Projector & Screen Small Area

Housey · 28 Mar 2016 at 18:00

I am considering putting a cinema screen in one of the smaller rooms in my house and would welcome advice on how and if it's possible based on the small size of the room.

Distance wise we are looking at little more than 2.2M between screen and projector so is this enough distance to get anything worthwhile, perhaps a ceiling installed electric retractable screen of say 1.9M in width.

I am so out of touch, all advice and guidance appreciated...but no laughing.

unrealrocks · 28 Mar 2016 at 18:06

Absolutely possible with a 2.2m throw you would probably get in the region of 1.6m wide. Don't forget to consider anything to put to the sides (IE speakers), or if you plan to position them behind make sure the screen is acoustically transparent.

If you are on a mega budget there are plenty of matt finish blinds which are actually fairly reasonable for a real budget setup.

Housey · 28 Mar 2016 at 18:10

Budget is not really a concern so would look for quality and convenience first over price. Speakers will be to the left and right of the screen, not hidden behind and the rear speakers will be wall mounted. Ideally I am looking for a roof mounter projector, but if space allows I will have it retracting. Thanks for the quick response!

unrealrocks · 28 Mar 2016 at 18:13

I previously had a retractable screen (cheapo motorised thing off eBay) which was pretty good when I only had one living room but with my dedicated room I now have a Sapphire screen which although its a static I found pretty good. They do all sorts of different options so might be worth checking out.

One thing with ceiling mounted projection I hadn't quite thought about is actually how big the mount was going to be, I had an idea of box in my projector and paint it the same as the ceiling but as it ended up about 18" from the ceiling I haven't bothered yet - still trying to work out what todo and if its worth me getting a different mount!

Housey · 28 Mar 2016 at 18:15

I will spend properly to get the right quality screen, I won't be doing cheapo anything but the screen will sit above some french doors so it will need to come down when needed and they back up when used.

vila · 30 Mar 2016 at 02:07

With that throw distance - while possible you may well need a short throw projector.

When you say 2.2 meters is that projector (lens) to wall or wall to wall?

First thing you need to work out is if you ( or any house hold members) that will use the system like 'DLP' projectors or if you see the 'rainbow effect?'

Housey · 30 Mar 2016 at 08:32

The distance is lens to screen (I have an app with all the measurements etc). Only my wife and I and we will have this professionally installed, if I did it I'd burn the house down, probably the country.

vila · 30 Mar 2016 at 08:40

If you get on with DLP something like the optoma HD90+ projector might be ideal - it's short throw and led light scource so the bulb is for life.

I prefer the LCOS / SXRD / DILA ( all the same thing) projectors by Sony and JVC myself but I don't get on with DLPs

Warbie · 30 Mar 2016 at 10:01

Housey said:
Budget is not really a concern so would look for quality and convenience first over price.

If you want quality and convenience, check out current JVC and Sony pjs. My last 3 have been JVCs and I've never had a problem with placement.

This looks like the best bang for buck option at the mo and is what I would go for if buying a pj today:

https://www.avforums.com/review/jvc-x5000-dla-x5000b-x5000w-projector-review.12128

Either that or it's bigger brother:

https://www.avforums.com/review/jvc-dla-x7000b-dila-4k-uhd-hdr-projector-review.12191

Chris1712 · 30 Mar 2016 at 11:16

A good trick to get a bit more throw is to mount it in the adjacent room, in it's own little box which has a cutout through to the room with the screen in. Gives you an extra foot or two of throw, looks tidier (inside the HC room at least!) and also can keep things a bit quieter.

And yes knowing you Housey I'd say head straight for a JVC, they are the daddies.

vila · 30 Mar 2016 at 11:34

Jvcs are some of best if you can make the room a bat cave to take advantage of the black levels and if you can increase the throw, at the current throw you'd get a 70" screen max

Housey · 30 Mar 2016 at 19:48

Chris1712 said:
A good trick to get a bit more throw is to mount it in the adjacent room, in it's own little box which has a cutout through to the room with the screen in. Gives you an extra foot or two of throw, looks tidier (inside the HC room at least!) and also can keep things a bit quieter.

I can't do that sadly as it's got 3 exterior walls and the 4th wall is where we walk in. It's a square summerhouse built onto the back of the house.