It's Friday Jan 09 2009 and just browsing around for new PJ's but there's not much here but some that are very interesting including this Vivitek.

They claim it's the world's 1st Led HD DLP PJ so I have to believe them :-)

800 Lumens / 100,000:1 contrast
manual zoom & focus
Led life 20,000 hours
noise level 28db
44lbs
MSRP: $20,000
I was told by Calvin it may street for $16k
It was shown on a 60-70 inch screen the guy there (Calvin Chen) was not sure. I can tell you one thing though it is AWESOME. What a gorgeous picture, just amazing. The contrast is truly amazing & if I were to guess I'd say very
close if not acurate of 100k:1 it's that good.

It was shown in a very small boot only 2-3 people can fit in here so i got on
his good side and he let me pause it for a few shots, it was playing Pirates #1 and did I mention I also took 2 min of HD 720P video? Yes I did & I will upload it to youtube or if someone wants to host it I can send it to you & you can upload the original file without compression but that will have to wait till at least Monday night.

So far this is the best picture I've ever seen and YES better than my RS20 but the only downside is the lumens. It was very nice & bright at that size but would hate to see how dim it may look on a much bigger screen, it better be brighter for that price otherwise it's dead before it's even born which is June of 2009.

Going to see the new Sim 2 I believe it's called Lumis will try for photos & video there too & report back tomorrow.

This is all from my iPhone so please excuse any typos.

Thanks for the report. Is it safe to say the real D65 lumens are much less than the stated 800?

Thanks for the info Chris. Are you planning on going by the Sharp booth? If so, I'm curious about what their CR really is. Basically, does it just have a manual iris and they spec it as if the iris is dynamic (like InFocus looks like they are likely doing with the IN83), or does it really have a dynamic contrast ratio (and thus a dynamic iris or similar)?

It sounds like the Sharp may have less on/off CR than this Vivitek, but it would be interesting to hear what your eyes say.

Thanks,
Darin

I so glad somebody posted an initial impression on this baby. BTW is Vivitek launching a lower price LED pj? I could have sworn I read MSRP of $13,999 somewhere.........

Chris Dallas
I hope that you will be able to compare the Vivitek LED DLP with the one from Chil in using rgb LEDs. It seems light output is rather low but the static contrast is surprising me a bit. What kind of noise did you hear from the color wheel, moderate or low?

About picture quality
How much of an impact can the small screen be in your comparison to your RS20 which is on a much bigger screen. Sometimes a 19 inch crt can look better at a glance than the main 32 inch crt, in the good old days of course.

What about RBE?

How 'native' is this 100000:1 contrast?

And on another post - Jason had said 10K to 1 -- differnce of one zero - just a small difference. Anyone know if it is 10K or 100K. This could make a difference

How 'native' is this 100000:1 contrast?

Jason has posted an update to his CES Day 1 thread stating the Vivtec does have a dynamic iris. Switching the light source is not going to magically boost the native contrast of a DLP light engine, so there is no way they are getting a 100000:1 native. Now if it used variable LED intensity instead of a mechanical iris, I would think they could achieve impressive dynamic contrast while minimising the side effects normally found with a dynamic iris.

"Now if it used variable LED intensity instead of a mechanical iris, I would think they could achieve impressive dynamic contrast while minimising the side effects normally found with a dynamic iris."

Why? There will be brightness compression no matter how you dim the light source.

"Why? There will be brightness compression no matter how you dim the light source.

Since the light output could be adjusted on a per colour per frame basis, you could at least get rid of any lag due to a mechanical iris. While that would not eliminate something like brightness compression, it would reduce other DI artifacts such as when transitioning from a very bright to dark image, or from dark to light. While brightness compression would still be an issue, it could be less noticeable as well. I did say minimise, not eliminate the side effects. Clearly true native contrast would still be prefered.

I'm at the airport at the moment waiting for my flight, been sick as a dog got the flu Sat night & ended up in bed all of Sat and now Sun too :-( I will have photos and some HD Video that I took on this PJ this week coming.

Imo it threw the best picture at the show at that size remember the size they were displaying was small so it looked amazing & contrast was 2nd to none with or without a DI.

I also got to see the Sim2 PJ's although I've seen the HT5000 before I saw it again & it didn't impress me for a PJ in the $65k range but the other C3X Lumis was amazing. How good? Well, better im terms of "pumch" than the RS20 it just stands out but for the price in the mid $30's it is NOT that much better plus it does not imo have that "film like" image that I'm used to. I think that those that prefer a DLP image this is a great machine with great contrast but those that like the image of LcOs will prefer the RS20. I have many photos that I took plus some HD Video I will post this week.

The Optoma 8200 was also an amazing PJ it will street for about $4999 and in the sub $10k DLP's this is the one to beat. It looked so good on a 140" screen with the same punch as the C3X it truly looked just as good I'm my books but again its a single chip and rainbows may be apronlem for some, I'm not affected by them. I also have lots of screenshots and Video that I will ne posting.

