[justvisiting]

Has anyone switched from a projector stand to a ceiling mount with the same model?

We own a 1080p projector (2500 lumen I think) and looking to possibly buy a $200 ceiling mount w/ DIY installation. Our reasoning is that the projector will be 14" closer to the screen, takes up less space and won't need to be calibrated each time.

Are ceiling mounts known to increase quality as well? If so, is it due to the closer proximity or downward angle?

 

[Da Wiz]

Any ceiling mount you use OR any shelf/rack/stand you use for a projector should both be placing the lens of the projector at THE SAME height. The lens of the projector (the center of the lens) should be at the same height as the top edge of the projection screen. So... if you go to the projection screen and measure from the floor to the top edge of the screen... that dimension is the dimension you should use to establish the height of the projector lens. If you use a ceiling mount and the ceiling mount places the projector lens 2 feet above the edge of the screen, you will have excess keystone distortion that will make buildings and other straight lines look odd. So you would need to use a 2-foot-long pole into the ceiling mount that allows you to "hang" the projector 2 feet lower to get it even with the top edge of the projection screen. There is nothing "better" or "worse" about ceiling vs. rack/stand mounting. The one thing that will DRIVE YOU CRAZY is if the projector vibrates or shakes at all while you are watching anything. If your ceiling has a kids bedroom or somebody else's apartment upstairs and their moving around moves your ceiling AT ALL, your images are going to be wobbly on-screen. In that case, the floor rack/stand would be a much better choice for stable images. Not sure why you think a reliable ceiling mount has to cost $200 though? Here is one that's US$30

and it includes the extension arm. If the picture I pasted doesn't appear in the post for any reason, just go to Amazon.com and search for ceiling mount for projector. Lots and lots of options and lots and lots of prices far lower than $200. But if there is ANY instability in your ceiling, you won't like the result. Someone I knew through a forum had a nice setup until summer when the evaporative cooler would run. This is a big fan with water mist that blows cool humid air into hot dry homes (only works in areas with low humidity). The vibration of the fan made the projected images wiggle and look out of focus when the cooler was running. You have to think ahead about ceiling mounting!

 

[the kid]

After several projector system upgrades at my home I would strongly suggest you get the most sturdy, easy to adjust mount within your budget. You will find there can be a lot of time & work to getting things as perfect as can be. Up/ down, loosen screw / tighten screw, loosen next screw / tighten... Fingers in / fingers out, tools... The better the equipment, the easier this becomes.

The above issue concerning vibration is true. I used to ceiling mount. I have no one or no thing above, just empty attic. I was weirdly surprised one night that during a movie the picture faintly moved a little. ???? ! So after it did it again, I realized it was from the big wind outside moving through with a front of weather! Strong enough I guess to shake my attic roof which translated the energy to the floor/ceiling of my movie room.

I have since installed a qual gear wall-mounted unit. Currently at $200 ( I think it was $50 less at the time ), but way more stable and terrificly easy to use adjustments! Almost a 'set it & forget it' mount. To your mention above, this certainly did not move the projector closer to the screen. A little farther back, but no biggie as I have plenty of zoom to play with.

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www.amazon.com

I have seen instances where some (whose room layout allows) have built an extra wide shelf for the back wall with solid support. This is nice as you can simply set the projector down and no adjustments necessary.