Originally posted by new teq joe
LOL that would not be good " making the wife pissed " ,no healthy :D ;)

Well she's already pissed because I sold the 32" tv and now we have a nice big, freshly built, dual couch, theater room in the basement with no video :-(

But the 32" had to go, you needed binoculars to see that thing from the second row! Seating is 10' and 15'

I've sent my weekly "buzzing" issue email to Optoma and told them about my recording and the third buzzer I got, so I'll let you all know when I hear back


i am interested is hearing what they say :)


and i wish i had a buzzing unit that way i would open it up and find out exactly what is going on . mmmmmmm

Originally posted by new teq joe
fleaman i honestly feel for you but you should not say it is a quality issue because if it was a quality issue every body would have it , so it just might be bad luck or what ever .


joe, I think what flea is saying is that whoever TESTS these units are not being thorough enough. Anything that is manufactured will have a certain percentage of "bad" units and that is fine.

The problems arise when the QA line (the people who turn the units on, test them and adjust them) start letting the "bad" units slip through and go out the door for sale. They should be catching the "bad" units and having them fixed before they get out the door.

I worked in software QA for 6 years and if bad code got out the door guess who got blamed (and rightly so)? Not the coders but the TESTERS.

Originally posted by new teq joe
fleaman i honestly feel for you but you should not say it is a quality issue because if it was a quality issue every body would have it , so it just might be bad luck or what ever .


and i have no affiliation to no company so like many people here i call it like i see it , that is it


and to prove a point if you want to know about quality issues lets see what i have seen


toshibas rptv's bad crt's , poping , white line problem ...,,so on and so on

sony rptvs' the 500 models and others flicker problem ......


i mean a lot of sets had quality issues

:)

Well, I guess we have different opinions/definitions of what a Q.C. issue is.

By definition, bad quality control would mean that some units are good, some not so good, hence some would be lucky, others not. So, yeah, bad luck? But, I have 2 units from different sources that buzz. Valkrie has 3. My boss’s older firmware H30 does not buzz at all. I've taken my unit to his house and it buzzes there like it buzzes here.

I'm not sure what point you are making...I assume you are not trying to say we should be satisfied with a buzzer or not say anything about it, or?

If you listened to the 2 clips of the H30's, one buzzer and one that didn't buzz, I would hope you didn't think that was normal or within normal Q.C. specs. If so, I would happily trade you one of my buzzers (you can chose) for your non-buzzing unit. I will even pay the UPS shipping charges both ways!

I'm not joking.

Fleaman

Originally posted by new teq joe
i am interested is hearing what they say :)


and i wish i had a buzzing unit that way i would open it up and find out exactly what is going on . mmmmmmm

My offer stands. I have a really nice buzzer here...can send you the worst offender of the bunch, shipping paid both ways.

Of course, I would need your non-buzzing unit in trade, no returns!

:D

Fleaman

"I can see from the volume of posts that some of you are literally performing life test/endurance qual testing on your H30. Who amongst you has the most hours on a single H30 to date?"

Me, I put 800hrs on an H30, they seem to want to keep on working. Some guys had bad bulbs and I heard they got a better quality check on the bulbs they're getting.

The picture can look great OTB. The pictures I posted at the top of the thread are at about stock. It's always good to use Avia, DVE, THXoptimizer to at least know you have the Blacks & Contrast right.

I'm not sure what point you are making...I assume you are not trying to say we should be satisfied with a buzzer or not say anything about it, or?



no no i am not saying you should be satisfied ,buy no means people should suffer with this problem ,


the only thing that i am saying is there have bean much worse cases that i have seen that is all


Of course, I would need your non-buzzing unit in trade, no returns!


flea i don't think that that would be possible because i have the benq 8700+ now .

but if i find some one down here with this issue :confused: i will defiantly post here first my findings . :D :p

Originally posted by new teq joe
no no i am not saying you should be satisfied ,buy no means people should suffer with this problem ,


the only thing that i am saying is there have bean much worse cases that i have seen that is all





flea i don't think that that would be possible because i have the benq 8700+ now .

but if i find some one down here with this issue :confused: i will defiantly post here first my findings . :D :p

That's right, I think I remember that you returned your H30 and got the 8700 instead. Why was that anyways? I can't remember that far back, but something in the back of my mind is whispering that you might of had some problems with your H30, but I know it wasn't a buzzing problem.

Fleaman

That's right, I think I remember that you returned your H30 and got the 8700 instead. Why was that anyways? I can't remember that far back, but something in the back of my mind is whispering that you might of had some problems with your H30, but I know it wasn't a buzzing problem.



no there was no problems with the pj i just got a good deal on my new one ;) , if it was not for the good deal i would have bean very happy with my h30 ;) , honestly

joe, I think what flea is saying is that whoever TESTS these units are not being thorough enough. Anything that is manufactured will have a certain percentage of "bad" units and that is fine.



that is correct all company's want things to move along because they can not spend even 15 min. on a unit,because that i not freezable , so for that i agree with a stamp on the machine does not make the pj perfect :)

Originally posted by new teq joe
no no i am not saying you should be satisfied ,buy no means people should suffer with this problem ,


the only thing that i am saying is there have bean much worse cases that i have seen that is all



And that would be the Q.C. on the building/testing or even choosing venders for parts components (and their Q.C. issues). Products with better Q.C. will have more consistent performance and less problems. Products/companies with worse Q.C. would have the opposite effect.
By my definition, good Q.C. would have very few bad apples and the chances of getting 2 or 3 bad apples in a row (like myself and others) is a very strong indication that Q.C. is suffering. To me, that is a Q.C. issue.

I just don't understand why you say it's not a Q.C. issue, 'cause if it isn't, what would you call it?

Fleaman

I agree, flea. Quality control does not mean you have ALL bad products. Thus the "control" in the phrase. It means you have CONSISTENT products. If you had consistently bad products, that would be a poor design. You could potentially have great QC (they all come out the same), and also have poor engineering (they all come out the same...but are designed poorly).

And that would be the Q.C. on the building/testing or even choosing venders for parts components (and their Q.C. issues). Products with better Q.C. will have more consistent performance and less problems. Products/companies with worse Q.C. would have the opposite effect.



it is not a q.c problem with optoma :) ,because they can not keep tabs on every piece from other company's that they are dealing with and if they knew of problems do you think think that they would actually put the part in their machines , hmmmm i don't think so :)


but the bottom line is this people like yourself with this problem should be dealt with properly ,because that is how i would treat my costumers :)


because the bottom line is this with out satisfied costumers you have no business period



and fleaq i don't really care about bad q.c because the thing is that they have to fix this issue one way or another and that is the important thing . agree

I agree, flea. Quality control does not mean you have ALL bad products. Thus the "control" in the phrase. It means you have CONSISTENT products. If you had consistently bad products, that would be a poor design. You could potentially have great QC (they all come out the same), and also have poor engineering (they all come out the same...but are designed poorly).


i agree to a point with flea but it is not just q.c to worry about here and valkyrie i do understand that also , but i also know that flea is angry with the unit ( and well he should be ) so i mean going back and forth is not going to make the problem go away :( .so lets see What info. you get get from optoma >

Originally posted by new teq joe
it is not a q.c problem with optoma :) ,because they can not keep tabs on every piece from other company's that they are dealing with and if they knew of problems do you think think that they would actually put the part in their machines , hmmmm i don't think so :)


but the bottom line is this people like yourself with this problem should be dealt with properly ,because that is how i would treat my costumers :)


because the bottom line is this with out satisfied costumers you have no business period



and fleaq i don't really care about bad q.c because the thing is that they have to fix this issue one way or another and that is the important thing . agree

Well, I do care about bad Q.C. as now I'm spending more of my free time testing, comparing, talking to Optoma tech, shipping units back and forth....time I could be spending watching movies. I might be a little more impatient than you are on this matter as at this point in time, I have very little free time to watch movies. I did allot most of my free time in the beginning to set up my projector---build a mount, build a screen, blah, blah, blah. I just didn't allot any extra (a lot extra) free time to deal with the problems that I have been having (and others). I’m talking about many hrs here, many also spent on dialing in the picture calibrations that are also
Not consistent between H30 units (I’m talking about wide way off calibrations, not just a few clicks here and there).

So yeah, Q.C. means a lot to me as it's my time dealing with these Q.C. issues.

Yes, Optoma's customer service is excellent so far...at least that is good and if it wasn't, I probably wouldn't deal with Optoma anymore on this issue. I think Optoma knows this and has chosen to not slack off on the Customer service dept.

It doesn't mean I don't care....it only means I haven't giving up on Optoma yet.

OTOH, I have learnt a lot more about calibrations and other projector issues/problems though this trail period. Not the way I like to learn about things though.

Fleaman

Originally posted by new teq joe
i agree to a point with flea but it is not just q.c to worry about here and valkyrie i do understand that also , but i also know that flea is angry with the unit ( and well he should be ) so i mean going back and forth is not going to make the problem go away :( .so lets see What info. you get get from optoma >

I wouldn't say I'm angry, I would like to think of myself as more upset and dis-satisfied. This is due to the time it takes to deal with this. I'm sure that if you had the problems that I or others had, I doubt you would be a happy customer, no?

Fleaman

Originally posted by new teq joe
i agree to a point with flea but it is not just q.c to worry about here...

What else is it that I (or others) have to worry about besides Q.C.??

Fleaman

OTOH, I have learnt a lot more about calibrations and other projector issues/problems though this trail period. Not the way I like to learn about things though.



i can understand that , but for calibration goes avia and dve is not a full blown calibration ,but hopefully a good tweak to satisfy your viewing needs ;) ,


but i did saturns h30 and it dialed in very well for a svga unit , like i said i was pleasantly surprised .


and flea as long as i have bean in the Field you learn to have patients and i can tell you it is not always easy . but hang in there and you will be satisfied one way or another, that i am sure , and remember we all in the same side here .;)

What else is it that I (or others) have to worry about besides Q.C.??



getting the problem resolved :)

I wouldn't say I'm angry, I would like to think of myself as more upset and dis-satisfied. This is due to the time it takes to deal with this. I'm sure that if you had the problems that I or others had, I doubt you would be a happy customer, no?



of coarse i would not be happy :( but i would be more unhappy if they did not admit to this issue .


well back to work i go i have a bloody sony xbr here to fix and thanks for the dialouge flea hope you and others get this dam problem resolved .cheers

Joe is now 1-5. Mine started buzzing....well not really buzzing .. more like fluttering only last weekend. It did not do that before. The fluttering is low pitch rather than the high pitch buzzing in the WAv file. Maybe my fluttering is somewhat like the buzzing that hasn't progress to that level yet..... sorry just playing around. :)

The fluttering is there and really a no issue with me since I have to go beside it to hear it. Since I have it inside the second level of my coffee table you really do not hear it since the table I guess dulls the sound. The sound overall is definitely lower than the level of the X1 and its strong blowing fans.


Originally posted by gottahavapj
Now someone started a H30 buzzing poll thread on the main forum :rolleyes:. I'm really sorry for you guys that are fighting this issue but I keep going back to the thought that Joe is 0-6 on buzzers and Mike has only seen one out of I don't know how many. I don't think it's every other unit rolling out of their doors that is defective. Although Valk and Flea's experiences are a bit strange. :) I'm confident Optoma will find an amicable solution.

Cheers!

Originally posted by new teq joe
of coarse i would not be happy :( but i would be more unhappy if they did not admit to this issue . \

Very, very true. I've had to deal with companies that refused to admit to a problem that many others had.

Like Microsoft:D

Sorry, couldn't resist.

In the beginning I don't think Optoma was admitting to a buzzing problem...or maybe the correct word would be "believing" there is a buzzing problem.

It seems that they are starting to deal with it though, even if they don't yet have a solution.

I know they didn't question my buzzing problem, but I told them I compared my unit to another H30 that didn't buzz, so they probably had no excuse for that claim.

Like I said, because Optoma has such excellent customer service so far, I'm willing to continue to deal with this and them.

It doesn't mean I'm too happy about it.

Fleaman

Has anyone used the new Zenith DVB 318 DVD player with the H30? if so did you experience any "issues"

Thanks

Just heard back...Optoma asked me to contact them on Monday. They're still investigating. I'll email again and let you all know.

WOO HOO! I just got word that Optoma is going to replace my failed bulb under warranty even though it technically failed on day 91 -- one day after the bulb warranty lapsed. After getting ripped off at The UPS Store when I shipped it in, I was just sure that was a bad omen for how my unit would be serviced. Thankfully, Jamie at Optoma support was very nice and didn't even hesitate to have the bulb replaced when she asked when I bought the unit. "Oh, that's good enough." she said. :)

While there are obviously problems with a number of the H30's being sold today, I'm very glad to see that Optoma is handling things well with their customer service. When I complained about being overcharged at The UPS Store, the store manager proceeded to tell me that he trains his people to upsell and that it really isn't cost effective for them to inform their customers of the cheapest shipping options. I'm glad to see that Optoma is a part of the shrinking list of companies who actually still care about their customers.

I can't wait to get my H30 back! I wonder if they put the new firmware on it while it was there.

Glad to hear that Veg. :)

I couldn't speak for them, but considering you really didn't even have the projector for 90 days (even though the purchase date was past 90 days), I thought they might be flexible with that. I think they're doing the firmware upgrade to all returned units, but you could give them a call and request it to make sure.

While there are obviously problems with a number of the H30's being sold today, I'm very glad to see that Optoma is handling things well with their customer service. When I complained about being overcharged at The UPS Store, the store manager proceeded to tell me that he trains his people to upsell and that it really isn't cost effective for them to inform their customers of the cheapest shipping options. I'm glad to see that Optoma is a part of the shrinking list of companies who actually still care about their customers.


congrats veggieguy, see good things can happen ;)

I think they're doing the firmware upgrade to all returned units, but you could give them a call and request it to make sure.

I did think about doing that, but at this point I don't want to push my luck. I'm just happy that I'm not going to have to spend $350+ on a new bulb. If I get new firmware, great. If not, that's great too. At least I'll get a functional H30 back.

Good news on the bulb. For sure you'll get the newer firmware. I guess you'll be getting a 4.3 screen now?

Originally posted by guitarman
Good news on the bulb. For sure you'll get the newer firmware. I guess you'll be getting a 4.3 screen now?

Hehe... No, I'll be sticking with my 16:9 screen. The shape of the wall that my screen is mounted on is really suited more for widescreen than for 4:3. I couldn't use a screen any taller than the one I currently have, so if I went 4:3, I'd have to bring the sides in which would result in smaller widescreen pictures.

It'll be nice to have the letterbox support built in though. I'm not terribly pleased with the picture quality when I let my DVD player expand the picture to full widescreen dimensions.

Letterbox support is nice, you can use any of the Farjouja chipped players. I don't know if you already hv one but maybe you should ask for the Lens Mask? This way since they're shipping the PJ to you they could just throw it in. No charge.

Originally posted by guitarman
Letterbox support is nice, you can use any of the Farjouja chipped players. I don't know if you already hv one but maybe you should ask for the Lens Mask? This way since they're shipping the PJ to you they could just throw it in. No charge.

The H30's built in letterbox support requires a Farjouda chipped DVD player? I was under the impression that the new H30 firmware provided letterbox support on its own, regardless of what DVD player you use. Is that not the case? I really have no idea what chip my Panasonic DVVD-S35 uses. Maybe this new firmware won't benefit me much after all. Oh well. At least I'll have my H30 back.

No, I don't have a lens mask. Are they giving them away for free to existing customers? I thought they were sellilng it as an add-on for those who's projectors didnt' come with one.

No, the letterbox support added by the firmware upgrade helps Faroudja players that didn't support letterboxing with the H30. Your S35 doesn't have it anyway, so don't worry about it. The lens mask is being provided free to previous customers. You just have to pay shipping. Since they'll be shipping your projector back anyway, you could have them just throw one in the box.