Next was the Sharp XV-Z15000 and let me tell you on a 108" screen it blows away the Panasonic 3000 and the Epson 7500UB which I saw and did not like. I have lots of screenshots & video for this one too stay tuned.

On another note I got some info of a new 3-chip Sharp DLP in the works but will be expensive around $25k street possibly end of this year.

Hi Chris great report. Sorry to hear you got sick, get better.
Looking forward to the videos and pictures.
Do you think the Sharp 3 chip will be a true Sharp product or another OEM. At that price point if its engineered from the ground up it could give some competition to a few others in its price range. Looks like Cedia will be bringing us some exciting products.

Hi Alan thx for the kind words hope to get better soon.

According to a female and male representative there, not sure their names I have them both in photos, the man there which I believe his name was Gazu said that its all Sharp from the very bottom on up so it will be interesting indeed. I had to beg him for info I was there a while and got on his good side, originally he was hush hush didnt want to talk about it cause i picked his brain & then he started talking about their 3-chipper that's on the drawing board so we shall see.

Although the sharp and the Optoma was moving pictures when I took the shots the Vivitek and the Sim2 guys I made both of them pause the PJ's when I took shots & they came out real nice they both liked me so the allowed me to do what I wanted I get demanding a lot until they give in :-)

Chris,

"The Optoma 8200 was also an amazing PJ it will street for about $4999 and in the sub $10k DLP's this is the one to beat."

Is the operative word "DLP", i.e., does it give the JVC's a run for their mone?

Hope you get better soon.

Chris,

"The Optoma 8200 was also an amazing PJ it will street for about $4999 and in the sub $10k DLP's this is the one to beat."

Is the operative word "DLP", i.e., does it give the JVC's a run for their mone?

Hope you get better soon.

Hi Noah,

It's a personal preference I guess, for me, the RS20 gives the best picture considering the size of screens that I've seen. So, up to a 150" width I say the RS20 cannot be beat even with the high end Sim 2's but that's just my preference now I'm gonna get slammed by coldmachine :-)

For a size of up to 70" the Vivitek cannot be beat its just that good but it was bright enough at that size I don't think it will do as good on anything bigger which is too bad I'd take this Vivitek over any PJ out there at the moment if it could be brighter. The 900 lumens advertized is prolly not true.

Chris thanks for your impressions. Look forward to your pictures and video. Interesting times with LED technology and Sharp's 3-Chipper DLP.

However you missed the most important annoucement at CES. Monster Cables new $1800 HDMI Cable ;) -

http://apcmag.com/monster_unveils_1800_cable__very_expensive_unfortunately.htm

If the light output is the initial concern, I am pretty sure that someone with unlimited budget can running 2 units at the same time and produce the best 100-110" picture.

Chris, great report. Did they say when the Vivitek is going to ship?

The HD8200 is superior to the RS20 to me. Very bright with good contrast and the rated ansi of 660:1 created a highly defined image. A very polished look. Weight 18.5 lbs., 1.5x zoom, 1.49 - 2.28x throw, 1300 lumens, 20k contrast, 220watt uhp, 2 remotes. Joe Kanes demo at the Dalite with the new Affinity screen and the Sanyo 900 was excellent with real video. Even the test patterns looked more resolved then ever. The LG 3D demo was spectacular on their 150 screen. Fantastic animated movie.

Is it superior to you because of the higher ANSI contrast, even despite higher black level and lower on/off , it still creates more "pop" ? Or are there other factors like sharpness and motion blur ?

Is it superior to you because of the higher ANSI contrast, even despite higher black level and lower on/off , it still creates more "pop" ? Or are there other factors like sharpness and motion blur ?

Looks like someone will have to spend 20k to find out but at least we are getting a glimpse into LED technology and it is sounding promising.

Chris thanks for your impressions. Look forward to your pictures and video. Interesting times with LED technology and Sharp's 3-Chipper DLP.

However you missed the most important annoucement at CES. Monster Cables new $1800 HDMI Cable ;) -

http://apcmag.com/monster_unveils_1800_cable__very_expensive_unfortunately.htm

Oh man, the "comments" section is a riot to read, especially once a representative from Monster shows up.

The HD8200 is superior to the RS20 to me. Very bright with good contrast and the rated ansi of 660:1 created a highly defined image. A very polished look. Weight 18.5 lbs., 1.5x zoom, 1.49 - 2.28x throw, 1300 lumens, 20k contrast, 220watt uhp, 2 remotes. Joe Kanes demo at the Dalite with the new Affinity screen and the Sanyo 900 was excellent with real video. Even the test patterns looked more resolved then ever. The LG 3D demo was spectacular on their 150 screen. Fantastic animated movie.Just to be clear, I think you mean Samsung, the new SP-A900B w/ DC4. At $15K UltimateAV thought it provided the best image at the show.

