Now that many people have received their projectors, let's get some talk going on tweaks and calibration!

We'll start by the calibration settings from 2 reviews:

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/planar-pd7150-dlp-projector-review
http://www.e-gear.com/story/productreviews.bsp?var=story&sid=54685

E-Gear says:

Out of the box, the PD7150 performs exceptionally well. Using the default settings, which included a “Color Temp” setting of 6500K, grayscale tracking stays extremely tame across the board. Running through some test patterns, I made some minor changes to brightness and contrast, but overall there wasn’t need for much tweaking. While we’re discussing settings, I found it refreshing to see that primary “cuts” and “gains” could be adjusted by the consumer allowing for greater white balance; typically these settings are available to service techs only—if at all.

Here are some starting points from the Audioholics review:

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/planar-pd7150-dlp-projector-review

You'll also be able to adjust Sharpness (keep this on 'Normal' and Gamma as well as Color Temp settings. The Picture Setting control is for recalling one of the Memory positions (we could only get 2 working despite the 3 hard buttons on the remote control.)

Since the Planar PD7150 has no "Picture Modes" per se (i.e. Sports, Vivid, Daytime, Cinema, etc) you'll likely want to use the Gamma controls to adjust the unit for day and night viewing - at least until you can set up some stored calibrated Memory settings. Setting a Gamma of 1.0, for example, gives you the brightest image for daytime viewing of television in a room that is not light controlled. For cinema watching we found the default Gamma 2.2 to be a very good starting point.

Deinterlacing mode settings, an important aspect of the PD7150 for proper functionality with DVDs, are also found here. It is very important to ensure you have the right settings here in order for 24 frame-per-second film-sourced DVDs to be accurately converted to 30 frame-per-second video.

Looks like:
Gamma set to 2.2 for nighttime viewing.
Gamma set to 1.0 for daytime viewing. EDIT - I decided to use 1.5. The colors on 1.0 were too off.

The end of the calibration page says "White Enhance mode should actually be 'On' according to our measurements as it yielded better and consistent color response overall."

Any other changes from default?

Hi Grayson73,

I have a Planar 7130. Do you think those settings will work with my pj?

Deinterlacing mode settings, an important aspect of the PD7150 for proper functionality with DVDs, are also found here. It is very important to ensure you have the right settings here in order for 24 frame-per-second film-sourced DVDs to be accurately converted to 30 frame-per-second video.


Found where?

Deinterlacing mode settings, an important aspect of the PD7150 for proper functionality with DVDs, are also found here. It is very important to ensure you have the right settings here in order for 24 frame-per-second film-sourced DVDs to be accurately converted to 30 frame-per-second video.


Here are the instructions from the manual: Do I select Film Mode?

This function allows you to determine the type of incoming video content-film, static interlaced
video and moving interlaced video. Different algorithms are applied for each of the content types.
Press < or > button to set the deinterlace mode.
• DCTI: This function is useful to enhance video by replacing the edges of the video with edges
that have steeper rise and fall times. DCTI turns sloped or sinusoidal waveforms into
rectangular or square waveforms with the same duty cycles and peak-to-peak amplitude. It's
useful for 4:1:1 video sources. The range is from 0 to 7.
• Video on film (VOF): This function is used to identify video artifacts while in film mode. VOF
attempts to repair the artifacts using the low-angle interpolator while remaining in film mode.
• Film Mode: Reproduces the image of the film source clearly. Displays the optimized image of
film transformed with 3:2 pull down (NTSC and PAL60Hz) enhancement to progressive mode
images.

Found where?

3rd page of the Audioholics review.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/planar-pd7150-dlp-projector-review/planar-pd7150-connections-remote-and-menu-system

Hi Grayson73,

I have a Planar 7130. Do you think those settings will work with my pj?

I'm not sure since they are different projectors.

I see the deinterlacing mode on my options menu
but it is grayed out and will not allow me to
select.This is with a dvi connection.How is everyone
else entering this sub menu?

I decided to use 1.5 gamma for daytime viewing. To me, the colors on 1.0 were too off.

