Buy VE or Avia on Amazon. Since DVE is so cheap I should give it a try.

Re DVD players, You probably haven't checked out the DVD Benchmark shootout (google search) But the main jist of it is to find a player that doesn't have the Chroma Bug and Flags progressive scan smoothly.
You might find the older models, Panasonic RP82, XP30, XP50, Denon 1600. These were considered the best. I think the new Denon 910 got a good review and there's a Phillips 963sa that got talked good about in the DVD forum.

Anyway if you don't want to spend $300 on a player. A low priced Pansonic or JVC would be good if you use it as interlaced with the H30s excellent deinterlacer.

Yes. I don't know of any players that don't allow you to switch from 480p to 480i. That would absolutely require you to have a display that accepts a progressive scan signal and there are many TVs that have component inputs but only accept an interlaced input.

I tried an older JVC progressive scan player with the H30 and the picture was better feeding 480i to the H30 than it was feeding 480p (passed more tests as well). Any low priced JVC, Panasonic or Toshiba player should work well (although Toshibas have chroma upsampling error, but that's a discussion for another forum ;) ).

It's a DVD used for properly setting up any display. While with most displays I prefer Avia, with DLP and LCD projectors I like the patterns on the newer Digital Video Essentials disk better.

Ahh, thanks. Is this something I might be able to lay my hands on in a local store, or are these available only online? You see, I got my H30 today, so I'm itching to do some stuff with it! :)

I don't know what's in your area, but here they can be bought at Tower Records. I'd say pick up a Panasonic I like there menu setup and they have a good Mpeg chip, they usually produce a sharp picture. Like Stacey Spears who was involved in the Shootout recommended a low priced interlaced Panasonic RV32. Decent machine I picked one up for $69. If you google search anything you can find it. Punch in some of the model numbers.
Panasonic XP30, Panasonic RV32, Phillips 963sa (a univeral player) etc

Has anyone compared the the PQ via S-video and VGA?

I am wondering if I will have to go HTPC, or if my JVC SA-70BK will do. Probably will run it in interlaced, but this player has some nice video options too. I would really like to run a long s-video cable and be done with it. Unless the VGA port gives a much better PQ...

Come March, with a tax refund, and the new firmware already installed, this PJ will be my first step into Home Theater geekness:D

Originally posted by guitarman
If you google search anything you can find it. Punch in some of the model numbers.
Panasonic XP30, Panasonic RV32, Phillips 963sa (a univeral player) etc

I would add that the Panasonics listed above have been discontinued for some time now, so if you find a place that lists either one for sale, give them a call to see if they actually have them in stock. The RV32 would make a great low priced match for the H30 if you can find one.

You want to make use of the best signal component. S-video looks very good but I just use that when I'm forced to. You can find long 50' or 25' cables pretty reasonable. I usually use Ebay to judge low market value's. Just make sure the component end connectors aren't cheezy.

So component makes a visible difference over S-video? It should, but I am asking because a guy said he could not see a difference on his BenQ 6100.

The difference between S-video and component can be subtle, but it's very real. Proper calibration can make the difference between the two even more noticeable. In particular, colors should be more saturated and true with component.

As Tom mentioned, the connectors are the weak point of many cables. With component cables, the connectors should be true 75 ohm impedance.

Well, my H30 arrived today! My impressions are that it is well packed in a nice box! :)

I don't have any other items to set it up yet, so I will head on over to my local AV store, so they can try it out against the Sony HD3.

I ordered a full set of NXG cables. Very inexpensive and they seem nice. Anyone else use them?

Mike

If I purchase the H30 I will definately be begging for the upgrade..., most of what I currently watch is still 4x3.

However, I am selfish and would like the best of both worlds!!

Tom do you have any information or links on "reasonably" priced anamorphic lenses?

Steve

Originally posted by Marco T
Has anyone compared the the PQ via S-video and VGA?


Yes, I've a computer connected via VGA and Denon 2200 via S-video into H30. The difference is surprisingly nearly non-existent between the cables when watching films.

Sure with test patterns you can see a slight difference.

Tapani

Steve, Prismasonic V200, an all glass model for vertical squeeze. The VSR co.'s panamorph is said to be better but the V200 is allot cheaper and I heard does a good job.

Where are you guys getting the H30? Is/will it be available at retailers?

Thanks

If I send the projector an S-Video signal it should convert it to a progressive display, but does it detect whether a component signal (through the VGA port) is interlaced or not and then de-interlace if necessary, or do I have to select something on the projector.

Originally posted by RichE
If I send the projector an S-Video signal it should convert it to a progressive display, but does it detect whether a component signal (through the VGA port) is interlaced or not and then de-interlace if necessary

Yes, if you feed it 480p (or any higher resolution), it bypasses the deinterlacer (which may not be a good thing depending on what DVD player you're using).

Tom,

I searched but couldn't find whether you've commented on this or not, but how does the H30's black level and contrast compare to the HT1000's?

Thanks

Tom, Mike, or anyone -

Things I don't understand, when they could/should be changed, etc:

Options under 'Picture"
Sharpness
Gamma (I understand the concept of gamma, but not in the context of
home theatre.

Options under 'Image"
White peaking (is this a Chinese duck dish served with rice?)
Image mode - film vs. video

Options under 'System"
Blanking - blue / black

Options under 'Display"
Format - what is the difference between 4x3 / 4x3 native, and 16x9 vs. 16x9 native. I notice that the image is positioned higher on the screen using 16x9 native compared with 16x9. What does 'window' achieve?

Thanks for the answers to these probably basice questions...

John F

I have a lot of the same questions after playing around with my H30 last night. It would help if this thing came with a useful manual. I've noticed that both 16x9 and 16x9 native modes do crop the input source very slightly, one horizontally and one vertically. It may depend on what material you are feeding it too. I just found it interesting. I seem to be leaning toward plain 16x9 mode for most things.

Originally posted by jfried
Tom, Mike, or anyone -

Things I don't understand, when they could/should be changed, etc:

Options under 'Picture"
Sharpness
Gamma (I understand the concept of gamma, but not in the context of
home theatre.

Options under 'Image"
White peaking (is this a Chinese duck dish served with rice?)
Image mode - film vs. video

Options under 'System"
Blanking - blue / black

Options under 'Display"
Format - what is the difference between 4x3 / 4x3 native, and 16x9 vs. 16x9 native. I notice that the image is positioned higher on the screen using 16x9 native compared with 16x9. What does 'window' achieve?

Thanks for the answers to these probably basice questions...

John F

The sharpness control is used to compensate for the attenuation of high frequency video information that blurs images horizontally. Adjustment must be done with the proper test pattern on Avia or DVE.

While the manual does not explain much, Optoma does have an online "How To" that provides some of the answers to many of your other questions. Check it out here: Optoma Projector Functions (http://www.optomahometheater.com/howto/d3.asp)

Noah, the blacks are inky black sometimes video within the movie looks so black I think it's blacker then the HT1000.

Re menu setting,
I'd stick with gamma 2, sharpness at stock

white peaking is subtle, leave it a stock 6

Image film & film looks best, video is for TV but I've just left the PJ in film lately.

Blanking blue to leave a blue screen when there's no video being input.

Aspect formats, 4.3 16.9 are easiest because all formats will fit correctly. 16.9native gives 480p and does shift up a little, try it for 2.35 movies it looks pretty cool you get a larger image. Window expands too much, I don't use it.

I hope you guys are using Avia or Video Essentials or at least the Free THX calibration with some DVD's although the THX thing doesn't give you correct color alignment calibrations.

"16x9 and 16x9 native modes do crop the input source very slightly"

This is the easy way to setup (basic 16.9 4.3scaled) You can fill evenly starting out with this setup with your PJ's zoom and if you're having a problem check in the menu the signal adjustments, the ones with horizontal and vertical and the others. You can use these to shrink or expand the sides and tops of the image. Then adjust physical PJ alignment and zoom again. After this is set you could like I said try the 480p for just 2.35 movies as a change. See if you like the 480p or just go back the straight 16.9.

You'll notice if you view a movie in native 16.9 that's 1.85 it will be up too high.

Basically you could set the PJ for just the 16.9 native aspects starting with a 1.85 movie. Which would work good for DVD's but when you add basic TV or OTV/HDTV it won't fit the screen right.

So if you're using allot of different types of video I'd setup in basic 16.9 4.3 scaled version.

Hopes that's not confusing?

Mike, thanks for the link.

They say to use white peak 1.

Also the deinterlacer option only when the PJ see's a 480i signal. I've never seen that option. Have to talk a look later.

Ok, I need some help picking a new DVD player. Has anyone used the Pioneer 563a? Universal player at a good price.

Why get a player with progressive scan when I am using the H30 processor instead?

Please give me some real world ideas for the best DVD player for the cashola! Thanks!

Mike

I had sent an email to Optoma to clarify what the different formats meant. Here is the reply from Wingman.

"The H30 has three 4:3 modes one at 600 x 450 and one at 640 x 480 and 800 x 600 for RGB. (will support YPbPr in future) 'read, firmware upgrade'
600 x 450 is for user who use a 16:9 screen.
640 x 480 is for user who has 4:3 or 15:9 screen.

For 16:9 it uses 800 x 450 in 16:9 mode and 800 x 480 at native 16:9 mode. Note at 800 x 480 the actual image was scaled to 852 x 480 and only the central portion of it (800 x 480) was displayed. That means 26 pixels sharecropped on each side."

I believe that this means that the 480 pixels of vertical resolution on the DVD is cropped to 450 so that you can fit the horizontal resolution of 800 (450 *1.78 =800). It appears to me that a 1.85 or 2.35 DVD is simply further cropped vertically. Anyone know if this is correct

Native 16:9 would appear to be a full 480 pixels vertically and crops the horizontal resolution to 800 pixels from the 854 that would otherwise be required (480 * 1.78 =854) This is why the In-focus 4805 has a 854 x 480 grid. Again, any input as to how the 1.85 and 2.35 DVDs's are scaled/cropped would be helpful.

Somewhere along the line we start talking about square pixels and that is how the true 720 x 480 pixels of resolution get scaled out to 800 x 450 or 854 x 480, but by then I am so lost that I have to go take an aspirin.

So, it seems that you have to choose to crop 30 pixels vertically for 16:9 mode ( a total of 25,940 pixels), or 54 pixels horizontally in native 16:9 mode (24,000 pixels). Any opinions on which is preferred.

I believe that this means that the 480 pixels of vertical resolution on the DVD is cropped to 450 so that you can fit the horizontal resolution of 800 (450 *1.78 =800). It appears to me that a 1.85 or 2.35 DVD is simply further cropped vertically. Anyone know if this is correct

There shouldn't be any vertical cropping of either with an anamorphic DVD, but without my projector I can't run a test DVD to find out for sure. Typically with a 16:9 display, 1.85:1 anamorphic DVDs are displayed full screen and 2.35s are displayed with black bars top and bottom, but there's no pixel loss.

16.9native is 480 vertical pixels but does has a little overscan, as the image is bigger you can see info on each side is less if you toggle between 16.9 and 16.9native.

I ran a S-video, component video & component progressive test with my Denon 1600.

S-video will have progressive scan using the projectors deinterlacer, It looked very good.

Component using the PJ's deinterlaced looked very good and about the same as S-video.

Component progressive from the Denon looked the best. Stronger saturation was the main difference.

I calibrated each signal also with Avia too make all things equal.

The H30 doesn't have an Icon for deinterlacer turn on/off, It's automatic. I assume the menu in ther Home Theater tips area is for the H56.

Hey did I ever say this thing kicks some serious butt? :)

How does the H30 handle rainbows when viewing the anamorphic circle from the THX Optimizer? I noticed that rainbows were most noticeable for me on the X1 in this situation when you have a bright white object on a dark background. I am very interested in what a RGB-RGB wheel does in this situation.

Thanks!

I'm getting ready to buy my 1st FP. I am planning to do this as cost effectively as possible (I spent too much 4 years ago on a large HD RPTV that is in family room). Plan is to utilize storage/shop room in basement, no light issues, room can be totally dark. Room will have multi-function (exercise, play area for grand kids, hobby room, etc.) but will be 100% dedicated to theater when using the FP. I only need to acquire FP and screen. The screen wall is 17' 7" wide, 9' tall. Depth of room and seating distance is variable up to 24'. The FP will be used 90% for DVD viewing. The H30 fits the budget and I would like to throw as large an image as my room and the H30 will allow while maintaining a reasonable quality level. Do the current H30 users think the H30 could throw a "watchable" 96"x54" image in this environment? Thanks in advance for your insite and expertise.

I am projecting a 92 wide image from 14 ft to a worn out pink sheet in bulb economy mode. The picture is great! When my 92" Da-Lite High Power pull-down gets delivered, I'm hoping not to have to wear sunglasses <g>. I don't think 96"w will be a problem.

John F

Larger image guaranteed. Every time I look at this thing I'm amazed at how bright all the images are. Plus it has so much power to saturate out colors I can't imagine any problem with a 96"wide screen.

tom,
prior to coming into the pj forum , ispent some time hovering in the plasma site. altho tempted, i didnt pluck down the dinero to pay for a 50 HDTV plasma. heck, can get almost double the size with possibly less cash.anyway, its been said in the plasma forum that buying a plasma w/o dvi input is like shooting yourself on the foot for dvi is the bomb. does this apply to fp or specifically, the h30?
on the dvd player question, i've had a panny rp 91 . does this go well with the h30? hope so, coz i'm watching my wallet, having spent $$$$$$$$$ on a toshiba 65" 65H80.
thanks again. cant wait to smell that new bulb burning.....