Originally posted by fleaman
Your screen is not square to your projector. Move/angle the top or bottom closer or further from the projector. Measure all 4 sides of your image, they should be equal (top/bottom and LH/RH sides).

Fleaman


Thanks for the tip. But I can't tilt the wall. :D

I am projecting against the wall, and I am almost certain that the beam is projected straight against it. I have an image that's laterally symmetric (side-to-side). So, no one else sees this non-uniform focus problem? It would suck to send it in and get a buzzer.

Originally posted by clamrade
I have noticed that "16x9" and "16x9 native" modes look identical when connected to my HTPC, but the "16x9 native" is taller (as it should be) when connected to a DVD player in S-Video or component. Is this normal? Is anyone other than Jason using an HTPC with H30?

Thank you.

Where IS Jason?
:D Just my attempt to allow my issue stand out a little from the "Quality Control 101" course compiled in the past 12 hours.

Incredible. There's been three hours of silence on this busy thread! :)

Originally posted by clamrade
Thanks for the tip. But I can't tilt the wall. :D

I am projecting against the wall, and I am almost certain that the beam is projected straight against it. I have an image that's laterally symmetric (side-to-side). So, no one else sees this non-uniform focus problem? It would suck to send it in and get a buzzer.

I still think your screen is not square to your projector. Did you measure all 4 sides with a tape measure?? You might need a friend to help you with the measurements as it can be a little difficult to measure a large picture on your own in the dark.

If you can' move your screen, then you will have to move your projector up/down, hopefully with no tilt (no keystone).


Fleaman

So I finally got around to sending in my H30 for the firmware update about two weeks ago. I had been procrastinating for quite some time. The QC issues mentioned in this thread had me feeling thankful that I had a problem free unit. When I got the courage to send it in, I shipped it via priority mail and they received it a week ago monday. My biggest concern was getting the projector back in time for this weekend. My parents and sister are visiting from the east coast and have never seen my home theater. I was so excited to wow them! So I get a UPS notice yesterday afternoon stating that delivery was attempted but a signature was not obtainable. Realizing that the same thing would happen today (my family flys in tonight), I arranged to have it held at the shipping center. I drove a half hour out of my way after leaving work today. But it was worth it once I finally had the projector in hand (and not a moment too soon!). I eagerly tear open the box when I get home and *gasp*... there is an OPTOMA EZPRO735 inside. What the hell? They sent me the wrong friggin projector! I am so upset. Family leaves on monday, without a proper viewing. Do you think it would be out of line to ask them to overnight my H30 tommorow for delivery on Saturday? This really sucks...

They sent me the wrong friggin projector! I am so upset. Family leaves on monday, without a proper viewing. Do you think it would be out of line to ask them to overnight my H30 tommorow for delivery on Saturday? This really sucks



that just sucks :mad: man i don't understand what goes on in some of these company's places :confused:


i would ask for my projector to be shipped ASAP ,


:mad:

Yeah you need to call them and have them overnight it. That is just rediculous. Sorry man, I thought that kind of crap only happened to me.

Originally posted by clamrade
Where IS Jason?
:D Just my attempt to allow my issue stand out a little from the "Quality Control 101" course compiled in the past 12 hours.

I use a HTPC and my H30 definitely increases the heighth when it is switched to Native 16x9.

Fred

Originally posted by jeff442
Do you think it would be out of line to ask them to overnight my H30 tommorow for delivery on Saturday?

Nope. Give them a call and also have them issue a call tag for them to pick up the 735 at the same time.

Too bad they didn't send you an H76 :)

DISASTER delaing with Optoma. 3 months now with a double charge to my card even though they got the broken, LOST unit back. No refund yet.

Boy, Optoma is just sounding better by the minute here!
sheesh!

With a hot swap pre pay they shouldn't hv hit your card at all.

I did a hot swap with my NEC HT1000 when the first two had dead pixels. They never once hit the card and that was for $4250.

When I hot swapped out my H30, they did charge my card (and refunded it promptly when I returned it). I think that's Optoma policy.

Hey guys!!

I probably found a reliable way to replicate the green bar (did it 5 times in a row now).

You need a HTPC with an ATI Radeon card (i've got radeon 9000 pro myself). You might try other than ATI cards too but at least should work with this.

1. before you turn on the PJ
a) make sure your desktop has been extended to the projector (extend my windows desktop to this monitor).

b) Connect an _interlaced_ signal source to the pj and activate it. (i've got a VCR in the composite input).

3. Turn on the PJ and switch to the interlaced signal (should work fine).

4. Switch to the VGA HTPC and go to display properties, select the PJ as a primary monitor and apply. Then switch it back to the regular monitor. Switch this back & forth a few times.

5. switch back to the interlaced signal -> BOOM: green bar.

Try this out and see what happens... if it works we can pass the info over to Optoma so maybe they can fix this.... :)

Someone asked a question about this combo. I have been running DVB318 with my H30 via component and the picture is awesome.

The picture was great with non-interlaced Sony DVD player and H30's de-interlacer doing the work already.. But sometimes it wasn't smooth on some fast action parts of the movie.

I found the picture to be the best in 720P upscaling mode.

Here's the interesting part.... cheap Sony non-progressive DVD player + H30's deinterlacer via s-video cable do almost as good a job as DVB318 in 720p mode via component EXCEPT not as smooth on fast transitions where you can catch de-interlacer not keeping up with the action. Furthermore, H30's de-interlacer noticably better picture then DVB318's Farjouda in 480p and 1080i (once again except for smoothness in transitions). Go figure.


SB

Well it turns out my projector was sent to someone in Nebraska, so there is no chance of getting it overnighted tommorow! They have arranged to pickup the 735 Monday and have my H30 shipped to me next week. I love my home theater, but to be honest, I don't get a lot of chances to show it off. This was a big deal for me. What a disappointment.

Well it turns out my projector was sent to someone in Nebraska, so there is no chance of getting it overnighted tommorow! They have arranged to pickup the 735 Monday and have my H30 shipped to me next week. I love my home theater, but to be honest, I don't get a lot of chances to show it off. This was a big deal for me. What a disappointment


so jeff the mistake was made from optoma or the shipping company ?


and just hope that that person dose not fall in love with the pj and ends up watching stuff on it :)

How does the 735 look? :)

Jeff, that problem would drive me nuts. Waiting is why I would drive down to Optoma with my projector. Can't wait

Originally posted by semi_expert
I use a HTPC and my H30 definitely increases the heighth when it is switched to Native 16x9.

Fred


Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. You mean it gets taller as you switch it from 16x9 to native 16x9 using the same source and connection, right?

Right!

so jeff the mistake was made from optoma or the shipping company ?

It looks like it was made by Optoma. The outside of the box has a packing slip with someone elses RMA. But the UPS shipping label that was printed out and stuck on the box has my name and address.

and just hope that that person dose not fall in love with the pj and ends up watching stuff on it

I am actually a bit concerned about this. The last thing I need is someone screwing up my problem-free, non-buzzing h30. I'm not too worried though... I have their name, address, and phone number. Broken knee caps!

Jeff, that problem would drive me nuts. Waiting is why I would drive down to Optoma with my projector. Can't wait

Man, I wish I could. But I believe my projector is in Nebraska right now! How far of a drive is it for you Tom?

Too bad they didn't send you an H76

If that was the case, you can bet I wouldn't be bragging about it on a public forum. I'd be watching movies right now with a #$%-eating grin on my face!

How does the 735 look?

Ok, as if the situation couldn't be any worse... I thought about setting up this projector in my theater. My family is not a bunch of videophiles, and I'm sure they'd be wowed by the big picture (though I think my eyes would hurt with the measly 500:1 contrast ratio). So I go to fire up the 735 and guess what... the bulb icon button on the projector is flashing orange!


On a final sad note - I just now realized that I will miss out on the season finale of the Sopranos in 100"+ HD this Sunday.

Furthermore, H30's de-interlacer noticably better picture then DVB318's Farjouda in 480p and 1080i (once again except for smoothness in transitions). Go figure.



So Sxxb, it sounds like it the upconverting player doesn't make much of a difference. I have a toshiba progressive DVD player, do you think its worth upgrading to the Zenith?

Okay...

I've now managed to replicate manually the green bar effect every single time i've wanted to (and also keep it away by just not switching the primary display settings).

It would seem that a disappearing-reappearing signal somehow confuses the deinterlacer chip or the software and thus causing the interlaced signal not to show. Progressive signal bypasses the deinterlacer so it always shows properly.

I would guess those people having green bar problems during playback have an inconsistent signal coming from their player which confuses the PJ... probably their playback equipment need maintenance as well but didn't know it until the green bar bug brought it up.

... i'm just guessing here but the fact is:
the green bar bug should be replicable the way I posted before and if Optoma engineers can analyze what goes on in the PJ they'll be able to fix it as well.

When I put this projector in 16:9 mode (native or otherwise), why isn't it automatically scaling 4:3 sources to fit in a 4:3 box inside the 16:9 screen? Instead it stretches them, contrary to what I thought this projector was supposed to do. It does so even when running an s-video straight from the Dish box. I'm on the new firmware.

You must use the "window" button on your remote, thus you'll get 4:3 image in the 16:9 canvas without stretching.

I have a 16:9 screen and I never use the Window mode. I just put the projector in 4:3 mode when I'm watching 4:3 material, and that results in a 4:3 picture centered on my 16:9 screen.

Originally posted by clamrade
Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. You mean it gets taller as you switch it from 16x9 to native 16x9 using the same source and connection, right?

Yes that's how it works. I've got a 16X9 screen, I sometimes use 16X9 Native on 2.35 aspect moves to get a larger (taller) image. Geometry stays correct but you loose a little image off the left and right sides.

Fred

Wow! Quiet day huh? No posts for 9+ hours and the thread is still on the first page? Must be nice weather everywhere. :)

Originally posted by veggieguy
I have a 16:9 screen and I never use the Window mode. I just put the projector in 4:3 mode when I'm watching 4:3 material, and that results in a 4:3 picture centered on my 16:9 screen.

Mine works the same as veggie's even though I have a 4:3 screen. If I push the 4x3 button it would center the 4:3 image in the middle 2/3 of where the 16:9 image is located on the screen. It is not stretched out to the width of the screen.

Cheers!

I have a question about watching TV series like buffy. Do I need to change options around (other than aspect ratio) to watch TV stuff vs. Movie stuff. There are lots of different settings like film and cinema, do I need to change these or does it matter? Also do any of them change how the H30 handles deinterlacing?

On a side note, saw Harry Potter 3 today. No spoilers, but that was one of the best movies I have seen. Cinematography was excellent. Some beautiful shots, something I wasn't expecting with this film.

Hey hikarate-

How's it going bud?

My thoughts on your question above are that it depends on how your TV signal is fed to the H30. Mine comes from a Motorola digital cable box via S-video to the H30 whereas the DVD changer and PC are fed via VGA/component. I have used DVE to do as much of a calibration on the VGA input as I can which resulted in drastically different settings to color, sharpness, brightness and contrast from what came stock on the "cinema" setting. I put all those "tweaked" settings on the user 2 mode. I then programmed user 1 mode to be a compromise between the two. Depending on the movie I am watching I will move between the three modes to see which one is most appealing for that particular movies picture type. More often than not I watch on user 1 mode which was the compromise. Cinema for me generated a very sharp, vivid image but the blacks can be a bit "noisy" because the sharpness setting was at 50 from the factory. I chose to leave this mode alone and make my adjustments on user 1 & 2.

Now I have yet to hook up the DVD player via S-Video to the H30 so that I can use the DVE DVD to tweak the S-Video input mode of user 1 & 2. I need to do that however as my SDTV image leaves a bit to be desired. Somewhat screwy colors, even a bit of blue push I think which is the first I've heard of that. Again- I left cinema mode alone and made my changes to user 1 & 2. This could be way off base for what is technically prpoer but it seems to give me the most flexibility to bop between cinema, User 1 and user 2 to get the most pleasing image for that particular movie, channel, whatever.

Cheers!

Originally posted by semi_expert
Yes that's how it works. I've got a 16X9 screen, I sometimes use 16X9 Native on 2.35 aspect moves to get a larger (taller) image. Geometry stays correct but you loose a little image off the left and right sides.

Fred


Thanks. Mine does that too, but only with S-Video and component inputs. It doesn't do that with VGA (RGB) input. That's why I got confused. It sounds pathetic, but I don't think I'll send back my non-buzzing, no-green-bar, no-orange-light, good-luck H30 and risk getting a buzzer.

It doesn't take much to lose reputation as a quality product/manufacturer, and clearly, Optoma is headed that direction fast.

Well hang in there boys. They're already talking about the screen door on the first impressions of the 4805. Remember the main reason I even bought the H30 was the look of the screen door on the Japanese shootout. I already owned the Sharp DT200 SVGA projector. My thoughts were confirmed once receiving the H30 and comparing it to the DT200. Not all screen doors are the same on DDR SVGA projectors.

So hang in there boys, looks like we got a winner. :)

There are lots of different settings like film and cinema, do I need to change these or does it matter? Also do any of them change how the H30 handles deinterlacing?

This was my question, too.
It only states in the manual that picture is optimized to different signals (film, video, graphics, pc) but manual does not tell HOW it is optimized.

My assumption is that it changes the "zero-point" of brighness/contrast etc. in different modes, since the values remain the same but picture clearly changes.

However, it could affect de-interlacer etc., maybe someonce could clarify this issue.

Originally posted by guitarman
Well hang in there boys. They're already talking about the screen door on the first impressions of the 4805. Remember the main reason I even bought the H30 was the look of the screen door on the Japanese shootout. I already owned the Sharp DT200 SVGA projector. My thoughts were confirmed once receiving the H30 and comparing it to the DT200. Not all screen doors are the same on DDR SVGA projectors.

So hang in there boys, looks like we got a winner. :)

Tom, are you saying the H30 looks better than the DT200? Just wondering because the DT200 is the only PJ I could get a proper demo of locally and it looked really nice. In fact, at only 10' back from a 8' wide screen I was VERY VERY impressed with the image. Not much SDE at all (to my amature eye). Maybe ignorance is bliss in this case.

Hi Shadow
Check out Fabbas' sceenshots in posts #178 -#180 (page 9) Where the H30 is compared to the DT200 and the HT1000.

Tom the Cigarman comments them in the following post, and it sure looks like the H30 is doing very well.

In short 720P definitely looks better then 480p. Now, 480i signal looked about as good as 720P, with the exception that when H30 de-interlaces 480i signal sometimes on fast changing picture you may notice that it doesn't keep up.

So DVB318 is a worthwhile upgrade from either a progressive dvd or non-progressive DVD player.

Typically, the image mode settings should change between film and video-based deinterlacing on those modes. I believe that in the H30 it just stays on an automatic detection setting for these modes. It's been awhile since this was posted, but you can find out more information about the various settings (since the manual doesn't tell you much) here: Optoma How-To Guide (http://www.optomahometheater.com/howto/guide_d.htm)

Tried a new Bravo D2 with the H30 yesterday just for fun. It looked pretty good, but not as good as my Panny RP-82. The component outs have definitely been improved over the D1s, but I still wouldn't buy the D2 unless I was using the DVI output, since it won't upscale over component. Just makes you wish the H30 had a DVI input so you could use the D2's resolution matching ability.

got the H30 this afternoon and what can I say, the picture quality using a cheap philips dvd player is "FANTASTIC".

there is no leap of faith here, just go out and buy it.

I do not have sound at the moment [aaaaaaargh!!!!] it was a choice between sound system or projector, I heard the projector might be going up in price, so here I'am watching Matrix Revolutions [plenty action late on] with no sound and my jaw on the floor.

all hail the guitarman

best money ever spent

cheers

congrats on the pj and enjoy it ;)



I heard the projector might be going up in price



where did you hear this ?

