Want a Projector, but have questions?

[funkyshooters]

Hi all. My HT currently has a 72" Toshiba DLP. I have the room and have always wanted to do it... I am going to move to a projector with a 120" screen. Problem is I am new to the projector world. I have been doing A LOT of research here, online, AVSForum... I think I am going to go with the Epson 6500UB. Seems like I will get the most bang for my buck there... Below are my questions and I would appreciate any help someone can give.

1. What do you think of the Epson 6500UB.
2. For the 120" What should I look for? I found an Elite screen here http://www.projectorscreenstore.com/...E24-39932.html

Is there something else I should look for in a screen?

3. And prob. the most confusing to me... Throw distance! I used the calculator at Project Central and got some good numbers... I have a 13' 4" distance from screen and a 120" screen. It says my zoom will be 1.86x. Really I don't understand the numbers... Will the zoom lower my resolution?

Thanks for any help!
-FunkyShooters

[Suntory_Times]

The zoom does not lower the resolution, it more or less focuses the light less or more (depending on if you're using it to make the image larger or smaller), and then based on this you then focus the projector. I haven't used the projector you're referring to, but a couple things you should always consider with projectors are: will your room be light controlled (imho this is a must for a projector), will you be viewing with light on (if so will the light actually be making contact with the screen) if so what gain screen would you like (I would go with 1.0 gain if it is in a light controlled room and you plan on watching as if you're in a movie theater). Also will you're speakers be behind the screen, if so you will need to get a special acoustic screen to let the sound pass through).

Hope that helped.

[j3yq]

I see that your choosing a Electric screen, I have seen a few that still have ripples in them when they are in use, maybe this is just the ones I seen. Have you considerd a Fixed Frame?

[Oddiophile]

Originally Posted by j3yq

I see that your choosing a Electric screen, I have seen a few that still have ripples in them when they are in use, maybe this is just the ones I seen. Have you considerd a Fixed Frame?

Your going to pay more money but an electric screen with tab tensioning will eliminate the rippling problem.

[Beta Man]

I'd recommend dropping down to a 110" screen or so, and not needing to zoom....

My projector (although different) has a throw of 12' and I have to zoom a little to get a 106" screen.

[ryoohki]

and remember that zoom takes away lumens. Projectors are rated at 1.0x, some web site mesure theirs at 1.50x (like projectors reviews) for example. You'll loose from 30 to 40% of light going from 1.0x to 2.0x depending on the model.

I suggest maybe looking at a screen gain of 1.1 or 1.3...

[funkyshooters]

The room is light controlled. It is my basement so it remains dark most of the time. I have the lights setup on dimmers. I am looking at a 1.1 grain screen.

[CRMA]

some of the projectors claim that they begin to lose resolution after 100" or so. Take a look at the epson and find out what there suggested screen size is to maximize your viewing experience.

[CRMA]

saw this too...

Epson 6500UB vs. Panasonic AE3000
Which projector has the sharpest picture?
Evan Powell, January 30, 2009
ProjectorCentral.com

If you've been reading this site lately, you know we've been working through a problem on the Epson 6500UB and 6100 concerning their tendency to defocus over a period of 30 minutes of viewing time. Epson thinks they've come up with a fix, and the new models being built going forward will have that improvement in them. We are waiting to get samples of these new units prior to proceeding with the reviews.

In the meantime, we are getting lots of questions concerning the relative performance of the Epson 6500UB against the Panasonic AE3000. So instead of waiting for the new units to arrive, I will respond to some of these questions as we are able.

There is a widespread rumor floating about that the 6500UB is sharper than the AE3000. Some of you have written in to ask whether this is true, so it warrants some discussion.

It is easy to understand where this notion came from. When the 6500UB and the AE3000 are viewed side by side with both of their sharpness controls set to zero, the 6500UB looks quite obviously to be the sharper of the two. However, it is important to recognize that the 6500UB's default sharpness control is set rather high. Of course, when you look at the 6500UB's menu, the sharpness control appears to be set to zero, but at this setting the 6500UB still has quite a bit of built-in edge enhancement. So when you fire it up and see the picture for the first time, it looks razor sharp. And there is nothing wrong with this. Lots of users like it just that way, so one cannot fault Epson for setting it up to deliver a very sharp picture. Moreover, there is no industry standard that dictates how much edge enhancement should be present at a zero setting.

However, in comparing the 6500UB to the AE3000, one must keep in mind that Panasonic does not do this. When the sharpness control on the AE3000 is set to zero, there is no artificial edge enhancement. That means that the picture, out of the box, will look softer than it would with sharpness pumped up. So if you look at the 6500UB and the AE3000 side by side when the sharpness controls on both of them are set to zero, the 6500UB will always appear to be the sharper of the two projectors.

The sharpness control on the 6500UB can be taken down as far as -5, but even at that setting there is a bit of residual edge enhancement going on. Nevertheless, -5 is the closest setting there is on the 6500UB that will roughly equal the zero setting on the AE3000. When the 6500UB is set at -5 and the AE3000 is at zero, they look the same. Conversely, if you like the sharper look of the 6500UB, you can get the same thing on the AE3000 by boosting its sharpness control to +5. At that setting, the AE3000 introduces the same amount of edge enhancement that the 6500UB gives you at its factory default setting of zero.

Unfortunately, with the menu settings skewed as they are between the two vendors, it can leave the consumer with the impression that the 6500UB is sharper, or that you have to "overdrive" the sharpness setting on the AE3000 to get it to match the 6500UB. What people miss is that the 6500UB's default setting is overdriven to begin with.

