Originally posted by QldHT


"Australian TV Standard Compatibility:- Australia is the ONLY country in the world which has legislated the 1080i 50Hz HDTV transmition standard. The US standard is different and the Europeans are still deciding on a final standard with several variations possible. The product sold in the USA may not work correctly with our signals and US manufacturers and distributors will not offer upgrades or solutions to an incompatibility issues with Australian standards (What ever the dealer tells you)..."

So my question (finally) is... do you guys see any reason that a US purchased H30 would work any differently than a locally sourced, Australian H30? Is the importer just trying to worry me into a local purchase?

The Australian HDTV transmission standard is indeed different from North America. But the signal still needs to be received by a HTPC, satellite or cable box receiver where it will need to be converted to a component (analog signal) so that the H30 can then change it back to a 1080i/50 digital signal. At this point, if you look at the Optoma H30 specs, it supports vertical refresh rates between 43 and 85 Hz. Since the 1080i signal is being transmitted at 50Hz (rather than 60 Hz as in North America) the projector should have no problem displaying it. Anyone who uses a HTPC with Powerstrip normally has the functionality of changing the refresh rates to try and optimize the video signal so the projector shows the best picture possible. If someone on this forum is using a HTPC feeding an H30 with this functionality, perhaps they could try the 50 Hz refresh and see if it indeed works properly. I would assume there would not be a problem.

John :)

"If someone on this forum is using a HTPC feeding an H30 with this functionality, perhaps they could try the 50 Hz refresh and see if it indeed works properly. I would assume there would not be a problem"

Nice going

I'm just about ready to give up on the 4805 and jump on the Optoma band wagon. Here's my question? Tom, made it sound as though the new ones are supposed to ship with the firmware update, the lens hood, and backlit remote. My local dealer just received two new projectors last week, they had been out of stock, when I went to demo it three weeks ago. Anyway, he doesn't want to open the box, to check to see if these are the new projectors or not, I can't say I blame him. Does anyone know if the serial numbers will tell this information?

If it's the new one, I'll go buy it, if not, I'll wait a bit longer.

Thanks for the help.

Buffster,

Do you blame him. I wouldn't open them either unless you bought one :)

I called Optoma and talked to a man named Arun, in customer support, he said the projector should have the new firmware, but he said the screen mask, when it comes will only be an accesory, and will never ship with the H30, he also told me that there is no backlit remote or plans for one.

I called Optoma and talked to a man named Arun, in customer support, he said the projector should have the new firmware, but he said the screen mask, when it comes will only be an accesory, and will never ship with the H30, he also told me that there is no backlit remote or plans for one.

I too heard that the lens mask is an accessory, not being shipped with units. I couldn't get an answer on the backlit remote, I find it hard to believe. Maybe the other poster got shipped the remote from another unit accidentally? (i.e. a higher priced one).

I guess we need Wing to come back and answer a few of the "pressing questions." :)

QldHT ,
--- Sorry for wait , I just saw your post and should be able to help .
--- I have used 50Hz refresh with my HTPC on the H30 and it does indeed work .
--- Now does that mean that all of your sources will work over there , I am not sure honestly [ but 50Hz does work at standard resolutions with an NTSC H30 ] .

----------- Jason

Since adidadi got a new projector with the lens mask and backlit remote I'll assume that he got one of the shipment that just came in from Taiwan with the firmware calibrated everything.

The factory in California had a small amount of the original shipment that they loaded the firmware on. You have to figure that these will have the old accessories (non-backlit remote) / never had a lens mask.

No word from the Marketing rep. on upgrading previous users yet. I did mention that the HQ in Taiwan has already agreed to send out the Masks and the Remotes to previous buyers and to use that information when they have their meeting here in California. They do have a different boss here in the US, so lets hope he see's it the same way as Taiwan did.

Originally posted by DaGamePimp

-- 800x600 uses standard timings .
----------- Jason

Hey Pimp,
Would that also hold true for resolutions up to 1280x1024? The H30 will just scale the image down? Or will I need something else to get it working at those higher resolutions.
Setting resolution to 1280x1024 and Refresh to 85Hz enough?
As always, Thanks.

Optoma shouldn't be setting double standards here- what's good for one H30 should be good for the other. I don't see the lens mask being a $50 accessory nor a backlit remote. Seems like they can't get their duckies in a row or set the record straight. Not sure if Wing could even help since the info we've been getting up until the one lens mask surfaced had been a "in the future item."
Seems like the lens mask should be a feature since this thing was originally marketed as a 16:9 pj. To me, the lens mask feature is the one thing, that makes this a 16:9 pj which is what i want. Had this not been mentioned -i would have probably waited for the other 16:9.

I guess we'll see how this really pans out as other new releases show up.

rudee

I think adidadi is a frustrated 4805 desirer just screwin' with us :D

Yet another long time lurker that has been following this thread for sometime now...

I am very close to pulling the trigger on the Optoma H30 to complete my dedicated home theater that has been about 2years in the making. The 27in Phillips direct view just isn't cutting it anymore and looks darn silly sitting between the two large Paradigms in front. It's pathetic really...

Anyway on to my point.

I just spoke with projectorpeople about the availability of this projector and they stated that they were expecting a shipment early next week. If I were to order one from them I am assuming that it would have the updated firmware, lens mask, and backlit remote. Is this a correct assumption?

I guess the only thing that I would care about would be that it had the updated firmware so that I wouldn't have to part with it to have it updated... (I have a 90" 4:3 Carada screen)

Have people been receiving their projectors with the updates lately?

Is there any reason not to order this projector from them today?

Hey Jason-

While we're on the subject of PC resolution... (don't you just love it when I start a post like this :)) I know you're a gamer and I've been trying to dig through that mountain of info over in the "home theater gaming" thread, interesting stuff by the way.

For games like UT that you play- do you just play them at 800x600 or scale them down from higher res? I play FPS like Call of Duty (rocks), MOH and RTCW. I'm wondering if I need something like Powerstrip for this or can I just use 800x600? I will not use the PC for movies.

Thanks man!! hikrate- you just provide the best lead-ins :)

I'm not sure if that's a fair assumption. What I would assume is that it would at least have the updated firmware. Other than that there seems to be some confusion/and or contridiction about the backlit remote and lens mask.

hikarate: I've only tried 800x600 and 1024x768, but you won't need powerstrip for these at least. Be mindful though that pretty much any refresh rate but 60hz introduces tearing in video playback, not a big problem but it's worth noting.

gottahavepj: It might depend upon the game, but so far I've preferred running games in 800x600 and adding 4xAA and 8xAF. Looks real good, but you may need higher resolutions in games where the interface takes up a lot of space, for instance.

Thats what I suspected.

The firmware is a "must" but the remote and mask are only "nice to haves"

Ben_Mueller-

Welcome to this most informative place to hang out you fellow Minnesotan you. Actually- I should fess up and change my profile info as I moved to North Dakota a short while ago for tax purposes. I just can't bring myself to admit that (I guess I just did) after being born and raised in MN and all the years we spent making jokes about ND :)

Anyway- several posters here should be receiving their H30's in the next week of which I believe I will be one of them :) We will all certainly post the contents of our boxes when we get them and perhaps a pattern will emerge. I know I talked to a distributor last week that through shopping.com showed they had "new and unopened" in stock (that should give you a clue as to who that was). They indicated they had sent their 10 back to Optoma for firmware upgrade and expected them back next week. I would assume that since those were not new arrivals from Taiwan that they probably would not have the extra goodies in the box. Who knows though. Not all 10 of theirs were spoken for as of last week either.

Hope that helps and welcome!!

adidadi,

Can you check your serial number and post it sometime. I'm wondering if there is a certain date or serial number that includes the "goodies." The new projectors at my local dealer are 080A414AAAAAA1082, and 1078. The optoma CS agent said they were made the 1st week of April. I'm wondering if your was manufactured around the !st week of April.

Thanks

Buffster, April 5th and after is the factory date for machines from Taiwan that have the new firmware and supplies.

gottahavapj,

Thanks for the reply. So there are a number of people expecting their projector this coming week. Hmmm... This whole projector purchase has been like ripping off a band aid. I think I could sit here contemplating the task at hand forever but I need to make up my mind and just do it.

So you ditched MN for No Dak huh. It does seem kind of ironic that a Minnesotan who grew up making Dakota jokes (which is just about everyone) now lives there. The only think funnier would have been a move to Iowa!

Originally posted by MrJones
hikarate: I've only tried 800x600 and 1024x768, but you won't need powerstrip for these at least.

Thanks MrJones. I am just concerned about games for right now. Will probably eventually go the HTPC route, but thats a whole nother project. Thanks for the tip on 60mhz, that makes sense. Match the refresh rate with the framerate. I've been busy playing PlanetSide lately. Looking forward to playing it on the big 4:3 screen! That will be sick.

Thanks Guitarman,

I'll have to check back with Optoma, and see if they can give me a more diffinitive date, rather than just the 1st week of April.

Originally posted by Ben_Mueller
So you ditched MN for No Dak huh. It does seem kind of ironic that a Minnesotan who grew up making Dakota jokes (which is just about everyone) now lives there. The only think funnier would have been a move to Iowa!

Good point on Iowa- didn't think of that :) Oh well- I just keep reminding myself of the several hundred bucks a month saved on taxes and I'll be the brunt of those jokes :)

Have a good one! Cheers!

I just ordered one... Hope it meets expectations :).

hikarate & gottahavapj ,

--- The H30 does best with its NATIVE rez of 800x600 @ 60Hz but you certainly can run up to 1280x1024 with no issues as far as gaming is concerned [ at least from my experience thus far ] .

--- Remember that no matter what you send it [ up to 1280x1024 ] it is still just scaled to 800x600 [ I am sure you both know this already but I wanted to point it out just in-case others did not know ;) ] .

--- Mr. Jones has the best suggestion above for gaming on the H30 , running 800x600 with 4xAA should make most gamers pretty happy with the resulting image [ almost no jaggies :) - which reminds me that I need to post a new gaming screen-shot with 4xAA ;) ] .



---------- Jason

ARRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH ...

---- Well I just plugged the H30 back in after being off for a couple days and guess what .... I have a blinking AMBER/Orange light [ No Green ] :( .

---- And here I thought I would follow what Tom said an Optoma Tech told him was best for the H30 .

---- Man do I have some bad luck or what :( !

----- I will unplug it and keep trying to see if it comes back to life but this is getting really frustrating considering this is my second H30 in about 2 months , and then there's the remote issue [ which I still have not sent back in - my fault there since I was hoping to buy a full-on learning remote that can hold all the H30 functions ] .

---- What a way to start the weekend , especially considering it is my wifes B-day today and we are having a party tonight ... UGH !


------ Jason

"I just ordered one... Hope it meets expectations"

You got and arrival date? You have no worries on the expectations.

Ok the ERROR seems to be the 'OVER TEMP' [ Orange on Power and Flashing on Temp ] .

---- Hmmm ... how could it have Over Temp when I just plugged it in after being unplugged for two days .


----- Jason

Call Optoma support before it gets too late. I thought the remote fixed itself? Hey if you have to send it in you'll get the new firmware automatic. Unless it's a swap out, then you'll get all the new goodies.

Originally posted by guitarman
"I just ordered one... Hope it meets expectations"

You got and arrival date? You have no worries on the expectations.

Not yet. It hear there's a shipment coming in shortly however, hopefully Monday. I'm having it checked for the new firmware/remote before it's sent.

Ok , I unplugged it for a bit then just plugged it back in and I now have a green flasher on the power but the temp light is on too and the remote does nothing .

---- I am going to call Tech Support in a few mins. as you suggest Tom . I just want to have all bases covered if they start asking what it does .

------- Jason

If Monday tell them to ship 2nd or 3-day. If the remote and Lens are in there then it's got the firmware also.