Won't upscale over component, so no custom settings. We were able to push the D1 to upscale over component, I think.

It was mainly the custom settings I was interested in. So the Zenith would now be a better choice.

new teq joe

I've got a grin on my face here, I read a review in home cinema choice magazine, they claimed 40% light fall off from centre to edge [complete rubbish] I think it was in the review. It's like anything in the uk... if it's popular the price goes up

I've got a grin on my face here, I read a review in home cinema choice magazine, they claimed 40% light fall off from centre to edge [complete rubbish] I think it was in the review. It's like anything in the uk... if it's popular the price goes up



ohhh ok :) got it ;)

Have you people completely lost interest in the green bar?
I for one would like to see it fixed as soon as possible.

Could somebody try switching between progressive / interlaced mode a few times during playback with their DVD-player and see if that causes a green bar lockup.

I think I saw someone post this finding before, but i'll post just to confirm.... The dimmer switch causes my H30 buzz like a bee! When the lamp is turned full on, it's fine, but any setting between full on and off makes H30 buzz....furthermore changing dimmer position changes the pitch of the buzz.


Can someone explain how can a dimmer switch cause this?

You can find a detailed guide to dimmers here, this page 5 explains the buzzing...

http://home.howstuffworks.com/dimmer-switch5.htm

Originally posted by UnknownShadow
Tom, are you saying the H30 looks better than the DT200? Just wondering because the DT200 is the only PJ I could get a proper demo of locally and it looked really nice. In fact, at only 10' back from a 8' wide screen I was VERY VERY impressed with the image. Not much SDE at all (to my amature eye). Maybe ignorance is bliss in this case.

Here's the thing, the DT200 is a DDR 12degree chip with a RGB/RGB color wheel, just like the H30. When I compared the screen door on the DT200 to the H30 the H30's was fives times better.

You go up to the screen at a few inches away and examine the area around each pixel. On the DT200 it was dark and the lines were thick. On the H30 it was faint and the lines were paper thin almost being invisible.
End result you get a smoother picture with the H30 with the same quality and color saturation. They both had pronounced and very nice colors with the H30 looking a little more natural. That's why I kept the H30 and quickly dumped the DT200.

Originally posted by Quarterbrain
Could somebody try switching between progressive / interlaced mode a few times during playback with their DVD-player and see if that causes a green bar lockup.

I've done that with two different DVD players now and I haven't had any lockup. The worst that happens is a split screen that's fixed by hitting the resync button. I never usually switch between the two (always in progressive), but I did when I was checking out the H30's deinterlacing.

Originally posted by zola
got the H30 this afternoon and what can I say, the picture quality using a cheap philips dvd player is "FANTASTIC".

there is no leap of faith here, just go out and buy it.

I do not have sound at the moment [aaaaaaargh!!!!] it was a choice between sound system or projector, I heard the projector might be going up in price, so here I'am watching Matrix Revolutions [plenty action late on] with no sound and my jaw on the floor.

all hail the guitarman

best money ever spent

Welcome aboard, Revolutions does look awesome on the H30. Movies with dark scenes just look to great, very good detail in blacks.

A quote from the Japanese shootout re the H30,

"it comes to a picture that we've come accustomed to and very much like"
Is there something lost in translating Japanese to English or is that the way the Japanese really talk. Very colorful

At least the reviewers new great when they saw it. :)

cheers

Originally posted by Quarterbrain
Have you people completely lost interest in the green bar?
I for one would like to see it fixed as soon as possible.

Could somebody try switching between progressive / interlaced mode a few times during playback with their DVD-player and see if that causes a green bar lockup.

I'm sorry you did do some good research on your problem. I don't think many are seeing it. I couldn't get the green bar on my first machine by just switching from progressive to interlaced and on my JVC I had an on the fly button to do that switching. Like Mike I was mainly interested in the comparison.

The time I did get it to lock up was viewing 1080i for a long time and then clicking my switch box over to my interlaced DVD player which was on. Then it locked up. When I took the machine down to Optoma Wing and I switched the thing a hundred times from 1080i to interlaced and couldn't get it to lock up. I felt a little silly but did take digital pictures of what it looked like so Wing didn't think I was crazy.

He finally got it to lock up at home after viewing HDTV for 5hrs and making a quick switch to 480i. Sent it off to Taiwan for a eval.

I don't think many are worried about it because they're not switching around allot between the signals or if they do they have a machine that isn't bothered.

The latest,

There's probably going to be allot of disscussion on screen door in the next week with the latest talk on the 4805. I was interested also in the 4805, it doesn't hurt to have a backup projector.

But if the area around the pixels looks like the Sharp Z90 or DT200 I wouldn't buy it. I'd have to see one first hand to take a close look. Reviewers should do a through eval and go right up to the screen to see what's going on with the pixels.

I do this with all projectors, got the tip from Alan here. He said at the shows he goes to the first thing he does is walk right up to the screen and puts his nose right on it, then they throw him out lol No kidding!

They said SD at two times on the Z90 and DT200 reviews but that wasn't enough. You'll see many talking about, boy the screen door was pretty noticable in many of the old threads re the Z90. It's really all about what's going on around the pixels.

I also put over 100 hours on a DT200 at my place. My feelings basically concur with Toms. The DT200 had great colors, but the screen door was the main problem. It had more screen door than the LCD (HC2) that I demoed. The H30 that I now own has much less screen door and still has that great color. The H30 is also a little quieter than the DT200. The only thing that the DT200 beats the H30 in is the DVI and Lens shift. But I demoed the DT200 with a samsung DVI DVD player, and I would still take the H30 picture over a DT200 with DVI player.

Have you people completely lost interest in the green bar?
I for one would like to see it fixed as soon as possible.


The green bar is a BUG that exist only in few projectors so it's easy to fix - get it replaced.

Could somebody try switching between progressive / interlaced mode a few times during playback with their DVD-player and see if that causes a green bar lockup

I use PAL (Like you) and i get the green bar only when i use component at this two scenarios:

1) When switching from Cable TV to DVD and vice versa.
2) After few minutes with any calibration Disc (THX optimizer, DVE, AVIA).

I don't get it when i switch from progressive to interlaced. which player do you use for PAL progressive ?

Can you please try to see if you get the green bar on my second scenario.
Ariel

I'm one of those sitting on the fence looking at both the H30 and the 4805, however after reading way too many messages it seems the H30 would be a better choice for me especially due to the shorter throw and lower noise (when it doesn't buzz).

I know Infocus is particular with which retailers can sell which products but what's Optoma's position on that? Can I buy an H30 from an online computer hardware store and get full warranty coverage without any problems?

Thanks.

The green bar is a BUG that exist only in few projectors so it's easy to fix - get it replaced.


I'm convinced the green bar IS truly a bug, and it is definitely in ALL *05 firmware projectors. Just most people don't encounter it for some reason...

If i just replace my PJ, i'll still get the green bar so it won't be worth the effort until somebody actually officially confirms what causes it and how it can be fixed. There's a 3 year warranty on this baby so I can wait until a new firmware is released and then replace it if necessary.

As stated: progressive signal always shows, even with the green bar bug active. I'm watching movies on a HTPC and play games with my gamecube (component YUV, interlaced) and watch tv with a VCR (composite, interlaced). I know exactly how to make the green bar show on my setup and how to keep it away (posted earlier).

We've got some people here in finland with problems watching DVD's on some players. The green bar just pops up from nowhere after 5-20 minutes of interlaced playback so there must be something in the signal that's confusing the deinterlacer. Also there's a report of a green bar appearing when switching between interlaced and progressive signal so that's why i'm asking others to test it also. Maybe PAL signal is different in this matter... dunno.

I don't think there's a huge black market of H30 proejctors. Get the name and call Optoma to ask if it's covered with that company, most likely yes.
Some people have been buying USA machines out of country and getting approved warranty coverage.

Originally posted by guitarman
Well hang in there boys. They're already talking about the screen door on the first impressions of the 4805. Remember the main reason I even bought the H30 was the look of the screen door on the Japanese shootout. I already owned the Sharp DT200 SVGA projector. My thoughts were confirmed once receiving the H30 and comparing it to the DT200. Not all screen doors are the same on DDR SVGA projectors.

So hang in there boys, looks like we got a winner. :)


You must have little understanding of projectors. The 4805 is using a new chip which will have less screen door or the same as current DLP units. There is no way it will have more screen door than the H30, it will have the same or less. All newer DLP projectors have little screen door, you sure are grasping at straws to make the H30 seem good. You obviously didn't read the actual review that was being talked about, it was on the high end PJ forum and they were comparing the screen door to the 7205, the reviewer however loved the 4805 and said it was almost as good. Just more screen door, logically this would be the case as it's a lower res PJ. The H30 will have yet more because it's lower res than the 4805 in widescreen. I've used the H30, X1, Benq 6100 and the screen door was identical on all units, guess what, it's because they had the same DLP chip inside. The 4805 has a newer more expensive chip, so unless TI screwed up really bad and added additional screen door to their new chip, there is nothing to worry about.

I'm convinced the green bar IS truly a bug, and it is definitely in ALL *05 firmware projectors. Just most people don't encounter it for some reason...

It's definitely not in all *05 firmware since many people has a PS player and not all of them have this issue and i am sure that after reading this thread they tried producing this BUG.
Also Tom had it on his previous unit and on his new unit it's gone and both of them are *05 firmware.

Do you have the H30 or the Themescene ?

You must have little understanding of projectors

From all the words that you could have chosen you had to write the most disgusting sentence ?
It's not the first time you use this kind of language and it's not the first time people telling you to think before you press Submit - yet you keep doing it :mad:

you sure are grasping at straws to make the H30 seem good.
When other people on this thread wrote bad things about the build quality of the H30 you stood on your rear legs to defend it - So now you changed your opinion ?

You must have schizophrenia -
On one hand you do this wonderful thing and write the all H30 FAQ page and on the other hand you write this kind of things - you are a sad person:(

I think he's out to get me, Not all his fault I bad mouthed his choice of screen, a pull down video spectra as a wave master extraordinary. Sri Ryan but that's a fact, it's a wave master :)

Seriously Ryan,
The 4805 isn't a new special dark chip, it's still an SVGA DRR 12degree chip. It just has a different configuration, 16.9 Standard Def. Don't let the term "Dark Chip" fool you. I've been hearing that selling tool since before the 4805.

Here's some screen door comparisons from the Japanese shootout.

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/3200sd.jpg

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/z90sd.jpg

Same picture and they showed how the Z90 was bolder. The actual effect of the SD on the 4805 isn't out yet. We need someone who knows what to look for to take a close look.

I asked that question on the Colorado shootout thread, hope we get an answer.

tom how far was this shoot taken from did they mention it ?

Guess they were right on it. Pretty cool how they captured them so clearly.

but the 4805 looked blocky , pixely :confused:


may be it was defocused to see how they can minimize the sde ?


who knows but i am sure we will here from the shoot out and from our 4805 friends on this forum

My guess would be that both the 4805 and the H30 will have their respective fan base and both will sell very well. All the better for Joe Consumer when the lower end products perform and compete well. I'm very pleased with my H30 and sincerely hope that all those getting a 4805 are as happy with their projectors as I am with mine.

Ryan- please sell or return your H30 if you haven't already. Then buy a 4805 and let them deal with you and your attitude in that thread. Anyone tried the ignore feature in this forum yet?

Thanks Gotta,
I moved him from friends to ignore. Worked great! My blood pressure thanks you.

It's a Themescene H30 running on c05 firmware.

The fact that few people are using player X and only some of them have the green bar bug does not guarantee the bug does not exist, since there are many variables which can actually cause the bug. That's why optoma engineers need to analyze what actually causes the problem. I find it hard to believe it's just a "bad firmware flash".

It MAY be a problem in the hardware, i'm not counting that out yet either... too little information to exclude it. Still, it would be nice to get some input from optoma too...

Tom: Is it really gone on your new unit?

Hi guys,

Update. If you remember my 1 month old (200 hrs) H30 bulb died. Well, the next day after calling Optoma UPS arrived to pick it up (Tuesday). They received it that Thursday and shipped me out a new unit on Friday. It arrived the following Tuesday (holiday weekend). I've been running it since. No problems, looks great, no buzzing, great service = happy Optoma customer.

Cheers,
Don

Off-topic

Originally posted by guitarman
...The 4805 isn't a new special dark chip, it's still an SVGA DRR 12degree chip. It just has a different configuration, 16.9 Standard Def. Don't let the term "Dark Chip" fool you. I've been hearing that selling tool since before the 4805.

Tom, the chip in the 4805 is a new one and it is based on HD2+ technology. A local Infocus rep told me that it indeed has the dimple-fix and the tighter pixel gap of the HD2+ chip. So, in theory, it should have the smallest screendoor of any VGA DLP projector so far. If it does remains to be seen...

back to the H30

Originally posted by valkyrie
Just heard back...Optoma asked me to contact them on Monday. They're still investigating. I'll email again and let you all know.

Ok, it's Monday! It's Monday! ;-)

Valk, can you please ask Optoma if there's any new info on the green bar issue as well. Thanks!

Originally posted by Dillinger
Hi guys,

Update. If you remember my 1 month old (200 hrs) H30 bulb died. Well, the next day after calling Optoma UPS arrived to pick it up (Tuesday). They received it that Thursday and shipped me out a new unit on Friday. It arrived the following Tuesday (holiday weekend). I've been running it since. No problems, looks great, no buzzing, great service = happy Optoma customer.

Cheers,
Don

Good to hear!!

Originally posted by Dinn
Off-topic



Tom, the chip in the 4805 is a new one and it is based on HD2+ technology. A local Infocus rep told me that it indeed has the dimple-fix and the tighter pixel gap of the HD2+ chip. So, in theory, it should have the smallest screendoor of any VGA DLP projector so far. If it does remains to be seen...

back to the H30
That could be good but I'd like to see one first, all the talk about pixelization didn't sound good. When the H30 started to get reviews the absence of the screen door was the highlight of talking. Maybe the reviews were being overly fussy. What we need is someone that has the H30 to talk a look at it. Mike will get one and he has the H30 so we'll find out then.

My new replacement also has been completely trouble free I am glad to say!
A# model 143hrs...

rsmith
I want to thank you for the unofficial h30 FAQ these things take alot of work to make but you should cut guitarman some slack. I have been following both the 4805 and this thread since the start of both and guitar has just made completely true and helpful statements. He's not out to get the 4805 or you, he's just trying to verify that the h30 is still the best all around VALUE projector. I for one believe he is right.
The ability to do big 4:3 pic is much more important to me than you, for gaming and the web it just plain ROCKS in a way the 4805 never will.
Also, I will believe that the 4805 throws a better 16:9 pic when I see it for myself or guitar reviews it for me....hehe... I still can't belive the picture this thing throws
HAPPY h30 owner... Thanks again Guitarman!

Originally posted by rocker999
My new replacement also has been completely trouble free I am glad to say!
A# model 143hrs...

rsmith
I want to thank you for the unofficial h30 FAQ these things take alot of work to make but you should cut guitarman some slack. I have been following both the 4805 and this thread since the start of both and guitar has just made completely true and helpful statements. He's not out to get the 4805 or you, he's just trying to verify that the h30 is still the best all around VALUE projector. I for one believe he is right.
The ability to do big 4:3 pic is much more important to me than you, for gaming and the web it just plain ROCKS in a way the 4805 never will.
Also, I will believe that the 4805 throws a better 16:9 pic when I see it for myself or guitar reviews it for me....hehe... I still can't belive the picture this thing throws
HAPPY h30 owner... Thanks again Guitarman!

I know about DLP fanboy and LCD fanboy,
but never knew there was Guitarman fanboy. :p Just kidding .

