Hey bros.

Always wanted a projector setup, never had one. Finally have a room to do it in (16x24).  I did some googling, but its kind of overwhelming. Figured id let the hive spend my money (whats new)

We will use it maybe once a week to watch a movie at night via netflix or a blu ray disc.

To put things into perspective, I always buy the cheapest flat screens and my surround sound is 5 year old  harmon kardon We dont have cable. So we are no video wizards. Just want a nice crisp picture at 120" or so.

Budget is 2k, but if I can find one that suit my specs for 1k...that would be great

On a side note, is there anything special to the screens? I know I dont want to do the painted wall and will probably spring for motorized...other than that no idea what im looking at.

Any help is appreciated, Thx bros.

Edit: Ceiling mounted if that matters.

2000 dollar budget?

Sony VPL-HW45ES.

It'll use up your full budget but there will be VERY little to criticize about image quality.

As for a screen, I'm a real fan of the simple and dirt cheap painted wall.

Go to the local Home Depot and pick up a quart of Behr Ultra Flat Ultra White acrylic latex paint.

If you have a paint sprayer system available to you,  mask off around where you want the screen (I recommend a 16:9 aspect ratio and a width of 8 to 10 feet) and spray the paint on, after thinning it if necessary for good spraying characteristics.

Apply a uniform thin (1 to 2" range usually) black border around the screen edges to present a neater appearance.  Just be sure to mask off your freshly painted white screen, should you choose to go with this option.

Go to AVSforums, they have sub forums there, discussing everything from projectors, dyi screens,to audio systems for Home Theatre systems.

Good call on the Sony.

Indeed, it is surprising how well ultra flat white paint works for a projector surface.  I've got a real nice high end screen currently but before I built my home theater room I demoed some projectors in my unfinished space with a painted well to test on.  If you are on a budget, it'll do fine.  If not, I really like my Dragonfly High Contrast screen.  

That was our plan as well.  It started with just movies.  Then sports and movies.  Then all of our TV shows.  Now it's everything.  The TV in the living room gets turned on once every other year now.

I second the suggestion of going to AVS.

I have used two different 3 LCD panel projectors.  The first was a $2k Panasonic.  After it bit the dust I got a an Epson 8345 for about $650 and it had better specs than the Panasonic.  I'm going to use this one until 4K projectors that have the features I want get down to $1,000.  3 LCD panels means there are no color wheels so fewer moving parts.  The red, green and blue images from each panel are combined in a prism for a full color picture.

Features are a big deal.  I have one mounting location in my room and my screen is 103" so I had to get a projector that could work within those constraints.  That meant a zoom feature was required.  Since mine was ceiling mounted it also needed a lens shift feature to move the image down.  The Panasonic had a keystone adjustment but the Epson does not.  I don't really notice any keystoning because the lens shift works great.

Projector Central .com has an image throw calculator for each projector they sell.

Thanks bros. Going to look at some today including the sony mentioned and epson 5040ub.

I dont want to do the painted wall due to kids, need the screen to retract out of the way. Its not a huge room and double duty romper room.

Thanks for the help, ill report back.

I don't think I mentioned it but I've got the 6040UB which is basically just a black version of the 5040UB.  I can say 100% that it leaves nothing to be desired.  If you go that direction, you won't be disappointed.

Kids WILL fuck up your screen surface.  But if it's just cheap paint, touchups are quick and easy and cost almost nothing.

A good screen is expensive and easily damaged.

With kids in the house, to me the choice is clear:  Get the Behr paint.   You can then take your time and wait for your kids to develop the "don't touch this thing" sense that keeps their hides from being tanned.  And during this time you can budget for a screen you might like more.

I happen to prefer the painted screen because it's absolutely neutral.  It adds nothing and takes nothing away from the image.  No color shift.  No hot spotting due to high gain.   To me it's just a perfect choice.   I don't lack for brightness, either.

Thanks bros.

I ended up going with the 5040UB. For the price and specs, it seems pretty solid for what im doing. Personally thought the picture looked better than the Sony.

Kinda shocked at the size of this thing

Cant believe these dont even come with a damn basic mount "Luckily" its a normal height ceiling and I dont need anything fancy and I need short as possible. Went for the peerless universal mount.

As far as the screen goes, since the room is "small"...pretty much the whole wall would be painted screen. This is our play/party multipurpose room and I know what the wall will endure.

Ordered this motorized screen HERE which seems like about my only option for "cheap" motorized 125" screen.

Pic or it didnt happen

Ran all the outlets and HDMI cord in the attic....damn thing didnt work. Used a seemingly higher quality cord and worked....is there a special HDMI cord feature I need? (I am from the stone age)

That said, kids freekt out when Smurfs popped on at 145"  Spent 2 minutes "calibrating" man it even looks good on my crappy wall. Screen should look real nice.

Thanks again for the help bros, pretty neat.

Ok wtf.  Now I got another set of HDMI cords and still I get no video?

Can someone help this Neanderthal?

First one I ordered is this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009AY157O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Second this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SI1JAX6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What am I doing wrong? (Just using plain old blu ray dvd player)

Edit: Freeking thing has faulty inputs. Bought all new DVD player and surround sound... Still flashing video. Well that sux!

Good news is I got the screen installed today, its really nice for the money IMO.

Depending on the length of your run, you may need an optical hdmi cable. An active hdmi cable is another option.

What about this as a starter projector http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-EW610ST.htm ?

3100 Lumens, 1280 x 800 resolution (only using archery netting so higher resolution might be wasted ?), vertical keystone (might be needed if sat on the floor) and the throw ratio would put the projector about 6' 9" back from the screen which is what i want i think (with my ceiling height of 8' 6" ill need to be about 6-7 ft back from the screen when hitting i reckon. Any further back and i think balls might hit the ceiling). Also has HDMI input to connect the iphone for Skytrak driving range app.

I can get one relatively cheap 2nd hand.

Does this like it'll do the job ? Is there anything im missing ? Its hard to find reviews but the few i do see say for "education and business environments". Does this mean its a non runner ?