Projector and Screen Advice

My first impression is that the room might be too small for that big of a screen. I always heard that as a rule of thumb, the optimal viewing distance is anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 times the size of the screen.

 

honestly, ide rather buy a cheap vizio 70 - 80 inch tv rather than the projector / screen combo.

I think a tv has way better quality and is much brighter, esp with a room with a window.

 

My concern was more with optimal viewing distance and not whether it would fit. Optimal viewing distance for a 100" screen would be around 13 feet away.

 

I'm not gonna write too much on this projector, but check out your projector's stats here:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_3020.htm?metric=0

Then consider your room setup. Where will the projector be? How will you hang/mount it? How far from the screen will it be? Check the throw distance calculator here: http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_3020-projection-calculator-pro.htm. That will tell you how big the screen can be at X distance. Do this for any projector you consider to make sure it fits your room properly.

You are right in wanting to get a screen for your projector. A screen with a good gain rating will make the picture pop so much more than a flat white wall or a cheap screen like you would see in an office building. However, if you have too much light in the room, it won't matter how good your screen/projector combo is. You absolutely should not have direct light seeping in from a window onto the screen or it will annoy the hell out of you. Consider getting curtains or blinds to reduce any natural light you have in the room regardless of what you buy.

FYI, many projectors are not really fit for gaming. Input lag is a huge issue for gaming with projectors and it's not a metric that they show in the technical stats. The one you listed apparently isn't great with input lag. A lot of PC monitors have the same issue too, so it's not just projectors. If you only play singleplayer games, it probably won't bug you too much, but if you're an online FPS kind of guy, it will annoy you. For reference anything under about 20 ms input lag is good. Here's what I found on the projectorcentral site regarding that:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson_3020e_home_video_projector_review.htm?page=Limitations

I don't know if you are considering other projectors, but a few that I know of that have good input lag times are Benq W7000 and the Sony VPL-HW20 series. Both are highly regarded in gaming circles. There might be newer versions of those two, but those were the models I was looking at upgrading to a few months ago.

I have been using a projector/screen combo since 2006 for my gaming and movie needs, and I love it. I have a 106' setup, and my friends are always impressed when they see it. It's pretty sweet once you get things set up, and if you're a movie lover, you can beat the crap out of Cinemark.

 

Actually sorry, those projectors I recommended are a bit out of your price range. I have been getting by on an Optoma for several years now, and I have found them to be pretty good, especially for the value. You may want to look into the Optoma HD25, as it's a bit cheaper, lighter on features, but still gets the job done with a sub 20 ms input lag.

http://www.amazon.com/Optoma-HD25-3D-Home-Theater-Projector/dp/B00CHHHK5W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377113426&sr=8-1&keywords=optoma+projector+hd25

Another good one in that price range is the BenQ W1070 series. You can find those for under $1000, making them a good buy, especially if it's your first projector.

 

I mentioned a couple of more reasonably priced projectors in my last post. I haven't used them myself, but they have the right input lag for gaming, and the image quality is good. I'd recommend googling the specific model you want to settle on, and see what comes up with reviews, ratings, forums, etc. CNET and Youtube have tons of videos on projectors with commentary that can be very helpful in gauging expectations.

As for screens, I only have the one that came with my original Optoma HD72 projector. I believe it's a 1.8 gain, pulldown/retractable screen like the one featured here: http://www.amazon.com/Optoma-DS-GWII9106P-106-Inch-Manual-Projector/dp/B000ETRAPU It was about $175-200 retail when I bought the projector, but it came free on a bundled deal. You might be able to find something similar if you look around beyond Amazon. I got mine from Butterflyphoto many years ago. My screen is mounted to the ceiling, and I just pull it down as needed. You may not want to do that, in which case you would be looking for one with a stand.

Couple other things to consider before you purchase:
1. What sort of sound system will you use? Projectors obviously don't have speakers worth using, so you need a good 5.1 system to get the most out of your experience. There are tons of ways you could go with this, but you should consider it.