It's fanman not boy. Call me a boy and I'll smack you upside the head sunny...

Controversy is fun anyway. :)
As long as it's done civilized, Ryan!

Hey, there's a big ? on the 4805 blacks vs the H30.

I know IF HT models hv a tendency to have gray blacks, this talk about using a .05gain screen makes me wonder. :)

Originally posted by starbark
I know Infocus is particular with which retailers can sell which products but what's Optoma's position on that? Can I buy an H30 from an online computer hardware store and get full warranty coverage without any problems?

Thanks.

Optoma doesn't have "authorized" resellers per se, so they will honor the warranty when purchased from just about any dealer. You might consider whether it's worth it to you to have the projector checked out in advance of shipping though.

Originally posted by guitarman
That could be good but I'd like to see one first, all the talk about pixelization didn't sound good. When the H30 started to get reviews the absence of the screen door was the highlight of talking. Maybe the reviews were being overly fussy. What we need is someone that has the H30 to talk a look at it. Mike will get one and he has the H30 so we'll find out then.

Also pixelation is not/or should not be an issue with the H30 at a sitting distance farther than 8-10 feet. I am at 9 feet and do not see SDE. So maybe the 4805 has less SDE.... soooooo.....The H30 does have SDE at 2-3 feet from the screen. But who the hell watches at 2-3 feet?
I had this "so called" video expert of a friend(he only has a directview set) come to my place and said..not a bad picture. He walked up to the screen with his nose about 1 foot from the screen said. "This is no good. I see pixels." I asked him ... "You are the video expert right?"

With current budget DLP Pjs at this level, SDE should not be an issue anymore. One really has to measure SDE at distance greater than 8 feet to actually realize if the PJ has SDE issues. This is usually the minimum sitting distance by any PJ user.

Originally posted by guitarman
What we need is someone that has the H30 to talk a look at it. Mike will get one and he has the H30 so we'll find out then.

Still waiting to find out when. Last I heard was the end of June. Looking forward to seeing the 4805 though.

Originally posted by rocker999
It's fanman not boy. Call me a boy and I'll smack you upside the head sunny...
Wow you sure cant take a joke for a man.

Sorry about that MAN.
It was just a joke MAN.

Chill

Thanks

Originally posted by Frichard
Wow you sure cant take a joke for a man.

Sorry about that MAN.
It was just a joke MAN.

Chill

Thanks

Could be wrong, heh, but I thought Rocker was joking as well guys, er, men.

Valk, you around bud? Did you hear back from Optoma today on the buzzing issue?

Originally posted by jclampit
Could be wrong, heh, but I thought Rocker was joking as well guys, er, men.

Yeah I know just having a litle fun with the guy hmm... man

Thanks

Yeah, I emailed first thing this morning, but have yet to hear back, sorry. I'll give it tomorrow, and then give them a call.

Thanks,

- V

Originally posted by valkyrie
Yeah, I emailed first thing this morning, but have yet to hear back, sorry. I'll give it tomorrow, and then give them a call.

Thanks,

- V

Cool, thanks valk. Much appreciated.

Originally posted by Guitarman
Controversy is fun anyway.
As long as it's done civilized, Ryan!

Hey, there's a big ? on the 4805 blacks vs the H30.

I know IF HT models hv a tendency to have gray blacks, this talk about using a .05gain screen makes me wonder.
Well, as someone who has a preorder in for the 4805, I would just like to state that I think the images from both projectors will be more similar than different. I think it's obvious from all the great reviews and satisfied users that the H30 is an outstanding projector for the money and is a great choice if 4:3 viewing is important to you. If I wasn't so set on 16:9 and could have accomodated its offset in my basement HT, I would have bought an H30 long ago and spent the last several months watching movies rather than twiddling my thumbs endlessly waiting for the 4805.

Based on the early reviews from Denver, I think the 4805 is also going to be a great projector and a terrific value. Just because it's the latest and greatest does not invalidate anyone's choice to purchase the H30. Face it, we're buying SVGA projectors in this dawning era of HiDef. We've all got about 3 years or less with our PJs before 720P DLPs hit $2K and our beloved H30s and 4805s head out to pasture as we upgrade. It'll be a fun 3 years though. So let's keep the competition as friendly and unbiased as possible. Let's direct the truly nasty comments to the clueless LCD guys. (just kidding clueless LCD guys) :p

Originally posted by MikeSRC
Optoma doesn't have "authorized" resellers per se, so they will honor the warranty when purchased from just about any dealer. You might consider whether it's worth it to you to have the projector checked out in advance of shipping though.

That's exactly why I ordered why I ordered my H30 from your site. I have been enjoying this thing immensely! The picture is beautiful! Wow! Much better than the SP4800 I had before. No buzzing, green bars or anything! I watch television on it too! I'm watching on a 76 inch matte white screen using the Momitsu V880. I sit back about 7 to 13.5 feet from the screen. My experience mirrors Guitarman's. I haven't even calibrated this thing and it looks great! I watched The League of Extraordinary Gentleman and The Return of The King over the weekend and all I can say is that it looks very filmlike to me. Beautiful colors and deep blacks! I just smile at what I have here! At this point, I can't see myself upgrading until there is a quautum leap in performance from what I have now. I have been using this thing almost daily over the past week or so! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!

Now, back to viewing :)

Originally posted by En Sabur Nur
That's exactly why I ordered why I ordered my H30 from your site. I have been enjoying this thing immensely! The picture is beautiful! Wow! Much better than the SP4800 I had before. No buzzing, green bars or anything! I watch television on it too! I'm watching on a 76 inch matte white screen using the Momitsu V880. I sit back about 7 to 13.5 feet from the screen. My experience mirrors Guitarman's. I haven't even calibrated this thing and it looks great! I watched The League of Extraordinary Gentleman and The Return of The King over the weekend and all I can say is that it looks very filmlike to me. Beautiful colors and deep blacks! I just smile at what I have here! At this point, I can't see myself upgrading until there is a quautum leap in performance from what I have now. I have been using this thing almost daily over the past week or so! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!

Now, back to viewing :)

That is always a big bonus and if I had a hint of the problems to come with the newer firmware units, I probably would of bought it from Mike instead. Of course I had it on b/o for a month before I got it, so no idea I was about to enter a bee hive.

Oh, and my newer 2nd H30 didn't buzz at all for the first 6hrs of use...was nice in quite, then around the 6hr mark it started buzzing. Keep that in mind; testing it for a few hrs may not weed out all the potential buzzers.

Fleaman

Hello all, first post, but been lurking for months, mostly in the RPTV space. Took a stroll at a local mall, was looking for a Samsung DLP RPTV and happened on an Optoma dealer, and was floored by my first viewing of what a modern front projector can do and the price I can get a 100" image! Then I came on this great thread. BTW, the shop I visited had the H77, and they were giving me a/b comparison of the two. If you think dark details is good on the H30, it's even significantly better on the H77. Plus I could walk up to the screen and not see SD. (why is it called screen door? It looks more like a fence to me). Yeah, the price is kinda shocking as well for the H77.

Here I have some Q&A, and would appreciate your advice. I am mostly watching DVD (total light control), would like to watch TV on it, but when I do watch TV, I like to have my room lite, since I'll usually multitask. So maybe it's not good for TV in my case. There will be no HiDef TV feed for me for a long while.

1) What is the optimal screen size to project, assuming I have the required space to go all the way to 200" diagonal and can seat anywhere. And what would be the minimum optimal screen size to project? I would assume there must be an optimal size for best quality. And is the minimum viewing distance 1.9 times screen width?

2) Projector placement, would it be best to sit the projector at the closest range of throw to the screen?

3) Hooking it up to the PC. I currently use PowerDVD and it apparently has 'auto' deinterlacer mode. Does that mean I am outputing progressive output? I've also read a review online that mentions that progressive feed is better citing a 17% increase in brightness (don't remember which port is used). And if I should use interlaced output, which software should I use? (if that HTPC expert is responding (the guy that uses WinDVD with Nvidia software, could you just dish out what you use and the settings, I trust your knowledge from the pages of post I've read, thanks).

4)I assume I can also use the PC's software player to better fit an anamorphic movie to the 16:9 screen by stretching the player's window? Is this equivalent to what a Panamorph lens does?

5)Would the Infocus 4805 be worth the wait and consideration? Someone posted that it doesn't have color adjustment, is this true and important? I would assume they all can be adjusted.

6)Current crop of H30 have the included masking cap and backlit remote, which would also mean it has the new firmware, is this correct?

7)The manual says you can project an reverse image to the rear of a translucent screen, functioning like a rear projector. Is this type of screen expensive and would the image look ok or is this just a gimmick?

8)Since I will only watch DVD with total light control, and if possible TV but needs to be in a lite room, and no HiDef feeds, would stepping up in resolution be advisable? And what would be a good set to consider if stepping up. I think my local shop has the H56A but I didn't audition it. The very good thing I like about the H77 is that I can sit up close to the screen without seeing SD. I assume all higher res DLP's will allow this (like the H56A)?

On a side note, I also had the chance to look at Optima's 50"RPTV, and was told that it also has a lamp life of 3,000 hours. From what I remember on the Samsung RPTV thread, first generation PRTV's had this same short lifespan. Then the current 2nd generation uses a different lamp manufacturer or process that can do double that or 6,000 hours. I wonder if this technology is just not being implimented by Optoma yet. And why isn't Samsung in this space, since the technology is very similar.

Thanks for all the posters and anyone that care to answer my questions.

Umm.. I had just gotten tolerant of the minor buzz which is basically always there.. but after watching Spiderman last night when things were quiet again.. I started to get a very occasional half a second buzz.. almost like when a mosquito flies into a light kind of thing..

If this (MUCH louder) buzz continues.. or appears continuously.. I'll DEFINITELY have to RMA it because in no way at all is that tolerable. I'm wondering if this louder buzz is what some people are putting up with.. this new buzz sounds like it could be due to the color wheel hitting or something..

I'm quite scared and hope tonight I only have my little buzz =(

-rep

At least Spiderman was pretty.. although I'm semi wishing that I had just waited and picked up a 4805 or something.. also weighing my losses if I do go that route.

I agree. I am thankful that mine doesn't buzz... yet. But I've heard the buzz, and I certainly won't tolerate it if it develops. It's more than a fly in the ointment. It's a show stopper.

Optoma: are you listening? You are losing old and potential new/repeat customers here. Ignoring the problem will be the worst thing to do for PR.

My goodness. I can't wait for the 4805 to come out- the arguments will be enormously amusing! You know what this reminds me of? The X1/Z1 debates of a few years ago!

60 hours on the H30 and still going strong! Haven't heard any buzzing for a long time- I'm actually quite convinced that I never heard it to begin with- not what's been described here at any rate. So that's good. I have also noticed that I can now set contrast higher and brightness lower via Avia/S&V. Colors are starting to balance out better and I love the picture! Spiderman Superbit looks stunning! Can't wait for Return of the King Extended Version!

Oh, and Panavise 6" mount worked perfectly.

Ryan

One of the funniest things about the H30 is so many were disappointed when is was stuck in the widescreen format. Allot of the statements were, "what do you mean I can't open up the whole chip" definitely not for me then!

The H30 & 4805 should remain to be the best low priced video machines for now. What we need is a low priced 1024X576 HT based projector that comes in at a $2k msrp with much nicer street prices. Then the battle of 720p LCD and High res DLP's will take form.

I've heard rumbles and just maybe that 1024X576 will be reality. ;)

Originally posted by RyanJNielson
My goodness. I can't wait for the 4805 to come out- the arguments will be enormously amusing! You know what this reminds me of? The X1/Z1 debates of a few years ago!
Ryan

From what I remember, the X1/Z1 debates/arguments/flame wars and what not were mostely over the technology differences between the 2 units (rainbow, vertical banding, contrast, blah, blah, blah).

Most all of the negative comments in this H30 thread has to do with quality control issues (pwr up failures, buzzing, green bar, factory calibrations, blah, blah, blah), not the actual picture quality and performance of a 'Good' working unit....and that seems to depend on the luck of the draw, due to less than stellar Q.C. issues at Optoma.

If anyone with a good non-buzzing H30 disagrees with me, I'll gladly swap either of the 2 H30's I have for your 'Good' H30, and pay shipping both ways.

No kidding.

Fleaman

I can't answer all of your questions, but I'll take a stab at a few :-)

Originally posted by exe
...
1) What is the optimal screen size to project, assuming I have the required space to go all the way to 200" diagonal and can seat anywhere. And what would be the minimum optimal screen size to project? I would assume there must be an optimal size for best quality. And is the minimum viewing distance 1.9 times screen width?

There are a lot of rules of thumb, but much of it is personal preference. I actually have my Optoma H30 projected at around 95 inches and I watch it at around 110 to 120 inches away. Start out with the rule of thumb, then adjust to how you like it.

3) Hooking it up to the PC. I currently use PowerDVD and it apparently has 'auto' deinterlacer mode. Does that mean I am outputing progressive output? I've also read a review online that mentions that progressive feed is better citing a 17% increase in brightness (don't remember which port is used). And if I should use interlaced output, which software should I use? (if that HTPC expert is responding (the guy that uses WinDVD with Nvidia software, could you just dish out what you use and the settings, I trust your knowledge from the pages of post I've read, thanks).

I use PowerDVD as well. It de-interlaces ok, but I still see artifacts that I'd really rather not :-) It's better than the Optoma De-Interlacer, though, so you're better off using the HTPC. Plus the output from the PC can be run directly to the projector with a long VGA cable. I use a KVM switch to change between the HTPC (VGA), my XBox (Component) and my Dreamcast (VGA). If the Optoma had a higher resolution chip, I'd recommend using FFDShow to sharpen up the picture, but at 800x600 it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

4)I assume I can also use the PC's software player to better fit an anamorphic movie to the 16:9 screen by stretching the player's window? Is this equivalent to what a Panamorph lens does?

PowerDVD has a option to maintain aspect ratio. If checked, a 16x9 image is displayed in the middle portion of a 4x3 display. If unchecked, the 16x9 image is streached to the full 4x3 display. By selecting 16x9 on the Optoma, it will re-compress the image down to the lower portion of the display chip. This is not the same as a Panamorph lens. If you used a Panamorph lens, you would leave the display on the projector at the full 800x600 resolution and the optics would squeeze that back to 16x9 (you get more pixels in the display this way).

5)Would the Infocus 4805 be worth the wait and consideration? Someone posted that it doesn't have color adjustment, is this true and important? I would assume they all can be adjusted.

I was waiting on the 4805 until I saw the price. Then I went for the Optoma. I almost went with the BenQ 6200 with $200 rebate last month, but I decided to go with the Optoma based on some of the comments in this thread.

6)Current crop of H30 have the included masking cap and backlit remote, which would also mean it has the new firmware, is this correct?

From what I've read, yes. The fact is, if you go with a reputable dealer, he probably doesn't have any stock of the older projectors left. Ask at the time of purchase and make sure you get one with the backlit remote and newer firmware.

7)The manual says you can project an reverse image to the rear of a translucent screen, functioning like a rear projector. Is this type of screen expensive and would the image look ok or is this just a gimmick?

I've only seen this on high end equipment so I can't tell you what it would look like on the Optoma. It does use up a lot of space though and the screen is far more expensive than a blank, white wall or even a section of blackout cloth ;-)

8)Since I will only watch DVD with total light control, and if possible TV but needs to be in a lite room, and no HiDef feeds, would stepping up in resolution be advisable? And what would be a good set to consider if stepping up. I think my local shop has the H56A but I didn't audition it. The very good thing I like about the H77 is that I can sit up close to the screen without seeing SD. I assume all higher res DLP's will allow this (like the H56A)?