Originally posted by guitarman
Steve, Prismasonic V200, an all glass model for vertical squeeze. The VSR co.'s panamorph is said to be better but the V200 is allot cheaper and I heard does a good job.

Tom

Someone mentioned that the Prismasonic was not good on a short throw projector... better on mid to long throw. As my room is only 15'10" wall to wall is this going to be a problem?

What is the difference between the V200 and the H200?

Also I seem to recall that the HT1000 had to have a firmware update before it would work properly with an anamorphic lens. Will the H30 in it's current state or in the state after the 800x600 mod work properly with an anamorphic lens.. or would I have to be fiddeling with all the alignments every time I switch back and forth between 4x3 and 16x9?

Steve

Originally posted by C4Sip
anyway, its been said in the plasma forum that buying a plasma w/o dvi input is like shooting yourself on the foot for dvi is the bomb. does this apply to fp or specifically, the h30?

DVI is desirable for fixel pixel displays (like plasma, DLP and LCD) because it eliminates the digital to analog conversion. That being said, unless you're feeding an HD signal (or upconverted SD signal ala a Bravo DVD player) to the display, you wouldn't notice much improvement. If you were getting a higher resolution projector that natively displayed 720p or 1080i, then not having a DVI input would be a serious omission. With the H30, I don't believe it's necessary. Unless you don't plan on upgrading your projector in the future, don't worry about the lack of DVI input.

on the dvd player question, i've had a panny rp 91 . does this go well with the h30?

The RP91's deinterlacing (with its older Genesis chip) is not as good as the H30's, but it is an excellent interlaced player and setting it to feed 480i to the H30 should result in an great picture.

DVI isn't essential at all. It's a little cleaner and most all the time if you a/b'ed a good progressive scan player with component it's hard to see a difference. I can't count how many times users said they couldn't see a difference. :)

Steve,
Bytehoven has tried a few lenses and is the first to try and recommend the V200. To use it with the H30 you want the firmware have the projector in normal 4.3 so when you shoot a dvd image from the dvd player which will be set to 16.9 the image will be tall or stretched way up. Then you use the lens to squeeze the image with all it's 800X600 pixels back down to a 16.9 image. Advantage - more detail will be seen plus the pixels will be allot smaller and screen door will be even less. Not that I notice the SD now, like i've said the H30 is the best SVGA PJ at hiding the SD.

I'm not certain to how the lens will effect widescreen users wanting to view a 4.3 image.

4.3 screen users would just setup with a rail system and swing away the lens when viewing 4.3.

The tech at Optoma that's over in Taiwan now understands the needs about using a Panamorph, lets hope in the firmware design there's an aspect or way to squeeze in the sides of a stretched out 4.3 within a 16.9 frame. If you plan on a 16.9 screen wait to see what they can get the firmware to do.

Thanks again Tom...

My reading on the HT1000 described the ease of swinging the lens out of the way for normal 4x3 viewing or back in for 16x9... I hope the v200 (or the newer v500) can be set up the same way...

If it is a pain to switch that would not be a good thing.

My original plan was to get a projector that does 720p native, but with another daughter getting married and the amount of 4x3 I still watch, I am reconsidering the options.

Steve

The Optoma H76 is the lowest priced HD2 right now but it's still 4times the money for the H30. Hey It's not like you'll be cursing at the screen, great is great and this PJ delivers a very enjoyable HT experience. Did you order an H30 yet? If not check with AVS for their price now that they carry the line.

Check with Bytehoven or their site to see the mechanics for getting their lens out of the way.

I checked with Optoma this morning. Figuring the firmware will act like the H56 and they say if you use a panamorph there isn't a trick aspect that would squeeze a 4.3 image with a 16.9 setup. So the swing away is the only option and it's mainly what 4.3 users have been doing all the time. With the HT1000 it has a feature called 3D reform in which you could size any shape image. This made it easy for the NEC people to make up a quick correcting firmware to resize an image.

Also I hear my buddy is getting back from Taiwan this Friday so maybe we can get started on the firmware change soon.

Originally posted by guitarman
The Optoma H76 is the lowest priced HD2 right now but it's still 4times the money for the H30.

Exactly what makes the H30 such a good deal. Heck, even the H56 is almost three times the cost of an H30.

BTW, update on my H30. I normally would have gotten a replacement unit for mine, but Optoma is out of stock on the H30s right now (Tom's caused such a sales increase, they sold out of them. ;) ). So, I spoke to them about just repairing the one I sent in since it probably only needed a bulb replacement. They checked it out and the bulb was the only faulty item. It's being QA'd right now and they're going to overnight it to me, so I should be back in business tomorrow. Overall, their response time and handling of the return has been very good.

Tom - you should contact them about a commission. :D

Originally posted by guitarman

I checked with Optoma this morning. Figuring the firmware will act like the H56 and they say if you use a panamorph there isn't a trick aspect that would squeeze a 4.3 image with a 16.9 setup. So the swing away is the only option and it's mainly what 4.3 users have been doing all the time.

So are you saying that using a panamorph with the H30 and a 16:9 screen would require you to swing the panamorph out of the way for 4:3 images? Thanks.

So guys, before I go out and buy one of these, let me get this straight...if you feed a SD 480i normal cable TV input into this thing using composite cables, the projector will automatically deinterlace it and improve the quality of the picture? I'm stuck using composite right now for my basic cable signal. I even use the composite out from my DVD player, into my HT receiver, and then composite out of the receiver into the TV/Projector. I just want to know that it can deinterlace on the composite input.

Yes I figure 16.9 screen users would use the window aspect when the firmware is onboard. Maybe the tech isn't totally onboard on what the firmware will do. I'm thinking why couldn't the window aspect be shot through the panamorph. I'm really not all that up on the drawbacks in aspect ratio's when using a panamorph. I know even though the HT1000 has a 16.9 setup for widescreen users that there was a problem when they used a panamorph. They needed the 3D reform firmware to compress 4.3 back into shape.

Hmmm thinking about it, you would want to keep the PJ in 4.3 to get the full vertical resolution. So I assume HT1k users with 16.9 screens could hv swung the lens away and reset for a 16.9 screen. But they wanted to keep those 768 vertical pixels by keeping the projector in 4.3.

I tested the S-video and it picked up the 2.3 pulldown, I assume it's the same with compsite. You could check with Optoma or wait and I'll test the composite tonight.

Tom

the h56 cannot recieve a prog signal from a dvd player via its vga and dvi output(analog that is) as the internal deinterlacer does not turn off. it is only bypassed with digital dvi..

Also the h56 overscans the interlaced image. Example = 720x576 pal is scaled to fit native 1024x768. but ends up according to DVE to be 710x568....?

Does the H30 suffer any similar faults?

The H30 accepts interlaced and progressive through it's VGA input. I did notice the S-video interlaced feed which did pick up the 2.3 pulldown did have slight overscan, maybe 5%. I don't think there was overscan when I deleted the progressive scan through component/VGA.

Mikes been doing allot of testing, Mike what do you remember? :)

I hadn't checked out overscan on DVE when mine bit the dust, but I do remember seeing some on the bottom of the 16:9 display. I'll have to check it out futher, hopefully tomorrow evening.

Regarding the progressive vs. interlaced input, the Pixelworks chip (not used in the H56) senses the input type and performs whatever video processing is necessary. From what I observed with the Faroudja test disk, it does not process a 480p (or higher resolution) input (other than scaling).

thanks guys. i`ll be interested in what u find out

Please help a newbie! :)

After a month of cruising this board and considering X1, Z1, and Z2 it looks to me from this thread that the H30 wins. I read the entire thread but I don't pretend to understand more than half of it so could some of you fine experts please let me know if the H30 will be a good match for my needs?

My room is 11 feet wide and 16 feet deep with 9 foot ceiling (approx). I plan to ceiling mount (no restrictions). My viewing distance will be 12-14 feet. I am planning to make a DIY blackout cloth screen and consider investing in a retail screen later if the DIY job doesn't work out.

From what I have read I am firmly committed to a 16:9 screen. I want DVDs to look awesome and when I switch to watching Tivo I want the 4:3 image to shrink rather than expand so I'm not emphasizing the horrible quality of Tivo'ed cable TV. My DIY screen will probably be around 94-100" 16:9 diagonal but I will experiment before I make my screen.

In order of importance, my viewing will be:
1) DVD - most important, it has to look mah-velous :)
2) XBOX games - Halo should rock
3) Tivo cable TV - I'd like it to be watchable, doesn't have to be killer though

The only thing that doesn't sound ideal about the H30 is the light spill I will get because I will be using it as a 16:9 PJ. How bad is it? Our walls are lightly textured. They are grey/beige. For comparison they are quite a bit darker than your average "apartment beige" walls.

Thanks in advance for comments - if the H30 isn't the PJ for me maybe you could recommend something that would fit me better?

Guitarman / Mike:

I got a new DVD player to replace a 5 year old Sony, and I'm ready to go back to the 'ol Sony...

The player is an LG LST-3510a, I thought it would be cool to have the integrated OTA receiver to watch monday night football without paying Cox cable more money for extra services (digital, HD).

Well, the OTA receiver part is kind of cool, just with old rabbit-ears I was able to get the 3 'major' networks plus PBS and Fox, some in HD.

When switching from an SD signal to a HD signal, the H30 would 'properly' lose signal, then after a few seconds sync to 1080i.

The problems come with the DVD part....

I'm back to having a little light spill at the bottom of the screen (remember, I'm table mounted.) I've tried all available aspect ratios under the 480i setting along with the H30 controls, and can't get rid of the light-spill underneath.

If I choose 480p, 720p, or 1080i, the image looks washed out and pale in comparison to the 480i setting, and the light-spill turns a lighter shade of grey.

I'm lost. Tomorrow I'll A/B the Sony and the LG, and maybe try calling LG support if there is such a thing.

Any ideas? Thanks,

John Friederich

Guitarman / Mike:

Never mind, now the Sony is showing the same light spill on the bottom of the image. I need to take a step back & try my VE disk tomorrow...

John F

Hi Tom... or ...

Let me see if I am drawing in any closer on this...

1. With the firmware upgrade I will have a projector that will be capable of using all 800x600 lines of resolution.

2. However as standard cable and I suppose satellite is 540 lines minus 60 lines of black leaves me with 480 lines of interlaced resolution from a standard cable/satellite TV source that the projector will turn into 480p. Still at 4.3 which is what is being broadcast.

3. Now if I send a DVD output (480i) to the projector it is going to take the image and de-interlace it and project it in the format being sent. If I send a full screen image I get a large 4x3 image using what resolution 800x600?

4. If the DVD is a wide-screen version and presented in 1.78, 1.85, or 2.35 I am going to get a wide screen image with black bars above and below the picture..., but how many lines of resolution are being used? As it has 600 available is it going to use the center 480 of them... or only about 376 of the lines? If it was going to use the center 480 lines there would not seem to be any purpose for folks buying anamorphic lenses except for HD. If on the other had it only does about 376 lines in the middle then using the anamorphic lens to take the original image and squeeze it down vertically into the center of the screen would I suppose get you full resolution. I guess my question is if this is correct why the heck doesn't the projector that has 600 or more lines to play with in the 4x3 format just use the center 480 for displaying a DVD?

5. If you send an HD image (either 1280x720 or 1920(?) x 1080i) to the projector I doubt the projector de-interlaces the 1080i signal so how does it go about projecting this image with only 800x600 available to it?

6. Would connecting a scaler/processor like the DVDO iScanHD in front of the projector make any difference in how the image is treated and whether or not you would need an anamorphic lens to get the most out of the projector?

Thanks,

Steve

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
Hi Tom... or ...

Let me see if I am drawing in any closer on this...

1. With the firmware upgrade I will have a projector that will be capable of using all 800x600 lines of resolution.

Yes, that's the idea.

2. However as standard cable and I suppose satellite is 540 lines minus 60 lines of black leaves me with 480 lines of interlaced resolution from a standard cable/satellite TV source that the projector will turn into 480p. Still at 4.3 which is what is being broadcast.

Analog cable is more like 330 lines of horizontal resolution and digital is at best 480. The projector's display is at least equal to what your SD cable or satellite can throw at it.

3. Now if I send a DVD output (480i) to the projector it is going to take the image and de-interlace it and project it in the format being sent. If I send a full screen image I get a large 4x3 image using what resolution 800x600?


After the firmware upgrade, setting the projector at 4:3 should give you that resolution.

4. If the DVD is a wide-screen version and presented in 1.78, 1.85, or 2.35 I am going to get a wide screen image with black bars above and below the picture..., but how many lines of resolution are being used? As it has 600 available is it going to use the center 480 of them... or only about 376 of the lines? If it was going to use the center 480 lines there would not seem to be any purpose for folks buying anamorphic lenses except for HD. If on the other had it only does about 376 lines in the middle then using the anamorphic lens to take the original image and squeeze it down vertically into the center of the screen would I suppose get you full resolution. I guess my question is if this is correct why the heck doesn't the projector that has 600 or more lines to play with in the 4x3 format just use the center 480 for displaying a DVD?