Chris Dallas
Now I know why JVC didn´t dare come to CES, they were afraid that your mind power would expose their upcoming laser d-ila projector! :)

It would be interesting to have the Vivitek projecting on an HP screen to see if that would allow it to project a similar image on a larger screen size.

Sorry for not responding I'm headed to emergency as I type my fever got worse it's at the highest, I've never been this sick before and it started early Saturday afternoon which is worrying me a lot. Will follow up on all photos & videos I took for all PJ's as I get better.

now I'm gonna get slammed by coldmachine

even I wouldn't slam a dude in the ER.:)

Good luck, and hope all's well.

Sorry for not responding I'm headed to emergency as I type my fever got worse it's at the highest, ...

Ahhh, Chris is a true AVSer. Still typing away as they load him into the ambulance. "But wait, I still have one more post!", he shouts to the paramedics as they drop the oxygen mask over his face. :eek:

They got my fever back down so here I am back home.

Here are some screen shots of this Vivitek as promised, the videos I took are too large and flicker won't allow uploading over 150mb :mad:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34271874@N05/

Chris, thanks for the updates. Did you get a chance to find out what the colour wheel speed is on the Optoma? or if they are doing anything to lessen the rainbows? Any word of when Optoma will release an LED projo?

No didn't ask but I believe it's a 6 speed & no word on a LED PJ from anyone at the booth I did ask just about everyone there.

Any word of when Optoma will release an LED projo?

Tom Guitarman in contact with Optoma's techies and possible has info.

I was also there and saw all the projectors you mentioned except the sim2. I have not seen the new JVCs also as their show was invite only.

I also thought the optoma looked great, as did the epson and the panny. I thought the sharp was good not great. And I inquired about them bringing to market a 3 chip and the associate said "not that he knows".

Additionally I saw the led proj and didn't like it. Maybe it was the source or the room but to my eye it looked washed out and dull. Certainly not worth the money.

I really wanted to see the JVC RS20 and was sorely disappointed at the show when I found out I couldn't.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/3192266789_29ca6eff54_b.jpg
Ha, I can see the picture is off the screen by about three inches.

"Now if it used variable LED intensity instead of a mechanical iris, I would think they could achieve impressive dynamic contrast while minimising the side effects normally found with a dynamic iris."

Why? There will be brightness compression no matter how you dim the light source.

the brightness compression is color specific and that should offer some benefits. Also the color mixing will be much faster than a wheel

I'm at the airport at the moment waiting for my flight, been sick as a dog got the flu Sat night & ended up in bed all of Sat and now Sun too :-( I will have photos and some HD Video that I took on this PJ this week coming.

Imo it threw the best picture at the show at that size remember the size they were displaying was small so it looked amazing & contrast was 2nd to none with or without a DI.

I also got to see the Sim2 PJ's although I've seen the HT5000 before I saw it again & it didn't impress me for a PJ in the $65k range but the other C3X Lumis was amazing. How good? Well, better im terms of "pumch" than the RS20 it just stands out but for the price in the mid $30's it is NOT that much better plus it does not imo have that "film like" image that I'm used to. I think that those that prefer a DLP image this is a great machine with great contrast but those that like the image of LcOs will prefer the RS20. I have many photos that I took plus some HD Video I will post this week.

The Optoma 8200 was also an amazing PJ it will street for about $4999 and in the sub $10k DLP's this is the one to beat. It looked so good on a 140" screen with the same punch as the C3X it truly looked just as good I'm my books but again its a single chip and rainbows may be apronlem for some, I'm not affected by them. I also have lots of screenshots and Video that I will ne posting.

Next was the Sharp XV-Z15000 and let me tell you on a 108" screen it blows away the Panasonic 3000 and the Epson 7500UB which I saw and did not like. I have lots of screenshots & video for this one too stay tuned.

On another note I got some info of a new 3-chip Sharp DLP in the works but will be expensive around $25k street possibly end of this year.

I agree with you on sim2 ht5000 the high black levels relative to the RS 20 prevent it from having a truly superior performance.

What did Optima due to the 8200 which makes it such a superior machine? It sounds like the best buy at the show especially for DLP lovers.

I agree with you on sim2 ht5000 the high black levels relative to the RS 20 prevent it from having a truly superior performance.

What did Optima due to the 8200 which makes it such a superior machine? It sounds like the best buy at the show especially for DLP lovers.

It's a DC3 I believe.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/researchers-develop-higher-efficiency-leds/

Well that's good news for brighter pj's in the future :)

Additionally I saw the led proj and didn't like it. Maybe it was the source or the room but to my eye it looked washed out and dull. Certainly not worth the money.

Your not the first to have picked up on that.

There was a lot of washout, and the colors are way off atm. The company themselves realize its not ready for release yet. It is better than the horrific LED attempt that was demonstrated at a couple of shows last year.

Its still an exciting glimpse of the future.