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Does anyone sell a 16:9 screen which would be suitable in size for mounting over a mantel (a 42" diagonal measurement would be ideal)? Which projector would you recommend for table mounting (behind the couch) for a small screen like this for cable and DVDs?
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You can probably build one for about $30-100 depending on what screen surface you want to use. But the answer for a premade one is yes... there are several manufacturers that will make screens for you in pretty much any size you request. Worst comes to worse, you can buy some screen material from Stewart or Da-lite and then take it to your local framing shop. I'm sure they'd gladly stretch it over a frame size of your choice and even mask it for you. Personally, I built a custom 16:9 80" frame out of 2x2's and a 2x4 for support... it cost under $30 and took a couple of hours.As for stock screen, most start at 60", so you might want to check if that size would fit your space. I'd suggest heading over to www.avsforum.com and selecting Display devices, then screens to read up on tons of info... really, pretty much any questions you've ever wanted to ask has been asked there. If it's not been asked, then it can be answered!
As for a projector, if you're only going for 42" diagonal, then pretty much any projector on the market should be able to handle it. There are great deals going right now for the Infocus X1. I believe Best Buy and Circuit City carry it if you want to try it out. Epson just released the S1, which is an LCD projector that some people have been saying great things about. Both of those will hit your wallet for less than $1000, but are also both 4:3 formats... they can do 16:9 fine, though.
If you want a 16:9 native, I'd go with the Sanyo PLV-Z1. www.audiogeneral.com has them for only $1200 and a ton of other places have dropped their prices on them to $1300. Reviews are very strong across the board for that projector.
One reason I'd suggest going with a cheaper projector is your screen size is so small. A lot of people rag on the lower level stuff because they say the lumens are too low, but all three of those should be able to get a screen size of 80" without much stress. I've heard of people pushing the Sanyo and Infocus to nearly 200" with a usable picture. If anything, the 42" picture will be bright.
For more info on projectors, I'd check out www.projectorcentral.com or www.avsforum.com. Both are great resources.
Any particular reason why your considering a projector? At that size of 42" you might want to consider a plasma (or lcd). Since you mentioned it will be used primarly for dvd and cable the consensus of the people at avsforum is the the Panasonic ED plasma models seem to be the best bang for the buck for such applications.
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