Again, after the firmware upgrade, setting the projector in 16:9 mode should give you an 800X450 picture in the center of the screen (as it is now, you get that at the bottom). From what Tom said earlier, I believe that in 16:9 native, it gives you 800X480, which crops 27+/- pixels off each end horizontally.

5. If you send an HD image (either 1280x720 or 1920(?) x 1080i) to the projector I doubt the projector de-interlaces the 1080i signal so how does it go about projecting this image with only 800x600 available to it?


As with most projectors (few of which are native 1080i), the internal scaler handles the display of higher resolution signals. With the H30, the Pixelworks scaler/deinterlacing all-in-one chip does the job.

6. Would connecting a scaler/processor like the DVDO iScanHD in front of the projector make any difference in how the image is treated and whether or not you would need an anamorphic lens to get the most out of the projector?

The iScan would be doing much of the same things that the Pixelworks chip is doing, which would really only have a noticeable difference with SD material. I currently use an iScan Pro with a 55" RPTV and it's a big help with cable and satellite feeds. An anamorphic lens should give you a 33% increase in resolution in 16:9 mode.

okay now i am confused :confused: i want to pick up my screen but after the firmware update i am a fraid that the screen will not be the proper size ? so this is what i got with this set up






throw distance wall to wall is 11ft .7 inches

the screen size i get is around 571/2 h x 77 wide

and the pj will be calibrated at the end of the month ?

so which way should i go fixed wall ?

this was measured with the light box 4:3 out line with the 16:9 image at the time and with this set up and distance i can not go bigger ? so but with the update will it just like was said before fill what i can get size wise now or will the box go bigger .??????

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
Let me see if I am drawing in any closer on this...

Steve...

You've got yourself all mixed up in the middle of a couple of different issues.

1st lets clear up how images get onto a 800x600, or any other size display. There is a scaler in the display, that takes the source signal and makes it fit (1) or both dimensions of the display area. It does not matter what the resolution of the display or the resolution of the source. The scaler with try to fit the image horizotally, then provide enough vertical size for proper aspect ratio. In some cases, like a 4:3 source on a 16:9 display, the scaler will fit all of the vertical space, and then just enough horizontal for proer aspect ratio.

A 640x480 480i/p 4:3 source image, is scaled to fill the entire 800x600 4:3 display. But the same image on a 16:9 would have to have black bars on the sides if proper aspect is to achieved and a circle look like a circle.

A HD 16:9 resolution source image would be scaled to fit the full width of the 800x600 display. But to maintain proper aspect, approx 25% less of the 600 available vertical lines would be used. Using the onboard, or an external scaler to make the vertical dinemsion of the source image fill the full 600 lines, produces an image that is too tall. The anamorphic lens is then used to squeeze the vertical or stretch the horizonal to get back proper aspect ration.


Whew...

Same holds true for 2.35:1 source image on a 1.78:1/16:9 projector. The image is maxed out on the horizontal dimension, and 25% fewer lines are used to display the vertical, and a circle looks like a circle. Use a scaler to expand the vertical dimension of the image to fill the 16:9 display, and you are again ready for the anamorphic lense to works it's magic and make a nice, proper aspect projection.

Do you follow? It's not a big deal. The big deal is how and where and how well the scaling is done to pull off a respectable anamorphic process. Good source + Good scaling + Good anamorphic optics = Goose Bumps Entertainment.

;-)

Not all projector manufactures are up to speed with theHT treasure chest of anamorphic presentation. I am very impressed with how well the HT1000 implementation turned out.

jeff- you might have issues using the xbox with the h30. It works great svideo however coponent has problems displaying 16:9. Hoping firmware update will resolve this problem.

new teq joe, choose a screen by the width and measure just the viewing area not the framing.


Bytehoven, what are the issue's in viewing a 4.3 movie when using an anamorphic lens with a 4.3 projector? Don't they have to use a 4.3 screen and swing away the lens? And if they want a 16.9 screen they'll have to swing away the PJ also and reset the PJ for a 16.9 screen or pick up a window type image. Not all projectors have the 3D reform like the HT1000.

Gentlemen; I was on the brink of ordering a NEC 240K when I stumbled on this thread, and am intrigued with the 4X colour wheel, at this price, as I don't know my susceptibility to rainbows. I am more or less in the boonies and can't easily audition these machines. How does the pq compare? ( I will have no HD in the foreseeable future unless I get a pirate dish, will use mostly DVD, SD satellite). You say the H30 is brighter than the X1; how does it compare to the 240K, which is manufacturer rated quite high?
Where are these best bought in Canada (I see some of you are north of the border).
Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. My knowledge may be limited, but my ignorance is impressively vast.

new teq joe, choose a screen by the width and measure just the viewing area not the framing.


tom i know just measure the viewing area but when i projected on the wall the w 76 i still see a little boarder of lite there but if i get a 4:3 screen i measured the lite box that is on the wall and with the set up i have at 11.7 ft wall to wall throw the zoom ring is all the way to max .

so wouldn't the lite box of the 4:3 image be the size i would be looking at tom.

and to any body that could help what screen material should i use at this distance ?

but did i say this pj is a beauty :D

as of today i have sorted the prog scan issues i was having with my H56

all is working fine now and the pic is superb from the denon a11 prog scan mode.


the over scan is within tolerence according to optoma and is within SAFE settings of manufactures.

good luck with the H30

My H30 got here on Monday, and I am thoroughly impressed with the picture it produces. I'm really itching to get everything set up, but the ceiling mount bracket (SP86301-001) seems to be on perpetual backorder. I am a complete projector newbie, so I really don't know what alternatives there might be if I decide to stray from this official H30 bracket from Optoma.

Are there any compatible alternative ceiling mounts that might be more readily available yet still in the same price range? Are there any reasonable DIY solutions?

Pick up a cheif mount the cheapest you can find and make a wooden plate to adapt. With my cheif mount I just had to drill one hole in the wooden plate and use a screw to the Tripod screw in the center of the PJ. The PJ's feet just snug down tight to the wooded plate. Then just screw the four spots any cheif mount will have on it's removable bracket to the wooden plate. It's really very simple, Ive done it a ton of times to mate with every projector. This type mount is very flush, the lens will be under 5" from the ceiling. Chiefs are very good mounts also, solid and swivel every which way.

Thinking about it, pick a Cheif mount for a small projector like a NEC LT150. The one I have is for a Seleco Projector, they're pretty small also. The Monster projectors out there are the Sharp Z9000's, Marantz 12s1, Infocuses are big also. You want me to help you find one?

Hey, some picture heh? It doesn't get much better, great for DVD and just TV & HDTV. The scaler is killer for everything. Looks better than the screenshots I posted? enjoy

"as of today i have sorted the prog scan issues i was having with my H56"

Dustin, so what was the cure? There's a member here that was even having a problem like yours on his H30. 480i worked great but when he fed 480p the colors went off. I told him to check his component cables.

Well some of the PJs can evidently push red hard if you send a prog scan signal.

all i did was adjust colour balance abit and set red contrast to -6 and red brightness to -6.(depends on what colour is pushed)
its now perfect. it will remember the differnt setting for prog and interlaced so one wont mess the other up..

also i went into the signal setting when a prog image is locked and adjusted frequency and vertical this solved all problems.

it was mostly my inexperiece shinning through as this is my first PJ

but i got there, thanx Tom

I guess the member here's problem is a little different. It's great how the Optoma projectors remember settings for input signals. I don't even use the User saves. I just calibrate the preset ones and the PJ picks up what signal and sets the presave to what ever I set it at at the time I calibrated. So in essence you could say the projector has many user save settings.

guitarman, would love some help finding the best chief mount for this baby. I'm tired of looking for the H30 mount and finding it OOS

Guitarman -

Got all the aspect issues resolved with the new DVD player. Here are some comments / questions if you don't mind...

1) When feeding 480i to the H30 from the new LG player, the image is noticably darker with way too much contrast compared to the old Sony. It is easily correctable by adding brightness and reducing contrast.

2) When feeding 480p, 720p, or 1080i to the H30, the image takes on a somewhat lighter, sort of washed out look, less color saturation, with an overall greenish-grey look. I've not yet gotten skin tones to look acceptable with these input settings. Some scenes without skin look better in when in 480i, though, so I'll keep playing with it.

Does any of this make any sense to you? Any setting recommendations? Again, the new player is an LG LST-3510a. The tuner image really looks decent, especially the couple HD stations.

Thanks,

John F

Hey, some picture heh? It doesn't get much better, great for DVD and just TV & HDTV. The scaler is killer for everything. Looks better than the screenshots I posted? enjoy

Indeed it does! Your screenshots were certainly great, but it looks even better in person. We'll see how long it takes after my Dad's visit next weekend for him to decide he wants one for himself. :)

High def does push the bright level high. A simple start is to view a network HD thats 480p and sometimes commercials come in at a boxed in aspect. Then hit the brightness button and bring back the bright until the light gray bars become black and match the outer field. When ever you bring down the bright the colors get more saturated accordingly. High def is the tricky one because it does it's own thing so start with the method I said above to first get the black right. Anytime you bring back the blacks you should increase the contrast a little also. Like if you lowered the black by 30 I'd move the contrast up by 10 give or take a little.

Start using the RGB-contrast and RGB-brightness advanced settings. The brightness ones have the stronger effect so if you see green pull back the G-brightness, if you want more red move up the R-contrast.

Get yourself Avia or Digital Video essentials.
With the calibration DVD's I'll send every type of hook up I use and calibrate each type. Like component video, S-video, composite-video, because each one needs different tweak levels. Of course TV signals are all over the place and I eyeball each TV show. :)

Originally posted by guitarman
new teq joe, choose a screen by the width and measure just the viewing area not the framing.


Bytehoven, what are the issue's in viewing a 4.3 movie when using an anamorphic lens with a 4.3 projector? Don't they have to use a 4.3 screen and swing away the lens? And if they want a 16.9 screen they'll have to swing away the PJ also and reset the PJ for a 16.9 screen or pick up a window type image. Not all projectors have the 3D reform like the HT1000.

Hi Tom...

Yes, without some software aspect controls, the lens would have to be removed.

You could have two setups.

1) with a vertical compression lense, you could have a 4:3 screen with removable masking at the top and bottom. The masking would be in place with the lense in place, and the masking removed when the lense is removed.

2) with a horizontal expansion lens, tou could have a 16:9 screen with removable masking on the sides. The masking would be inplace when the lenses is off, and the masking removed when the lense is in on the projector.

Personally, I think I would prefer the (2) scenario to maintain the height of the projected image for both lense and non-lense use.

Originally posted by Cactus
Gentlemen; I was on the brink of ordering a NEC 240K when I stumbled on this thread, and am intrigued with the 4X colour wheel, at this price, as I don't know my susceptibility to rainbows. I am more or less in the boonies and can't easily audition these machines.

I would go for the LT240k or Mitsubishi XD300U. Higher resolution is always a good thing and both put out a great picture. I'm not sure about the offer being good in Canada but Mitsubishi has a "Be Our Guest" program that may still be going on, here (http://www.sellprojectors.com/brg-endusers_11_01_03.pdf) is a request form with phone number, you could call and ask. If you're very sensitive to to rainbows it won't make much difference which speed color wheel you choose. Your other alternative is go with an E store with a very liberal return policy like Projector People. That way if you see the rainbows you can trade it in for a LCD, read the fine print carefully before purchasing if you go that route.

Does the H30 turn of portions of the DLP to display 16:9 the same way the Benq 6100 and the Infocus X1 do?

Hey, thanks for stopping in. It's busy over here I can hardly get over there to see HT1000 questions lately. :)


John F.
LG LST-3510a, I looked up your OTA-HD/DVD player. It's an interesting idea but you should compare the picture closely to see how it's scaler and progressive scan are. It's hard to beat the new Pixel works scaler and 2.3 pull down. It's the first thing I've seen that's as good a the old Faruouja chip. Do you have the Galaxy Quest DVD because the opening shot when the Spaceship fly across the screen is a killer test for chip testing. So far only the Farouja chip played this sequence smooth and not juddered. The Pixel works chip does it the same way. Plus it's scaling is very clean.

veggieguy

"2) When feeding 480p, 720p, or 1080i to the H30, the image takes on a somewhat lighter, sort of washed out look, less color saturation, with an overall greenish-grey look. I've not yet gotten skin tones to look acceptable with these input settings. Some scenes without skin look better in when in 480i, though, so I'll keep playing with it"

I am having the same problem with 480p form my Denon 910. I had the Pioneer 653a (I think that was the model number) when set to 480p it was also lighter and gray. I took guitarman advice (Thanks) and used the only calibration tool I had the THX Optimizer I was able to get blacks to look good. But I liked the picture better on the Denon. So I returned the Pioneer and picked up the Denon again. Now when I try to calibrate it in 480p it is just to gray! The blacks just don’t get black enough without the entire picture getting too dark. I am not able to set the H30 to even display the black line under the THX logo on the brightness adjustment screen I am going to try a different cable to night. I did use a VGA to BNC with the Pioneer and a regular RGB RCA cable with the Denon. I will try the VGA BNC with the Denon. I am still getting the room setup. Let me know if you have any luck. i will post soon with my results.

