Sanyo PLV-70. Pulled the BIG TRIGGER!! (1 Viewer)

[Gordon Groff]

Maybe I can pretend I bought a cheap-ass RPTV that I will throw away in a year or two!

For the price of a Z1, that's not a bad idea! A good PJ to "tide you over" until the "perfect" one shows up!

What I find amazing is that you can even consider it, and perhaps even keep it after experiencing a very good DLP unit like the HT1000!

I am using a High Contrast Matte White dalite screen with my PLV70, and I think the blacks and contrasts are great. Of course, I don't really know any better, either.

My biggest problem now, is that I have started seeing horizontal bands on the image in light scenes. Photo examples here. I even called the folks I bought it from and Sanyo about it. Oh- check out the blacks on the top image on that screen! It is a very bright image and the black letterboxing is virtual indistinguishable from the screen's matte black surrounds.

Well, tonight I figured out what it is...... They are ripples on the screen itself! They move with the screen, not the PJ (if I do lens shift or move the PJ). Duhhhh:b

I'm going to have to look at tensioned screen options, I guess :frowning:


Gordon

 

[Parker Clack]

Gordon:

I know it sounds wild but before you invest in a new screen try painting the wall behind it with a flat white paint. Then put a black border around the white area. Then overshoot the image onto the black area just a little bit for proper framing (like what they do in the movie theaters) and see what that does for you. It sure is a lot cheaper and you may just be surprised at the results. Plus you can always get the tensioned screen later if this doesn't work.

Parker

 

[Neil Joseph]

Parker's solution is an option you can try. I like fixed screens over pulldowns. If you are brave, you can even try making your own fixed screen as well. A gray screen (

 

[Gordon Groff]

I know it sounds wild but before you invest in a new screen try painting the wall behind it with a flat white paint.

Hi Parker! Not wild at all! I would already have done that if I could. The photos on the theater link in my sig file should show why I can't.

Any of you guys know much about screens? I really like the performance of my High Contrast Matte White screen. Great blacks (IMHO), contrast, and no viewing angle constraints. With the light output of this PJ, you don't need, or even want any screen gain, I would think. Any ambient light will show up on the screen as poor or off-color blacks.

I think I'll post a seperate thread here and AVS to glean what I can of my options.

Gordon

 

[Max Leung]

The Z1 is tough to calibrate! I found a way into the service menu, but have not found out which service entries are the RGB bias and gain settings.

Using the regular user menus to adjust contrast and brightness and the laughable RGB "white balance" doesn't help the IRE patterns from Avia at all. It looks just as bad as my RPTV when I first got it (and it was a bitch to eyeball it until I got my colorimeter). 10 IRE and 0 IRE are virtually the same, unless I boost the brightness. Shadow detail is gone when I use my Panasonic RP91 player too. I'll have to figure out why that is...probably a case of bad Z1 presets on component input, I hope.

However, if I use the HTPC, many of the shadow details come back. It looks very good.

I still get what I think is called "peek-a-boo" screendoor on both inputs...for example in the Leeloo reconstruction scene when the camera is focused on the faces in the room, sometimes I see a person's face pixellate for a split second, then returns to normal. I never saw this on any of the DLP projectors. Is this something that is common on LCDs? Is there a fix?

Anyways, those waves are pretty bad Gordon! I went to Staples and bought a cheap portable screen. It's a pull-up screen on a tripod. I extend a vertical bar, and pull up the screen and secure it on the hook on the bar. It has a bit of a wave on the left side. It's a white screen. Of course, being a cheap screen, I can see a slight grid pattern on it, although that doesn't seem to affect still images. It looks like a vinyl screen...I wonder if I can safely paint it gray?

The screen will be handy for setting up a quick-and-dirty theater whereever I go.

 

[Max Leung]

Whoops, I should say that the grid pattern is only visible when I get very close to it. They are roughly 1 or 2 millimeters square, with faint gray lines.

 

[Gordon Groff]

Anyways, those waves are pretty bad Gordon!

