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Lets Talk Projectors


fuzzydog

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I'd like to hear from projector veterans on this forum about what they've found to be important factors in selecting a projector. 

 

Seems like there are a lot of factors to consider between lumens, contrast ratio, throw distance, screen size, screen ratio, etc...

 

I'm trying to figure out what is the sweet spot in terms of specs that would help me to select an appropriate projector and screen for my HT build. 

 

Our viewing distance is approximately 11' and the throw distance from the projector to the screen will be about 14'. 

 

I'm leaning towards a EPSON 5030UB with a 120" 16:9 retractable screen for our HT, but I wanted to query the forum before I pulled the trigger on this setup.    

 

My HT build thread is here: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/158099-fds-dolby-atmos-ht-design-build-thread/

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Thanks.  I'm wondering if I should be looking at a 110" size screen for our viewing distance of 11'. 

 

The THX website recommends to divide the diagonal measurement of your screen by 0.84 to come up with your viewing distance.  If you take a screen size of 110 divided by 0.84 you get 131" or approx. 11'. 

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I have an epson which I have had for just over a year, it's kinda already on the fritz, I but it's cool because I got a brand new Ben Q 1070 just waiting in the box. :) I sit about 18' from the wall I shoot it on and the only way to make the picture smaller is to move the projector forward, It's zoomed all the way down. My Sanyo z5 didn't have that problem.

Edited by cradeldorf
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Our viewing distance is approximately 11' and the throw distance from the projector to the screen will be about 14'. I'm leaning towards a EPSON 5030UB with a 120" 16:9 retractable screen for our HT, but I wanted to query the forum before I pulled the trigger on this setup.

 

I'm almost at the same distance. 12.5 feet from lens to screen with a 120" 16:9 electric screen. It's maxed out at that distance on the 120".  I have the 6030UB which is basically the exact projector as the 5030UB but comes with a ceiling mount, extra bulb, 2 pair of 3D glasses and an additional year warranty and black instead of white. It also has Anamorphic Widescreen Mode should I ever add an anamorphic lens and go with a scope screen.

 

That being said, It's a great projector with excellent picture quality. If you decide to go a 2:35 screen, the Panny 8000 is worth looking at as well.

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I've owned only two projectors....Panasonic AE3000u and now the Panasonic AE8000u.  Absolutely love them.  The 8000u is MUCH brighter than the 3000u.  The main feature I needed was the Lens Memory feature.  Since my screen is 2.35:1, I didn't want to have to manually zoom / focus each time the format changed between 2.35:1 and 16:9.  With a 16:9 screen, you don't have to worry about it because you will just have grey bars on top and bottom.  For me, that feature alone led me to the Panasonic as at the time, it was the only projector that had that feature.  When I was looking to upgrade from the 3000u, the JVC has the feature but it was $2,000 more so I opted for the Panny and could not be happier.  Cool thing with the 8000u is it automatically detects when the format changes and adjusts accordingly.  Ellisr63 is using a Panny 8000u on a 180" scope screen.

 

When I rebuild my front wall, I will be approx 9' with a 150" screen.

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Does the Epson not support 2.35:1?

Any projector will "support" 2.35:1...well sorta.

 

Most projectors shoot a native 16:9 aspect ratio.  So an image on a 16:9 screen will fill the entire screen.  If the movie is 2.35:1 format, you will get grey bars on the top and bottom of your screen.  You can either mask the grey bars or leave them be.  If however you have a 2.35:1 screen, if you shoot a 16:9 image onto the screen, you will be flush top and bottom but will have grey bars on the left and right.  You can either mask them or let them be (I let them be).  When the content is 2.35:1, now you have grey bars on the left and right AND on the top and bottom.  So what you do is zoom in with your projector until the image fills the entire width and height of your screen.  In this case, the grey bars on top and bottom extend above and below my screen and disappear against my grey front wall.

 

Let me know if this makes sense.

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You will never say " I got too big of a screen"

 

When I first designed my HT, I was concerned about going with a 110" screen being 11' from the screen.  I ended up with a 103" as this was the widest I could go and have space for my main speakers (RF-83's at the time) and allow for them to be toed in.  I have never felt that my 103" was truly immersive.  I could EASILY have gone much larger and had no eye strain whatsoever.

 

Wakejunkie has a 130" screen and is 10' on 16:9 format and looks great.

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Fuzzy, this is an important point:

 

The main feature I needed was the Lens Memory feature. Since my screen is 2.35:1, I didn't want to have to manually zoom / focus each time the format changed between 2.35:1 and 16:9.

 

We can use Lens Memory on our Panasonic projector to select several of our most common formats (image shape; Aspect Ratios) without any manual zooming.  When the projector automatically zooms from 16:9 to 2.35:1, it is quite dramatic (our 2.35 on our screen is bigger; see below).

 

We love the Panasonic (there are newer models now).  It is bright, and sharp as a tack.  We can see incredible facial detail on a 2.35:1 Seymour screen that is 130" wide and 55.3" high (149" diagonal, to go by the industry's 70 year old misleading way of writing specs).

