Building a home theatre, want advice on projector and projector screen

[troligt]

Hello,

I'm currently building a small dedicated home theatre room and want advice on what projector and projector screen I should have a look at. It's been a while since I read up upon home theatre equipment, so I'm a bit rusty in the technology.

Details:

The room is 4 x 4.5 metres (13 x 15 feet), and the projector will be ceiling mounted in the back of the room. I've got HDMI-cable and Ethernet Cable already in place inside the ceiling for the projector, and a power socket next to where the projector will be mounted. Once connected with an Ethernet Cable the projector would be a part of my home network.

The setup will be for 5.1 surround, and I've got a Denon AVR-2809 reciever and a 5.1 Monitor Audio Silver RX8 speaker system, and the cabling for this is also now inside the walls.

The screen will be somewhere around 90-120" I'd guess, and it will most likely be a rigid wall mounted screen.

The room has a black matte finish on the walls and ceiling, and on the floor I will have a red carpet. There are no windows, so the only light penetration will be if the door is open.

I'd like the projector to be Full HD 1920x1080, 1080P, with support to Lens Shift (both vertical and horizontal if possible, but not required). Aside from that, I'd like it to be as quiet as possible in whatever mode I would usually be running it in.

I will most often be using the projector to watch movies and tv-shows that I have on my PC computer (70%), sometimes regular TV and Blu-Ray movies (30%).

It is important to me that I would like to be able to somehow stream content (using PS Media Server or Plex) from my PC (which will be in another room, connect through my home network), wether it be directly to the projector itself (does those exist?) or through my PS3 (or tips on another solution that only requires HDMI or Ethernet connection to the projector), so any tips on how getting that done is greatly appreciated (today I stream through PS3 in one room to that TV, and directly to a Samsung TV in another room).

If the projector and/or screen would support "multiformats" that would be absolutely great, but it's definatly not a requirement.

Budget for both projector and screen would be around €3000 / $4000, but less is obviously preferable if possible.

Any tips on projectors and/or projector screens that fit my needs above that I should read up on or go check out in a store would be highly valuable to me.

Regards,

Daniel

 

[tommytom]

Hey,

I'm just about to buy a projector and screen myself. Here's what I'm thinking.

I was going to buy the new Sony HW55ES, it produced a cracking picture, but then I got to thinking. I'm not sure I want to invest in a top of the line 1080p projector when 4k models are 'starting' to come through. Albeit they're way out of my budget, (which is similar to yours) but I don't think it'll take toooo long for them to become more reasonable. maybe 3 years?? 4??? This in mind, I think I'm going for a cheaper projector, either the one model down in the sony range the 40 I think, or even an optima at the £1,000 mark. From what I've seen, the marginal gains of spending and extra £700 to £1700 ($1100 - $2500) is just not worth it for a projector I'd plan to upgrade in a few years to 4k. The 1080p picture is 95% as good on the cheaper projectors.

The same goes for the screen. I'm looking at similar sizes, and they've shown me tab-tensioned screens for $2,000, or regular ones for $500. I figure I can get 4 regular screens for the price of one tab tensioned... and I'm not sure if a 4k projector will require more from a screen than a 1080p projector. again, my decision is to save 75% of the money on something that will be 90% as good as the model that costs 4 times the price, and see where we are in a few years.

By which time... hopefully, 4K will be more affordable and I can make an informed decision from living with my kit.

If you go down this road, I've read many great things about the Optima line, and in most of the demos I attended, it was the make of projector owned by the majority of the shops staff...

Good luck

 

[bigboss]

I think Sony HW40 is the best projector in its class, for the price. It's quality is comparable to the HW55. Check its review on AV Forums and HDTV Test.

I was impressed with Draper ReAct 2.1 projector screen which is brilliant even in ambient light. Worth checking.

 

[troligt]

Hello,

Thank you for your advice and comments!

As it stands, I don't want to spend more than Sony VPL-HW40ES, which seem to be in the same price range as JVC DLA-X35. Of those 2, would you recomend the 40ES?

If I try to come down in price, it seems I can get an Acer H9505BD for 2/3rds of the price of the JVC or Sony.

There are probably many more options that I'm missing right now, since I'm just starting to read up on this (thus my advice seeking post).

As far as the screen goes (Draper ReAct 2.1), I cannot seem to find it at any online retailer in Sweden, but I saw some review posts, it seems indeed very good.

All advice is appreciated, thanks once again!

Regards,

Daniel

 

[bigboss]

I wouldn't really count on Acer to provide me with a good home cinema experience. They're primarily computer manufacturers and their projectors will be aimed towards presentations.

Both JVC X35 and Sony HW40 are brilliant projectors. Sony is a bit sharper and brighter of the two. Demo both and see what you prefer. X35 is no longer manufactured, and will disappear from the shops very soon (if not already disappeared).

I thought Draper Europe is a Swedish based company, so you should get it in Sweden:

http://www.drapereurope.se/

Contact[/b]

Draper Europe AB
Email: info@drapereurope.se
Tel: +46 35 14 42 90
Fax: +46 35 14 42 91

 

[troligt]

Hello,

I'm inclined to agree with you on the Acer one. I'll try out Sony vs JVC and see which one I like the best or if there are any deals to be had on either at the time I do the buying.

Strange that I was previously unable to find any price on draper screens, especially when it's a Swedish company. Now that I have the link I'll figure out some retailers and have a look, thanks!

// Daniel

 

[Jag@EpicHomeCinema]

The Sony HW40 will probably tick most boxes. The dynamic iris in the HW55 takes you closer to the JVC in terms of black levels.