Ready to take the plunge :)

[Thor25]

Hi all, this is a really great resource and after reading threads here all day I have a few questions left before I make my final purchasing decision.

I have a basement that will have my home theater, however its a room that is not solely for HT, in fact its next to the bar The ambient lighting will be easy to control, so brightness will be up to the dimmer control. However it would be nice to have decent ANSI so I can have the system on during a party.

My throw distance is 11 feet, my wall is about 7.5 feet x 7.5 (roughly).. I'm aiming to go with 16x9 as DVDs is what this system will probably play 50% of the time, if not more.

I've narrowed down my projectors to these 3:

PT - AE700U

BenQ-PB7100

Optoma H31

Budget wise I'm aiming to keep for my screen, wiring, and projector to around $2500 CAD.

So any advice on these 3 would be much appreciated

Also I have a local guy who sells HT, any opinions on these packages he offers, keep in mind these are all in CAD dollars

MODERATOR EDIT: Links to commercial sales sites not allowed without prior written permission from HT Guide management, which is usually given only for paid advertisers. Please descrbe the package systems you want us to give advice on without a direct link to the retail site where they are sold. END EDIT

Now the next part for me is to figure out a screen, thats a lot more reading to do :B

[George Bellefontaine]

Don't know much about the BenQ, but I wouldn't go 600 x 800 if I were you. The Panny is true hi def and lcd while the Optoma is 854 x 468 ( dvd res) and dlp. Both the Panny and the Optoma are well thought of so either would be a good buy. But I would suggest the Panny so you will be hi def ready. I expect you already have verified that the throw on these PJs will work for you.

[Dean McManis]

From those three I'd definitely choose the Panny AE700, especially if you can make your budget and still get it. The others are finne projectors, but the added resolution of the AE700 will be a distinct advantage sooner than you might expect.
Personally, I'd spend less on the screen and more on the projector if necessary to squeeze it in.

-Dean.

[BobD207s]

I would recommend a Carada screen - we use them in our installs and for the $ they are hard to beat.

https://www.carada.com

Bob