Home theater equipment

[Hoop Head]

I don't think you need a professional install depending on your level of being willing to learn and play with settings. There's a lot of good resources, usually PJ specific that you can follow along with.

As for vs a TV, this isn't a simple question to answer. There's a lot of variables at play. First, you need the right room for a projector. You really want something that's light controlled. A great room set-up is not going to look good. The more light control you can do the better. Some of the newer types of screens help with that though. So for a bright open room, TV all the way.

If you can get light controlled though, the better projectors aren't beating OLED but they'll match or beat everything else. Plus you can go much larger. There's nothing TV wise over 100", at least for mortals. So it really comes down to size vs OLED level blacks. My projector after the latest firmware and settings tweaks are close enough to OLED that I'll take the larger size for the completely immersive experience.

BTW, one thing that goes for both is getting it calibrated correctly. That's something you can either pay someone to do that has the equipment or get it close by using some precanned settings and adjust with test patterns and the like.

The calibration was my main thinking with professional installation. I was blown away when I got my first tv professionally calibrated and made me wish I did it sooner. I'm fairly tech savvy but as I grow older and tech gets newer I don't have the patience to bridge the gap.

Being a native Phoenician I loath the sun and have blackout curtains all around my house. I may go projection next time I need to replace my TV. I'm happy with what I have now but I get that itch each Prime Day when new stuff rolls out. That's usually when I decide to upgrade, not necessarily what's on sale but it causes me to dive deeper into the tech each year.

 

[Devilmaycare]

The calibration was my main thinking with professional installation. I was blown away when I got my first tv professionally calibrated and made me wish I did it sooner. I'm fairly tech savvy but as I grow older and tech gets newer I don't have the patience to bridge the gap.

Being a native Phoenician I loath the sun and have blackout curtains all around my house. I may go projection next time I need to replace my TV. I'm happy with what I have now but I get that itch each Prime Day when new stuff rolls out. That's usually when I decide to upgrade, not necessarily what's on sale but it causes me to dive deeper into the tech each year.

Ok, cool. The darker the room and the less light reflective the walls and items are in it, the better for a projector.

For things like a projector, it's good to plan ahead if possible and not way for an impulse buy. If you hit the start of the next model cycle like what happened at the start of this year you can get some amazing pricing. A couple of the best ones to be had were available for $1500-2000 off their retail price if you pre-ordered. I saved a ton doing that.

 

[oaken1]

Ok, cool. The darker the room and the less light reflective the walls and items are in it, the better for a projector.

For things like a projector, it's good to plan ahead if possible and not way for an impulse buy. If you hit the start of the next model cycle like what happened at the start of this year you can get some amazing pricing. A couple of the best ones to be had were available for $1500-2000 off their retail price if you pre-ordered. I saved a ton doing that.

curious...
would it benefit a home theater projector to be displayed on a wall painted black? is the light bright enough to fill out the colors on a black screen?

I mention this because you mentioned the quality of the blacks...maybe a black screen will help enrich the blacks produced by the projector?

Im considering maybe going this route in a couple years when I move back to AZ..doesnt hurt to gather knowledge in advance

 

[Devilmaycare]

curious...
would it benefit a home theater projector to be displayed on a wall painted black? is the light bright enough to fill out the colors on a black screen?

I mention this because you mentioned the quality of the blacks...maybe a black screen will help enrich the blacks produced by the projector?

Im considering maybe going this route in a couple years when I move back to AZ..doesnt hurt to gather knowledge in advance

Black no, it's too dark. But a light gray, yes. My screen is grey not white to help with it. It really comes down to what the gain is on the screen.

And don't project on a wall if you want a good picture. You need to use a screen. No matter how perfect the wall looks, it's not. Any little blemish, bump, you name it will be magnified by the light hitting it and be seen in the picture. It's crazy how much gets exposed by it.

 

[Covert Rain]

curious...
would it benefit a home theater projector to be displayed on a wall painted black? is the light bright enough to fill out the colors on a black screen?

