Sdallnct

How heavy is it? I use plexiglass. Easy to score and snap to size and easy to drill. I used longer screws than needed to go into the projector and added bolts on the opposite side of the plexiglass. This way, twisting the bolts I can raise and lower the projector slightly.

IMO, the "weak link" (or real strength) comes from those screws that go into the projector. My HD70 take pretty small one's. If anything will fail it will be them, not the mount. And those threads are pretty fine.

(I was surprised how small of screws are used in my 27" LCD I mounted in the bar. And that is is sheer weight. I have a swing out arm for that TV and am pretty gentle with it when I move it. The mount won't fail, but those screws make me nervous).

Tho I agree. I built my first mount for my X1 when you couldn't buy any mount for less than $75. So when I upgraded to the HD70 I just built another one. But they are cheap now....the only advantage I had was I wanted a pretty low profile mount, so building it, I was able to do that.

Spiky

22 pounds. That compares with 7 or 8 for my AE900. It's up now. Bloody annoying day, helping other people, little time for important things like putting my PJ up!

This one takes small screws, too. I agree, it really seems incongruous with the large PJ. But once I attached the bottom part of the mount to the PJ, it felt pretty good.

The point that really drew me to this unit was the comments from virtually everyone that the color is still excellent in every mode. Most machines look ridiculous in Vivid or Dynamic, making those modes useless for a purist. It's only been up for an hour, but so far I'd have to agree. Very impressed, and it's going to be very nice to be able to watch with some ambient light.

Sdallnct

Nice! Yea, bet my HD70 is under 10 lbs as well....tho it was heavy enough that when I was replacing the bulb and took the entire unit down I lost control of it for a second, and it put all the weight on my pinkie finger and dislocated it! Ha! Home Theater accident....it can happen.

Funny part was I was so concerned I had jostled the PJ to much I didn't notice the pain or how finger looked. And wife is such a wuss I had to pop it back in myself! It swelled up enough that the next day I did go to the Dr. (not ER) and she kept asking over and over again how it happened, not believing me!

Anyway....yea...I keep toying with the idea of a new one. Current bulb is 3,000 hours so it is time and will go any minute. But I really like it, it works well. But then I do the math and $250 shipped for a bulb and with careful shopping I could probably find that Mitsubishi for close to $1,100 with a bulb (and perhaps a spare) and it becomes a lot more tempting.

I'll have to read about the one you got. I really think even mine is "watchable" with ambient light. So long as it is not shinning on the screen. I have a wall of windows 90 degrees to the screen (I have heavy curtains). I can open the back one up (farthest from the screen) and watch a day time football game pretty nicely while reading the paper and having coffee. Would I want to do real intense watching on bluray like that? Probably not, but it is very watchable.

Sdallnct

OK, I lost track...

Which projectors did you guys get...want to do some reading as I wait for the bulb in mine to go out. Right now the this one is on my short list...and looks like the price is dropping a bit. Pretty easy to get for $1,100 shipped.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Mitsubishi-HC4000.htm

The 5,000 hr bulb might push me over the edge...assuming it is true.

kvrdave

I got the LG. It is around 22 lbs compared to the 7 lbs of my ae-900.

My room is about 30 feet long with work out equipment in the back half and screen, seating, etc. in the front half. No good way to use a book shelf, and on a table, it would be threatened by boys and wildlife. But, back when I made this into a theater room and was running cable up the wall and through the attic, I scabbed in a 2x6 or 2x8 between the rafters, so I have a very sturdy ceiling to mount to. I have pictures of how it looks now, and will upload those tomorrow.

This LG is simply amazing.

kvrdave

Sweet, we got them up the same day.

The monoprice mount is STOUT. It isn't as low profile as I would prefer, but it is great so far. My old one was a "ball" mount and was nearly impossible to adjust perfectly and the low profile made it even tougher. This thing was easy.

