Sdallnct

Meh, I'm over the shock! Lol!

I checked the sizes and weights of ever pj I was looking at. The only one close to as small as mine is the HD20. And I really wanted to upgrade from that. So.....

It is probably half again as thick as my HD70. However, I might move it up an inch or two and get it directly over couch. Then if a touch low, won't make a difference.

I'm going to try to find a mount locally. My little plexiglass/plumbing pipe rig not going to cut it.

Sdallnct

Any of these three mounts just awesome?

http://www.amazon.com/Mustang-Profil...I2HCSL7XKBADF5

http://www.amazon.com/Peerless-PRG-U...03OEWHTN&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Atdec-TH-WH-PJ...I256DGRLYK46FN

Looks like local Fry's has a couple I can go look at. But I'm actually working this week (to my surprise). So I don't want to lose another day if I can't get to Fry's. the above 3 I should be able to get cheap overnight shipping thanks to Prime. So I'm going to order one of the above today so ill have tomorrow. If I find one at Fry's I can send the one from Amazon back.

I was really hoping to keep a mount at $50 or less. Seems that is the spot. However if that $92 one is that much of a difference, I'd consider it. Tho it looks like the main advantage to the Peerless, is knobs to do fine tunning. But since I have lens shift, shouldn't be an issue of needing that.

Edit: I ordered the Atdec. $55 shipped overnight w/tax. I went w/it as lots of reviews mentioning how well it works with the Epson 8350, 8100, etc which are same size as my 8500. My only hesitation is wishing it was more low profile. But I'll look at Fry's today and if just a deal breaker, got Amazon's painless returns. With the extra long zoom I plan on moving the pj a couple inches closer to the screen. This should be directly over front row do seating where not an issue. But will see

Spiky

Peerless used to be hundreds of $$$, mounts have come down a lot, even name brand.

I bet you'll forget about the install woes soon after it's done.

Sdallnct

Yea, Fry's was a no go. Not only did I not think they had great mounts, they were all black. And with a white PJ on a white ceiling, I'd prefer....white. So I'll wait for the one that Amazon is sending me tomorrow.

Sdallnct

Damn mount still not here. Was supposed to be here yesterday, but "weather" delayed it. Course I got like 6 other things from Amazon yesterday....it should be here today.

I realized I hadn't even fired up the PJ. For all I knew is was DOA. And realized I probably blew any chance of getting a replacement of any kind before big game.

So I thought just a chance for a quick replacement, so I fired it up this morning. WOW that thing is a torch! But even just fired up out of the box, it has an amazing pic. And the lens shift is sweet. I put up two ladders with a board across them and set the PJ on it. I was within just of touch of having a perfect image on my screen just doing that. So placement should be no issue. I'll also be able to be sure and find a rafter rather than use drywall hangers. I mean a single drywall hanger can hold 20+ lbs depending on type, but with the placement ease of lens shift, I might as well go all stud/rafter.

First I watched a few minutes of DMB concert. One of my favorites. Then switched a bit to Star Trek which is bright in of itself. I decided to stop playing as I'm working. But can't wait to watch LOR or some dark movie.

And yes, I've already looked up calibration setting.

Oh, and another amazing thing, how quiet it is! It so so significantly quieter, standing just 2-3" away from it, I could hear my PS3 MUCH louder than the projector. In fact, off the top of my head, I need to see if newer PS3's are quieter (I have an original unit) or maybe switch to a BD player. We do use the PS3 for stuff other than movies tho.

chipmac

So what were your first impressions of the PQ comparing your old DLP to this LCD? Black level and motion blurring are of particular interest to me.

Sdallnct

Well I'm not sure it is a fair comparison between this LCD and the DLP I was using. Without a doubt this 8500ub and a quantum leap above my HD70. And I still haven't calibrated or really set up. It was immediate. It was obvious. Yes very bright. But also more depth.

Keep in mind my HD70 was the absolute cheapest (and 1st under a grand) 720p projector. That is close to 6 yr old technology. The 8500ub is around 3 year old technology and it and its near identical replacement 8700ub were among the best you could buy at the time under $3,000.

But yea, after I get set up and really watch, I'll report back.

chipmac

That really is why I'm asking. The way I see it your HD70 is pretty equal to my Mits 1500. They're both 720p DLP models that were under $1000. So I'm curious how impressed you are moving from the one you're used to watching to the other technology that is also newer and improved.

