Throw distance for Z3 & AE700

[Swampy]

I'm in the process of doing my media room and I would like to use a shelf on the back wall rather than a ceiling mount. My room is 18'4" long. Using the throw distance calculator for each model on projectorcentral.com it appears that it a shelf at the back of the room will be suboptimal or won't work for the AE700 or the Z3. Does anyone have experience with either of these models at a throw distance of 17'? I'm concerned about screen size and brighness/contrast at that distance.

Thanks in advance! :P

[JonMarsh]

You're going to be in a tough spot there if you want to use that long a throw distance- for quite some number of years (ever since the Sony 10HT, for example), digitals have usually been shipped with relatively short throw lens, so that a large picture can be obtained in a fairly small room- say, using table top or ceiling mount. Older projectors like the Sony 400Q had multiple lenses available- at considerable cost - its a big part of the cost of the projector. Some even used the standard 400Q lens on the 10HT- this could be done, and resulted in much longer throw distance.

The AE700 has a much longer throw zoom range than most digitals- 2X, and can throw a 100" diagonal image anywhere between 10ft and 20ft- this is very flexible as these units go- how does that not fit into your parameters? Were you considering a larger screen than 100"? At what seating and viewing distance? If you're considering a screen size larger than 100" (say, 119"), you may want to evaluate first the viewing angle and possible SDE at that distance - personally, I don't think 1280X720 projectors hold up that well on that large a screen (BTDT). But, if you're siting well back from the screen, maybe it will be fine. If you have a chance to demo one before committing to your setup, I'd recommend that.

If you're considering a smaller screen (a good move), then the throw issue will be a problem; 96 should be OK, but 18 ft will be too small with a smaller screen, in all likelihood.

~Jon

[Swampy]

Thanks for the feedback!

My viewing Distances will be around 12' and 17', or 11' and 16' but could be moved closer for optimization. My screen size will be whatever is best for the configuration. I'm going to paint my wall for starters with a mix recommended by Andrew Pratt on this forum and I'll wait to paint it until I determine the best size for the projector. If I have to spring for a ceiling mount then so be it.

With the Panasonic 700, is the zoom fixed at 1 or 2 or is it variable? If it's variable, I should be able to come up with a good size screen of around 100" diagonal shouldn't I?

Thanks again! :T

[JonMarsh]

It's variable, continuously from 2:1, so you could easily support a typical 96" or 100" screen from the back of the room.