2. What sort of receiver will you use? This goes with the sound system, but you need to have a receiver that takes in all the inputs and has your sound outputs directly to the spearkers, and an HDMI out to your projector. I'm a big fan of Denon, and I have the 1612 in my theater room. It works great, and it's not terribly expensive. If you need extra zones, you will need to get a higher end model.

3. Universal remotes. Some people can deal with the Harmony crap, I can't so I got a Logitech RF remote for everything. It's nice to have a single button to press to turn on the receiver, projector and Xbox all at the same time. Projectors have a boot up time, usually 30 seconds or so, and it's nice to have that all in one button. Not necessary, but a good idea to consider getting something like that.

4. How are you going to wire things in the room? Can you go through walls, ceiling, etc to get the wires to your projector, speakers, etc. Plan all that out ahead of time, it makes a big difference.

5. Mounts. I have a ceiling mount that works for my setup, you might be better off letting it sit on a coffee table. I dunno what your room is like or what you want it to be, but figure that out before you dive in.

6. Bulb replacements. Most projectors give you about 2000-5000 hours out of the bulbs, what they don't tell you is that rating is usually on the lowest settings, non-hd, and standard def. It sucks, but that's just how it is. Bulbs are usually about $75-200 for a replacement, depending on the projector. It's easy to replace a bulb, but just be aware that you will have to do it. In 7 years, I'm on my 4th bulb, so it's not so bad. Check the prices on the replacements for whatever you are looking at and make sure you're ok with the added cost and maintenance.

 

projector was the technology when we didn't have 70 inch tv for less than 2k.

 

Not worth it

 

No problem dude, happy to help out. One other thing to be careful of is the mount you buy. You said you were using a ceiling mount, and they do make universal mounts, but every projector that I have ever looked at has a mount specifically designed for it from the manufacturer. It's usually best to go with the one for the projector, and just replace the whole thing if you ever change it in the future. However, manufacturers like Epson, Optomo, BenQ and Sony tend to use the same mounting plate structure for all their projectors of a certain class, so you may not need to switch out the mount if you stay with the same brand down the road.

 

I have been doing research on projectors and this one gives you the best specs for the money, with a 5,000 lumen of brightness you will not have to turn any lights off and its full HD, dual HDMI and so on. This projector is a BEAST!

http://www.viewsonic.com/us/pro8520hd.html

 

I have a dedicated home theater with a projector screen combo. I bought mine a couple of years ago and mine was at a higher price point than yours (JVC RS40) so I don't have much to contribute on that front. But I can tell you that mine plays video games just fine. I don't play a ton on there but I have had no problems with faster games like God of War.

As for the screen, mine is 133" and is great for the 2nd row but maybe a little too big for some people in the front row. My room is not too big - 12' x 18'. But it's not even really that big because I have built-in cabinetry so my screen mounting point is in front of that, so essentially only 12' x 16'. First row of seats start at 10' back and back row is 16'. It goes down to preference. For some people my screen will be too big. For me the back row is perfect and the front only a little too big but I can lean my theater seat back and it's fine. Get a big white bed sheet and tape it up on the wall and get a feel for it. Or do what I did and buy the projector first and just project it on the blank wall to get a feel for it.

Also, Monoprice.com not only has real cheap cables but they sell cheap projector screens too. They are rebranded GrandView so pretty good quality.

 

OP, I'm an A/V enthusiast with like-minded friends. A few went your route (<$3k budget, primarily sports + gaming, non-light controlled room, etc.), and they regret it now. Modern TVs would have been their choice now.

As someone already posted, we've entered a new period of TV prices/bang-for-your-buck. Projectors with their reliance on room lighting and bulb costs aren't that good of a buy for the consumer on a small budget. Since you'll be using it for football seasons and gaming, that bulb won't hold up versus a 2012/3 TV. For example, when watching with friends, you sit in a bright room and eat chips + dip, or you may game for 2+ hours. It's much easier to do that with the TV setup.

Like Yonkers, I have a JVC projector for a dedicated HT room. The screen size is greater than any TV that can be made in the foreseeable future. In other words, if you're getting a projector setup, go for the real deal: optimal room, light-controlled, mounted on ceiling, stadium seating, variable masking screen, etc.