I want to start off by thanking you for your web site and all of the information that is provided! Based on my experiences I agree with everything that you report on and I'm sure that you have saved me countless hours if I were to have performed a fraction of this research on my own.

When researching projectors I was looking for one that could handle a large screen since I have a 16' x 27' living room and also a projector that could over come ambient light since this is a multi-purpose room. I also wanted a 16:9 aspect ratio since all of my viewing is movies on DVD (that may change now that I have seen what High Definition can do!). Based on these requirements my decision to purchase the Sanyo PLV-70 was fairly simple and I can say that it was the right decision now that I have had it for a while.

Equipment:

- Sanyo PLV-70

- Da-Lite 119" electric screen

- Denon DVD-2900

- Harman Kardon AVR-65

- Dahlquist M905 main speakers

- JBL center, surround and sub speakers

- Harmonic Technology Audio and Speaker cables

- Comprehensive Video cables

- Panamax Line Conditioner

To mount the screen I used hang tracks that I lag bolted into the studs. I used 6" angle brackets (bolted to vertical bracket mounts) to hang the screen 6" away from the wall which will allow me to hang a picture on the wall that will be visible when the screen is retracted. I also bolted wood to the sides and tops of shelf brackets which allowed me to hang the fascia board for a nice finished look.

In two of the pictures you will notice a little black box to the left of the screen. Inside of that box there is a little RF circuit board that controls two relays. One of the relays controls the up/down of the screen and the other I use to turn on/off a rope light that I have mounted behind the fascia board. I found this RF circuit board (CK1617) at www.electronickits.com. This circuit board cost $40 and I spent another $20 for the black box, wire, connectors and a switch (I designed it such that if the remote is lost or the battery dies I can lower/raise the screen with the switch). So for a total of $60 and 4 hours of my time I have a remote controlled screen which is a whole lot cheaper than the $400 that Da-Lite charges for their remote circuit!

I don't know what else to share with you at this time. I had fun designing and installing all of this stuff and I'm having even more fun enjoying the finished product! There are a few things that I would like to add to this setup. Most importantly I would like to get some sort of backup power supply for the projector. I had the power go out while watching a movie one day and I just about cried thinking of the hot bulb baking the inside of the projector with no fans running! After that I thought it would be fun to put my extra amp to use by powering two subs mounted to the floor joists!!! That will add a little more impact to the movie viewing experience and hopefully scare critters out of the crawl space. Cheers!

EP