Jason, now this is weird it almost seems like switching the power off which takes all the electricity away from the PJ maybe caused the problem. Like I said the projector stays warm when in standby. Ask them about that.

Ok so I hit the power button on the H30 itself [ since the remote wouldn't do it ] and it powers up and the Temp light goes out .

--- This is too strange !

--- Now my concern is that if they cannot re-create the issue they will just ship it right back .

--- Getting the new extras would be cool but if nothing else I think they should at least replace the PJ and the remote .


*** OMG , now the remote is working again ...
-------- AHHHHH !!! , just lost some more hair !


----------- Jason

Aw Heck :( ,

--- I am gonna' call and have them pick it up , I am not going to take my chances on this unit and I hope I can at least convince them to replace it with a New unit [ c05 firmware ] and remote [ back-lit or not - does not matter to me ] .


----- Jason

--- At only about 90 hours use this should not be happening .

Use the projector for a while it may never happen again. I just talked to Wing about the Standby mode for the projector. Thinking that the other info I got had something to do with your problem. He said it wouldn't be related. But did say the Stanby mode is ok for overnight and the recomendation of completly turning power off is a good idea if you go on a vacation/ not using the PJ for weeks at a time. In standby he says it just a couple of volts going to the PJ and that's minor. He also said the unplugging is a good idea if your area is prone to power surges. Like where I live the Electric co. is always losing it right in the middle of the night. So these kind of power surges for me is best to power off.

(Quickly fills out Optoma UK warranty card to send in post tomorrow)

Jason, what if the never happens again. You outta test it out a while.

Also Wing says if you ever see the Orange light not to pull the plug becuase it's trying to reset the temp. Was the fan going?

Just got off the phone with Tech support for RMA and discovered they have no H30's available at this time . They are expecting a shipment soon but a best guess from Tech Support was a couple weeks .

--- Very good Customer Service as I was offered a choice for a swap if I was not comfortable with keeping my current unit [ or having it repaired ] .

--- I will be doing the swap process as soon as they have more units available .


------- Jason

Tom ,
--- I am going to continue using the PJ over the next couple weeks [ until they have one for me ] so we will see if it happens again .

--- The tech said it was probably a sync issue but I had no sources on at the time it was fired up .

--- I an not comfortable with this particular PJ over the long haul as it seems to be a problematic unit . I don't even care if they just replace the PJ & remote and send me back all my accessories [ I just want my $1400.00 purchase to be reliable ] .

--- Tell Wing I said thank you for his input on the matter and thank you very much for asking him about it :) .

--- Oh and the unit was on for a good 10-15 mins. with the temp light before I unplugged it [ I cannot imagine it takes that long to reset and the better question is why did it do it at all ] . The fan was not going as far as I could tell .

--- My concern with testing it out a while is that beyond the 90 days they would just try and repair it . I have gone down that path before with electronics and it always seems to be a nightmare and things never get repaired properly [ shipping back and forth gets expensive even if you only pay one way shipping - which is what Optoma told me I would have to do since it is more than 30 days old (about 45) , you are without the item for long periods while shipping and waiting for parts/repair ] .


--------- Jason

"Oh and the unit was on for a good 10-15 mins. with the temp light before I unplugged it [ I cannot imagine it takes that long to reset and the better question is why did it do it at all ] ."

That's good, Wing said he didn't want people in general pulling the plug if they see an Orange light.

On a good note, I never mentioned when Wing did a calibration on my projector we ran a contrast ratio test. Now usually projectors fall off in this area and come in allot lower than specs. We got a very respectable 1891.1
Which should improve even more with the lens mask.

So, will the 4805 be offering a 3 year warranty ;)

Honestly, that 3rd year would sway me much more than dvi or the 50 extra pixels in 16:9.

I am getting cold feet again. With my luck, my unit will probaly melt, flash the orange light, and finally blow a bulb in day 98...

:D

I must say though I applaud the continuous improvements Optoma is applying to this PJ. It is rare to see a manufacturer fix and improve products without changing the product number...and charging more.

Marco ,

--- the Optoma customer service {tech} rep. was very nice and professional [ good CS is always important with gear like this ] . I was actually given a choice of what I wanted to do , they did not dictate to me what I would have to do [ other than going through the RMA process ] .

--- Looks like I get to play the wait game with the rest of you now ;) [ waiting for a new unit to be available ] .

--- I have a feeling the older units are the ones that are more problematic and that certain updates have been used on the more current production to solve some issues .

---------- Jason

I am gettin more and more afraid of all these failures...
Maybe i should wait till another good pj comes by that doesnt have these problems. Ik know service is good (i hope thats also true in europe) but i dont want this to happen outside of the warrantperiod, since i am a student who only can afford once such an amount..

"--- The tech said it was probably a sync issue but I had no sources on at the time it was fired up ."

He probably meant an electrical hiccup.

I think once or twice my pj didn't fire up on first try and hiccuped. If I remember right it was on but no light came from the lens. I just powered off with the remote and the next time it fired up correctly. That was a long time ago. First couple of weeks I had it I think.

"Maybe i should wait till another good pj comes by that doesnt have these problems."

lol, I sent back 3 HT1000's in a row with dead pixels and then my now HT1000 got sent back for a dark shadow along the right side of the screen. The last problem was a repair job the others were a quick swap. This is the game we play. :) At least it's not a 300lb RPTV with their own set of problems. I still have raster ringing on my Toshiba think I could get a new one?

so has just one person got the lens mask in the box?

HOLY MOLY....IT HAS LEFT THE GATES OF DELL!!!!

Hopefully I will be enjoying it next week with a lens mask. It had been delayed to the 26th, but its on its way.

They shipped it airborne express. Is that overnight?

Adidadi could you please post your serial number to see which ones are coming with the lens mask. Well thats assuming the serial number has anything to do with it.

jigrillo- good for you man! You keep us informed of every detail.

Jason- It stinks that you are having to deal with a suspect unit. You, Tom and Mike should have received the cherry units considering all the goodwilll you have performed. Hang in there my friend!

Cheers!

Yep, mine shipped today as well. Originally slated for the 30th. Ordered 3/18. Good luck to all of us!

I have been trying to cancel my order at hell for over a week now by phone & e-mail & the crapheads shipped it today, after an angry phone call they are trying to recall it so I don't have to ship it back.

Why are you cancelling the order kfc? Did you decide on another projector?
Can you just refuse to accept the package when it comes to your place?

Thanks for the replies. It can be hard to keep up with this thread - I was gone less than 24hrs and already 3 more pages of information to digest!! I don't know when some of you guys ever get time to watch your H30s :)

Good luck to all those waiting for delivery in the next few days lets hope you're all the proud owners of back-lit remotes and lens masks and reliable H30s!

Cheers,
Steve

Originally posted by jigrillo
Why are you cancelling the order kfc? Did you decide on another projector?
Can you just refuse to accept the package when it comes to your place?

After I ordered I discovered that I would need to use a lot of tilt & keystoning to get my image where I need it due to the large offset, as I have a very low ceiling where the PJ needs to be mounted. In the end I went with the sharp Z90u (DT200), which I know is inferior from Toms posts since he used to own the DT200 too, and it cost me a few hundred more, but it works for me, and I have been enjoying it for a while, so its all good. Plus I am only looking at it as a hold me over PJ right now.

If it gets here they said that they will arrange to send it back, I would just have to resist opening it and giving it a test run.

Wweeeerrrrrreeee gonna have a LOT of H30 feedback here next week aren't we???? :)

Well tonight was a bust with the H30 , went to fire it up and no image or remote function .

-- I let it run for a few minutes and all I got was a 4:3 screen full of vertical bars [ looked like a bar code ] . There was no signal going to it so it was not a sync issue [ and I gave it plenty of time to sync up ] .

--- Looks like I will be unable to use it at all during the waiting period for the replacement :( .

--------- Jason

Jason,
Odd...You got an H30 with an attitude. Have you tried switching electrical outlets. Probably won't work, but worth a try.

Originally posted by Marco T
So, will the 4805 be offering a 3 year warranty ;)

Honestly, that 3rd year would sway me much more than dvi or the 50 extra pixels in 16:9.

The Optoma H30 is marketed under the ThemeScene brand in the UK and has a 3yr, next-day swap out warranty as standard :)

jigrillo ,
--- It is actually on a line conditioned [clean power] protected circuit ;) .
-------- Jason

Tom/Jason

Probably a simple question but how do I get a 4:3 image to centre within a 16:9 screen with the H30?.
My cable box is set to 16:9 format and on my RPTV if I select 4:3 screen format I get the bars on the left and right and when it receives a 16:9 signal it automatically switches the the correct 16:9 aspect....
With the H30 set to 16:9 the 4:3 image is just stretched. If I set it to 4:3 the image then goes full 800x600 and wont fit into my planned 16:9 pulldown screen.
I'm connected to the cable box via the SCART RGB adapter.
Any ideas? :)

simong ,

--- If you have the c04 firmware then that is the way it functions with RGB sources in either 4:3 or 4:3 Native .

--- If you have the c05 firmware then using 4:3 [ not 4:3 native ] should get you a centered 4:3 image within your 16:9 screen .

------------ Jason

Thanks Jason

I'll check, but it looks like I have the old firmware :(

Hi, im interesting in h30 projector, i hope to buy it next week. But, i would like that somebody with h30 post some photos of "Nemo" and "Matrix 2".
Sorry, but my english is very bad.
Thank you very much ;)
Regards.

jig-
mine shipped airborne too but click the link to airborne on the confirmation email and it takes you to DHL- Mine hasn't budged since it was picked up from shipper's door on the 15th. It is scheduled for a thursday delivery. i'm a bonehead for not selecting overnite delivery.

good luck

Jason-
sorry to hear about the pj crapping out right before the wifey's b-day party- that's a real bummer.
i hope we don't see stats on this nasty issue rise when this pj gets out in numbers- if i were a batting man i'm not sure where i would put my money - my gut tells me that this is only going to get worse but i'm optimistic and hope for the best. If i get one it'll go back for good and i'll play the waitin' game again. I don't want to have to worry about "having to baby" this pj- i as well as my wife and kids will be using it-

My set up has the pj on a dedicated 15amp circuit and isolated ground. Power is controlled by a switch. In the past i have always left pj's on standby for the weekends and flipped the switch during the week. We get some hefty thunderstorms around here in the summer. I will do nothing different with the H30. At $400 bucks keeping a spare bulb on hand is not an option now and seems like not a fix anyway if they have to test the circuits.


rudee

Rudee
Mine is scheduled for a Monday delivery. The funny thing is that it shipped from Carrolton, Texas which is 10 minutes from me. From there it went to a sorting facility in Waco which is 100 miles away.

Rudee, DHL owns Airborne -- same company.

"Hi, im interesting in h30 projector, i hope to buy it next week. But, i would like that somebody with h30 post some photos of "Nemo" and "Matrix 2". "


Gn0m0rz:

You can find screen shots from the H-30 at DaGamePimp website.
and at the beginning of this thread you have tom's legendary screen shots that brought us all here.

Ariel

Jason, black & white jailbar on fire up. I had that happen maybe twice on the HT1000. Resart, consider it like a computer that got froze. Restarting will clear it up.

Originally posted by valkyrie
Yep, mine shipped today as well. Originally slated for the 30th. Ordered 3/18. Good luck to all of us!

valkyrie,

I also ordered mine on 3/18 have you been expediting or did you just get an "automated email" to announce delivery?

Checking my Order Status everthing is the same "ship before 4/30".

I hope they didn't run out before meeting backlog.

Fred

All you lucky dogs are going to get the Lens Mask & Lit Remote. Let us know more details on the Lens mask. Like how the picture looks with or without and for 4.3 & 16.9?

Gn0m0rz ,
--- Remember that screen-shots should not be used as a basis for buying a Projector . You really have to see it for yourself to understand .

