Adding a projector to a Home cinema

[admin_exported]

I was impressed with the review of the Panasonic AE2000 in your Feb Issue, but was bowled over when I saw my neighbours Panasonic AX200 especially the resolution but also because of the huge picture it delivers, not to mention its reasonable price. The AE 2000 has 1080P (as opposed to the 720P on the AX200) but I've read that it may have difficulty in producing a bright image on a 2.3m wide screen which I am planning. Could anyone offer informed comment on this please.

I do have a dedicated TV room with a 1080P Sony 46X 3500 TV using a PS3 for DVDs and BluRay, which I thought was marvellous until I saw my neighbours projector image which in my opinion gave a greater degree of involvement.

However, should I buy a projector, I am worried about connecting everything up in view of the fact that the HDMI leads will need to be very long and I will evidently have to switch between multiregional DVD, Blu Ray and Sky inputs to connect to TV or projector outputs. Perhaps I will need a switchable HDMI "ring main", if there can be such a thing to give full connectivity. I am planning a hole in the wall (like a cinema) behind which the projector can be mounted in an adjacent room.

Is there an article I can read on the subject. I am sure others will have encountered the same dilemma. I am also worried about how to mount a projector screen to lower in front of a TV and whether it will clutter up the room to the extent that it will annoy my wife.

Comments on the practical issues will be welcomed, short of dumping my wife.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Welcome to the wonderful world of projectors! (I first tried one at home four years ago - haven't ever gone back to a TV since.)

If you're planning a 2.3m screen, I'd suggest something a little more sophisticated than the baby Pana - 1080p if you can, as it'd make the most of your PS3/Blu-rays (and big screens can be merciless on lower-res images).

Its big bro or better would be ideal, or you should maybe think of a smaller screen. Sounds like you need to read our projector Group Test in the forthcoming issue (April, due March 6th)!

I'd also advise you contact your nearest CEDIA dealer - they specialise in custom install so could provide you both with kit and installation help. For example, they may suggest ceiling-mounted projector and screen (electronic drop-down of the latter in front of the TV) rather than having to start knocking through walls.

Re the cabling issue - the latest generation of surround-sound receivers (such the Marantz SR7002 and the Onkyo TX-NR905) will output to both projector and TV, while accepting inputs from all your other sources. That just means one HDMI cable to your projector and one to your TV, with no switching needed (other than on your remote control) when you want to change your display.

Such a receiver (and decent accompanying speakers) is an essential for the sonic side of the home cinema experience. You don't have to have massive speakers that'll upset your wife, and again many sleeker designs can be wall or even ceiling-mounted out of the way.

Hope this helps!

 

[NigelF]

I thought about buying projector but my worry was all my sources are analog via scart which make me wonder how will I connect scart to projector secondly if I buy a adapter for scart to hdmi or s-vhs will there be quality loss. Also concern about lamp life and warranty.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Clare for your very helpful and comprehensive reply. I am particularly grateful for your pointers to the Cedia products, and also for the new generation of surround-sound receivers which will handle multi-inputs and outputs. Wall mounting is a possibility for the projector, but ceiling mounting may be difficult because of the ceiling shape and construction (timber cladded like a church) and I also understand that the projector must not be higher than the top of the screen. The room is also only 5m long and 3m wide; a hole in the wall would give a longer throw. Making the screen unobtrusive however could present a problem.

Yes I also agree about the sonic side being very important. At the moment I have Polk speakers (RT5 front, with Trapezium shaped rear speakers) about eight years old driven by a Sony 5.1 receiver; really very good and not needing a subwoofer for bass. I have always loved stereophony ever since I was a child. When Video HiFi first appeared in the eighties, the magazine What Video turned one of my readers letters into a magazine article.

I am looking forward to the April Group test for Projectors you mention. I do hope it will deal with the important question of brightness in relation to image size, and I am hoping my projector/screen-addition budget will not be greater than £3K as my spouse is fed up with the fact that I have bought two high definition televisions, (including one in the bedroom) which originally cost me about £6000 in total but have since dramatically come down in price.

I am already dreaming on a cold day of those sharp colourful images of the "South Pacific", or those nostalgic life-size pictures of Ingrid Bergman in lovely black and white, requesting "As Time Goes By" in "Casablanca".