The SD on the Optoma is very minimal. I watch at 1.2 with no problems at all and could even watch at 1.0 or closer without it bothering me (other than having to turn my head to see the whole screen :-). I've see at 20/15, so it's not for lack of vision either :-P I think it just bothers some people more than others.

-MD

Well I just called their Tech Support and no one is answering the phone. Let it ring over 10 times.

Originally posted by hikarate
Well I just called their Tech Support and no one is answering the phone. Let it ring over 10 times.

Must be Lunch time:rolleyes:

Fleaman

The lunch wagon arrives at noon. There's no where to eat around there. It's just new upscale warehouses. Wing was brown baggin it. :)

I was viewing Galaxy Quest this morning on a Panasonic Interlaced player RV32. The deinterlacer did a great job on the fly by spaceship in the beginning. The factory colors on an Interlaced feed are calibrated extremely well. I just did slight adjustments on the blacks and looking at the colors with the blue filter I didn't hv to touch a thing.

I'd say the majority of the H30's are set this way. Right on cal for interlaced. Progressive and you'll have to do some tweaking.

190hrs now, no buzz, no problems.

Originally posted by guitarman
The lunch wagon arrives at noon. There's no where to eat around there. It's just new upscale warehouses. Wing was brown baggin it. :)

I was viewing Galaxy Quest this morning on a Panasonic Interlaced player RV32. The deinterlacer did a great job on the fly by spaceship in the beginning. The factory colors on an Interlaced feed are calibrated extremely well. I just did slight adjustments on the blacks and looking at the colors with the blue filter I didn't hv to touch a thing.

I'd say the majority of the H30's are set this way. Right on cal for interlaced. Progressive and you'll have to do some tweaking.

190hrs now, no buzz, no problems.

Just think Tom, you could get a newer H30 with either 26 hrs or 63 hrs on the lamp, shipping paid both ways by me!

I know how you go through those lamp hrs quickly....my low hr machines should appeal to you:D

Or, maybe you should make a proposal to Optoma: Out sourced official Q.C. for AVS members only! I'm sure Optoma could throw a few bones and maybe an H77 your way by handling problem H30 units from AVS members personally. It seems Mike is already doing it so, but many of us unfortunately didn't originally purchase our H30's from Mike:(

:D

Fleaman

Maybe they're having a meeting to discuss the "buzz" with the H30. :) I left an email this morning, but haven't heard back yet. I'll be in touch when I hear something.

They're probably trying to drum up some better color wheel bearings. Wing did say in Taiwan they had a room to try different color wheels/bearings for the H30. Settling on one designed for longevity.

The real bummer is some wheels sound great at first and then turn noisy. I figure they'll hv to decide on replacments or swapping colors wheels for the ones that are of got noisy.

What was the latest word, if I remember they said give em six weeks?

HOORAY! I just got my H30 back. I haven't had time to plug it in and try it out, but I will tonight. Now that it has a fresh new lamp, does anybody here have any suggestions on the best precautions to prevent another early lamp failure? Granted, nothing will guarantee that a lamp won't fail before its time, but I'd like to minimize the chances. I'm thinking along the lines of guarding against irregular power. I'm afraid my electrical engineering mojo is not high, so I'm not sure if a standard surge protector is enough or whether something different like a line conditioner would be better.

Suggestions anyone?

Oh, and I did get the free lens mask. I'll have to try that out tonight as well.

Maboroshi Daikon,

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It seems everyone else is busy with QC issues...hmm this is a concern.

I'll stick with PowerDVD and see how that goes. Have you tried things like Zoomplayer front end etc? What output resolutio/refresh rate do you recommend? PowerDVD also has a hardware accelerate or software accelerate mode, and also a brightness setting, what do you set?

As for the Infocus 4805 price, are they not set at about $1.5K which is comparable to the H30. I think at this late a date, I'll wait a while longer to see what the reviews say.

As for projecting a reverse image, I have a long room (30ft), like a hotel suit. One side is the bedroom and the other a small living room. So if I put a pulldown translucent screen and normal white screen in the middle and alternating the two screens, I could watch from both sides of the room. I'll have to see if I can find someone to demo that.

Lastly, I have to say you are the first to suggest a viewing closer to 1:1 of the screen width. Since the first time I stumbled in the FP shop, I really didn't know what to look for, I did know to throw RPTV out the buy list :) For myself, a 2:1 ratio is just sitting too far, guess I'll have to go back to the shop and take a measurement myself to see how close I can get before seeing distortions.

Again, thanks for taking the time to answer.

Originally posted by exe
Maboroshi Daikon,

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It seems everyone else is busy with QC issues...hmm this is a concern.

I would agree that QC issues seem to generate the majority of the posts but I don't think this translates to saying the majority of the machines have QC problems. Mine has been flawless since day one and I've even stopped knocking on wood everytime I say that. :)

I think the lack or responses you received has more to do with most of us using DVD players rather than HTPC's and the nuances they require.

Cheers!

Hey Exe,

Also, DaGamePimp has been our resident HTPC guy for this thread, but he hasn't been on as much lately. If you post the same question to the HTPC forum you might get a better response as more folks will be able to answer you.

As far the problems with the H30, the large majority of us, even those with problem, are extremely happy with Optoma so far. There haven't been many issues with this PJ, and none that effect all the machines really. Its more of a patience issue at this point for those that have the problems.
Tom is right, when I called 2 weeks ago they said about 8 weeks. As long as you are within the first 90 days they will swap you out a new one if you have problems like this, and Optoma has been very good to this point about customer satisfaction. I have no reason to believe they won't fix the buzzing problem eventually.
There aren't many problems that I haven't experienced with my pj, and even had lots of screen problems that are rarely reported. But as everything stands I am extremely happy with my purchase decision and wouldn't change a think if I had it to do over again.
As soon as they get the buzzing issue resolved I will completely satisfied with this PJ, but even with the buzzing it is bareable. I have definitely sat in the back rows of theaters that were much noisier, its hardly noticeable unless you concentrate on it, at least on my unit. Anyhow, they will fix it eventually.

i'm a newbie htpc user.... i mainly use zoomplayer with ffdshow (you must use ffdshow to get the most out of your htpc!). because the h30 is an 800x600 proj, you don't have to mess with resolution or timings that much. i keep it at 800x600 and 60hz.

the big kick comes when you use ffdshow to output the dvd to a higher resolution like 1440x960, or 1024x768. it then gets downscaled, but because it was upscaled in the first place the image is fantastic: sharper, cleaner, brighter. you can then use a myriad of options to soften or sharpen the image to your liking. all of this is in the htpc forum. sorry if you knew this stuff already. :)

-geoff

Shatten22: yes, that's definitely very old news...

too bad DVD-video as a format is not a very good one either. Optimal picture always takes messing around with filters and scalers, even if you have a relatively good transfer.

I'm just waiting for those HD formats to come up... HDTV-material is practically always sharp and doesn't require any fiddling, which is nice :)

On the other matter:
has anyone tried my trick for replicating the green bar on a HTPC yet?

i agree that Jason is the htpc guy on the thread but also try saturn he is also very good with this stuff ;) and maybe he can hold the fort until jay gets on again :) , but saturn knows his stuff :D

Well, I just heard back, and the news is not...optimistic.

"So far, our engineers have not found a resolution to the buzzing sound, for all of the projectors we checked do not have a buzzing sound although
the customers have complained about the sound. We are still looking into this matter, and I will keep you informed."

Doesn't sound like they have much of a handle on it to-date. I guess we keep waiting...

Originally posted by valkyrie
"So far, our engineers have not found a resolution to the buzzing sound, for all of the projectors we checked do not have a buzzing sound although
the customers have complained about the sound. We are still looking into this matter, and I will keep you informed."


Well, they'll eventually be getting the one I returned to my distributor. I don't know how long that will take though. Haven't there been some other buzzers returned?

That was also the response on green bar. They did swap it, but professed to complete amazement that it had happened. '

'We've never heard of that.'

So, customer service good. Working out why there was a problem, not so good.

Mike,

Every buzzer I sent back was met with the "well, it doesn't buzz" statement. They claim it was within noise specs. Do you plan on following up with the one you sent (are sending?) back? We'd much appreciate hearing how it turns out for you.

Thanks.

Received my H30
Amazing picture.
Buzzes from the start, bummer.

I sit really close, so am optimistic about some fix in the near future.

Originally posted by gottahavapj
I would agree that QC issues seem to generate the majority of the posts but I don't think this translates to saying the majority of the machines have QC problems. Mine has been flawless since day one and I've even stopped knocking on wood everytime I say that. :)

Cheers!

It's true that most are buzz free. But "quality control" has to do with the product line, not individual products. How that's relevant to us is that if you buy one off the self, getting a good unit is luck. In this case, at a pretty unfavorable ratio. That should never be. I used to work for Honeywell R&D, and >10% customer returns are considered disastrous.

I finally got my H30 calibrated. Adding a red filter and then calibrating the greyscale results in a big improvement in overall picture quality AND black level.

I can recommend this to all of you!

Also I did receive my lens mask and had my H30 upgraded to c05 before the calibration :)

Best regards,

Ronald

tingtong5 what was your final setting after the tweaking

Originally posted by exe
Maboroshi Daikon,

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It seems everyone else is busy with QC issues...hmm this is a concern.

I'm not so sure it's a huge problem. It just seems that way from reading these forums.

I'll stick with PowerDVD and see how that goes. Have you tried things like Zoomplayer front end etc? What output resolutio/refresh rate do you recommend? PowerDVD also has a hardware accelerate or software accelerate mode, and also a brightness setting, what do you set?

I was going to try Zoom Player/FFDShow, but I'm currently running a low power Athlon 1.2Ghz. It's not quite fast enough to handle scaling in FFDShow so I gave up on it. I wanted to spend my time watching movies and not fiddling :-P

As for the Infocus 4805 price, are they not set at about $1.5K which is comparable to the H30. I think at this late a date, I'll wait a while longer to see what the reviews say.

I had read an MSRP of $1700 vs the MSRP of $1400 for the H30. I decided that I'd rather have the 4:3 aspect for xBox games and buy the projector now than wait who knows how many months for the 4805 to come out.

Lastly, I have to say you are the first to suggest a viewing closer to 1:1 of the screen width. Since the first time I stumbled in the FP shop, I really didn't know what to look for, I did know to throw RPTV out the buy list :) For myself, a 2:1 ratio is just sitting too far, guess I'll have to go back to the shop and take a measurement myself to see how close I can get before seeing distortions.

I'm coming off of watching a 27" crappy television, so I'm not as picky about the image as I could be, but the pixel structure (compared to other, much older projectors I've seen), is really good. I've reduced the size of the image and it does make a difference, but I'd rather have the larger picture :-)

Again, thanks for taking the time to answer.

No problem. I'm a newbie myself, so I figured I point out the experience of somebody just getting into front projection :-)

Originally posted by valkyrie
Well, I just heard back, and the news is not...optimistic.

"So far, our engineers have not found a resolution to the buzzing sound, for all of the projectors we checked do not have a buzzing sound although
the customers have complained about the sound. We are still looking into this matter, and I will keep you informed."

Doesn't sound like they have much of a handle on it to-date. I guess we keep waiting...

Valk, thanks for the update. Unfortunately that's not what I wanted to hear. I am so sick of that response everywhere you go these days. You bring your car in because of a loud rattle and the response... sorry we couldn't reproduce it. You bring your PC in because it is unstable/crashing... sorry we couldn't reproduce it. You send back a PJ with a loud buzz... sorry we can't reproduce it. AAHHH!!!

And just a few posts back we have yet another new H30 owner who got a buzzer right from the start. Let's face it, the H30 does indeed have a serious problem. And it looks like Optoma is nowhere close to solving it, if ever.

I thank you guys for all the info on the H30 but it is officially now off my shopping list. I am not waiting any longer for Optoma to fix this. In fact, I have serious doubts that they will ever fix it. Don't be surprised in a few weeks if they start rejecting units that have been returned for "buzzing" problems. I have a funny feeling they will take the "couldn't reproduce / it's within spec" stance with everyone at some point.

I really hope you guys get your units fixed but this is a mess I do not want to get involved in. Thanks again.

I finally got the DVD player that I can afford and like, Zenith DVB318, the H30 is shutting itself off for the second time; one with the older Pioneer via 480i and again last night with the Zenith at 720p. It ran fine for about 2.5 hrs (time spent with calibrating using DVE included) toward the end of a movie. Red light came on and it took a while (8-10 mins) to get back the flashing green. Vaguely remember others have their H30 shutoff as well. Would like to know is this something I need to be worry about. Waiting for it to cool off before resuming a movie is not a good feeling. Up until now, it has been a great machine My other problem with it was having it turns itself on a few times. I just keep it unplugged until I need to use it.



KB

KB, did you call it in yet? If you've checked all your wires, even the electrical cord for good connections it might be a power supply problem. Lots of models can hv power supply probs.
Call it in if you haven't.

Hey all , sorry I have been out for a bit ... my wife's brother fell while rock climbing and had a near death experience so things have been a little hectic over the last week or so .

--- My current H30 will finally be sent in for RMA this week [ about time ] ... still wishing the 3rd time is a charm holds true for me ;) .


--- Regarding HTPC DVD Playback software :
--- I am a big ZoomPlayer/ffdshow fan but if you don't have the CPU/GPU to handle it then consider the New WinDVD6 or wait a little while longer for NVDVD 3 [ ForceWare Multimedia Player ] , these are the two best offerings IMO [ although I have not as of yet seen the new TT II player in action ] .


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

That sucks Valk,

I am gonna try and get an RMA now. They told me when I called that they did not need me to send my unit back, that they were working on it. Now to hear they can't reproduce it, when I have a unit that practically buzzes when its not even plugged in, well, that just makes me mad.

Sorry to see you go UnknownShadow but I would do the same in your shoes. Good luck finding a projector or RPTV that fits your needs. You might want to put it on the backburner for a while and see what comes out this fall. Also give Optoma and Infocus some time to shake out the bugs. These things always get better, and cheaper, so you never lose if your waiting.

Is it just me or is the H30 lens mask nearly impossible to use? I got no instructions for it, so I'm reasoning this out for myself, but I assume that the soft side faces in while the two metal pieces face out to form handles for later removal? It looks like you could scratch the lens putting it in the other way around. In any case, I'm finding it near impossible to get the opening in the lens mask positioned correctly. How can you tell when it's in the right spot, and how do you position it without turning the focus ring and messing up the focus?

Hopefully I'm just missing something obvious.

Focus clear and hold the focus ring. Push the lens cap in the way you're doing it and find the spot that has the least shadow effect. Mine was all the way back with a slight tilt on the top.

Probably easier on a 16.9 screen but I was able to find a sweet spot for a 4.3 screen.

How is it working, you'll notice the light scatter on your ceiling will be different, the image is a little darker. I used it but I yanked it this week to break the monotony. :)

Its hard to get that thing in right Veg,
They really need to allow you to lock the focus ring. That would solve the problem. Real hard getting that in without moving the ring, and then you might finally get the lense right, but now its out of focus :)

Guys, even though the H30 is off my list right now I'll still be keeping an eye on this thread. And, of course, hoping that you guys get your PJ's fixed.

In doing some research on which UPS I should buy I dug up this old post from 1998 on google. Any chance we have UPS's out there causing some of the buzzing H30's?

- - -
"Modern computer power supplies, on the whole, aren't particularly
affected by a stepped waveform, at least for short durations (such as a
power outage and a UPS kicking in for temporary backup). Stepped
waveforms, however, aren't the greatest for prolonged use as they are
not true AC but a digital representation. Among other noticible
problems, you could have a buzzing through your speakers and see lines
and distortion on your monitor(s)."
- - -


Seems like pretty much any UPS under $500 dishes out square or stepped sine wave so I'm guessing that's what a lot of people are using here. Also, for the UPS's that do AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) I'm not sure if they pass out square wave all the time or only when switching to battery.