Max

guitarman, any links to the right mount?

just set up my h30 on the coffee table and this thing is sweet, now need to tweak it with aVIA

I think you do this but in case, check the Denon's menu, it's has a Lighter/Darker setting. Darker for component hookups Lighter for S-video. Sorry if I repeated this.

The other thing is a stronger way to lower the black is lowering the RGB-brightness equally. Use your THX to check.

Thinking about it, pick a Cheif mount for a small projector like a NEC LT150

After some Googling, I came upon this thread (http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21862) which says that Chief doesn't make a mount for the LT150, due to fire safety reasons. Wouldn't you know it.

my guy from down here has a new type of mount that is universal and it could be ceiling mounted and also wall mount and is totally adjustable but i have to get a hold of him to get more info .


and the good thing is it is under 2 bones for this mount and he did say it will work good for this pj .

and come on guys give me some ideas on what screen material :)

What about the guy on Ebay with the ball bearing type mount. He's an AVS member and the mount looks easy to adapt?

Guess what? The remote doesn't work! Tested and tried various batteries and it's just dead.

However, set up the H30 with only s video cable and played a little Nemo and with my limited ability and patience with pressing the menu buttons on the top of the machine, I can only say, OH my G-d! The color and contrast on this thing with just S video is gorgeous. I brought the white setting down to 0.

I demo'd an X1 for about 3 mths and this just blows it away! Sorry to use every cliche in the book but I can't wait to get a working remote from Dell, not to mention component cables.

My only other disappointment is the throw from the back of my wall 12' away over my head to my 84" 4:3 screen is too large in 16:9. The X1 was able to adjust perfectly, is that something I'm doing wrong? I have it zoomed into the smallest size and it's still spilling over. If I can't adjust that issue then I'll have to look for a ceiling mount.

Scott

guitarman,

I did change the black level setting while playing a DVD. It helped a little bit. I will take a look in the setup again for a black level setting. I don’t remember finding anything but could have missed it. I will also lower the RGB-brightness. That sounds like a great suggestion I will let you know how it goes. I want to keep the Denon they will probably usher me out of the store if I try to return it again.

Thanks for the info.
Max

Guess what? The remote doesn't work! Tested and tried various batteries and it's just dead.

Spoll, I had the exact same problem at first, and for me it turned out to be the batteries that came with the remote. I put the Optoma-supplied batteries in another remote and they work fine, but the Optoma remote won't work with them. I put some other batteries I had on hand into the Optoma remote and it works fine. Go figure. The batteries they sent seem imcompatible with their remote somehow.

Too bad that didn't solve your problem though.

which guy on ebay? it's hard to search for it. And I don't think I want a mount with a very long arm, something flush would be cooler

"I will take a look in the setup again for a black level setting.

Denon 910,
1. Press Mode button on remote during playback

2. Press enter button to switch on/off

On is Default makes the dark parts brighter - I figure this is for S-video

Off: Original picture as recorded - this for component

It's says in their specs it passes deep black pluge. You s/b ok.

"projector ceiling mounts" JayBlaine, Jerome

Spoll, I had the exact same problem at first, and for me it turned out to be the batteries that came with the remote. I put the Optoma-supplied batteries in another remote and they work fine, but the Optoma remote won't work with them. I put some other batteries I had on hand into the Optoma remote and it works fine. Go figure. The batteries they sent seem imcompatible with their remote somehow.

The guy with the dead remote might think otherwise, but I think this is freakin hilarious! Are they cheap cardboard batteries or something?

Maybe the remote is fragile, and batterie contacts get loose or (:eek: ) corroded in storage/shipment?

That would make more sense, just removing and reinstalling them could do the trick...

Maybe the remote is fragile, and batterie contacts get loose or ( ) corroded in storage/shipment? That would make more sense, just removing and reinstalling them could do the trick...

That was my first thought as well, and believe me, I removed and reinstalled the original batteries quite a few times before I tried some others. I don't know why, but they just won't work in the Optoma remote. My son's Palm Pilot likes them fine though. I'd go look at the brand, but the Palm Pilot is away at the moment.

I like the remote, it's got the best hard buttons I've ever seen. Very easy to use and compact, plus powerful. Wonder what will happen with the Aspect buttons once I get the firmware. The menu's are great also, fun projector.

I hoping for firmware sometime next week since the guy gets back tomorrow from Taiwan. Maybe they have to collate a little first.

Tried different batteries, took them in and out and nada.

I've got a larger problem though, the image on my screen is skewed. All sides except for the upper right hand side are perpendicular. The image rises from the upper left to the upper right. It's not the keystone adjustment either,I've tried everything and it's not a perfect rectangle, very annoying.

I take back the excitement over Nemo also, the seen where they go into the depths with that lighted fish look awful with s video. I'm hoping that's a component vs. s video thing.

Not a happy camper.
Scott:(

username "jayblaine" sells the mount on Ebay. It's about as close to the ceiling as you can get. He has a lot of testimonials on his page, so it must work pretty well.

" I've got a larger problem though, the image on my screen is skewed. All sides except for the upper right hand side are perpendicular. The image rises from the upper left to the upper right."

Are you sure you're aiming the lens dead on. Try the re-sync, try the horizontal/vertical/signal,phase stuff. Have you talked to the tech people?

I watched Nemo, it looked excellent with component and the Denon 1600 in progressive and interelaced, very good colors. Scarey movie though. lol

sent jayblaine an email wondering if he can adjust it for the h30

Very good it looks like a good match, very flush and easy adjust.

"I have it zoomed into the smallest size and it's still spilling over"

Scott, in the menu you can shape the screen with the Horizontal & Vertical. Why not try to get Optoma to swap out the remote, would be much faster than Dell?

You could build a mount yourself if you're so inclined. Just use a speaker mount and an aluminum plate from a hobby shop. Just have to drill some holes and add bolts. The H30 is so light that just about any speaker mount will work.

Regarding the remote, although I never used it longer than to teach the commands to a universal remote, I found it to be pretty good for a stock remote. I can say that I have never heard of a remote's batteries not working with that remote (when the remote wasn't defective), but switching batteries with another remote results in both remotes working. That's one for the books. ;)

Yes, definitely deal with Optoma on the remote. Dell won't have any to replace it with anyway.

Optoma is swapping out the remote, Dell is a nightmare.

I'll try to get into the menu tomorrow to adjust the shape, however I don't remember finding that ability there. I'll check it again.

When it rains it pours, my Onkyo receiver keeps shutting down now after playing audio for 60 seconds.

Time to go back to regular tube TV?

Scott

Originally posted by spoll
I'll try to get into the menu tomorrow to adjust the shape, however I don't remember finding that ability there. I'll check it again.


The "Signal" adjustment for adjusting horizontal and vertical position (under the "Image" heading) is not available for S-video, so that's why you didn't see it. It's only supported under analog RGB or component (YPbPr).

When I get the component cables for it will I then be able to correct the skewing of the image that I'd mentioned earlier? The image is rising up like it's on an incline from the upper leftside to the upper right.

The "Signal" adjustment for adjusting horizontal and vertical position (under the "Image" heading) is not available for S-video, so that's why you didn't see it. It's only supported under analog RGB or component (YPbPr).


yes mike you are right :D


hey so what type of screen material do you guys think and size\for my set up :confused: :D

I recently built a new screen with instructions and material I got from an Ebay seller (moakes). Great quality material IMO. I made a 16:9 screen that's 80 X 45 (92" diagonal). The projector's about 13' back, but it could be as little as 11.7'.

Originally posted by jfried
When feeding 480p, 720p, or 1080i to the H30, the image takes on a somewhat lighter, sort of washed out look, less color saturation, with an overall greenish-grey look. I've not yet gotten skin tones to look acceptable with these input settings. Some scenes without skin look better in when in 480i, though, so I'll keep playing with it.John F

QUOTE]Originally posted by MadMaxWI
veggieguy

"2) When feeding 480p, 720p, or 1080i to the H30, the image takes on a somewhat lighter, sort of washed out look, less color saturation, with an overall greenish-grey look. I've not yet gotten skin tones to look acceptable with these input settings. Some scenes without skin look better in when in 480i, though, so I'll keep playing with it"

I am having the same problem with 480p form my Denon 910. I had the Pioneer 653a (I think that was the model number) when set to 480p it was also lighter and gray. I took guitarman advice (Thanks) and used the only calibration tool I had the THX Optimizer I was able to get blacks to look good. But I liked the picture better on the Denon. So I returned the Pioneer and picked up the Denon again. Now when I try to calibrate it in 480p it is just to gray! The blacks just don’t get black enough without the entire picture getting too dark. I am not able to set the H30 to even display the black line under the THX logo on the brightness adjustment screen I am going to try a different cable to night. I did use a VGA to BNC with the Pioneer and a regular RGB RCA cable with the Denon. I will try the VGA BNC with the Denon. I am still getting the room setup. Let me know if you have any luck. i will post soon with my results.

Max [/QUOTE]

I had the same problems. Interlaced looked fine but progressive from a Panasonic RP56, Pioneer 810-Hs and a Samsung sir-t151 looked washed out with a green tint. That ain't right!

The projector's about 13' back, but it could be as little as 11.7'

Mike,

Is that a measured 11.7, or a manual 11.7? I'm a bit weary of the differences between the screen calculator on Projectorcentral, the stated distance table in the manual, and the acual throw...

:)

I know I will want to have everything at once, so I'd like to get this right...

Thanks

BTW, if the manual is the same as the pdf document they have on the Canadian Optoma site, it needs work. Alot of work...

I'm quite confused about the best input to use. Some people dislike s-video, some can't get progressive component to look right...The only input that has not come under fire yet is true 15 pin VGA.

The 11.7' is from the Optoma website calculator, which is fairly correct from my actual measurements.

Yes, the manual sucks. Look at the link I posted a page or so back for more description.

Regarding component input from a progressive scan DVD looking grey-green and washed out:

<<I had the same problems. Interlaced looked fine but progressive from a Panasonic RP56, Pioneer 810-Hs and a Samsung sir-t151 looked washed out with a green tint. That ain't right!


Last edited by brooster on Today at 09:08 PM>>

Well, I tried the LG DVD player on a 17" Panasonic LCD TV using component progressive, and the picture seems fine. So, a potential problem with the H30? Any others able to test this? On the other hand, OTA HD looks great on the H30 when fed other than 480i from the LG tuner section...

John F

Originally posted by ShiftyPowers
guitarman, would love some help finding the best chief mount for this baby. I'm tired of looking for the H30 mount and finding it OOS

Try contacting "mandarax" here on AVS (see Canuck Shootout) he makes killer mounts.

Steve

MikeSRC....

As a dealer have you had the opportunity to A/B the H30 and Panasonic L500U?

Even though the Panasonic has superior resolution all the rave comments about this projector would seem to make it a very interesting review.

Also what would be the cheapest/easiest method of combining all of the video signals from my Replay, Xbox, HD-Cable, DVD, and VHS and outputing them to the projector over a single RGB cable???

If I needed an RGB switch (i need to check and see if my HD cable box has an rgb out... I know it has DVI, but that does not help in this application) can I just use an RGB switcher that was intended for computer use?

Steve

So what would you guys consider the next step up from a H30? I say this because I had budgeted 2300 to spend and if I could get something much better for the extra money then I will spend it. If not then I would just keep the dough.

Question about cables -

Where does an 'RGB' cable connection fit into the normal pattern of ascending picture quality for connections between source and display, all things being equal?

composite -> svideo -> component -> DVI (not on the h30)

Thanks,

John F

Try the H56 then, thats spot on for your buget

its pic is near identical to a ht1000

Also

there is an out of the box difference between the interlaced and progscan mode.

the prog scan mode needs much more fine tuning to get it right.

also be sure to check which picture presets there defaulting to, as it will change between interlaced and progscan.(like cinema, vivid, normal)

the settings are rememberd seperately. so if you calibrated interlaced, you then have calibrate prog scan.

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
MikeSRC....

As a dealer have you had the opportunity to A/B the H30 and Panasonic L500U?

Even though the Panasonic has superior resolution all the rave comments about this projector would seem to make it a very interesting review.

Unfortunately no. I've seen the L300U, but not side-by-side with the H30. Generally, I prefer DLPs to LCDs, but I would like to see if the 500U could change my mind for only another $500-600. I am supposed to be getting an Epson Home 10 and a BenQ 6100 for review, so we'll see how that goes.

Also what would be the cheapest/easiest method of combining all of the video signals from my Replay, Xbox, HD-Cable, DVD, and VHS and outputing them to the projector over a single RGB cable???

If I needed an RGB switch (i need to check and see if my HD cable box has an rgb out... I know it has DVI, but that does not help in this application) can I just use an RGB switcher that was intended for computer use?

Steve

I don't see why any computer-type switch wouldn't work, but I haven't really tried it to tell you for sure.

Well from what I have seen the H56 is $3800, which pushes it out of my range.

Originally posted by jfried

Where does an 'RGB' cable connection fit into the normal pattern of ascending picture quality for connections between source and display, all things being equal?

composite -> svideo -> component -> DVI (not on the h30)

Thanks,

John F

Equal to component.

