Projector Placement And Viewing Distance
Dear Gary:
Being a longtime enthusiast and having been a subscriber to WSR for a while, I have always enjoyed Terry Paullin’s writing and what he writes about. For myself, the bug bit hard back in ’95 when I had my first taste of home theatre at Hermary's in San Carlos, California (I live in Pacifica). I have gone through a couple of preamps and different source components over the years but am happy with my current Lexicon MC-1, Pioneer LaserDisc and DVD players, Carver amplifiers totaling 2,300 watts, JBL HT-1 loudspeakers (6 mains––I run dual centers, one above the other at the base of the TV), two dp surrounds and two subwoofers; plus a 500-watt Paradyne subwoofer, in a 25 x 14 foot living room. Since ’96 I've been using a 70-inch Mitsubishi RPTV, and well, it’s given up the ghost. Now I have an InFocus SP7200 that I bought when it was new, for $4,000, and at the time just couldn’t pass it up for that price, knowing one day I’d use it. Well, that day is here, and I want to use it for awhile, while I decide what to replace the Mitsubishi with, even though the 82837 RPTV of there’s looks awful good. So my question is, I’m going to be using a 100-inch .9 gain grey screen and was wondering if it is best to mount the projector as close to the screen as possible and zoom the image out, or place it as far away from the screen and zoom it in, and if any, what are the pros and cons of either configuration? Viewing distance will mainly be from, say, 15 to 18 feet from the screen.
DeWayne L Beach
Contributing Editor Terry Paullin Comments:
Thanks for reading WSR….and I’m glad you enjoy my column.
I, too, have spent time in Hermary’s and can imagine how you got “bit.”
I have installed many InFocus 7200s––it was a great projector in its day and is still capable of delivering a very satisfying movie experience.
ALWAYS mount a projector as far back as the lens will allow. This will yield the shallowest angle of (light cone) incidence, which in turn, will get the maximum amount of light back into your viewing area––which ultimately may improve the Holy Grail, REAL contrast ratio. In fact, if a manufacturer offers an optional long throw lens (which I don’t think InFocus does for that model), always get it, even if room metrics don’t demand it. Also, strive to put the projector exactly where it’s supposed to go according to the manual so that you will use the minimum amount of horizontal and vertical lens shift. This insures that the “raster” will stay in the “sweet spot” of the lens grind––which in turn minimizes the chance of incurring chromatic aberrations, an artifact that looks like mis-convergence. And NEVER use “keystone correction.” One click and the video processing gets very unhappy!
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