Early thoughts on the Panny PT-L200u LCD FP (1 Viewer)

[Jim A. Banville]

I hate to even bring it up, but Ron-P, have you looked for dead pixels or panel misalignments? Surely it has to have at least 1 dead pixel?

 

[Ron-P]

Not a single dead pixel and no misalignments.

I'll try and get some screen shots up by the weekend. I'm in the process of building a new, better screen. Should have it done over the next couple days.


Peace Out~

 

[teapot2001]

What are panel misalignments?

~T

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

Thi,

As I understand it, it is the LCD equivalent of convergence (or lack thereof). Three separate LCD panels produce the three primary color components that are then combined to form the projected image. Ideally you want the pixels produced by the 3 panels to perfectly overlap, but there is usually a small amount of misalignment in the panels. When the alignment is off by a pixel or more, it is easily noticeable if you put up a white grid convergence pattern. Instead of solid white lines you will see lines with red, blue or green outlines. Text also tends to look fuzzy. Also, the alignment is usually not uniform across the panel and usually worse as you get away from the center.

This is just theoretical information I have gathered so far. I have had my L300U since last Friday, but I have hardly put 2 hours on it so far. I did check for dead pixels (didn't see any), but did not get a chance to look for panel misalignment.

 

[teapot2001]

Deepak, how did you check for dead pixels? I know Ritz inspected the projector for them, but I'd like to verify that it has none.

My projector is in Maryland, so I think it should be here by the end of the week.

~T

 

[Mark Amayao]

Ron

How Big is the screen your building? How far is your seatng position in relation?

Congrats on your new projector! Im getting the PLVZ1 in a week actually. I was wondering if it was possible for you to maybe document the DIY screen process. That would be awesome. Cant wait for the screens shots and room changes!

 

[Neil Joseph]

Surely it has to have at least 1 dead pixel?

Why is that?

 

[Jim A. Banville]

I may be wrong, but I'm not alone in thinking that there are a very few number of ZERO dead pixel LCD projectors out there. My Z1 had a single dead blue pixel (blue dot on black background). I sent it to Sanyo for repair. When I received it back I gave it a quick once over and saw no dead pixels. Woohoo! A day or so later, while standing right up next to the screen while showing an all black image, I noticed a tiny dead blue pixel near the top of the screen and a slightly more visible dead green pixel near the bottom. Oh well, you really don't see them too much from the seated position, and I may ask Sanyo to fix them some day, but when you read ALL the posts on the internet about dead pixels, you begin to think you will more than likely have at least one.

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

Deepak, how did you check for dead pixels? I know Ritz inspected the projector for them, but I'd like to verify that it has none.

Thi,

You can put up the various color screens (red, blue, green), so that only one LCD panel is active at a time and get up close to the screen to check for dead pixels. I used the screens available for flicker adjustment, but I believe additional test patterns (including the convergence grid) are available in the service menu (Menu -> Option -> OSD hold enter button down for a few seconds). I will be doing a more thorough check for dead pixels and panel misalignment before my 10 hours are up (I haven't installed the screen yet, and I still need to move my speakers and rewire everything).

 

[Holadem]

You can put up the various color screens (red, blue, green), so that only one LCD panel is active at a time and get up close to the screen to check for dead pixels.

What's the point of this? . Checking for something you aren't likely to notice during a regular screening seems like a pointless exercise to me.

If there are dead pixels, I would rather not look for them until I see them during the movie, not a red blue or green screnn...

--
Holadem

 

[Ron-P]

Ron

How Big is the screen your building? How far is your seatng position in relation?

Congrats on your new projector! Im getting the PLVZ1 in a week actually. I was wondering if it was possible for you to maybe document the DIY screen process. That would be awesome. Cant wait for the screens shots and room changes!

Congrats to you as well Mark

My screen will be 82" (16:9). The front row will be 9' from the screen and the back row will be 13.5'. Basically, you want to be seated 1.5 to 2x's the width of the screen. My front row is a bit close, but the back row is perfect. Didn't get a chance to do much last night and the next two nights are booked. Looks like I won't get the screen finished until Saturday:frowning: My unwatched movies are piling up.

I'm right there with Holadem. From my seating, I see a perfect picture. I'm not walking up to the screen to survey it in detail.


Peace Out~

 

[teapot2001]

Thanks Deepak.

According to UPS's calculator, the projector won't arrive until Monday, so I won't have the weekend to play with it. :frowning:

~T

 

[Robert-Y]

Ron,

Are you constructing a screen that's assembly method is discussed somewhere in HTF?

Thanks!

Robert.

 

[CaptDS9E]

Hopefully prices on some of these drop by October when i plan to get a FP of my own

capt

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

What's the point of this? . Checking for something you aren't likely to notice during a regular screening seems like a pointless exercise to me.

If there are dead pixels, I would rather not look for them until I see them during the movie, not a red blue or green screnn...

Holadem,

That's a quick way of knowing once and for all whether there are any dead pixels or not. RitzAV has a 10-hour (on the projector lamp - that is) replacement policy. I would rather not notice the dead pixels for the first time during a movie when it is too late to return the projector for a replacement (things like this can bug the hell out of me - especially given that this is the most expensive HT purchase I have made so far).

-D

 

[Ron-P]

Ron,

Are you constructing a screen that's assembly method is discussed somewhere in HTF?

Thanks!

Robert.

Robert, no real threads on the screen construction. All I'm doing is building a frame from 1x4's and stretching 'blackout cloth' over the frame, stapling and then painting with a custom Lowe's gray and your set.


Peace Out~

 

[Robert-Y]

Ron,

Thanks!

Robert.

 

[LaMarcus]

Yo Ron, what da hell is black out cloth? I've seen this mentioned many times before. And I thought you said you didn't like black out anyway?

 

[Tim Glover]

I believe that black out cloth simply is material that blacks out light from windows or whatever??? From what I've read is pretty good for a DIY screen when painted like Ron is doing. It's available from Joann's Fabrics.

 

[Ron-P]

Exactly Tim. LaMarcus, it is a white cloth/vinyl material that is used behind drapes to block out light. It's a great and inexpensive fabric for screens. Jo-Ann's has it for $5.99/yd.



Peace Out~