VPL-VW100 Placement Advice

[JKalman]

I was wondering what my options are for placement of the Ruby. What I would like to do is buy a rack, table or something of the sort that will allow me not have to hang it from my ceiling and diminish installation costs.

I do have drop ceiling boards, I'll post a pic below so people can see what I am dealing with. Can I hang it from the ceiling with some sort of custom installation? Sure. Do I want to? No. I'm looking for the best solution possible, even if that does mean taking a ceiling panel out and installing something that fits into the frame there, which, come to think of it might actually be cheaper than I originally thought. I don't mind an 7-8 foot rack or something of that nature to place it on either. I really would like to keep costs at a minimum more than any other consideration.

My biggest worry is spending out of control. If I lay down 9 grand on the Ruby in a few months, I won't really have much left over to do any major house work in the room I am using.

I haven't considered the cost of a screen yet, which, unfortunately has to be a separate piece because my wall is not completely flat and has a hump in the center that is not easily seen unless you place a light off center. If this weren't the case I would have painted one on with one of those DIY kits. So I am going to need something that can be hung from the ceiling or wall and which has around an 80 inch viewing area. Does anyone have any reocmmendations for a quality screen that isn't outrageously expensive as well?

This forum and a lot of the people on it has been extremely helpful to me. ;x(

Thanks in advance to everyone,

Jeff

[wildfire99]

I made a similar (what I would call) mistake not that long ago. I blew all my HT cash on equipment, and had nothing left over for the room. So now, I have great audio (and great video on the way), but cheesey seats, no room treatment, and it's generally uncomfortable to sit on the non-HT oriented chairs for more than 1 hr. If I had to do it again... I'd probably still make the same mistake. I'm a sucker for technology.

But as I suggested in the other thread, think hard about stepping down on the hardware and fixing up the room first. It makes it more enjoyable while you're lamenting the 'pedestrian' HT setup.

Over at AVS I saw a pic of someone who installed the Sony on a drop ceiling, check the LCOS/SXRD forum there. They used a ceiling mount that was hanging from one of the panels (which I have to assume was wood, not the cardboardy stuff they usually are).

The cheapest screens you can get that I know of would be Da-Lite pulldowns that are removed from the case. Of course the usual screen plug is for the forum sponsor Carada (at top). They do have nice frames, which the Da-Lite el-cheapo method would leave you lacking (unless you get some 2x2 boards).

Of course, if you're paying in the nines for a Sony, you're paying too much...

[Dean McManis]

It seems like it would be a fairly straightforward project to measure the inset size of one of the ceiling panels and have someone at Home Depot cut a same-sized panel from MDF to support the projector from the ceiling. From that, you could either suspend the projector with a threaded pipe and bracket that matches the projector's base screws, or get 4 threaded rods, with nuts and washers on a matching board/shelf below the panel that the projector sets on.

I'm not certain from your description how far down from the ceiling that the projector needs to hang to bring the lens to the same height as the top of the screen.

I've tried supporting past projectors from a tall rack before, and it doesn't work too well. I was worried of knocking it over, the lower height made it so I had to do keystone correction, and people walk in front would block the projected image.
Plus ceiling mounts can help clean up the wiring, and generally help with projector heat and noise as well.

Screens are generally not too expensive, and most likely your decision will be based on the size, price, and gain that you want. If you can, go with a fixed screen. Non-tensioned roll-up screens have issues with wrinkles and rolled bugs over time.
But of course it depends if you have a free full projection wall, and/or dedicated room.

Some screen manufacturers will send you a sample of their screen fabric if you ask, and you can stick a few of them up on the facing wall to see which one suits your room best. Plus with just projecting onto a back wall you can get a feel for the exact screen size that suits your room, projector focal range, and audience viewing distance, and then you can order the screen after you get the optimal specs sorted out.

I'm too equipment oriented to cut back on the quality of the projector to have better HT furniture. I'd rather have a Ruby and sit on bean bags for 6 months then to buy a lessor projector and have optimal HT seats and room treatments. But thats just me.

I would agree that if you research the VPL-VW100's best price you might be able to save enough on the unit price to pay for a nice screen, and maybe even a professional projector mount. :T