It’s not hard at all to set up a projector. But there were some things I wish my family understood before we set ours up. You can still have an enjoyable experience even if you violate the few points I’m going to talk about in the article. I first recommend you account for these factors before you decide to buy.
I applaud you for taking some time to do research if you’ve never had a projector before. In this article, I’ll share with you the common mistakes I made with the first setup that I wish someone had told me to make my viewing experience more convenient.
These are the 3 things I failed to consider when buying a projector, which I will go over in more detail:
- I put it on a shelf where it couldn’t ventilate
- I didn’t have a plan to manage the cords going from my speaker to the projector
- I set it up where it could easily be bumped out of alignment
- Not adjusting the tilt settings
I’ve had a projector for about two years now, and I love it so much more than a TV. It takes some meaningful considerations to how you organize your connectivity to speakers and media players, but after that, you’re all good to go.
1. Placing it Where It Can’t Ventilate
If someone has a quality projector but always complains about it being too loud, this is why. I wasn’t used to a media player that needed a good place to ventilate and as a result, its fan was always running at the highest setting. I did some research and found that other people were experiencing the same problem and that the solution is to make sure it’s in an air conditioned part of the house, ideally close to the air vent itself.
People who literally had their projector next to a vent posted about how quiet it was. For the rest of us who don’t have the luxury of a vent right next to our set up, there’s still more than can be done. I actually wrote an entire article that answers the question why is my projector so loud. Check it out if this is one of the things you’re concerned about.
Putting it in a room that causes it to heat up will make the bulb burn out much faster and just cause it to overwork itself. It also makes the room quite uncomfortable with how stuffy it makes the air. It’s never a bad idea to open a window if this happens but any flow of air would be best. In the link to the above article, you’ll be able to find some products that would help keep your projector area cool.
2. Not Planning a Way to Route Cords to The Front
This one might be the least obvious component. With a TV, everything gets hooked up to it like speaker cords, media players, FireStick, etc. Projectors do the same thing except they sit in the back of the room. This means you need to plan for two things before you get a projector.
- Have a plan to route your speaker cords from the front to the projector in an orderly fashion
- Buy longer media and speaker cords if needed.
I would say these two things are the biggest takeaways from this article. If you do nothing else, at least plan for this! We didn’t and had to find a way around this. We actually ended up getting a long speaker cord and taped it to the side of the wall as it ran up to the shelf of the projector. This worked but it always feels like it’s a temporary solution.
The tape frequently comes undone and gets in the way of some of the seating area in the room. It feels the most inconvenient when I have friends over and want the room to feel clean and uncluttered. When I’m watching by myself or just family I don’t mind but I hope to find a better way to do it someday.
3. Placing it Where it Can Get Easily Bumped
This one especially applies if you don’t place to mount your projector to the ceiling. Using an elevated shelf in the back of the room is a great idea as long as you don’t need regular access to surrounding shelving or items. My brother and I move our PS4 around a lot, whether it’s bringing it out to the living room or hooking it back up, we often have to move the projector to get around to the back inputs for the HDMI port.
The best solution is to mark the placement of the projector with a sharpie on the shelf. I made little tick marks at each point of contact to help make it easier. This also makes it easier to clean up after an outdoor set up because you can bring it inside and put it exactly where the ideal points will be.
One more thing to consider is making sure that it doesn’t become a falling hazard if you’re sitting right under it. California is earthquake county and we made sure to have a deep enough shelf for it to rest on in case it got shaken up and one of its legs slipped during an event. It’s an unlikely thing to happen, but it would really suck if something happened to it (and if it was a really nice one).
A lot of projectors have a direct interface with buttons on the top of them. I only need to use them to change settings, but every time I use it I accidentally end up bumping it just a little bit and then I have to begin the process of recalibration. Having those tick marks, again, makes it stress free to do.
4. Not Adjusting the Tilt Settings
Have you ever sat in the front row of a movie theater and felt like you were staring up at the double chins of every character? Yes, you can still watch the movie, but the angle at which you’re viewing can give a slightly distorted look to the movie.
Good projector models come with a variety of settings when it comes to setting up the display. Whether it’s on the remote or the projector itself, you should see if you can adjust the horizontal and vertical image tilt. The seating in my room sits quite low to the ground while I have the projector directly overhead. I didn’t realize it until many months after that I could actually tilt the image down towards where I was sitting and it looked so much better.
It wasn’t until I actually took the time to play around with the settings that I noticed I could make the image look so much more natural. I didn’t feel like I had to stare up at people whenever I watched movies or played games.
