Home theater projector??

s_holman33

s_holman33

Member
I'm hoping someone out there has a home theater projector and can help me out as I am in the market. The one I have in mind is the "Sony VPL-AW15 BRAVIA LCD Video Projector". The reason I like this one is because of a review I read of it online... http://www.hometheatermag.com/frontp...s/607sonyaw15/
I will admit however that I know NOTHING about them and want a good one for my home. I am not real sure of all the numbers and things, but believe this to be a good one...anyone know if it is or not?
Also, if mounted on the ceiling like I hope to do, how the heck do you hook up your cable box, dvd player, surround sound etc to something hanging from the ceiling??
Lastly and probably a category of it's own, I plan on purchasing a Bose home theater surround sound system to go with this Sony projector. Is there any companies out there with similar quality with less of a price tag? lol
Any ideas or suggestions would be awesome...but keep in mind that I want to stay in the 1k range for the projector so that is another reason I went with the Sony thus far in my research, so please don't tell me to go get some $15,000 unit.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
the projector will run you about 1K for a basic setup but you will stil need to get a screen and that where the big bucks are.
as far as wireing if you are mounting on the ceiling the best way is to run the wire through the ceiling and it will all be hiden and come down into a cabinet. you will need extra long wiring though that will add to the price.
do alot of research though on the model you are looking at some of them dont have a very long bulb life and the bulbs are expensive!!
as far as hometheaters the best thing is to go to an electronics store that has a setup in a room that you can test out the audio equipment to see what it will and wont do and what it will sound like.
Mike
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
If your looking for a screen, radioshack clearanced theirs out about 6 months ago. I doubt you'll find any left. Because they will HAVE to order it, but you may get lucky. they were really cheap.
If you really want to set it up right, you are going to need some different stuff.
1st off you are going to need a DVD player with an HDMI output, They sell 2 different kinds, ones that up-convert the signal. ($100-150) Or one that actually reads a High Definition 1080 disk. There are two types of these, Blue-ray or HD. This is kind of like the Beta vs VHS war of the 70's or 80's before my time. But the results are the same, you have a 50-50 chance on buying the one that becomes the industry standard or the one that goes the way of Beta.
That being said, I'd prefer to buy one that up-converts the signal till these formats finish duking it out.
Next you need to hook up your Projector with the right cables. USE HDMI, or DVI.
HDMI is a high def cable that has sound too. While DVI just carries Video. It really won't matter since you are running your sound though the surround sound anyway.
As for sound, I love Onkyo. If you walk into a bose store that is the reciever they use to power most of their surround sound systems. You can find a cheap one for around 200-300 dollars. They produce ALOT of sound.
Make sure the reciever has DIGITAL SOUND, and check the type of digital input. There is two types one is a coaxial setup that uses a cable that is exactly like the RCA (red, yellow, and White) But it is wound differently.
The other kind is a toslink cable or optical cable. Both work fine, just make sure you have one or the other on your DVD and reciever. Without this you will not get a true surround sound.
As for the projector, DLP is the way to go as far a HD projector. The key Stats are lumens, the higher the better, but it does shorten bulb life. And well make sure you have the right hookups for what you want. If you want to mount it to the ceiling make sure you can do that. Ask about the price of replacement bulbs, they are expensive, And ask about the halflife of the bulb. They loose their brilliance as you use it. Personally I wouldn't worry about a tuner in the projector, just find one that is easy to turn on and work. The accessories make sure you have a true theater experience.
 
s_holman33

s_holman33

Member
Thanks a ton for all the input folks. You have been a lot of help...but I'm still way confused by all the fancy acronyms and hi-tech words. If I took some pics of the room this was all going in, would it be possible for someone to make suggestions using the pics and dimensions of the room? I'll let YOU build my home theater. lol
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
we have a home theatre because my fiance' is a computer/tech guru.
the projector is a sharp xvz2000 its about 1400 bucks now, but when we got it we paid 2500.
We have a 104" motorized screen that comes down when you turn the system on. Its BIG haha
We have a Marantz receiver and a b&k and Niles amps. We have two large speakers mounted on each side of the actual screen when it comes down it almost looks like a giant tv with speakers on the side. We also have the in-ceiling speakers for the surround sound. The center speaker is mounted above the screen in the "center"
Our Sub is a sunfire.
The one window in the room is covered by a black out shade that is 2" wider than the window on each side. I paid and extra 200 bucks to get that motorized too, so all you do is hit the button on the remote and it comes down on its own.
The whole thing really hurt the checkbook but to be honest, it is my favorite room! We painted the room a maroon color and put a GIANT Lshaped couch and ottoman. Its the coolest place to be in the house!
I dont know if this helps or not, but thats about all I know about our theatre.
heres a few pics so you can see how the projector is mounted and the AV rack with all the receiver/amps on it, and the screen- with xbox forza playing. you can only see a portion of the room from the pic, but you get the idea. Its a fun way to change a room if you dont need it for something else.


 
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