The next Austin meet? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Stogel]

Hold a spot for me, and I'm sure that Toddles wants a spot at the table, too. Gotta run the bambino by the doc's office, so I've got to go, but I'll see you guys soon.

Steve

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

:b

I know, I know. In fact I still have that old projector. I have been holding on to it as it was one of the first generation DLP projectors, but maybe I should use it as a reminder of what happens when you don't change the bulb. :frowning:

Now to be fair, I do know of several fellow projector owners who have had their bulbs blow-up inside their projectors without any ill effects - then again, maybe I'm just trying to justify a poor decision.

 

[Gomez]

Hank,

Thanks for the info, I would be interested in playing as well. I just got my new chips yesterday, got a 600 count of chips w/ a 500 count case. Let me know and I can bring them. I'm used to $10 - $20 buy ins so $5 is perfect.

Thx!

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Gomez,

The reason the $5 buy-ins have worked well for our group is that we also play no-limit hold-em so with a low buy-in it makes it easy for someone on the short end of an All In showdown to buy back in and continue playing. It is quite common to see several re-buys during the night - and yet with a low buy-in no one goes home penniless.

Also regardless of the buy-in amount, every one gets $500 in chips. This helps avoid the problems associated with nickel-dime-quarter bets.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Jonathan, BTW, I noticed your "dig" a few posts back - it just highlights the fact that you once again missed my dry humor:p)

Latest poker count:
Bogey
Wild Man
Colton
Tubes
Steve
Toddles
Possible: Big Dog (aka Kaboom!)

room for one, possibly two more

 

[John Prator]

Dave,
Well the screen I have been considering is the Vutec Silverstar. It is 110" diag(can go a little larger if need be). They(Vutec) claim a gain of 6 but most have reported in all reality it is more like 2-3. Is there a econo mode on the 8700+, so I could possibly run it on the lower setting? Thanks for your help Dave(and anyone else who wants to jump in ).

Here is the info so hopefully someone can figure out my foot lamberts here.

8700+:
Lumens(claimed):1000
Screen gain: say 2.5
Screen sq ft: 36

 

[Gomez]

I'm all in!

 

[Steve Stogel]

I think you're looking at 69.4444444444444 foot lamberts, John. IIRC, the calculation is ANSI lumens times screen gain divided by square feet. So, if that 1000 is ANSI, you're looking at just a skosh under 70 foot lamberts. Better block out all ambient light...NOT!!!

I've got a CRT, so these numbers are kind of Greek to me. My PJ (Marquee 8000) would be, from estimates I've seen, about 220 ANSI lumens. My screen (Carada) is a 1.4 gain and is 83.7" x 47.1". So my foot lamberts, assuming those numbers are all correct, is right around 11.25. I've seen some that claim the Carada is closer to a 1.0 than a 1.4 gain, and if that's the case, then I'm looking at closer to 8 foot lamberts.

I can say that I think, in a completely darkened room, the picture is very nice. I can also flip on quite a few lights and still have a watchable image (something not even considered with my Sony 1251).

Back on topic...about 70 fL. Should be plenty bright. With that PJ, though, even at that size, I may consider something in the 1.5 range. That would still give you 41+ fL, and I think that would also be plenty bright enough and save you a ton of cash. My $0.02.

Steve

P.S. There probably is (I know there is on the Sharp 12K PJ) a setting on the BenQ where it closes the iris and gives you much better contrast ratios but less light output (which is what makes CRTer types agree that DPL has just about caught up to good 8" EM CRTs). You might want to find out what the ANSI rating is in that mode, as that will likely be the most pleasing mode when light is totally controlled and you're watching DVDs.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

For my $0.02 I'll say that I've seen a +/-100fl set-up that looked absolutely stunning - no hot-spotting, didn't crush whites, and in a completely light free room did not cause me any discomfort while running through countless test patterns and video samples for over an hour. The screen was a prototype that has not yet made it to production, and this was over a year ago - so I have no idea what is holding this product back.

More realistically though, there are a lot of veterans on AVS who have +50fl set-ups and refuse to consider anything less.

Unfortunately the screens and projectors that are available in today's market that can produce that kind of FL on a 110" screen also come with some significant disadvantages. Such as; poor shadow detail; crushed whites; hot spotting; poor off axis viewing; screen durability; expensive; pricey bulbs; etc.

