The condo I live in has a theater as a common amenity . We plan to upgrade to a HD projector with a Blu-ray disc player . The room currently has a 60''x80' screen. and a distance of 285 inches from the lens(behind a back wall) to the screen. The top of the screen is 2' down from the ceiling and the projector lens is 3' down. It is a dark room with no windows and fairly dark interior.

I am a novice at this ( was involved with the design of a B/W projector about 40 years ago) and could use some advice. I would like my neighbors to be happy while not spending a fortune and not spending a lot of personal time.

I welcome any suggestions but here some specific areas I need help with:

What projector? The Sony VPLVW40/60s seem to have too short a through distance. The Epson 1080 UB has a calculator that only runs on Windoze. I think it might work but I can't/won't run windows.

What Disc player/? Sony BDP-S300? The new S350 seems to not be shipping yet.

What is the story on HDMI cables? I see some listed as specification 1.3a. I believe 2.0 is on the way .I would not like to have to repull cables in the future.

I can get Comcast to upgrade and also get internet access for future down loads. I plan on a computer access also via DVI/HDMI adaptor and a HDMI switch

What do I need to calibrate the projector? Is Joe Kane Digital Video Essentials good enough? I am used to using expensive test equipment. I know how to profile it for computer output.

What have I missed?

I realize that the current screen is a 4/3 and that 16/9 will waste the top and bottom of the screen. I can put in a bigger screen but that requires some carpentry. and a change to the motorized curtain. A ceiling mount for the projector is difficult since the ceiling is pre-stressed concrete and not tolerant of holes

Thanks for the help.

The Joe Kane disc is not HD, but will work very well to establish correct luminance and color values, or at least it has for me. Can't help with the other stuff.

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What it is, man, a low-down and funky feelin'

Thanks .
It seems like there is a Blu-ray version
[www.amazon.com]

You might try here:

[www.avsforum.com]

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Grateful11

Have you considered the Playstation 3 as the primary BluRay player? It seems to be the best deal out there considering how upgradeable it is.

that is a very long distance for such a small screen. It might be difficult to find a projector that will hit that distance without a bigger screen size.
Check out www.Projectorcentral It has very good info and prices from several companies.
there are a lot of good hd projectors for under $3000 and I think a couple have hit $2000

Thanks to all of you.

You need an HD projector.

Here are some good comparisons in the mid-range. [www.projectorreviews.com]

You didn't mention a budget.

The current best/least expensive bluray player is Panasonic's BD-30 ($399-$499), but they're not that easy to find at the lower price points… It bitstreams all of its signal (doesn't do any inbox processing - so you need an AVR that's capable of decoding the HD audio signals - the BD-50 should be available next week, and it will decode the HD audio on bluray discs. That model will be about $599, supposedly.)

You didn't mention your sound set-up, either, and tying into that should be a consideration.

Your question about HDMI 1.3 is not so much about the cable as it is about the interface, which will change over time. The cable shouldn't.

Regarding, 2.0, that's a BluRay spec which will allow interactivity - meaning you'll need an internet connection. Don't worry about it. The PS3 is currently the only player upgradable to 2.0. The next bluray players should follow the 2.0 spec.

Oh, and the AVIA disc is easier to use than DVE if you're thinking about one over the other.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2008 11:09AM by bfd.

The latest PS3 is only $399, and will be able to upgrade to BluRay spec 3 or more since it has a large internal hard drive and internet connectivity. I don't know how important that is, but it sounds nice.

[www.amazon.com]