Budget projector set up?

[BERGS2]

Hey forum -

We're going to set up an AV room for a cinema in the loftspace of our gaff - This is mainly to be a 'kids' room, but for the rare moments when the mrs and I have time to chill for an evening - we may use it for watching films - listening to music etc. So i dont want it to be too 'basic'

i'm trying to do this on the cheap-ish, so would be really interested to hear how you guys have set these kinda things up from the start...

having the house renovated and the loft room has eaves space all around it - so would be good to know how to best plan tucking stuff away that is best hidden - but giving best scope for potential future upgrades..

I fear it may be a slippery slope...

Cheers y'all!

[B17NNS]

I'd start with a simple 5.1 set up and see how you get on.

Decent budget projector:

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/project...

Decent budget Blu-ray player:

https://www.richersounds.com/panasonic-dmpbdt180.h...

Decent budget receiver and speaker package:

http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/HD.php?_DEN_X2400H...

That amp has 7 channels so you could add two additional speakers and have a 7.1 setup.

[justin220]

I've just went through something similar. We had a spare room in our new house we probably wouldn't have used, and both agreed it was wasted space. We needed a reason to go into the room, and use it. Couple of options were a music room (instruments) or a movie room. We decided on the movie room option.

First part that's been difficult is getting the room dark enough. It has windows at both ends, and the door leading in is half glass.

I decided to try and do the whole lot for around the price of a couch (£1500 ish or so)

Current spends -

benQ W2000 - £800 (although I'm sure the w1070 at £600 would be just as good?)
Screen - straight onto the wall
Denim amp - £300
Speakers - currently using an old set from a 5.1 set up - free
Cambridge Audio Sub - £150
Cables/bits - £50 or so, all under the carpets
Blackout curtains - £200

So just about on budget, although would like to add a PS4 at some point.

Edited by justin220 on Friday 10th November 20:32

[justin220]

Ongoing project as you can see.

Still need a centre speaker stand. And new speakers eventually

[Yipper]

There are loads on Amazon around the £50-200 mark, if you want a cheap one.

You can even get a smartphone-based projector for ~£20 at Argos, if you wanna go real cheap.

[BERGS2]

Cheers fellas -

That benq 1070 looks preTty good

ASSume screens are much of a muchness?

Also - whats the best means of concealing kit/cable etc.

Rare opportUnity of speccing as required....

[B17NNS]

BERGS2 said:

ASSume screens are much of a muchness?

Nope

You can use a wall or make your own. You can spend a little or you can spend an awful lot.

These start at around £3k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RGVzYSo3RQ&t=...

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/news/article/scree...

BERGS2 said:

Also - whats the best means of concealing kit/cable etc.

In terms of kit you'll only have three things. Projector (which you're going to ceiling mount I assume). Then it's just an AV receiver and a BD player which can sit in a small rack/cabinet/piece of furniture. IKEA Besta stuff is cheap and customisable.

Re. cables you say you are renovating. Are the walls boarded yet? Failing that can you lift floor boards.

You'll need HDMI, power and maybe ethernet at the projector.

Behind the AV kit you'll need the same. From there run your speaker cables to the locations you want them (under floors, behind plasterboard).

Another possibility with the 7 channel amp if your ceiling isn't boarded yet is to add ATMOS (2 ceiling speakers) so 5.1.2.

Edited by B17NNS on Saturday 11th November 13:01

[tomsugden]

Have you considered getting some of the kit second hand? I bought a Bose lifestyle 48 for £450 on Ebay. A new ~100 inch fixed screen and an inFocus HD projector new were £900. Am HDMI splitter box means only one HDMI cable inside the ceiling connects to the projector, and I have a BlueRay, Sky Q, Mac Mini, Amazon Firestick/Netflix, and a Wii all connected. Great setup for not a lot.

[anonymous-user]

I used to have a full projector /5.1 set up, and I loved it.

Just replaced it with a 65" 4k TV though because at the end of the day you can make it as dark as you like and as comfy as you like, but then SWMBO says "can we have the light on, I don't like it this dark" :-(

[kingston12]

I run a Benq W1070 in my main living room and it has been great for the past three years or so.

I was limited to the Benq range as they are the only ones that do the throw distance that I needed. There are online calculators that will tell you if the throw distance of each projector will work in any given space.

As you step up in price, black levels get better and general picture quality will improve but, as with anything like this, the improvement per £ spent gets continually smaller.

The real way to get benefit from a higher end projector is to use it in the correct environment - black/dark walls and ceiling with all light sources completely blocked. It doesn't sound as though you will be able to do that, so the benefit from a higher end projector will be even smaller.

Dedicated screens are better than projecting directly onto a wall, but I'd buy the projector first and see if you are happy with the image on the wall before splashing out on a screen that can be more expensive than the projector itself.

You are right that it can be a slippery slope, but I am usually a serial upgrader and the W1070 has lasted three years and I have no plans to change it. I have a pull up screen that sits in front of a 4K Sony TV that cost 4 times what the projector did. The TV is only used a casual TV watching or in the rare case I actually find something I want to watch on a 4K Blu Ray.

[VEX]

That is where a good lighting design comes in as well.

We design the lights as well so that they can be graded front to back for screen viewing.

Then we set just the rear most lights to be on at a very low level, enough to see what you are eating, drinking or the remote, without effecting the perfomance or light levels at the screen.

V.

[davek_964]

keirik said:

I used to have a full projector /5.1 set up, and I loved it.

Just replaced it with a 65" 4k TV though because at the end of the day you can make it as dark as you like and as comfy as you like, but then SWMBO says "can we have the light on, I don't like it this dark" :-(

I also replaced my projector with a 65" 4K OLED, and the picture quality is a big step up from the Epsom projector I had - plus, there isn't a huge difference in size, since the projected image was only 72" thanks to my room layout.
I sold the projector about a month ago, and was planning to take the screen down and fill the mounting / cable holes in the ceiling. But I find myself looking at that space and thinking : I could fit a new projector there now..... and the 3k-5k 4K projector thread makes interesting reading! But I will resist for a while........

[anonymous-user]

Second hand av amps/receivers are virtually being given away on eBay - older 5.1 stuff (non-HDMI) seems to be pretty much worthless and more recent 7.1 stuff with a few HDMI inputs can be had for £50 or less.