Brooster, you never got the color problems fixed?

I don't remember anything unusual with colors out of the box. I just started flipping though the film and video presets and everything looked great. I immediatly got out Avia though. Maybe my numbers will help or anyone having color troubles should have Avia or DVE.



Progressive scan DVD -
Picture
Mode cinema
Conrast 4
brightness minus 34
color 25
tint 1
sharpness 28
gamma 2

Image
white peaking 6
color temp 2
image mode Film

All I can say is I'm watching Panic Room right now and the color palate is exceptional and I know what a 6500k grayscale looks like having owned the colorfacts program. What I'm seeing are gorgous colors well saturated but not over done, facel hues which can be tuff on displays are just about the best I've seen. There's a perfect balance of white & blacks. Man I can't imagine why some are seeing problems. Did I just get the lucky projector? :)

Don't your colors look like this?

http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/h30austin1.jpg

I ordered a mount from Perfectmount. It is a universal ceiling mount with a custom adapter for our H30. I have not recieved it yet, but I will report out as soon as I get it.

It cost $94 with free shipping. There is an available 12" adjustable extension for it as well.

Mike

PS: Got the Carada screen!! Can't wait to set it up!

For those interested in a Chief mount, I emailed Chief Manufacturing and they told me that their RPA-315 celing mount is the correct one for the H30. It apparently fits a few Dell projectors as well.

I also emailed with jayblaine (http://cgi2.*********/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=jayblaine), the guy who builds and sells ceiling mounts on eBay, and he's agreeable to making one for the H30 as well. I sent him measurements last night, so I should hear back from him with final details sometime today.

I think I'm opting for Jay's bracket over the Chief. I like his swivel design, and it's less than half the price of what I'm seeing the RPA-315 for.

Both mounts seem like very good alternatives for H30 owners.

Another great shot, Tom! :)

Colors on mine right out of the box were very good as well, but I did use the interlaced output when I saw how good the Pixelworks deinterlacing was. Some checking I did with Avia showed the red and blue right on with the color adjustment. Green was slightly off but compensated for with the advanced adjustment.

I'll have to check the difference with the prog scan output, but I don't remember anything noticeable. Also, I'm going to try and get some screen shots of my own up this weekend after I let the new lamp burn in a little.

veggieguy, looks like we both emailed jayblaine at the same time. I sent him some pics of the bottom of the H30 as well and I'm waiting to hear back from him as well.

What do you feel is the next step up in the dlp projector world guitarman?

Jays design looks pretty easy to lock in. I guess you'll be using those three tiny screw holes. I couldn't find a match at my hardware store for those. When you find out what thread type and size post it in this thread. Be carefull when using these, the guy that posted at Projector Central says he stripped one out.

So it's just a couple of guys having color tune up problems? Everyone else happy, and found it easy show good colors and black level?

Next step up, hmmm has to be an XGA DDR-chip RGB/RGB colorwheel. Lots of choices but way out of this price range $3000 to $4000.

Since I'm a confirmed DLP lover for good reasons, blacks, SD, film like picture, contrast, detail in blacks. I'd only suggest the H56, HT1000, any Matterhorn, the HD2's get even higher in price. Best bang for the buck right now, the H30.

Thanks for the quick responses guitarman.
Between the H30 and the NEC LT240k, which do you feel will produce a better image? I am wondering how much of a difference the XGA and 1024x768 would make.

Oh that one, :) the NEC will be higher res as you know but I don't like the fact it's a presentation model with the white segment color wheel. Name your poison?

Tom, these were the numbers you posted earlier...

Picture
Mode Cinema
Contrast 32
Brightness minus 34
Color 37
Tint 1
Sharp 28
Gamma 1

Image
White Peaking 6
Color temp 2
Image mode Film


They are slightly different than your last post.... were these for an interlaced source?

Also, I am wondering if there is a reasonably priced way to output all of my sources (Xbox, VHS, DVD, Replay, HD-Cable) all over a single RGB cable to the projector. My reciever will combine all and output over a single component cable which I understand you can order with RGB on one end.. but my receiver only has two component "in's" (Waah!) and I have four units with component out!

Steve

Steve, if you want to use a component video switcher, one of the best deals I've found is here (http://www.avtoolbox.com/avt-5842mx.htm).

Guitarman -

<<Don't your colors look like this?>>

Mine look that good with 480i, but nowhere near the saturation or brightness of image with 480p, or 720p or 1080i. I'll try my video essentials disk (don't own Avia) and try your setting, then probably just use 480i if I'm still not happy. I'm also going to try the RGB bypassing the component dongle this weekend and see if I still get the dull green/grey effect with progressive... Thanks.

John F

In looking through the Optoma projector functions link that MikeSRC posted, I see a section describing Lens Shift. I'm guessing the H30 does not have this feature? Maybe it's only their higher model projectors that have this. It'd be nice if they would say so in their docs.

Mike, thanks for the link!

Steve

However if I use something like this it solves the 4 input problem... but will still require an s-video cable to run to the projector in addition to the Component/RGB cable. I was just hoping there would be a cost effective way of doing it with a single cable... I guess I got spoiled reading the Dwin brochure!

Yes, some of those functions listed are only for the H56 (and possibly the H76). You only get the ones listed in the manual, but the webpage at least gives you a little more explanation of what they do.

Okay, I just turned on my repaired H30 (which just arrived) and noticed something different right off the bat. There was a new "Optoma" picture (not just the logo but a picture of the projector as well) and the image was shifted up from where it was before. Switching to 16:9, the image now had equal light spill above and below the image. Looks like they applied the firmware update! I'll check it out some more and let you know.

Note to spoll - Maybe they're sending you my remote, because I didn't get it back with the projector. :(

Just confirmed with Optoma, the new firmware was installed. I'll keep you guys posted on the results.

mike how fast was the turnaround on the firmware/repair? I'm thinking of fedexing mine to them

Mike -

Hurry with the results of the new firmware - we don't have all day!!!! Tell us EVERYTHING, NOW!! <g>

Thanks,

John F

John, did you get my PM?

Steve

"Just confirmed with Optoma, the new firmware was installed. I'll keep you guys posted on the results."

Good news, we need to know how each aspect button reacts and how a non-anamorphic dvd plays.

Mike you should know never to send accessories back. :) Hey maybe they'll hv a new remote with readouts that match the new aspects. Did they at least send it back in the original box? When I sent my NEC HT1000 in NEC discards the original box and uses a generic one. I'm a little touchy I prefer having the original box.

Hmmm, the early news is not good. While the 16:9 image is fine, the height is held and the width decreases when I switch to 4:3, resulting in a 4:3 image that's in the middle of the chip. This is with a DVD player using component inputs through the supplied adapter. Switching the DVD player to 4:3 didn't change anything. Switching from interlaced to progressive scan locked the image at 16:9 in all formats. I'm going to need more time and maybe some calls to Optoma to sort all this out.

Tom with your experience with the H30 you need to get sponsored for a Shootout of your own.

I suggest the H30, the InFocus 4805, and the Panasonic L500U.

Steve

First Mike, thx for being the guinea pig. :)

There must be a Normal Aspect that displays the full 800X600. What you said sounds like the window box aspect for 16.9 screen users. Plus only a Normal Aspect would display letterbox-non anamorphic DVD's correctly.

Too bad you don't hv the remote I'd like to know what each of the five aspect buttons do?

"Tom with your experience with the H30 you need to get sponsored for a Shootout of your own."

The H30 is so close to the HT1000 it's scary. In some ways (color saturation) I like it better. The lack of SD on this SVGA is surprising. I'd worry about the 4805 and the LCD has too many issues. I didn't like the lack of black detail in the Pany AE100 I had or the Z9000 also. Well you guys known what I mean you're seeing the H30 in action. Just pop on LOTR TT or Underworld. Pretty unbelievable for $1200 bucks or so.

Well, I've tried a few more things to no avail. Called Optoma and it looks like something went wrong with the upgrade, so back it goes again. :(

Still works fine in 16:9 mode, so I'll have fun with it this weekend and they'll pick it up next week.

Damn. I was hoping to get some info on this upgrade. You would of thought they would have at least tried the thing before the send it back to you. Well at least you have a great picture in 16:9

that sucks bud, hopefully they'll be able to fix it once and for all.

I might wait a long while before upgrading the firmware

Ok, does anyone know which of the KVM switches in the link below are powered via an AC adapter and would be good for use with the H30? I can't seem to figure it out.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?submit=list&catalog=143&DEPA=0&order=price&sort=asc

Well, I've tried a few more things to no avail. Called Optoma and it looks like something went wrong with the upgrade, so back it goes again.


mike so the only diference you saw with this upgrade was the 16:9 was centered and no light spill :confused:

Alpha Digital 4-Port KVM Switch Box, Model "PS-141B

That one looks ok, I don't know what autoscan does. It's looks like you have to get up and hit a button.

What are your plans? Sending a straight VGA signal puts the projector in 800X600 4.3

I tried Direct TV via upconverted VGA from a viewsonic and it showed a large 4.3 image (800X600). Funny thing though when I sent a 16.9 movie via the same setup the movie was displayed at the bottom of the chip.

Originally posted by new teq joe
mike so the only diference you saw with this upgrade was the 16:9 was centered and no light spill :confused:

Well, the light spill is equal both above and below the image, which was what the upgrade was supposed to do. Unfortunately, it didn't give me an 800 X 600 4:3 image. Instead, it's more like 600 X 450.

so hopefully the next upgrade should open the vga to compoenent 800:600 4:3 to fill the screen :cool:

Yeah, that's what this one was supposed to do, but something didn't go right. We'll see next week.

guitarman, my plan is to drive the following through the switch into the H30's VGA input:

1) my HTPC. the hub of my HT setup, has all the movies and TIVO'ed TV shows. This should display fully at 800x600 and I've confirmed that it does.

2) digital cable from the TWC box via component outputs converted using the adaptor that comes with the H30.

I'll also plug in the Svideo through the cable box just in case.

"1) my HTPC. the hub of my HT setup, has all the movies and TIVO'ed TV shows. This should display fully at 800x600 and I've confirmed that it does."

You ever try any non-anamorphic DVD's with the HTPC? Can it display them correctly and is a anamorphic 16.9 image in the center of the 800X600?

For anyone who is interested, the three small threaded mounting holes on the bottom of the H30 take a 3mm machine screw. I took the projector into a specialty screw products shop and they found the match. After a few turns, there is a small tight spot, but it goes smoothly after that.

new teq joe
Where did you buy your H30? Is it available for viewing in TO? Is it for sale in TO? There are no dealers near me, not much of anything near me. Thanks.

where abouts are you located and yes it is available for demo and down here in canada it is more difficult to purchase "why" i don't know and if you want info just pm me and give me your email address and i will give you the info .;)

H30 Mounting Screws, I guess I had the right size but when they didn't turn easy I opted for the Tripod screw.

thx

Well after reading this and other threads I have decided to get rid of my Viewsonic 501 and get a H30. Should be here on Monday or Tuesday. I am really anxious to see the improvement form the Viewsonic.

H30 Mounting Screws, I guess I had the right size but when they didn't turn easy I opted for the Tripod screw.

Hehe, I was skiddish at first too, so they tried 2.5mm, various imperial sizes, and only the 3mm seemed to fit. The guy at the shop said he really thought that was the right size and it just "needed a little help" to get started. The only other alternative was that Optoma had used custom non-standard screws, which was crazy for a mass produced product in his opinion. We went ahead and twisted a bit more firmly and the 3mm ones went in smoothly after that.

I am blown away by this projector and I have kicked my X1 out the door. The difference between the X1 and H30 is night and day in color and in contrast. You would have to be crazy not to spend the extra 200 dollars to get the H30. I am now using this projector for everything, the quality is good enough to use as your main monitor for your computer upscaled to 1024 by 768 looks great. ya baby!! surfin the internet on a 100 inch screen.
Thanks, if it wasn't for this forum I would have had no idea about this amazing find. I truly don't think colors can improve any more than what this projector puts out.

I have one problem thats concerning me though. In a movie when the camera is panning left or right across the scene I seem to get a weird irregularity of pixels that pop up across one line in the image for a second. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm playing movies on my computer.

just got word from jayblaine that the mount is shipping today....and it'll come with all the screws I need. I'll let you know how it goes when I get the thing.

Thanks Shifty, let us know how it works out. Sounds like a good option.

Note to jfried - After playing around with my H30 last night, I noticed the same greenish, washed-out effect on the 480p input through component that you are experiencing. It did not do this before the firmware change.

On the plus side, the 480i picture still looks terrific and the picture settings I previously had (which were similar to guitarman's) are now very close to the default settings, making the projector almost a "plug-and-play" in case you'd don't have Avia or DVE. Hopefully, the next firmware change will resolve the other issues.

"Note to jfried - After playing around with my H30 last night, I noticed the same greenish, washed-out effect on the 480p input through component that you are experiencing. It did not do this before the firmware change"

Ah ha, now we need to know what type of logo are some new users seeing when they first turn on the projector. Is it just an Optoma logo or is it the Optoma logo with a picture of the projector also?

Once we sort this out the green could just be a glitch in a recent firmware. I talked with the Tech area yesterday about Mike's firmware change and what I got was that whenever a PJ is sent in, they'll put whatever lastest firmware they have.

