Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with projector and theater

Choosing an affordable projection screen for my living room?

cortex — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:08:32 -0800

What do I need to know when choosing a wall-mounted projection screen for my living room? We're looking at upgrading our ad hoc living room theater setup from our current White Sheet Clothespinned To Drapes to something in the way of an actual screen. Looking at 84"x84" as the best fit for our setup, doing a mix of movies and console gaming.

As far as I can tell, we'd probably be fine with something as simple as a Luma or Luma 2 or Silhouette—and in fact I'm not clear what the significant difference between those is other than the styling of the hardware. The Luma at under $200 bucks is attractive as the budget choice, but is there anything I should know? Any surprises here?

The other question: surface treatment. I know ambient light might be an issue for daytime use—setting aside the use of drapes and such on our windows to minimize that, is there a good reason to drop the extra cash on a high contrast grey type surface instead of simple matte white? Or is the distinction fairly minimal in practice?

How do I output three different images on three different projectors simultaneously using as few computers as possible?

Becko — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:20:54 -0800

I'm looking for a way to output three different images on three different projectors simultaneously using as few computers connected to them as possible. Here's the background: my boyfriend's father runs a community theatre and has asked him to figure out how to set up a system for projecting images for an upcoming play. The theater is a thrust so there would be a projector for the left, center, and right sections. There is a small booth behind the left section that houses the light and sound boards.

For whatever reason, his father would like to be able to project different media on each of the projectors, but would like to do it without having three different computers up in the small booth. As far as we can see, there isn't a way to set up a PowerPoint or a Keynote presentation for multiple displays. My boyfriend has an idea where the three projectors span one desktop and the "slides" are just really big (long) images that span the three displays. I'm not sure if it will work, however, as I can't imagine a presentation program spanning three displays.

For what its worth the theatre has a few PCs available to them, but my boyfriend would be willing to give up his iMac for the show if there is a solution for the Mac. If there is equipment that is required to make this happen, I'm fairly certain it can be purchased.

Oh, and having the setup be easy to control is also a concern as I cannot guarantee the technical aptitude of the operator for the duration of the show.

Some help on the Home Projector front.

thanotopsis — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:40:44 -0800

More home-theater projector questions. This time, it's eBaytastic. Of course, there's I've read up on a number of AskMe threads on this subject, so it looks like I'm in the right place to clarify my further confusion on the subject.

I just found a number of exceptional deals for projectors on eBay from highly rated sellers. I've investigated them and found that the projectors are well received by critics and consumer reviews, so I'm good there. My questions stem from the fact that I've never owned a projector before: Namely, I've read that bulb replacement is a common thing and could potentially occur up to twice a year. How much does a bulb for one of these things cost, anyway?

I'm basically worried that I'm going to get a great deal on a good projector, have 6 months of fun with it, and then have to replace a bulb that costs 2 times as much as I paid for the projector (the auctions I've seen show decent units for under 200.00...at buyout pricing).

Finally, most of these units show no audio input. Should I expect to purchase a sound system of some sort to accompany these units, or will the units themselves project enough sound to be serviceable?

Big Ass TV

slapshot57 — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:49:53 -0800

Home Theater Question: So I want to set up a digital projector on the wall of my apartment and I have one remaining question: XGA or SVGA? does it make a difference? What does it mean for the image that I'm going to get? Is it worth the extra 2-3 hundred bucks? I'm just going to be using this set-up to watch movies and play x-box so I'm not too anal but I want it to look good. Specifically, the model I'm looking at is:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/proj_1200mp?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

also, if anyone has anytips for setting up a home theatre I'd appreciate it

projector project?

mwhybark — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 12:08:39 -0800

Pursuant to the valuable surround sound system information found here and here, what options do I have with regard to my projector? [+] I dumpstered a brand-new InFocus projector a while ago and have recently begun to think about how to build a semi-permanent screening area. The projector has great brightness and video quality but does not incorporate some of the home-theater features seen on newer models, such as masking the non-signal areas from the projection, keystoning adjustment, and fan noise dampening.

Ideally, I'd like to mount it to the ceiling and wrap it in a noise-dampening box, venting the heat probably into my attic. Do I have to roll my own, or are there systems out there to do this?

Finally, I don't need a receiver or DVD playback system; I do need speakers. Should I even bother with fancy options such as flat-panel or Bose cubes? Additionally, what's the deal with the hype around Bose Acoustimass systems?

Thanks very much for your nerdly expertise!