LeButler
03-04-09, 01:38 PM
Short tl;dr review: The Dell is is as bright as claimed, though build quality and contrast suffer and the low-speed colourwheel will be a dealbreaker for some.
Specs: 1920x1200, 3850 lumens, 2700:1 contrast, DLP.
Until quite recently, if you wanted 1080p on a truly large screen the entry cost was $15k - or over $25k for home cinema models.
Two new sub-$5k business-orientated options now exist: the Dell 7609WU (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&sku=224-1655&redirect=1) and Optoma EP1080 (http://www.optoma.co.uk/projectordetails.aspx?ShowMenu=B&PTypedb=Business&PC=EP1080).
No EP1080 demo units were available so I can only compare the Dell with my ageing but highly-regarded Sanyo PLV-70.
Setup: 14' wide (soon to be 16') blackout cloth screen in a lightly-decorated 28'x19'x12' multipurpose room with some ambient light. Used constantly; 55% for PC & games, 45% for TV & films.
Brightness: Until you quadruple the budget, no other 1080p-capable projector (except the EP1080) is close to being this bright. My PLV-70 is over double the brightness of most home cinema projectors (1650 (http://www.projectorcentral.com/sanyo_plv_70.htm) to 2000+ (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_4/sanyo-plv-70-12-2002.html) calibrated lumens), but comparing them side-by-side the Dell really is an extra 70% brighter still after calibration and 250 hours. Often manufacturers overstate lumens figures but not here.
Light uniformity: Poor. Corners are dimmer and colour-shifted, though only when you display an all-white image. This is true of all 3 units I've had, so it's unfortunately a "design feature".
Contrast: Is better than my PLV-70, though I doubt it compares favourably with any home cinema model from the past 2 years. That said, a contrast improvement concurrent with a near-doubling of lumen output is impressive enough.
Black: Letterbox bars during movies are only just discernable, black level is therefore much better than expected.
Focus: Surprisingly good quality lens: Sharpness is as good as a cheap desktop LCD monitor, making it very nice to use as an everyday computer display. Good uniformity across the full image width even when zoomed to maximum. Geometry also perfect - no "fisheye" etc.
Colour: I've grown used to a very (overly?) colourful image ... things don't look as "sumptuous" as on my other projector. Took a lot of experimentation to get a real red. Seems to improve after some use - or maybe I'm just getting used to the more accurate, film-like "DLP look".
Image processing: Didn't notice any tearing/posterization/judder with non 1:1 sources. Input lag not detectable normally but I believe there is some after testing with DWI (http://dwi.ddruk.com/about.php). PIP only available on Analgue inputs.
Rainbows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLP#The_DLP_.22rainbow_effect.22_in_single-chip_systems): The low-speed colorwheel (2x I think, albeit mitigated by the wheel type) means rainbows are regularly visible.
If you're sensitive to them, this is not the projector for you. For me, ordinary B&W films were "OK", just don't try watching Renaissance (http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=renaissance+movie). No headaches after 10+ hour sessions.
Remote: Menu is simplistic. Has laser & good range, but otherwise very cheap & underfeatured. However, the projector can be controlled over the network so I'm making a custom webpage that lets me use the iPhone as a remote instead.
Case: I quite like the minimalist/industrial look, fits nicely on an AV rack shelf. Almost no lightspill at all. Manual zoom is OK. The manual lensshift mechanism is very poorly-built/designed.
Connectivity: 2xHDMI, 2xVGA, DisplayPort, S-video, Composite, Component, 12v trigger. Annoyance: switching sources takes 3 seconds per input (!) that it cycles through.
Noise: Fan & colourwheel tone inoffensive. Quieter than PLV-70 but it's still "noisy". Onboard audio sounds good, certainly usable.
.
So, is it any good for home cinema?
The negatives listed above are common of models designed for the business presentation market - but apart from rainbows during films I'm happy to accept those compromises. The room is lit up so much by the screen alone that the latest "home cinema" levels of performance are probably impossible anyway.
I sent the first unit back due to poor brightness uniformity and the second due to a jammed lens shift. Warranty is excellent (3yr next day exchange) as was service: Dell had no hesitation in offering brand new replacements.
The third unit still has the light uniformity issue but otherwise performs flawlessly and I'm satisfied with the purchase given the limited choices. The alternative was to go without a new PJ for another 3+ years which is how long it'd take to save for a comparably-bright 3-chip DLP.
