Front projection info

[festivus]

We're going to be finishing our basement within the next year. I'm looking into a front projection unit and screen. I'm having trouble finding a site with good reviews or advice on projectors.

I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I still want a true 1080i or 720p picture. The sites that I've seen are really confusing.

Any suggestions as to where to go to be able to compare manufacturers and models?

[Steelthumb]

Hey Fes, try Projectorpeople.com, hometheaterspot.com (do not need to sign up to look around, more info than you will probably want), Projectorcentral.com

I know people that have had good luck with purchases from projectorpeople.com. Good Luck, but you don't really want a large screen to see the Browns lose do you?

[festivus]

Well, we're finally moving on getting the basement finished. Doing the drywall thing. Framing being done this weekend so I need to think about wiring. Got all of my low voltage wall wiring figured out. However, I need a little advice about ceiling wiring. I'm going to do a front projector mounted from the ceiling anywhere from 11-14 feet from the screen wall, depending on the projector and the screen size of course. We're doing a drop ceiling.

So I'm running HDMI and component to the projector. I'll also need a power supply of course. How is this usually done? Should I get an electrical outlet on a floor joist? Or should I ran an extension cord from the ceiling to a wall outlet? How do I satisfy code? The latter doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

And I'm a little confused about mounting the projector. Do I attach the mount to a floor joist? Do I cut a hole in the drop ceiling?

Lots to think about with all of this. I don't want to get too far and find out that I forgot something.

[jchiso]

Is there a particular reason you are not doing a drywall ceiling in the theater area? I know with drywall you can just run romex through the floor joists and mount an outlet. I've not seen a ceiling mount on a drop ceiling. You should also make sure to install a surge protector on the outlet.

[festivus]

Cost. And I really have no idea what can and what can't be done with a drop vs a drywall ceiling. This guy here did his through a drop ceiling. Although my basement is not going to look like this...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/home-theater-sanyo-plv-z2-te.htm

And I wanted to do a drop ceiling to allow installation flexibility. With drywall, you seem to need to know exactly where everything needs to go ahead of time. I have my framers and drywallers telling me that they need to get started asap before they get busy on other projects. Also, the wife wants to get it done before a party that she wants to host this summer. It's tough to find time to plan all of this out in terms of the projector itself, the screen, the exact location of the wiring, where to put the components (under screen or to the side), etc.

With a drop ceiling I figured that I could attach the mount to a floor joist and cut a hole the width of the tube through the ceiling. And I could decide where it needed to be after the job is done. Can't seem to find much info on where to put the power supply though.