I am helping my dad setup a home theater in his basement and we are at the point were we are going to pick out a projector. I am leaning toward the JVC DLA-RS2 or the Planar PD8150 as possible choices. If he doesn't want to spend $8000 then he will probably go with the Epson UB. Another thing that we would like to do is have an anamorphic lens for the projector. The JVC has the ability to vertically stretch the image (I'm not sure about the Planar or Epson) so I could use an aftermarket lens, although JVC offers a motorized anamorphic lens designed for the projector for $6500.

What is the difference in an anamorphic lens?

I have not been able to find any reviews of them anywhere. I have been able to find some for $2000 and then they jump to around $5000 to $6000. I wouldn't want to put a junk lens on an $8000 projector. But spending almost as much money on the lens as the projector is a bit crazy to me. The lens that comes with the projector isn't $6000 so why is a simple anamorphic lens that expensive?

Are good ones really this costly?

Has anyone found any reviews or shootouts of different anamorphic lens' in the different price ranges?

- Nick

If you desire a CIH (constant image height) system, there is no way to do it without an anamorphic lens other than the old zoom and refocus method - which really sucks. Good luck on finding professional reviews. I don’t think there are any. There’s quite a bit of information at the AVS – 2.35 Constant Image Height Chat board. The Isco III is usually regarded as the ‘best’ available due to some pretty high end optics, but I don’t know if it’s worth the money or not. Plus, you have to move it in / out of the beam, either manually or by means of a motorized carriage. Panamorph also makes some nice lenses, but again, you have to move them in / out of the beam path. Then there is the lenses made by Prismasonic. They stay in the beam path and you either twist a couple knobs or push a button on your remote and a motor moves the lenses. They have just recently come out with a new and improved lens, the HE5000 in either manual or motorized trim. I use a Prismasonic 1400 FE and think it has terrific optics. The 5000 is supposed to have a slight edge over the 1400 FE. They all cost quite a bit…… Your best option may be to keep an eye out for used lenses. They do pop up from time to time.

One thing to keep in mind is there are two different configurations. One where the lens expands the image horizontally and one that expands it vertically. There are advocates for both. I personally think HE lenses are the way to go. Obviously, if the projector will not V-stretch the image, you will need a video processor for that. Most projectors nowadays have this function, but be sure to verify they will do it with all resolutions.

For projector, the two you mention are on my list of possible units that will replace my PT1000U this fall. The street prices of both are very comparable (about $5500). If that is what the budget is, you should also be looking at the Marantz 15S. Its street price is $6000. Another projector that is probably the best bang for the buck right now is the JVC RS1X. It is not an RS1, but a new model and comes with HDMI 1.3, selectable Gamma profiles, they fixed the bright corner issues that the RS1 had, and I’m pretty sure it has the V-stretch feature. It streets for about $4200. Is does not have the CR as the RS2, but its still number two and is brighter than the RS2.

Even though I love my 2.35 constant height setup using my Prismasonic anamorphic lens and Sanyo Z2, and HTPC running TheaterTek software, I sometimes would prefer the ease of just using a standard 16:9 screen, sit back and enjoy, with no hassle.

In reality, the black bars aren't that big of deal for most people.

Just found on the prismonic webiste they have a place that you can type in your projector, throw distance, etc. and you can get the brightness, geometric distortion, etc. with different prismonic lens'. What you do guys think?

http://www.prismasonic.com/english/calculator.php

Looks like this might tell me the best lens to go with any projector that I pick. Hopefully it will be at a reasonable price if I find one.

- Nick

I really wish someone would release a projector that has the capability to do CIH internally. Is that even possible?

It would have to be projector with 2.35 format that would letterbox 1.85, 1.69 and 1.33 sources. I suspect we will see this eventually as CIH is gaining popularity and pretty much all new releases are 2.35.

Nick,

The Prismasonic lenses do tend to work better with longer throws than short throws. The first thing you need to figure out is screen size and throw distance. When you have that nailed down, then you pick the projector as some are limited due to their zoom range. If I recall correctly, Prismasonic recommends a throw ratio of 1.5 or greater. Sometimes this just can’t be done and you will have to look at the other offerings out there. Make sure when you do the math that you use 1.69 screen width when figuring throw ratio. I was using 2.35 and had ruled out Prismasonic until Anssi told me to use 1.69, then all their lenses would work for me.