I mention this because you mentioned the quality of the blacks...maybe a black screen will help enrich the blacks produced by the projector?

Im considering maybe going this route in a couple years when I move back to AZ..doesnt hurt to gather knowledge in advance

What Devilmaycare said. Use a screen. Paint your walls a dark color (I used a dark grey as well). It will cut down on the reflective light and improve contrast. If making your room dark isn't possible or you are having a problem with some light source like a window, consider an ambient light screen. ALR screens reflecting more of the projector's light towards you while minimizing the reflection of ambient light.

If you use Projectors it just takes a bit more research but it's worth it to have a theater like experience at home IMO.

 

[Chaplin]

I know this is a great place to get advice/information about home theater, so today I've started my jump into the space to upgrade my 85" Samsung TV from 2021 to full home theater with projector.

Just bought the AWOL Vision Aetherian Max short throw projector:

You must be registered for see images attach

Need to still look at a screen and an upgrade to my audio set up. But really excited about it.

 

[Devilmaycare]

I know this is a great place to get advice/information about home theater, so today I've started my jump into the space to upgrade my 85" Samsung TV from 2021 to full home theater with projector.

Just bought the AWOL Vision Aetherian Max short throw projector:

You must be registered for see images attach

Need to still look at a screen and an upgrade to my audio set up. But really excited about it.

What size screen are you looking to do? Unless you're in a blacked out room I'd recommend going with a fresnel with a UST. I'd lean towards getting one of the Nexigo ones from what I've heard based on quality. They have them in 100", 120", with 135" and 150" just starting to ship.

 

[Chaplin]

What size screen are you looking to do? Unless you're in a blacked out room I'd recommend going with a fresnel with a UST. I'd lean towards getting one of the Nexigo ones from what I've heard based on quality. They have them in 100", 120", with 135" and 150" just starting to ship.

UST with ALR at the. moment, originally looking at a 200", but have tempered my expectations and am looking at a 150". There aren't many larger screens with UST AND ALR though.

 

[Chaplin]

Found a possible screen, pretty cheap for UST and ALR, but the amount saved is substantial:

https://www.amazon.com/Screen-Projector-80-inch-Fixed/dp/B0DY4KNL79/ref=sr_1_16?crid=JANJBZGR34J0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HEN19BzWBjSOSEP3OacDn8P4UP86XGyoQ3p9_AQSiGwk7YMWs9_lwADMFh5D4DLtIOGiVMinlQvT0C9onGMhRu53JcqAU9eGcQvwLFjHmTfSmXV6yIW0DtXh-AH1LANGpT6Nb3IGLciVKktdJ2R7xHrvX6IA7IFKKi7vOIhLkersp9SCfxKM8kryvCCaXkFF8wBX5kTYzWt8-ZPazzb7GB34H5fric41dMvNz78XyTA.S22jGXr7Yhe9u3GPKUXGYtnqsiYVUGJr13spUPN8zf4&dib_tag=se&keywords=ust%2Bprojector%2Bscreen&qid=1773341084&sprefix=ust%2B%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-16&th=1

 

[Devilmaycare]

UST with ALR at the. moment, originally looking at a 200", but have tempered my expectations and am looking at a 150". There aren't many larger screens with UST AND ALR though.

200" I wouldn't recommend unless you're building a bat cave. Even 150" can be pushing it but that model has good brightness. Fresnel is a type of ALR for UST projectors. They're really good for giving a bright image with rooms that have some ambient light. They can be pretty pricey though at that size since they're just coming out that big. It's about $5k for that size. Unfortunately you just missing a big presale Nexigo was having for theirs.

If you don't go that route, I'd highly suggest you get some samples to try out with it. AWOL projectors have a higher amount on speckle and the screen can really help or hurt with it. I'm a bit sensitive to it which is why I didn't jump on the Aetherian Max presale.

