Page 1 of Home Cinema Projector

I`m looking to invest in a decent home cinema projector to be either ceiling-mounted or free-standing - I only have around 2,500 - 3,000 Euro to spend. Also, how much will a decent screen cost me, preferably one that can be hidden away? Any help/info/advice would be appreciated.

You should be able to get hold of a Panasonic AE200 or maybe 300.
Screens start at about the £300 mark - I made my own, but it can`t be hidden away (well, I have a kind of curtain that drops down over it when not in use).
I`d recommend spending some time over at http://www.avforums.com - loads of info.
One other thing - what are you going to drive it with? If you can, try and use a prog scan signal - it apparently makes a huge difference. I run my AE100 from a PC, so can map the image precisely to the LCD panel`s resolution - it looks awesome. However, a prog scan player (particularly one that can be hacked for PAL progressive such as the Philips 963 (I think that`s the model number)) is apparently just as good (or nearly), and a lot less hassle.

Wow, had a quick look at the specs and some reviews for the Panasonic AE100 and this looks like the one for me - it comes in at just under 2,000 Euro from Techtronics. At the moment I`ve got a Sony 525 dvd player (at least I think that`s the one I have) which doesn`t support prog. scan but I`m thinking of investing in a new player with prog. scan and dvd-audio capabilities. I know my Jap/US GameCube does support prog. scan so that`ll be interesting...

I`m in the process of designing and building my own home at the moment so where`s the best position for installing the projector? I was thinking of the ceiling and maybe trying to put some sound-proofing around it to hide the fan noise... and if so will I need to get extra long cables installed and hidden by the electrician?

Random thoughts and suggestions....

Where are you? In Ireland? I think Komplett deliver to you if so - http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?action=info&AvdID=1&CatID=29&GrpID=1&p=20225&s=fp AE100 £995 inc VAT. The also sell screens, I believe.

Do go over to the avforums - there is an awful lot of help around.

One thing - the AE100 has been plagued with reliability problems. They should have been sorted wit hthe new ones coming out now, but be warned. Also, the AE200 won`t be that much more than the 100, and should be available soon.

I have my PJ ceiling mounted, and the fan noise isn`t too bad - soundproofing/hush box might be nice, but watch out for overheating. What size room will you be using? The AE100 has a fairly short throw, so you may end up with it in the middle of the room, like I do. If you`ve not done so before, have a look over on my website for a few pics of my cinema project - may help. http://www.thehallmans.org/cinema

Re cabling - yes, I`d get the cables run while you can - if I were you I`d get as many types as you can - mains obviously, but also VGA, S Video and component - you don`t want to have to have the ceiling up again!!

Make sure you install the PJ so that it doesn`t use keystone correction - i.e. parallax adjustment - this screws with the image something rotten.

That`s a very impressive setup you`ve made for yourself - I especially like the home-made screen which is now something I think I`ll be doing. The house I`m currently designing and hopefully eventually building is a Scandinavian timber home - the main living/t.v. room is designed to be completely open plan (approx 8 meters by 10 meters) with the upstairs loft looking down on it. I was thinking of installing the pj extending out from the floor/balcony of the loft so that it projects down onto the room below. Thanks again for the info, you`ve given me some very interesting ideas... oh and yes I live in Ireland (West Coast).

This item was edited on Thursday, 6th February 2003, 15:56

The optoma H50 DLP has just had a drop in price and is now £1999.95.

http://www.optomaeurope.com

all the best,

The 42%er.

To Richard H, you lucky, lucky sod, what a fantastic setup! I thought I was doing OK with me 28" Tosh and JVC kit.
Gonna have to go and re-evaluate the meaning of inner happiness after seeing that...Cheers mate. (That family trip abroad`s lookin` kinda shaky now)..."No honestly honey, a 6` x 4` grey sheet on the wall where you`ve got the wedding pic`s is all the rage this year, I saw it on Changing Rooms"...ain`t gonna work is it...Ahh well.
ATB...F...

Is it true that DLP projectors produce better quality images that LCDs? Also, I`d like to get rid of my bulky widescreen t.v. entirely and, this might sound like a stupid question, but I haven`t heard much talk about playing regular t.v. broadcasts through the projector. Am I wrong in presuming that this is possible?

I have to add that even the colour of Richard`s room adds to the whole cinema feel... showed the site to my better half last night and I think I may have her turned around on the whole idea, especially when she saw that you could hide the screen.

DLP can offer better "blacks" than LCD, but some people suffer from "the rainbow effect" from DLPs - they see a rainbow pattern when watching. Newer DLPs are apparently better in this regard, but you`d need to audition.
Yes, you can play normal TV through a PJ - there`s a nice device called a ProV, which is around £100. It has a TV tuner in it, and will accept an SVideo connection. It then puts out a VGA signal to the PJ, and (with the AE100) apparently improves the image - I`m guessing because the AE100 doesn`t then have to do scaling, which it`s rubbish at. See http://www.markgoldie.co.uk/hc/hc5.html for more info on this.

I WOULD say that it`s worth having a "normal" tele for watching crap - do you really want The Late Late Show 8` wide? That`s why we got a cheap 4:3 TV for that end room - I must admit to a 32" widescreen in another room (this sounds awful...)

Also have a think about the size of image you want to throw - this will depend on the distance the PJ is from the screen - the AE100 has a short throw - i.e. a large image from a short distance - not always what you want. IF you can, have a look at the HS10 too - it has a longer throw, and is meant to be awesome. Bit more £££ though, but if you`re saving on the screen.....

;o)

I have been looking at quite a few projectors and I think it has a great hidden advantage over a normal TV, by the fact that by projecting a film onto a wall there are no defined edges.

So you do not have the problem of black bars top and bottom, as you get with some DVD films dependant on the aspect ratio format.

The two items that does put me off a bit other than the cost of the unit is the NOISE levels of the cooling fan(s) and the price of a replacement bulb, how oftain do you need replacements?

Does anyone who owns a projector system like to make comment on this?