One amusing side effect of extreme brightness: I can see "smoke" (heat waves) emanating from above heads or my hand with a white background onscreen. I thought something was on fire behind me at first!
Specs: 1920x1200, 3850 lumens, 2700:1 contrast, DLP.
Until quite recently, if you wanted 1080p on a truly large screen the entry cost was $15k - or over $25k for home cinema models.
Two new sub-$5k business-orientated options now exist: the Dell 7609WU (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&sku=224-1655&redirect=1) and Optoma EP1080 (http://www.optoma.co.uk/projectordetails.aspx?ShowMenu=B&PTypedb=Business&PC=EP1080).
No EP1080 demo units were available so I can only compare the Dell with my ageing but highly-regarded Sanyo PLV-70.
Setup: 14' wide (soon to be 16') blackout cloth screen in a lightly-decorated 28'x19'x12' multipurpose room with some ambient light. Used constantly; 55% for PC & games, 45% for TV & films.
Brightness: Until you quadruple the budget, no other 1080p-capable projector (except the EP1080) is close to being this bright. My PLV-70 is over double the brightness of most home cinema projectors (1650 (http://www.projectorcentral.com/sanyo_plv_70.htm) to 2000+ (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_4/sanyo-plv-70-12-2002.html) calibrated lumens), but comparing them side-by-side the Dell really is an extra 70% brighter still after calibration and 250 hours. Often manufacturers overstate lumens figures but not here.
Light uniformity: Poor. Corners are dimmer and colour-shifted, though only when you display an all-white image. This is true of all 3 units I've had, so it's unfortunately a "design feature".
Contrast: Is better than my PLV-70, though I doubt it compares favourably with any home cinema model from the past 2 years. That said, a contrast improvement concurrent with a near-doubling of lumen output is impressive enough.
Black: Letterbox bars during movies are only just discernable, black level is therefore much better than expected.
Focus: Surprisingly good quality lens: Sharpness is as good as a cheap desktop LCD monitor, making it very nice to use as an everyday computer display. Good uniformity across the full image width even when zoomed to maximum. Geometry also perfect - no "fisheye" etc.
Colour: I've grown used to a very (overly?) colourful image ... things don't look as "sumptuous" as on my other projector. Took a lot of experimentation to get a real red. Seems to improve after some use - or maybe I'm just getting used to the more accurate, film-like "DLP look".
Image processing: Didn't notice any tearing/posterization/judder with non 1:1 sources. Input lag not detectable normally but I believe there is some after testing with DWI (http://dwi.ddruk.com/about.php). PIP only available on Analgue inputs.
Rainbows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLP#The_DLP_.22rainbow_effect.22_in_single-chip_systems): The low-speed colorwheel (2x I think, albeit mitigated by the wheel type) means rainbows are regularly visible.
If you're sensitive to them, this is not the projector for you. For me, ordinary B&W films were "OK", just don't try watching Renaissance (http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=renaissance+movie). No headaches after 10+ hour sessions.
Remote: Menu is simplistic. Has laser & good range, but otherwise very cheap & underfeatured. However, the projector can be controlled over the network so I'm making a custom webpage that lets me use the iPhone as a remote instead.
Case: I quite like the minimalist/industrial look, fits nicely on an AV rack shelf. Almost no lightspill at all. Manual zoom is OK. The manual lensshift mechanism is very poorly-built/designed.
Connectivity: 2xHDMI, 2xVGA, DisplayPort, S-video, Composite, Component, 12v trigger. Annoyance: switching sources takes 3 seconds per input (!) that it cycles through.
Noise: Fan & colourwheel tone inoffensive. Quieter than PLV-70 but it's still "noisy". Onboard audio sounds good, certainly usable.
.
So, is it any good for home cinema?
The negatives listed above are common of models designed for the business presentation market - but apart from rainbows during films I'm happy to accept those compromises. The room is lit up so much by the screen alone that the latest "home cinema" levels of performance are probably impossible anyway.
I sent the first unit back due to poor brightness uniformity and the second due to a jammed lens shift. Warranty is excellent (3yr next day exchange) as was service: Dell had no hesitation in offering brand new replacements.
The third unit still has the light uniformity issue but otherwise performs flawlessly and I'm satisfied with the purchase given the limited choices. The alternative was to go without a new PJ for another 3+ years which is how long it'd take to save for a comparably-bright 3-chip DLP.
One amusing side effect of extreme brightness: I can see "smoke" (heat waves) emanating from above heads or my hand with a white background onscreen. I thought something was on fire behind me at first!