Deadset's HT Build Thread

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

You're most welcome!

In addition to scaling, the Radiance also has features like color gamut correction, support for anamorphic lenses, custom gamma settings, high quality HDMI switching, etc. So, you'd be getting more than just an outboard "upconverter" (these used to be called line doublers or quadruplers). It is a very versatile unit, but whether these features are useful to you depends on the needs of your system.

It's good to know, if I add these features down the line, do they connection inline from my amp ---> scaler ---> projector? How much planning should I do now for these?

Yes, I do watch some SD material on DirecTV, as well as some DVD's (although this is upconverted to 1080p by my DVD player). I'll try to get you some screen shots for comparison. I had actually promised Crackinhedz that I would do this a while back, so I'll try to post some soon.

Some projectors do have H- and V- scaling in their menus that you might be able to save in a user profile so you could just switch over to a smaller image using the remote. You'd have to check your specific PJ. Otherwise, the most surefire way of doing it is just zooming the picture smaller on your screen using your projector's lens.

All of my SD (DVD's) will be played through my PS3 for sure, or another upscaled player. With that said, I hope I don't have to worry about artifacting or screen door with SD.

As for the saving the profiles, I have read that some projectors allow you to save settings, such as the Sanyo Z2000 and Panny AE2000U, so that should save me some headaches with always adjusting down the screen size if need be for SD. I plan on using a standard 16:9 screen, as 1) I don't mind the black bars for 2:40 and 2) I have plenty of SD DVD's that I plan on watching. Plus this is going to be used for TV as well.

From what I've heard, the new JVCs are VERY quiet. Most people who looked at it at CEDIA couldn't hear it unless they put their ear a couple of inches from the exhaust. Definitely worth a look/listen.

I sit about 3 feet under and 3 feet in front of my projector, and I can hear it if I listen for it during quiet passages; but overall, its unobtrusive (to me at least)

Good to hear, I'll check up on the JVC, but they may be out of my price range. I've been looking at dB ratings of some of the more popular 1080p projectors, and the panny and sanyo are both rated fairly quite, while the epson 1080p home projector was quoted as being louder than the competition.

If you are sitting at 11' from a 100" diagonal screen, that will be 2.69 screen heights, which is within the recommended 2-3 screen heights for viewing; so I don't think it will be too big. In fact, you may want to consider sitting closer or going with a larger screen to get closer to 2 screen heights. Once you see a bigger screen, most people want to go even bigger. There are very few times when I've heard anyone complain that their screen choice was too big.

I sit 10' from a 10' wide scope screen (2.3x screen height, 1x screen width) and I could still sit closer and maintain comfortable viewing. I think Deci likes to watch his scope material quite close as well (I think he mentioned something like 1.6 screen heights).

Try it-- I suspect that you will enjoy the immersiveness of an image that fills more of your horizontal field of view.

I may even opt to build and mount a 120" screen and see how it looks. Like you said, I can always just use the 100" for certain situations.

What are you getting through your coax connector? OTA channels? DBS (satellite feed)? Cable TV?

No matter what you use, you will need an OTA tuner or a Sat/Cable receiver that can either output via HDMI or Component to your projector. There are a variety of these available, so I think you'll be fine no matter what your source is.

Always run more cable to your projector than you think you need. It's better to have it and not need it later, than need it and have to try to fish it through your finished drywall later. I ran HDMI, Component, S-video, and IR repeater "mice" to my projector.

I'll be getting a box down there, so I should be ok. What do you think you'll need for your component and s-video runs? Just curious.

I've also noticed many newer projectors are offering 2 or 3 HDMI ports, should I run more than 1 HDMI 1.3 cable up there? What would I use that 2nd one for?

Another quick question, I plan on connecting my PC to it as well, I should be able to do this with a DVI ----> HDMI -----> into my amp -----> out to the projector right?

Is there an advantage of running a 15 pin HD VGA cable?

Also, I was reading a review on the Sanyo at projectorcentral.com and found this statement:

Sanyo has routinely built home theater projectors with a 2.0x zoom lens, which is about as long a zoom range as we find on this class of product. This zoom range let's you put the projector anywhere from 10 to 20 feet from the screen if you want an image size of 100" diagonal. One word of caution in planning your installation-using the telephoto end of a zoom lens reduces light output no matter which projector you use. Light output is always at its maximum with the lens in its widest angle configuration (shortest throw distance for any given screen size). In the case of the Z2000, you lose about 38% of the total lumen potential of the projector by moving the projector back and using the longest telephoto setting. That light loss is about normal for a zoom lens of 2.0x range.

How concerned should I be if I plan on using the zoom to offset my mounting distance of approx 12' w/ a screen size of max 120" ? Will that put me at the edge of the zoom range? Should I be concerned with the loss of 38% lumens? Can that be offset by a high screen gain (even if I build it myself)?

Sorry for all the questions