A projector for dvd mostly? (1 Viewer)

[Garrett Lundy]

Question about the 4805:

My room is only 12' long. assuming I'd like a 90" screen, how far back (from the front) can the projector be? Can I put it on a stand 8' away? or should I mount it on the opposite wall?

 

[Citizen87645]

My recommendation: It depends! (How's that for a non-answer?)

Here are my reasons for getting the 4805:

- Wanted to use the Bravo D1 at 720P or 1080i via DVI
- Therefore preferred a 16:9 native aspect
- Reduction of RBE, which is confirmed

The pricing on the X1 was very tempting and I'm sure if I were starting from scratch I would have gone for it. But as it was, I had the Bravo, which I definitely wanted to get the most out of. This meant I needed DVI input. If I HAD gone for the X1 I would have missed the 720p output and sprung for a Momitsu or Zenith, meaning 200.00 more to the X1 pricing. With that in mind, the price difference between the two was small enough to go for the 4805. Pyschologically it also felt more like an investment than a stop gap purchase.

That being said, I would go for the X1 if:

- You want an amazing deal! (Maybe less so now that the rebate has ended)
- You don't have any of the upscaling players requiring DVI
- You don't have an issue with RBE or can get used to it

My biggest complaint for both the X1 and 4805 is the fan noise. But I realize compromises had to be made somewhere to have the pricing as it is. And there are solutions, though not necessarily the most elegant.

 

[Citizen87645]

At 8' the largest image you can get is a 62" diagonal. For a 90" you'll have to be 11.57' to 13.92'. Play with the calculator on this page:

http://www.infocushome.com/amer/eng/...lay/sp4805.asp

 

[PeterMano]

The rebate on the x1 has been extended an additional month till the end of july.

 

[Yohan Pamudji]

I envy you guys. The rainbow effect bothers the crap out of me, otherwise I'd probably already have an X1.

 

[Ryan FB]

Cameron:
You might want to set a custom resolution on the Bravo to get the best results. Since the 4805 has an 854x480 panel, feeding it 720p from the D1 means the video is getting rescaled twice (upscaled to 1280x720 at the Bravo then downscaled to 854x480 at the projector). If you (on the D1) go to Setup, highlight where you can change the DVI setting, and key 9713 on your remote. Use 854 for Video Width and 480 for Video Height, and then apply the settings (you need to have the latest firmware for this to work, if you bought your Bravo recently don't worry about it). The Bravo should now be using the Custom DVI setting, and feeding your projector it's native resolution, so you have 1:1 pixel mapping and only one scale (at the Bravo) going on (unless you have digital keystone set, in which case it will still be rescaled at the projector).

 

[Citizen87645]

I looked into that but haven't gotten around to it. I'm pretty sure I will need to update the firmware. I tried the 852 X 480, which is close, but didn't notice a difference. Maybe those extra two will? I'll keep you posted.

 

[DaveGTP]

The was going to upgrade to a 4805 from my X1 because of RBE. I've been reading about the thing ever since the turn of the year. I decided to hold out for now, for a 720p 4x wheel DLP pj. Maybe when the prices go down.


I would recommend an X1 over a 4805 if:

1) You can return the X1 if you end up being one of the people that can see rainbows on 2x wheel (make sure you have a return policy)

2) You watch a lot of:
TV on DVD
Documentaries
classic movies
anime
Play video games


The extra screen real estate is good for 4:3 stuff. My X1 sees more use as a 4:3 device these days than 16:9. Too many videogames. And the wife has been watching a lot of Dawson's Creek, and has quite a bit of anime backlogged.


All told, if the 4805 and the X1 were the same price, I would trade the screen real estate for the elimination of rainbows. But with the price gulf that currently exists, if you do any substantial amount of 4:3, the X1 is probably the better way to go.

 

[Citizen87645]

Turns out I had the firmware installed. I vaguely remember doing it shortly after I got the D1, but never had a need to do custom until now.

I THINK I see a positive difference in the picture, but I'm not entirely sure. The pixel mapping concept is sound, however, so that's enough for me to leave it there. The 4805 is showing 74 Hz and I'm curious whether there is an ideal setting for this?

I've started experimenting a bit with building a hush box. I just cannibalized a couple of computer cooling fans to make sure I had the wiring concept right. The fans aren't anything special and make their own type of noise, so I'm going to have to invest in quality fans if I decide to build my own.

 

[Parker Clack]

Cameron:

So have you put any SD images off cable or satellite yet? I am interested in how this projector looks putting a SD image with 4 x 3 into it as I would probably watch a lot of regular TV shows on it too.

Parker

 

[Citizen87645]

I haven't tried SDTV on it yet. Heck, I haven't even tried HD on it yet! The way I have things set up in my room isn't the most convenient for that, but I can plug in a VCR and use an indoor antenna without a problem.

I can predict it won't look so hot, given certain DVDs I've tried. It's mildly annoying as it initially makes me suspect the projector being out of focus, until I put in something like the Fifth Element. I can totally understand where some of our DVD reviewers are coming from now (well I could understand before but didn't have the chance to see it firsthand).

I've been watching episodes of Angel S2 and some shots and even some whole episodes are incredibly soft, which I guess only proves these were meant for standard TV viewing not for the multiplex.

 

[Citizen87645]

I connected a VCR with an indoor antenna to the 4805. Not great; not horrible either. If you have to watch SD on it then it's certainly tolerable.

Tried a VHS tape and that looked worse (biggest problem being a lot of combing). I imagine compression artifacts would be more apparent with satellite. I would have snapped a pic, but the projector seemed to have issues syncing with the player in pause.

If you have the ability I would probably split up your viewing - watch SDTV on your existing set and then bust out the projector and screen for DVDs and HD.