I'd also suggest sending an email to the support team at projectorscreen.com with what you're looking for and gear. Brian and his team are amazing. I've bought a PJ and a screen from him. Really good customer service and they went above and beyond when my PJ had an issue and was out of warranty. When I bought my screen I had a chat with Brian about my room and what I was looking for. He gave me the best options for it. A lot of time you'll get a quote for better price too after talking with them. Mine was quite a bit cheaper than what's listed on their site

NexiGo 150'' / 135'' ALR Fresnel Projector Screen

NexiGo, an American-born brand, offers a diverse range of peripherals for video conferencing, projectors, and gaming accessories. Join the conversation and elevate your experience!

www.nexigo.com

 

[Chaplin]

Awesome I will do that. EDIT: Just sent the email, so we'll see what they come back with.

For context, my living room is really dark, even on a bright day. I don’t have a lot of windows.

 

[Covert Rain]

200" I wouldn't recommend unless you're building a bat cave. Even 150" can be pushing it but that model has good brightness. Fresnel is a type of ALR for UST projectors. They're really good for giving a bright image with rooms that have some ambient light. They can be pretty pricey though at that size since they're just coming out that big. It's about $5k for that size. Unfortunately you just missing a big presale Nexigo was having for theirs.

If you don't go that route, I'd highly suggest you get some samples to try out with it. AWOL projectors have a higher amount on speckle and the screen can really help or hurt with it. I'm a bit sensitive to it which is why I didn't jump on the Aetherian Max presale.

I'd also suggest sending an email to the support team at projectorscreen.com with what you're looking for and gear. Brian and his team are amazing. I've bought a PJ and a screen from him. Really good customer service and they went above and beyond when my PJ had an issue and was out of warranty. When I bought my screen I had a chat with Brian about my room and what I was looking for. He gave me the best options for it. A lot of time you'll get a quote for better price too after talking with them. Mine was quite a bit cheaper than what's listed on their site

NexiGo 150'' / 135'' ALR Fresnel Projector Screen

NexiGo, an American-born brand, offers a diverse range of peripherals for video conferencing, projectors, and gaming accessories. Join the conversation and elevate your experience!

www.nexigo.com

This. I have a dedicated Home Theater Room and I am using 120 inches. It's plenty large enough. I can't imagine going 150.

I know this is a great place to get advice/information about home theater, so today I've started my jump into the space to upgrade my 85" Samsung TV from 2021 to full home theater with projector.

Just bought the AWOL Vision Aetherian Max short throw projector:

You must be registered for see images attach

Need to still look at a screen and an upgrade to my audio set up. But really excited about it.

I have a feeling this is going to be a great projector. If I hadn't just bought my Hisense last year I would be picking this up. I might still pick it up. I read some early reviews and I didn't see that speckle was a big issue with these but reviews on early production versions of the hardware I am not sure you can trust. I am going to be anxious to see what you think when it arrives. I almost bought an AWOL instead of my Hisense but the Hisense has fantastic reviews at the time and features others did not. I love my projector but still am tempted with this.

 

[Devilmaycare]

Awesome I will do that. EDIT: Just sent the email, so we'll see what they come back with.

For context, my living room is really dark, even on a bright day. I don’t have a lot of windows.

There's dark and then there's black hole dark. When I'm talking dark I mean the room has black velvet for its walls and ceilings so that there's no reflected light that can wash the picture at all.

I'm completely blacked out now. It gets sort of addicting. "I'm going to do the back all and right around to screen to help with the light spillage". "Wow, look at that improvement. I'll do part of the side walls now." "Wow, even better..." Next thing you know Hawking is writing a book about your room.

 

[Chaplin]

There's dark and then there's black hole dark. When I'm talking dark I mean the room has black velvet for its walls and ceilings so that there's no reflected light that can wash the picture at all.

I'm completely blacked out now. It gets sort of addicting. "I'm going to do the back all and right around to screen to help with the light spillage". "Wow, look at that improvement. I'll do part of the side walls now." "Wow, even better..." Next thing you know Hawking is writing a book about your room.

