[Bob in St. Louis]

Seemed like a good time to upgrade the projector. The unit's internal lamp went out recently, that being its second bulb. Instead of putting a third lamp in it, (since we had the cash), it seemed like a good time to buy another projector ("PJ").
I chose the Epson Powerlight Home Cinema 8350.

Unfortunatley, it was "dead" right out of the box. After a long painful volley of emails to the seller, it was decided that it should be sent back. 

So....it's been sent back for exchange, they should receive it tomorrow. No word on how long it will be when I get a new one back. 

In the mean time, it's given me time to build a nicer mount than I had before. The old one was allthread and aluminum tubing with a 1/4" flat "shelf" the PJ sat on.

Here's a few "before" photo's on the "InFocus" brand 780p/1080i unit:


From the screen, looking back. Yes, that really is a bunch of dust on top of it. 
In the background is the 6 foot wide, 4 inch thick "703" acoustic panel.



From the left:



From under (viewed from the PC chair my butt is sitting in as I type this):



The (dead) Epson 8350 (left) and the InFocus (right). Twice the weight, better resolution:



Veneering the Pelin Burl (from another recent project) being clamped to the Baltic Birch plywood:



The pieces of mount:



From my chair:



Fancy artistic photo meant to look cool (even though I didn't spend time to ensure it wouldn't be out of focus slightly)  ](*,)  :



From the left:



All that remains is for me to sit here for the next week or two and wait for a new projector to install on the new mount.  #-o

More later......
Bob

[max190]

Bob, mount looks good man. Nice cable management
Sucks about the Epson

[gooberdude]

Lookin good bob!

I've had my 8350 a while and really like it, even though the first bulb went out after 1000 hrs.

If your exchange doesn't work, I have a spare, brand new 8350 for you.

matt

[Bob in St. Louis]

Thanks Max. 
Yea, I can't stand seeing wires laying around, so I'm pretty anal retentive about hiding them.
(Maybe I should get a different hobby) 

Matt, thanks man, much appreciated.
Had I known that, I'd have made you an offer on yours. 

Bob

[roscoeiii]

Oh man, now y'all have me thinking about a projector. Uh-oh.

How much does a good screen run?

Matt, how is this projector is a fairly well lit room? Tough to get my room dark?

Anything else I should consider vs. an LCD or plasma?

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey Roscoe!
I wold not recommend a PJ for well lit rooms. That is, unless you can wait until after dark to view them.

Regarding the cost of the screen, I made mine about 10 years ago. The screen is a no gloss white paint, so there's no fabric involved. Total cost of the unit was less than $150 (ten years ago).

Regarding the comparison versus a flat screen, they all have their pro's and con's, but none are one size fits all. In my house, we've got a 42 LCD, a 50" plasma, and this....my pride and joy, the 140" projection.

None are perfect, all are awesome.   

Bob

[gooberdude]

The 8350 is a real performer, of what I know.   Its my first pj though, take my comments with a grain of salt.

My PJ is in the LR/DR/Kitchen area.   Generally, all the lights in my loft are on when watching tv or movies.
Of course the blacks get blacker when all the lights are off, but the picture quality is more than ok in a fully lit room.  A 1080 projector is really something else.  I also use it as a computer monitor. 

I bought the 2nd pj on accident more or less, its still in the box unused.  Bought it from Best Buy...if anyone wants it just shoot me a PM.

Hopefully Bob gets his pj running correctly, it will be an excellent comparison as he's had one for years.  The 8350 is of a new breed of less expensive HD pj's that perform close to the big guys.  A few years ago the market did not have this level of performance in this price range, of what i've been told.

I bought a new Elite screen, its 13' wide (a bit too wide) and cost around $300.   There are cheaper screen options, but TBH I used a painted wall for a while before getting a screen and I won't watch on a painted wall again.

One of our GAS members, youravhandyman, did the installation(s) for me & is an excellent resource.   

matt

[roscoeiii]

Only daytime viewing I am likely to do would be for sports.  How would a pj do for that?

[Bob in St. Louis]

Well said Matt, good post. 

I guess "daytime viewing" would depend on your individual situation. if you've got a "regular" window and the light is just ambient, it might be alright. On the other hand, if you live in a downtown loft apartment and your window is 6' tall and 30' long, and the sunlight is shining on your screen, then "no", it's not gonna work. 

I did notice there's a fella here selling a "starter" unit for $300. It's kind of a kids unit, but it might be something you could dip your toes in the shallow end, so to speak.
Maybe there's somebody that lives near you that has a PJ you could borrow for a weekend?

Bob

[zybar]

I love the picture quality and brightness of my Epson 8500 and everything I have read says that the newer models are as good or even better!!

My only gripe with the Epson PJ's is the issues around bulb life.  Twice now my bulb blew before reaching 1000 hours.  In both cases Epson overnighted a replacement and their customer service was excellent.  However, these bulbs are rated for 4000 hours!!  Hopefully the third time is the charm and the bulb issues will be a thing of the past.

Good luck Bob.

George

[gooberdude]

Roscoe, you don't get much sunlight in Chicago so don't worry about it   

I have experienced a few bright & sunny Saturday St Louis afternoons where it wasn't optimal to watch sports, however my windows are next to the screen, and they are 10' tall and 16' across (w/o adequate window coverings!).   Srsly, my set-up is not optimal for a pj by any means, but it works so well with the 8350.  I also have a few plasma tv's around the place, just in case.

Bob's basement is the perfect test bed for this though, and his experience with his older pj will make for good comparisons to the new 8350.   As time goes on, pj's get brighter & brighter for less and less $, and its the 'brightness' which allows it to produce quality pictures....even in a lit room.

FWIW - brightness of a pj is not a derogatory term like it is in audio   

matt

[zybar]

Roscoe, you don't get much sunlight in Chicago so don't worry about it   

I have experienced a few bright & sunny Saturday St Louis afternoons where it wasn't optimal to watch sports, however my windows are next to the screen, and they are 10' tall and 16' across (w/o adequate window coverings!).   Srsly, my set-up is not optimal for a pj by any means, but it works so well with the 8350.  I also have a few plasma tv's around the place, just in case.

Bob's basement is the perfect test bed for this though, and his experience with his older pj will make for good comparisons to the new 8350.   As time goes on, pj's get brighter & brighter for less and less $, and its the 'brightness' which allows it to produce quality pictures....even in a lit room.

FWIW - brightness of a pj is not a derogatory term like it is in audio   

matt

If you are willing to sacrifice a little picture quality (compared to more expensive pj's) in order to use your pj in well lit spaces, it looks like the Panny AR-100U would be the way to go (http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ar100u/index.php).

George

[roscoeiii]

Thanks for the heads-up on that one George.

[zybar]

Thanks for the heads-up on that one George.

I might be buying that Panny as a replacement for an older AE-700 that we use in our bedroom.  If I grab it, I'll let you know how it is.

George

[Bob in St. Louis]

Now that I think about it ....I'd sell my InFocus pretty cheap. It was working great until it quit. I assume the lamp died. Interested? I was thinking about putting it on the classifieds so see if there was any interested parties. Think about it. I'm in no hurry.

Bob