_____________________________


Tom ,

--- Yeah I figured it was a glitch [ vertical bars ] but my H30 is having too many issues now and is not something that I can just ignore :( .

--- Hopefully they will get another shipment in soon .


_______________________

--------- Jason

Originally posted by guitarman
All you lucky dogs are going to get the Lens Mask & Lit Remote. Let us know more details on the Lens mask. Like how the picture looks with or without and for 4.3 & 16.9?

If they ever decide to ship mine, I will post on the FAQ how the lens mask works. If it's actually included.

Well, Ive just come back from my dealer, after another viewing to make sure I was totally happy with the H30, and TBH even though here in the UK we are paying a far higher price than you guys over the pond, for this sort of money the H30 cant be beaten IMO.

Ive put a pre order in with my dealer, as Ive yet to finish off my garage conversion, but Ive decided to go with the H30, c/w a 96" diag Draper Luma screen and a custom made mount from www.lmp-pc.co.uk.

The models they currently have in stock dont feature the lens mask or backlit remote, so therefore they must also have the older firmware revision, but hopefully by the time Im ready to pick my unit up, they will have replaced the stock with the newer shipments from optoma uk.

Not particularly bothered about the remote TBH as I'll only be using it to teach the commands to my Phillips Pronto, and then it'll be redundant, along with all the other remotes Ive got lying around.

Hopefully by this time next month I'll be ready to install the PJ & screen..so beware !! ;)

"for this sort of money the H30 cant be beaten IMO. "

Brighness, blacks, colors I bet. :)

Jason,
I started a thread in the 3.5up forum re startup hangups. Lets see how many others have had some.

I also ordered mine on 3/18 have you been expediting or did you just get an "automated email" to announce delivery?

Fred,

I hadn't called Dell or received the automated email. I simply checked the order status page and it showed "shipped" with a DHL tracking number. I ordered on the 18th. For what it's worth, my order number was 688836254.

According to Optoma, they did send enough to fill Dell's backorder, though my shipping origin was "Ingram Micro." I'd bet your order shows in the system early this week.

Cheers.

I'm using a piece of gatorboard 3/4" thick 60"x106" 122"diagonal gatorboard ( i use this stuff at work- tough as nails, lite as a feather and smooth as a baby's butt- oh and FREE!) rolled with some special flavor paint concogtion from the screen forum (mississippi man formula) i can't wait to see what the H30 is going to do for it. I'll be adjusting the size when i see what looks best- it was nice to hear from Tom that the optoma showroom had the H30 pushing a larger than usual image. Cool thing about gator is i can trim it down with a utility knife.
Heck if guitarman dosn't stop pushing this 4:3 stuff i may break out my old 72x96 4:3
I'm expecting nothing less than stellar from this CHEAP projector:D

mine shipped from Mira Loma, CA on the 15th
rudee

Originally posted by guitarman
All you lucky dogs are going to get the Lens Mask & Lit Remote. Let us know more details on the Lens mask. Like how the picture looks with or without and for 4.3 & 16.9?
I asked this a couple of pages ago and it got lost in this fast shuffle :) By the looks of the mask/cap from adidadi's picture- would you leave that on for 4:3 full screen viewing???

Thanks! Cheers!

It did include the lens mask, a backlit remote and the power button seems to be different. The entire button seems to glow in green when on.

I do leave the lens mask in at all times, for 4X3 as well. The rectangle goes at the top of the lens. It does not cast a shadow over the top of a 4 X3 image, but you can almost feel the top is darkened a bit, yet I don't think it is.

Also, Jason and anyone experiencing the orange light malfunction and wheezing, I would demand a replacement. They can do a credit card secured cross ship. They ship out the unit to you secured by a credit card and you send yours back.

As I mentioned earlier, I am MUCH happier with this unit. It feels like a NEW projector. The firmware is a huge improvement for my needs. Thanks and good luck.

It's supposed to work with 4.3 800X600. Wing said 16.9 screen users should tweak it buy putting a strip of black tape creating a 16.9 frame. CR should increase to 2500.1.

Originally posted by valkyrie
Fred,

I hadn't called Dell or received the automated email. I simply checked the order status page and it showed "shipped" with a DHL tracking number. I ordered on the 18th. For what it's worth, my order number was 688836254.

According to Optoma, they did send enough to fill Dell's backorder, though my shipping origin was "Ingram Micro." I'd bet your order shows in the system early this week.

Cheers.

valkyrie,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Not many people know this, but a lot of Dell's peripheral and add-on sales are actually dropped ship from very large distributors like Ingram.

Hope I get confirmation soon.

Fred

Originally posted by valkyrie
Fred,

I hadn't called Dell or received the automated email. I simply checked the order status page and it showed "shipped" with a DHL tracking number. I ordered on the 18th. For what it's worth, my order number was 688836254.

According to Optoma, they did send enough to fill Dell's backorder, though my shipping origin was "Ingram Micro." I'd bet your order shows in the system early this week.

Cheers.

Argh.. I ordered the same day, and if the order numbers are sequential, I ordered before you. I just checked, and mine's still "in production".. I'm jealous! I'm going to be out of town for a week starting the 27th, and I'm becoming increasingly sure that my projector will be sitting in the office from the day after I leave until I get back. :mad:

In the meantime, i'm going to have to find something to do to keep from checking the status every 5 minutes.

Enjoy the projector! - and post your impressions when you get it so everyone who's still waiting can live vicariously through you.

I had no idea they did that. Thanks.

Originally posted by Greg337
Argh.. I ordered the same day, and if the order numbers are sequential, I ordered before you. I just checked, and mine's still "in production".. I'm jealous! I'm going to be out of town for a week starting the 27th, and I'm becoming increasingly sure that my projector will be sitting in the office from the day after I leave until I get back. :mad:

In the meantime, i'm going to have to find something to do to keep from checking the status every 5 minutes.

Enjoy the projector! - and post your impressions when you get it so everyone who's still waiting can live vicariously through you.

Hey Grerg337,

Don't feel too bad my sales order was also before valkyrie's, maybe it just a paperwork delay.

Fred

well nothing was wrong with my h30 but because i am in the business and know people in the business like (tom) does i am going to get the h56a optoma pj and mine will be available form my guy for sale it has only 80hrs on it ,but it might have a bit more by Monday .cheers


but like everybody says here on this thread and even my guy says this is the best bang for your buck pj out there ,.;)

Compare to my AE100, is there any difference in the number of pixels that you see watching a 16:9 dvd? I understood there was some cropping somewhere.

Yeah you won't see any pixels, there's no screen door. lol
sri just had to take that shot.

At 16.9 you have two choices with the H30

800X480

800X450

Joe,
Good choice on the H56a upgrade. Wing said the added things and made the colors closer to the quality of the H30. Good luck and start a review in the +3500 area.

Good choice on the H56a upgrade. Wing said the added things and made the colors closer to the quality of the H30. Good luck and start a review in the +3500 area.



closer to the color of the h30 tom it is the same and with the added rez and the dvi ,i could not say no

i am not leaving this thread i will be around here till the end ;) ,because this is home for me at avs ;)

Tom did you say the lense cap was for 800x600? That confuses me. I thought the light spill issue was caused by blocking out a portion of the 800x600 chip and when you were viewing 800x600 there would be no light spill?
Can you clarify that last statement which was an answer to Gottahavapj. I am curious about the exact same thing. I thought the lense was specifically for 16:9 and if you want to watch 4:3 material with the cap in place you can't watch 800x600. Please clarify, sorry for being so thickheaded.

BTW: I ordered on the 18th as well with 4-30 ship date, my status has not changed either.

Frys also carries the new revision of the H30 as described according to adidadi. Price is similar to online stores. But the demo also had the amber light on, power on, no screen issue.

Hmm.....

Fry's has a pretty good return policy.....

I've had an amber light, no pic on power up a couple of times, both right after I got the unit. Both times I had to pull the plug. Both times it came back to life no problem. Has not happened since.

Got the RMA, sending mine in for firmware upgrade & calibration on Monday.

Geez, GamePimp sure has the bum luck (knocking on wood). After more messing around, I've got the progressive input not looking green at all - getting ready to watch 'In the Cut'.

-John F

This if for the guy that was going to refuse his H30 shipment from Dell. Don't do that, Dell will take it back just as easy even if it's opened and used for a few weeks. Just make sure you tell them it was opened but you were not happy with it. Unless of course you are.

Saw the Benq 6100 today. Rainbows were very small to non-existent to my eyes. Color and fleshtones were surprisingly good. I thought it held its own against a Z2, that was more than twice the price (and the res).

My question : is the H30 really worth 66% more money? That hometheater wheel better be something for 750$ canadian. I will probably geek out and use an HTPC or high end DVI enabled DVD player, so the scaler and deinterlacer is a non-issue. The 3 year + 1 year hotswap warranty from BenQ is tempting me. In fact, so is XGA res for the same price as the H30, with a free bulb (6200):eek:

I guess I will have to demo the H30 next week and see if the hype is justified.

Mike, have you seen the BenQ 6200 near the H30 yet?

[It's supposed to work with 4.3 800X600. Wing said 16.9 screen users should tweak it buy putting a strip of black tape creating a 16.9 frame. CR should increase to 2500.1.'

hikarate, It supposed to direct light more precisely for 4.3 & 16.9 but you'll get even more out of it for 16.9 if you do the tape tweak. We have to make some tests when we all get one.

Wing did say with a 4.3 screen you may like to just use it for 16.9 material with the tape. But that means taking off the cap for 4.3. Unless you're a 16.9 screen user, then use the tape and leave it on.

Jason:

Have been trying out my video editing machine with the H30 and
very disappointed with my video card. I am currently using Nvidia
Ti4200. My old interlaced Pioneer is a lot sharper than my PC. I need
to upgrade the video card? The recent Nvidia offerings you are
talking about: Is the Fx5200 or Fx5700 any good? Have you any
experience with these? I am thinking of swinging by Frys to get
a ATI9600 and/or Fx5200 to try out? Any advice you can provide.


KB

Tom,
Are you talking about putting tape and the lens mask? I am now confused too. So if this is the case then I take it the mask doesn't block out the light spill for 16:9 then right?

I assumed the mask would create a 16:9 frame and to work with 4:3 material you would have to frame it inside the 16:9 just like a regular 16:9 projector.

I guess I'll know by Monday what the deal is, but I am a little lost.

Bui might want to consider the 6800s, they are going to be available within 2 months time. Tom's Hardware has some benchmarks on them and as far as gaming, they are extremely impressive. Supposed to be more HT stuff too, but I didn't look into that so much, I am sure they are nothing but an improvement over the last Nvidia series, but ATI is what everyone seems to go with currently for HT.

man- no update as of yet as to whether dell is shipping my pj out sooner than april 30th...

:(

bui ,

--- I do not have any personal experience with the FX5900 but I do hear very good things about it [ Not sure on the output stage of the FX5200/5700 - sorry ] . Some have reported the FX5900 being sharper and cleaner than the Radeon 9500/9600/9700/9800 .


*** After doing a bit more research it would seem the FX5700 is on par or better than the Radeon 9500/9600 . Some of the more advanced HTPC users here at AVS say the FX5700 is indeed better . ***


--- I know you would not be unhappy with the Radeon 9600 as I have seen these in action and they are very clean . I use a 9500 Pro that has been modded to a 9700 and it is a very clean card [ this has been the Favorite for HTPC use for a good while now ] .

--- I am a gamer as well and while I love AGP muscle I would not invest in the FX5900 right now as it is still fairly expensive IMO . I am sure the 'real world' gain of the FX5900 would be minimal compared to a Radeon 9800 in regards to image sharpness .

--- The Nvidia 6800 should be incredible but I think only the true hard core gamer will find serious value with it .

--- I would suggest the Radeon 9600 as a good and inexpensive HTPC solution .

