Opinions/recommendations!

[Chris Nitro]

Hey everyone, I recently stumbled onto this great site. My gf and I just bought a house and a home theater project is going to be my priority in the finished basement. I'm new to projectors so I've been reading up on alot of them. The one that I'm leaning towards is Optoma's HD72. Is there others that I should consider in this range? Also I'm leaning towards painting a screen on the wall as I will be putting together a seperate room in the basement. I read alot of posts by Tiddler and others on this subject and it seems that there are a few ways of doing it. What is a good starting point for this? Much appreciated if I get some suggestions.

[Sonnie]

I would go ahead and separate out your question about the screens and post it in the DIY Screen forum. Our guys are marvelous with screens.

As far as your projector goes... that one is very well regarded. I think we have a couple of guys here owning it... maybe they will chime in.

What price have you found it for thus far?

What kind of screen size are you aiming for?

[Chris Nitro]

I've found it on a few sites for just over 1300 CDN with the rebate. As for screen size I'm probably looking around 100" across, 60" height, 114" corner to corner.

[mechman]

Chris Nitro wrote:

Also I'm leaning towards painting a screen on the wall as I will be putting together a seperate room in the basement. I read alot of posts by Tiddler and others on this subject and it seems that there are a few ways of doing it. What is a good starting point for this? Much appreciated if I get some suggestions.

Chris,

You can ask your questions in the screen forum regarding this. tiddler is no longer a member here as he asked to be banned and we complied.

mech

[Richard W. Haines]

I have the Optoma HD70 and I highly recommend it. I wouldn't advise attempting to paint a screen
on the wall however. You might get an uneven coating with hot spots. I suggest getting a pull down screen or floor model pull up screen. I have
a 10 foot wide pull down glass beaded screen and it works great with this unit. The HD72 has
more inputs if you want to utilize a DVI input. The HD70 only has an HDMI input for the digital
signal. I have two machines I use with it. The Toshiba HD XA2 for HD movies and most standard
DVDs which it upscales nicely with the HDMI cable and a Samsung which also upscales standard
DVDs and uses a DMI to HDMI cable. On occasion, the Toshiba won't play a standard DVD that
has a glitch in it whereas the Samsung will play anything in the standard format. Recently I tried
to show the Rockford Files disc which had a glitch at the head of one of the shows and the Toshiba
stated "No Signal" whereas the Samsung played it fine after I fast forwarded past the glitch (the image froze and broke up after the credits for a second).

As for those advertised rebates, I'm still waiting for mine which I purchased over a month ago. Very slow payment.

[Mavolous]

Im leaning towards building a screen with Designer white Laminate(D354-60). Sounds like an interesting project and the cost cant be that bad

[Chris Nitro]

Thanks for the replies guys. I decided to go with Panasonics PT-AX200U projector. As for the screen I'm still torn between a pull down/electric or painting. I found some on Ebay for fairly decent prices but don't really know how good they are.

[Sonnie]

What made you decide on the Panasonics PT-AX200U?

I would save the screen money and paint. I have the Panny PT-AE2000U and it's on a painted sheetrock drywall.

[Chris Nitro]

Sonnie wrote:

What made you decide on the Panasonics PT-AX200U?

I would save the screen money and paint. I have the Panny PT-AE2000U and it's on a painted sheetrock drywall.

I read lots and lots and lots of various reviews of some of the projectors that I had in mind. I looked at price compared to performance to what I am going to use the projector mostly for. It seemed like the best one in my price range for gaming and movies.

Sonnie what colour are you using for your screen?

[Sonnie]

I've been using Misty Evening Gray for about 4-5 years now, but our guys over in the DIY Screen forum could probably set you up with something better.

[Chris Nitro]

Sonnie wrote:

I've been using Misty Evening Gray for about 4-5 years now, but our guys over in the DIY Screen forum could probably set you up with something better.

I've been pm'ing with wb on the DIY painted screen. He has given me some great info and where I should start. When it comes time to paint hopefully he'll walk through everything so I don't screw up.

[Mavolous]

Im in the market for a projector as well and I must say that Panny does look like a good deal.


I agree....just bought it. Great started projector...history seems solid. Price is right. Upgrade down the road if needed.

[Chris Nitro]

Congrats dude and let me know how you like it.

[letzleta]

I painted my screen and if you are willing to spend the time to paint it, I don't see a reason not to. Screens are expensive, and I doubt any screen will make a big enough improvement over my paint to warrant the extra $.

I have the optoma HD70 and used a paint called black flame light fusion for the screen. Go to xtreme-fusion-screens.com and take a look. I do not work for or know these guys personally, but they will help you get the right product for your specific needs. Their customer service is second to none.

[Chris Nitro]

Thanks I'll check that out.

[letzleta]

Any updates?

[Chris Nitro]

The projector arrives this week but I don't move into the new house for another 3 long weeks.