I have another thread going on UPS's so we should probably take the discussions over there but when I read about the buzzing I immediately thought about the H30.

More interesting posts from google...

- - -
"I'm using an APC BR1500 as a battery backup unit. Whenever I disconnect
it from the AC source and it switches to battery mode, my monitor makes
a loud buzzing sound, which is similar to the sound coming from the UPS,
but louder.

I'm assuming this is because when on battery mode, it does not output a
pure sine wave, but a "stepped sine wave". "
- - -

and here's one of the replies...

- - -
"Unless it was extremely loud, it wouldn't bother me. The APC BR1500 is
designed for computer loads. Although stepped-sine/square waves usually
cause higher peak currents to occur in bridge rectifiers and capacitors, I
can't see it adversly affecting the switch mode power supplies found in
monitors and other computer equipment in any serious way (at least when used for only minutes at a time). Although I can't recommend doing so, if you opened your monitor up and removed any less-than-critically-important
magnetic components (like a lossy ferrite core commonly found wrapped around the mains input wires), you would probably decrease the audible buzz."
- - -

Ok, one last google post, this one says his monitor buzzes even when turned OFF!

- - -
"The BC500lan had square wave output to approximate AC power. This caused a fairly noticable buzzing noise in my monitor's power supply when running off the UPS battery. It did not make a difference if the monitor was on or off; it would buzz anyway."
- - -


Granted, some of these posts are old but can this possibly be causing some of the H30 buzzes out there?

UnknownShadow, I have tried my H30's with only wall power, with a UPS, and with an audiophile-grade line conditioner. The results were all the same - buzzing, buzzing, and buzzing. Unfortunately, I don't think source power is the answer. Bummer, eh?

Originally posted by valkyrie
UnknownShadow, I have tried my H30's with only wall power, with a UPS, and with an audiophile-grade line conditioner. The results were all the same - buzzing, buzzing, and buzzing. Unfortunately, I don't think source power is the answer. Bummer, eh?

Valk, I think this was mentioned earlier in this thread as well but there seems to be at least 2 different types of buzzing on the H30. I wonder if power source might be causing some (thus Optoma not being able to reproduce it onsite because of better power) but others, like yours, may be caused by the colorwheel (like Tom originally guessed).

In any case, I have since found out that most UPS's do indeed feed the pure sine wave straight through to the equipment unless they switch to battery mode. That is when you get stepped or square. So I think I'm going to buy an APC BX1000. Now I just have to decide what PJ I am going to plug into it! lol ;-)

Currently re-reading some of the BenQ 6200 stuff.

You know this reminds me of a phone problem my neighbor and I had.
This constant static was on our line for a month and finally I found a wire downstairs that was crossed and my neighbor static cleared up too.

What if it is something generic to the neighborhood power like something a neighbor has hooked up?

Did you try it at a friends home?
If it still buzzed I would RMA right away Optoma service is great just DEMAND a new unit..

Also for the guy who's unit is powering dwn,
Ya mine was too and I was panicking it finally failed to turn OFF one night!! eeek...
I rma'd and got a new model A and man am I happy!!No buzz, new firmware, back-lit remote, new bulb, mask and not one power down at 176 hours now.

At optoma canada deal with: Will Xing he was great and paid shipping both ways overnight!

I've tried looking at a number of sources for my buzz. I tried the units at work, at home - same problem. I check the wiring in my basement to see if any of the lines were crossed - none were. I checked the grounding - all grounded. I even RMA'd one unit, same buzz. Very odd behavior, I can see why they are having a difficult time with this one, though I wish they would ask for more details, because I have this feeling like there is very little "looking into it" really going on.

Is it just me, or do the Optoma's seem to have an extraordinary amount of problems? Does anybody actually have one that didn't have to be returned for one reason or another? I have a feeling that Optoma will be selling lots of refurbs cheap that are just loaded with problems.

Originally posted by valkyrie
... though I wish they would ask for more details, because I have this feeling like there is very little "looking into it" really going on.

I hope you are wrong, but have a VERY strong feeling you are right.
:-(

mine is fine, no problems
I doubt the buzzers are more than 3-5% of units.
when i bought my car i looked on online forums too and there was all kinds of stuff on the clutch going out after 5k, paint chips, etc. I think this is b/c people use forums a lot of times to sort out their problems or complain. People on forums are very picky about stuff the normal user wouldn't care about. The h30 is also a new product and is very cheap for what you get.

I haven't had a problem with the one I bought from MikeSRC (surfaudiovideo.com), but he also checked it out before he sent it. I had him run it for about 8 hours to see if anything came up. I know some of the problems occurred later on, but my experience with most video displays is that the problems usually surface early on. I've got about 200 hours on mine now.

Originally posted by demon4
The h30 is also a new product and is very cheap for what you get.

Cheap means we should be loosing features, NOT quality.

Originally posted by edwardr132
Is it just me, or do the Optoma's seem to have an extraordinary amount of problems? Does anybody actually have one that didn't have to be returned for one reason or another? I have a feeling that Optoma will be selling lots of refurbs cheap that are just loaded with problems.

I'm at 250+ hours on mine and the picture has gotten better (especially after calibrating with AVIA :D )

Still no mentioned problems either and my unit is only ~3 ft from my head as it is sitting on a shelf above me and set up for table top projection.

Not sure if this is really relevant but mine shows a large THEMESCENE Logo for the startup. I bought over the internet am I'm located in Folsom CA (near Sacramento). I keep forgetting to check the firmware but mine came with the backlit remote and lens mask. I haven't tried playing around in the tech menu for adjusting the colors/brightness as its not needed. Mine is also plugged into a 10,000 Joule rated power strip from Lowe's along with all my other AV equip (Harman Kardon AVR 525, Dish Network 508, Old Sony VCR, XboX (serves as system DVDS player also), PS2, Nintendo (8 bit baby!!!))

So not all are problematic (knocks on wood JIC ) ;)

Displaying the Themescene logo or the Optoma one can be changed in the service menu, so it doesn't indicate anything about the unit.

Originally posted by kimocal
I'm at 250+ hours on mine and the picture has gotten better (especially after calibrating with AVIA :D )

Still no mentioned problems either and my unit is only ~3 ft from my head as it is sitting on a shelf above me and set up for table top projection.

Not sure if this is really relevant but mine shows a large THEMESCENE Logo for the startup. I bought over the internet am I'm located in Folsom CA (near Sacramento). I keep forgetting to check the firmware but mine came with the backlit remote and lens mask. I haven't tried playing around in the tech menu for adjusting the colors/brightness as its not needed. Mine is also plugged into a 10,000 Joule rated power strip from Lowe's along with all my other AV equip (Harman Kardon AVR 525, Dish Network 508, Old Sony VCR, XboX (serves as system DVDS player also), PS2, Nintendo (8 bit baby!!!))

So not all are problematic (knocks on wood JIC ) ;)

I kinda liked the Themescene Logo and had my H30 using it for a while. Hey I like your choice of receiver. I was a confirmed Marantz man but since got the HK7200 and UPS just delivered me a back up HK230 which I'm looking at right now. Don't worry your H30 should take a licking and keep on ticking. I've put over a thousand hours on the H30's.

Infact Mike's gone through over 20 and only one had the color wheel buzz. People hv different tolerances, it's not like the colorwheel buzz is a jack hammer coming in for a landing like my old LT150z. I heard it on my first H30. But people should expect to get the best they can.

I'd say if it bugs you insist on sending it back saying you can't stand it and it ruins the movie experience. You shouldn't have to wait for the tech area to figure it out. If they have no fix they should send you another machine and pre listen to it first. If after this and the tech area says it's within specs then you can scream bloody murder and maybe get better results.

What's it about 10 or so guys that got the buzz wheel, Go get em boys! :)
Lets clean this up. ;)

Yes it's nice for the hundreds of guys to post they're ok. Yes the majority are fine. But lets get these brothers fixed up.
Let us know how it's going? should be interesting.

I want to jump in and add that we have installed at least 15 of the H30 with no problem units at all. We started installing them late last year, so a number of them have the old firmware and no backlit remote or lens mask. We have had nothing but thrilled comments from our customers. The vast majority we have sold have been calibrated by me, so I would definitely know if there was a green bar problem, or a buzzer. Simply an amzing budget projector....

Speaking of start up images, since getting my H30 back on Tuesday, it's displayed NO start up image at all. It used to show the Optoma logo with the red swoosh. Now it just goes straight into signal detection with no logo. I have yet to venture into the service menu, but perhaps that setting has an "off" selection?

Yes, pretty sure it's Optoma, Themescene, Off

And after upgrading the firmware the default is "off" !
Just go into the service menu and choose one of the two available logo's.

Ronald

You know a Replay TV looks very good with the H30 even at 120"diagonal through S-video. I used the Normal and Video defaults and Columbo looked awesome lol.

We should be if for an interesting comparison between the only two decent SVGA HT models soon.

My insight tells me the H30 is bright but not very bright, very much like the whole Optoma line. Blacks will be better and contrast ratio will still be very good also. Optoma's very different and beautiful color palate is also a contender.

It should be a very interesting comparison indeed. :)

Mike will probably be the first guy that owns a H30 and will get a 4805. Problem is he most likely doesn't have a .05 Carada screen.

I have a feeling if you display both PJ's on a average gain screen the H30 might win.

Tom ,

--- Well I hope to see the 4805 in action very soon as well [ local IF - ScreenPlay dealer is a friend of mine as you know ;) - krasmuzik ] . I think he has a local meet planned for this month [ or as soon as the 4805 is made available to him as I think this is the only ScreenPlay PJ that he does not currently have to demo ] . I am hoping I can get an in home demo from him for a couple days soon after release to do a fair comparison [ I would then (obviously) post my thoughts here :D ] .

--- I would not be too quick to assume the H30 to be the better of the two PJ's [ just as I would not assume the 4805 to be the better of the two ] . Which is better remains to be seen and then it will still be very close IMHO and probably come down to which PJ fits each persons needs (set-up) . My $$$ is certainly on the 4805 having better build quality (or at least QA ) however [ sad to say but I think this will be the only safe assumption at this point - based upon the InFocus build history ] . I am certain the 4805 will have its fair share of faulty units [ all PJ's do ] but I bet the percentage will be lower that that of the H30 [ at least up to this point as Optoma could certainly change that at any time ] .

--- I have to be honest here in saying that if the 4805 image just equals the H30 then it will be a winner :D .


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

The H30 will probably have a much higher measured CR. The IF trend of being very light comes into play.

I just posted some specs from an accurate CR tool in the 3.5k up area re the 7205 vs others. It came in 2 thirds lower than the others.

I don't know how light the 4805 will be but the first reviewers suggesting a .05 screen makes me think there's too much light. CR will suffer.

Ah I just popped over to 4805 and see Parkland Plastic's and we'll probably see Anne's BO cloth too. They shouldn't be using these types of screens. That Carada is $600. A better choice for the 4805 might be just buying the dalite gray material and nailing it to a frame.

More screen choices with the H30. What are you using for your home test?

I'll be putting the H30 against the 4805 soon as well - coworker has one on order and we'll be doing some side by side shootouts as well.

I think i've been pushing my H30 too hard with a 60x105 (122"diag). I will be cutting down to a 110" or 106" diag soon -easy to do with 3/4" gatorboard.

Mostly hoping for an increase in brightness and a bit more pop.


I've been enjoying the H30 for almost two months now prolly have ~125 now, the only issue i have is with a dimmer induced buzz . i really like the h30 but it's getting old hearing the h30 will be better than ----. The 16:9 side of the 4805 will be nice for many- The 4:3 side of the h30 is okay but i go back and worth with the lens cap mostly b/c of the large white arc from some kind of light spill on the floor below my screen gets slightly annoying to me- How about anyone else? where does this come from?

rudee

Tom ,
--- I use a Parkland Plastics screen [ which is about unity gain (1.0) ] and IMO this is what all units should be measured from [ 1.0 ] . We all know that different screens look different with different PJ's and the combinations are basically endless . While matching the PJ to a particular screen can [ and does ] give the best results it should not be used for taking CR measurements [ unless it is stated by the manufacturer that a given CR was obtained using a particular screen ] .

--- But then I do not see how people use High Gain screens with digital PJ's either . While you might gain some punch you certainly sacrifice black level .

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

I can't see how high brightness of 4805 can possibly be considered a negative!! If it's too bright, just put an ND filter on it. The converse (too dim) is MUCH harder to correct.

My understanding is that gray screens can also be used to reduce brightness/improve black level, and have an advantage in helping with ambient light. This is why they used the Carada gray screen on the "too-bright" 4805. But if you have a matte-white 1.0 screen in a light-controlled environment, an ND filter should do the same trick...

I tried out an H30, and my biggest complaint was low lumens. If 4805 is "just" a brighter H30, I think that will ALSO make it the winner.

- Frank

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
Tom ,
--- I use a Parkland Plastics screen [ which is about unity gain (1.0) ] and IMO this is what all units should be measured from [ 1.0 ] . We all know that different screens look different with different PJ's and the combinations are basically endless . While matching the PJ to a particular screen can [ and does ] give the best results it should not be used for taking CR measurements [ unless it is stated by the manufacturer that a given CR was obtained using a particular screen ] .

--- But then I do not see how people use High Gain screens with digital PJ's either . While you might gain some punch you certainly sacrifice black level .

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

Well put, the review will be very interesting with both on a 1.0 gain screen.

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
--- But then I do not see how people use High Gain screens with digital PJ's either . While you might gain some punch you certainly sacrifice black level . ------------- Jason


Not necessarily. You only lose black level if your high gain is giving you too much punch. A high gain screen with a high contrast projector providing a light level in the vicinity of 12ftl does not sacrifice black level, and moreover, they can improve ANSI CR.

Also, a high gain screen allows one the flexibility of punch if desired or the use an ND filter when required. Thus the projector can work well with some ambient light, but also work great when total darkness is possible.

R.

Originally posted by guitarman
More screen choices with the H30. What are you using for your home test?

Actually, probably the contrary. If you have too much light, you can compensate with an ND filter and use whiter screens. If you are a little dim, you are probably better off only using brighter screens.

R.

Raul ,

-- I for one would love to see a High Gain screen [ something in the 2.5 - 6 gain range ] give an improved CR regarding BLACK Level [ certainly improved overall brightness (punch) - but nothing that I have witnessed would substantiate what you claim ] . Now throwing an ND filter into the mix is a whole other issue and lends to even more choices [ be they bad , good or in-different ] .




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

based on the positive and enthusiastic discussions of the outstanding picture quality of the optoma h30 on this forum, i am now the proud owner of the h30. the projector puts out a stunning picture right out of the box. so far, i have not had any buzzing noises, green bar issues or other problems. of course, i only am watching dvds with the projector. i have the projector mounted on my ceiling (panavise mount works great, thanks dapimp) and about 11' distance to the front wall. since i will be purchasing a dalite high power screen material and mounting it to a diy frame, i wanted to ask about what screen size you recommend given a 70" wide dimension. in 16:9, the height would be 39.375"; in 16:9 native, the height would be 42". since this setup is only for dvds, i am leaning towards a 42" x 70" screen. help out a first-time poster please. cheers.

Why not bigger? I got mine at 84" wide, 46" high. I sit 12 feet back, and I don't notice screen door. You'll quickly get used to bigger images and be happy.

If you are sizing it to make sure your 16x9 material fits perfectly, I suggest that you measure the actual image projected by your H30. Mine didn't come out exactly 16x9, probably because of slight vertical tilt. You'll will be different too.

Also, I personally don't like the aspect ratio of native 16x9. It's too tall for my taste. I would only use the native 16x9 mode on 2.35 aspect ratio DVDs (too wide for my taste), which makes it around 2.2 (better).