The one put on Mikes machine isn't the firmware that is coming in with Wing the Tech just back from Taiwan. This leads me to think any of the PJ's with the Logo and Projector start up have the previous firmware which may have a glitch when receiving 480p. Lets nail this down, you guys that have the problem? Which Logo?


pacogem,
Glad you're happy with the picture. It's tuff for presentation projectors to match up with a designed for HT models. Gammas and Color Wheel etc

Thanks Tom. I forgot to mention the logo change. Previously, there was just the "Optoma" logo when you turned the projector on. Now, there's a picture of a chair with the projector sitting in it and the Optoma logo above it. This all looks like an easily fixable situation, so we'll see how it goes with the firmware upgrade next week.

Well, here's my first attempt at a screen shot. I'll try some more this evening when it's a little darker.

http://www.surfaudiovideo.com/graphics/nemo1.jpg

OK now I'm going crazy.

Picked up a Monster component cable and attached the supplied vga adapter to it and ran the components to my Denon 1805.

The picture from Nemo is not any better than the s video connection that I had before and there still is no adjustment for the screen size with the component attached that I believe Mike eluded to earlier. I'm trying to make the screen fit my 50x67 screen from 12' but it's too wide.

To make matters worse, the better half comes in and says that the picture on the previous projector was much better! An X1 with s video!!!! I have to agree.

How do I know what resolution I'm at on the screen also. I see you guys saying 800x600, etc. but where do you see that?

I've also calibrated with AVIA! Please help!?

Scott:confused:

In the picture menu look for "Signals" in there is Horizontal / Vertical, Phase.

From reading I take it you have a fixed postion on a shelf. This really does limit sizeing up the screen width. Don't get frustrated wait till you start punching holes in the ceiling. :)

Can't get a good picture. It shouldn't be that difficult, you set your DVD player if it has it to the Darker mode for components. Then what numbers did you get for Avia? Choose Cinema gamma 2 and Film color temp 2.

I posted the last numbers I got with Avia a little way back. Use them as a start. Keep us posted.

Just curious when you fire up the projector do you get a Optoma Logo and the chair graphic with the PJ in it?

OK, went to signals and I'm able to ajdust horizontal and vertical. Drawback is vertical won't adjust to the same as horizontal without these white dashes accumulating on top of the screen, so I'm limited there.

I've followed your settings and I've tweaked them a little for my own viewing prefs, so that's ok.

I'm not having issues with the contrast, that's great, the overall picture in some scenes of Nemo are unreal. Then other scenes such as darker scenes get very grainy.

Another weird thing I've noticed is there seems to be a vision of heat waves on the left side of the screen. They're clear but they're wavy as if the lens is picking up the heat from the projector. For now it's on a coffee table but when I manually lifted it to see if sitting on a table would increase the heat it made no difference.

As far as logo, I just have the Optoma logo, whit type, red slash underneath.

Also, this is my first use with Avia, is the picture quality in Avia terrible too in general like when you see the hosts speaking?

Hate to be having such a hard time, everyone else sounds like it's a great projector. If I have the lemon, well, that's the story of my life. LOL.

Thanks for your help, I do appreciate it.
Scott

Hey Mike, Picture looks great on my computer. Better ask to talk the Wing next week to get the straight facts on the firmware. It would be cool if they could keep the 16.9native 480p onboard also. Ideal aspects would be

Normal 4.3, 16.9scaled, 4.3-window. 16.9native=480p

I'd like the projector to do -

Full 4.3
Squeezed 16.9
Stretched aspect to view NA-dvds and ESPN-HD which is NA until the actual games on. I assume Normal 4.3 would did that.
16.9 - 480p = 480lines of vertical res.
4.3window boxed - for 16.9 screen users

I might be asking for too much.

Tom,

The last set of settings you posted... were you feeding the projector a "progressive" or "interlaced" signal?

I have heard a couple of folks with H56's complaining about bearing noise from the color wheel... is this a problem limited to the H56 or could the H30 use the same bearing?

Steve

I heard the higher version of Optoma which was the 53 I think. 2 people have mentioned that it was a much higher model but it has one major issue. The bearings on that earlier model has had bearings issues. It was said that the bearings on the color wheel is kinda cheap considering its price. I do not know it that is the same case as the H30 or H56.
Anyone have high pitch whirring on your H30's? It doesnt have to be too loud just a noticeable high pitch whirring.

Yes, that too.

Gotta tell you, really disappointed with this projector, it's going back.

I'll see what the 4805 or 6200 have to offer.

Scott

Those last setting were with the Denon 1600 in progressive after 100hrs of bulb use. My H30 is very quiet, I never hear it. But then again I've played in Hard Rock Bands and used Marshall 100watt stacks for many years. What's that you say!

Actually I have put my ear up the the PJ and it makes a low bassy tone.

Originally posted by guitarman
Those last setting were with the Denon 1600 in progressive after 100hrs of bulb use. My H30 is very quiet, I never hear it. But then again I've played in Hard Rock Bands and used Marshall 100watt stacks for many years. What's that you say!

Actually I have put my ear up the the PJ and it makes a low bassy tone.

I just sold my X1 for a great price to another person...maybe I should have hang on to it a little longer. :)

HihoStevo: I think we were thinking the same thing at the same time you posted your comment.

guitarman: You wanna sell your H30 to me? Yours seems to be in perfect condition. :)

Originally posted by mbw23air
The vertical banding on LCDs like the AE500 makes the picture intolerable for me. Even if it was a 1080p LCD I couldn't stand vertical banding. The contrast and black level of DLP is so much better than LCD that having a little lower res is a better tradeoff for me. For people who have LCDs and don't have vertical banding and think the contrast is good enough for them then LCD might be better for you.

Mike

Can you explain vertical banding for me please? I seem to like the LCD images better, but then again, I'm comparing 2-3 year old DLP and LCD projectors against one another.

Scott, since you're new to Avia I'll give u a couple of tips.

Start with the Special test area just under the one where the guy talks you though everything.
Grayscale will be at the top of the list.

Have the projectors picture menu at reset everything stock.
Choose Cinema gamma 2 and go over and choose Film color temp 2 also.

First do the black level in the Grayscale area.
All black screen with moving bars, lower the black level till the left bars dissapears then bring it back a click till it reappears.

Now back in the grayscale menu and do the contrast -white moving bars. Same deal - bring the contrast up until the right lighter bars dissapears then back until the right lighter bars is half the brightness of the darker bar.

Bop back and forth with these two calibrations and check as they effect each other a little.

This is the correct way to get the whites & blacks perfect for a digital projector. I got these instx from Guy Kuo.

By the way the basic patterns in the talk you though it area are best for RPTV's.

With the color and tint blue bars pattern. Find the spot where the boxes spot flasking and concentrate on the center are of the boxes trying not to focus on the edges of the flashing boxes. This I also got from Guy.

Give it a shot maybe it will make a difference. Did you ever solve the tapering up of the top of the screen from the left to the right? I thought your lens angle may have been off. What DVD player are you using? Maybe it's one that doesn't pass pluge? Try another player if you have one.

Hey Tom,

Did everything you've mentioned, twice.

I was able to fix the angle on the screen and that's not an issue anymore. You were correct, it was an angle thing.

I'm wondering now if it's a DVD player problem. I have a Denon 1805, it's an excellent player however I'm not sure what "pluge" is? Don't have another player to compare.

I'm in the graphics field and I have 20/15 vision, I'm a stickler for quality images. Maybe I should put down the bong before viewing.

At this point it's going back though, I can't believe the picture was better on an X1.

Scott

Tom and other folks with an H30.........

How does SD cable or satellite look input to the H30 and then out on your big screens?

Steve

Okay, so I did it, I finally did it. After looking for a year for an affordable projector, I finally ordered the H30 last night. Though it's only a few more days 'til I get it, it seems like an eternity.

Just wondering: would it be worth it to get Digital Video Essentials or Avia? I only have the old Video Essentials.

Miguel.

In the picture menu look for "Signals" in there is Horizontal / Vertical, Phase



ok i set up my pj i have it set up hight on the wall with heavy duty adjustable self racking at around nine feet high and i am throwing at 10ft and i am getting a pic that is 74 inches wide which is not to bad projecting on a white wall with minimal adjustments .


but to adjust h and v do you have to feed rgb or does s video work also and if there is any questions about the pj i will try to answer them to ,because i am sure after calibration my pj is going to shine and for the price it is a very good pj ;)


3 friends came buy and not one saw RAIN BOWS at all so that is a good thing .

and with some screen material that i have tested the carada brilliant white 1.4 gain looked the best so far but i am sure there will be other screen materials that would make the pic nice but have to test more when they come or if they come .

Originally posted by new teq joe
but to adjust h and v do you have to feed rgb or does s video work

You'll only see the "Signal" adjustment (H, V and Frequency) in the menu if you have an RGB or component feed.

okay i thought i checked for that before and i did not see it with the rgb to vga does it go under a different heading thanks . because at 9 ft wall mounted the pic is about 2.5 feet off the ground not bad but still have to pump the pic up a bit :) then get the firmware update then should be OK .cheers


and yes the 4:3 is smaller but for know i think window is the best option for 4:3 before the update .

The signal area is in the Image menu, the upper right one. So hows the picture looking?

Pluge is passing true black. The Denon 1805 s/b fine with blacks. If you view a high quality DVD like Matrix 2, Tow Towers, Star Trek clones and you not seeing a jaw dropping image. Somthings wrong with the Pojector or Setup. You might talk to the Optoma Tech area. I thought everything was great when you first viewed it? Something happened.

Squeeze 16:9 is mandatory at least for me (I will be building an amorphic lens).

Although I guess it's not that important with a htpc...

I think something's wrong with the projector, the colors are pasty, grainy and out of focus. I'm playing movies that looked nice on the X1 and they look absolutely awful on the H30.

Maybe the dead remote was an omen for things to come with this particular projector.

The signal area is in the Image menu, the upper right one. So hows the picture looking


tom the pic is looking awesome and i am not even using my xp30 yet i am just using Toshiba interlaced dvd player because i have to pic up either a component or as video not sure witch one yet and for screen i think i am going to go with the dalite cinema vision 1.3 gain screen and tom i get 74 inches wide so the only thing i am afraid of is after the update that the vertical won't fit so what do you guys think



ps watched under world again (dark movie) no problem detail excellent and it was projected on a white wall ;)

I just got some sample carada screens delivered, and I really can't tell much of a difference in quality between the materials I received and my plain white wall. I got a high contrast grey, a 1.0 gain and a 1.4 if I'm not mistaken.

Tom, I seem to have a problem, the HDTV output from my cable box has amazing quality but when I look at SD channels through that input the black bars on the side appear to be somewhat green. Anyone else get something like that?

I just got some sample carada screens delivered, and I really can't tell much of a difference in quality between the materials I received and my plain white wall. I got a high contrast Grey, a 1.0 gain and a 1.4 if I'm not mistaken



ShiftyPowers i have the carada samples to actually set your dvd player to dark mode or enhanced or what ever you call it and then put the samples up you could tell the difference but not a lot but some .



plus the samples are small so it will be hard to get a good read on them .

Sorry for the late reply, I was gone for the weekend. The logo on mine is the original Opioma logo with just the inverted Nike swoosh. Getting ready to try a rgb cable without the component dongle to see if there is any difference in the greenish washed out progressive image, will post later...

John F

Well, I'm not able to test actual DVDs using my LG LST-3510a player / OTA tuner. It displays a screen saying that for copy protection reasons it will not play the DVD using RGB (and I assume DVI).

I tried 10 DVD's and got the same message for all. However, I was able to play Video Essentials at 480p through the RGB interface, and saw some interesting things. For one, the border between color bars appeared far sharper than when playing through the component connection, with no fringing at all.

Sure wish I could play a DVD through the RGB interface, any ideas?

John F

Miguel.
VE s/b be fine, I hv Avia but may buy DVE anyway since it's just 20bucks. Hey post a review this week when you get the projector.

Re screens, I think a 1.3 gain screen would work great. Not too bright and the HCCV is said to work well for many projectors. You do have to make or get a fixed screen for that material.

I just got comcast HD-digital I'll run a test today to see if there's a green tint. Perfect color with Direct TV, just when you view OTA or HDTV you have to lower the brightness and make the black bar area black/mirrors off.

What I do notice with Direct TV is the wonderful hues you get with DVD carry over to Direct TV. People never looked so good.

Tom

Are you talking about SD on DirecTV?

If you are truly watching SD on the H30... what size image from what distance?

Thanks,

Steve

Ok guys, my local dealer has just rang to let me know his H30 demo has arrived..Im going to see it Weds evening..looking through my DVD collection below, what discs would you reccomend me taking to test for Rainbows, as 1 guy in the UK has reported seeing rainbows on the H30, and Im not sure if me or the missus will be affected..

Hmm..link wont work..??

My DVD collection (http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=LDR)

Re screens, I think a 1.3 gain screen would work great. Not too bright and the HCCV is said to work well for many projectors. You do have to make or get a fixed screen for that material.


yes tom but as for the firm ware update if i have 74" wide and say 54 " high would the firm ware make the screen bigger form the distance i have it now :confused:

The width will stay the same and the height will be measured proportionately like any 4.3 machine.