--- There is something wrong if your standalone dvd player is sharper than your PC . Be sure you try 800x600 @ 60 Hz [ pixel mapped ] . Be sure to check your PHASE & TRACKING as well . Are you using any Keystone [ this can degrade the HTPC image as you will be losing pixels ] .

------- Best of Luck ,
---------- Jason

D'oh! The bulb on my H30 just blew out with less than 50 hrs on it.

What's the standard procedure for sending it in for repair? I assume this is covered under warranty, the thing is only about a month old.

call them up or email which ever way and tell them what happened and then they will send you a rma sheet fill it out and then send it to them and after that they will send it back with the number (rma #) on the sheet and then you write the rma number on the box and then ship it to them . OK good luck

Hi guys. I've been out of town for the last day and a half so I'm just catching up on things (five pages since I last checked on Friday). I got some H30s late Friday, so I'll check serial numbers and open one (per customer request) to check the serial numbers, firmware and accessories.

Jason & Johnny - Sorry to hear about the bulb problems. I'm wondering if some of the units are having power supply fluctuations that's causing the failure or if it's a bulb problem. In my case (and I assume all others they've serviced) they did check to see if the failure was caused by a defect in the unit itself and it was definitely the bulb.

Originally posted by Johnny Bax
D'oh! The bulb on my H30 just blew out with less than 50 hrs on it.

What's the standard procedure for sending it in for repair? I assume this is covered under warranty, the thing is only about a month old.

Unfortunately we need to add this to the FAQ as well, looks like this is really a Frequently Asked Question...

Jason:
Thanks!
I will recheck my setup. I tested various resolutions with the video card, from 840x480 all the way to 1600x900, all at 60hz. If I can not get a decent picture I will try the Radeon 9600. On the H30, the setting should
be "window"? or 4:3?



KB

Johnny ,

--- sorry to hear it :( .

___________________

--- I think the failures are getting to be TOO common here and even if it is a problem with the Lamps (as Mike suggested) then Optoma needs to step up here and figure out the issue before this trend continues .

--- I know much more of this will cast a very dark shadow over the H30 [ and Optoma for that matter ] and I know this is not what any of us wants to have happen since the H30 throws such a great image .

________________________

bui ,

--- Be sure you try 800x600 @ 60Hz [ this should give you the Sharpest image ] . Do not use Window with an HTPC , use either 4:3 or 4:3 Native with the c04 firmware [ unless of course you are running a 16:9 resolution ] .


*** After doing a bit more research it would seem the FX5700 is on par or better than the Radeon 9500/9600 . Some of the more advanced HTPC users here at AVS say the FX5700 is indeed better . ***



__________________

---------- Jason

"Frys also carries the new revision of the H30 as described according to adidadi. Price is similar to online stores. But the demo also had the amber light on, power on, no screen issue."

This looks like an electrical problem not a bulb problem since a resart will fix it. Did frys ever get the projector working? How did their setup look?

I had the no screen green bar problem again with HDTV being locked in ok then all other signals produce the no screen green bar issue.

I got this info in just in time for Wing to discuss it since he's in Taiwan the next two weeks for meetings. He's also going to look into the deinterlacing problem with the color red and the vertical lines.

Here's some info for those looking at the new H30s (actually H30(A) ):

1. Serial numbers will not tell you anything. My original H30 has a higher serial number than any of the new ones. They have applied the firmware update to the projectors they had, then added a new accessory package.

2. The new H30s have a QA stamp on the box dated "April xx, 2004"

3. The new accessory box now lists the lens mask (P/N 75.80A06.001-A). The projector is designated on the accessory box as Model H30(A).

4. The backlit remote is exactly the same in appearance as the previous model. The backlighting is red.

Now that I see it, I believe you could make your own lens mask (at least until they're available from Optoma). I'll post the dimensions later today for those who are interested.

Mike ,

--- I was going to suggest that we could simply make our own lens masks but I did not want to cause a conflict with Optoma if it turned out that they were going to be sold [ rather than given away ] .

--- Thanks for the information :) .

--- Maybe I will get lucky then and actually get the newer model [ H30A ] .

--- Something tells me the in box additions are not the only difference with the H30A [ I bet they have corrected some other issues ;) ] .


---------- Jason

I would still buy one (if necessary) to have the proper mask, even if I made one. Just thought it might be something I could use in the interim. ;)

Buy.com has the projector in stock ready to ship, good price. Although if Mike has them in stock now, I'm sure we would rather buy from him for the extra $3 :) By the way Mike, if I ordered one from you could you ship it out Monday and can you see from the outside of the box it has the new firmware and accessories? I really hate dell, I'm starting to think it's not worth selling out to them even though I save $60. The only thing I'm worried about, does it have to ship all the way from CA? I live in SC.

mike this must be Canadian thing "a" because now the h30 is

a h30 "a" and i am getting a h56 "a" i think this great for every body grabbing the new h 30's

but i can tell you that the bulb is different and other things not only the firmware and stuff

the bulb manufacturer is new that i heard ,;)


enjoy "a" :)

Originally posted by rsmith4321
can you see from the outside of the box it has the new firmware and accessories?

See my post above regarding differences. The only exterior difference from previous models is the QA date stamp.

Guitarman

"Wing did say with a 4.3 screen you may like to just use it for 16.9 material with the tape. But that means taking off the cap for 4.3. Unless you're a 16.9 screen user, then use the tape and leave it on. "

I really don't understand this . This projector was originally designed to be a 16:9 projector and they made the lens cap for people who use it as a 4:3 projector ? Then, Wing says you may just want to use it for 16:9 on a 4:3 screen . Why didn't they design the lens cap for people who have a 16:9 screen and are using the projector as originally intended ? Or at least make 2 different lens caps available . This " tape " thing just seems a bit rediculous . Also, how is the lens cap going to work with non-anamorphic dvd's since the projector shifts the image up a couple of inches ?

Ah ha !!!

--- a NEW lamp , this certainly sounds like an admission of the problem so many H30 users are having . So should the bulb warranty be extended for those that do not have the 'A' model .... I should think so !

*** Considering the 'A' model does indeed have a new lamp ***


------ Jason

Originally posted by new teq joe
mike this must be Canadian thing "a" because now the h30 is

a h30 "a" and i am getting a h56 "a" i think this great for every body grabbing the new h 30's

but i can tell you that the bulb is different and other things not only the firmware and stuff

the bulb manufacturer is new that i heard ,;)


enjoy "a" :)

The H56A does have a new bulb from the previous models and goes to 3000 hours in eco mode. Don't know if they changed them in the H30As.

I think some checking is in order [ on the lamp issue ] .
----- Jason

the h56 dose not have an echo mode mike , maybe i am wrong maybe you can see ?

but my contact says that the manufacturer is different and they will pump out more bulbs because of the sales being much higher than they anticipated ;)


so everything seems to be getting back on track here


and mike the first or second quarter of next year the new h57's with the new chip will be here , so like the old saying goes it is easy to break something ,but i takes a little longer to fix ;) "A"

They made the lens mask for 4.3 because they changed the format to 4.3. adidadi thinks it's effective for 4.3 can't wait to get some more input. The mask can be altered with the tape for 16.9 but it wouldn't be alterable if they made it just for 16.9. You're right there's a problem if you use the tape with NA material.

all I can say is wow. Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. After watching "The Italian Job" on the H30, compared to a Z2 the difference is amazing. The level of contrast that you can see is simply incredible. And motion is not the slightest bit jurky. For all intensive proposes, you see rainbows less than %1 of the time. It has one incredible picture, and the quality of the 16x9 is great, as well as 4x3. A couple of questions though, how does the lens mask, or lens filter, work? Do you just set it in front of the lens, pad side facing the lens? How do you get the remote to light up without pressing a button? Is there a button to press just to light it up to see which button to press? Frankly I don't want to waste bulb hours goofing around with it, so what are some of the menu and other features worthy of exploring? What are the features, that are for the most part a waste of time? Besides Avia are the any config ideas that are a "must"? Has anyone watched a VHS tape over compostite on the H30? Is it good quality? Right now I am turning off power, via surge protector, to the projector after it cools down and starts flashing green, over two hours. Is this the best way to maintain the bulb? Or should I leave it in standby mode? Again thanks to everyone for the recommendations. I can say that the projector, has met and exceeded my expectations in regards to performance. Hopefully it will with duribility as well.

DaGamePimp, Would u can upload anyphoto else of films in h30 to ur web?.
Im so excited with the results.
Sorry, my english .. is poor.
Thanks

goillini,
Wow another new owner who prefers it over the Z2. Some tips are use the Cinenma film modes and color temp 2 is 6500k. How are the colors of a progressive signal vs an interlaced?

Thanks Tom I'll give those a try. To be honest I have yet to feed it a progressive signal. I'm still waiting on my backordered Denon. :) However the H30 did a great job of deinterlacing the movies I viewed from my non-progressive dvd player. The colors were great, very much true to life. I don't plan on dishing out $7-$12 for a movie in quite some time. Not to mention $5 for popcorn. I'm off to get Kill Bill as we speak. Last week was my opening week as I haven't seen it yet. Can't wait to watch it on the H30!

Hi Guys

My UK sourced H30 is actually a H30(E) with a part number of AK.80A01.00E-A

Not sure if that helps or not !?
I'm assuming the "E" designates it a the European model....so maybe the "A" is just America?

I'm getting worried about these bulb issues. I've had my PJ for a month and have only managed to get 10hrs on the bulb as I've not managed to get a screen or mount sorted yet. If it blows after 4-months with less than 50hrs on the bulb I'll not be a happy bunny.

Gn0m0rz:

Here is the link for Jason's Web site with the H-30 pictures.
(Jason - I hope it is o.k. :) )

Jason's WWW (http://home.comcast.net/~jlcburg3/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html)

Ariel

Originally posted by new teq joe
the h56 dose not have an echo mode mike , maybe i am wrong maybe you can see ?


Joe - I'm just going by what I was told regarding the H56A. I haven't seen one though. I know the H56 did not have an Eco mode, but part of the update with the "A" model was to change the firmware to go to 3000 hrs. with the new bulb. Maybe that's just achieved through some other setting.

Joe - I'm just going by what I was told regarding the H56A. I haven't seen one though. I know the H56 did not have an Eco mode, but part of the update with the "A" model was to change the firmware to go to 3000 hrs. with the new bulb. Maybe that's just achieved through some other setting.


thanks mike :D

How visible is the SDE on the H30 compared to higher resolution LCD projectors as the Z2? Is it possible to sit at 1.5x screen width without seeing bad pixelation/SDE?

I have a benq 6200 looks excellent on a p3 laptop computer with a cheap video card, i don't think its your video card taht sucks i think its the projector itself its only a svga projector not xga like the benq 6200.

Jason:

Have been trying out my video editing machine with the H30 and
very disappointed with my video card. I am currently using Nvidia
Ti4200. My old interlaced Pioneer is a lot sharper than my PC. I need
to upgrade the video card? The recent Nvidia offerings you are
talking about: Is the Fx5200 or Fx5700 any good? Have you any
experience with these? I am thinking of swinging by Frys to get
a ATI9600 and/or Fx5200 to try out? Any advice you can provide.

the benq is a nice machine ,but if you like pretty colors RAINBOWS are so pretty on this machine , but if you like enjoy ;)


don't get me wrong it is a nice brand and company ,because i am using the benq lcd monitor that has 10ms top for gaming . but if you want to talk say if you had the 8700 then i would agree with you but the 6200 ,ahhhhhh don't think so . ;)


and if you are going to post please say something constructive

Mike SRC............

Now that you have your H30 back have you had the chance to view the H30 and the BenQ6200 at the same time???

I think you tried this earlier with the 6100, but I do not remember if you had a chance to try it with the 6200....

Just saw a 6100 for the first time and I must be one of the lucky ones!! Yipee .... As I did not see any rainbows. We had the 6100 side by side with the Z2 and it was a very interesting comparison.

