# Home Theatre Projector First Purchase Help Please!!!!



## bazzaj84 (Nov 23, 2011)

Hi Guys,
Am in the marker for a Full HD projector for my dedicated theatre room. Am basically after some advice regarding what type and brand of projector & screen I should go with that fits into my budget and gives me the best bang for buck. I basically only watch Blurays and play game in the theatre room and watch very little television in there. Have list my current setup below as well as the details about the room and my budget. My current receiver/amp is a Pioneer VSX918 which I think only takes up to HDMI 1.2 meaning I wont be able to watch 3D. Is this a problem for sound or anything else as well? Thanks for your help, any comments or opinions would be appreciated.

Current Setup
42" Full HD Panasonic Plasma
Pioneer VSX918 Receiver
Bose Acoustimass® 10 speaker system
PS3 & Xbox 360

Budget & Room
Room is approx 5m long by 3m wide
Bose Speakers are mounted on front wall and could fit at max a 120" screen
Theatre Room has blinds but could look into getting curtains if you think its required. The window does face east so in the morning the sun shines in but in the afternoon and evening the room is quite dark
Projector Budget - $2000 - $2500 (can stretch a little if you think its worth a bit extra cash) - Am thinking DLP but not sure if this is the go
Screen - Fixed Frame Screen - Dont know what to pay, on ebay I see 100" screen from $300 to $600 and in HIFI stores they seem to be a lot more expensive. Again recommendations please

I think that should be enough info for someone to help, not sure if its good to look into buying gear on the internet/ebay or if I should pay extra and get in from a retailer here in Perth, Western Australia. Again any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Brandon


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## bazzaj84 (Nov 23, 2011)

Sorry Guys,
Also how large a screen do you think would work in my theatre room. I was thinking 100", is this too big for my room???


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## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

I had a 114" screen in a room only slightly bigger, 100" would provide a nice cinematic viewing experience without going to big which can cause eye and neck strain.

Take some tape and mark out what a 100" screen would be on a wall and then sit about how far you believe you will be from the screen to get a quick idea.


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

Do you want the ability to do CIH? Switch between 16:9 and 2.35?

If you don't care about 3D you can pick up the Panny 4000 pretty cheap right now and the lense memory is great for CIH.


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## bazzaj84 (Nov 23, 2011)

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your responses did what you recommended nholmes1 and I think 100" would be nice without being too big!! Now for the decision of projector and screen!! Mopar_Mudder being new to the whole projector scene Im not sure CIH is??? I was going to run the projector in 16:9 but have also not heard of 2.35 aspect ratio? Sorry Im so illinformed on this subject hopefully you guys can educate me . Where would the best place to get a Panna 4000 from in Australia. Are they a couple years old now? They seem to still get really good reviews. Thanks again


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Mopar_Mudder said:


> Do you want the ability to do CIH? Switch between 16:9 and 2.35?
> 
> If you don't care about 3D you can pick up the Panny 4000 pretty cheap right now and the lense memory is great for CIH.


Agreed, for the money the AE4000 is a fantastic projector.


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

bazzaj84 said:


> Hi Guys,
> Thanks for your responses did what you recommended nholmes1 and I think 100" would be nice without being too big!! Now for the decision of projector and screen!! Mopar_Mudder being new to the whole projector scene Im not sure CIH is??? I was going to run the projector in 16:9 but have also not heard of 2.35 aspect ratio? Sorry Im so illinformed on this subject hopefully you guys can educate me . Where would the best place to get a Panna 4000 from in Australia. Are they a couple years old now? They seem to still get really good reviews. Thanks again


CIH is Constant Image Height. Most of your bigger movies are filmed in 2.34 or 2.40 aspect ration. That is why you have the black bars on top and bottom when you watch them on a normal 16:9 TV or screen. CIH get rid of the black bars by basically making the picture bigger and projecting the black bars off the screen where you don't see them. When you display 16:9 (normal TV) you have area on each side of the screen that isn't used, 2.35 fills the entire screen.

Here are some pictures of my CIH screen. In order they are 4:3 (old square TV size), 16:9 (new HDTV size), 2.4 (block buster movie size)


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## bazzaj84 (Nov 23, 2011)

Hi Mopar_Mudder,
Wow that looks amazing!! Looks like I might give the Panna 400 a go I think if thats what you guys recommend. What do you think about screens is it worth giving the $500 - $600 100" screens on ebay a go or are they a waste of cash?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Im using a 120" Jamestown 2,35:1 screen sold from eBay and I could not be happier I have a review of it here.


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## bazzaj84 (Nov 23, 2011)

Also do you guys think 100"is too big for my room being that it is 5m x 3m approx. Also as a general rule how far back in a room like mine should I be mounting the projector from the screen? Thanks


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

If your wanting a 100" screen you would need to mount the projector at about 4.5m from the screen. 100" is as big as I would go because you dont want your seating right up against the rear wall.


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

Do you need to put the speakers behind the screen, is so that limits your screen choices but does give you the best sound field.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Mopar_Mudder said:


> Do you need to put the speakers behind the screen?


No, not at all. It would give the best feel of a real theater but as far as sound quality it really makes no difference. An AT screen (acoustically transparent) costs a fair bit more and your projector needs to be brighter if you use one (Cant use eco mode).


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> No, not at all. It would give the best feel of a real theater but as far as sound quality it really makes no difference. An AT screen (acoustically transparent) costs a fair bit more and your projector needs to be brighter if you use one (Cant use eco mode).


Speak for yourself. Sound is much better for me coming from the screen rather then coming from above or below. L/R probably aren't as big of deal but having that center behind the screen give more of a feeling of dialoge coming right out of the mouth.

PS I have a 147" AT screen that I run ECO all the time, think I have about $400 in my screen


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ive never noticed the dialog on my system coming form below the screen. I think thats more dependent on what speakers your using and placement.


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Ive never noticed the dialog on my system coming form below the screen. I think thats more dependent on what speakers your using and placement.


Everyone has a different take on things, just want to through all the options out their. Back when I still had a RPTV and the speaker on top it always bothered me having the sound out their. For the best possible sound your L/C/R should all be the same and that is hard to do with out an AT screen. For me I also like the cleaner look of not having any speakers visable around the screen.

No right or wrong just do what works for you.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Mopar_Mudder said:


> No right or wrong just do what works for you.


Agreed :T


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