Help with black levels

[comedema]

So I have an Epson Powerlite 200+ and recently I have noticed that dark scenes are almost unwatchable on this thing. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Regular day scenes and well lit scenes look great but as soon as it goes to a dark scence I can barely see what is going on! I have it set up in a basement so it has no light to contend with. What could i do to the settings to help the dark levels or do i need a new projector? Also the lamp has less than 1000 hours use on it.

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by comedema

So I have an Epson Powerlite 200+ and recently I have noticed that dark scenes are almost unwatchable on this thing. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Regular day scenes and well lit scenes look great but as soon as it goes to a dark scence I can barely see what is going on! I have it set up in a basement so it has no light to contend with. What could i do to the settings to help the dark levels or do i need a new projector? Also the lamp has less than 1000 hours use on it.

Have you calibrated your projector?

[comedema]

I have but I can't seem to find a decent setting to help with the black levels

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by comedema

I have but I can't seem to find a decent setting to help with the black levels

I'll have a look to see if I can find some settings for you, but looking at your projectors reviews and stats the contrast ratio is a weak point of it. In the mean time, the more reflections you can stop the better. What colours are your wall etc. The easiest way to improve picture quality (especially blacks) is to surround the screen by black (can be applied by just hanging a black fabric). Have a look at any good cinema (or Brainstugeon home theatre set-up to get an idea of what I mean). Hope that helps.

Also when you calibrated, how did you? Did you use something like DVE basics?

[comedema]

I have my wall painted a dark maroon and the screen has a black velvet border. I did not use any calibration discs maybe I should go that route. Which one would you recommend?

[Swede]

I can recommend DVE HD Basics, it's really good, it's cheap and includes a nice color filter for more accurate color calibration...

Just don't expect any miracles, you will probably be able to get a better, more accurate picture after calibration, but the basic black level (blackest black possible) on your projector can't be changed, and your projector's low contrast ratio and relatively high brightness in lumens is not a very good combination for good blacks, so if you want significantly blacker blacks you will need to upgrade to a modern 1080p projector with the latest LCD panels, such as the Panasonic AE4000 or the Epson 8500UB, both of which have excellent blacks for around $2000.

[comedema]

Thanks for all of the help.