Steve

So Guys,

True/False Questions:
1. I can view full 800x600 with lense cap in place.
True or False?

2. The lense cap does not improve contrast for 16:9 material, only for "Native 4:3" material.
True or False?

So the confusion originally was that the lense cap was going to be for 16:9 material, but since they opened the projector up to 800x600 they made the lense cap for 4:3 instead? I have been thinking the lense cap was going to be for 16:9 the last couple months like everyone else, so thats why I got confused. Thanks!

They should add a little piece of plastic you can pull down on the lense cap to switch it from 4:3 to 16:9. That possible? Tie it into the remote while they are at it :)

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
Mike SRC............

Now that you have your H30 back have you had the chance to view the H30 and the BenQ6200 at the same time???


No, just the 6100. I don't have a 6200 for comparison. Re: rainbows with the 6100, I only really noticed them in a few DVDs, particularly in Blade 2. I didn't see rainbows on the H30 with the same DVDs. I liked the 6100, I just didn't think it has the same "pop" as the H30. For DVDs, I don't think the higher resolution of the 6200 would change that opinion, but for HD it might be a different story.

Re: the lens cap, I haven't used it, but my understanding of it is to prevent the light spill above the 16:9 image, while increasing contrast slightly. Don't know if it does anything for a 4:3 image.

Originally posted by guitarman
They made the lens mask for 4.3 because they changed the format to 4.3. adidadi thinks it's effective for 4.3

Interesting. A picture was posted earlier in the thread (rsmith, you might want to put that in the FAQ) and the opening sure looks like it's 16:9. I wonder if they produced two different lens masks.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?postid=3670021&fullpage=1

~ Kiran <entropy@io.com>

The opening is almost exactly 2:1 (26mm X 13mm). I don't see how it works with a 4:3 image.

Originally posted by entropy
Interesting. A picture was posted earlier in the thread (rsmith, you might want to put that in the FAQ) and the opening sure looks like it's 16:9. I wonder if they produced two different lens masks.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?postid=3670021&fullpage=1

~ Kiran <entropy@io.com>

It already is :)

Okay, I couldn't stand it anymore so I tried the lens mask and it works with a 4:3 (800 X 600) image. It seem to darken the extreme top and bottom edges somewhat, but you can adjust the position of the mask a little to reduce that.

i have seen the 6200 benq ,it is a nice little pj but like you said mike i did notice it on the blade dvd also and i also put on the incredible hulk and spider man and saw rain bows and i hardly see rainbows at all but for some reason i saw some rainbows on the 6200 .


.

Hey all-

I've been away from the machine most of the day. Hey Mike- glad the units made it in. I'm very pleased to say that one of those be mine :) Especially interesting is the differences in the "A" model. I look forward to stumbling through setup when it arrives in a few days :). Time to start tracking the cabling and mount shipments.

Sorry for those having bulb issues, man that is getting to be an abnormally high failure rate. I hope the new bulbs perform as they should and we all eventually get one.

Cheers all!! I look forward to officially joining the club very soon. Thanks!!

Mike ,

-- Did you take the Lens Mask measurements yet ;) ?

--- Oh and just out of curiosity is the mask made of metal or plastic [ it looks plastic but still would like to know ] .

---- Thanks ,

-------- Jason

gottahavapj ,
--- Hehe , I saw that post ... where did it go - lol .

--- You obviously noticed that the opening size is not enough info to build one ;) .

------ Jason

The lens mask is aluminum with a foam rubber backing. Total thickness is about 1/8". Here's some dimensions: (more to follow)

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
gottahavapj ,
--- Hehe , I saw that post ... where did it go - lol .

--- You obviously noticed that the opening size is not enough info to build one ;) .

------ Jason
Sorry Jason- You're right, got ahead of myself and then jerked the post :)

Mike ,

---- Thanks :) .

_________________

gottahavapj ,

--- Hehe , I almost thought I didn't get enough sleep again and imagined it ;) .

_________________

------- Jason

I'm just about there - decided it has to be an H30 all I need now is to get cables from an AV receiver to the PJ.

As a 'newbie' I have a question involving how to run cables to the H30. I'm considering buying a Denon receiver (AVR1404 or 1604) - the sales rep told me whatever method the signal goes into the amp (eg component or S video) it must go to the PJ via the same type of cable. Does this sound right to you guys? If so I will run one of each input type to the projector.

My other (related) question is could you please tell me if there is any noticable loss in image quality (versus direct cable from PJ to amp) if I take cables from the PJ, terminate them at a wall plate (approx 25' away) then run short lengths to the receiver?

Cheers,
Steve

Steve....

Most receivers work that way... what ever kind of signal in you have to have the same signal out.

However, there are a number of projectors that are capable of "transcoding" the signals... the Denon 3803 and 3805 will accept composite, component, s-video, and then output any of the signals over a single component cable.

I do not know all of the receivers that will do this..., but I know they are out there. I had the 3803 and am buying the 3805.

Steve

Steve- I am planning on doing the same thing as what you mentioned; running one of each type of cable up to the H30. Other than the higher end receivers that Stevo details- I have read good things about the DVDO iScan products. These will take several inputs and convert everything to progressive scan component (the Pro model anyway) and run that over one cable you run up to the projector. I guess by the time you've gone to their higher end line though you've paid for a higher end receiver capable of doing the conversion. Hope that helps....

Cheers!

well new teq joe even the 8700 still has the rainbow effect i read at the benq site they are going to replace it with the 8710 and benq themselves guarantee it not to produce any rainbows because of the scan rate they relate to (probably faster wheel) will be out sept 2004. Is it work paying 4X just to not have that limitation, I don't think so but its nice to only pay $1500 plus free bulb just to even have a projector that projects at XGA I rather tradeoff resolution for rainbow and the rainbow isn't as bad on benq than in most SVGA dlp projectors (3x wheel versus 2x). I will say if you watch anything that doesn't change screens fast or make your eyes dart around then you will NEVER see the rainbows, for example I never see rainbows when watching the jay leno show or any of those sitcom shows, movies is possibility, I also yet to see rainbows in sports I think mainly because your eyes are not darting around the screen. If you can keep your eyes on one spot or move them slowly in other words train yourself not to see rainbows, you will not see rainbows the tolerance level is higher because of the 3x wheel if your eyes move a bit, i bet at a 2x wheel the tolerance is lower slight eye move may trigger rainbows.

Hi all,

I've been following this thread for last 3 months and a proud owner of the H30 since March 18. Overall I'm happy and impressed with the picture quality. I had the C05 firmware update done last week and it looks like it may have also cured the color wheel sync problem which I occasionally encounter during "cold starts" previously.

However, I have a small problem when playing some DVDs feeding the pj with component interlaced signal (I like the black levels with interlaced), there's a thin moving dotted line at the bottom of the screen. When feeding progressive signal I can correct this by adjusting Vertical Position on the SIGNAL Menu. As you all know the SIGNAL Menu is blankout when feeding interlaced signal. Is there any way to adjust Vertical position when feeding component interlaced?

mcool, any dotted line with s-video? Anyway no way to adjust interlaced to fix. You may have to call the tech are for another RMA.

Ok I got good news and bad news. :)

The good news --
Re the lens mask. Optoma will make the lens mask available to buyers of the first series of H30's here in the US for free but we have to cover the shipping expense.
The new style remote with backlight. Optoma can't give these out for free :). the previous remote works well and if you really would like a new remote they will make it available for $59 plus shipping. Normally remotes are $99. One point to add the new remote will run through batteries much faster than the original one. So if you're happy with the first one you may not want the added expense.
(The lens isn't available just yet. A shipment is needed from Taiwan)

The bad news,
The recent shipment of H30 with these new items, were hurried out to cover the many back ordered projectors. In these the new items are added at the same price level. But the company is in discussion now and have to consider raising the MSRP a little to cover the new items (lens mask) and other items firmware remote etc. They may go with a MSRP of $1499 for the next batch shipment.
The bad news is not finalized yet, but be prepared if it has to happen. I'd say if you're on the fence run out and get one pronto before this recent series is gone.

[rant mode]Why does Dell hate me?!?!?!? I placed my order on 3/16 with a ship by of 4/15 and am still waiting for my H30 to ship, while people who placed their ordered on 3/18 with a ship by of 4/30 have their projector already on the way. Dell apparently doesn't ship orders for the same item in the order in which they were received.[/rant mode]

You lucky people you :D Hopefully mine will ship soon so I can start gawking at the picture and posting praises as well.

Originally posted by guitarman
Re the lens mask. Optoma will make the lens mask available to buyers of the first series of H30's here in the US for free but we have to cover the shipping expense.


Tom, are these available now? I don't want to start a stampede of phone calls to Optoma if they're not.

Good idea Mike, no not yet they'll need a shipment from Taiwan.

Does anynoe know where i can order an H30 before the price goes up.

Thanks,

A repost of a question. Right now I am turning off power, via surge protector, to the projector after it cools down and starts flashing green, over two hours. Is this the best way to maintain the bulb? Or should I leave it in standby mode?

You may want to try AVS they deal in Optoma now. Like any other dist they probably got a couple in. It's worth a shot and you'll be helping the Forum. Good luck.

Don't worry about the price just yet. They'll have to be an official annoucement first. Who knows maybe it won't fly.

well if some one is interested here in the Toronto area , i am selling my h30 with 80hrs on it because like i said earlier i got a good deal from my guy for h56a. if you want it pm me and the shipments down here are very scares , so let me know ;)

Hi Joe, did you get the 56a yet? If so how is it? I'm particularly interested in the color or lightness of the area between the pixels. Is it like the H30 very thin and faint?

To get the best px for your used H30 I'd use Ebay or maybe start out in the HTsales area, or both.

They won't raise the price, there is way too much competition coming soon. And if the 4805 comes in under $1500 they aren't going to sell many H30's at the same price. I really don't think the price raise will happen. It probably cost them about $2 to make the lens mask and remote.

I think this PJ is great, but come on, and BenQ 6100 is only $899. How much does it cost adding a 4x color wheel and a little better software. They have the same pixelsworks chip. I think $1399 is really too much, they at least need to stick in a DCDi for the price. I really can't see what they think they are putting in this PJ that could possibly make it worth $1499, and I think many people will agree. If they really want to make it worth that price, stick in one of the new 480p DMD chips. Not a 50 cent lens mask.

tom i am opening up a small buisness in the next couple of months i will be doing ,ht setups , selling of some pj's , and making canare cables for people down here in canada .


and hopefully buy the end of the year i will be doing calbrations as well , so we will see :)

"They won't raise the price" no I'm afraid that they will. This is something I've heard twice recently. Only today did I get a figure. What Infocus prospects have to worry a little about is that Infocus hears about a similar competitor setting a higher price. This news could give them food for considering a higher than $1499 start price. Especially since trend thought is the 4805 is a better choice.

Hi Joe, did you get the 56a yet? If so how is it? I'm particularly interested in the color or lightness of the area between the pixels. Is it like the H30 very thin and faint?



tom i am picking it up this week and from what i saw of it already it is the same the pixels are a non factor , very nice , but i still love the h30 ,but for my setup i could use a Little more umph for the pic :D

Joe, there was a Lens Mask for the H56 but I don't see it in the accessories area anymore. You may want to look into that.

Wing did say they added electronics more like the H30 that gives the H56a similar color saturation. He admited the colors becuse of the upgrade in chips etc of the H30 where allot better then the previous H56. H56a equals way to go. :)

"tom i am opening up a small buisness in the next couple of months i will be doing ,ht setups , selling of some pj's , and making canare cables for people down here in canada ."

