Max Distance for Projector from Screen

dvran

I'm in the market for getting an HD projector. My living room is about 20 feet in length. I was think about putting the screen on one wall, and the projector on top of a book shelf on the opposite wall.

My question is; will the projector throw an image from 20 feet away and not be distorted or extremely stretched. I was going to go with a 90-120" screen type.

I'm mainly staying away from ceiling mount for the projector because I have a tall vaulted ceiling and didn't want to install it that way if I didn't need to.

Thanks,

kuntasensei

Go to www.projectorcentral.com. They have projection calculators for all brands and models that show what screen sizes each projector will handle for a given distance at its maximum and minimum zoom. But off the top of my head, 20 feet back is probably going to be about 8-10 feet too much for most current models for a 120" screen.

Look around at Projector Central and it should give you an idea of what you can do.

dvran

kuntasensei wrote: »

Go to www.projectorcentral.com
Look around at Projector Central and it should give you an idea of what you can do.

Thanks for the link, awesome website. For a 20ft distance, I'd need like a 192" inch screen, yikes.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_705HD-projection-calculator-pro.htm

I'll look at some more options.

cstmar01

Its all going to come down to what PJ you get ect. Some PJ's will do a long throw which would work well in your room but it will all depend on brand, model. The link mentioned is a great guide and helped me figure how what I needed when I was looking.

Good luck!

TECHNOKID

dvran wrote: »

I'm in the market for getting an HD projector. My living room is about 20 feet in length. I was think about putting the screen on one wall, and the projector on top of a book shelf on the opposite wall.

My question is; will the projector throw an image from 20 feet away and not be distorted or extremely stretched. I was going to go with a 90-120" screen type.

I'm mainly staying away from ceiling mount for the projector because I have a tall vaulted ceiling and didn't want to install it that way if I didn't need to.

Thanks,

dvran wrote: »

Thanks for the link, awesome website. For a 20ft distance, I'd need like a 192" inch screen, yikes.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_705HD-projection-calculator-pro.htm

I'll look at some more options.

cstmar01 wrote: »

Its all going to come down to what PJ you get ect. Some PJ's will do a long throw which would work well in your room but it will all depend on brand, model. The link mentioned is a great guide and helped me figure how what I needed when I was looking.

Good luck!

That is the best option, long throw lense. You can buy a standard quality projector and buy the long throw lense as an option. In rentals, the projector can be combined with short throw lense (6' projection (usually for rear projection)), the normal lense which distance is usually approx 13' max. and finally long throw which I believe can be in the area of 35 - 40'.

In example: http://www.superwarehouse.com/InFocus_Proxima_Long_Throw_Lens/LENS-010/p/84874, http://theprojectorblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-is-long-throw-lens.html, http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductQuickSpec.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63076343&category=, http://www.pricebat.ca/HITACHI-LONG-THROW-LENS-X1200-PROJECTOR.p_137480/

A DIY projector kit might be the most economical solution http://diyprojectorkits.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=34

Just make sure before you buy anything that the brand and model you'd like can accomodate such lens. Simply goolgr "long+throw+lenses" and you'll find tons of options.

Enjoy!
TK

kcoc321

dvran wrote: »

Thanks for the link, awesome website. For a 20ft distance, I'd need like a 192" inch screen, yikes.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_705HD-projection-calculator-pro.htm

I'll look at some more options.

You might look at the Panasonic models. My Pany projector (AE900U-2005) has a Zoom that will allows me to adjust the screen size. On that "projector " site listed above, it shows a 120" screen for a 16:9 format at 20' throw distance (with their projector screen calculator) But the spec list it as having the capacity of Throw Distance: 8.0' - 40.6' and an image size of 40.0" - 400.0"
One really nice feature they have is the image shift feature. It let's you adjust the image with a joystick mounted on the front. Makes it really easy to align in the screen.

I have not tried it at that distance yet, but I might have some 'backyard' movie nights, and then I would see...

A separate question, why don't you just ceiling mount the projector? That way you are not as limited as to you throw distance? Ceiling height issues?

TECHNOKID

kcoc321 wrote: »

You might look at the Panasonic models. My Pany projector (AE900U-2005) has a Zoom that will allows me to adjust the screen size. On that "projector " site listed above, it shows a 120" screen for a 16:9 format at 20' throw distance (with their projector screen calculator) But the spec list it as having the capacity of Throw Distance: 8.0' - 40.6' and an image size of 40.0" - 400.0"
One really nice feature they have is the image shift feature. It let's you adjust the image with a joystick mounted on the front. Makes it really easy to align in the screen.

I have not tried it at that distance yet, but I might have some 'backyard' movie nights, and then I would see...

A separate question, why don't you just ceiling mount the projector? That way you are not as limited as to you throw distance? Ceiling height issues?

Those pannys were and probably still are well rated too however, if I am correct the price tag goes with it (I thing it was somewhere in the area of 5K then. Must be much cheaper in the US or at least in 2005 since the US dollar could buy many canadian $$ then.

