Stuff at a glance:
Projector: Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 8100
Screen: Focupix 16:9 Fixed Frame 130" High contrast grey (in reality the screen was only ~126" diagonal)
Receiver: Onkyo HTIB (2 year old model)
Other: Windows 7 Ultimate on Quad Core PC with LG Blu-Ray Drive, XBox 360, Satellite TV Receiver
Thought Process:
I spent not much time in selecting the projector, read about this Epson and I thought its a decent one. Later my friend mentioned that he had to return the same model and a got a Mitsubishi HC3800 because Oprah looked better on the latter. I compared both later and I am convinced that I need the flexibility of Epson (and I am not planning to watch Oprah).
I have to accept that I spent little bit more time on the screen. First of all, its hard to throw that much money on a piece of cloth (or plastic or vinyl). However, the market is like that - it feels like the screen prices is lot more than what it might cost to manufacture one. Nevertheless I decided that I am going to get a high contrast grey screen because the bonus/media room gets light during day and decided on fixed frame screen because it looks more professional than pull-down models.
Found a cheap 130" China made screen online and bought it. It turns out, the screen is pretty good in terms of look and feel - only one problem - its not really 130" - its around 126". By the time I realized this - my entire family spent enough time to help me mount the screen (it is not harder to assemble and mount - just takes time and help of 2 people because of its size) - so I decided to keep the screen. I like it so far.
It is going to be another post to talk about wiring the ceiling mounted projector.
Projector Pictures:
Screen:
