a Sony XBR-79X900B and be done with it. I've seen one of these in person, they're amazing.

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I'm taking all this in for future reference I appreciate all the information you guys are giving him so I can get it as well. Right now I have a Mitsubishi 73 inch rear projection DLP. my wife loves the new speakers but balks when I try to talk about getting a projector and screen, the TV is in fine working order. Darn it! After I picture 130 or 150 inch screen in my room my 73 seems like a 19 inch. Oh well, I will have to settle for new subs for now, which also makes me very happy :-)

I keep picturing my mom saying "your generation wants to have overnight, what we had to work our whole lives for"! :)

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Of course they are. They are sales people. Lol

When I am being an Engineer watching TV, I wish those bars on the side were a little darker, when watching a movie they are not there and I have never said I wish there was a little more shadow detail during a good movie.

2.35 AT Screen - More of audiophile then videophile.

My screen was $500 and works if sitting 9' feet away with 1080. 4K will likely require an upgraded screen but that appears to be 2 years away due to cost and amount of movies/TV available.

Edited by BE36
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Of course they are. They are sales people. Lol

They also told me the JVC 4910 which they advertise for $5,195 isn't any better than the Sony 40 something which is $2,000 right now, said the black level is splitting hairs and is negligible.

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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