Need your help with front projection questions and in choosing a projector. (1 Viewer)

[ShairKhan]

We have been looking for a decent projector for home theater in rather restrictive budget. I am trying to stay as close to $1K as possible. Having said that, I have looked at 2 projectors so far in the same price range. I would greatly appreciate your expert opinions/advice.

1.Epson Powerlite S1 (LCD)
2.HP VP6110 (DLP)

The Epson S1 is a fairly good projector. I specially liked the short throw distance. We placed it on the center table and got a 130” screen, which is exactly the size I am looking for. It had a reasonably good picture contrast (~400) & (~1.1K) lumens, though not even close to the DLP based projectors... Ok for dark room though! The screen door effect is there! It does bother me at times… my wife can see it, but is not bothered by it. So I ended up returning this projector. The lamp cost is very reasonable on this (~$200). It did not have any dead pixels, but I am definitely concerned about it… Is it a real bad issue with LCD?

It needs special cable for component video; so I did not check the response from component & progressive scan. All my experience with S1 is on S-Video signal

The HP VP6110 has outstanding contrast (~2K) & lumens (~1.5K). The picture is vibrant and watch-able even in light. The signal through S-Video has much better contrast and colors (with all factory settings), whereas when you connect the component video it fades quite significantly and you have to readjust settings to a much higher level. Is this normal?

Also, a few other observations… Are these expected in a DLP projectors or there is something wrong with this particular unit?

1.Seems to give more eye fatigue / headache… This is just my observation. Apparently it improves when running a Component Video signal with Progressive Scan on from the DVD player! Does it make any sense?
2.A bright line of pixels at the left edge of the image. This is only evident in brighter images. It looks like a line from left top to left bottom of the picture frame about one pixel wide.
3.The bright line mentioned above also sometimes appears on right side if I adjust Keystone.
4.The picture seems snowier as compared to the 27” TV or LCD projector. Especially in the white or bright areas. Is this a DLP characteristic?
5.What exactly is the Rainbow effect? Is there any photo available to see?
6.Do DLP’s also get dead pixels?
7.The lamp on HP is much more expensive (~$500+)

Are you supposed to change the lamp when the projector “lamp hour” counter shows 2000 hours, or just wait till it completely goes out?

Which projector would you choose and why?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for your help.

 

[LouAR]

Shair - Your name sounds like its from Jungle Book
I am sympathetic with the no replies to a post. I've experienced a few of these too.

While I cannot answer most of your more detailed questions as I am in the market for my first FP as well, I can share three other projectors that I have been following in this range:
-Infocus x1 is one that many here in HTF seem to love (native 4:3).
-Epson Home 10 also has a strong following.
-Hitachi Home 1 was reviewed yesterday on Projector Central and received a very strong review. I am leaning towards this one mostly because of its throw flexibility.

Many are also eagerly waiting for the March anticiapated release of the Infocus 4085.

All four of these units are in the under $1300 price range. I am sorry that this is all I have to offer you and certainly wish you the very best in your search and with whatever system you choose.
~Lou~

 

[Neil Joseph]

I changed the fonr on you to make it a bit easier on the eyes.

See this thread here on $1K projectors... $1k projector round-up

1- What you probably visualize is the rainbow effect. Do a reach using those 2 words and you will pull up a tonne of info.

2- This line may disappear if you adjust the horizontal size of the image if your PJ has this adjustment. I know on my projector, I can adjust this and in-effect cut off parts of the left or right of the image. You get to see how much overscan your unit has.

3- related to #2

4- What are you feeding it signal-wise? Maybe what you see is the pixel structure? 130" is very large for a SVGA image (800x600) and you will see a lot of visible pixel structure unless you sit further away. The higher resolution projectors reduce this effect. For instance, I cannot see any pixel scructure from about 7ft or further.

5- The colour wheel in the projector produces this effect much the same way that a prism gives you rainbows. The faster the speed of the colour wheel and/or the more segments on the wheel, the less the effect. You will notice it much more in black and white images, closing credits etc.

6- It is possible, yes but LCD technology is more likely to have dead pixels. That said, from the seating location, you probably won't see it and, with XGA and WXGA projectors, they will be too small to see.

7- Yes, lamp life and cost can be a deciding factor on a projector purchase. I have seen lamp life as high as 7000 hours or as low as 1000 hours but the genreal cost is around $200-&700.