Good luck in your new businees idea. So you'll be a Cedia member? Calibration expert, that will be easy with digital projectors. Pick up Colorfacts 6500 from Miliori and you got it. You can even write it off your taxes.
Good luck

PS pm me a deal on a 30' component/canare, neatly wrapped casing the three together. ;)

again good luck

the lens mask is still there same as before and i certainly hope so xga more rez , equals nice pj ,

i love these 2 pj's they both throw great pics ;)

Good luck in your new businees idea. So you'll be a Cedia member? Calibration expert, that will be easy with digital projectors. Pick up Colorfacts 6500 from Miliori and you got it. You can even write it off your taxes.


tom i had the sencore CP5000 but i am probably going to pick up the 6500 soon , i will to talk to mark to see what he can do for me ;)

Thanks for the response Tom,
I didnt have a long enough S-Video cable to try but I did try with composite, the dotted lines were there but much darker. Is there anything in the Service menu to adjust Vertical Position?

Although it only happen on some DVDs, it'll be nice to get rid of the dotted lines.

Ok, so I've had my H30 for about a week now and have used it less than an hour total (waiting for some HT gear to come in later this week or early next week), anyway, I have two concerns:

1) I have dust particles on the inside of the lens. I was able to clean the outside of the lens with a camera lens cloth no problem, but I got some nice dust bunnies on the inside. They don't project onto the screen fortunately, but just want to know if that's commonplace (the H30 arrived with the dust in it, mind you.

2) On two different occassions, when the H30 started up, it made this weird sound for 15-20 seconds. Imagine holding a thin, flat piece of plastic between your thumb and forefinger in one hand and using the index finger of your other to flick the plastic back and forth. That's what the sound reminds me of. Normal? Cause for concern?

Had my neighbor come over to see the projector. He was AMAZED by the color and contrast of the H30. I showed him scenes from Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Carribean, Underworld, Matrix Revolutions and Monsters, Inc. Was tremendous. (Although we did see some screen door at 12 feet away from the screen and the H30 13.5 feet back.)

Otherwise, one happy camper!

Originally posted by guitarman
"They won't raise the price" no I'm afraid that they will. This is something I've heard twice recently. Only today did I get a figure. What Infocus prospects have to worry a little about is that Infocus hears about a similar competitor setting a higher price. This news could give them food for considering a higher than $1499 start price. Especially since trend thought is the 4805 is a better choice.

I guess I wasn't really saying they won't, just they would be really stupid if they did. There just isn't anything in this projector worth $1499 over the other units available. I especially trust the quality of Infocus over Optoma, although I wouldn't put that in the FAQ :) A $299 lamp that last over 3000 hours is a nice thing in the X1. And I haven't heard complaints about failures. I think if Optoma wants to raise the price, they better back it up with something like a really good bulb warranty or the quality of an Infocus projector is going to sway many if nothing else. Well if they do raise the price, when sales drop, they will bring it down again.

Every DLP projector I've had has a look like there's particals on the inside of the lens with no effect.

The start up sound is probably the color syncing up.
I view 13ft back from a 92" wide screen, can't see screen door problems. Sometimes like now I'm like 5' away and can't see the screen door. The H30 so far is the best SVGA projector at hiding a screen door.

Maybe a tune up with avia and put the white peaking to zero.

tom i sent you a couple of emails .ok ;)

I did hear Optoma considers their projector in a slighty different market over the 4805.

H30 will have a dual use and able to show a 800X600 4.3 while still showing a increased 800X480 for DVD. 800X480 is an addition over the previous and only DDR 800X600 HT projector the disscontinued Sharp Z90 or DT200. Actually they have the only HT designed 4.3 projector available now and with other manufacturers opting for the 852X480 chip this H30 will have it's own nitch.

Pretty sure Optoma will be adding a 852X480 also. I know they already have that chip.

I know allot prefer a dedicated 16.9 projector but I still like a 4.3 capable HT projector and I'm not alone. JMO

So it finally arrived from Dell!!!. Plenty of pictures to come.
Well so far so good. Came with the lens mask and backlit remote.
Haven't calibrated yet, but just stuck in the Matrix and let her rip.

1.Picture is the best that I remember from any projector I have demoed(X1, DT200, HC2, ezpro 731)

2. No rainbows so far...

3. The quitest projector I have demoed, but could still be quieter in my book.

4. From what I remember I think I enjoyed the X1's Directv picture over the H30, but this is definately watchable.

5. Colors are very good, something that really attracted me to the DT200, and I think the H30 is just as good.

I was confused before about the lens mask, and now I am still confused. I don't know what it does. Ha ha. I'm such a newb. I don't see what light spill it covers up. It shows a full 8000 x 600 through the mask. I think it covers up a little spill above a 16:9 picture. Gotta do more testing.

As I said before, more to come.

Originally posted by jigrillo
So it finally arrived from Dell!!!. Plenty of pictures to come.
Well so far so good. Came with the lens mask and backlit remote.
Haven't calibrated yet, but just stuck in the Matrix and let her rip.

1.Picture is the best that I remember from any projector I have demoed(X1, DT200, HC2, ezpro 731)

2. No rainbows so far...

3. The quitest projector I have demoed, but could still be quieter in my book.

4. From what I remember I think I enjoyed the X1's Directv picture over the H30, but this is definately watchable.

5. Colors are very good, something that really attracted me to the DT200, and I think the H30 is just as good.

I was confused before about the lens mask, and now I am still confused. I don't know what it does. Ha ha. I'm such a newb. I don't see what light spill it covers up.

As I said before, more to come.

I'm so jealous.

rsmith4321

relax you don't want to have a heart attack before your pj gets there :D

Whats the DELL model? Or are you just saying DELL carries the Optoma H30?

Whats the DELL model? Or are you just saying DELL carries the Optoma H30?


no they carry the optoma h30a

Originally posted by jigrillo


Congratz Jigrillo! Can't wait to see your screenshots, hope you have fun.

Ditto for me Jigrillo... congrats!!!

I received tracking numbers for my shipment today from good old Mikes company, I'm gettin excited..... :)

Can anyone recommend a wall-mount solution for the H30? Ceiling mount is not an option (vaulted ceiling). Retail or online store ok. :)

Originally posted by gottahavapj
Ditto for me Jigrillo... congrats!!!

I received tracking numbers for my shipment today from good old Mikes company, I'm gettin excited..... :)

Me too. Ordered Sat, should be here tommorow :)

jigrillo, ha ha I told you it was way better than the DT200, no screen door and the same if not better super rich colors.
enjoy

Originally posted by Del Laird
Can anyone recommend a wall-mount solution for the H30? Ceiling mount is not an option (vaulted ceiling). Retail or online store ok. :)

Del, due to a high ceiling, I have to wall mount as well. When I get done with the theater room, I'm probably going to use a Vantage Point 13" TV wall mount. The tray that would normally sit under the TV can be mounted below as well as above, then drilling a few holes and getting the right size screws (3 mm) will enable you to mount the projector like a ceiling mount.

Mike,
Can you control the tilt easily (ball joint)? What model number?

Originally posted by markusg
Me too. Ordered Sat, should be here tommorow :)

Atta way markusg.....

I guess with so many of us probably getting units within a one week period here- maybe we should start a pool to see who gets the first premature bulb failure. hehehe :) With my luck it will be me....

Cheers!

Got news that my H30 will ship in 1-2 days! Yahoo! I ordered it on March 18th.

So now my stupid question of the day:

How do you square up the projector to the screen? Do you just measure
the lengths of the projected image to make sure it is all equal?

I looked at the H30 manual on-line, but there seems to be no mention at all
on how to do this.

I also tried to search this question on these forums, but couldn't find a way to narrow the search down to this particular question that I always wondered about!

Fleaman

"Me too. Ordered Sat, should be here tommorow"

Smart, went for next day ship. When somethings this good I can't wait either.

Looks like we'll be hearing from allot of folks this week.

Originally posted by gottahavapj
Atta way markusg.....

I guess with so many of us probably getting units within a one week period here- maybe we should start a pool to see who gets the first premature bulb failure. hehehe :) With my luck it will be me....

Cheers!

Does anyone know (or can find out) if the H30's shipping now (H30a's?) have a revised/different lamp?

This would be a very interesting info to know....

Fleaman

fleaman-

I'm especially interested in feedback about your question above regarding squaring up the projector to the screen. My screen will be angled slightly as it is in a bit of a corner. I'm struggling with this as well. I think it was Jason one time that mentioned something about a grid but he did not elaborate. I think he also metioned one time about precisely measuring the height of the picture to see if it was the same on both sides. Not sure....

Hi guys I ordered my H30 today and was told it will be with me tomorrow, problem is the missus has arranged to go out in the evening ****.

It's interesting to hear the comments about possible price increases, if I understand it correctly (and this thread moves so fast it takes some keeping up with) the price might increase to $1499.
I hear you all complaining but spare a thought for us here in the UK, Optoma are a UK company with the head office situated here, I'm having to pay the equivalent of $1925 for the privelage of owning an H30.
I shopped around and this was the best price I could find by a good distance.

Also I hear talk about the 800 x 600 resolution DLP chip that's used instead of the 852 x 480, well the reason for this is that the H30 was designed specifically for the European market where PAL is 576 lines.
No doubt due to the vast sales potential in the US an 852 x 480 version will arrive it's just a matter of when.

Just like to add a little info for anyone else in the UK who may be considering an H30.
I was told today by Optoma that all units shipped in the UK have the latest firmware and also come with illuminated remotes.
I was also told that if my unit arrives without the masking lens all I needed to do was contact them and they would send one out.

Fantastic thread guys, as a staunch DLP fan already your comments only served to make my H30 decision a doddle!

MikeDes

Originally posted by fleaman
Does anyone know (or can find out) if the H30's shipping now (H30a's?) have a revised/different lamp?

This would be a very interesting info to know....

Fleaman

I'll be happy to check, if someone can tell what to look for...

Originally posted by mikedes
Just like to add a little info for anyone else in the UK who may be considering an H30.
I was told today by Optoma that all units shipped in the UK have the latest firmware and also come with illuminated remotes.
I was also told that if my unit arrives without the masking lens all I needed to do was contact them and they would send one out.

Fantastic thread guys, as a staunch DLP fan already your comments only served to make my H30 decision a doddle!

MikeDes

My H30 was purchaed in the UK at the end of March via Ebay...but from someone working for an official disti - Unfortunately it appears to have the old firmware and the remote isn't backlit.
Was advised that it was delived from Optom (Watford, UK) in the 3rd week of March.

-- I see there will be many new additions to the H30 user group shortly , congrats to all of you ;) .

-- Sadly I might be leaving the H30 user group soon but I certainly wish you all the best and hope your luck is better than mine has been [ moving on to a 3rd H30 ] .

-- Now if this 3rd H30 is trouble free then I may stick around a bit' ;) .

-- Can't wait to hear all the feedback , I am certain everybody will be very happy :) !

---------- Jason

simong, that's what I was told by a technical support guy at Optoma UK, he also confirmed that they had the masking lens in stock at the Watford HQ.

Either way I should know in just a few hours and I'll let you know.

MikeDes

Jason i think you will be ok with the new one man my rptv sony 57wv600 i went threw 3 of them before i got one that actually worked properly , and i ended up getting it straight from Sony ;) , so lets see if third time is a charm :)


ohh and tom what did you think of the deal on the pj , not bad hmm

Thanks Mike
I just hope I dont get probs as the PJ was't purchased through the normal channels - The seller was a disti who won the PJ in a competition. Was brand new and sealed and I've sent off the warranty registration etc.

I made some intial enquiries with optoma a couple of weeks back but they just referred me back to the "dealer".

I'll try them again though as I've got the UK product managers email address ;)

Joe ,

--- I certainly hope this next one does it :) .

--- Congrats on your business venture by the way ;) .

----- Jason

Congrats on your business venture by the way .

thanks if i can give a deal here and there for some of the folks on this forum i will sure try ;)


but we have to get Canadians better access to the goodies of the states and in the future i will shipping to the states also ,


and mike will it be ok to pic your brain once an awhile ;)

and you to tom :)

Originally posted by mikedes
Hi guys I ordered my H30 today and was told it will be with me tomorrow, problem is the missus has arranged to go out in the evening ****.