However the 100fl set-up I saw was so impressive that I wouldn't have hesitated on acquiring it if it had been offered to me!

My ideal set-up though would be one where the projector's lumens could be controlled incrementally like Projectiondesign's Action Model One which can be adjusted at anytime from anywhere between 600-1200 lumens. Although, I'd like to have a projector that goes from about 1000 to a max of 2000 lumens. This way, when I want to use the theater for watching sports I can turn up all the lights and still have nearly an RPTV like image.

Oh well, I can dream can't I?

 

[Greg Risley]

Hey Hank.
Did you get the email I sent you a couple weeks ago, about cables?
Greg

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Greg: NO, I did not get your e-mail. Please call me at work or at home.


NILS: Big Dog, methinks you have slipped over the edge. Must be the impending pressure of increased paternal responsibilities

Guys: BTW, I called Linda and Nils today and the lady isn't in labor yet...stay tuned.

 

[John Prator]

Steve,
Thanks for your help, looks like I won't be suffering from a dim picture! Though Benq claims 1000 lumens we all know it's more than likely much less than that so I think I'm going to be fine with that proj/screen combo. It is going to be quite the punchy, bright picture though but I like that. I may go ahead and step up one size on the screen also, I'm not sure but I think the next size up is 122.5" diag.

I'm excited, I get to spray the primer in our room this weekend!!!!!!

 

[Dave Elliott]

John,

I've seen several tests that claim that the Benq 8700 has more like 500-600 lumens after calibration. I think it can put out 1000 lumens, but at the expense of optimal color/contrast.

So, here is my calculation:

122.5" diagonal 16:9 screen = ~106x60 = 44 sq ft
600 lumens / 44 sq ft = 13.6 ft lamberts @1.0g
13.6 x screen gain of 3.0 = 41 ft lamberts

Thats high, IMO, but could be very nice if you have a screen that can handle it. High gain screens exacerbate conditions like poor contrast, hot spotting, white crushing, waviness, etc. So you must have a near perfect screen install.

The Benq 8700+ does not have an adjustable iris or a econo mode. You can drop the brightness a bit to compensate but I wouldn't recommend relying on that to compensate for gain. For example, when I had it on the table shooting at a 2.8g screen, watching an NHL game in HiDef was just too bright. It hurt your eyes, even with some ambient lights on. During movies, your eyes will adjust, but transitions from dark scenes to light scenes can make you squint. Also keep in mind that high gain screens reflect a LOT more light, so much so that if you don't have very dark walls it creates a light spray that can light up the room and affect your black levels.

In summary, high gain screens are great but only when they're done right, otherwise they have a tendency to bring out the negatives.

-Dave

 

[John Prator]

Dave,
You have some excellent points, I obviously need to really think this out. Just got your message and I'm on my way out the door,will get back here soon................
John
PS-THank you again Dave!!

 

[Jonathan DA]

John, have you checked the prices on the SilverStar screens? I know screens are important, but $2000 for a screen just bugs me for some reason.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

For SOME reason? How about bloody common sense? Except if you're rich

 

[Gomez]

1 sheet of MDF (which can make 2 screens) from Home Depot, wood glue and blackout fabric from Jo-ann's fabric and you'll have yourself a kick a$$ screen. Total price including all the cuts made

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

[c]Break out the cigars fellas!






Here are the ladies of the hour, and my life...



Linda and I are the proud new parents of our daughter and first granddaughter of the Luehrmann & Frankowski clans...

Anika Elizabeth Luehrmann


Born April 24, 2004 at 7:37am weighing 7 lbs 5 ozs[/c]


Linda and child are doing marvelously. We will be at St. Davids until Monday and then we will be back at the abode.

Thank you all for the incredibly warm wishes and when we finally get some sleep we hope to see you all very soon, of course that might mean some time next year...

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

BTW: For my fellow Texans that have trouble with Scandinavian names it is pronounced (Ah-ni-ka) not (Anne-i-ka) or (Ah-neeka).

It means Graceful/Gracious.

Her brother's name, Erik, is also Scandinavian and means Ever-Powerful/Honorable Ruler.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Nils,

Congratulatuons! Great News!

Thanks for announcing this on HTF