I asked Clint DeBoer, the Audioholics reviewer of the projector, about enabling white enhance and he said this:

"White Enhance, if I recall correctly, enabled whiter than white response, regardless of gamma setting."

The thread is here:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=468632

These are my settings after calibrating with DVE

Toshiba HD-A3 at 720p output.
HDMI to DVI
White Enhance on
Eco mode off
Da-Lite High Power screen

Colors looking were spot on.


Memory 1 (dark room):

Gamma 2.2
Brightness -2
Contrast 9

Memory 2 (ambient light):

Gamma 1.5 (I found 1.0 to be too washed out colorwise)
Brightness -4
Contrast 9

Thanks for the continuing info.

RGB - Gains and Offsets?

Thanks for the continuing info.

RGB - Gains and Offsets?

I didn't change those. The blue filter looked perfect. I only glanced at the green and red filters.

Hi...I am not sure if I have it wrong but on my A30 with FM 1.1, I cannot get my player to show resolution beyond 720p. I was wondering if there is a disconnect between those at Planar saying yes we can use 1080p/24 versus those of us still struggling with it. My impression was that the jury was still on on this issue.:cool:

Other than that, this is one awesome, though heavier than anticipated, projector.

Hi...I am not sure if I have it wrong but on my A30 with FM 1.1, I cannot get my player to show resolution beyond 720p. I was wondering if there is a disconnect between those at Planar saying yes we can use 1080p/24 versus those of us still struggling with it. My impression was that the jury was still on on this issue.:cool:

Other than that, this is one awesome, though heavier than anticipated, projector.

It could be the firmware on the player. I have an HD-A20 and I display up to 1080p and it works perfectly. The Samsung 1500 Blu-ray player is another story, it won't display 1080p at all.

dysfunction26, I too have an hd-a20. Do you get 1080p/60 and 1080p/24? I only get 720 output. If so what length cable you're using or what setup do you use.

Dysfunctions and Silvereyes...
For comparison purpose, what model, FW versio, type & length of cable used to the projector. I go first: Toshiba A30, still at 1.1/1; bought a new monoprice HDMI to DVI cable at 10 feet. Clicking on Resolution button, I get 720 p

My de-interlacer button is greyed out on the projector PD7130. The Planar firmware is up to date according to the list.

Dysfunctions and Silvereyes...
For comparison purpose, what model, FW versio, type & length of cable used to the projector. I go first: Toshiba A30, still at 1.1/1; bought a new monoprice HDMI to DVI cable at 10 feet. Clicking on Resolution button, I get 720 p

My de-interlacer button is greyed out on the projector PD7130. The Planar firmware is up to date according to the list.

Toshiba hd-a20 firmware 4.0 cable 24awg monoprice 35" (hdmi-hdmi) I added a hdmi/dvi convertor to it. Exactly same issues as you have. Its a toshiba problem, they need to have a forced output resolution.

Planar Rep said this:

I would leave white enhance off for normal viewing. It should be used for 'daytime' modes only. I leave the color temp at 6500 all the time and use the gamma to boost brightness also.

You can try lamp power also if you want more pop.

Using white enhance allowed me to reduce the contrast setting. I'm in a black hole (dark gray actually), so daytime is not an issue, but I prefer the white enhance.

Calibrated my 7150 tonight.
~N8.6 grey screen.(Cream $ Sugar)
No ambient light, but all my walls are off-white.

Brightness -2
Contrast +12
R Gain & Offset -1
B Gain & Offset +1
G Gain & Offset -2
Gamma 2.2
Sharpness - Normal
Low lamp

Toshiba hd-a20 firmware 4.0 cable 24awg monoprice 35" (hdmi-hdmi) I added a hdmi/dvi convertor to it. Exactly same issues as you have. Its a toshiba problem, they need to have a forced output resolution.

I pretty much have the same setup as Silver, but I have the firmware previous to 4.0, they are sending me a disc, I'm in no rush to update. I also have a 35' HDMI to HDMI cable with a DVI adapter from Monoprice. HD DVD looks amazing (compared to the IN72 I previously owned), I am sending back my Samsung BDP1500 in the morning. I will wait a couple months and get a PS3.

dysfunction26, I too have an hd-a20. Do you get 1080p/60 and 1080p/24? I only get 720 output. If so what length cable you're using or what setup do you use.