The nicest new feature I see is that the LG has a sleep mode. I use my pj for everything. I will use it for hours. And often I will sleep in the man room. The old panny would end up on overnight very often. But last night I just set it to turn off in 30 minutes. Very nice feature.

I couldn't be happier. Put in Avatar to see the difference of 1080 vs 720. Didn't expect much, but it was absolutely awesome. Probably a lot has to do with the difference in contrast, etc. of the new LG. But I'm blown away. And damn it can be bright.

Trying to reprogram the Harmony 880 now.

Sdallnct

everyone is getting a new projector....I want a new projector..

<----stomps around....

Joe Schmoe

Thanks for the photos. I'd be curious to see the 2 that are missing.

My room measures 11' 7" wide and 19' 3" long with 8' ceilings. I used the calculator on projectorpeople's site and the Panasonic AE7000u to get some numbers, but I'm still confused by a few things. I know what throw distance is, but what is throw ratio? What is zoom ratio? The unit is 13" deep, so if I placed this unit against one of the short walls and projected it across the length of the room, the throw distance would be roughly 18' (right?) because the lens is on the front of the unit (not against the back wall itself), and this would give me a diagonal image of 139" (16x9) format. That would be too big since the wall itself is only 139" wide. Does that automatically mean I couldn't place this projector against the back wall or can the image be downsized a bit? Is that where throw ratio and zoom ratio come into play?

Sdallnct

Here is the "room in use" pic with a cast party from one of my daughters plays a couple years ago. Also shows the draps I got.



See if this helps you,

http://www.theprojectorpros.com/lear...ter_setting_up

Throw distance is a range in on most every projector as they have a zoom lens.

Lens offset is how much the lens is offset from shooting the image straight ahead. Meaning, if you place a projector on a table the image is up from the projector (for obvious reasons). If you hang a projector it is mounted upside down, so the reverse happens and image is displayed down from the projector. So if you have a low ceiling for example and want to ceiling mount it, it might shoot the image to low (but this may or may not be in issue. If only a single row of seating, might not be as big of an issue. But if you have two rows, it might be more of a concern).

On most LCD's the offset can be adjusted with lens shift. On most lower cost DLP's there is no lens shift.

IMO, in either case you have to do the math. Lens offset varies by projector so again, it can't make up for everything. Just like a zoom lens, there is a limit.

I have two rows and a 94" diagonal 16:9 screen. 1st row is about 10.5 ft, 2nd row about 12.5. I mounted the projector so it was roughly in the middle of the zoom range so if I was off by a bit the zoom would help me. IMO, you should do the same with the lens offset. Figure where to put it and than use the offset to help correct if you were off by a touch.

Joe Schmoe

Thanks!

Spiky

Zoom is in the lens, just like any other zoom lens. Whatever they call it, ratio...whatever, it allows you to have a range of throw distance so you have choices on location. The calculator on Projector Central should have specific info for most PJs. If you use it, you won't have to worry about calculating anything based on the ratios that different mfgrs might use. It will simply tell you if you can have the size you want at the distance you want. It shows a range of about 92" to 184" diag screen at 18' throw with the AE7000.

Spiky

One problem with the LG is it does not have discrete input codes. That is going to make Harmony or other macro remotes difficult to use. Unless you are HDMI-only.

I'm also finding it will not communicate with my old BDp except for 24p. That may sound fine, movies look great, but the players menus are not sent in 24p so I see nothing but black screen until it gets to a disc menu. It may be a cabling issue, I'll try to figure it out. Works fine with the TiVo in either 720/1080.

kvrdave

Here is a picture of my old wimpy mount.


Here is the new monoprice beefy mount.


Here's the unit attached.

kvrdave

You've gotten more technical than I understand. I use the harmony 880 and I noticed that it didn't program in "mode" automatically, which is obviously a must so that I can change the setting for movies, sports, and computer. I was able to get the 880 to learn the code fine. That tells me that I don't know what discrete input codes are

But I will also admit that I don't use macros or set up any activities. I tried with the old pj and it kept turning it off and on with each activity. So I just use the individual "devices" and do everything. I have noticed that when changing inputs from RGB to HDMI, it takes much longer than the old AE900, but I suppose I can live with that.