It's interesting to hear the comments about possible price increases, if I understand it correctly (and this thread moves so fast it takes some keeping up with) the price might increase to $1499.
I hear you all complaining but spare a thought for us here in the UK, Optoma are a UK company with the head office situated here, I'm having to pay the equivalent of $1925 for the privelage of owning an H30.
I shopped around and this was the best price I could find by a good distance.

Also I hear talk about the 800 x 600 resolution DLP chip that's used instead of the 852 x 480, well the reason for this is that the H30 was designed specifically for the European market where PAL is 576 lines.
No doubt due to the vast sales potential in the US an 852 x 480 version will arrive it's just a matter of when.

Just like to add a little info for anyone else in the UK who may be considering an H30.
I was told today by Optoma that all units shipped in the UK have the latest firmware and also come with illuminated remotes.
I was also told that if my unit arrives without the masking lens all I needed to do was contact them and they would send one out.

Fantastic thread guys, as a staunch DLP fan already your comments only served to make my H30 decision a doddle!

MikeDes

How do you figure the H30 will help with Pal, it's still the same 16:9 aspect ratio correct? So that means you still only have 450 lines to work with, unless you want to crop of a whole lot of picture of the edges and have a really strange aspect. Or am I missing something. If someone can post a good explanation over on the FAQ or how the H30 handles Pal sources.

I think this has been covered before but what is the dvd player of choice with the H30?

Last time i read through the FAQ's i don't remember anything specific mention- although i could be wrong and lazy.

I have a few years old jvc xv s-62 progressive scan player - i know Tom said the jvc's were good to use for the letterbox feature.

So can we establish some parameters for a good mate with the H30? or maybe we'll get alot of good feedback since this week and the near future will be the time for the H30 to shine as far as numbers are concerned- I mean is was nice reading Tom, Mike and Pimp's great PQ raves for the past three months but now i'm ready to par take in some movie watching.

Also- as far as the bulb failure issue- is it safe to say that we should start paying attention to the newly shipped H30 A's and see if the probs have been addressed?

thanks,
rudee

I have a few years old jvc xv s-62 progressive scan player - i know Tom said the jvc's were good to use for the letterbox feature.

i think with the new firmware you should have no problem with letter box and as for a player , well tom can answer that one ,but xp30 with the new firm ware is doing fine when i watched movies very smoooooooooth pic :)

I'll be happy when someone hits 1500 hrs with a bulb. Thats not up to the specs but at least enough to live with. So far no one is even close to 1k are they? Be nice to know that it is at least possible for the bulbs to go the distance. I guess that is what is so disconcerting about all these bulb failure reports. The PJ hasn't been available long enough to prove itself.

rudee ,

--- I always liked the image from the 62 ;) .
--- I am sure there are better players now for not much more than the 62 cost back then .
--- I have only seen one XP30 and it was very nice .

-------- Jason

With the added letterbox support a Farjouja equipped player would be best. The lower priced new Denon 910 was ok but now after secrets tests they say it won't do deep black. I ordered a Phillips Q50AT DVD player which arrives this Friday I'll give a review. The other great low priced farouja players are all discontinued. In order of the best the Pany RP82, Pany XP50, Pany XP30, Denon 1600.

hikarate ,
--- This is one of my major concerns as well ;) .
------- Jason

Originally posted by new teq joe
i think with the new firmware you should have no problem with letter box and as for a player , well tom can answer that one ,but xp30 with the new firm ware is doing fine when i watched movies very smoooooooooth pic :)

Yay! That's good to know as I have and my H30(a?) is shipping today or tomorrow (was on b/o for 1 month).

My Poor Panny XP30 has been hooked up to my $300 27" CRT Toshiba for a whole year now.

Fleaman

Originally posted by new teq joe
i think with the new firmware you should have no problem with letter box and as for a player , well tom can answer that one ,but xp30 with the new firm ware is doing fine when i watched movies very smoooooooooth pic :)

new teq joe-

I assume you are watching with the XP30 with progressive out on and component cables?

No green push I assume?

How’s the calibration look out of the box?

I want to start watching movies right away, don't want to spend too much time calibrating! That would be for later.....

Fleaman

My Poor Panny XP30 has been hooked up to my $300 27" CRT Toshiba for a whole year now.


that is ok now with the pj you will see this player shine and i mean shine ;)

Fleaman ,

--- While you might be getting the H30-'A' I would suggest you still do at least a quick calibration of contrast and brightness using Cinema/Film modes before you sit down for an evening of viewing [ why not spend a few minutes to make the evening even better ;) ] .

------- Jason

I want to start watching movies right away, don't want to spend too much time calibrating! That would be for later.....


well to properly calibrate it you would have to set up to what screen you have :) and the green push well i don't know how how the new firm ware is like but with the old firmware


in the advanced set up menu on the pj i just minus ed the green contrast and the green brightness to -3 and pumped up the the red and blue to +3and on the xp30 use (user#2) and then set contrast to around 7and brightness to around 4 and color to 3 and then you can set up the pj to what ever you want

Re: RMA procedure

Go to this web page http://www.optomausa.com/warranty/rma.asp and you can find an Excel spread sheet of the RMA form at the bottom of the page. If you have a program that can open it then fill it out and email it to support@optoma.com

Originally posted by new teq joe
well to properly calibrate it you would have to set up to what screen you have :) and the green push well i don't know how how the new firm ware is like but with the old firmware


in the advanced set up menu on the pj i just minus ed the green contrast and the green brightness to -3 and pumped up the the red and blue to +3and on the xp30 use (user#2) and then set contrast to around 7and brightness to around 4 and color to 3 and then you can set up the pj to what ever you want

I'm going to use a foam core board which should have a very smooth flat white surface...probably zero gain.

So with your XP30 modified 'user #2' settings, you have found it to be a better picture than the 'Cinema' defaults?

How noticeable is the XP30's progressive out better (I assume) than the H30 internal de-interlacer?

Fleaman

So with your XP30 modified 'user #2' settings, you have found it to be a better picture than the 'Cinema' defaults?

well the user 2 mode i have noticed it a little brighter




How noticeable is the XP30's progressive out better (I assume) than the H30 internal de-interlacer?



in some cases it is better a little more clear but not buy much ,but there is a small diff and the de interlacer ( well It is dcdi ) but the pixel works of the h30 really good to so either way should be ok


oh and let your eyes be the jugde of what looks good to you

SGOne ,

--- I was asked to FAX my RMA form in after printing it out and then call Optoma to notify them of the RMA Request [ I was told this would get faster results ] . Of course this was after speaking directly to an Optoma CS rep. [ which I would suggest anybody that has an issue should do ] . Maybe if they get enough of a certain issue mentioned we will see more fixes [ or it is possible the H30-'A' has already handled some of our issues ;) ] .


---- Hehe , funny that just as I was typing this response I got the RMA # [ phone call ] from Optoma ... the ball is rollin' now .

*** I should point out that I faxed the RMA Request form , then called Optoma and I then got a phone call back with my RMA # all within about 3 hours time . NOW that is some CUSTOMER SERVICE !!! ***


---------- Jason

Hehe , funny that just as I was typing this response I got the RMA # [ phone call ] from Optoma ... the ball is rollin' now .


let it roooooooolllllll ;)

Jason

Are we certain about the H30(A) revisions?
As mentioned previously in this post my H30 is described as an H30(E).

Is the "A" a genuine revision or just Optoma's way of differentiating which region the PJ was released in, i.e "A"merica or "E"urope ?
Cheers

:)

Is the "A" a genuine revision or just Optoma's way of differentiating which region the PJ was released in, i.e "A"merica or "E"urope ?



i think that the letters at end are for the different regions


e europ


a us and canada "A" :D

simong ,

--- Well I have an H30 box here that is not marked with an 'A' after the H30 , yet Mike has stated the new units he has are marked on the box as an H30-'A' .

--- Now this could mean nothing more than the Extras being in the box [ lens mask and new remote ] but then again ... who knows ;) .

--- adidadi also stated that his Power button now looked different than his previous unit [ he stated the whole button seems to glow now ] .

--- Plus with what Joe has stated about the H56a using a new lamp , we can hope the H30 is getting the same change-over [ as long as the new lamp is indeed better ] .

--- Most of this is as of yet unconfirmed but we should all know more very soon .

**** Now my Part Number and Serial Number [ on the box ] do have an 'A' in them , just not an 'A' next to the "H30" ****
-- Maybe Mike can confirm this for us .

--------- Jason

I'll second the fix for the green push using the pany XP30 component is to use the advanced adjustments and decrease green contrast by 3 and I decreased green brightness to -13. I didn't really touch the other colors and used Avia and the picture is simply AWESOME. I asked Tom how to deal with the green push and he suggested trying advanced adjustments first before using the system menu and he was right. The reason I didn't want to use the service menu first was it changes everything, all inputs and I would rather try and fix it in component only because s-video was already stellar. Optoma informed me two more weeks for lens mask and they are considering special discount to current owners to pick up both the remote and the mask. Personaly I don't think is very cool to send out new units at the current lower price with both of these upgrades free and then ask current owners to purchase as an accessory.

I cancelled my H30 order today, originally ordered on 3/18/04. After talking to 3-4 people that passed me on to someone else because they could not help me with an accurate order status. Eventually I talked to someone that said "that's strange it currently shows the H30 as an in-stock item, let me check..." he came back and said "well our product ships from Optoma and we will not be seeing any additional units for 18 days". I told him I wanted to cancel my order so he had to pass me on to another person. I asked that person for a confirmation number to substantiate the cancellation. He said he could not give me a cancellation confirmation number but he would pass me on to some that could. I cancelled the order and it will be a cold day in h*ll before I order anything else from them. They have outgrown their customer support.

aaroen ,

--- You certainly can calibrate that way but I think most will find that the Over-All calibration is off a bit [ in this case the Service Menu should be used ] . Sounds like you got lucky on the DVD player/S-Video match-up to your H30 factory calibration :) .

-------------- Jason

Hmmm good question simong. My H30 is the (A) revision.
Not good news about Optoma raising the price on the H30. The Lens Mask and the back lit remote doesn't seem like it should raise the cost that much.

Here is my suggestion to Optoma. Keep the same price and drop the bag that it comes with. Is this really being targeted to the business presentation sector? I know I am probably never going to use the bag unless I move. I would prefer to pay less and skip the bag.

semi_expert ,
---- Bummer :( !
---- Are you going to re-order from another online retailer ?


--------- Jason

Still working on some screen shots. They keep coming out blurry, but I took some of what you can expect to see as you open your box.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid113/p3af7fd150c75a33c0d565d6f6a04ec6b/f8f37de8.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid113/p8c0364f6f549a13fd00d860e9419df89/f8f37ded.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid113/pf73a7c61cc3e675a2a884c95af58a407/f8f37de2.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid113/p7f2dcfe0b2649c682a90b176f669a1b5/f8f37c2f.jpg

Can you guys see these pics?

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
semi_expert ,
---- Bummer :( !
---- Are you going to re-order from another online retailer ?


--------- Jason

Jason,

I still want a H30. I sent an email to Mike, if he has them in stock I'll probably give him the business. Otherwise I'll keep the business local, a local dealer here in MN, carries the Optoma line and they are expecting some H30 units soon. With some of the recent "quality" issues maybe a local dealer is the way to go. Knowing Dell they'll probably ship my H30 now that I've cancelled my order.

Everyone on this H30 thread has been great and the 'community support" helps with new products like the H30. I wish Dell had a commitment to supporting their customers.

