New to it all - Need Advice.

[byrddogx]

I will be honest, as much as I have seen these wonderful home theaters with the seating, curtains, lighting, etc - I probably don't want to go that far....yet. Right now, I have a game room that I would like to make into a nice simple theater area using front projection. I have thought about Rear Projection, LCD and Plasma - but this just seems so much more intriguing. I have 3 exterior windows that I would apply blackout shades on. I am looking at installing a motorized recessed screen shown in the diagram below with the projector either being ceiling mounted or set on a shelf in the back of the room. I have all of my A/V and networking in a closet to the rear of the room with ceiling speakers mounted in each corner of the room.

I've been looking at a friends recommendation on the Panasonic PT-AE900U.

Does anyone have any recommedations or advice on starting this? Is it possible with the layout of this room to have a nice theather?

[draganm]

looks like about 13 ' 15' without the angled part. That will work fine for 1 row of seats. IMO you should be aware that LCD screen door might be a real issue sitting that close. I would choose a WXGA (1280 x 720) resolution DLP with at least 1500lums shooting on a gray screen. Your going to need a lot of light output with all those windows, even with curtains. Is there a basement you can do this in?

[Burke Strickland]

Window covering or basement Of course, if you have a basement with no windows, or a room in the house where you can drywall over the windows without ruining the house's exterior looks, using that space would help assure light control. However, if properly applied, blackout curtains can pretty well darken a room even mid-day. It may take an extra "edge strip" to totally trap the light, but it can be done, and still look nice. In Houston, we don't have basements, since the water table is so close to the surface. But many people here still have HTs and some of us have retro-fitted ours into rooms that have windows. Blackout shades or curtains with true blackout lining were the answer.

Seating I had a sectional sofa and found that it took up a lot more space than it was worth and its layout forced some people to sit at an uncomfortable angle or crane their necks to view the screen if they were sitting on the side "legs" of the sectional. A lot of floor space was wasted since only three people would sit on the sofa at a time, even though there were five oversized seat cushions (excluding the corners). It is amazing to me that people will sit closer together in individual chairs than they will on a sofa, but I've observed this time and time again.

So rather than a sectional sofa, I'd recommend an equivalent number of easy to move, ergonomically correct, individual chairs. (Ekornes makes several designs that fit into an HT very well.) THis scheme allows positioning the chairs as "row" seating at the proper distance for movie / TV watrching and music listining and then lends itself to quickly pulling the chairs around in a cluster ("U" shape) for conversation.

Projector ande seating distance The Panasonic PT-AE900U in particular has anti-screen door technology that many find to be very effective. It is also a high quality, reasonably priced unit to get started with. If you decide to try a DLP model, be sure you and others who will be watching frequently are not affected by the "rainbow" effect resulting from the spinning color wheel. (It doesn't bother me at all, but some people get bad headaches or a feeling of vertigo from it.) There are several DLP models in a moderate price range that could be candidates.

I sit about 13 feet from my front projection screen using a Sony VPL-51 (another high quality LCD model) and do not notice "screen door", and I am quite aware of it when it is an issue, since I've seen it and hated it with some other set ups I've demo'd.

Screen size The main thing that will lead to a successful front projection experience is being satisfied with an appropriate screen size. At the distance you will be sitting, you willl probably not get a satsifactory image with a 12 foot screen (144 inches) with any technology unless you really break the bank, whether the issue is screen door effect, dimness of the image, etcetera. But you can probably get a very pleasing and impactful 92 inch image to be viewed at that distance.

What the heck, you might find that the "impact of a ten foot (120 inch) image outweights the artifact issues at that screen size and viewing distance. Part of the fun of th ehobby is experimenting to find out what works best for you. 9It helps if you don't lock in your installation up front to the point you cannot try out different combinations.)

Equipment Storage With the closet holding the equipment, make sure you have adequate ventilation and that the shelves are arranged so you can access the rear panels of the components for changes to the connections without needing a gymnastics certification. :<)

Good luck and enjoy!

Burke

[byrddogx]

Wow - great input and thanks. We've done a little testing with blackout on the windows. Since the windows are in the rear of the house they do not allow much light as it is - but we have virtually removed all light using blackout drapes and doors to close off other openings.

We are looking at a Draper Envoy screen with about a 99" screen that has about a 84X84 viewing area. Because this area will be used for "other" things on occasion - we were looking to have a motorized screen and get it out of the way when need be.

Seating has been on the backend of where I would like to go right now. Sectionals we have looked at have been of the half circle type - not so much square. After talking to a friend this weekend, his father-in-law owns a gaming store (Pool, Poker, etc) and I may be able to get some good seats out of him. I am supposed to go look this week.

The A/V closet has shelving that makes accessing the rear of the components rather simple. We have dedicated vents in the closet as well and have complete access to any walls or ceiling space if we need to add wire or power.

[aud19]

What have you got for ceiling height in the room? It might work out very nicely to do one straight row up front with the sectional and table on a raised area behind that (or vice versa)

[byrddogx]

I think we sit at about 9.5 feet in ceiling height - but that does good.

[aud19]

You should have room for a riser then :T

[dbphd]

Screnn for Sony 51 that can be used with 100

Burke,

Would a 100" diagonal be too large for a Sony 51? I have been considering a Stewart FireHawk. Thought I would buy a screen and a used projector to get my feet wet before jumping into the Sony 100 pond. I saw a great demo of the 100 on a GreyHawk screen when visiting Reno -- the dealer said a FireHawk would be even better but they had the GreyHawk in place. Unfortunately the dealer in Santa Barbara is projecting the 100 over much too great a distance with the result being a fuzzy picture. Never seen a 51 demo, but reviews are good.

db

[Dean McManis]

I have a perforated 180" Grayhawk screen and I've been very pleased with it. 8)
The Firehawk came out later and is supposed to have even more punch.

As long as you are within the focal range of the projector the picture should be very clear regardless of screen size. But some people purposely defocus projectors to minimize visible pixel gap when viewing a big screen up close, especially with LCD projectors.

I chose having a sofa with each end being reclining chairs, and then had separate smaller comfy chairs for the remaining seating, and most people liked that arrangement. :T