Or could always wait, prices will come down.

Anhar

i think 1080p front projectors won't be in the $1,000 range until 2010 or much, much later. 720p are coming closer to $1,000 but 1080p much later.

Just got a BenQ PB6240.

DLP™, 2700 lumens, XGA, $1299 plus free replacement lamp via rebate coupon (ain't got that yet), so far it kicks a$$! Nice and bright for its small size, nice and clear for both presentations and movies. Gotta try it on a really big screen (20+ feet). As for fan noise, hey that's why we have 7.1 surround sound, we never even hear it under the movie soundtrack. (Actually, the noise is pretty low.)

While the DaLite Insta Theatres are pretty cool, there's a newer more portable screen technology from Epson that looks pretty cool.

It's called the Accolade Duet.

You can get info on the Epson Website by searching "accolade"

Appears much lighter and the same screen works for either 4X3 or 16X9 content.

Well I'm using a Draper Luma 100" NTSC now. It's a manual pulldown that hangs from hooks on the ceiling. Good for 4:3 or 16:9 or whatever.

I posted in this thread a year and a half ago about the pending home theater--happy to say that was finished up about six months after that post and we have been in heaven ever since. Attach see pic in viewing mode--the screen pulls up into ceiling leaving artwork behind it (OK, that part isn't done yet, we are still looking for the right piece of art!) which makes it like a "normal" living room. The projector porthole is visible in the top right corner. The math involved in making sure that the angle was just right was confounding, and it turned out that the Marantz was one of the very few that could both handle the length of the throw as well as the vertical displacement of the image without requiring keystone adjustment. We had to install intake and outtake vents in the housing that feed up through the roof which keeps the heat down, and the enclosure manages to knock out almost all of the fan noise which is significant with this projector.

A few months after the installation, the 1080p version came out, which hurt just a little--but at $3000 additional over the 720p price, I don't think I would have gone there. The projector looks simply amazing with the HD satellite signal and DVD's, and does an admirable job of upscaling SD. The Stewart screen is great too--a few wrinkles at first which had me all nervous but those ironed themselves out after a few weeks.

Nice room, Charles! And if you hadn't pointed it out, nobody would have know where your pjtr was.

charles,

here's the most important question. content creators like you are in an unique position to evaluate what your own shows look like @home.

how does your own works hold up at your home gear compared to pro gear?

That's a pretty cool question!

Honestly, I feel like this projector is good enough to go head to head with what might be considered "pro" in a lot of ways, it really has a fantastic contrast range! I don't often see much projected on a smallish screen (as opposed to a cinema)--some telecine suites now have HD projectors but I haven't transferred footage in one of those.

What is interesting is watching the primetime network shows in 16:9 and HD, a very different experience than it used to be. In other words, I'm used to going to the cinema to watch the features I work on and having one very distinct experience (having to wait for about a year, seeing it up on the big screen, having several months of your life compacted into 2 hours!) versus working on "ER" etc. (usually 4-6 weeks turnaround but a "small screen" experience. So having the clarity and visual impact of watching TV on the projector has brought the episodic world that much closer to a theatrical presentation.

It hasn't happened yet, but I feel like I could very satisfactorily screen "dailies" from an HD shoot on my projector and be quite comfortable with the results. Really looking forward to getting the HV20 as my first HD purchase and watching it on this system. And RED? the mind boggles!

i'm curious about about how people work in both TV/Film industry often feel about having to view production quality sources through high quality equipment vs. having viewed LOW quality stuff @home for all these years prior to 1080p or digital displays being available at home. it's v. interesting =D. being an amatuer (like many on DVI here) when i shoot HD weddings, i prefer watching them on the highest resolution displays vs. SD.

OMG Charles

I am 'insane with anger' (Jealous) in seeing your theatre.

WOW !

(Goes off to cry to wife about needing things)

Thanks John (er...I think!)

Remember that there's ALWAYS bigger and better of everything out there...this was a culmination of nearly 20 years of dreaming, since I first hooked up a set of speakers to a VHS-Hifi deck and found that it made watching movies on my 20" Trinitron so much more rewarding (my friend dubbed it "Chuckievision" back then!)

After seeing RED 4K footage projected on the Sony 4K projector numerous times
now I guess I'm spoiled :)

Can't imagine living without a projector anymore. Here at home still have a SD
projector in a crappy setup though. But it's a great experience. Charles theater
is very nicely constructed and you wouldn't know it's there.

If you want to see something really s(l)ick: http://htguys.com/archive/2005/September192005.html
(I would've gone with a much bigger / wider screen though, but that build is fairly old now)

From having seen a number of home theater designs on HGTV type shows etc., I've come to the conclusion that they are the modern-day equivalent of the basement cocktail bars from the 70's which were generally decorated with themes (Wild West, nautical etc) and had plenty of kitschy artifacts like little guys wearing barrels who peed when you pulled the barrel down etc...anyone else remember those? Nowadays it seems to be about making kitschy versions of movie palaces with popcorn machines, family name emblazoned on the marquee etc. Obviously my taste runs a little different, hence the hidden home theater concept!

LOL

-

I'm still stuck in 27" television land.

Rob, that theatre looks great. I wish there were more themed places like this and not the usual metroplex corporate cookie cut. I moved about 8 months ago to Wilmington, NC and have gone to my local theatre that is straight out of the late 80's

I love it.