Fred

Everyone on this H30 thread has been great and the 'community support" helps with new products like the H30. I wish Dell had a commitment to supporting their customers.


you see that is what i am trying to say for the longest of time picking up a pj from a person that you know or you have trust in or what ever


the bottom line is people just don't buy products ,people buy people saying that a person like mike ( which i think is a great guy) and say tom for his stoogies are the people that should be getting the business because they will spend the time to answer your questions and give you proper advice . bottom line


think about it say if mike sell the h30 40 bucks more than the big boys out there ,is 40 bucks Worth the uncertainty or would you want to have peace of mind ,well to me it is a no brainier ,;)

Well I emailed my RMA request in this morning about 6am and had a reply back with RMA # at 9:14am. I did ask about the lenscap and the email said that it was 2 to 3 weeks out. Has anyone else received the lenscap back with the firmware upgrade? It makes me wonder if I should hold on to it for a couple weeks before sending it back in.

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
--- Well I have an H30 box here that is not marked with an 'A' after the H30 , yet Mike has stated the new units he has are marked on the box as an H30-'A' .

--- Now this could mean nothing more than the Extras being in the box [ lens mask and new remote ] but then again ... who knows ;) .

The H30 (A) only appears on the accessories box label. The manual and the box everything comes in is unchanged.



**** Now my Part Number and Serial Number [ on the box ] do have an 'A' in them , just not an 'A' next to the "H30" ****
-- Maybe Mike can confirm this for us .

--------- Jason

All the serial numbers have an "A" in them. My post (now a few pages back) explains that the serial numbers currently mean nothing. All the projectors I received were "A"s, but their serial numbers were all lower than my original H30. They've updated the stock they had with the firmware, lens mask and backlit remote. I don't knoiw if anything else is different though. Hope that helps clear things up.

Regarding DVD players to match up with the H30, I prefer the Faroudja-equipped ones myself, but they're getting harder to find these days. An upcoming Faroudja player that might be one to watch for is the Yamaha S1500. I should be getting one for review (I do some DVD player reviews on another forum), so we'll see. Also, the Samsung HD941 may be promising if it corrects some of the shortcomings of the 931 and uses the Faroudja chip with its component video output (unlike the 931).

JVCs are pretty good most of the time (although they can look soft when they drop into Video mode) and do not have the chroma bug like many other players do.

jgrillo - Your pictures are not coming through.

Originally posted by Del Laird
Mike,
Can you control the tilt easily (ball joint)? What model number?

Yes, somewhat. They have an adjustable down angle of 0°, 5° or 10°. You can adjust the height and of course, it swivels. You could always shim the bottom and add longer screws to get some tilt. I'm looking to mount it at a height that would require no keystoning and therefore, no tilt. Seating will be in front of it anyway and from what I've seen with the offset to a 16:9 screen, the projector should be high enough to be well out of the way.

The model number is PTW-13 and they come in white or black. I've seen them at Lowe's for under $50 and I imagine Home Depot has them as well.

dell=fubar, cont.
Well it figures. Just went up to Dell site to check my cancellation. Order status is unchanged: "on or before 4/30/04" , In Production link says: "shipped via airborne" with a tracking number. Product left IL at 5:03pm today. Dell really has their sh*t together. Good luck to others with H30's from Dell they don't have a clue as to what is going on.

Originally posted by semi_expert
dell=fubar, cont.
Well it figures. Just went up to Dell site to check my cancellation. Order status is unchanged: "on or before 4/30/04" , In Production link says: "shipped via airborne" with a tracking number. Product left IL at 5:03pm today. Dell really has their sh*t together. Good luck to others with H30's from Dell they don't have a clue as to what is going on.

Everyone already knows that about Dell anyway, they never cancel orders from my experience. Anyway, you should be happy, mine is still in production.

Mike ,
--- Thank You for the clarification :) .

______________________________


--- So my assumption that the 'A' was actually on the outside of the Box is wrong and I guess this means there really is no H30a - like the H56a [ there is just a new accessory pack with the Lens mask & back-lit remote ] .

----- Ah well , I am still going to hope Optoma made some changes for the better and the previously mentioned issues do not continue [ especially the Lamp failures ] .


-------- Jason

Does mounting near the ceiling mean upside down?

If I get a H30, I will want to put it on a shelf near the ceiling. Will I need to place it on the shelf upside down or can the throw be adjusted to point downwards. Normally, it seems that projectors project upwards sort of. Is it possible to make them project downwards? I imagine it can be tipped, but then there is keystoning. I suppose I could hang it, but it will be much less expensive to just put up a shelf on the wall.

Mike,
That tv wall mount system; you're mounting the entire thing upside down, correct? So the arm and tray will be above where the unit mounts to the wall, right? I know you said that you're planning on drilling through the tray and screwing your H30 directly to it....have you thought about simply using wrap around velcro strapping? I stumbled on a site that used that technique. Seems like it would be just as stable.

Now they didn't use a tv wall mounting system, but the velcro idea is kinda nifty:
http://klyckproductions.homestead.com/projectormountbuild.html

okay thanks for the info on dvd players-seems i haven't overlooked any-i'd rather wait for the next best thing than try and find one of the discountinued models.

The sammy 941 may work out to be a good match.

rudee

Originally posted by Del Laird
Mike,
That tv wall mount system; you're mounting the entire thing upside down, correct? So the arm and tray will be above where the unit mounts to the wall, right?

Actually, I was only thinking of reversing the tray position (which you can do with this mount) and everything else would be the same as with a TV mount. You could do it the other way too.


I know you said that you're planning on drilling through the tray and screwing your H30 directly to it....have you thought about simply using wrap around velcro strapping? I stumbled on a site that used that technique. Seems like it would be just as stable.


That's an idea. These mounts actually come with a strap that's used to hold the TV down and you could reverse it. I'm just not sure if it would hold its position as well, but it's something to try. :)

Semi-Expert,

I think you just cancelled at a bad time. Mine is due on the 30th as well, and I just checked my order and it shipped. Dell doesn't send these out from their warehouse. So you called in to cancel a 3rd party order on the same day it was being shipped.
Sorry you had to go through such a hassle.

I am glad mine shipped though!!!

I just checked out the top Ten PJ's at Projector Central and they had the 4805 listed at # 10 with a retrail price of $1799. Looks like I'm sticking with ordering the H30.

Steve

The retail price is still just a guess. And the 4805 is no longer on their Top Ten because they have revamped their Top Ten lists.

Check it out again. Don't see the Optoma on there but that seems about to change with the upcoming review on projectorcentral.com (some time this week)

Originally posted by eobiont
Does mounting near the ceiling mean upside down?

If I get a H30, I will want to put it on a shelf near the ceiling. Will I need to place it on the shelf upside down or can the throw be adjusted to point downwards. Normally, it seems that projectors project upwards sort of. Is it possible to make them project downwards? I imagine it can be tipped, but then there is keystoning. I suppose I could hang it, but it will be much less expensive to just put up a shelf on the wall.

Yes, you need it upside down. Buy some rubber stick on feet for chair legs and stick them on the top of the PJ and cut an area for where the lens is, and it will work. I've done it with my 6100. Be careful about ventilation.

How do you paste a picture in your post? I want to post some pictures and possibly some screen shots.

Just finished watching SWAT and the best part about the projector is the colors. They are just very rich and vibrant. Facial tones look great on this thing. While I think the X1's Directv picture may have looked cleaner, the colors on the H30 really add richness to the picture that wasn't there with the X1.

I did see some rainbows during the movie, but they were very quick and infrequent. Definately a level that I would deem acceptable. If you don't know about rainbows I am sure most people would never notice them.

Screen door is also very minimal. I don't remember ever noticing the screen door during the movie which was something that I always remember noticing at one point or the other on my other projectors I had at home.

Now on to the Cons. The remote leaves a lot to be desired. It is very unresponsive and the buttons feel sort of cheap. Its a good thing you don't need to use it all that much.

Another thing that would be nice is if it would remember your aspect ratio for the different sources. Whenever I switch back from a DVD to DirecTV I have to switch to 4:3 and its back to using that cheapy remote.

While the H30 isn't noisy, there is still room for improvement in the audible area. I was hoping for it to be a bit quieter since it is in a small room now. I wouldn't mind it being as big as the H76 if they could make it quieter.

All in all the H30 is staying barring any QC issues.

Where is a good place to buy a good 15-20 foot VGA to Component Cable. My 6 foot component cable just isn't going to cut it.

Originally posted by jigrillo
Where is a good place to buy a good 15-20 foot VGA to Component Cable. My 6 foot component cable just isn't going to cut it.
I feel Ram Electronics should get first check as a sponsor of this forum. Their cables appear to fall into the midrange for pricing and perceived build quality. Their 20' VGA-3RCA cable was backordered until September though. :confused: Blue Jeans Cables are getting pretty steep at those lengths and Bettercables- well I just don't think people in our purchasing bracket can often justify an over $200- 20' cable. I ended up ordering some pieces from Cables To Go where RAM did not have them in stock.

Are you not planning to use the VGA-component adapter that came with the H30? If so you could just order a 15-20 foot component cable which opens up your options.

Cheers!

Originally posted by rsmith4321
How do you figure the H30 will help with Pal, it's still the same 16:9 aspect ratio correct? So that means you still only have 450 lines to work with, unless you want to crop of a whole lot of picture of the edges and have a really strange aspect. Or am I missing something. If someone can post a good explanation over on the FAQ or how the H30 handles Pal sources.



rsmith4321

I'm certainly no expert but my old Davis DLS8 would display something like 576 x 762 when fed a 4:3 non progressive PAL source such as satellite Tv, DVD, VCR etc, obviously 800 x 600 is a big advantage here.

I'm assuming the H30 does the same thing although it may scale up to the full 800 x 600.

My method of connection will be via the SCART connector which allows the use of a relatively cheap 10 metre VGA cable and feeds RGB, Optoma claims the PQ is comparable with component.

Whether this will use the full DLP resolution remains to be seen, has anyone tried the SCART connection and if so what's the resolution and have you compared it directly with component?

Anyway I'll hopefully find out soon as it's 11.15am UK time and it should arrive anytime now, will let you know.

MikeDes

Is anyone having sync issues with their H30? I'v been trying to do a proper Avia calibration and have been having a fair amount of trouble getting it to sync when switching between progressive and interlaced. More often han I'd like I get the green bar.

Steve

Long way back in this thread, Wyng (from Optoma) reported the following:

"H30's projection has a built-in offset so that image is projected upward. (otherwise it will be a nightmare to install this project without excessive keystone that will kill the image quality)
The light paths of the lower portion of the projected image actually pass mainly through the central portion of H30's projection lens.
This is not a conventional design. However, we believe this design is giving user the best 16:9 image possible from H30's projection system.
Clarification about ceiling mount projection:
If H30 is ceiling mounted (up side down, image flipped) the 16:9 image will be projected relatively closer to the ceiling than a conventional design."

It is a VERY interesting post that I think has not been well understood. If I read well, the above information means that the "sweet spot" of the lens is precisely the center, just as it must be. The light path´s offset that this projector has is compensated placing the 16:9 picture in the lower part, which means the 16:9 image IS EFFECTIVELY placed in the center of the lens.

Wyng even says that when inverted, the picture is closer to the ceiling than usual, implying that the masked lines are below the 16:9 image, not above. But this seems to contradict many other posts from users that I have read here. May be Optoma has failed to implement this well? If the sweet spot of the lens is at the lower part of the light path when the projector is in normal position, it should be the upper part of the light path when the projector is inverted.
Anybody has tried to use the projector both ways and seen any difference?

I still don´t have this projector, but I am trying to determinate the best position for installing.

Thanks!

Today I have just spoken with a technician here in Spain (they have received a first batch of units). He has tried RGB (Scart) and Component (interlaced) with this machine, and he tells me RGB has given better picture. It is interesting that Jason also claims better results with RGB (I know, computer RGB).

I think 963SA owners would be interested in checking the RGB firmware with this proj.

Joaquin Mejia

Thanks for that it bears out what Optoma also told me about the VGA lead from SCART.


YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

It's here!

Gotta go, I'll report back tommorow.

Mike Des