We have been looking at both of these projectors side by side on our super widescreen Da-lite JKP Affinity HD screen. On this screen any small differences in sharpness will become readily apparent. When the 6500UB and the AE3000 are adjusted to deliver the same amount of edge enhancement, there is no discernable difference in actual picture acuity. Both projectors look equally sharp. And by the way, this is true despite the presence of the AE3000's SmoothScreen filter which many assume must be the reason the picture appears to be softer out of the box. In fact, the AE3000 can appear just as razor sharp as the 6500UB, filter and all.

In some respects, Panasonic puts itself at a disadvantage by setting their default sharpness control with no edge enhancement since it tends to provoke concerns about the alleged softness of the picture. But video purists would prefer to see a picture with absolutely no artificial edge enhancement, so that is what the AE3000 is programmed to deliver at its default settings.

[funkyshooters]

That is great info... Thanks. I am starting to learn more. I am prob 3-6 months from doing anything so I am sure they would have the fix in by then. I have read a lot of reviews and it looks like a good 110" screen will be best for my room. I guess I can live with out those 10 inches!

What would you recommend in screen grain. My walls are a chocolate brown, and my ceiling is white. The room will have black out shades for day and the lights are controlled by a remote dimmer. I was looking at a 1.1 gain screen.

According to projectorcentral.com my image brightness at 12'9" throw on 110" screen is 20fl. not sure what that means... I assume the higher that number is the better! I would have really liked the 120" screen just because, but I don't want to sacrifice picture. Even at 120" screen I still get 19fl.

Someone please tell me what a FL is!

According to the reviews. 100" is max for AE3000 and 100-200" for 6500U

[mikewills]

I'm projecting a Panny AE3000 from about 14' onto a 125" 2.35:1 EZ Frame white screen (1.1 gain) in my basement. I just received the screen yesterday, but projected over the weekend onto my dark wall (see gallery). The picture was simply amazing. I'm hanging the screen tonight and hope to have a ton of stuff to post under my HT build thread by the weekend.

The whole package with Sanus mount and 12 meter cable thru ProjectorPeople was about $2850 shipped, which is very hard to beat. The panny AE30000 and Epson 6500 both have benefits and drawbacks, but the auto zoom save feature sealed the deal for me.

Mike

[funkyshooters]

So you think I could pull of the 120" with either one... I may just buy both local and try them out in my home. It is hard to decide... I have heard great about both... The Panny does save me about 1K. Any other real like experiences?

[ryoohki]

Originally Posted by funkyshooters

So you think I could pull of the 120" with either one... I may just buy both local and try them out in my home. It is hard to decide... I have heard great about both... The Panny does save me about 1K. Any other real like experiences?

Both have advantage and disavantage. The Panny have less better blacks than the 6500ub and less lumens in the real world. The 6500 can be seems sharper, but it seems that the defaut sharpness (at 0) is higher than other model (taken that from projector central , not me).

The Panny have a Motorized Zoom/focus lens and it's frame creation actually works (and look great too imho).

I use a ae3000 at full zoom with on approximatly 98 inch on a 2.4 gain screen and it's freaking brith even in ECO MODE.. LOL!..

[funkyshooters]

I feel you. I think I am going to go with the Epson just cause of bulb life. This is my main tv area too.

Any help on screen grain would be awesome.

Txs for all the info thus far!

[Hendricks4333]

Originally Posted by funkyshooters

I feel you. I think I am going to go with the Epson just cause of bulb life. This is my main tv area too.

Any help on screen grain would be awesome.

Txs for all the info thus far!

its screen gain not grain. You should be fine with a matte white screen with 1.0 to 1.3 gain. You could look into going with a peice of Wilson Art - Designer White Laminate for the screen. Could save you a good amount of money and you get a better result that the lower end screens.

Also the Epson has a 2 year warranty(panny has 1 year) and if you have any issues at all, they ship one over night to you and then you put the old one in the box and ship the old one back.

[funkyshooters]

Originally Posted by Hendricks4333

its screen gain not grain. You should be fine with a matte white screen with 1.0 to 1.3 gain. You could look into going with a peice of Wilson Art - Designer White Laminate for the screen. Could save you a good amount of money and you get a better result that the lower end screens.

Also the Epson has a 2 year warranty(panny has 1 year) and if you have any issues at all, they ship one over night to you and then you put the old one in the box and ship the old one back.

Sorry for the typo. I was typing on my iPhone. I heard their customer support was awesome! Thanks for the info... Ease up though on the anal spelling issue...

[mikewills]

There's a rebate which extends the Panny warranty to 2 yrs. Look at Projectorpeople for their HT package deals.

Mike

[funkyshooters]

Originally Posted by mikewills

There's a rebate which extends the Panny warranty to 2 yrs. Look at Projectorpeople for their HT package deals.

Mike

Ahhhh. Mike. Why you gotta make things complicated again.

Typed on my phone ignore typos.

[Hendricks4333]

Originally Posted by funkyshooters

Sorry for the typo. I was typing on my iPhone. I heard their customer support was awesome! Thanks for the info... Ease up though on the anal spelling issue...

wasnt trying to be a stickler. Figured you thought it was grain. So I just wanted to make sure you knew it was Gain.

[funkyshooters]

Originally Posted by Hendricks4333

wasnt trying to be a stickler. Figured you thought it was grain. So I just wanted to make sure you knew it was Gain.

No worries mate... I was just being a goof. I appreciate your input... Help me very much!

Cheers!