I pretty much have the same setup as Silver, but I have the firmware previous to 4.0, they are sending me a disc, I'm in no rush to update. I also have a 35' HDMI to HDMI cable with a DVI adapter from Monoprice.

I also have the HD-A20, firmware 4.0 with a 6' DVI to HDMI cable from monoprice. I can't get the player to output anything higher than 720p.

I also have the HD-A20, firmware 4.0 with a 6' DVI to HDMI cable from monoprice. I can't get the player to output anything higher than 720p.

Discussed earlier...in the other thread...the new firmware and HDMI cable will only allow output to the native res. of the display.

I use component with 1080i and it appears to have a much better image (HD-A2) using the scaler in the PJ.

Calibrated my 7150 tonight.
~N8.6 grey screen.(Cream $ Sugar)
No ambient light, but all my walls are off-white.

Brightness -2
Contrast +12
R Gain & Offset -1
B Gain & Offset +1
G Gain & Offset -2
Gamma 2.2
Sharpness - Normal
Low lamp

What is the difference between Gain and Offset? You're setting them to the same value?

In the Audioholics review, it appears that Green was too high and Red and Blue were too low, right?

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/planar-pd7150-dlp-projector-review/planar-pd7150-daytime-viewing-and-calibration

My understanding is that the gain and offset work like RGBLowEnd and RGBHighEnd controls.
Borrowed from the Greyscale for Dummies calibration guide:
RGBLowEnd: The control used to adjust the amount of individual Red, Green, or Blue colour in the darker end of the black to white scale. Think of it as an individual brightness control for each colour. We adjust this while displaying a dark pattern.
RGBHighEnd: The control used to adjust the amount of individual Red, Green, or Blue colour in the lighter end of the black to white scale. Think of it as an individual contrast control for each colour. We adjust this while displaying a light pattern

That's how I took them and they worked as such when I calibrated my PD7060. I don't remember which one worked with the dark pattern and which one worked with the light pattern, I learned that by making changes and seeing what I affected.
My bet is they affect these Planar PJ's in the same way.

Not much activity here. I guess the PJ is so good out of the box that little calibration is necessary!

For dark setting, I turn white enhance off and for bright setting, I turn it on.

I'm also trying sharpness on 'Sharp'. I think I like it.

It could be the firmware on the player. I have an HD-A20 and I display up to 1080p and it works perfectly. The Samsung 1500 Blu-ray player is another story, it won't display 1080p at all.

The HD DVD players out "up to 1080p" that does not mean that it is outputting 1080p. If the device (projector) does not accept the 1080p then the projector will automatically down resolution to 1080i or 720p. With that said did the planar show that it was receiving 1080p?

I learned a trick from Darinp2 on setting Brightness on any DLP projector.

Basically you show any true black (black bars, black screen, whatever, just needs to be a reasonable area of the screen that's supposed to be full black), and go up close to the screen and see if there is dithering (moving white speckling).

Then knock Brightness down until the dithering stops and you have full black. This will be clear - one notch too high and it's dithering, knock it down one more and it completely stops.

For almost all modes and inputs on my 7130, this is at -14 Brightness. I haven't messed with other settings (yet), but this very clearly improves black levels.

Have done this with both HDMI (from DirecTV HR20) and Component (from XBox 360), in 720p, 480p, and 1080i.

I learned a trick from Darinp2 on setting Brightness on any DLP projector.

Basically you show any true black (black bars, black screen, whatever, just needs to be a reasonable area of the screen that's supposed to be full black), and go up close to the screen and see if there is dithering (moving white speckling).

Then knock Brightness down until the dithering stops and you have full black. This will be clear - one notch too high and it's dithering, knock it down one more and it completely stops.

For almost all modes and inputs on my 7130, this is at -14 Brightness. I haven't messed with other settings (yet), but this very clearly improves black levels.