Sdallnct

Bad boy is up. Disappointed in that it is not as low a profile mount as I would have liked. I may even shop around. It is a full 5.5" from ceiling to pj. So the drop is right at 11" total. Tho really glad I got white, black would have really stuck out.

The mount is solid. Though I still need to level and lock it all in place. And I missed getting the lens centered with the screen by nearly an inch! Not sure how I did that. But with lens shift shouldn't be an issue.



Same standard power cord so I didn't even run another. Though I am going to have to move the hole for the cords coming out of the ceiling. I moved the pj forward to get it more directly over couch. If I keep that mount I could put the hole right above the pj. If I get a lower profile, probably need to be behind it like I had for my HD70.

Got son to help me put up so he wanted to see. So we watched some. Amazing. Colors are just amazing. Super contrast. Detail is amazing. I mean everything is better. By a lot. Now not only was my pj older, but the bulb had nearly 3,800 hrs on it when it went out. But still....

Sdallnct

Well pj didn't fall overnight. But now I'm thinking, instead of moving pj forward over couch, maybe I should consider moving back above theater seats. Then the drop wouldn't be that noticeable. Hummm...

Spiky

That's what I did. I only have one "row", but there is a half wall behind that, separating the large room. I moved my large PJ over that, back by the speakers. No fear of hitting it there, just standing in front of it. But them's the breaks when you want a 90" screen.

Big zoom and shift allows for a lot.

Sdallnct

Well I still have 8' ceilings. My platform for my theater seats is only like 6-8". And the drop is 11". So It would be rare, very rare if someone was tall enough when walking by to mess with the image. It really is just "how does the set up look" thing. The only thing is that is would put it where it would just about block the center rear speaker. But so few movies take advantage of that anyway...

The image is so impressive, I'm looking for other upgrades. Yes, maybe a bigger screen. Yes, get rid of damn ugly couch. But also I think I want to paint all the trim in the room black. Would add a little pop.

Sdallnct

Am I reading this right? Is this 106" screen 92.2" wide TOTAL??? I would be able to make that work. That would be a big jump. 94" to 106". I wouldn't mind 102" to 104" but can't find much.

http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Screens-...heater+screens

Spiky

Can't be. The 52x92 is the dimensions of the viewing area for a 106" 16:9 screen. And it claims a border of 2.36", I think. I would say finished product must be 97" wide. But I haven't seen it myself.

Sdallnct

Well Super Bowl was a hit with new pj. I didn't even calibrate. But this week I need to decide on final location and get wires hidden.

I have component and s video run in addition to HDMI. Is there really a need for them any more?

Spiky

Only you can answer that. If you can just move the existing wires, seems useful to keep them around just in case. Mine are all in a bundle, already, and it was easy to just move all at once with my ceiling. YCMV.

I'm still using my old receiver and no scaler. If I had a good scaler, all my sources could be scaled by that and sent over one HDMI. That's probably my next upgrade, a prepro with a nice scaler built in.

I seldom actually need old sources, though. It's really just old video games from time to time. Ooh, I should turn off the component input on my PJ, nothing's even plugged in to use it. That's one less to scroll through since it doesn't have discrete codes.

Sdallnct

So moved project back where it is more over 2nd row theater seats. Look better, tho I might move the hole for wires, will see.

I've got about 20 hours on it now and love it! Tho I'm having a bit of a time deciding on calibration. I actually like the Dynamic mode, but is too bright. Right now I'm running Dynamic, but lamp in economy mode to bring down the brightness a bit.

I thought the recommended setting over at Projector Review were pretty drab...so I'm trying to find more recommended settings. But all good!

Sdallnct

I see they dropped the price by $100. It's now $999 for the refurb 8500ub.

Still loving mine. Haven't had time to program my Harmony, but that should be easy enough.

Spiky

I know this isn't exactly the topic, but....

How do you program the Harmony with a PJ? These remotes want to flip everything on/off constantly, which is unacceptable for a PJ, of course. Does the Harmony know to hit Power twice? Do you block the Off commands, or add in a Menu/Clear command to clear the screen when you press Power once, or...?

Sdallnct

What do you mean "they always want to flip everything on/off"?

