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SubscribeWelcome to Installer's Insight, a new periodic column at ProjectorCentral. My name is Terry Paullin, and I have been installing custom home theaters for more than 30 years now. Since 1988, when I established Front Row Cinema in Livermore, CA, I have done over 1,000 theaters—really.
About 15% to 20% of my installs involve front projection. Most are in dedicated theaters (what some might classify as "man caves") and the rest are in what I call "theater environments," less- than-ideal (for projection, anyway) living room-style spaces that do double duty for watching movies. I'm also very active with the Imaging Science Foundation as a senior instructor who teaches new and advanced calibrators the latest tricks for optimizing today's displays. I occasionally consult to industry on the topic of imaging science.
My industry colleague and ProjectorCentral's editor-in-chief Rob Sabin has invited me to offer an occasional insight into our collective hobby/passion and share observations from my catbird seat as an integrator and industry insider. Over time, I expect you'll get a little of this and a little of that from me: installation tips, calibration advice, general thoughts on new products I see at the trade shows or get to experience in client's homes, or even a few words about a particular UHD BD demo that I'm excited to recommend. Most of my columns will focus on projector/screen applications, but some will touch on related topics.
So let's get started. This time, let's examine...
Front Projection: Why?
As in... why do projection at home instead of a flat screen? I'll speculate the main reason is what I call "Movie Theater Drama"—done right, it replicates what we feel when we walk into a commercial theater: curtains, sconce lighting, and multiple seating arrangements. Home theater "drama" can include the same sconce lighting, art deco treatments, movie posters, in-room popcorn machines, pillows and blankets, and interesting little confectionery tables. You can even do "stadium seating" with a riser in the back of the room. I suppose you could do all that with a flat panel, but it just wouldn't be the same...and nobody does it.
Another reason, believe it or not, might be price. We saw a crop of new projector offerings at CES this year, bright enough for HDR and attractively priced compared to what will certainly be the serious premiums on 100-inch flat panels when they appear in Q4. Of course, those new projectors should be paired with appropriate screens...something I'll say more about in a future column.
One reason not to shy away from front projection is limited room size. My demo theater is simply a converted 13 x 17-foot bedroom. It has stadium seating, all the art deco accoutrements, an accessible equipment rack, and a wide front-speaker sound field placement. I even found some paisley "movie " carpeting.
Larger and larger (100-inch plus) flat panels may challenge projector/screen applications into the future, but always at a serious price premium to front projection and with, well, a lack of "drama."
Until next time...enjoy the movies!
Also, you can roll up a motorized screen and make it go away!
But even though the $300 50" TV I have going in the background is bigger and technically superior to any home theater equipment I ever dreamed of owning for most of my life, in a way it's a less engaging experience than a Saturday night Blockbuster rental when I was a kid - pan-and-scan VHS on a completely uncalibrated 19" screen, with mono sound, but you spent so much time and energy on the trip to pick out the movie that the watching of the movie became an anticipated event that everyone got together for, turned off the lights, made snacks, talked about afterwards.
Having a projector you're forced to replicate a lot of those elements - there's a special room, the lights have to be off, and in order to take advantage of the giant screen, you really have to go with a blu-ray rather than streaming, meaning that choosing a movie isn't the sensory overload of scrolling through Netflix with the ability to instantly start or stop hundreds of incredible options. I don't plan on giving up Netflix anytime soon, but there's something to be said for the fact that once you commit to watching a movie on disc, you can't change your mind without having to physically get up and fiddle with things.
Having a projector makes me commit to and get excited about specific films that I set aside time to sit down and watch and not just enjoy as a piece of entertainment, but as a MOVIE.
The expectation and drama of renting the movie - it was relatively expensive in those days (although dad paid for it), taking it home, setting up the projector, putting up the screen, mounting the first reel and threading the film, setting the focus, ensuring the film loop is just right to avoid lip sync issues, the film breaking and needing splicing midway through the film, the light bulb or sound light bulb dying halfway through.... those were wonderful times.
VHS never got me excited.
Modern digital front projection is of course mostly automated and without the above mentioned hassles, but it certainly is the closest we can get to the real thing.
Although I’ve built two dedicated digital cinemas in the last 14 years or so and I’m about to build a third at a new house we just moved into, I still fondly remember the first night back in 2004 when I brought home a new Panasonic AE100 projector and set it up in the living room projecting against a sheet hung over the pelmet. Perhaps I remember this more than the opening shows at either of my dedicated cinemas. :)
I sometimes admire the technology of it all more that the actual movie... and yes, flat panel TVs do not do it for me.
Wikipedia comments about the Suspension of Disbelief:
'The term suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief has been defined as a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe something surreal; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.[1] The term was coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative.'
I love watching movies, TV shows and sporting events on one of our current gen large screen flat panels – and of course there’s the immersive home theater ready to fire up at a moment’s notice – but each has its place and each presents a very different experience in terms of how I engage with the story, show or action. The former rarely takes me on that special journey, while the projected image grabs hold of me and I completely forget myself and any personal needs (well, maybe the popcorn bucket and soda next to me, they do deserve attention).
When I sit back in the theater, the lights dim and the movie begins - for the next ~2 hours I'm carried completely along the journey. I become part of the story and the adventure unfolds all around me and with me. That feeling, that out-of-body experience rarely happens when I'm watching a flat panel - even a very large one in my home. But fire up the projector and I'm carried along within the adventure as it unfolds. A proper home theater is the best way to create that totally immersive experience, and if you don’t yet have a home theater then make even a modest investment to install one – you’ll be glad you did. Oh and call Terry to help install and calibrate it properly.
Projector/screens FOREVER !!!