Have done this with both HDMI (from DirecTV HR20) and Component (from XBox 360), in 720p, 480p, and 1080i.

I used DVE and ended up with these settings on full power, HP screen:

Gamma 2.2
Brightness -2
Contrast 9

If anybody knows where I can get a new PD7150, please PM me (I know we're not supposed to discuss resellers, etc. on this board.)

Thanks.

Mike

New owner of the PD7150. Setting it up now.

soon to be a new owner. Mine should arrive by the end of the week...sweet

Tonywood / scooterdog

Impressions please!

Tonywood / scooterdog

Impressions please!

One word...Stunning!


This machine produce the most beautiful color and the picture is crystal clear. I have a friend that has the Optoma HD80 and when he saw the picture on this he was freakin amazed. He could not believe it was a 720p machine. I think it has a lot to do with the 3 chip and optics this has.

Placement was a breeze with the lens shift capability. My beam runs off center by about 34 inches and and having this on a DLP was pure delight. Some have noted they have a problem with 1080p/24 on there PS3 but mine seems to be fine. The only thing when I switch channels sometimes I get the logo before it detects the input but that no big deal. It pretty darn quite especially compared to how my 4805 was. It is very very bright thats one thing we all said and I run it in the econ mode.

All in all I think I will be happy for at least 3 years. By then who knows what we will see.

I also bought a mack bulb warranty from Brian at Tapeworks. Great price too.

whoops...not 34" 3 or 4" off center. That would be amazing..lol

whoops...not 34" 3 or 4" off center. That would be amazing..lol

Fantastic, I hope to have my 7150 by Monday (please UPS). I am stepping up from a Z4 and I know I will be impressed also.

On your mounting, how far did you place the center of the lens inside the screen area in reference to the top of your screen going down? For example if the projector hangs such that lens center is at say 12" from the ceiling and the top of the screen is four inches higher or 8" from the ceiling would the lens shift handle it?

The top of my screen is 8 1/2" down from the ceiling. From the ceiling to lens center is 13 1/2 down. I have a beam that runs in front of the projector which is 11 1/2" from ceiling to the bottom of it. That's what so nice about the lens shifting on this pj. Also my peerless mount has some really good adjustments which helped when leveling the projector. I only had to do some very minor tweaking on the mount.

The top of my screen is 8 1/2" down from the ceiling. From the ceiling to lens center is 13 1/2 down. I have a beam that runs in front of the projector which is 11 1/2" from ceiling to the bottom of it. That's what so nice about the lens shifting on this pj. Also my peerless mount has some really good adjustments which helped when leveling the projector. I only had to do some very minor tweaking on the mount.

So if I understand this correctly you were able to able to shift the image upward by 5 inches from the zero shift position. That is good news. Thanks for the information.

Just for information purposes, what is the size, gain of the screen and viewing conditions in your setup?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Fantastic, I hope to have my 7150 by Monday (please UPS). I am stepping up from a Z4 and I know I will be impressed also.

On your mounting, how far did you place the center of the lens inside the screen area in reference to the top of your screen going down? For example if the projector hangs such that lens center is at say 12" from the ceiling and the top of the screen is four inches higher or 8" from the ceiling would the lens shift handle it?

The 7150 will fit anywhere between the top and bottom of the image.

The 7150 will fit anywhere between the top and bottom of the image.

Thanks

I am curious about the number of segments and wheel speed of the 7150 anyone have this information. It is not listed anywhere that I have found.

I am curious about the number of segments and wheel speed of the 7150 anyone have this information. It is not listed anywhere that I have found.

I do not remember where I read this and I could be wrong, but I seem to remember 5x speed and 7 segment.

I am curious about the number of segments and wheel speed of the 7150 anyone have this information. It is not listed anywhere that I have found.

6-segment wheel at 5x speed (6x speed on the 50hz power version [non us])

Thanks guys, like I said just curious. I received my 7150 and man on man does it have an awesome picture. Coming from a Sanyo Z4 which threw a good picture is a big change for sure.

