kzone Posted March 13, 2006 Posted March 13, 2006 Hi, I'm in the midst of my renovation and am planning the wiring works. Need some advise from u guys on the following : 1. Projector shelf height. I'm intending to have a projector in the future so gonna get the contractor to make the projector shelf above the sofa. At what height should the shelf be? Can the projector be made to "fire" slighlty upwards/downwards or must is be exactly the same height as the screen? 2. How high should the back L & R surround be? Thanks!
sonofdbn Posted March 14, 2006 Posted March 14, 2006 1. It's preferable to have the projector fire perpendicularly to the plane of the screen, otherwise you get keystoning (pic looks like a trapezoid). Keystoning can be corrected on some projectors, but this involves some digital manipulation of the picture, which should be avoided. Some projectors have lens-shift, which means you can shift the picture around a bit without (generally) affecting the picture quality. In this case, projector height is not so critical, but otherwise, yes, the height must be correct for your screen. However, the correct height depends on the projector, so this needs careful planning. Keep in mind that some projectors only project the image upward from the projector. This means that if you use a shelf, the projector has to be upside down, and it's unlikely to be designed to be stable when placed upside down on a flat surface. Also, make sure the shelf doesn't interfere with the remote signal and that you can run the signal and power cables from the shelf without too much inconvenience. 2. Dolby recommends that the back surrounds be "above ear level". Mine are about 3 feet above ear level, but I feel they're too high. If I was doing it again, I'd lower them to perhaps a foot above ear level.
kzone Posted March 14, 2006 Author Posted March 14, 2006 Thanks for e explanation.... 1. Dat means I have decide at what level the screen should be 1st correct? Came across a post on dat few mths back but could not locate it now... For an 80" screen, how far off the floor should the screen be? 2. My sofa will be flushed against the wall & so will the surround. It is better to get a bracket to "fire" the spks down towards me or can I just place it flat against the wall as well?
sonofdbn Posted March 14, 2006 Posted March 14, 2006 I hope some real experts will help you out, but based on my own limited experience: 1. I didn't find screen size to be the real factor for height - that affects more the viewing distance (and should be taken into account when considering the throw range of your projector). It's more a matter of: a) what you're comfortable with - if it's too high you'll be craning your neck looking at the picture. I read somewhere that 1/3 of the screen should be below eye level, but it's really a matter of personal taste. b) where you want to position your centre speaker - if you want to have the centre speaker at the same horizontal level as your front speaker tweeters (for smoother panning), then it should be at ear level, which means that the bottom of your screen has to be above the speaker. If you prefer the screen to be lower, you will have to compromise and lower the centre speaker and try to fire it upwards a little. 2. This is a tough one - there are some threads about this. Some (most?) speakers don't fare well when placed flat against a wall. Are the surrounds going to be on the back wall or the side wall? Back wall is probably preferable, because for 5.1 you want the surrounds to be a little behind you on the side, but others might feel differently. One theory says that firing directly at the listening position is not advisable because it makes it easy to locate the source of the sound, and often you want a more "diffuse" sound. Think of a DVD of a live concert: you want the crowd to sound like it's all around you, not like there are two groups, one on each side. What I've found is that it also depends on the mix and the particular DVD - sometimes my rear speakers "disappear", sometimes they're too distinctive. You might also want to consider dipole or bipole speakers - there's a description here.
synthesis1624705793 Posted March 14, 2006 Posted March 14, 2006 1) Most has been covered by Sonofdbn, but I may add a bit from my limited experience helping my cousin installing the projector. The projector has option to be placed on the table or ceiling mounted (upside down) and it seems that with these options, to avoid keystoning is by placing the projector around the bottom/top edge of the screen. The distance between projector and the screen is also important. The projector has built in (limited) zoom, but make sure the image size falls within the screen size. Check the recommended distance for your screen size. 2) www.dolby.com has some recommendation on surround speaker placement. I think the recommendation is around 3ft above the ear level. My surround is a bit too high if you noticed. With your siting position, you may place the speakers flat against the wall, facing each other.
kzone Posted March 14, 2006 Author Posted March 14, 2006 Hi all, Thanks for all the advices.. its guiding me very well. My problem is that I'm doing the reno so wont be able to test the best height for the screen & projector at my sitting position. Couch not in yet. Assuming most couches are of the same height, dats y I'll based it on your advises. 1/ Projector & screen wont be installed so soon but I need to get the projector shelf done 1st... juz came to my mind, since many projectors are ceiling mounted, would it be safe (PQ wise) for me to have my shelf abt 2 feet fm e ceiling? or is it preferably as low as possible without hitting my head?? :) I'll most prob will be getting the Hitachi TX100 or 200 2/ No side wall.. only back wall... Will prob be getting the B&W 600 series rear speakers dats designed to be hung flat to the wall & can be swith to be direct or dipole. Was just wondering for effects wise, is it better to get a bracket to "point" the speakers at me or just leave it against the wall. Since both has its pros, will leave it against the wall...
sonofdbn Posted March 15, 2006 Posted March 15, 2006 1. Since you have an idea of which projector you want, the best thing is to check out the specs on throw ratio, offset angle, etc. This will tell you a lot about screen and projector positioning. 2. Against the wall is probably best for those speakers.
media2368 Posted March 15, 2006 Posted March 15, 2006 2. Against the wall is probably best for those speakers. If he switch the speaker to 'Dipole', is it still suitable to place at 'Back Wall'? ???
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