A projector is an excellent choice for a home theater. After all, that's what they use at the movie theaters. But a projector won't work in just any room.

Our recent home search was based on which house would accommodate a home theater the best. When we were building our house what size screen and which projector was much more important to us than any other aspect of the house. Getting a room set up for a projector takes more time but we found it well worth the effort.

Projection Methods

There are four ways to set this projector up:
1. Mounting projector in ceiling and projecting to the front of the screen.
2. Placing projector on a table and projecting to the front of the screen.
3. Placing projector on a table and projecting form rear onto a translucent screen.
4. Mounting in ceiling and projecting from rear onto a translucent screen.

Since we used the great room for the theater the back of our room is totally open so that we can watch TV from the kitchen and eating area. With the great room layout of the floor plan we selected we had two options for projector placement; ceiling mount, or shelf mount on a 3 foot area behind the sofa. We opted to mount in the ceiling suspending the projector with a ceiling mount kit. We had the electrical outlet professionally installed on the ceiling and a PCV pipe put in the ceiling to run the cords from the projector to the rest of the theater equipment which we located under the screen. The projector does not come with a ceiling mount kit. Our mount was an additional $180.

The first few days after delivery the projector was sitting on a table and it projected just fine. Shelf mounting would been a wonderful alternative to mounting on the ceiling if selected. The vent is in the front of the projector allowing it to breathe properly when placed on the shelf.

Price
The list price is approximately $3,000 but we purchased ours online for $1,300 (after rebate). Even with the screen and speakers it was still less than we would have paid for a traditional high definition television.

Speakers and cables are also required but not included. Be sure to buy extra length, as you wouldn't want to get your cables into the ceiling just to find out it's a few inches short. We purchased 50' HDMI, Component, and VGA cables and have plenty of slack in case we change the layout in the future.

Picture Quality
For us, the point of getting a projector was to have the feeling that we were sitting in a theater. We wanted the biggest picture that the room could handle which for us was 132 inches but the projector can go up to 200 inches. What this lacks in picture quality it makes up for in size. The picture is great for a projector but doesn't come close to the quality of a plasma TV.

There are several modes that can be accessed on the remote control that will make a big difference on the picture. Some settings work best in a dark room and some are better for a somewhat lit room. Some examples are: dynamic for bright and sharp settings, vivid cinema for crisp color, or deep rich colors. There is also a Hollywood setting to specifically mimic the movie theater. There are 7 options in all. We change this a lot depending on what we're watching. It makes a huge difference. It's nice that the buttons are already programmed on the remote.

The Screen
What the projector is projecting on will have great influence on the picture quality. We've tried this on a painted wall which was tolerable and an option if you don't want the TV to be the focal point of the room. We tried a high contrast Da-Mat Fabric screen which looked better than a bare wall, but not enough to justify the expense. We didn't like the bare wall so we painted the "screen" on the wall with Behr primer and Behr pure white flat paint then framed it in. Of the three screen choices, “pure white” (which is different than just white) gave us the best picture quality. The total cost of building the “screen” was under $100 including all of the tools to do the job. One less than obviousness benefit to building it is that we can scrub off or touch up little fingerprints or other blemishes should they appear on the “screen”.

Ambiance Lighting
The darker the room is, the better the picture quality is. We have theater blackout drapes which makes a dramatic improvement. One reason we chose this particular model was that it was suppose to be better with light during the day and I think it does a wonderful job.

The projector has a Light Harmonizer which automatically adjusts itself based on the ambient lighting in the room. We have ours set on auto. I watch TV at lunch time when the room is really light. When the picture comes on it is so hard to see that I have to squint my eyes. I say to myself, "Wait for it..." and within that amount of time it comes into focus and I proceed with my show without needing to darken the room.

Though the TV does fine with daylight it's terrible with light bulbs. We have never ever sat in the room and watched TV at night with the lights in the room on. It just doesn't work that way. This may not be the right choice for someone who wants a family oriented room. It's not the type of room that you can knit or multi-task and watch TV. I have trouble even eating snacks in the room because it's so dark. The light is projecting across the room so walking in the room close to the screen causes a shadow on the screen. This is an adults only room in our house.

Replacing Projector Lamp
The projector will give a notice when the lamp reaches 1,800 hours of use so that a new lamp unit can be ordered. The life is estimated to be 2,000 hours under normal use. Life can be saved by setting it up for economy. The replacement lamp (ET-LAX100) is approximately $320. The lamp contains mercury and has to be disposed of correctly.

The lamp is 2000 lumen which is the highest compared to other projectors in this price range.

Remote
Since our system is on the ceiling we have no choice but to use the remote. The remote is gray and short so never gets confused with other remotes. There are very few buttons on it and spaced out nicely. The top right button called light will turn on the backlight on the remote control so the buttons can be seen. This is handy because the room is often pitch black. The light automatically turns off after 5 seconds or it can be turned off manually by pushing the light button again.

After powering off the projector there is a “cool down” period which feels like it takes 5 minutes. If you accidentally press the power button twice you will be stuck waiting to get it back on while your movie continues (or you are quick with the pause button).

High Definition
One thing that sets this ahead of other models is the capability for projecting up to 1080p which is a standard for HD and Blu-ray DVD players. The AX100u however has a native resolution of 720p which means that to project 1080i or 1080p the projector has to downscale the signal. This really hasn't been an issue for us, as 720p looks wonderful at 132”.

This projector provides a high quality display with minimal screen door effect. A contrast ratio of 6000:1 really helps bring out the detail of images displayed on screen, and 2000 lumen output allows for good image projection in a lit room.

Connections
The projector has connections for pretty much anything you can throw at it. There is one input for each of the following: composite, s-video, component, HDMI, and VGA. Be sure to pair it with a theater system that provides sufficient inputs for all of your devices.

Sound
I can hear the projector turn on but it's not noisy. Since we have ours mounted on the ceiling we don't notice the fan at all. When we are watching a movie the speakers are turned up so loud that there's not a chance of hearing the fan.

Maintenance
It is recommended that the air filter be vacuumed off every 100 hours. The lens can be wiped with a lint-free cloth.

Overall
Choosing if we should get a projector or not was the hard part. Set up and lighting will not work for everyone. Choosing which model to get was an easy choice. Be sure to have enough inputs on your home theater system to connect all of your devices as the projector only has one port for each supported connection type.

The next model AX200 is out and already less expensive than this model. The new model also has a second HDMI port, a game mode as well as a few other tweaks such as improving the iris. I love this projector but would get the newer model if re-purchasing.

Update June 18, 2009
Budgeting now for a new projector as this one seems to be dying.  Considering this projector runs around the clock with TV time, movies, Rock Band, and video games we probably use more than 40 hours a week which may be too much for this projector, I don't know.  We replaced the bulb exactly at the one year mark as expected. 

We've been experiencing a green line on the screen for some time now that we can't get rid of.  It's become very annoying.

In the past month or so the picture has started to flicker randomly.  It's happening more frequently now to the point that it's doing it about every 5 minutes.  It's quite distracting.  I'm not sure what is causing this but apparently many people are also having similar problems with this model.      

You get what you pay for.  This was a lot cheaper than any other projector on the market when we purchased it.  In my mind I felt like it wouldn't last more than 2 years when we bought it so I'm really not surpised now.  

The plasma picture is so much better than the projector.  I'm wondering now if I'll trade the jumbo size for the picture perfect plasma. 


 




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