I am presently unable to access items in the Menu such as;

Color or Tint
Deinterlace

I wonder if this is related to the firmware version, my Status shows firmware version 260.11.157

Connected to the projector using HDMI to DVI cable 15' going through Onkyo TX-SR605 as HDMI switch. All sources SA 4250HDC cable box, Toshiba XA2, Oppo 970H, and PS3 exhibit the behavior in the menu.

Any ideas here? I may try a component cable to see the options then become available.

Can only access those with component...no idea why.

Can only access those with component...no idea why.

Thanks, I will be having a conversation with Planar after Christmas.

Same for the 7130's as well.
I believe Jumbo11 uses component, so he is the best to ask.

Same for the 7130's as well.
I believe Jumbo11 uses component, so he is the best to ask.

I will probably just run component to it and test the theory.

One word...Stunning!

This machine produce the most beautiful color and the picture is crystal clear. I have a friend that has the Optoma HD80 and when he saw the picture on this he was freakin amazed. He could not believe it was a 720p machine. I think it has a lot to do with the 3 chip and optics this has.


These projectors do not use 3-chip DLP technology, if they did, there'd be no need for the color-wheel.

The quality of the image is the result of the excellent optics, and the effort to make sure greyscale and color calibration are damn near ISF spot on from the factory.

These projectors do not use 3-chip DLP technology, if they did, there'd be no need for the color-wheel.

The quality of the image is the result of the excellent optics, and the effort to make sure greyscale and color calibration are damn near ISF spot on from the factory.

And they would cost over $10k. :)

I think he ment the Dlp DarkChip 3..

I think he ment the Dlp DarkChip 3..

Correct...

Sometimes in our excitement over a new product that knocks your socks off you may miss type here or there but I think the majority of us on this board (been here 6 yrs) know what we are talking about;)

Same for the 7130's as well.
I believe Jumbo11 uses component, so he is the best to ask.

The Deinterlace menu is not available for the component input either. Not for 720p, 1080i, or 1080p.

I'm thinking this may only be available for 480i only. I doubt I'll be hooking up any S-Video or other source to test though.

I'll try 480i over component.

So yeah... so far I havne't been able to access the Deinterlace menu.

The Deinterlace menu is not available for the component input either. Not for 720p, 1080i, or 1080p.

I'm thinking this may only be available for 480i only. I doubt I'll be hooking up any S-Video or other source to test though.

I'll try 480i over component.

So yeah... so far I havne't been able to access the Deinterlace menu.

I am going to email Planar Support for an explanation. I am not as interested in the deinterlace as I am the color and tint being inaccessible. I just don't understand why they would do such a thing deliberately. I tested the color tint using the Get Gray color calibration disc and THX color/tint adjustment glasses, and accordingly both the Color and Tint need some tweaking. The picture is fantastic all the same, but could it be better, without the adjustments who knows!

Does anyone have another question along this subject line?

Yeah I have the same problem. I would also like to know how to be able to access the area that show what firmware version I have. I was poking around on the web and I saw they had an update about 9 months ago but they don't list it on the site

Yeah I have the same problem. I would also like to know how to be able to access the area that show what firmware version I have. I was poking around on the web and I saw they had an update about 9 months ago but they don't list it on the site

I have the 7150 and I see mine in the options / status along with lamp hours and resolution, so you are saying that you cannot access the status menu to see the firmware version or that it is not present in the status submenu?

I am compiling a list and I have listed everything I can think of. This may be a new issue in your case. I have not sent the email to Planar support yet because I am waiting for any additional issues others may have to add to the list.

Richum, if you're looking for ideas, you can ask about the loud fan.

Richum, if you're looking for ideas, you can ask about the loud fan.

jumbo11, I just shipped mine back to them this morning because my fan would come on running at its highest speed which was very noisy and took a long time to slow down.

This was after being off and cold all night. It would remain on high speed sometimes for 45 minutes and then slow down to a whisper. If you turned it off, say five minutes after start up and let it rest for 15 minutes and then did a restart it would function normally. ????

Planar's tech found a trouble report for this issue in their data base, gave me an RMA number and emailed me a UPS prepaid shipping label, 2nd day air.

Are you saying yours is loud all the time even at low speed?

