Mitsu X70UX Projector question (1 Viewer)

[John D.]

This is my first post and let me say that after discovering this forum about a week ago, I have to say that IT ROCKS!
I'm a newbie at the HT stuff and don't really have the $$ to make upgrades at this time. Getting married in 6 mo's. MUST PAY FOR WEDDING FIRST :frowning:
That being said, I have the opportunity to buy a Mitsu X70UX LCD Projector from a friend CHEAP!!!! (probably just a couple hundred $$). It's only has about a hundred hours of use and is in perfect condition as far as I can tell.
The big question---- Can this projector be used in a HT setup?? If so is it any good.
I do not have a light controlled room. in fact my living room (where I watch TV) gets a lot of light during the day. at night it's pretty dark (duh!).
I pretty much watch 70% cable tv and 30% DVD's.
If I don't take it off of my friends hands, he is going to e-bay is for much more $$ so no I don't want to buy from him and then sell on e-bay (he is my friend after all).
Thanks in advance for any input.
I will have a few (about 1,000) more questions later but that's all for now.
JD

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

It's a very very good projector for the price you're getting. Here are the specs:

XGA native LCD (.9" panels)
1100 ANSI Lumens
250:1 ANSI contrast
37dB noise
1080i & 720p compatible inputs

Though the contrast is not great, it is an ANSI number, not just on/off, so it's not as bad as it looks. It's actually a pretty good projector for home theater. Mitsubishi's tend to have great colors, and you really can't argue with that price.

The problem is daytime watching. Sunlight is really going to wash out the picture. You may want to ask him to see if he'll let you borrow it to test.

 

[John D.]

Thanks for the info. I'm sure he will let me borrow it. So I will try that.

I know that there will be problems during the day though. Certain times of the year the sun shines directly where I would project. There is one window about 10' off the ground that has no blinds or shades. I'll have to do something about that.

What effect would a high gain (is that the right term) projector screen have on my problem?

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

A high gain screen will probably help. Most of them have relatively narrow angles of reflection. This will:

1. Limit the viewing angles. You'll have to view pretty close to directly in front of the screen to get the maximum light. If you're off to the side, it'll be dimmer
2. Reject ambient light. Light that strikes the screen from the side will not affect the picture quite as much as on a normal wide angle screen.

This will also help to "boost" the maximum visible light output.

It's a tradeoff though, since this projector, along with practically all digital projectors, benefit from the use of a lower gain gray screen.

Maybe something like the Dalite high contrast cinema vision might work for you. You can call them for samples.

 

[John D.]

Again, thanks for the info. I'll check out Dalite.

JD

 

[John D.]

OK so I borrowed the projector and I'm definitely going to buy it. The picture quality seemed great and that was with no calibration and projecting onto a plain off-white wall.

I checked out Dalite and while it's something I might get in the future, I just can't justify spending the $$ right now.

Can anyone recommend any method of creating my own screen or is my wall a good enough surface. In other words, can I use a plain white sheet (should be a smoother surface than my slightly textured wall). What about a gray sheet? If gray sheet is OK, how dark should it be? Any other suggestions using Items I might already have in my place?

Or should I just use the wall until I can afford a real screen?

JD

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

What size are you thinking of? I'd suggest calling up Parkland Plastics and asking them to send you a 5' x 10' panel. Tell them it's for your home theater. They should know which panel you're talking about (eventhough the panel wasn't designed for that, LOTS of people are using it).
http://www.parklandplastics.com/
It should be under $50.