Buying a projector, connections and can I mount a projector screen on the ceiling?

Deep

Deep

Deep

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I'm in the initial stages of planning to get a projector, I need to see if it's feasible and wouldn't be too much of an issue with installation. If that gets ticked off I'll see what projector to get!

I'll separate it into two sections, the first is the actual operating of the projector in regards to connections and so on, the second will be the projector screen

Section 1

This is the setup of my TV as of now
T5UGa6A.jpg

I've got an nVidia Shield TV, PS4, N64 and Marantz 1506 (I think I'll need to check) connected to the TV
The PS4 and nVidia Shield TV connect to 2 TV HDMI ports and the Marantz is connected to the ARC HDMI on my TV. So whenever I want to use the speakers I just turn the amp on.

If I buy a projector and use all the components, apart from the N64, I guess the projector needs to connect to the amp directly. Then all the components need to be connected to the amp as well.

Of the three HDMI ports I have on my TV, the ARC HDMI will be the only one utilised.

This second picture is of the other side of the room
kTGVCkC.jpg

I would like to hang the projector on this wall, it's solid brick so not a problem. Luckily there is a plug socket behind the TV so I can just trail a cable up there.

That means I'd need to run a long HDMI cable from the amp all the way to the projector, which isn't a big issue as I can trunk it along the skirting along the bay window.

Does all this work?

Section 2

Now onto the projector screen.
My TV juts out about 15cm from the wall with the mount so I need my projector screen to hang in front of that.

I could ceiling mount the screen but from I feel the screen would sit far too high and wouldn't be comfortable to view.
I've seen screens where you pull it down and it has a large black portion and then the white portion of the screen, this seems to be the ideal solution as the actual projection area will be lower. However I can't find anywhere to buy such a screen!
My throw distance will be 3.62m so I might be able to get away with a 100" screen (fingers crossed)

The second idea was to attach the screen mount directly to the brick wall, however as my TV sticks out 15cm the screen would have a massive bulge in it which just doesn't work.
I could affix a piece of wood to the wall to give me some extra depth but even then I'm not sure it'd be enough.

Any ideas of how I can get around this?
Any ideas of any other possibilities?

Thanks for the help guys!
 

lucid

lucid

lucid

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Source connections: Yes, connect all to the Marantz amp first, then take the single output in to a 1:2 splitter to give two outputs. One goes to the TV and the other to the projector.

In fact, you should be running all the sources directly to the amp right now rather than to the TV first. The TV "dumbs down" audio fed to it via HDMI. What gets to the amp via ARC could well be far lower quality than the sources are capable of producing.


You're correct that you'll then need a long HDMI cable. Personally, I'd avoid taking power via a long extension lead from the TV point. Running power and HDMI together for the length of distance you'll need to runs the risk of cross-cable interference. If this is a normal house, can you take projector power from a socket in the room above?



Screen: Manual pull-down screens can be somewhat variable in quality, particularly the budget ones. The surfaces don't lie flat and the screen edges curl pretty quickly after the first few uses. Have a think about going electric instead. Not only will you find a better screen surface with the decent brands, but you're more likely to find they have a longer black drop than the basic manual screens. If push comes to shove, you can also specify a screen with a longer black drop as a special. I've done this a few times for clients where the rooms have had high ceilings.

The alternative if you're still convinced that manual screen is the way, is to purchase some screen stand-off brackets. These outriggers attach to the back wall and then allow the screen to be set far enough forward to clear the TV.
 

Deep

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Deep

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Mr.Cookie said:
screen up on mine 42 inch screen
Image 1

screen down 106 inch manual pull down saphire, could have pulled it down further if i could have reached the ground :D

Image 2
Click to expand...

Where did you get that screen from? It seems to be exactly what I'm looking for!

lucid said:
Source connections: Yes, connect all to the Marantz amp first, then take the single output in to a 1:2 splitter to give two outputs. One goes to the TV and the other to the projector.

In fact, you should be running all the sources directly to the amp right now rather than to the TV first. The TV "dumbs down" audio fed to it via HDMI. What gets to the amp via ARC could well be far lower quality than the sources are capable of producing.


You're correct that you'll then need a long HDMI cable. Personally, I'd avoid taking power via a long extension lead from the TV point. Running power and HDMI together for the length of distance you'll need to runs the risk of cross-cable interference. If this is a normal house, can you take projector power from a socket in the room above?



Screen: Manual pull-down screens can be somewhat variable in quality, particularly the budget ones. The surfaces don't lie flat and the screen edges curl pretty quickly after the first few uses. Have a think about going electric instead. Not only will you find a better screen surface with the decent brands, but you're more likely to find they have a longer black drop than the basic manual screens. If push comes to shove, you can also specify a screen with a longer black drop as a special. I've done this a few times for clients where the rooms have had high ceilings.

The alternative if you're still convinced that manual screen is the way, is to purchase some screen stand-off brackets. These outriggers attach to the back wall and then allow the screen to be set far enough forward to clear the TV.
Click to expand...

I shall change the connections to direct to the amp, the only thing I really liked was I was able to control my amp using my TV remote. I guess I can buy a Harmony remote when it's on sale so I can only need to use a single remote.

There is a plug socket behind the sofa, so no extension lead will be needed going to the projector. It'll just be a long HDMI coming from where the TV is to the projector will be.

My only issue about having an electric one is that I'll be trailing a wire up to where the screen is going and that'll look really bad.

The stand off brackets are exactly what I'm looking for I think. I'll just make sure I buy a decent quality screen so that I don't get the curling affect as you said.
 
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