After my fan stabilized it was quite to me, and it is mounted almost over my head about 3 feet from me. Watching a movie I would have to stand up and walk close to hear it. Placing my hand by the exhaust vent I found a gentle warm breeze coming out.

If you find it loud at low speed then I recommend you call it in. The one thing I have to say, once I reached them on the phone it was not a hassle at all.

What I am after is access to menu items that should be there but are not and probably that would be a firmware issue.

Richum, my projector acts the same way, randomly.

It'll start out @ the highest fan speed (loud) for some time (say first half of a movie) and then it'll settle down. From then on I can barely hear it and I keep the projector in low lamp mode always.

I'm really curious to see if they fix yours. Thanks for the info.

Richum, my projector acts the same way, randomly.

It'll start out @ the highest fan speed (loud) for some time (say first half of a movie) and then it'll settle down. From then on I can barely hear it and I keep the projector in low lamp mode always.

I'm really curious to see if they fix yours. Thanks for the info.

We will see, if you want to get yours into Planar you should have no trouble.

I will be out the projector for some period of time, but I just felt like they should have the chance to make it right and they were not reluctant to do so. Shipping on them both ways and 2 day air seems like an honest effort to me.

First off let me say I have no issues regarding the performance of the projector. It throws a beautiful picture and is very quite except when you turn it off and it goes into the cool down mode. My issue is just using certain menu functions like deinterlacing and the fact in the status box it does not show the firmware version, it does show lamp hours and resolution and input. So my complaint has nothing to do with the overall performance because I am very happy it just the menu issue since I would like to know what firmware version I have.

Well, I've read every post in every Planar thread over the past six months, and have gathered what ppl are saying about calibrating the PD7150. Here is my summary:

default cinema, low lamp mode and 6500k

Audioholics - All of our primary evaluations were done using the 3:2 pull down Film Mode
with Video on film (VOF) set to 'On'. ColorFacts Pro 6.0
Sharpness Normal
Gamma 2.2
Color Temp 6500k
Brightness spot on
Contrast 11
White Enhance On
DCTI color edge enhancement 1 or 0, depending on whether it bothers, or pops.

Grayson73 - DVE
White Enhance on
Eco mode off
Colors looking were spot on.
Memory 1 (dark room):
Gamma 2.2
Brightness -2
Contrast 9
Memory 2 (ambient light):
Gamma 1.5 (I found 1.0 to be too washed out colorwise)
Brightness -4
Contrast 9

E-A-G-L-E-S
~N8.6 light grey screen.(Cream $ Sugar)
No ambient light, but all my walls are off-white.
Brightness -2
Contrast +12
R Gain & Offset -1
B Gain & Offset +1
G Gain & Offset -2
Gamma 2.2
Sharpness - Normal
Eco lamp

tonywood
White Enhance ON (for best lightout and contrast?) boost contast and lumens output
(crushing?) DCTI 1 (enhances color?) Digital Chroma Transient Improvement - enhanced
color and sharpness per pixelworks document Contrast 10 (without crushing white?)
Sharpness Sharp

krasmuzik
White Enhance off
DCTI 0 - edge enhancement for color. Look for ringing of color edges
First of all, what does "default cinema" mean? I can't find a cinema setting in the projector. Second, am I right that we have no Interlace setting when running HDMI, so can not set DCTI? And what is Video on film? Is this a setting in ColorFacts?

I've derived the consensus settings:
Color Temp 6500k
Gamma 2.2
Sharpness Normal
Brightness spot on
Contrast 11
White Enhance On
... and the result does not look natural to me. I try to say that I am just not used to it, but I am used to what looks natural and this doesn't. I don't have any sort of calibration software or equipment, and going by consensus or most credible adjustments has always worked for me in the past. I don't want it to look like a 'TV picture', I want it to look normal.

White Enhance - When on, this fairly shrieks at me. I have a formica screen that's Ice White, which is just a hair grayer than white. I'm thinking about painting Black Widow, and don't know whether this would be an improvement, or too dark. This screen has done me very well for three years giving a 10' presentation with dim projectors.

