Front Projection Systems for Home Theater | FerrariChat

Front Projection Systems for Home Theater

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by peterp, Feb 22, 2004.

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  1. peterp

    peterp F1 Veteran

    Aug 31, 2002
    6,510
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    Peter
    I am looking for a front projector for home theater and was considering the Yamaha LPX-500 based upon favorable reviews in Sound & Vision and based upon a fairly impressive demo. However, looking a little further into the market, the Mitsubishi XD300U looks to be, at least statistically, much better. The Yamaha is LCD-based and produces 800 lumins and has a lamp life of about 2000 hours. The Mitubishi is DLP-based and produces 2100 Lumins and has a lamp life of 4000 hours. Both list for around $5k, but the Mitsubishi seems to have a street price around $3k while the Yamaha seems sell for about $4500. Statistically, the Mitusbishi seems to be a great unit, but I haven't seen anything written about it in home theater publications -- I have seen very positive reviews for the Mitsubishi in PC magazines. Maybe the difference is that the Mitsu is more of a data projector than movie, but it supports all HDTV formats and bills itself as a home theater unit. Does anybody have experience with these models or know of other products that should be considered? I am looking for something under $5k because I know that whatever I buy today will be an antique in 3 years.
     
  2. mk e

    mk e F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    12,899
    The twilight zone
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    The Butcher
    A friend of mine just put one in, I can't recall the model (I can ask monday), but it was niether of these and was about $2k, 1900 lumens, 2000 hour bulb life. He loves it. The one we have in the office is 980 lumens and it's fine in a closed room with the lights of, but not so well if there is light in the room. My freind set his up to give a 12 foot wide picture (about the same as in the office) and installed recessed lights directed away from the screen area and it looks fine with the lights on. If you are going for a much smaller picture, the lower lumens will be fine, but if you're planning something big, the more lumens the better.
     
  3. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
    35,532
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    I have two Seleco projectors, an old 1 at my apt in Buenos Aires & a newer smaller model in Miami. They are quite a bit pricier but very sharp, get 1 with a built in line doubler so the picture looks better.

    I heard that you can get a 60" plasma screen now. That sounds cool
     
  4. Bad Chariot

    Bad Chariot Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    262
    Reading, MA
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    Michael
    Peter,

    Your best bet is to ask around on avsforum.com. This is the best Home Theater Forum on the internet.

    Side note, since your budget is limited to $5k, why not look at a 57-61 inch DLP Widescreen HDTV? The Samsung DLP's are gorgeous!
     
  5. peterp

    peterp F1 Veteran

    Aug 31, 2002
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    I'll check out avsforum.com. Regarding the large DLP rear projections -- I really want to do a large screen, the Yamaha demo was with (I think) a 116" screen and it was pretty amazing. The front projection isn't practical for daily use, but since this room is only used for movies, I think it will be great. I just helped my sister-in-law install a Hitachi DLP HDTV and the picture is unbelievable with high-def sources and DVD, though it is a little disappointing for normal TV (I'm not sure why).
     
  6. cbrody

    cbrody Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    35
    Southampton, NY
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    Chris
    Peter,

    We carry the Seleco Projectors. If your interested I can see what I can do for you.

    Chris
     
  7. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
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    RUNCO is an excellent brand also & they are made in the US I believe. Have your checkbook ready for Big $
     
  8. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
    Honorary

    Dec 5, 2001
    6,485
    Grandview NY
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    Herr Prof.
    I just updated my unused projection system, which had been sitting in boxes for the last 5+ years, owing to the fact that in my last house, i would have had to undertake massive construction to get the allotted space into suitable condition for a theatre room.
    I thus changed from an NEC 3 gun CRT with external line doubler to a DLP projector with the HD Leeza processor/scaler. The Leeza, which sells for about 4k (with a hot rodded DVD player, below) is remarkable. The signal from the DVD player is SDI, the Leeza accepts SDI and feeds the projector thru a DVI output. This means that the signal does not get D/A processed as it goes thru these boxes.
    Take a look at the recent Perfect Vision magazine, there is a discussion of the benefits of minimal D/A conversion, even if you don't use SDI. (For example, they talk about a V, Inc. DVD player for $199 with DVI outputs, run thru the Leeza, and then into a DLP projector).

    I buought the Marantz projector (it was just superceded by a new model, using the latest TI chipset, so the current model is available at extreme discounts). Highly recommended.
     
  9. peterp

    peterp F1 Veteran

    Aug 31, 2002
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    I guess I have a lot to learn -- I thought progressive scan from the DVD was a pseudo doubler. Do I need an external doubler to feed the projector? I will check out Perfect Vision magazine. Thanks very much for the feedback.
     
  10. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
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    Dec 5, 2001
    6,485
    Grandview NY
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    Herr Prof.
    This may explain why deinterlacing is not the only thing necessary:

    t became possible to manufacture circuits to convert interlaced video to progressive-scan video in the early 1990s. These line doublers, as they were called, were first developed by Faroudja Labs. They turned any composite or component video source into a VGA computer signal.

    Subsequent developments by Faroudja and Snell & Wilcox resulted in devices that could quadruple the number of scan lines in the converted images by interpolating new picture scan lines from existing ones — in effect, inventing new picture elements that never existed. These line quadruplers doubled the vertical resolution of the image, creating a need for electronic displays with more available pixels.

    Over time, manufacturers of front LCD and DLP projectors kindly obliged. But a funny thing happened on the way to the screening room. Someone asked, “Why not convert video signals to match the display resolution precisely?” Thus was born the native-rate scaler, which lies at the heart of any seamless switcher/mixer product.

    Instead of simply de-interlacing the video fields and presenting them progressively, or quadrupling the scan lines, native-rate scalers converted video sources to a specific RGB output resolution not tied to any video standard, like SVGA (800×600 pixels) or XGA (1024×768 pixels).

    Good thing, too, as the electronic display market in the latter part of the 1990s slowly shifted away from raster-based imaging with cathode-ray tubes, and moved instead to flat-matrix panels with fixed-pixel arrays, such as LCDs, DMDs, plasma, and the D-ILA reflective LCD panel. (Some of these imaging systems have pretty oddball pixel resolutions, like 848×600, 852×480, 1024×1024, 1365×768, and 1365×1024 pixels.)
    **********************************************
    BTW, you are not far from me, i live near Nyack. If you would like to come over and see what i am describing, you are welcome to do so. Just email me at the office: [email protected] Regards.
     
  11. peterp

    peterp F1 Veteran

    Aug 31, 2002
    6,510
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    Great explanation. I know the Mitsubishi has Faroudja processing built in, but I don't know any details. Any chance that because it is built into the projector that it matches the native resolution? I did check out avsforum.com and it has tons of information - there were about 20 thread matches on XD300U alone. Thanks very much for the offer to see your system, I may take you up on it. I will be traveling for the next two weeks but will check back in when I return. Thanks again.
     

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