What projector for small Theater?

[ToddAnisman]

HI everyone-

My Company, SPG Studios, is looking for a new projector to replace our old Sony-Who-knows-what-model-number-it-is projector. Our throw distance is about 35-40 feet, and our screen is 15' I think. Anyway, Recommendation s would be greatly appreciated.

The screen is a Stewart Microperf. Couple of key things...

A)the Ketstoning has to be very good, as we have a bit of a severe angle goin' on.

B) Must have All inputs. Prefer BNC connectors, and a serial Digital input would be awesome....


Here's a link to the studio. This is where I work everyday...

http://www.spgstudios.com/?page=facilities_stage5

Thanks,

-Todd A.

[draganm]

that's really yuor JOB, for which you get paid? I hate you IMHO,you guys owe it to your viewers/listeneers to do your work with the highest fidelity possible, I would have to say a Sony G90 calibrated by a pro like William Phelps or Ken Whitcomb.
Edit: oops, 15 foot screen, you would be stacking CRT's. I'm not too up on the digital light cannon's but prolly a LCOS machine? have you looked at JVC HD2K chippers?

[ToddAnisman]

that's really yuor JOB, for which you get paid? I hate you IMHO,you guys owe it to your viewers/listeneers to do your work with the highest fidelity possible, I would have to say a Sony G90 calibrated by a pro like William Phelps or Ken Whitcomb.
Edit: oops, 15 foot screen, you would be stacking CRT's. I'm not too up on the digital light cannon's but prolly a LCOS machine? have you looked at JVC HD2K chippers?

Hiya DraganM-

He he...well, since we are an Audio mixing Facility, I'm not sure if our Owner would spring for a 2K machine, but then again, I don't know. I do know that we needs to replace what's in there. I'll go take a look at those JVC machines. What kind of money are they getting? I think we're going to have a hard time getting more than 10k for the budget on this...


-Todd A.

[Chris D]

Why did you post pictures of my living room on that website?

[George Bellefontaine]

Why did you post pictures of my living room on that website?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Anyway, I would say you gotta look for a projector that has both vertical and horizontal lens shift. If you are ceiling mounting it, there are quite a few lcd models with H & V lens shift. If you are projecting from the back wall ( from the pics, it looks that way ) then that long throw will really narrow down your possible choices. You really need to know where the PJ is going to be positioned before looking at anything.

[ToddAnisman]

Why did you post pictures of my living room on that website?

He he, You wish....

You should requsition the Airforce to build you a theater in your C-17...that would so Pimp.... Just tell 'em you have some of those 50K toilet seats....

-T

[ToddAnisman]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Anyway, I would say you gotta look for a projector that has both vertical and horizontal lens shift. If you are ceiling mounting it, there are quite a few lcd models with H & V lens shift. If you are projecting from the back wall ( from the pics, it looks that way ) then that long throw will really narrow down your possible choices. You really need to know where the PJ is going to be positioned before looking at anything.

Hi George-

Yes you are correct in that we will project from the back wall..the throw distance is not as far as it looks in the pics...Maybe 30' tops... Can't have those fans in the room, even the quietest of models will produce an unacceptable noise floor (Dolby will not certify a room that is above a certain noise floor).

-Todd A.

[George Bellefontaine]

Todd, go to the Projector Central site and look at the varied manufacturer list of projectors. Each has a Throw Distance Calculator in the specs. That way you can see what PJ will project a 15 foot pic at 30 feet.

[aud19]

That just looks fun! :P

http://www.spgstudios.com/?page=facilities_stage5

[Brandon B]

With a 15 foot screen you need some light. The JVC HD2K won't cut it at 500 lumens really. What's your budget? I'd be looking at some 3 chip DLPs. The InFocus 777 has dropped A LOT in price, and I'd check into the Sim C3X and the Panasonic 7000 as well. All should be available for between $10 and $15K, depending how soon you jump (they are all dropping as we speak).

Panny has an optional SDI in card (also a separate HD-only HDSDI card). All have lens options to deal with your throw. Sim and IF are 720 machines, the Panny is a SXGA+ chip masked down to 1366x768. All are biggish and heavy (although not compared to a CRT).

All three are bright (since your room looks to have a lot of stray light sources), although the Panny is brightest, with dual lamps that can be run in single or dual, high and low modes for pretty extended life.

BB

[Lex]

oh, now I don't want to go to work anymore after seeing this. Ok, so I lied, I never wanted to go in the first place, lol.

This is a interesting request. I'd say Brandon hit the contenders right on the lens cap. George's idea of computing the throw distance for each PJ, a good one.

I would seriously think you guys have a studio source for stuff like this, or is it that they add 5K to the price?

Sure is a beautiful studio.

[ToddAnisman]

Todd, go to the Projector Central site and look at the varied manufacturer list of projectors. Each has a Throw Distance Calculator in the specs. That way you can see what PJ will project a 15 foot pic at 30 feet.

Great idea, Thanks George!!

-T

[ToddAnisman]

oh, now I don't want to go to work anymore after seeing this. Ok, so I lied, I never wanted to go in the first place, lol.

This is a interesting request. I'd say Brandon hit the contenders right on the lens cap. George's idea of computing the throw distance for each PJ, a good one.

I would seriously think you guys have a studio source for stuff like this, or is it that they add 5K to the price?

Sure is a beautiful studio.

Thanks!!!

As for studio source, we often will work directly with a manufacturer. Christie is probably one of the more common PJ's in Audio, but since our budget is limited we probably couldn't swing one... We are small independant, so it's tough sometimes to come up with the big dollars...

-Todd A.

[aud19]

What is the budget anyway? I scrolled through the thread quick and didn't see a $figure$...?

[wildfire99]

These are all good recommendations for picture quality, but is that the end goal? Are the lights always going to be on to that level? If so, then PQ is less important than lumens, and some hot-shot business model PJ would be more appropriate.

As to inputs, the best bet would be to get a scaler. That allows you to have more inputs, independent of the projector, plus just one interconnect going to the PJ itself. The DVDO iScan stuff takes SDI with an add-in card.

I would also take a very hard look at tilting the screen to correct for keystone, instead of trying to do it in the projector. Not sure how that would affect the sound, though.