Is HD front projection TV "do-able" ?

[SingSing]

I am working on a 800~1200 sq.ft room with 9 ft high ceiling. Even a large 65" Toshiba TV look small in it. To get bigger picture to fill the room, I would like to consider front projection. I look at several HD front projector in the store, none of them has HDMI input, only RGB.

If I put in a 75" projection screen, and toshiba HD DVD player, thru one of these HD by RGB front projector, will the result too much off compare to a DLP projection TV setup ?

[Scooter_NJ]

No doubt you will get some fine answers here, but also check out
The Home Theater Forum as well.

www.hometheaterforum.com

[Topher5000]

Make sure you're not buying a presentation projector. Those are brighter that a home theatre projector, but they have low contrast & the picture will look washed out. If it doesn't have either an HDMI or DVI input, chances are it's a presentation pj.
My basement's about 15x25' with 8' to the rafters & I have a Hitachi PJ-TX100 projecting a 120" image on a painted wall & HD over satellite looks stunning. Xvids played on my HTPC look great, too.
You can see pics here (click on the picture):

You can do some reading at projectorreviews.com & projectorcentral.com. Avsforum.com is great source for info, especially DIY screens.

[SingSing]

Thankyou for the info. So, I most likely look for movie projector. What brand/model will you buy today ? I do planned to buy a silver projection screen.

Your picture also help me decided that I will paint the wall to "kelly green", instead stay at cream white. I am also planned to change the floor to laminated wood.

Note : I most likely have to mount the center speaker above the screen and deal with voice coming from a location which is TOO HIGH UP.

[holistic]

Have fun looking for your front projector.
I found this page very useful when i was shopping for mine.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm

Some things to consider, depending on budget - DLP or LCD or CRT($$)
I would have preferred the Sanyo PLV Z5 but I went with an Optoma HD72 just cause I got a better deal.
You'll need to consider the placement of the projector BEFORE you decide on the projector. I say this because some projectors may not have the right offset or throw distance for your room.

Do try to place the centre channel below the screen and not above.

[SingSing]

I was looking forward to put the center speaker behind the projection screen.

Ek, the better performance/value projectors look like Toshiba vs Sony. Are the projection light bulbs easy to buy, or tough item to get hold of ?

[Topher5000]

LCD pjs have lens shift, while lower-priced DLP pjs don't. They usually also have longer zoom ranges. Both lens shift & longer zoom allow for greater flexibility in placement. LCDs show the screen-door effect more, & DLPs have better blacks (contrast), though.
I had the centre speaker below the screen, but it was hard for the 2nd & 3rd rows to hear. It sounds much better above & nobody notices that the voices are higher. If that were the case, if the speaker was below the screen, you'd think the voices were too low. Besides, most mouths are in the middle of the screen or near the top anyways. It's a fact that humans are more sensitive to side-to-side movements rather than up-down.
If I had the cash, I'd buy either the Epson 1080p (I can't remember the model # offhand) or the Optoma HD80 (if the lack of lens shift wouldn't be a problem). Both are about $2600 US. On a budget, I don't know. The Epson 400 is nice. My friend has a Sanyo Z4 which is nice too. It's bright & has saturated colours. I haven't seen any other ones.
I painted the wall a dark colour because it increases percieved contrast. In fact, it's recommended that the ceiling, at least near the screen, be dark too, so that the light from the pj doesn't reflect off it. My screen area itself is painted with Behr Quietude, mixed 3 shades darker & top coated with 2 coats of Behr poly acrylic.
Laminate flooring might make the room seem too 'alive', with all the hard surfaces. The sound bounces around instead of some of it being absorbed by the carpet, furniture, etc. I've never really paid too much attention to room acoustics, though. Soundandvisionmag.com usually has good threads on this subject.

[Topher5000]

Yeah, behind the screen's the best.
I don't think Toshiba makes pjs for home theatre. You should be looking for at least a 3000:1 rated contrast ratio. You definately don't want a presentation pj.
I've haven't tried to purchase a bulb yet. I suppose I'd have to order it. they're not cheap. $300-$400 each. But they last a long time. I've had mine for 2 years & have about 1300 hours on it. Most bulbs are rated for 2000-3000 hours in economy mode, but they could last 500 hours, they could last 5000 hours. My friend with the Z4 upgraded from a Z1 that he had for about 7 years without needing a new bulb. His family used it as their main TV, so it would have had a lot of hours on it.

[Shocker Milwaukee]

My friend has a $899 (I think) Mitsubishi 720p DLP w/ HDMI projecting onto a 92" screen. Looks amazing, especially with all the lights out & windows closed. His biggest issue is imperfections in the screen (not perfectly flat).

[SingSing]

That's what I am worried about. The room has two windows and one door in the top half.

Since video projectors are typically 1000~1500 lumens. Will the picture look dim when light is getting thru the windows and door?

Also, Can one tell the picture quality different between HD and SD with front projection ?

[Topher5000]

Front pjs will look washed out & dim with bright light. I find incandescent light is the worst. If I open the beer fridge at the end of a short hall at the back of the room, it affects the picture more than the pot lights. Maybe it's because the pot lights are directional by nature since the bulb is recessed in the can. That said, you can have a fair bit of light & still get a good picture. If you look at the pictures I've linked to, I'm able to read a newspaper in the ones with the lights on. I had a superbowl party with the lights pretty bright & the picture was great.
I find that my xvids upsampled to 720p on my HTPC looks almost as good as HD. The biggest difference is that HD has brighter colours. The SD channels on my satellite can look pretty crappy, but that's due to the compression that the satellite provider uses. The HD channels are amazing.
My painted wall works great as a screen. It bows outward slightly in the middle, but it's un-noticeable. It's more important to have a smooth surface than a flat surface. I used a 12" dry-wall trowel to feather out the bow. If there are any sharp edges, such as on a blob of drywall mud, the shadow it creates will be very noticable. Then again, you're getting a screen, so you don't have to worry about it.

[redwudz]

Just to add. I have had a Sony projector for about 3 years. I liked it as i could offset it both horizontally and vertically and still get a rectangular picture. That puts my projector in a cabinet off in the corner of the room instead of bolted to my ceiling. It's a low res, about 800 x 600 and I will upgrade. I got a high quality screen, well worth the +$300US. I have 17 feet to the screen and a decent surround sound system. My screen is about 4' X 8'. A good screen is very important. No white painted walls. A electric retractable screen would be really nice.

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It's fantastic to have a big screen. Even low res Xvids look good.

[Topher5000]

No, not white, but a neutral shade of grey works fine. There are plenty of threads in the DIY screen forum at avsforum.com with how-to's for paint mixes. Those guys can be pretty anal about it.