 

IMO, it's better to have a 2.35:1 screen than a 16:9 (1.78:1).  When filmmakers decide to make true widescreen movies, nicknamed 'scope by the industry (e.g., 2.35:1), they expect (and hope) that the total area of the image will be projected larger, not smaller, as it is with "letterboxed" images on a 16:9 screen.  To maintain the same 16:9 image size you were planning on for 16:9 when you are showing movies of that shape, you would need to get a 2.35:1 screen that is somewhat wider.  That way 16:9 should be the same size, but 2.35 would be considerably bigger, and very panoramic.  You can get the info you need to do the math from the Seymour website.  Make sure the projector you pick can cover full screen width at the throw you will have.

 

You may know this, but in case you don't .... naming the HDTV format 16:9 and calling it widescreen was probably another attempt to mislead.  Yes, it is wider than the old TV screens, which were about 1.33:1.  But, at 16:9 (1.78:1) it is narrower than the American standard screen from 1953 on, which is 1.85:1, and was called "widescreen" for a very few years, untill the public caught on that it was now standard, and that processes that were true "widescreen" ranged from 2.2:1, on through 2.35:1 (later 2.39:1 to hide splices) for CinemaScope and Panavision, to the very rarely used super wide ARs, like 2.76:1.  We counted 10 aspect ratios, so far.

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I'd like to have a powered retractable projector screen so that I can mount a flat panel tv on the wall. I don't want to burn up projector bulbs watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse or the food network...

All of the reasonably priced powered retractable screens I've found online are 16:9. Seems easy to find fixed 2.35:1 screens, but maybe I'm overlooking a source for retractable versions.

I've found the Panasonic AE8000U online for $1700 on the Projectorpeople.com website which is less than I've found the Epson sold for on other sites. Is projector people a reputable company to order from?

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I'd like to have a powered retractable projector screen so that I can mount a flat panel tv on the wall. I don't want to burn up projector bulbs watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse or the food network...

All of the reasonably priced powered retractable screens I've found online are 16:9. Seems easy to find fixed 2.35:1 screens, but maybe I'm overlooking a source for retractable versions.

I've found the Panasonic AE8000U online for $1700 on the Projectorpeople.com website which is less than I've found the Epson sold for on other sites. Is projector people a reputable company to order from?

Got mine from them and only order my bulbs from them. Good company to work with!!

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Thanks, I'd overlooked that one, but I was hoping for an electric version. I've already got the power receptacle wired up and ready to go for it.

Edit:

I just found this one, but it's quite a premium over the 16:9 versions:

http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Screens-CineTension2-125-inch-Diagonal/dp/B004WTY7OA/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1440556971&sr=8-21&keywords=2.35+projector+screen

Edited by FuzzyDog
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Thanks, I'd overlooked that one, but I was hoping for an electric version. I've already got the power receptacle wired up and ready to go for it.

Edit:

I just found this one, but it's quite a premium over the 16:9 versions:

http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Screens-CineTension2-125-inch-Diagonal/dp/B004WTY7OA/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1440556971&sr=8-21&keywords=2.35+projector+screen

lol I was just about to post that. Well electric is gonna be pricier for sure. But the biggest difference would be tensioning. Keeps the screen straight. A manual pull down will curl eventually. Any high end screens will usually be tensioned.
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A friend came over the other night and watched some scenes from the Transformers, and he said the picture looked excellent... This is sitting 11' away from a 185" 2.35 image. It is not LCD flat panel bright, but it is plenty bright for this size screen (it was also in ECO mode). The biggest thing I like about the projector is the Auto Zoom/focus. Panasonic and JVC have this feature...not sure what others do. We also do not get any eyestrain sitting 11' from the screen.

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Ironically just installed a 5030UB on Sunday replacing my Panasonic I’ve had for many years (9 years!).  I was strongly considering the Panasonic AE8000 because I do use 2.35:1 ... and being able to automatically adjust image size might be worth a small image disadvantage (according to reviews).  I ended up with the Epson because the Panny wasn’t readily available in Canada, and it came with two 3D glasses and a free replacement bulb (via mail in offer).

 

One major deciding factor for me was placement flexibility, and maintaining enough zoom to be able to change from 2.35:1 to 16:9 (which is about an additional 1.3 zoom once placed).  Both the Panny and Epson had that flexibility.

 

They are both very good projectors… sometimes its hard to go wrong...

ROb

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I'd like to have a powered retractable projector screen so that I can mount a flat panel tv on the wall. I don't want to burn up projector bulbs watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse or the food network...

All of the reasonably priced powered retractable screens I've found online are 16:9. Seems easy to find fixed 2.35:1 screens, but maybe I'm overlooking a source for retractable versions.

I've found the Panasonic AE8000U online for $1700 on the Projectorpeople.com website which is less than I've found the Epson sold for on other sites. Is projector people a reputable company to order from?

 

Seymour has 2.35:1 retractable, electronic, remote controlled screens; that's what we have.  It works very well.  Smooth as silk.

Edited by garyrc
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