What size screen for front projector?

Thanks for the suggestions. Stewart is the brand that he was thinking about. He won't be able to demo as we live 250+ miles from anything you'd consider to be a good a/v or HT shop. In fact he's buying the Sony sight unseen based on all the extremely positive reviews. He has $10k budgeted and the PJ is about $8k with tax, so he has up to $2K for a screen. Is there a visible difference between models? Is the Studiotek 130 noticeably better that one of their other models? I'll also have him check out avs.forumcom. Guess we know where the neighborhood Superbowl party will be this year!

Guess I'm lucky this year...gearing up for the Red wing and Piston CHAMPIONSHIPS to come...hope it's in hi-def!

Dave

My viewing distance is about the same, and I also have a Sony 1080p projector and have a 100" 4:3 Vutec, so my 16:9 is roughly 87". I could, perhaps, go a bit larger but I don't think the projector is bright enough for much more then 100" with that distance. I am assuming you have the VPL-VW100, and it has even lower lumens output then my VPL-HS51a, though both have the auto-iris so if he has a dark room it should do blacks very well even if he goes large.

Tireguy - thanks for the input. Yes, it's the VPL (Ruby) that my neighbor is buying. Now that you mention the fact that the PJ is not bright enough to do more than 100" at that distance, I think I remember reading a review that basically said that same thing. I'll have to look it up and give to my neighbor. I think I also read that replacement bulbs are $1,000!!!

I noticed that the new projector from sony used a xenon bulb, while I am by no means a Hometheater guru, that was a new one on me. It also listed no life expectancy of the bulb, which is probably a good thing. If it lasts twice as long as a conventional bulb then it really isn't out of line price wise.