If you have not picked out a screen yet, I’d seriously look at Prismasonics curved silver screens. I can’t believe they are selling them for what they are. A curved high gain silver screen is normally around 7 grand. They are selling theirs for less than 2 grand….. If I didn’t have a Stewart Firehawk that’s less than two years old, I’d buy one of these silver screens without a second thought.

mdrew,

My dad has said that he will go with a curved screen, but he is going to do a DIY one. I can't understand why some companies charge ridiculous amounts of money on screens and curved screens seem even more ridiculous. How is the screen material any different than the bulk roll that you can buy for $100 to $200? It is just a matter of building a frame after that.

- Nick

mdrew,

You mentioned that the JVC DLA-RS2 can be found for around $5,000 to $6,000. Where exactly? I have been searching a little bit an haven't seen it less than $8,000. Also, if the projector can be found for $5,000 to $6,000, can the JVC anamorphic lens designed to go with the RS2 be found for less than $6,500? If I could get the total around $10,000 then my dad might just go for it.

- Nick

Send one of the salesmen at AVS an email or call on the phone and request quotes for all the projectors / screens / HE lens / etc that you want. You'll be pleasantly surprised. I buy just about everything from them anymore. They are authorized to sell just about every brand out there. Plus, they know the products they sell and have a great return / exchange policy.

On the curved screen, I doubt you'll be able to find bulk silver material with a gain of 3. Silverstar is the only other high gain silver I am aware of, and their flat, rigid screens are well over 5 grand and take up an entire van to ship them.

mdrew,

That is a lot of gain. I thought that if you have a projector with a good contrast ratio (which any of the ones on the list do) and can completely darken the room then a gain of 1.0 to 1.3 would be best. Aren't the high gain screens for watching movies with the lights on or a budget projector that has poor black levels?

- Nick

Nick,

The problems with most 1080P projectors is lumen output, which is the reason high gain screens are becoming popular. Not many have much, or can compete with 720P units. Some are getting close though and I suspect in a year most will be on par. You want a minimum of 12 FL to give you that “POP” for movie watching and good shadow detail, and should up that number to 20 FL for sports. If you will have ambient light, then figure at least 15 FL and 23 FL respectively. Another consideration is projector rated lumens, which are always ridiculously generous. After the projector is calibrated to a D6500 standard, lumen output is drastically lower than rated output. Also figure a 50% loss within 500 hours of use and another 20% before it finally dies on you. My PT1000 for example has roughly 200 lumens after I calibrated it with 1200 hours on the bulb, but it’s rated much higher (900 or so I believe). I’m shooting onto a 96 X 41 2.35 screen. This equates to roughly 9.5 FL with my 1.3 gain screen. Figure another 10% loss shooting the beam through the anamorphic lens and I’m just over 8. That is a dim picture and I can’t stand to watch much of anything unless the room is completely dark. If I were using a screen with a gain of 3, my net FL would be about 19 FL and I could, if I want – watch movies with some light on. By having excess FL, you have many options available to you for really dialing in a perfect picture as well. ND or colored lenses for one. You also have plenty of wiggle room for bulb output fall off as more hours are put on it. If the picture is simply too bright, just use an ND lens and as the bulb dims, you ditch the lens.

So, yes, you are correct. High gain screens help compensate for projectors with low lumen output and are also desirable for set ups where ambient light is a problem or if you like to watch sports or movies with some light on.

In regards to improving contrast, gain doesn't help a whole lot. It allows you to run propper contrast / brightness controls without runing them to extreems for improved shadow detail. Silver and grey are great colors for screens because it enhances contrast and rejects ambient light, but typically, silver, and grey come with a penalty – they have a negative gain.

If you will be using a ‘smallish’ screen, the math will look much better for a projector with low lumen output. As the size increases, the math starts looking poor quickly. Another aspect is throw distance. If you are at the long end of the throw, lumen (reflected) output is reduced. The closer to the screen the projector is, the brighter the picture will be.

