[GHM]

For those interested, here's a projector calculator that gives you your estimated lumen output over certain usage hours of the lamp, for a given size/gain screen. It's one neat little tool! 
Many people buy projectors without taking into consideration the lamp dimming that will occur and what it translates too for screen size and gain.
This tool helps give you an idea of what you may expect down the road.

http://www.projectorshootouts.com/default.aspx

[Bob in St. Louis]

Good link.
Another one is "ProjectorCentral.com".
They have a "Calculator Pro" that's very easy to use as well.

Bob

[gooberdude]

<<Calculations for a New Lamp>>
150" Screen (Lamp Low Best Mode)= 5.6fL
150" Screen (Lamp HIGH Best Mode)= 7.1fL
150" Screen (Semi-Accurate NON-Best Mode)= 14.5fL
150" Screen (Absolute Brightest Mode)= 20.1fL


The above is for my set-up:  Epson 8350 w/a 150" screen

What does the info above tell me?

[Bob in St. Louis]

What does the info above tell me?

That I'd go somewhere between 7.1 and 14.5 feet. (maybe a bit higher, towards the 12' range?)
You don't want "super economy" nor, "nuclear meltdown mode".

The happy medium will yeild the best results for typical viewing.
That's my "official" recommendation.

However....Since you're a single guy, you have the ability to mount the PJ on a step ladder and move it "for and aft" to see what works best for you and your preferences. Keeping in mind the life and cost of a new lamp.

Hope that helps buddy. 
Bob

[GHM]

<<Calculations for a New Lamp>>
150" Screen (Lamp Low Best Mode)= 5.6fL
150" Screen (Lamp HIGH Best Mode)= 7.1fL
150" Screen (Semi-Accurate NON-Best Mode)= 14.5fL
150" Screen (Absolute Brightest Mode)= 20.1fL


The above is for my set-up:  Epson 8350 w/a 150" screen

What does the info above tell me?

Those numbers are referring to best mode. I've seen the 8350 on a 120" and 130" screen. It was plenty bright running in low lamp on a 120" in cinema mode. On the 130" I cranked the unit up a bit to get a brighter image. On a 150" you'll have to run in living room mode to get a decent image IMHO.

Keep in mind, I do prefer a fairly bright image. Some may like it dim.

[kingdeezie]

<<Calculations for a New Lamp>>
150" Screen (Lamp Low Best Mode)= 5.6fL
150" Screen (Lamp HIGH Best Mode)= 7.1fL
150" Screen (Semi-Accurate NON-Best Mode)= 14.5fL
150" Screen (Absolute Brightest Mode)= 20.1fL


The above is for my set-up:  Epson 8350 w/a 150" screen

What does the info above tell me?

From the above information, I think you need to make some slight changes. Obviously, since you invested good money into a projector, you want the best picture quality.

Even in "semi-accurate" mode, which means your colors are likely bordering on a hot mess, you are only getting 14FL, which is just above about satisfactory. You should shoot for about 12 at minimum.

So you are hitting this number, but your PQ is not going to be great at all. You are sacrificing quality for quantity at this point.

You can get a higher gain screen, but depending on the brand and the material, you might be getting a whole nother headache and set of problems and compromises.

Your best bet is to likely get a smaller screen, 150 is gigantic, and any HT projector under 10K is going to have a hard time providing proficient picture quality at the size, even in a bat cave.
 

[gooberdude]

The Elite screen that I purchased has unity gain.  Is unity gain the '1.0' setting for this calculator? 

I've had the 8350 ceiling mounted about 14' back for over a month, and it works great!   My livingroom has issues with light control, and most of the time i'm watching tv with all the lights on.  So far, no big issues though. 

I bought the 8350 because it was the brightest I could afford & pick up locally.   I'm not a videophile or anything but am impressed with the 8350, especially given the price.  Having a 12'+ wide tv is spectacular, but if the picture quality or fast motion performance was bad, i'd be the first to admit it.

The professional installer who has helped me with this entire process is fairly impressed with the 8350 as well.  The decent brightness & lens shift are nice to have at this price range.

matt

[GHM]

So what do you think of the motion? I noticed some blur on the last 8350 I installed. Coming from DLP I may notice it more than a person accustom to lcd. Nothing like a big screen! I don't pay much attention to TVs in stores now. Just not large enough to satisfy me.

[gooberdude]

So far its quite good.  Football games are no problem, and even hockey games are fine. It is something else to always be able to find the puck, or see the golf ball in flight, when watching sports on the big screen.  Can't do that on a plasma.

Since this is my 1st projector, take it with a grain of salt of course.

If the latest $1200 Mitsu was brighter & able to be purchased locally, i'd have DLP now.  The 8350 was a compromise & convenience, but i don't regret it one bit.  My other tv is a good samsung 42" plasma & is smoother & more 3-D in some ways (with a satellite signal)...but there's no turning back!

Its absolutely true that standard tv's seem really small now.

What I took from pre-purchase research was that in the last 2 years the low cost pj's have been excellent in terms of performance.  We've also benefitted from the jump to 1080p as well, which is obvious when lower resolution commercials come on the screen (or with Netflix). 