"Sure wish I could play a DVD through the RGB interface, any ideas?"

Yeah you could connect the VGA adapter at the end going to your DVD player and run component cables (shorter ones) from the adapter to the player. But that's putting you back to where you were before.

The macro in that unit is your trouble. The Skyworth DVD player has VGA and no macro. But you want your player to work. So a straight VGA cable eliminated the green when viewing VE

Tip: You guys liking interlaced DVD try color temp 3. Because with an interlaced signal you get no Tint adjustment. I found temp 3 is closer to 6500K. The way they're numbered is deceiving. 1 is bluer 3 warmer/red. Still looks good at CT 2 but if you need more red try CT3.

I got identical numbers this morning with a JVC player and a Panasonic player interlaced.

Picture cinema
contrast minus 10
brightness 5
color minus 13
sharp 28
gamma 1

Image White peak 0
color temp 3
image mode film

Steve, 16.9 92"wide screen gives a 106" diagonal 16.9, I'd guess the window boxed 4.3 is about 86" diagonal.

Tom -

At this point, I'm content to watch all DVD's in 480i over component. Still is very curious about the progressive input giving an unsatisfactory image. Got my outdoor antenna up today, and the few OTA HDTV stations I get (one in 720p and 2 at 1080i) all look perfect. So why just DVD's showing greenish/grey?

I think I'll turn this over to Optoma tech support. I'd think it was just me, if it wasn't happening to others with other players. In the meantime I'll be perfectly happy with the interlaced signal from the player / OTA receiver, as it is awsome.

Oh, my player will output DVDs over DVI, it blocks RGB only - how is this supposed to stop pirates? If I want to copy DVD's (which I don't), I could easily do it on my PC using a $40 piece of software available anywhere.

I'm really looking forward to getting the High Power screen from Jason, maybe next week. I'm getting tired of this old pink sheet, even if the picture is really good on it <g>.

John F

well my guy from down here was told this about the firm ware update and the effect itwill have



HDTV size will not be affected, it will be lower once the firmware update is performed, as I understand.

4:3 aspect will change in height and not in width.

you wanted 4:3 aspect ?
is 74 inches with the largest setting ? I'm assuming so,
in HDTV format 45x80 is the price size you would need to get, I can have the screen made smaller

in Video format 59x80 is the closest size for you as well, again it can be made smaller
fabric choice is yours, cinema vision is my guess at what you want, it's a 1.3 gain.

Tom I am thrilled to hear that you like the looks of SD cable or satellite -- not sure which you are using... on a 92" wide screen... that is GREAT!

I was planning on trying to have a 96" wide screen (110 diag for 16x9 and 90" diag for 4x3) at a 15 foot viewing distance.

Steve

my time warner cable looks pretty damn good on this thing!

still very confused. if i updated the firmware. how does it affect the screen (offset)? should i use a 16:9 or 4:3 screen ?

Well, the way it should work with the firmware update, you would get the full 800 X 600 resolution for 4:3 material and 800 X 450 for 16:9. If you have a 4:3 screen, a 16:9 image will fill the screen width and be centered vertically. If you have a 16:9 screen, both 16:9 and 4:3 images would be the same height, but the 4:3 image would be centered horizontally.

They'll have my H30 back in their hands tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. I want to make sure that the weird color effect with a 480p input is resolved as well (see my previous posts).

Ok, after 3 days of setup and testing. Here is my report on my new Optoma H30! My setup is:

Optoma H30
Carada 92" diag fixed screen bright white 1.4
Yamaha RX-v630 Reciever
Panasonic RP62 DVD
Paradigm Titans (Fr) CC170 (C) Atoms (RR) Hsu STL-2 Subwoofer
NXG Cables all around
SoundKing 12g Speaker wire
GLS Banana Plugs
Perfect Mount ceiling mount
Monster Cable HS1000 Stage II power management
Monster Cable AW200 Stage I power management

H30 - The H30 is in a word FANTASTIC!! I have about 6 hours on the projector now and most everything I toss in looks great! I have not touched the setup as delivered and it works fine. I can see a bit of the red push some have mentioned and I think there can be some adjustments to the overall color, but I am very happy. The install was pretty good, but I did make a mistake with the throw the first time. I am projecting on an 80" wide screen and I set the mount at 12', but I had to move it back to 13' to make it fit properly. The projector is quite as a mouse and it is plenty bright in Eco mode, so that is where it stays. I have watched only DVD and SDTV so far. I have digital cable (no HD yet) run though the composite input. As you can imagine, the pic is not the best, but it is very watchable in 4:3 mode. Some channels are better than others, but most are acceptable. I presume that the quality of the picture will get better with the new HD box and component out. DVD quality is excellent. The picture is amazing on most DVD's. Ice Age is an incredible movie on this projector. Harry Potter II looks great. Minority Report looks a bit grainy and washed out, but I think that it is meant to look that way. right? Pirates of the Carib. looked great!I will be trying some settings with DVE disc I just recieved. I do see some rainbows here and there, but I really have to be looking for them and it only appears on very dark scenes.

Carada Screen - Best money I ever spend. Build quality is excellent and the screen is easy to assemble. Beats the hell out of my buddies home made blackout screen. I love the projector, but I think that this screen really brings out the best in it. If you ever wondered if you should spend $650 on a fixed tensioned screen, I am hear to tell you that the Carada is the way to go. Packed well, shipped on time, and well build. Easy to assemble and hang. If you are spending all this time and money on your home theater, get a nice screen! Worth every penny!

Perfect Mount - This mount was on Ebay. I did some research and it seemed nice. I have to say right off the bat that the customer service from PerfectMounts was the best. They made a mistake on my order and they got it built and mailed out next day air Saturday so I had it for my party on Sunday. Top notch company. Overall I like the mount. It is made of aluminum and very light weight. It comes complete with everything you need to install the projector. It is a universal mount with custom brackets for each type of projector, so you can leave the mount and just change the bracket. The bracket for the H30 fit perfectly and came with proper bolts and nylon risers to give it some breathing room. It is very adjustable, so when I mounted it a bit twisted, I could easily get the projector straight. The only complaint I have is the finish. It was a cheap, crackle finish paint that rubs off easily. I think that this is NOT the normal way they do things. I had mine rushed out so they probably had to something in a hurry. The pics I have seen show a nice powdercoat finish and you can have it custom colored for a bit more. If you need an cost effective mounting solution for around $100 shipped. I think it is a good way to go. EMAIL me for pics of the install.

NXG Cables - I bought these cables for no other reason that they looked nice and were very cheap. The quality of these cables is quite good! Very thick and flexible with good connectors. They come in some very long lengths, so you can get good placement of your components. I like the component video with the extra Toslink cable for the DVD connect, very handy. I have no other cables to compare these to, but I feel that they were an excellent buy for the the performance which seems fine. I did 33' Component, 33' S video, 33' composite, 3' Component/Toslink x 2, 3' Composite, 3' Composite/Audio for under $80

Well, thats it. I will post other comments in the proper forums on the reciever, speakers and wiring if you are interested. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how my setup is.

I want to thank Guitarman for all his help and good info. I feel great about the purchase and think that this projector is truly excellent. At my local A/V store, it easily is better than the $5000 Sony they have hanging. Maybe they don't have it setup properly...

Mike;)

Sorry for the wrong info here - <<Got my outdoor antenna up today, and the few OTA HDTV stations I get (one in 720p and 2 at 1080i) all look perfect.>>

I watched after dark (my HT light control system) and the stations sending progressive to the H30 all have the greenish washed out tint. Even the light spill is greenish.

Easily corrected by forcing the receiver to output 480i, but I'm still going to report it to Optoma.

Watched 'Memento' tonight with the wife - the H30 seems to be getting better with age. Fantastic image quality (at 480i).

John F

Jfried is your PM (private mail) active?

Steve

Carada Screen - Best money I ever spend. Build quality is excellent and the screen is easy to assemble.

Just curious. Which screen type did you get? Classic Cinema?

I watched after dark (my HT light control system) and the stations sending progressive to the H30 all have the greenish washed out tint. Even the light spill is greenish.

Mine did not have that problem until they did a firmware upgrade on it (no, not the new one), but it does now. That leads me to believe this is an easily fixable problem. I'll find out more in the next day or two as they check out my projector.

Hang in there we'll get the growing pains out of the way and you'll all end up with a super HT projector. Get your calibration DVD's going and que in on the blacks and whites. On two progressive scan players, once I did the blacks and whites and brought up the color and tint calibration sequence, I didn't have to touch a thing. Very nice grayscale with just the right amount of reds/greens in facile tones. You want a golden look with no purple and you'll be set. Amazing contrast and deep blacks when you have the B&W's set perfectly. Oh I took a better look at what the color temps do and even though CT3 looks natural the whites take on a little yellow. So I suggest sticking with CT2.

Mike this is what i got from the optoma tech down here in toronto and he admits that the firm ware is not good .but we will have to see what the new firm ware will do .:)


Hi Joe,

The only firmware I have is from Optoma US. As you mentioned before, the firmware is not good enough, so I think we may wait for next version coming.

Sorry I don't know the size difference. Usually there is no size change after firmware upgraded, but I am not sure how about the H30.

Regards.

Will

Steve -

My private mail should work, but just in case...

j.f@cox.net

John F

MikeSRC- I got the Brilliant White screen.

I'll talk to Wing today the guy just back from Taiwan, re the firmware. I'll also find out how we bring up the firmware to see what version we have. This way we can pin down the green progressive problem. How many new owners saw this problem? Not to many I think.

They'll be getting my H30 any minute, so they'll have one to see the prog scan "green" problem. I have no doubt that since the firmware change brought about the "green" problem, another change will make it go away. They did confirm via email that the new firmware would be installed.

BTW, I got an Epson Home 10 in for review and after spending a few hours with it last night, I can say that it's no match for the H30. Not bad for an LCD, but it just doesn't have the punch or the blacks of the H30 (not surprisingly).

Originally posted by UK LDR
Ok guys, my local dealer has just rang to let me know his H30 demo has arrived..Im going to see it Weds evening..looking through my DVD collection below, what discs would you reccomend me taking to test for Rainbows, as 1 guy in the UK has reported seeing rainbows on the H30, and Im not sure if me or the missus will be affected..

DVD Collection Link (http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=LDR)




Any suggestions please guys ??

You might want to search through the "Ultimate Rainbow Discussion" thread for some suggestions. One I've heard of is the "burly brawl" scene in Matrix Reloaded.

Originally posted by guitarman
I'll talk to Wing today the guy just back from Taiwan, re the firmware. I'll also find out how we bring up the firmware to see what version we have. This way we can pin down the green progressive problem. How many new owners saw this problem? Not to many I think.

Hi Tom

I had the green progressive problem. I sent mine back.

"Any suggestions please guys"

I tried your DVD link yesterday and it crashed my computer (illegal operation). :(

High contrast movies, but you'll find it hard to bring out rainbows with the H30.

I was testing different feeds yesterday. S-video does as good as component and picks up the 2.3 pulldown. Most everything looks fine with a good progressive scan DVD player.

Sometimes when sending interlace in a couple or rare instances you can see a vertical line artifact. Like in the middle of Nemo the Red fish would show these lines but not in all the scenes. I got a recent copy of Where Eagles Dare (Richard Burton/Clint Eastwood) an excellent transfer with 5.1. In the beginning of the movie there's large titles that will show the vertical lines in interlaced but not with your DVD player sending progressive.

So all in all a good progressive player is best even though these artifacts are very rare. See if you can see what I'm talking about?

Just called Optoma and Wing arrives back tomorrow. If anybody gets through to the tech area find out how to bring up the firmware?

OTA-480p and HDTV is looking extremely good. I guess I eyeballed a perfect calibration. Very 3D and those real to life facile hues again. I'd be interested to see what the actual contrast numbers are with colorfacts. This thing may have better blacks then my HT1000. I can see why pre-testers commented on the inky blacks.

Tom -

I'm raising my hand for the progressive green problem. I've got the normal Optoma welcome screen with only the Nike-like swoosh. Delivered 2.5 weeks ago from a large online seller. I cannot find a mfgr date, but the sticker on the box indicates that it was shipped to the seller from a distributer on 1/29/04. Serial number is: O80A402AAAAAA10xx (where xx are 2 integers).

Please let me know what Optoma has to say about this...

John F

Two movies I saw a lot of rainbows during since I got H30 were Yojimbo and Minority Report. I think the black and white movie (Yojimbo) with subtitles was especially bad because I had to keep refocusing on the text and the image. Minority Report just seemed like a grainy DVD, so I think my eyes kept trying to adjust. I can't read your DVD list, but from my experience, rainbows were high with subtitles and black and white.

And in other movies, I only see a couple rainbows the whole time and I don't mind too much. I wish I didn't see them at all, but I'm learning to live with it.

"I'm raising my hand for the progressive green problem"

You have one of the early ones also. Mine has the same logo and I got one the first week they were available. I have a call in so we can find the way to bring up which firmware we have.

