Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (
More info?)
E. Ogden wrote:
> Bob Miller <robmx@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Now that I have a reasonable receiver I need a front projector to go
>>with it. Anyone have info?
>>
>>What about this one.
>>
>>http
/www.hometheatermag.com/frontprojectors/604panasonic/
>>
>>or this one
>>
>>http
/ecoustics.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/id_type=M/product_id=967423
>
>
> I don't know about either of these, but I can mention some general
> things to consider, with a few specific comments about the one I chose
> (Sony VPL-HS20, an LCD).
>
> First, you won't find a projector that satisfies you fully. Nobody
> makes the projector I want at any price, and if I waited until they
> did I'd never buy. All except CRTs use a lamp that lasts maybe a year
> in normal use and costs a few hundred dollars to replace. The Sony is
> a compromise, but I'm generally pleased with it.
>
> High contrast ratio is important, maybe more so than accurate colors.
> Ideally the darkest elements should go to black, not gray, but the
> only projectors that do that are CRTs, and they're just not bright
> enough unless you can eliminate all ambient light. DLPs are next
> best, but if you consider one be sure to try it out to make sure you
> aren't bothered by a rainbow effect caused by the color wheel most of
> them use. While watching the picture, dart your eyes around to
> different parts of the screen or off of it. With some DLPs you'll see
> a momentary blast of separate colors. They've improved with higher
> speed wheels, but the only DLP I'd accept would use three panels and
> no wheel, and they're expensive.
>
> The Sony looks great on well-lit scenes, but the gray is noticeable on
> darker ones. No, the black level isn't shifting; the eye fools you.
> I'm using the high gain beaded screen I needed for my previous CRT
> projector, and the Sony is really too bright for it. I could improve
> matters with a high contrast gray screen. But movie theaters don't do
> true black either.
>
> Look for lots of inputs. You'll probably have several sources (one or
> more tuners, DVD, maybe a computer or D-VHS, and of course legacy
> NTSC). Due in part to the ridiculous DVI and HDMI standards the
> industry chose and the added complications due to HDCP, HD switches
> are uncommon and expensive. So you need to use the projector as your
> switch. Speaking of HDCP, you want to be sure the projector supports
> it, but I expect all recent ones do.
>
> The Sony has inputs for DVI, HDMI, component, composite and S-Video,
> plus a proprietary connector with supplied cable that splits out to a
> second set of component, composite and S-Video inputs. It doesn't
> have a VGA input, but adapters are available, and for a home theater
> PC you'd want a video card with DVI out anyway. It also doesn't have
> a Firewire input, needed for some D-VHS players (your tuner might act
> as a go-between there). There's a USB input, but that's for
> fine-tweaking things with a computer and a program you can download
> from Sony.
>
> LCDs can show more screen-door effect than the alternatives, but with
> mine I never see it unless I'm up close to the screen. NTSC may not
> be sharp at that size, but at least the scan lines are gone. That
> always annoyed me with my old CRT. I think the Sony does as well with
> NTSC as can be expected.
>
> The Sony's DVI input can be set for "Video GBR" (digital TV) or
> "Computer." "Video GBR" is limited to the common DTV scan rates.
> "Computer" handles most anything my video card can throw at it, within
> reason, but it forces pillarboxed 4:3 and doesn't allow zoom. So for
> HTPC you have to get creative with the video card's timings.
>
> Most all good projectors can correct electronically for the
> trapezoidal image you get when the projector isn't positioned exactly
> right with respect to the screen, but it's better to do it optically
> if possible, to preserve the 1:1 relationship between the electronic
> pixels and the physical ones. It's called lens shift. The Sony
> doesn't have it, but I can't see any picture impairment due to the
> electronic adjustment.
>
> You should also make sure you can mount the projector where it can
> just fill the screen. Many have a zoom, but often not much. Specs
> should include maximum and minimum distances for various sizes. The
> Sony's zoom is only 1.3x.
>
> You can and should set up your projector with a reference such as
> Digital Video Essentials or Avia, but that just sets one input and
> you'll find that many sources aren't set to specs as well as they
> should be, so you'll want to tweak to improve the picture. The Sony
> can store 3 setups for each input, which I find pretty handy.
>
> E. Ogden <eoyymm@nycap.rr.com>
> where yymm is the current year and month
Thank you. I am going to print this out and keep it handy. You cover a
lot of points here.
Bob Miller