If you know exactly what the screen size is, lighting environment, room wall and ceiling color, throw distance and if sports will be watched……that will help determine what type of lumen output you need and if a high gain screen is needed or not.

More often the not though, a high gain screen is desirable. One drawback is they tend to have a narrow viewing cone or require the projector to be mounted in some odd angle or directly onto the screen. From what I've heard about the Prismasonic, they may have come up with a dandy. Definately worth looking at a little closer.

Good post...lots of good info. I'm new to this, so what's FL?

I am planning on a HT room in the basement in the future with a 110" screen. Not sure what the throw distance will be yet. I do want to be able to watch sports though. I'd want a 1080P projector as well.

Foot-lambert. Divide output lumens by screen square foot area.

So for sports viewing with some ambient light, I need 2530 lumens, correct? (23FL *110" screen)

So I need a projector that does roughly 850 lumens with a screen with a gain of 3?

The 850 would need to be the real lumens after factoring any loss for the throw. Can I easily measure how many lumens I'm actually getting?

I was going to ask about estimated costs for just these items, but I'm a little ways out on this, so I expect prices will continue to come down as the technology gets better.

mdrew,

You have been a big resource of information. I know that my dad will not spend $2000 to $7000 on a screen. I was reading reviews of the Planar on ultimateavmag.com and they were able to get 21.48fL in economy mode and 27.72fL in standard mode on an 87 inch 1.3 gain 16:9 screen after 30 hours on the lamp. The JVC RS1 was able to get 16.3fL in normal mode and 20fL in high lamp mode on a 78 inch 1.3 gain 16:9 screen with 200 hours on the lamp. He mentioned that the JVC RS2 was a bit dimmer than the RS1. So, you are probably right about having to use a grey high gain screen with the RS2. However, with the Planar I think that we will be fine with a 1.3 gain screen as long as the area of the 2.35 screen isn't much larger than the are of the 87 inch 16:9 screen. Even taking into account that after 500 hours on the lamp and using an anamorphic lens will drop the 27.72fL to 16.63fL (by taking 60%) which is still great. If I go to a 118x50 2.35 screen, which is about as large as he would go, then the 16.63fL is now 12.84fL.

I was leaning toward the JVC RS2 slightly over the Planar, but now the Planar looks like it would have the light output to aviod going with the high cost grey screens. I should be able to find a bulk roll of 1.3 gain screen material cheap, so everything is great. I just realized that if my dad will go about $10,000 for a projector and anamorphic lens then I am in the nieghborhood of the Runco with Cinewide. Now, I just have to narrow it down from the Planar, Marantz and Runco.

He already plans on darkening the room to watch the projector. But, what is the best color to paint the room to optimize the picture? I'd like to get this narrowed down before my step-mom picks out a color and then we are stuck.

- Nick

The best colour is as dark as you can go. The front wall should be black (ideally) to get no light bleedoff coming back at you.

I'll second Hutzal's recommendation. I noticed a huge difference in picture quality going from off white:



To black on the front wall and burgundy on the rest:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=206049

(Plus, I think the room just looks nicer!)

Thanks Hutzal, I'll try to steer him in going as dark as possible.

- Nick

At least convince him to paint the front wall Black. The other walls can be another "darker" colour, but black (flat black, but a pain to work with) will provide the best result.

I just realized that I should have taken 40% of the 27.72fL to get around 11fL to take into account the 50% drop in brightness after 500 hours + 10% drop due to an anamorphic lens. So the largest I could go on a 1.3 gain screen is an 87 inch 16:9 screen with the Planar. I do want a 2.35 screen so I will need to make sure the area is not more than the area of the 87 inch 16:9 screen. I think even this will be fine since his front row will be about 10 to 12 feet from the front wall, so he will still have a very big screen for the front row. We are planning on him using the front row for blu-ray or high definition stuff and he can move to the 2nd row for standard definition stuff when he and my stepmom are watching it (which should be 90% of the time).