Spiky

Yeah, I tried Harmony and didn't really like it for me, my remote usage is a little more complex than "activities" can handle. Also, projectors are not really covered in the intended usage of a Harmony remote. Not that some don't manage, like our poor, 720p-watching friend Sdallnct.

Discrete is like what the AE900 has, sort of. It has 3 separate buttons for HDMI/PC, Component, and Video/Svideo, so you can (more) directly access these inputs. (truly discrete would be 5 buttons for those 5 inputs) The LG just has the one Input button, so an activity or macro would need to know how many times to "press" the button to get to each input. I do use a couple macros, so I may attempt to work on this, we'll see. HDMI also makes it so slow, you have to have delays built in to some macros. It's hardly worth it sometimes.

kvrdave

Okay, I see what you are saying, and agree. It would be nice to have an "RGB" button and an "HDMI1" button rather than having to do "input next" for everything. I agree on that. They do have discrete buttons on the back of the unit, don't they? Seems odd to have individual buttons on the back, but not have those buttons on the remote.

cpgator

You have very ugly couches sir.

Sdallnct

Oh that hurts! ha!!

I had to do some minor advance settings for my Harmony. The HD70 requires to hit the power button twice to turn off. Also, I had to add a short delay from on to changing input as it took the HD70 a bit to warm up before it would accept an input change. Not as big of an issue now that I've gone 100% HDMI. Even works well with the PS3 now that I added the Harmony BT converter.

Otherwise love the Harmony. Tho 880 finally died and had to sub in a lessor model I was using in the bar till I find a deal on the Harmony One. Just been lazy about that. There have been deals. Including Harmony sometimes giving you a good deal on one if you are having issues with your current remote.

You have no idea how much I hate that couch. But wife loves it. One day while wife is out, that couch will be gone. I have priced and like the smaller Berkline. On the smaller one's I can fit 4 where the couch is.

kvrdave

The old one had to hit the power twice to turn off and so is the new one. Had the old one set up to double click for power off, but decided not to on this one. I've accidently turned it off before and this should keep me from being undone by my own stupidity.

RockyMtnBri

Never thought I'd jump back into a projector discussion since I bought mine almost 4 years ago! My next jump will be when Pico projectors become a viable solution for home theater! Extended life with no lamp per se, and quieter. Still happy with my Sony VPL-VW60, and I've only replaced the lamp once in 4 years. I also bought a newer PS3 when my original bit the dust, and man, it is silent compared to the old one! Runs cooler too!

Sdallnct

Here is my mount....piece of thick plexiglass, and couple pieces of plumbing pipe....note how low profile I was able to get. And am able to adjust as needed.

Spiky

Nope. I forget precisely, but the on-PJ buttons are something like:
Power
Menu
Input (single button)
Left
Right
Up
Down
Select

It is sometimes possible that the remote codes would exist, despite not being on the physical remote, and we could find them and program them into our fancy remotes. This was the case with the Eject command on my Mits VCR, I added it to my universal. But from what I read on AVS, that is not true for the LG, just plain no discretes whatsoever. It also does not have any sort of control input for use with a wired system. Those are almost certainly related failings.

I bought it anyway.

Spiky

Oh, btw, I apparently got a different Monoprice mount. That would explain our different experiences. Mine works, it is square to the screen, holds the PJ.

kvrdave

Sold my original PS3 recently and just bought a regular BD player. The old PS3 was so freaking loud, and I didn't ever play games to speak of. Bought it because it was effectively the cheapest BD player when they came out.

kvrdave

Ah. This one holds the projector lower than I would like, but it is super strong. But I am very fortunate I braced the ceiling well.

I never actually looked at the bottons on the back. Just assumed they were different input modes. That seems like a pretty obvious/simple thing to have.