Contrast - Last week's Saturday Night Live where the intro interviewed "Dick Cheney" was HD and two people on a black background. Definitely too much contrast in the colors, and when I cranked it down to 5 it was better, but still something was wrong.

Brightness - When the Sun shining off ppl's bald head is blazing white, something's wrong. And blacks had lots of mosquito noise, so I followed this advice:
Show any true black (black bars, black screen, whatever, just needs to be a reasonable area of the screen that's supposed to be full black), and go up close to the screen and see if there is dithering (moving white speckling). Then knock Brightness down until the dithering stops and you have full black. This will be clear - one notch too high and it's dithering, knock it down one more and it completely stops.
For almost all modes and inputs on my 7130, this is at -14 Brightness. I haven't messed with other settings (yet), but this very clearly improves black levels.
Yes and for me this was -11. Much more 3D than it had been, and bald heads looked better, although darker areas seemed crushed. Maybe my contrast is still too high at 5?

And there is still an unnatural quality that I can't put my finger on, like colors are too saturated maybe. Can anyone advise?

And finally, I too have the vacuum-cleaner fan for the first 40 minutes it's on. Has anyone determined a fix yet? This is noticeable even with the show's sound on.

OK, now it's much better. I cranked Contrast back to 0 and Brightness down to -11, and aerial shots are spectacular. People look fairly normal and 3D, although color still seems a bit oversaturated. But, pretty close.

So from the consensus settings I've reversed Brightness and Contrast settings, and turned White Enhance off.

quantumstate I've tried your setting and WOW. The picture quality was better than I had it before. My previous setting was brightness -4, contrast +9 with white on. Your settings have richer colors and a 3D pop to the image. I was watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona and half way thru the movie I've changed to your setting. Even my wife could see the difference (which says a lot).
BTW I believe my screen is similar to yours, its the one that you purchase in Home Depot and hang on the wall. Thanks for sharing your settings. I recommend others to try it, especially at night or low ambient conditions.

Well done, good to know. I am very happy with contrast 0, WhiteEnhance Off, and Brightness -11. Saved it in Memory 1.

Ya, I have a sheet of formica ('Ice White') from Home Depot ($74), but am interested in the screen paint "Black Widow". When I get time I'll research it. My screen is 110" diagonal, and since I have so much spare brightness in the PJ I may get a larger sheet of formica for a 16' screen, or whatever I can get at 14.5' away. For the frame I'm using 4" baseboard, with black felt spray-glued to it, and velcroed to the formica; actually pretty classy looking.

On another subject, I've just figured out how to make my case display work simultaneous to the projector, from one video card. (Linux) I'll probably run two instances of conky (system monitor) side-by-side with different system info.

Well done, good to know. I am very happy with contrast 0, WhiteEnhance Off, and Brightness -11. Saved it in Memory 1.

Ya, I have a sheet of formica ('Ice White') from Home Depot ($74), but am interested in the screen paint "Black Widow". When I get time I'll research it. My screen is 110" diagonal, and since I have so much spare brightness in the PJ I may get a larger sheet of formica for a 16' screen, or whatever I can get at 14.5' away. For the frame I'm using 4" baseboard, with black felt spray-glued to it, and velcroed to the formica; actually pretty classy looking.

On another subject, I've just figured out how to make my case display work simultaneous to the projector, from one video card. (Linux) I'll probably run two instances of conky (system monitor) side-by-side with different system info.

Are you also using Econo mode on? That is what i have. The full power adds too much noise to my taste.

Yes using Eco mode.

But you know I recently had my 7150 swapped out because of the startup problem, where the lamp has to strike like 10 times to get going. Works great now, but my above settings look awful on this new 7150; way too dark.

Ran a new cal, and it looks best with Brightness +10, contrast 0, WhiteEnhance Off, Temp 6500, Gamma 2.2, and Eco Mode. Odd that two of the same model projectors require such disparate settings. The new one has a newer P/N (997-3388-00), and it may have slightly different internals.

Picture is fine, but I am noticing though that with these new settings my blacker-than-black areas are gray. Maybe Gamma needs adjusting.