I'm a new member. I've worked with projectors for many years in a corporate environment, but am relatively new to home FP, other than Dean's extremely cool setup. (Yeah, Dean, it's that Gary.) I have some basic HT questions.
I recently decided to go the FP route, combined with a small 30" HDTV direct view for broadcast, instead of purchasing a 42" plasma to handle everything. This was after watching a movie using a beat up old LP730 I borrowed, projected on a bare wall. I decided that even that crappy setup had more impact than a $5000 HD res plasma.
I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on the Epson Powerlight Home 10 ($1079) and the Sony VPL-HS3 ($1269). The Sony seems to have better inputs, image processing, and brightness, while the Epson has lower price, better warranty, and would be more suitable for my particular installation. (The Sony would have to be ceiling mounted because of it's ridiculously short throw.)
I would like to keep costs down, but still get a reasonable amount of quality on an 80-88" wide 16:9 screen. I would prefer to simply sit the projector on a shelf approx. 12' from the screen, behind the seating area, instead of directly above it from the ceiling. However, I'm not totaly against ceiling mounting.
My actual questions (he finally gets to the point!) are as follows:
1. Which projector would you folks recommend in that price range?
2. Which screen material would you recommend? (I know Dean uses the Stewart GrayHawk.)
3. How much should I expect to pay for a fixed 80" wide screen? (Can I save money by buying the screen material, and making my own frame?)
4. Should I use a high gain or high contrast surface?
5. Does anyone have a preference of ceiling mount maufacturers, in case I go with the Sony? (I use Chief mounts, professionally, and don't care for them in my home environment.)
As an addendum to the FP setup, I will have a small 30" direct view HDTV for most broadcast stuff. It will be on a low stand, directly below the center of the FP screen. Does anyone have an opinion on whether I should get the Sony KV30HS510 ($1400) or the Philips 30PW850H ($900).
I'm sure the Sony is a better TV. But, is it really $500 better, considering it will only be used for broadcast HD and SD. Even then, the special broadcast HD will be up on the FP. I could sure use that $500 for other stuff, like an FP screen.
I recently decided to go the FP route, combined with a small 30" HDTV direct view for broadcast, instead of purchasing a 42" plasma to handle everything. This was after watching a movie using a beat up old LP730 I borrowed, projected on a bare wall. I decided that even that crappy setup had more impact than a $5000 HD res plasma.
I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on the Epson Powerlight Home 10 ($1079) and the Sony VPL-HS3 ($1269). The Sony seems to have better inputs, image processing, and brightness, while the Epson has lower price, better warranty, and would be more suitable for my particular installation. (The Sony would have to be ceiling mounted because of it's ridiculously short throw.)
I would like to keep costs down, but still get a reasonable amount of quality on an 80-88" wide 16:9 screen. I would prefer to simply sit the projector on a shelf approx. 12' from the screen, behind the seating area, instead of directly above it from the ceiling. However, I'm not totaly against ceiling mounting.
My actual questions (he finally gets to the point!) are as follows:
1. Which projector would you folks recommend in that price range?
2. Which screen material would you recommend? (I know Dean uses the Stewart GrayHawk.)
3. How much should I expect to pay for a fixed 80" wide screen? (Can I save money by buying the screen material, and making my own frame?)
4. Should I use a high gain or high contrast surface?
5. Does anyone have a preference of ceiling mount maufacturers, in case I go with the Sony? (I use Chief mounts, professionally, and don't care for them in my home environment.)
As an addendum to the FP setup, I will have a small 30" direct view HDTV for most broadcast stuff. It will be on a low stand, directly below the center of the FP screen. Does anyone have an opinion on whether I should get the Sony KV30HS510 ($1400) or the Philips 30PW850H ($900).
I'm sure the Sony is a better TV. But, is it really $500 better, considering it will only be used for broadcast HD and SD. Even then, the special broadcast HD will be up on the FP. I could sure use that $500 for other stuff, like an FP screen.
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