- Nick

Nick,

I sit sat 10 feet from a 92" screen with a 720p projector (my theatre room is now obsolete in my old sold home ). Its not too big at all, I wouldn't sweat it man, I actually prefer it, You'll find yourself liking the bigger screen up close and wont want it any other way.

Nick, the Prismasonic screens are under $2000 ($1450 – $1870), which is why I am so interested in them. If they perform well, it’s an amazing price. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=991997

I wouldn’t rule the RS2 out just yet with only FL being the driver. The Planer does look like one heck of a projector, but it still can’t match either of the JVC’s with contrast. It would be nice if you and your dad could actually see one in operation. They use two completely separate technologies and throw up unique pictures. The Planer does have one heck of a video processor, which is a big plus. The RS2 has whacked colors that may be visually appealing, but if you are used to watching a calibrated image, they may drive you nuts.

Zarak – the FL numbers I wrote are recommendations that I got from a very smart fella, and they tend to follow main stream thinking and recommendations. But, they can be fudged some, I think. I do not watch sports, so I can not confirm with any personal experience if 23 FL is accurate. I actually seams pretty high to me, but again, I don’t watch sports. I can say that 12FL for movies is just about right.

Glancing at your numbers above, your math doesn’t look correct to me.

Figure total screen area in Square Feet. A 1.69 110” diagonal screen has 36 sq ft (96"X54")/144=36. multiply that by the desired FL you are shooting for – (36 X 23) = 828 total lumens.

Figuring 50% bulb loss, you would shoot for a “rated” output of 1656 if you are using a screen with a gain of 1.0. If you had a gain of 3, you’d want a projector with 552 lumens.

mdrew

I've just bookmarked this post. Very informative for my next projector! Thank you for this info.

I remember when mike was the one asking questions in here, he has since become a definitive source on Projector Technology on this forum.

mdrew,

We did go and look at the Epson UB pro and JVC RS1 at a dealer. Unfortunately they were on much too large of a screen. The Epson was on a 100" 16:9 screen and the JVC was on a 120" 16:9 screen. We only compared a couple of scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean Blu-ray on both and couldn't notice a difference between the two projectors because of this fact. The larger screens were taking away the punch of the images and there should have been a noticeable difference stepping up to the JVC. The front row of the theater with the Epson was 13' away from the 100" screen and we both though that height-wise the screen was too big at that distance. To see the whole screen vertically you have to move your eyes up and down a little bit, which we thought would get old very fast. So we were thinking that at 13' we wouldn't want more than a 90" screen. If his front row will be at 10 to 12 feet then 80" to 90" would be fine.

From my calculations earlier the 87" 16:9 screen with a gain of 1.3 would have around 11fL (after 500 hours with an anamorphic lens using your 50%+10% reduction of brightness) on the Planar. The size of the 2.35 screen with the same area would be 37"x87" which is a good size at 10', I think. He doesn't watch any sports programs so 11fL at worst should be great in a darkened room.

I just found an article that agrees with you saying that you need 12fL to 20fL in a darkened room to have a nice punch to the image. But, it also said not to go more than 1.3 gain since you will start to introduce artifacts.

Here are a few excerpts:

"A screen is a passive device and can't literally amplify anything. It produces "gain" by focusing the light toward the center of the viewing area, resulting in a brighter image on- or slightly off-axis, but a dimmer image as you move further to the sides. High gain screens can also have hot spots; that is, they look obviously brighter in the center than at the sides. The higher the gain, the more pronounced the hot spot."

"High gain screens (over 2.0) can be useful if you insist on a very large screen, or have a projector with a very low light output. While some users swear by such screens, we generally don't recommend them. They are skewed toward brighter images, often sacrificing other important characteristics like color purity, brightness uniformity, and resolution."

