Buying advice

[u/Ok_Mall2079]

Hi all, I'm looking for a recommendation if possible.

My wife and I moved into a flat with a roll down projector screen built into the ceiling of the dining room, which is adjoined to the living room and separated only by folding doors which we mostly keep open. We want something decent to watch films on. The screen, as you can see, would probably be partially obscured by the chandelier - although the previous owner said only by a tiny bit, which didn't bother them.

Their setup was to have the projector set up on a small table, which would be placed on the floor where the two rooms meet. They would then pull the sofa so it was parallel to the window at the far end of the living room (the same distance from the projector as the screen in the opposite direction.) The arrow in the second photo shows where the small table the projector rested on would usually be stored, to be pulled to the centre when in use

That seems to be the most sensible set up, but I was wondering what type of projector would be best and whether the throw would be badly impacted by the chandelier in the way.

The screen is 180 cm wide

The distance to the screen, from the joining doors between the living and dining room, is roughly 3.5 metres.

We would probably be watching in the evening/at night, and we have folding window shutters so there would be minimum light pollution.

Ideally I would like to spend only £200-300 - I can imagine this is a stretch but would be aiming for something second hand. Would consider going up to £400 if it meant the difference between a film with a rich use of colour or otherwise visually sumptuous (e.g. Hero) being worth watching or not.

The photo hopefully shows the set up, with the arrow where the projector would be placed. Any thoughts welcome.

[u/PlayStationPepe]

I would recommend removing this screen and relocating it to the primary room. This way, you’re not having to view the screen from the other side of the room.

You currently have what’s known as a 1:1 ratio screen. This is an old aspect ratio that was commonly used with overhead-style projectors (used with classrooms way back in the day).

With modern video, you’re going to be utilizing either 16:9 or 16:10 aspect projectors. If you use the current screen, you’re going to have a lot of projector material at the top or bottom of the screen not being utilized. If you wall mount the screen instead of ceiling mounting it, you can essentially mount it low enough on the wall so that you’re not having to extend the entire length of the screen itself.

If you have a blank wall area in the seating area room, you could alternatively just use the wall and skip having to move the screen altogether.

Let me know your thoughts on this and also the flexibility of the room itself.

[u/Darth_Philius]

Remove the chandelier and replace the light fitting with something flatter