what projector for my theater?

[rlpiii]

Originally Posted by rbinck

Interesting. This information is all important to setting up a home theater for best results. The projector is only the start of it and as you know the room is at least half of it. I include the screen in the room and you must have a high gain screen. The OP should take heed of all issues for best results.

Yes, it's really important to have a good screen. Good point.

[DaViD Boulet]

If by "room" you mean a room that's got dark/non-reflective surfaces to minimize light reflected back onto the screen, you're right.

Other than keeping light from bouncing back on the screen from other surfaces in the room, there's nothing special about a "room" as far as projection goes (naturally, I hope we don't need to mention the obvious that the room needs to be dark... as in no skylights letting in light Sunday at noon).

As far as screens go, IMO it's a lot less important to pay $$$ on a screen than some might think. In fact, with today's high-output PJs with good contrast/blacks (like the JVC), you DO NOT WANT a high-gain screen bcs you don't want to hot-spot. Rather, a standard 1.3 gain or even no-gain can look fantastic. CRT machines needed high gain just to make them bright enough to watch, and early digital PJs needed gray screens to elevate the black level. With great-performing modern digital PJs, the best thing that the screen can do is provide an even surface that's smoother than your painted wall.

I prefer Marantz. I have had projectors since my first Advent Video Beam. This is best I have
ever seen....no question. My experience with JVC consumer products is all negative from my JVC camcorder, DVR-SVHS deck etc. I think they make....how you say..."junk. I would never invest $ in one of their products ever again.

Whatever your experiences with these other product lines, the JVC projectors are among the best in terms of quality and are among the VERY best in terms of picture quality.

The RS-series has to be seen to be believed. Not quite as razor-sharp as single-chip DLP, but much better blacks, reds/color, and silky-smooth pictures you can watch for hours without eye strain. Except for absolute black level, they rival the picture of 9" CRT beasts that commanded $60K + just a few short years ago.

[rbinck]

It is hard to make general statements about projector systems. The screen size is very important to know what gain is needed. The projectors that the OP restricted his question to are not really high output projectors with the JVC at 1,000 lumens. Trying to light up a large screen without a high gain screen will be difficult.

[DaViD Boulet]

That's true, I forgot about size!

Most digital PJs have adequate brightness to illuminate an 8-foot-wide screen (100" diag) or somewhere in there. Certainly that's true with the JVC. For those looking for unusually large screens... like 15 feet wide + etc, gain will be needed.

What I would stress to those thinking about FP is that you don't need an uber-large screen so long as your viewing angle is already within the 30-degree range. Think of the "1.5 screen widths away" seating distance rule of thumb... if you have a screen that's 8 feet wide, then sit 12 feet away (1.5 x 8 = 12). You get 30 degrees. You don't want to sit proportionally closer (ie, you don't want to sit 12 feet away from a 12 foot wide screen... you'd want to sit 18 feet away from a 12 foot wide screen) as most SD content will look really bad, and you don't want to sit farther bcs you'll lose the benefit of HD resolution and you'll lose the theater-like immersion.

Picking screen-size with FP is NOT like picking the biggest plasma that will fit on your wall or that your wife will let you buy. In the case of FP you're duplicating "theater" and you need to think specifically about seating distance to produce the right viewing angle.

But the main point is that the screen-size isn't important: it's the relative distance you sit from that screen that counts because that's what affects your viewing angle.

Go with more reasonably sized screen (100") and sit closer and you'll get a better image (brighter) than trying to sit farther away from a larger screen that hot-spots with high gain etc.

Now, if the room is an auditorium and you're trying to create seating for 20 people, ok, you need a large screen to work for the far-away seats. But in an average HT with a sofa, 100" is more than enough for the 3 on the sofa plus the extra rank of chairs behind.

[hoot911]

Originally Posted by htenthusiast

I am curious to know how you rank the older sony vpl vw100 against the newer, more expensive jvc models. I have seen many movies played on the sony and wonder how justified the higher prices of the jvc are. Would it really be worth spending the extra money for my situation?

[rbinck]

Welcome to the forum hoot911. Did you forget something?