Thoughts on Epson PowerLite 7700p (1 Viewer)

[Rodney G]

Greetings!
I am new here. I am a contributing member of another forum and hopefully understand how to handle myself here. I reviewed the initial articles and topics. They are very helpful.
My home is presently under construction. I plan to have a home theater in the lower level. I've stumbled across a NIB Epson PowerLite 7700p at a close-out price and wanted to know if this projector would be suitable for use in a home theater. The size of my room will be approximately 16'wide by 25' long by 8' high. I'm okay with the 4:3 format and that it's XGA. It's something like 3000 lumens.
Additionally, I'd like to use an electric screen that drops down from the ceiling. I've read this forum some and think I'd like to use a Stewart GrayHawk or BlackHawk, but I am so open to opinions and help.
Experience on my other forum has shown me how valuable the advice of veteran members can be. Vast amounts of time and money and be saved by relying on those in the know. Your anticiapted response is greatly appreciated.
Rodney G

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

As with all projectors, the Epson PowerLite 7700 has good points and bad points, for use with home theater. I'll try to outline a few thoughts:

1. 3000 ANSI lumens will get you a huge, bright picture. That's great in that it'll be able to compete somewhat with anbient lighting if necessary. It'll also allow you to watch football games and things with some light on, which is kind of nice. Who wants a superbowl party with the lights off?

2. 400:1 contrast. I'm not sure if this is ANSI or on/off. This is kind of low for home theater, but Epson is one of the few companies that tends to output very close to spec (many manufacturers over-rate their products). This means it'll put out a surprisingly good picture despite the rating.

3. 1.3" LCD's with MLA. LCD technology means no rainbow worries. It also means you tend to get great colors, and reds that are really red instead of orange. However, it also means that the black level won't be as low. LCD's also mean lower pixel fill ratios (screendoor effect). However, this one is equipped with MLA, so that'll increase the fill ratio over normal LCD panels. With MLA, you get upwards of an 85% fill ratio (compared with up to 88% or so with single chip DLP, 90% with 3-chip DLP, and >93% with DILA/LCOS).

4. 200w UHE Lamp w/1500 hour bulb life. It'll lose about 20-25% of the available illumination early in life, but should stay about there until the death of the bulb. This is kind of nice because it means you'll get a lot of light for a long time. However, 1500 hours is on the short side, though with 3000 ANSI lumens, you got to pay for it somehow.

5. DVI input. A DEFINITE plus!

6. 5-BNC (RGB, Y, R-Y, B-Y, or Y, Pc, Pr), 15-Pin VGA inputs - nice to have too.

7. 38dB. A little on the loud side. You may want to consider using a hushbox of some sort if noise bothers you.

8. Some light leakage. Again, a hushbox is a good idea

9. 11.0" x 15.8" x 6.1" (W x D x H) and 15.2lbs - A little on the big side, considering some of the competitors, but not a big deal.

I'd personally suggest a Stewart Grayhawk with it, or a Dalite High Contrast DaMat. You can get samples from both companies to compare. I'm using a Grayhawk with my 3000 ANSI lumen projector.

 

[Neil Joseph]

The Stewart Greyhawk is a great screen that will enhance the PQ of your projector, especially in a room with a little ambient light. Another one to look at which is slightly more money is the Stuart Firehawk.