Yes they are! Well, actually, they are not that bad. I picked an image that is almost pure white with Bilbo's face faded to almost invisible. This is "worst case" for the problem. I boosted the contrast on the second photo posted there just to accentuate them. Most of the time, they are not visible at all. I'm not sure if it is getting worse, or I'm just getting pickier, but they seem to be from the vinyl front layer of the screen getting "bunched up" a bit when it rolls up. I'll be talking to my sales guy (Jason at AVS) and DaLight to see what my options are. I like the simplicity of your setup, but not sure I want to go that direction

Good luck!

Gordon

 

[Manendra]

Any of you guys know much about screens? I really like the performance of my High Contrast Matte White screen. Great blacks (IMHO), contrast, and no viewing angle constraints. With the light output of this PJ, you don't need, or even want any screen gain, I would think. Any ambient light will show up on the screen as poor or off-color blacks.

Hello Gordon,

I have the PLV-70 with the Stewart Grayhawk screen. It's an incredible screen and the gray increases the perceived black level. Gain is 0.95. I strongly suggest you look into this possibility. It is a fixed, perfectly flat screen.

I have attached below a paragraph taken from ProjectorCentral's review of the PLV-70 by Evan Powell. Here's what Evan had to say about screen choice:

For the PLV-70 the gray screen materials are most appropriate. The Stewart Grayhawk (0.95 gain) is the ideal match for it in a dark theater, or one with a low amount of indirect ambient light. The Grayhawk lends the image an incremental boost in contrast without imparting any increase in brightness. On the other hand, Stewart's Firehawk material has a gain of 1.35. It may be the better choice if your screen image is more than 10 feet wide, or if you have an unfortunate amount of ambient light to contend with

Good Luck with your purchase.

 

[Gordon Groff]

Hi Manendra! That sounds like a great setup you have!!

I would LOVE to get a Greyhawk too!! I will have to wait a while, though. Unfortunately, I cannot have a fixed screen. I need to look at in-ceiling roll-up types.

I've been talking with DaLite and they are committed to making it right, up to replacing the screen for me. There are a couple things to try to get the wrinkles out of this one first. I'm letting it hang down for a day or two and will try a little hair-dryer blowing on it if needed per their recommendations. If I can get the wrinkles out of the one I have, I'll be happy!

Gordon

 

[Max Leung]

Well, I've played with the Z1 some more.

I wonder if my RP91 is set up wrong, or if the Z1's component video processing just sucks, or the Z1 isn't optimized right for component input. With the RP91, the image is somewhat washed out. Shadow detail isn't bad, but I can't see the detail on Gandalf's left arm as he is hanging onto the ledge in FOTR.

With an HTPC, it is a different story. The image is sharp, detailed, and vibrant. Obviously, the sharpness would be due to the superior scaling of the HTPC. However, shadow detail is excellent, and rivals my soon-to-be-departed LT240. It's much much better than the image from the RP91.

Would setting the "darker" blacks on the RP91 have anything to do with it? Strangely, I noticed no difference with having it off or on on the HT1000, the LT240, or my CRT RPTV.

Gordon, have you tried your projector with an HTPC? The difference should be dramatic! It's like having a whole new projector! Well, except on the HT1000, where its internal processing rivals an HTPC.

 

[Max Leung]

Oh yeah, good luck with your screen! Maybe you should get a high-power, they don't wrinkle much, or you won't notice, and you can watch football during the day with all the blinds and windows open! Screw black level!

 

[Gordon Groff]

Hi Max!

My friend's Z1 looked great plugged directly into the component output of his DVD player, set on progressive. Sorry, but I forget what model player he had. My PLV-70 looks great from the RP-82 too (after I plugged my cables in right) :b

My first guess is that there is a problem with your setup or cabling. Have you rechecked your component cables from the RP-91? I remember someone posting about washed out colors with a loose or mixed component cables. If you have not already, maybe try plugging the player directly into the PJ instead of through the reciever (if that's how you have it) to eliminate one of the links in the chain. I would think that a DVD image should not be radically different viewed through a HTPC than directy from a good DVD player on a progressive output component signal.

I don't have a HTPC and it's not on my list at this point. Last thing I need right now is another device to figger out!

Good luck!
Gordon