I'm thrilled to have not spent $5K or much more to get this kind of picture.  Best Buy gave me 36 months no interest pmt credit card as well      I spent about $2K overall, same as a decent 65" plasma. 

no contest

[kingdeezie]

So far its quite good.  Football games are no problem, and even hockey games are fine. It is something else to always be able to find the puck, or see the golf ball in flight, when watching sports on the big screen.  Can't do that on a plasma.

Since this is my 1st projector, take it with a grain of salt of course.

If the latest $1200 Mitsu was brighter & able to be purchased locally, i'd have DLP now.  The 8350 was a compromise & convenience, but i don't regret it one bit.  My other tv is a good samsung 42" plasma & is smoother & more 3-D in some ways (with a satellite signal)...but there's no turning back!

Its absolutely true that standard tv's seem really small now.

What I took from pre-purchase research was that in the last 2 years the low cost pj's have been excellent in terms of performance.  We've also benefitted from the jump to 1080p as well, which is obvious when lower resolution commercials come on the screen (or with Netflix). 

I'm thrilled to have not spent $5K or much more to get this kind of picture.  Best Buy gave me 36 months no interest pmt credit card as well      I spent about $2K overall, same as a decent 65" plasma. 

no contest

Awesome that you are happy with the projector!

I would still advise that you consider a new screen. Quantity should not supersede quality. I have made similar mistakes to yours before.

My first projector was the Epson Home Cinema 1080 when it first came out. I had it on a 140 inch screen, and thought it was amazing. When I moved everything to its own special room, the setup forced to me step down to 110 inch. I was amazed at the difference in PQ. 

The bulbs drop rapidly, and in 500 hours you might be down 20-30 percent or more on your bulb. In order to compensate you will likely start to jack up the brightness, put it on "dynamic" (neon colors) mode, and completely begin to washout your blacks, contrast, and colors in order to maintain a watchable picture.

I am using a JVC 3D projector now, and on that same 110 inch screen, the brightness is about 20FTL in its "best" mode with excellent color reproduction and amazing black levels.

You won't realize how much you are missing until you set in a more optimal way. You got a sweet projector there, you want the best.

Good luck either way man!   

[gooberdude]

The entire process certainly is a learning experience.  Wisdom & feedback are appreciated.

Wish I had deep pockets to not have to worry about using a budget pj, but so far no buyers remorse.

I run it on Normal lamp mode, at 500 hrs now.  Everything seems the same, but I hear you.  Having a 2yr warranty on the bulb is comforting...no clue how fragile they are but assume i will find out.

I was lucky to have a professional installer in the local audio club too, avhandyman has sweated many hours to get my rig up & running.  He visited my place when the pj was table mounted & beaming at a painted wall.  After measuring & observing he selected the size, gain, mfgr, color, etc of the screen. 

In a few yrs i'll upgrade to a house & man cave, then get serious into video.  projectors get freakishly expensive for the good stuff.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Having a 2yr warranty on the bulb is comforting...no clue how fragile they are but assume i will find out.

Think of them as "hot fragile light bulbs".
They don't like to be touched, shaken or stirred when they're hot.
They don't like to be shut off too soon after being turned on.
They don't like to be on too long.

Read you manual on how to treat them. They're finicky for sure.

Bob

[gooberdude]

Bob, you talking code for 'women'?

thought this thread was about screen size?

[Bob in St. Louis]

Yip. Just like a woman. Ya better give them something, but not too much of the wrong thing, and not too much of a good thing. A fine line for sure. 

Fortunately, the projector has a users manual.   

Bob

[GHM]

I've read striking the lamp uses roughly 4 hrs of lamp life. I don't turn mine on unless I'm planning to run it at least that long. Turning it off allow 2 hrs before firing it back up. The person that gave the info had several thousand hours on his..so I now practice the same technique.

I'm at 450 hours with my unit projecting on a 120 inch screen around 2.0 gain . Running in low lamp mode closes to the screen, the calculator gives me just over 40 foot lamberts!
I do like it bright!

I agree gooberdude, this stuff has a learning curve. It can also be additive. The more you mess with it, the more you notice things you didn't notice before.

[kingdeezie]

The entire process certainly is a learning experience.  Wisdom & feedback are appreciated.

Wish I had deep pockets to not have to worry about using a budget pj, but so far no buyers remorse.

I run it on Normal lamp mode, at 500 hrs now.  Everything seems the same, but I hear you.  Having a 2yr warranty on the bulb is comforting...no clue how fragile they are but assume i will find out.

I was lucky to have a professional installer in the local audio club too, avhandyman has sweated many hours to get my rig up & running.  He visited my place when the pj was table mounted & beaming at a painted wall.  After measuring & observing he selected the size, gain, mfgr, color, etc of the screen. 

In a few yrs i'll upgrade to a house & man cave, then get serious into video.  projectors get freakishly expensive for the good stuff.

The Epson's are good projectors man, deep pockets or not. I had my 1080 for four years. I still have it, been meaning to see if anyone wants it fo cheap here.

Enjoy man, its pretty sweet fun for sure.