That's the main reason why I'm focusing solely on ALR. Not perfect, but better than the alternative.

 

[Devilmaycare]

This. I have a dedicated Home Theater Room and I am using 120 inches. It's plenty large enough. I can't imagine going 150.

It depends on the size of the room and how far back you can sit from it. I'm at 130" and it's the max I could go in my room. At least for 16:9 I could maybe go a little bit bigger for 2.39:1. The real key isn't the screen size but you're viewing angle. I'm at about 55° which is about the same as the prime seats in a real, 70mm, Imax.

I have a feeling this is going to be a great projector. If I hadn't just bought my Hisense last year I would be picking this up. I might still pick it up. I read some early reviews and I didn't see that speckle was a big issue with these but reviews on early production versions of the hardware I am not sure you can trust. I am going to be anxious to see what you think when it arrives. I almost bought an AWOL instead of my Hisense but the Hisense has fantastic reviews at the time and features others did not. I love my projector but still am tempted with this.

It looks great. If I didn't have the MKII I'd probably have jumped on it. I have heard that it has more speckle than the MKII but it better than AWOL's last gen. and the Hens. So since I'm sensitive to it felt like it was going to be more of a push. Basically trading some brightness for the lower speckle and blacks. They're really close though. If I was buying today I'd get the MKII for a blacked out room and the Aetherian Max if I didn't have one or wanted to > 130".

 

[Devilmaycare]

That's the main reason why I'm focusing solely on ALR. Not perfect, but better than the alternative.

Completely. Luckily most UST screens are ALR now. Either lenticular or fresnel. Even my screen that's more of a traditional screen is rated at 38% light rejecting.

 

[Covert Rain]

It depends on the size of the room and how far back you can sit from it. I'm at 130" and it's the max I could go in my room. At least for 16:9 I could maybe go a little bit bigger for 2.39:1. The real key isn't the screen size but you're viewing angle. I'm at about 55° which is about the same as the prime seats in a real, 70mm, Imax.



It looks great. If I didn't have the MKII I'd probably have jumped on it. I have heard that it has more speckle than the MKII but it better than AWOL's last gen. and the Hens. So since I'm sensitive to it felt like it was going to be more of a push. Basically trading some brightness for the lower speckle and blacks. They're really close though. If I was buying today I'd get the MKII for a blacked out room and the Aetherian Max if I didn't have one or wanted to > 130".

That would have been the MAX I could have gone based on my distance but at the time I already owned a 120" which seems perfect. I am going to upgrade my screen at some point to something a tad better. Maybe I go 130". Maybe. It depends on what deals I can find when I decide to do it. I just bought 4 Home Theater chairs. I am either going to build a new riser or have one built and shipped and buy another set. Once that is done I might go screen hunting.

 

[Devilmaycare]

That would have been the MAX I could have gone based on my distance but at the time I already owned a 120" which seems perfect. I am going to upgrade my screen at some point to something a tad better. Maybe I go 130". Maybe. It depends on what deals I can find when I decide to do it. I just bought 4 Home Theater chairs. I am either going to build a new riser or have one built and shipped and buy another set. Once that is done I might go screen hunting.

Riser you say…

How much do you like bass and how crazy are you? Remember, you're talking to someone who's insane.

 

[Covert Rain]

Riser you say…

How much do you like bass and how crazy are you? Remember, you're talking to someone who's insane.

I think I know where you are going with this. I have considered kickers.

 

[Devilmaycare]

I think I know where you are going with this. I have considered kickers.

lol, kickers, cute. The DIY guys have gone way past them. The best thing to do now is you build a riser that has subwoofers built into that's sitting on inner tubes that go around the subs. Sounds crazy but it's really stable and lets you feel everything down to single digits.