"Different installations will have different requirements, but for most current home theater projectors you'll avoid serious problems if you stick with a screen width of 80 to 87-inches, with smaller screens giving you extra reserve to allow for lamp wear. If the projector has good blacks, we recommend a screen with modest gain (1.3 or so), particularly at the higher end of that size range. Very bright projectors may, however, provide better results with a screen gain of 1.0—or even a bit lower."

link: http://www.hometheatermag.com/advicefromtheexperts/707choosingscreen/


The last line, "Very bright projectors may, however, provide better results with a screen gain of 1.0—or even a bit lower.", we could instead keep the 1.3 gain and just go with a little larger screen say 100" 16:9. Also, maybe your figure of a reduction of 50% brightness after 500 hours on the lamps varies from brand to brand and may be less. In this case you could increase the screen size as further if it is say 30% or 40% instead, although this is probably hard to find published anywhere for a specific projector. Sorry for the long-winded responses, but I drank an energy drink earlier and still feel the caffeine (and whatever else they put in there) pumping through my veins.

- Nick

Hutzal,

Like I just mentioned, 10' from a 90" screen is about as large as I would want to go. My dad agreed with me on this and thought maybe a little smaller would be better. But, this as with anything else is just a matter of taste.

- Nick

Nick, Those are all good points, but keep in mind the date the article was written. Stewart has come out with a newer version of the Firehawk (G3 which I own), as well as Da-light's High Power and the Prismasonic is completely new. Some folks swear by high gain, while others hate them.

I would spend some time on the screen boards at AVS before committing to anything. Articles can be of value, but should always be taken with a grain of salt. The author has his/her opinion just like any one of us. Sometimes their opinion stinks just as bad.

I suggested looking at the different projectors as you have LCOS and DLP on your shopping list. Both are very different with very different looking pictures. The Epson is LCD, which is fairly close to LCOS so I doubt you’d see the differences I’m suggesting.

Screen size is very personal. No one but the viewer can determine what to go with. I can say that I find it more difficult to move my eyes up / down more so that right / left. Keeping this in mind, find a 16.9 size that is vertically pleasing to you, and then stick with that height for a 2.35 screen. I sit 12’ away from a 96” wide screen. At first I thought it might be too big, but not anymore. I think it’s perfect.

I am considering the RS1X for myself right now, although the Planer, RS2, S15, BenQ2000 and Sony VW 200 all look like great projectors too. I have ruled out all LCD as I don’t want to deal with un-sealed light paths anymore. Friggin dust blobs are a PITA to clean. The VW200 is way too much money, so that’s out of running…. The Planer looks like THE projector to get right now, but it’s fairly new and I’m a wee bit hesitant to give it a try. The JVC’s have color issues that require an external VP with CMS to correct (the RS2 more so than the RS1x). Good thing I’m in no hurry and can take a back seat and see how things shake out for a few months.

Oh- don’t forget projector noise. I am VERY sensitive to noise. The projector is directly above me I can darn near reach it sitting down. If you or your dad are sensitive, you need to keep that in mind when shopping.

Rob, I’m hardly a definitive source. I’m just learning like everyone else. And I certainly hope folks just take what I write down as ‘recommendations for further thought’, and don’t just go out and spend money based on what I say. All this stuff is based on personal tastes and beliefs. Everyone should be aware of the things to consider and go out and find the answer / solution that works best for them.

mdrew,


I read a review at ultimateavmag about the Planar that gave me a few concerns. It sounds like it may be a little buggy.

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/608plan/index3.html

The first unit they tested kept forgetting the settings even after trying several different fixes. Also, it didn't pass above white and blacker than black, which will make it a little harder to setup correctly. They are supposed to fix this with a firmware update though.

excerpts:

"One important point is that the Planar will not currently reproduce above-white or below-black. This did not appear to compromise the subjective quality of the projector, but it does make setting the brightness and contrast more difficult. Planar has informed me that a fix is in the works, and a firmware update will be issued for existing units.

I ran into another problem when I rechecked the other inputs just before deadline. Apart from HDMI 1, none of the HDMI or component inputs worked properly. HDMI 2 displayed a bright-green image, and both component inputs were distinctly purple. This could not be corrected with any Color Space setting. The most puzzling thing was that the Component 1 input looked fine when I used it to measure component resolution early in the review, but when I tried it at the end, it was definitely not fine.