Originally posted by o3man
based on the positive and enthusiastic discussions of the outstanding picture quality of the optoma h30 on this forum, i am now the proud owner of the h30. the projector puts out a stunning picture right out of the box. so far, i have not had any buzzing noises, green bar issues or other problems. of course, i only am watching dvds with the projector. i have the projector mounted on my ceiling (panavise mount works great, thanks dapimp) and about 11' distance to the front wall. since i will be purchasing a dalite high power screen material and mounting it to a diy frame, i wanted to ask about what screen size you recommend given a 70" wide dimension. in 16:9, the height would be 39.375"; in 16:9 native, the height would be 42". since this setup is only for dvds, i am leaning towards a 42" x 70" screen. help out a first-time poster please. cheers.

o3man, nice to see some positive posts once in a while ;-)

Since you already have the H30, it's almost useless for someone here to recommend screen size to you. If I were you, I'd get a cheap bed sheet or 4x8 sheet of 1/4" MDF and play with different screen sizes yourself. See what looks good to you. Do this for a couple of weeks before putting money down on a more permanent solution. Nobody can make as good of a recommendation as your own eyes.

That's what I'll be doing if I ever do you the PJ route. Good luck and keep us posted on your H30 performance.

clamrade - the 70" width of the screen is dictated by the room dimensions which is 13' x 10'. i have tower speakers which take up about 1' 7" on each side which leaves a 70" width. i currently have a bedsheet as a screen and have been measuring the image sizes for a number of dvds. it is now a matter of whether 16:9 or 16:9 native is aesthetically better. my eyes prefer 16:9 native which dictates a 42" x 70" screen. also the 4:3 dvds have an image size of 39.75" x 53" which is a hair taller than the 15:9 format of 39.375" x 70". that was the second lesser reason for the 70" x 42" format. cheers.

Goodnight Optoma Thread. :)

Plan to watch the Re-run fights tonight on HBO. Either way I'm fine, HDTV or 120" 4.3 TV.

I don't know the outcomes so it's live for me. :)
enjoy H30

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
Raul ,

-- I for one would love to see a High Gain screen [ something in the 2.5 - 6 gain range ] give an improved CR regarding BLACK Level [ certainly improved overall brightness (punch) - but nothing that I have witnessed would substantiate what you claim ] . ------------ Jason

I think it is because you may be missing my point. I stated that if your desire is strictly CR and black level then setup the screen to achieve a "light level in the vicinity of 12ftl", that way one "does not sacrifice black level, and moreover, one can improve ANSI CR". Now if your projector is too bright, then use an ND filter to compensate. However, a projector that is to dim cannot compensate by any other means other than a high gain screen and/or smaller size screen.

As further evidence of the value of a high gain screen, see how many are being used with NEC HT1000 (right guitarman), and other high contrast projectors (e.g. Darin and his Sharp 11K/12K).

Cheers,
R.

Raul ,

--- You are correct , I did misunderstand your point - sorry ;) .


---------- Jason

Does anybody know why in buy.com there are two different pages to the H30? One is under electronics and one is under computers. They have different prices, are they different projectors?

Originally posted by guitarman
Mike will probably be the first guy that owns a H30 and will get a 4805. Problem is he most likely doesn't have a .05 Carada screen.


Actually, there will probably be others who get it first. I'm just getting one from their PR people for review, so it probably will be after they're released for sale. The word I got last week is that I'll get one early July. You're right, I use a 1.0 matte white screen, which is a good reference for all projectors IMO.

Went to the movies (for a change) yesterday and was dissapointed in how the movie looked. Came back home and fired up the H30 with the Last Samurai. Much better and the popcorn was cheaper too. :D

Went to the movies (for a change) yesterday and was dissapointed in how the movie looked. Came back home and fired up the H30 with the Last Samurai. Much better and the popcorn was cheaper too.


amen to that ;)

Any updates on Green Bar issues or fixes?

Mine just started having the dreaded green bar problem. At first it was only going from progressive to interlaced, but the last 2 times it has just happened out of the blue, once while playing a video game, once while watching a DVD.

I have source lock on in the menu. No problems when I have remained on prog scan, but since not all my sources are progressive scan, this is not a long-term solution.

I left a tech support phone message (nobody answered the phones), and have sent several emails, but no responses yet. I only contacted them on Friday though.

If anyone has any updates on what's been done to fix things, please let me know.

Here I am again with a few more questions. The room where I'm planning to put the projector is rather small and to maximize the throw distance I'll have to mount it very close to the back wall. For those of you with the H30 how feasible is to mount with a wall close to the back? I understand it does not vent in that direction.

Also while browsing the forums I've seen the 4805 categorized as a long throw projector but when I used the actual calculator and compared it to the H30's it turns out they are very close in image size for a given projection distance. Does that sound correct?

Thanks in advance.
H

Originally posted by starbark
Here I am again with a few more questions. The room where I'm planning to put the projector is rather small and to maximize the throw distance I'll have to mount it very close to the back wall. For those of you with the H30 how feasible is to mount with a wall close to the back? I understand it does not vent in that direction.

Also while browsing the forums I've seen the 4805 categorized as a long throw projector but when I used the actual calculator and compared it to the H30's it turns out they are very close in image size for a given projection distance. Does that sound correct?

Thanks in advance.
H
I allowed about 6" behind mine to allow room for wiring clearance but I could have gone an inch or so closer to the header wall mine is mounted in front of. You can see a picture of that if you check my gallery photos.

No idea on the 4805 comparison.

Cheers!

Hello Greg, welcome to the green bar club. :(
I have had it twice, when 64h in lamp, and 114h in lamp (yesterday).

Similarities in those two occasions:
- out of signal, and then green bar suddenly while watching
- projector has been on quite long (5h)
- image mode in "video"
- Using RGB-Scart in 576i signal (first time with PS2, second time with set top box)

I have never had it when changing signal sources. It is really annoying bug. I will try to only watch in "Film" image setting from now on, but I doubt it will help.

I would like to send it to repair, but I don't want to send it before Optoma can confirm that they will make a firmware update for it. Otherwise I could end up with same problem again.

This is really unfortunate bug, since otherwise picture quality is excellent. There are probably more users with green bar bug than users that have buzzing unit. I really hope Optoma can find a solution to this bug.

Originally posted by starbark
Also while browsing the forums I've seen the 4805 categorized as a long throw projector but when I used the actual calculator and compared it to the H30's it turns out they are very close in image size for a given projection distance. Does that sound correct?


Yes, you can get a couple of inches larger at a given distance with the H30, but they are close. It was originally thought that the 4805 would have a throw similar to the 5700 (which requires a foot more than the H30 for the same size image), but the InFocus calculator puts it pretty close to the H30.

Originally posted by Vierimaa
Hello Greg, welcome to the green bar club. :(
I have had it twice, when 64h in lamp, and 114h in lamp (yesterday).

Similarities in those two occasions:
- out of signal, and then green bar suddenly while watching
- projector has been on quite long (5h)
- image mode in "video"
- Using RGB-Scart in 576i signal (first time with PS2, second time with set top box)

I have never had it when changing signal sources. It is really annoying bug. I will try to only watch in "Film" image setting from now on, but I doubt it will help.

I would like to send it to repair, but I don't want to send it before Optoma can confirm that they will make a firmware update for it. Otherwise I could end up with same problem again.

This is really unfortunate bug, since otherwise picture quality is excellent. There are probably more users with green bar bug than users that have buzzing unit. I really hope Optoma can find a solution to this bug.

I've seen the green bar 4 times now- two under explainable circumstances (switching from prog scan source to interlaced source- still doesn't make it ok), and twice for no discernible reason whatsoever.

It happened to me when the projector had been on less than the length of a movie (probably each time within 1.5 hours or so of startup), so it wasn't a 'projector being on too long' type of problem for me.

I have only used the "film" setting, so don't expect that to help you out any. I am planning on calling Optoma again today to see what they have to say about it. I'll get back on here after I have talked to them, but based on what I've read here, I don't expect they'll have a solution for us.

Anyone else with any insights?

Originally posted by Greg337
I am planning on calling Optoma again today to see what they have to say about it. I'll get back on here after I have talked to them, but based on what I've read here, I don't expect they'll have a solution for us.


Greg, an update would be appreciated. Unfortunately, you will probably get the "We have not been able to reproduce it. Now go away." reply.

Anyone know the part number for the component to VGA adapter bundled with the H30? Has anyone seen it for sale individually? I would like to order one, since I do not really need additionnal cable length (I have plenty of component to do the job).

I would suspect the equivalent from Infocus will be identical in function. It's $10 from their site.

Think I'll be heading down to Optoma next Monday. I'll ask Wing what's the lastest on any issues. Meantime we can use the colorfacts system Opto has for him. Too bad that system's so expensive because it's really sweet.

My findings on the green bar is that it's hard to re-create.

Well I hope to have a new H30 here by the end of this week [ providing there are no shipping delays - Optoma should have my old unit any day now ] .

-- I requested to have the new unit checked for buzzing before it ships out so I hope they actually do check it for me [ without causing a big delay in return shipping of course ;) ] .

-- I notice my online RMA status shows exchange for Main Unit only , does this mean they will toss a New H30 in my old box ? Has anybody had that happen ? I was told I would be getting a Brand New unit with all the new additions [ lens mask , back-lit remote , new firmware ] , just have to wait n' see I guess .

Hey Tom ,
------------ please put in the good 'word' for me there at Optoma so I get a 'Perfect' H30 [ be sure to let them know this is my 3rd and probably final unit ;) ] - Thank You :D .


---------- Best Wishes All ,
-------------- Jason

I'll see what I can do. PM me yr RMA.

Tom,

When you visit Optoma, maybe you could pass them information given by Quarterbrain regarding green bar. He was able to reproduce it. (page 265, message 5299)

His way of producing it is not a typical use case but it might help Optoma people to solve the problem since the result was the same.

Tom ,

--- Hehe , well I was just kidding but if you think it might help me out then I would certainly appreciate it :D [ you got a PM ;) ] . I am sure they will listen to you and make an honest effort to send me a A+ unit [ I do try to contribute positive information here even though I have had my share of issues ] .

--- Thank You ,
------ Jason

I was also able to reproduce the green bar by switching between interlced and progressive.

Steve

Originally posted by guitarman
Think I'll be heading down to Optoma next Monday. I'll ask Wing what's the lastest on any issues. Meantime we can use the colorfacts system Opto has for him. Too bad that system's so expensive because it's really sweet.

My findings on the green bar is that it's hard to re-create.

Every time I switch from a progressive to an interlaced source (e.g. Gamecube running in proscan to PS2 running in interlaced), I get the green bar. I also have gotten it randomly when running interlaced. Never had it when running only progressive sources.

Switching from interlaced to progressive doesn't cause it, only from progressive to interlaced (one way).

I use the pelican system selector pro for switching between sources (Gamecube, Xbox, Playstation 2).

Originally posted by UnknownShadow
Greg, an update would be appreciated. Unfortunately, you will probably get the "We have not been able to reproduce it. Now go away." reply.

Here's an email I got from tech support this morning (6/15):

-----------------------
Greg,

We had another user complain about similar problem. We are currently
looking into this issue. At the moment we do not have a solution for
it. Pl. check back with us in about 2 weeks from today. We have
forwarded this information to Taiwan and hopefully will hear from them
soon.

Regards,
Arun
-----------------------

I suggest that everyone on here who has green bar isssues write to Optoma tech support so that they know it's not just me and "another user". The more information people send them, the faster we'll get this resolved, so please let them know as much as you can about it.

Greg

Got voomed yesterday-

I can't believe the difference in HD quality from TWC to Voom.
I took advantage of the free install deal they have going on with a 30 day guarentee. TWC is going bye bye. Voom blows away anything i have ever seen come across my screen with the H30. The 1280 x720 res seems to be the sweet spot- it was amazing to say the least.

This weekend i did 2 things to enhance my viewing please from the H30:

1- Went from a 16x9 122" diag. screen down to a 106". The large screen seemed to be pushing the limits with a downside to bightness.

2-Voom. Voom is to HD what XM is to FM radio. Our viewing habits aren't as demanding as many- and Voom seems to fit the bill for us. I hope they do well and look forward to the future as the are projected to add more and more HD content. I 'll hold final views until i live with Voom for a few months.

Right now i could be happier and didn't spend a dime!

rudee

Also, if you do have the green bar issue and notify Optoma, give them as much information as you can about it. There's a difference between switching from progressive to interlaced on a single DVD player as opposed to switching between two separate sources.

Hey Guys,

Had my family over this weekend. I am the only one that has noticed any rainbows so far, lucky me! Anyhow, few and far between on LOTR ROTK last night. I used Avia to adjust Contrast and Brightness. The DVD says leave it so you can just make out the bar moving. I have read here many times and elsewhere that to actually make the contrast a bit higher so you can't see the bar at all. This really limits the dithering problem with my H30. ROTK had only 1 scene in Shelobs Lair where I noticed dithering. It was about a 2 second scene. Other movies like Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone have many more longer scenes, but either way, this setting limits the problem so it isn't as detectable. I know its there, but no one I show it to does. It was really cool to watch LOTR with them and only get questions about the books. Everyone said it was like being at the movies. No one noticed the buzz either. As I said it is pretty quiet, about fan level, when the dimmers aren't turned on.
Anyhow, this is what I got a PJ for, and I am happy! I actually noticed more new things on the H30 than I did the 10 times I went and saw it at the theatre. Just a great crystal clear pic with so much detail. Can't wait for the extended version.
Thanks for all your help guys, especially Tom, Mike, and Pimp. Now I just have to get my PC hooked up to this thing...
But thats a story for another day.

Greg, the other user is me. They got my machine on 5/10 and later that week Wing was able to get it to lock by viewing HDTV for over 5hrs and then quickly switching to a 480i signal. He sent it off to Taiwan. Figure they'e had it for two weeks.

Wing did think this would take some time to narrow down.

This latest machine I have I can't get it to lock up. Lately I've delibriately viewed HDTV for 5hrs (how boring) and quick switched to 480i,no go. I tried this a few times.

Originally posted by guitarman
Greg, the other user is me. They got my machine on 5/10 and later that week Wing was able to get it to lock by viewing HDTV for over 5hrs and then quickly switching to a 480i signal. He sent it off to Taiwan. Figure they'e had it for two weeks.

Wing did think this would take some time to narrow down.

This latest machine I have I can't get it to lock up. Lately I've delibriately viewed HDTV for 5hrs (how boring) and quick switched to 480i,no go. I tried this a few times.

weird, weird, weird..

I just talked to someone at Optoma named Cory, he said they were going to be looking at it (using units they have there- I haven't sent mine in), and he would get back to me. It may be easier for some reason to reproduce with game consoles.. He told me they have an Xbox and PS2 in house, so they would play around with them. I would guess that using the Xbox in 480p then switching over to the PS2 in 480i would do it. On my machine it does, anyway. I suppose it could also be a specific problem with my switcher. I am going to try manually switching today and see if that also does it.. I would guess that's not the whole problem though, since I have also seen the bar while just watching a DVD and just playing a game (no switching involved).

Could it be a power issue? I run the consoles and switcher from the same surge supressor. I have the projector going directly into the wall.

Overall so far, I am impressed with the responses from Optoma. I had one other problem (the component to VGA adapter that shipped with the projector was bad), and it was dealt with very quickly.

I'd love to be able to try to make the green bar appear and fail, but I've been successful each time so far, unfortunately.