This is the riser my pit couch is on. I have 12 -12" subs in it. All of the lines coming up are for the tubes. I have them tying together on the side of it so that I can control the air pressure in the tubes to dial in the ride. I did say I'm insane.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Covert Rain]

lol, kickers, cute. The DIY guys have gone way past them. The best thing to do now is you build a riser that has subwoofers built into that's sitting on inner tubes that go around the subs. Sounds crazy but it's really stable and lets you feel everything down to single digits.

This is the riser my pit couch is on. I have 12 -12" subs in it. All of the lines coming up are for the tubes. I have them tying together on the side of it so that I can control the air pressure in the tubes to dial in the ride. I did say I'm insane.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Holy crap. Yeah...that's pretty insane. That is beyond cool though.

 

[Chaplin]

So just spoke to someone named Zac at Projectorscreen.com, and he actually couldn't recommend the Aetherion projector, mainly because there are a couple more coming out shortly, but also because AWOL is simply rebranding and delivering a Hisense projector.

But you were right about the kind of deals they can make, they've got a 150" UST screen on clearance that they would sell for $500 if a projector is bought with it. It's still a sale attempt, grain of salt, but he seemed knowledgable.

 

[Devilmaycare]

So just spoke to someone named Zac at Projectorscreen.com, and he actually couldn't recommend the Aetherion projector, mainly because there are a couple more coming out shortly, but also because AWOL is simply rebranding and delivering a Hisense projector.

But you were right about the kind of deals they can make, they've got a 150" UST screen on clearance that they would sell for $500 if a projector is bought with it. It's still a sale attempt, grain of salt, but he seemed knowledgable.

Oh, wow, hadn't realized that it was mad my Hisense. From what I've seen about it looked like it was a solid model. I dealt with Zac a couple years ago the first time my FMT had issues. He was the one that setup talking with the manufacturer and doing the exchange. At the time they were the exclusive dealer for Foremovie.

Yeah, the pricing can be good when you talk to them. I didn't want to get your hopes up too much since when I bought my screen I had also already bought a PJ from them, but I got mine for almost $1200 off. Retail was around $5500 for it and I got it for about $4300.

Since he's not recommending the Aetherion, is he recommending something in its place? I'm guessing he'll say either the MKII or PX3-Pro unless he limited it to the same price point as the AWOL presale.

 

[Chaplin]

Got a couple quotes:

Hisense PX3-PRO
Spectra Vantage 150" screen UST & ALR/CLR
Hisense HT Saturn Wifi Sound System
$4646.96

Hisense L9Q
Spectra Vantage 150" screen UST & ALR/CLR
Hisense HT Saturn Wifi Sound System
$7146.96

Thoughts? Significant savings on the Sound system and screen, better savings then I could have gotten anywhere else outside of Craigslist.

 

[Devilmaycare]

Got a couple quotes:

Hisense PX3-PRO
Spectra Vantage 150" screen UST & ALR/CLR
Hisense HT Saturn Wifi Sound System
$4646.96

Hisense L9Q
Spectra Vantage 150" screen UST & ALR/CLR
Hisense HT Saturn Wifi Sound System
$7146.96

Thoughts? Significant savings on the Sound system and screen, better savings then I could have gotten anywhere else outside of Craigslist.

The PX3-pro has better black levels. The big thing for the L9Q is the brightness if there's going to be daylight but it sounds like you're room is mostly dark with not much light. So I'd take better black levels and $2500 still in my pocket.

As for the sound system…it's not the route I'd go. I'm a bit of a snob though. Generally I'm not a fan of systems like that. It's the same level as a sound bar to me. 6.5" sub is going to be very little bass. It's upfiring atmos which is less than idea and no center channel. I'm also really not a fan for wireless for speakers.

Personally, if the L9Q package was within my budget, I'd get the PX3-pro and take that $2500 plus how ever much the sound system is and put it towards a receiver and good speakers. You don't have to go full 7.1.6 from the get go. You can always start with a decent 5 speaker base layer and build it up over time.