Harmony uses activities (macros) that you set up via a web based program. If I program "Watch Bluray" for example after the initial programming it will,

Power on the pj, receiver and ps3
Set the receivers input for BR (which my receiver is set for 5.1 for BR)
Turn down my lights to a movie watching level

If I then hit "Watch Dish"

It already knows the pj is on
It powers off my ps3,
Powers on the dish box
Changes inputs on my receiver (but leaves it on)
Keeps lights down

There is a single master off button to shut everything off when done. There is no "power on". You use the activities. You can of course use the Harmony more manually and select "receiver" and do something there if you want including power, but rarely a need. If I hit "Play dish" it knows for example that the channel rocker is for the dish box and volume for the receiver.

If I start by pressing "watch dish" it knows to turn on the pj.

But you program it to turn things on and off as needed.

The only thing that will really mess it up, is if you do something manually. Like if you walked in the room and used the actual receiver remote to turn on the receiver and then tried to hit "watch a movie" there would be no way for the remote to know the receiver is already on. So it would turn it off (instead of on since it was already on).

My other concern was with the the pj is in the rear of the room and equipment to the side. But it has a very wide and strong signal and I rarely if ever have an issue with that. And the remote has a feature for that very thing. It will walk you through a trouble shoot if something doesn't come on.

Typically after set up, I put the individual remotes away, so no one messes with them.

And yes, during programming it will ask you if your pj needs to hit power twice to turn it off. You can also program a delay if needed to turn on the pj and wait a few seconds for the pj to power up before changing the input on the pj. But now since I use a receiver for all switching, not really an issue.

You do the initial set up by going on line and first entering the brand and model of all your equipment. Than set the activities. It is easy enough to "swap out" pieces of equipment and unless there are significant differences, little will be needed to be changed on the activities. I just need to swap out the HD70 for the Epson and remove the delay since I've gone HDMI only and the pj will pick up the input.

It's a lot easy to set up and use than explain...ha!

Spiky

That example you gave is pretty much what I meant. I want to avoid turning some things (esp PJ) off when doing some commands, and I'm not sure if it would work for me.

I have a decent URC remote, with macros that are close to what a Harmony provides. But I'm not perfectly happy with it, for the precise button design and its sleep/wake method, which may sound petty, but it affects a huge amount of the actual usage. I also have most of what I would need for a decent RTI setup, but it'd be a lot of money and work yet to finish that, and I'm not sure I'd be happy with their button layouts, either. I've done some shopping recently, and I swear the mid-range universal remote market has died. It's like Harmony has completely destroyed everybody else. Competition is now cheap stuff vs Harmony vs really-expensive-installed-systems. So, I probably need to reconsider Harmony, although the news from Logitech is a bit worrisome.

Back to usage:
I have 2 screens and my main sources are Tivo, HTPC, and disc. I often run both screens at once, and in the future would add secondary audio for the 2nd screen, as well. (actually, I can probably do that now, even with my old receiver, maybe I should try it) I'm a little unclear how a Harmony would interact with this complexity. Or what if I switch to playing music, I don't want it to necessarily turn off the PJ. IDK, there's a lot to plan out. Oh, and I keep seeing comments on various forums that the remote only stores status info for Activity-based button presses, so it can get confused about the current state even when using the Harmony remote in Device mode, not just if you use other remotes. I would only use one remote, so that part would not be a problem.

I have fiddled with a low-end Harmony, so I've been through the setup a bit. But not real far.

Thanks for the comments, very helpful. I figured you would have good advice. One more...can you program the master off to be a delay or double press? To avoid accidentally turning everything off.

chipmac

You can program it to leave certain things on if you want. I leave my cable box/DVR on all the time. You can even dupe activities so it will turn things off in one and leave it on in the other so depending on your use you can choose which activity to use. You can also set delays on button presses as well as a double press. My Mits PJ need a double press of the OFF button to power down and it works fine after setting it up. The use of two screens and two audio sources could be a problem but then you could just have one activity for each so it would be two button presses in stead of one.

mattysemo247

So I'm looking at two different projectors, BenQ W1070 & W1080ST. They sound like the same projector, except the 80ST is a short throw projector. Not trying to ask a stupid question, but would either of these work as decent projector in a finished basement? I thought the short throw projector might actually work better since we are only going to be sitting about 8 to 10 feet from the screen. But can those still be mounted over head or do they have to be placed lower like on a table or something? Thoughts?

Spiky

I'm sure they can both be mounted overhead, all (pretty sure all) PJs have a 4 way setting for ceiling/table & front/rear projection. The throw is just something to calculate with a tape measure. Depends on the size of the screen and where you want to place the machine.

Sdallnct

Yea, I've never heard of an office or home pj that could not be ceiling mounted.

Usually the more difficult install is when people don't want to ceiling mount.