After consulting with Planar, it became clear that the problem was related to saving setups into memory. When I did a factory reset from the user menu, the problem cleared up, but when I then saved some settings in memory for the HDMI 1 input, it reappeared on the other inputs. (I had performed my resolution tests on the component input before saving any settings, which is why that input looked okay early on.)

Next, the company rep suggested that I perform a factory reset from the service menu, which seemed to clear up the problem altogether—all inputs looked right even after saving something in a user memory. Just to be sure, Planar shipped me a second sample with the same firmware, which did not exhibit the problem."

I bet these issues will be taken care of by fall so they are probably non-issues. The differences in black-level and contrast ratio are probably only noticeable in side by side comparisons against the JVC. I read another review of the Planar in Home Theater Magazine, where the reviewer said that he would replace his reference JVC RS1 with the Planar if they fixed the clipping of the above whites and below blacks (which they are supposed to do very soon). So, I am strongly leaning toward the Planar. I just need to take my dad to go look at one of these suckers in action.

I am going to have to research the new developments in anamorphic lens' and high gain screens like you suggested. The only problem is that dealers that carry projectors usually have neither of them so it makes it a little more difficult to do so. So, you can't see the differences with your own eyes. But, like you said we can keep searching on avsforum and roughly get an idea.

If you are sensitive to projector noise then you can get one of those enclosures with a window in the front to box-in your projector. You have to do some ventilation so that your bulb doesn't overheat though. I have no idea how much they cost and what other problems you run into,but I've seen them in magazines a couple of times. Also, if you have a manual sled anamorphic lens then it may be impossible to flip the lens in and out of the path of the light by going this route.

- Nick

A hush box isn’t much of an option for me. I have thought about building one, and will if I decide to go with a projector that’s too noisy. They just make it difficult if you are a tweaker, like me.

I just stumbled onto a pretty good thread at AVS regarding lumens. It looks as if 20 FL is the preferred by most. It’s worth reading if you’re waiting for paint to dry, like I happen to be doing right now……dam I hate painting…..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=984992&highlight=poll

The Planer will definitely have bugs to kill. I’ve been reading up on them lately and they seam to be pretty responsive with addressing bugs, unlike many other companies.

mdrew,

Like many pointed out in the thread, it is hard for people to know exactly what they have unless they are going off of the manufacturer's specs which probably don't mean a whole lot. Then you factor in that after you put some hours on your bulb you lose brightness. How much brightness varies probably from 20% up to 50% like you said your projector had. So, I guess the best way to set up your projector is to get some hours on your bulb and have someone measure what you have on a 1.0 gain screen in economy mode. Before you have them measure it you should probably have it in movie or standard mode (just not dynamic) and have the brightness and contrast set to zero to keep flexibility. Since a 1.0 gain screen can be found for $100 in a bulk roll then it is an inexpensive part just to test with. Now calculate what gain you would need to get up to 12fL in your economy mode. If it is the 1.0 gain screen then you are done and can just make a frame. If not then you can get the 2.0 gain, or whatever you need, to get to the 12fL in economy mode. Now, you have flexability since projectors always have at least an ecomomy mode and standard or normal mode. The normal mode would get you closer to 20fL in in your particular setup. Some projectors even have three lamp settings: economy, normal and high which would give you even more flexibility.

Now, I just need to research if the new higher gain screens will introduce any artifacts. I'm also betting that a curved screen would help reduce these artifacts.

- Nick

Do LED projectors ever suffer from diminished brightness, or do they pretty much operate at the same level until they croak?

I don't know of any LED projectors out right now. They are supposed to be coming though. I know that the first generation Samsung LED DLP rear projection tv had problems with unifomly lighting the screen. It was bright in the center and then dim as you radially move outward. I bet that they will fix this within the next couple generations though. Taking this into account it will probably be at least three or four years until LED front projectors are implemented well. I guess that I didn't answer your question did I. It would be a nice thing if they did have the same brightness until they burn out though.

- Nick

I guess I'm waiting for front projectors featuring PhlatLight technology from Luminus Devices. Their website claims it is capable of uniform brightness over the entire LED surface. Here's hoping they can implement LED front projectors well in the next two years, as that's probably when I'll be too impatient to wait anymore. Ha ha.