As far as wanting to have the PJ as far back as possible would more likely to avoid having the PJ mounted above the listening area to minimise fan noize as much as possible. I know this is a big concern for me as the max distance for my PJ is 13' and I planned to have my first row of seating at that distance. Another point is many people want to have the PJ isolated from the room area (think WAF). It may look neat for us to have a PJ petruding in the center of the room ceiling but not too appealing to most women IMHO.

wallstreet

The closer the projector, the brighter the image. 20ft is a loooooooooong way away.

mdaudioguy

wallstreet wrote: »

The closer the projector, the brighter the image. 20ft is a loooooooooong way away.

You just have to have to right projector. Mine's at about 21'. Nobody has ever complained about it not being bright enough. There were many other PJs in my price range when I bought it, but the calculators showed that this was one of the only ones that would do 120" at this distance. Trust the calculators.

Sherardp

Most PJs can handle the longer throw distance without a lens so that you really won't need. If your going with a larger screen ( over 110") then you will need the brightness. I would suggest you look at Epson or the Panny. You should be shooting for at least 12-14 lumens to screen anything higher is gravy. Using the PJ calculator you should be just fine with the larger screen, however you may have to run the PJ on it's higher lamp output as the lamp ages. Even in my own setup with the 126" screen I do this after 1000hrs or so with my JVC projector. Another thing that will help you is screen gain, so I suggest looking at Da-lite Hi power screen or Carada Brilliant White screen material. My JVC is mounted at around 18 feet with no issues. Calibrate it after the lamp ages after 100hrs or so and you'll notice an even brighter image.

kcoc321

TECHNOKID wrote: »

Those pannys were and probably still are well rated too however, if I am correct the price tag goes with it (I thing it was somewhere in the area of 5K then. Must be much cheaper in the US or at least in 2005 since the US dollar could buy many canadian $$ then.

As far as wanting to have the PJ as far back as possible would more likely to avoid having the PJ mounted above the listening area to minimise fan noize as much as possible. I know this is a big concern for me as the max distance for my PJ is 13' and I planned to have my first row of seating at that distance. Another point is many people want to have the PJ isolated from the room area (think WAF). It may look neat for us to have a PJ pretruding in the center of the room ceiling but not too appealing to most women IMHO.

I got mine from Visual Apex for $1800 back in '05. I had it mount directly over my seating area and never noticed the fan noise. Course I am not married, so I don't have to deal with the WAF

IDK the OP's budget, but they have the Pany PT-AE4000U for $1999 inc shipping with a 2-yr warranty included.
http://www.visualapex.com/Panasonic/projector-specifications.asp?for-the=PT-AE4000U

TECHNOKID

Sherardp wrote: »

Most PJs can handle the longer throw distance without a lens so that you really won't need. If your going with a larger screen ( over 110") then you will need the brightness. I would suggest you look at Epson or the Panny. You should be shooting for at least 12-14 lumens to screen anything higher is gravy. Using the PJ calculator you should be just fine with the larger screen, however you may have to run the PJ on it's higher lamp output as the lamp ages. Even in my own setup with the 126" screen I do this after 1000hrs or so with my JVC projector. Another thing that will help you is screen gain, so I suggest looking at Da-lite Hi power screen or Carada Brilliant White screen material. My JVC is mounted at around 18 feet with no issues. Calibrate it after the lamp ages after 100hrs or so and you'll notice an even brighter image.

Great post, +1!

dvran

Sherardp wrote: »

Most PJs can handle the longer throw distance without a lens so that you really won't need. If your going with a larger screen ( over 110") then you will need the brightness. I would suggest you look at Epson or the Panny. You should be shooting for at least 12-14 lumens to screen anything higher is gravy. Using the PJ calculator you should be just fine with the larger screen, however you may have to run the PJ on it's higher lamp output as the lamp ages. Even in my own setup with the 126" screen I do this after 1000hrs or so with my JVC projector. Another thing that will help you is screen gain, so I suggest looking at Da-lite Hi power screen or Carada Brilliant White screen material. My JVC is mounted at around 18 feet with no issues. Calibrate it after the lamp ages after 100hrs or so and you'll notice an even brighter image.

The Epson model (Epson PowerLite® Home Cinema 705HD) I'm looking at says it will throw an image to a distance of 29'. Except, I'm not sure if you could adjust the screen size from that distance. Sometime the spec sheets aren't very helpful.
http://www.hhgregg.com/ProductDetail.asp?SID=n&ProductID=23844

I have a vaulted ceiling that goes with the roof line, so running electrical cable to the projector is not an option right now.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll check back in once I figure something out.

Sherardp

You should consider the Epson 8100 which is a 1080p unit priced around 1200-1400.

Krazyz1

BIG BUCKS!!! But the JVC D-ILA series RULE!!!!!!

kuntasensei

Sherardp wrote: »

You should consider the Epson 8100 which is a 1080p unit priced around 1200-1400.

+1 on this. You can actually find it cheaper than $1,200 right now if you look around. Projectorpeople.com has it for $1,149, and they're a very reputable dealer. I've bought two projectors from them so far, and they have amazing customer service.