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Author Topic: My Home Theatre/Screening Room Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-05-2006 11:29 AM                        Well, the conversion of my two-car garage has begun. My wife has given the go-ahead for me to build my own home theatre. The room itself will be 18' by 22', however I was thinking of making the actual 'screening room' either 10' by 10' - or 12' by 12'. Here is the question: What is an ideal size? I would be happy with a 6' screen, and 6 to 8 chairs. I want a true theatre experience. So please - hit me with recommendations - brands, styles, size, speaker arrays - etc. No to say that cost is an issue (it is) - however this is a long term investment - so I want to make it the best I can. I am willing to shell out some dough - if I have to. Anyone interested in advice? Thanks in advance.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2006 12:37 PM                        You might want to re-think those dimensions. Square rooms tend to have sound problems. Will you be running film, video, or both?  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 07-05-2006 02:26 PM                        Standard SMPTE 196M specifies a viewing distance of 3 times the image height for screening rooms. A nicely proportioned room would have the preferred seating between 2 and 4 image heights from the image. If your screen is only 2.5 X 6 feet, your best seating would be between 5 and 10 feet from the screen. Yet a 5 X 12 foot screen would nicely serve a larger room, with seats between 10 and 20 feet from the screen.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-05-2006 03:04 PM                        I have the option of making a rectangle shaped room, or whatever. I have never done this - hence the questions. Thank you both for the replies. It will be video and not film.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 07-05-2006 03:26 PM                        For SD video, your seating distances should be further away from the screen, so you are not distracted by video artifacts.  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 07-09-2006 01:45 PM                     I guess the two big choices to make when selecting a video projector are DLP vs. LCD and SD vs. HD. Depending on your budget, I would personally recommend DLP and (of course) HD. From my limited personal experience, it seems that DLP has better contrast and a brighter image, but LCD has better colors and a sharper image. DLP probably has more artifacting than LCD, but the one thing you won't have to deal with are dust blobs. And that's worth all the money in the world. If you're planning for the future, definitely go with a 720p projector. Even if you're only watching DVDs now, the HD formats will drop in price soon. You can get a decent 720p DLP projector for somewhere around $2500 now. There are a few options to choose from. I have the Optoma HD72, although I hear the new InFocus is really nice too. If that's out of your price range, InFocus makes a very nice 480p DLP projector which is around $1000. And if it were me, I'd go for an 8x4.5 foot screen. That's what I have, sitting about 13 feet away from it. If anything, I'd want to move closer. The video artifacting is not that bothersome, even on DVDs.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-09-2006 02:31 PM                     I would stay away from the single-chip DLPs...they are VERY annoying (to me, at least...too much rainbow artifacting...very distracting the way it blips up). In 2006, I would go for an LCD system. The two leading contenders seem to be Sanyo (the PLV-Z4) and its rival the Panasonic AE-900. Both are 720x1280 systems, both can be had for under $2K and both are 1000 lumen systems. If you want a half-way-house system, you can go up to 1366 x 768 LCD projectors in the low-mid thousands (Like a Sanyo PLV-75 that is 2200 lumens). There are now even LCD projectors going out ot 1920 x 1080 but they are not really priced for Home Theatre yet (now in the Mid $30K with a lens but over 5000 Lumens). However, I think in the next year or two you will see LCoS breakout and be in the 1920x1080 resolutions for under $5000 and problably closer to $3K. A couple of years ago I bought a Sanyo PLV-70 (1366 x 768) and it does very well with HD program material (this projector is used in many theatres as a advertising projector by one of the national providers that used to service Loews). I don't regret the purchase...it has already provided me years of service but once 1920 x 1080 is reasonably priced for the home...I'm movin' on up. If any of you all need Sanyo projectors, email me, we sell them. Steve  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 07-09-2006 03:08 PM                     I had a Sanyo LCD projector (I think it was the Z1), and I had major dust blob problems. When I called their customer service dept., they were extremely rude and of no help whatsoever. As for DLP rainbows, some people don't notice them, and some people can't stand them. For me it's just a minor annoyance, but you should check it out yourself to see how distracting you find them.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-09-2006 03:24 PM                     Sanyo does have a 3-year Quick Repair Program. That is, for the first 3-years, Sanyo will warrant their products against defects (including dust blobs). They pay overnight freight both ways and repair the products within 72-hours (48-hours seem to be typical for the couple of units we have needed to return). Personally, I have not found the dust blobs to be a problem. My biggest complaint with the Sanyos is that one does need to keep the filters clean. Then again, I've come across the filter thing on other projectors too. It really depends on the environment.  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 07-09-2006 04:40 PM                     I tried using their QRP thing, but they said that dust blobs are not covered under the warranty because it is a "user maintenance" issue. The problem is, if you clean the blobs off yourself, you void the warranty. They said I wasn't cleaning the filter enough, but I was cleaning it weekly. I've read that part of the problem is that dust enters the projector through a different intake as well. Either way, I've never dealt with a projector that's had such a problem with dust. And the way they handled the situation was even worse.  |  IP: Logged Fred Georges Master Film Handler Posts: 257 From: Lombard, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2000 posted 07-13-2006 11:59 AM                     Contact the Dealer you bought the projector from & let them get the RA( return Authorization) for your projector. Sanyo Has always been good to us regarding warranty (Including Dust on the panels) work & We sell LOTS of them. Also, never discount the fact that you might have just spoken to an ASSHOLE at Sanyo service..Hey, They're EVERYWHERE!  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-13-2006 01:20 PM                     That is just it...a dealer is supposed to go to bat for you in the event of a problem...otherwise, they are just a box-mover. We too have not had issues with Sanyo service. I do note that on the PLV-Z4, they include an air bulb and slots in the unit for blowing the dust out of the panels!  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 07-13-2006 01:39 PM                     Thanks, Fred & Steve. I'll contact my dealer and see what they can do.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-13-2006 02:19 PM                     Sorry, but I will never purchase another Sanyo product again. I had a bunch of theaters running these and even with the projectionists cleaning the MULTIPLE filters twice a week, we had failure after failure. While Sanyo did promptly get the machines fixed, it was only a matter of time until the problems started back up (which wasn't very long). NO video projector should require THAT much attention. Besides, how in the hell are you supposed to clean the filters twice a week if the machine is mounted upside down from a ceiling??? (It's pictured in the manual that way, so I know it was intended.) Sanyo=crap Buyer beware  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 07-13-2006 02:56 PM                     Why don't you mention Sanyo's idea of running the projectors upside down to minimize the problems?  |  IP: Logged

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