Originally posted by hikarate
Hey Guys,

Had my family over this weekend. I am the only one that has noticed any rainbows so far, lucky me! Anyhow, few and far between on LOTR ROTK last night. I used Avia to adjust Contrast and Brightness. The DVD says leave it so you can just make out the bar moving. I have read here many times and elsewhere that to actually make the contrast a bit higher so you can't see the bar at all. This really limits the dithering problem with my H30. ROTK had only 1 scene in Shelobs Lair where I noticed dithering. It was about a 2 second scene. Other movies like Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone have many more longer scenes, but either way, this setting limits the problem so it isn't as detectable. I know its there, but no one I show it to does. It was really cool to watch LOTR with them and only get questions about the books. Everyone said it was like being at the movies. No one noticed the buzz either. As I said it is pretty quiet, about fan level, when the dimmers aren't turned on.
Anyhow, this is what I got a PJ for, and I am happy! I actually noticed more new things on the H30 than I did the 10 times I went and saw it at the theatre. Just a great crystal clear pic with so much detail. Can't wait for the extended version.
Thanks for all your help guys, especially Tom, Mike, and Pimp. Now I just have to get my PC hooked up to this thing...
But thats a story for another day.

Guy Kuo just came on line to straighten me out on correct black settings for digital projectors. You use the all black moving bars pattern making the left bar disappear and then a click back till it just re-appears.

On the Contrast he says to use the all white pattern moving bars and make the right moving bar half the brightness of the left moving bar.

I've also seen members recommend on the contrast to have to have the right moving bar just disappear and a click back to make it re-appear.

On that one whatever you like better.

Tom-
how are you using the rat shack switcher? I need to share my HD source with two monitors(h30 and rptv) are you reversing the output on the switcher (hd source component in) and the inputs (h30 and RPTV comp out to each source) ands use select between the two?

thanks,
rudee

Hey I posted something like this eons ago in this thread. But what do you think? Here's three shots of the same clip on three displays.
The Tosh RPTV & NEC HT1000 were tuned with Colorfacts to 6500k, the Optoma was not.

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/vivorrptv1.jpg

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/vivorht1000.jpg

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/h30fifth1.jpg

I was thinking of dumping the RPTV but I don't know, it looks pretty sweet for a small screen. :)

You know in looking at this last picture, the H30, you can see the high bright caliber of the Optoma vibe. That's on a 1.0 gain mat white. The HT1000 is on a Dalite High Power. And still the H30 looks brighter.

Originally posted by rudee
Tom-
how are you using the rat shack switcher? I need to share my HD source with two monitors(h30 and rptv) are you reversing the output on the switcher (hd source component in) and the inputs (h30 and RPTV comp out to each source) ands use select between the two?

thanks,
rudee

It all goes to the H30. If I have to view HDTV on the RPTV I'll re route the HD component line.

There really isn't much on HDTV. Any of the movies I'll already have the DVD. Most of the good stuff is off the air right now. Sopranos, Deadwood (vulgar), Sheesh what's left? :)

Guess all that's left is CSI, Casino

humm read my post a few up- Voom just open my eyes to the shiznit of HD- sometimes i don't have time to catch a whole movie but i do have time to fire up the pj and veg out for a few before i crash- Getting Voom installed yesterday just restored my faith in HD- even the freakin guides and menu's are in HD. With the kiddies around sometimes the good stuff can't be watched when you have the time. At least with Voom's content i have choices- actually 5x the choices i had with cable and that's w/o premiums.
I almost had a tender moment with the H30 last nite and my new voom experience- Sheryl Crow and Tori Amos concert's were just off the hook. A new channel was added today called Equator HD, should be a nice compliment to Discovery and such channels. When i had TW cable i just knew the H30 was cabable of doing better and sure enough it came through like a champ.

rudee

Originally posted by rudee
humm read my post a few up- Voom just open my eyes to the shiznit of HD- sometimes i don't have time to catch a whole movie but i do have time to fire up the pj and veg out for a few before i crash- Getting Voom installed yesterday just restored my faith in HD- even the freakin guides and menu's are in HD. With the kiddies around sometimes the good stuff can't be watched when you have the time. At least with Voom's content i have choices- actually 5x the choices i had with cable and that's w/o premiums.
I almost had a tender moment with the H30 last nite and my new voom experience- Sheryl Crow and Tori Amos concert's were just off the hook. A new channel was added today called Equator HD, should be a nice compliment to Discovery and such channels. When i had TW cable i just knew the H30 was cabable of doing better and sure enough it came through like a champ.

rudee

Just to clarify, did you move from TWC standard def. or HDTV to Voom?

Your original post can be read both ways....at 1st I thought you dumped TWC HDTV to go to Voom, but now I'm not sure...

Fleaman

Just got my third green bar, now only few hours from last one. Again, it occurred during the normal viewing. Bulb meter says 119h.

I decided to send my H30 to Optoma for repair. I live in Europe, and local service people told me that Optoma is aware of the problem and that Optoma can fix it. Let's see what happens.

Fleaman,
I did have digital cable with HD channels thru TWC now i have Voom.
I think i had cable issues coming into my house to begin with and may play a part in why Voom looks so much better- The coolest unexpected thing about the Voom is the menu guides look great vs. the really really crappy cable menus.

ps- i had the buzz last nite and it's usually dimmer induced so i got up to turn off the dimmer in the dining room and the dimmer light wasn't on- The buzzing is always loud with the dimmer but last night it was just the pj doing the buzzing- i still have an RMA from Optoma but i'm sitting on the fence on sending it back due to lack of any other problems from this unit but the buzz was of slight annoyance once i heard it last nite-


rudee

Originally posted by guitarman
Guy Kuo just came on line to straighten me out on correct black settings for digital projectors. You use the all black moving bars pattern making the left bar disappear and then a click back till it just re-appears.

On the Contrast he says to use the all white pattern moving bars and make the right moving bar half the brightness of the left moving bar.

I've also seen members recommend on the contrast to have to have the right moving bar just disappear and a click back to make it re-appear.

On that one whatever you like better.


Hmm well according to that the Avia disc has been right all along. Either way my screen looks good as it is. What you describe above is exactly how I had my black levels adjusted earlier. Unfortunately, this caused dithering in high contrast dark areas on the screen. By clicking 1 more notch to move contrast up so the black bar disappears really limits the dithering. I lose some detail by doing this but the dithering is so distracting its worth it. Plus its only 1 click over, not a huge loss of detail, but it significantly limits the level of dithering so worth it for me.

I should also note that I don't know what is causing the dithering, could be a number of things other than the PJ I guess. I know many other have stated they have no dithering problems whatsover at proper viewing distance, so it may be caused by something other than the PJ in my setup. I'll know more after I get my PC hooked up.

Thanks for the reply Tom.

rudee, I certainly feel for you. My buzzing is really quite distracting. I watched "Regarding Henry" with my GF the night before last. Certainly not a movie known for active sound channels, and the buzzing was heard over the movie throughout it all. Not good. I just wish Optoma had a clue, then I'd send this back and let them adjust it. It would be worth going a week or so without it, I think. Just frustrating...

valkyrie-
i'll hang on until Optoma has a handle on the buzz if they don't offer a solution then i'll send it in for new and sell. I want it to work but i don't want to "live with the buzz" i didn't pay for that and if i did then i'll make sure i buy without next time.

rudee

There's hope for the green bar issue some of you are having. Looks like a part on one of the circuit boards is the culprit. No set time line yet, but this will be a hardware fix. I'll let u know.

Hi everyone! I've been researching projectors for a couple of months now and finally made the H30 purchase w/ Mike @ Surf Audio Video. Partly because he's somewhat local for me, but mostly because of his support and dedication to this thread. I could have gone out of state to avoid sales tax, but sometimes you take one for the team, just to show gratitude (how passive/aggressive of me to point that out... and even more narcissictic that I even mention it...).

I should also point out that Tom's reviews and enthusiasm for this projector was also a selling point. I agree with others on saying that he should, at the very least, get an Optoma T-shirt and a hat for all his salesmenship. But that's just me as I'm a collector (i.e., 'sucker') for both.

I'll be back to post a review once things are set up but my limited knowledge won't have much to offer except praise and/or criticism w/o a comparison to anything else.

Once again, a public "Holl-aa!" to Mike for his help w my purchase. Full praise will commence when the projector (sans buzz) is installed and an 8' screen (sans green line) has Tom Hanks yelling, "Take me to... THE VOLCANO!!!"

"Optoma T-shirt and a hat for all his salesmenship"

They did better than that, I got a DLP chip which usually you just see in a magazine. Think I'll make a chain pendant out of it. Wear it to all the Video events. :)

Good move buying the H30. It has what I call the "Optoma Vibe" :)

Meaning some super picture in - colors, blacks & Luminance. You'll see it, you'll say "what a cool picture, unique colors!" "juicy 3D"

Guess I haven't lost my touch heh, but I mean it.

Welcome aboard,

looks like the 4805 thread is up and running - the last few pages over there had me LOL- hilarious stuff! i remenber being an eager beaver as well and can fully relate to the enthusiasm going on. Seems Tom's reputation has the those guys on their toes as well ;-)

my co-worker is due for shipment any day now and we'll be having a gathering for a side by side shoot out-

I think we'll both be happy campers and maybe everyone will get to enjoy the ride...........

as i start to ponder what's around the corner!

rudee

"my co-worker is due for shipment any day now and we'll be having a gathering for a side by side shoot out-"

Cool a shootout, what kind of screen gain will you be using? It's going to be a little tuff to out do the "Optoma Vibe" :)

Can't wait.

Originally posted by guitarman
"Optoma T-shirt and a hat for all his salesmenship"

They did better than that, I got a DLP chip which usually you just see in a magazine. Think I'll make a chain pendant out of it. Wear it to all the Video events. :)

Oh my... my friend Dave in Florida has a scanning electron microscope. It would be REALLY cool to put the chip under it, and even more cool if we could figure out how to drive the mirrors to say things, like those people in stadiums do.

(The SEM is not set up at the moment, but it will be made to work again now that it's out of storage.)

~ Kiran <entropy@io.com>

The chip is heavy, it's about a 1.5" square. They did feel bad that they only gave me a 4.3 chip. There was something said about "here's a thousand dollars for you"

I guess Ti doesn't let the chips go to cheap.

Not to run off from the current 'H30 Praise' topic but does Optoma issue a Tracking # when they ship back to the consumer ? [ send it via e-mail or something , or do I just have to call them ? ] . I know they got my old H30 early this morning and I am hoping they were able to ship the new unit out today as well ;) [ even though I doubt it happened ] .

---- Thanks for any input ,
---------- Jason

Originally posted by guitarman
There's hope for the green bar issue some of you are having. Looks like a part on one of the circuit boards is the culprit. No set time line yet, but this will be a hardware fix. I'll let u know.

Tom-

Thanks for the update.

Hopefully this will be covered in the warranty, yes?

About 50 hours on mine now. No issues and I am totally happy. Kinda wanted to wait for 4805 but now I really don't care now that it's here. I'm satisfied with the h30 until the next big leap in features and that is all that matters.

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
Not to run off from the current 'H30 Praise' topic but does Optoma issue a Tracking # when they ship back to the consumer ? [ send it via e-mail or something , or do I just have to call them ? ]

Hi Jason,

They usually don't get the RMA website status updated with shipment details. The best thing to do is call and ask for the status. If it's been shipped, they'll have a tracking number for you. It's unlikely that they would turn it around in less than a few days. It's usually checked out the day or two after they've received it, then another day to QC the replacement unit before it's shipped out.

Mike ,

--- Thanks for the response .

--- Tom put the word in for me with Optoma so I guess I can only hope they actually do fast track it for me ;) . Although I was told by Robert @ Optoma that they send the replacement out the next day [ doesn't sound like this is the standard practice however ] .

--- I am a little bothered with this RMA process already as I was told I would be getting a complete new box sent back [ which is why I was waiting for new units to arrive when I submitted the RMA ] but they only have me down for the PJ swap [ which has me in fear that I will get some reconditioned unit with the lamp hours reset ] . I had issues with my remote on several occasions [ which is printed on my RMA ] but yet they don't have me down for a remote swap [ ??? ] . Ah well , the PJ itself is obviously the important issue here and if it performs as I HOPE it will then the remote issue will be dealt with in the near future .

--- 3rd time's a charm ... wish me luck :D .


******* Well at least the RMA Search at Optoma online shows that they did indeed get it today ;) *********


--------- Jason

Originally posted by Phil_Mckraken
About 50 hours on mine now. No issues and I am totally happy. Kinda wanted to wait for 4805 but now I really don't care now that it's here. I'm satisfied with the h30 until the next big leap in features and that is all that matters.

The picture really is awesome and I've seen allot of projectors. Plus you have all the options with the H30's 16.9 or 4.3 setups.
Enjoy

Lol, Thought I'd copy this guys post from the 3.5kup area. Allot of hopes on the coming Hitachi being the better hi res LCD.

" had see today the hitachi tx 100, and the optoma h30, with my wife and she prefer the optoma image; the price in Portugal is about 2150 euros; it´s expensive for the quality. Optoma give better image then hitachi.
sorry my english
regards from Portugal"

Originally posted by Phil_Mckraken
About 50 hours on mine now. No issues and I am totally happy. Kinda wanted to wait for 4805 but now I really don't care now that it's here. I'm satisfied with the h30 until the next big leap in features and that is all that matters.

My feelings exactly. I watch the thing just about everyday with everything and I am perfectly happy until the next leap in performance comes along withing my budget.

I plan on getting my first PJ this fall, but have been reading this board every day for almost a year now, heh. At first I was waiting with baited breath for the H30 to come out, because I was afraid of the X1's rainbows, heh. Then I waited for the 4805, and reviews are just now trickling in. And now I'm somewhat intrigued by the Hitachi, due to its lens shift, resolution, and supposedly better blacks and contrast than the other comparable LCDs.

If I wasn't planning on watching a lot of HDTV then I think I'd definitely pick the winner from the upcoming 4805/H30 showdowns that are sure to take place. HDTV (even though I know it's not all about resolution), and possibly needing lens shift capabilities due to an awkward room setup, though, make me wonder if the Hitachi might be a good option...as long the street price ends up where we all hope it will, heh.

Interesting days for FPJ enthusiasts...

Had a message waiting on my cell phone this morning from Optoma .

--- this is both good and somewhat bad , here is why ...

--- the Good : they actually called me to tell me they got the old one and that the new one was checked out by the service manager [ looks like Tom's call paid off here - thanks Tom :) ] . They also added the lens mask .

--- the (possibly) Bad : I was informed there is noise that is within spec but there is no buzzing . Now obviously there will be the fan noise but anything other than that and I am sorry to say the new unit will be headed straight back to Optoma [ my last H30 was nearly silent in Eco mode from 4-5 ft. away ] .

--- While I must give credit to Optoma here for their service I cannot help but feel uneasy about that ' within spec ' comment [ I hope they know better than to send me a buzzer as I am not one to hold back from honest observations - as you all know ;) ] .

--- Certainly will not have the new unit before this weekend but I will post my 'observations' once it arrives .

---- Best Wishes All ,
------- Jason

Just hit the 100 hour mark and I'm still enjoying the H30 :-) I haven't triggered the green bar problem in a while (changed my usage habbits to accomodate for it), but it'll be nice to get it fixed once Optoma has it figured out.

I know I've read this about the other projectors, but I haven't seen anything for the H30, yet: Do I need to clean the filters on this puppy? I don't see anything about it in the user's manual...

-MD

Originally posted by DaGamePimp
--- the (possibly) Bad : I was informed there is noise that is within spec but there is no buzzing.

Good Lord, how difficult can it be for Optoma to place your old unit next to a new one and say "Yes we can clearly hear the loud buzz in your old unit and we assure you the new unit does not make that buzzing sound".

Did they at least tell you they heard the noise from the old unit? Or are they still playing the "unable to reproduce it" game?

UnknownShadow ,

--- My old unit was actually almost silent , I had zero buzzing and this is why I am so worried about getting a buzzer . My 2nd H30 had other issues regarding the actual image , moving onto the 3rd H30 .


---------- Jason