Paul Adsett's Home Cinema

[Paul Adsett]

Thanks Ed! My digital projector is the Panasonic PT- AE4000U (great projector) and it has provision for a total of 6 programmable lens settings, each setting programmable for zoom, focus, and lens shift. In addition it has an option for auto sensing of Cinemascope material and automatically switching in the stored lens settings. I don't use the auto sensing option though, preferring to manually select the appropriate lens preset button with the remote, ahead of the start of the movie. The combination of remote programmable projector lens memory and motorized masking, makes for an impressive presentation. And I regard correct masking as being essential for all formats, and particularly essential for getting the best possible super 8 picture.

[Ed Gordon]

Thanks Ed! My digital projector is the Panasonic PT- AE4000U (great projector) and it has provision for a total of 6 programmable lens settings, each setting programmable for zoom, focus, and lens shift. In addition it has an option for auto sensing of Cinemascope material and automatically switching in the stored lens settings. I don't use the auto sensing option though, preferring to manually select the appropriate lens preset button with the remote, ahead of the start of the movie. The combination of remote programmable projector lens memory and motorized masking, makes for an impressive presentation. And I regard correct masking as being essential for all formats, and particularly essential for getting the best possible super 8 picture.

I put my home cinema in a room created from a garage. I tried a few options for the screen, but settled on a wall-to-wall scope screen just over 11 feet wide. I used black side curtains for aspect ratios less than 2.35 and since I maintain constant height, additional top/bottom masking is only needed for formats above 2.35. Eventually I removed the side curtain masking to maximize picture size. I just don't have room to hang regular vertical curtains. I could put in waterfall curtains, but that would be a major investment. For me, masking is a nice to have, but not if it reduces the screen size. I am not bothered by an unmasked digital image. My 4k projector produces deep blacks so the sides of the image are crisp and clean. Analog projection is another story; the fuzzy edges are annoying. One feature my Epson VP has is a "blank" button on the remote. I can press blank before I hit the button to change aspect ratio. This at least hides all the lens changes going on. Another feature the VP has is the ability to mask the image in the projector. I have not tested that to see if the masking settings are saved with the other lens settings. Collecting and projecting movies is a great hobby, but it can put a strain on the pocketbook!



My first screen and the newer screen

[Paul Adsett]

Well I must say that your screen, occupying the full width of your wall, looks great Ed. I am sure that the picture feels very immersive, to the point that you almost get a Cinerama type effect where the room itself seems to bob around on action scenes.
Being a classic movie buff, 1.33 material occupies about 80% of my viewings so I really need the moveable masking, I love filling the whole screen though, as its very impressive indeed watching a great western such as The Big Country, with all that stunning scenery, or a great scope musical such as Love Me or Leave Me.
I only have two full length Super 8 features in Scope, Grease and Lady and the Tramp. Both are stunning quality Derann prints and have been re-recorded in stereo. They look and sound amazing, although I have to say that I am not overly fond of the very large 1.6 or so aspect ratio of super 8 scope prints. I feel that the reduced height actually diminishes the impact of the very wide picture. So here again, masking is essential to make these scope prints look their best.

[Ed Gordon]

I am sure that the picture feels very immersive

Yes it is immersive, especially for scope films. I find that I have turn my head to follow the action at times. The larger the screen the better, but more importantly you have to be able to completely darken your viewing room so that there are no distractions. Black out fabric is inexpensive and allows you to do presentations regardless of the time of day.

I prefer the 2.35 aspect ratio. Anything wider than that is pushing it in a narrow room like I have. The Smilebox format for old Cinerama films is a nice compromise.

Here is the Scope version (2.89 aspect) vs Smilebox (16.9)

[Patrick Rettler]

Here are some updated pic's of my screening room. Now a 5.2 sound system.

Lovely setup, I'm absolutely amazed. Did it take a long time to set it up?

[Paul Adsett]

Thank you Patrick for your kind comment.
Well I think its true to say that a home cinema set up is never really finished. Its always a work in progress as you can always find some way of improving it, no matter how small. But to answer your question, the initial set up followed the 2004 Hurricane Charley in Florida, which did considerable roof damage to our home. When it came time to rebuild this area of the house I asked my wife if she would like us to have a home cinema there, and she was enthusiastic about it. The re-building of the roof took about 3 months, at which time I started purchasing stuff I needed for digital projection and a 5.1 surround sound system. I already had the GS1200 Super 8 film projector and a nice collection of sound films. So it was probably about another 3 months before I had all the speakers wired through the walls, the Panasonic LCD projector mounted up on the shelf, and the remote power down screen in place at the end of the room. After that it has all been what I consider to be a progression of improvements, like the overhead black and burgundy cloth panels to block reflected light from the ceiling back onto the screen, and the remote powered masking and curtain system. All this was DIY and not very expensive. A major upgrade was in 2011 when I replaced the existing Panasonic AE700 digital projector with the present Panasonic AE4000U projector. The difference in digital projection was then like night and day, finally a stunning HD picture 10ft wide! Only recently I redesigned the vertical height masking system to get a slower movement and more precise CinemaScope masking. And a major improvement in Super 8 projection has been the use of the DIY external power supply, to power a 250 watt ELC lamp in the GS1200. Now I have a super 8 picture that looks as bright as the digital projector!
So you see Patrick it never really ends. Which is what makes this hobby so great!


Here is a video tour of our screening room, from Keith Wilton's Armchair Odeons Reel one. It shows the remote controlled curtain and masking system, and also my restored 9.5mm Pathe Baby lighting system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo6rAuL4VXc