I'm also kind of interested in PhlatLight for general lighting purposes. I guess we'll see how that pans out. I almost want to invest in the company.

So is it a better investment to get a projector that does more lumens, or a high gain screen to help out with a lower lumen count from a projector?

I think the rest of the thread answered the question...it appears the projector with the higher lumens is the better bet, which is what I would have guessed.

If I do go with a 110" screen, what would be an optimal seating distance for viewing 1080P? What about a 720P cable broadcast or even a 480P DVD?

Nick,

I like your idea using some generic material. I’d take that even one step further. Just paint the wall flat white (or just use a white pigmented prime coat because it is flat and very white which should give you a gain of .8 – 1.0) and then you will be able to determine FL, but you can play with screen size and physical location. I ended up moving my screen three different times up and down before I got it situated just right. You can go down to your local fabric store and pick up the cheapest black velvet or other fabric you can find, then just staple it up around the image size you want. Try that for a while, then zoom in or out some until you get the screen the exact size and location you want it. Then all you do is build or buy a screen that size, fill the staple holes with mud, touch up with more primer and then finish painting the wall the color you decided on and you won’t ever wonder…..

Curved screens are great when use an HE anamorphic lens, but not necessary. All HE lenses will exhibit pincushion and some level of CA when in the beam path. Typically, all you do is over scan or zoom the image out to where the far right / left sides of the image are up on the screen velvet and you never see it. But if you have a curved screen, this is not required. The extremist videophiles claim you have a more uniform picture with a curved screen. I can understand the rational of that opinion, but haven’t seen it first hand to comment. I do think a curved screen would make the movie a bit more immersive though. CA is strictly related to the quality of the optics that the lens has (which is also something to consider when buying a projector as the budget projectors use questionable optics).

I just saw this posted at AVS by a Planer rep. Very promising. The 8150 is sounding better and better every day. I think you should just buy one and tell me all about it… LOL

Quote:
Originally Posted by funlvr1965
Brian any idea when the next firmware release for the white clipping issue that some reviewers are finding? I spoke with someone over at Planar and he said that he was going to see Bob williams later that day and he would ask. Well he was nice enough to call back and tell me that he spoke to Bob and that at that time there didnt seem to be any definate time line for the new firmware. In all fairness the clipping issue I believe was on measurements and not really in real world viewing so Im wondering if that being the case if its not a priority at this point, any info on that and if the 8150 are still on backorder or are the units flowing out to dealers?. Thanks in advance
We are working on a SW update, and the validation is being completed as we speak - so assuming all is well, it should be out this month. It will include many updates, including the 'clipping' issue. You are correct that this issue would not be seen in real world applications, but we want to make it perfect non-real-world applications also...

-------------

All SW updates will be posted on the Planar web site for you to download, so if you get your projector now, you will get the update faster than waiting for it to show up already loaded in production.

We get PD8150's and PD8130's in weekly and they are selling out as fast as we get them in, but we are cranking up production to try and get ahead.
__________________
Brian Carskadon
Director of Product Management
Planar Systems, Home Theater Business Unit
Brands: Runco, Vidikron, Planar

Well, there’s two different thought processes with this.. 1) digital projector technology is changing rapidly now with HD material becoming main stream. If you like to upgrade a lot, you might want to just put your money towards a good screen. That’s what I did because I tend to buy A/V equipment like I do socks. 2) the other thought is buy as much projector as you can afford and just build yourself a screen or buy a mid level screen. You can find many screens under $1000 that work very well for most situations.



Screen size is totally subjective. It’s all a personal choice. Do you like sitting in the front row or in the back? Only you can decide what is right for you. If you are worried about SDE, don’t worry about it with 1080P, you won’t see any unless you get within two to three feet of the image. Depending on the projector your buy and the video processor it has, or if you use an outboard VP, 720 and 480 can look almost as good as 1080i/1080P source material, or they might look like crap. You still shouldn’t worry about SDE with 1080P output though. You won’t see the pixels, just a big crappy image, or a good up-scaled image.

Deleted post.

I replied to a post at the end of the first page without noticing there were several more pages of replies to go.