General Mistakes With Home Theater Setups
1. Using a Good Projector on a Low-Quality Screen
I used to do this one before my family got a better projector. It worked well but once we got a projector of much higher quality, we realized this screen wasn’t going to cut it. If you’re unsatisfied with the pixelation your projector throws out, I recommend upgrading the projector first. If you already have one that isn’t performing as well as you expected, upgrading the screen will make all the difference
I agree that it’s really convenient to throw up a temporary white sheet on any wall to watch a movie. But you’re selling your projector extremely short if you go this route. If you like watching movies on a screen, getting a projector screen like this one will easily be able to meet all your needs. The best type of material is CineWhite. I wouldn’t recommend a product that doesn’t say they use this type of synthetic material in the description. CineWhite is what movie theaters use and they know best (especially good with 4k).
The other problem with bedsheets is that they are not as white and uniform as an actual movie theater screen. Aside from the material being completely different, the small discrepancies in whiteness and thickness also have an impact on the image quality. Image quality is subject to whatever backdrop is directly behind the screen such as a bookshelf. The projected image on a bedsheet will actually cause the image to bleed through a little bit if it’s not supported by a solid surface.
2. Not Using Eco-Mode on The Projector
Eco mode is more than just a power saving mode. It reduces your fan noise immensely and better optimizes the power output of your projector. Eco Mode also expands the life of your bulb and keeps it from burning out as soon as it normally would. According to Epson’s specs on their 2045 model, putting a projector on Eco Mode increases the lumens from 2,200 to almost 7,500!
Eco Mode does not reduce quality or resolution. It makes the image a little bit dimmer. You won’t find this effect to negatively impact your viewing experience if you have a way to make the room nice and dark. For me, the blinds weren’t enough to make the room as dark as I wanted it to. My family got blackout curtains from Kohl’s and they did the trick perfectly.
If you haven’t purchased a projector yet, make sure to look at the reviews people give it when it’s on eco-mode. If a projector can deliver great picture quality on regular mode and eco-mode, then it’s a good product. This feature is something not a lot of people think about, but it can really increase bulb life and you’ll thank this feature later once you’ve had a projector for some years.
3. Not Having Enough Space for Maximum Throw Distance
Throw distance is how much distance you need from the projector to front to fill the screen. I’ve found it to be too difficult to use the online calculators and then consult all the fancy tables and stuff.
This is how far away your projector should be from the screen.
- 80 inch screen –> closer than 9ft
- 100 inch screen –> 9-11ft
- 120 inch screen –> 11 to 15 ft
- 150 inch screen –> 15 to 17ft
Following these measurements will help you best optimize the quality of your projector’s image as well as give you the maximum size that can be projected on the wall. This is an easy guideline to follow and it’s also important if you want the best looking picture.
4. Having too Much Stuff In the Room
Random wall clutter like trophies, action figures and bookshelves can reduce speaker quality. Soft fabrics are the best to have around the wall of your room if you can afford it. They absorb the right amount of sound and create a better ambiance (especially for bass quality). They can even soundproof your room from other parts of the house or even the neighbors.
Try seeing if you can afford to take some “stuff: out of the room and see if you notice a difference. The more consistent you can make your wall surface, the more consistent you will find your audio quality to be. This isn’t a must, but if you feel like you’ve tried everything to be satsifed with your audio settings, this might be enough to level it up just a little bit more.
Related Questions
What is the best temperature my projector should be kept at? Keep it slightly cooler than room temperature if you can afford that. If you can make it even colder, I recommend that too. Don’t worry if you don’t like cold rooms. Projectors actually generate quite a bit of heat. If you keep your room at standard room temperature while watching a movie, you might find your room is a lot hotter by the time you’re done. Keeping your room cool will neutralize this effect.
What if I don’t have a way to mount my projector to the ceiling? I don’t have mine mounted on the ceiling and I’m actually happy about that. Instead, we installed a shelf about 6ft in height and placed it on there. I like this better because it’s much more accessible. We also like to take it outside when we host outdoor movie nights. This would be much harder to do if we had it completely mounted to the ceiling.
What is the best material for a projector screen? CineWhite or any “synthetic” material that is mentioned int he description of a product would be best. I don’t recommend building your own screen if you plan to have it for a long time because it’s hard to acquire dedicated synthetic material for movie theaters. Plus, you can get a fully constructable movie screen for the same price as just the fabric itself.
Conclusion
If you haven’t bought a projector yet and you’re looking into it, definitely consider some of these factors. None of them are deal breakers, they’re just things to actually think about so you can account for them when you set your first one up. Remember to take the time to adjust the settings, have a plan for good cord management, and get a good projector screen! If someone had mentioned these things to me before I got one, I would have been able to it up with much more ease the first time.
If you’re interested in the projector model that I have, check out the link to my review of the Epson 2040/45. I swear by this model and exact brand. I used to have a crappy projector before I got this and I can 100% appreciate the improvement to its quality. It’s an easy plug and go projector but definitely finagle with the settings to make the picture even better.
If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to reach out at entertainmentden.ns@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond. Thank you for reading!