Originally posted by guitarman
"Any suggestions please guys"

I tried your DVD link yesterday and it crashed my computer (illegal operation). :(

Strange, it was just a http:/ link to my DVD profiler webpage using the vB forum code as above... :confused:

notch one up for the component green push problem. When watching digital TV through the component inputs the green is pretty obvious. I too have a pre firmware version

UK LDR:

Try Men in Black II. Especially scenes when Will Smith is the pizza joint. Director did a lot of closeups of Will Smith's face and his white shirt causes much trouble. I hadn't seen any on my borrowed X1 until then.

H30 is on my list along with IF4805, I will be doing the same tests as you when the other is released. Please post back with how your demo goes.

As for green push, I remember Samsung had a similar problem when they first released their DLP-RPTV 2 years ago. Problem was specific to using component inputs as I recall.

Originally posted by jfried
.

Sure wish I could play a DVD through the RGB interface, any ideas?

John F


Get a Momitsu & put the latest firmware on it> it sends a rock solid pic to my H30 via the DVI output. You can buy a DVI>VGA adapter for 15 bucks. Plus this connection opens the full chip. For the money this setup is full-on.

nomit,
Yes vga to vga opens the chip but if you hv the player set to 16.9 you'll still get the image at the bottom of the chip. That's ok if you're using a 16.9 screen. But if you want a 4.3 screen, the image at the bottom looks strange.

Also with vga to vga you can view Letterbox or non-anamorphic DVDs in correct form and in the center of the chip. Good for 4.3 screen users but not for widescreen users as the image will land above the screen.

The firmware will solve the letterbox problem and make available full 4.3. But if squashed non-anamporhic views don't bother you and you want just 16.9, I'd stay with the current firmware.

The tech's are is aware of the green problem on component. They said it's a problem where the projector reads the signal wrong. They would want you the check your cables or hook up first. Try different hook ups to see exactly when the problem occurs. Is this occurring on component no matter if the signal is interlaced or progressive?

Anyway they say wait a couple of days till Wing is back and sorts out the firmware..

I got this to try so you can see what firmware you have.

up up left left on the projector or the remote.

A service menu should pop up and you'll see the firmware. Avoid going into other area's of the service menu.

Not certain if this is the code for the H30 but it is the one for the H76 so it may be the same.

Originally posted by guitarman
The tech's are is aware of the green problem on component. They said it's a problem where the projector reads the signal wrong. They would want you the check your cables or hook up first. Try different hook ups to see exactly when the problem occurs. Is this occurring on component no matter if the signal is interlaced or progressive?


Well, they've got mine now to play with and I talked to them about the green problem as well. Can't speak for others, but mine only occurred with progressive scan input, not interlaced. Prior to the last firmware change, it didn't occur with either. Also, it had nothing to do with the component cables. I used three different kinds just to make sure.

Tom -

up up left left doesn't work from either the remote or the projector. Up on the projector immediately brings up the Keystone menu.

Re: Green / grey washout

This only happens with component / progressive (anything other than 480i) on my H30. With component / 480i, the picture is perfect.

John F

mine happens when I output from my digital cable box...does anyone know if that is progressive or interlaced? My dvds come off the HTPC which gives full resolution and looks fine

Ok, others said component OTA which is 480p also showed green. That's it a sync problem with 480p. Lucky it's not all the machines.

I'm a newbie to the whole HT thing. I heard about the H30 last fall and I've been waiting to hear more about it. Thanks to all contributors of this thread I will be buying one as soon as I know that the new firmware is available.

I do have a question. Can the H30 be placed in an open ending box mounted to the ceiling? Will I have to tilt the projector down to get the picture completely on the wall (not on the ceiling).

If the MSRP is $1399 then how come I've seen some web sites saying to goes for as much as $2699 and that their sale price is $1999? What's with that?

Rob

Well, thanks mostly to this thread I just ordered myself an H30. I am really looking forward to it!

...

"If the MSRP is $1399 then how come I've seen some web sites saying to goes for as much as $2699 and that their sale price is $1999? What's with that?"

Home theatre is traditionally a low-volume, high-markup business. The guys selling a $1400 unit for $2000 didn't get the memo about the Internet yet. :)

Last night I went to a local HT shop that just opened up. He was willing to sell me an X1 for the low-low price of $1300! Uh... no thanks. And he didn't even have a PJ ready to demo (not even one, of any kind!)

My wife and I talked about this on the drive home. We figure there are probably some wealthy, busy people who are willing to pay markups to have someone else take care of all the details. But if you're reading this board you aren't one of those people.

" I will be buying one as soon as I know that the new firmware is available"

Is that becuase you want to use it as a 4.3 projector? If you're going 16.9 and don't have allot of NA-movies you'd be better off getting one with the 16.9masked format. Or you know what when V-inc comes out with the D2 and D3 and if it expands non-anamorphic DVD's like the D1, you'd be all set.

What is "V-inc"???

Steve

www.vinc.us

Makers of the Bravo D1 (and soon D2) DVD player, as well as some plasma and LCD TVs. They even have a rear projection DLP set coming out in a few months.

Tom,

Back to screen questions.....

If I want both 4x3 and 16x9 (1.85, 1.78, 2.35 whatever)...

When watching a DVD or HDTV that is presented in 16x9 I want the image to be 96" in horizontal width. If I do a 16x9 screen the height of the screen would then be 54."

So... when I want to watch 4x3 material how much effort is going to be required to use the full height of the 54" screen which would give you a 72" image in width for a 4x3 format?

What is going to have to be done to the projector to make this all work? Is the "better half" going to be able to do this while I am out of town??

or... am I better off building a 96" x 60" screen and just using the center 54" for displaying 16x9 format material?

Steve

No trouble at all with the current firmware or the newer one either. You'll line up the projector to make the width fit correctly and the height will measure out automatically. Then just hit the 4.3 button and you'll get the 4.3 with bars on the sides. Both firmwares will allow this for 16.9 screen users.

When watching a DVD or HDTV that is presented in 16x9 I want the image to be 96" in horizontal width. If I do a 16x9 screen the height of the screen would then be 54."

So... when I want to watch 4x3 material how much effort is going to be required to use the full height of the 54" screen which would give you a 72" image in width for a 4x3 format?

From what I'm seeing on my H30, I'm pretty sure this is the standard behavior of the original firmware when the projector is in 16:9 mode.

Can you set the projector for black bars on the side?

is there any negative to using black bars with these projectors?

will there be so much light spill that you would have to have the area masked.

Steve

Originally posted by guitarman

Sometimes when sending interlace in a couple or rare instances you can see a vertical line artifact. Like in the middle of Nemo the Red fish would show these lines but not in all the scenes. I got a recent copy of Where Eagles Dare (Richard Burton/Clint Eastwood) an excellent transfer with 5.1. In the beginning of the movie there's large titles that will show the vertical lines in interlaced but not with your DVD player sending progressive.

I noticed the same thing on the vertical line artifact. The blue fish showed the effect the most for me. Having the green problem on progressive and the vertical artifacts on interlaced killed the deal for me.

The H30 is a great projector with a few bugs to work out.

I too was pretty much set on getting the H30, but it seems like optoma released their product without thoroughly testing. The problem is that it still seems to be the best option out there for budget projectors. The x1 is too loud and the color wheel isn't fast enough for me. What other option do we have?? The NEC L240k got good reviews, but now that I know that I can see rainbows, it has been crossed from my list. The ben Q 6100 doesn't appear to be that great of a step up in the rainbow or noise department. This decision is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

Steve, the only light spill is the area above a 16.9 screen. Just put a curtain above the screen, or black painted wall, which ever works best. Here's what I did. That's it a simple curtain above the screen soaks up the light spill. Now other 4.3 projectors would have to have a similar trick but above and below the screen.

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

Hey Bruce, sorry you got a bad one. What's next? Maybe you should hv got a replacement or had Optoma get you a fix. I can't imagine anything else out there at this price that could compare.

This projector is letting me see things I had never seen before. Its all about the detail in dark movies and color to die for. I just sold my X1 for dirt cheap about half of what I bought it for and I'm glad its gone because the speed that these projectors are improving the X1 will fall in value faster than the stock market did in 2001... I sold then too.
All I can say is listen to guitarman and buy this little white gem. The only negative I can say about this projector is you might never leave your house and for me that sucks because I live in California near the ocean where summers right around the corner.

Hi there

I'm considering either the X1 or H30- Being new to FP please could you help with these questions.

1. Brightness - In normal use is the H30 brighter than the X1. I'll be using during the day a lot and my wifey will not stand having the curtains closed.

2. Will a US H30 work fine in the UK with 240v and PAL?. Also, does the US model ship with the SCART>VGA adapter as per the Euro version?

3. Is the H30 warranty international?

Many thanks :)

I've seen this projector (twice) and I'm quite impressed with its ability to reproduce colors & blacks; with the lack of screendoor (DLP of course) and the minimal amount of rainbows, but I just can't seem to get over the low resolution and the dithering problems I encountered (through S-Video) when I compared it with both the Sanyo PLV-Z2 and the Panasonic PT-AE500...
That's just too bad - otherwise this projector would've been perfect for me.

So, if you're not too sensitive regarding its low resolution, give this projector a go - it's definitely worth a try.

On a second note: I'm on a lookout (Q2 the latest) for a projector in the Z2; AE500; H30 price range, and I've heard rumors regarding InFocus SP 4805 being released some time around March...

Originally posted by guitarman
Hey Bruce, sorry you got a bad one. What's next? Maybe you should hv got a replacement or had Optoma get you a fix. I can't imagine anything else out there at this price that could compare.

I might get another H30 when the bugs are worked out. I loved the picture on it. I am also interested in the Infocus 4805.

The projector that I use, a Piano 3100, is great for DVD's. I like the 848x480 or 800x600 feature also since I project on the wall.

Comcast cable will have HDTV in my area soon. The 3100 will only accept 480i.

Hi there

simong I to am interested in the Optoma H30 and live in the UK,
I also need to know the info you posted,
I am hoping to fly out to the US to get mine as it works out alot cheaper considering the exchange rate right now(?1.00=$1.92) my problem is trying to find a non online shop preferably in Washington DC or Newyork, I have tried Circuit City and Bestbuy websites but they do not stock it.
Any help where I can locate one in these citiies.

thanks:)

one of the best ways to drive this little puppy is through an HTPC. You get the full 4:3 and then you can play DVD's and SD TV through it as well.

the only light spill is the area above a 16.9 screen. Just put a curtain above the screen, or black painted wall, which ever works best. Here's what I did. That's it a simple curtain above the screen soaks up the light spill. Now other 4.3 projectors would have to have a similar trick but above and below the screen


tom this was the question i have been trying to get answered the lite spill on 16:9 is on the top but lets say after the firm ware update that lite spill will be part of the full 4:3 pick or will that lite spill be just that lite spill ,see that is my dilemma in picking a proper screen .thanks :confused:

and the reason i am confuse is that when i use window setting the lite spill is not there .strange

Originally posted by ShiftyPowers
one of the best ways to drive this little puppy is through an HTPC. You get the full 4:3 and then you can play DVD's and SD TV through it as well.

ShiftyPowers: Were you able to use Powerstrip to get a 16:9 desktop. I use this resolution on the X1. Powerstrip at 1024x576 and the projector still detects it at 1024x768. Or Power strip at 800x453 and the projector still detects 800x600. The reason for this is so that I can get the 16:9 image on DVD but also run my desktop in 16:9 and then get a 16:9 projection screen.

Saturn, I have not tried Powerstrip....I started messing around with it the other day but got lazy. So you're saying that you are actually successful in getting a decent 16:9 desktop for DVD's with no light spill?

hey guitarman, which one is better AVIA or DVE for this guy? AVIA is much more expensive, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to get the best out of my H30. Or are there any other calibration tools out there?

which one is better AVIA or DVE for this guy? AVIA is much more expensive, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to get the best out of my H30. Or are there any other calibration tools out there?



i used dve

and you use this one?

Digital Video Essentials - Home System Setup for NTSC

Originally posted by ShiftyPowers
Saturn, I have not tried Powerstrip....I started messing around with it the other day but got lazy. So you're saying that you are actually successful in getting a decent 16:9 desktop for DVD's with no light spill?

I don't have the H30 but I'd like to get my info straight when I do get the H30.

I used to run a 16:9 desktop on my X1 (just sold) and DVD picture using a HTPC with Powerstrip set to 800x453 or 1024x576.
See my link below my sig. You can see it on my captures.

Digital Video Essentials - Home System Setup for NTSC



i have both the pro and the ntsc component disc and yes you can use that one .

Joe, Re the light spill, If I didn't have the dark curtain above my 16.9 screen, the white will would be lit up with the unused area of the 4.3 chip. If I opt for the firmware and keep the 16.9 screen up I'll hv to mask underneath the screen also. If I put up my 4.3 screen I won't have to do any masking.

Someone saw dithering, dithering is having the brightness too high (mirror on) next time you see it lower the brightness till black is black.

"I'm seeing things I never saw before"

That's it, not only does this projector has superior blacks but it also has a superior luminance over other projectors I've had. Dark movies are lit up and things seems to fly off the screen. You just see things you never saw before. Like I re watched the first Matrix and all types of activity hit me. It hard to describe but very cool indeed.

And another note with respect to light spill. I do not know if you guys know but you can just use a thicker masking and black out that lightspill above and below. When you buy any Dalite brand projector screens you can order your screens with custom thicker bordering...at no cost...or at least very minimal from Dalite.
So when you order from your dealer don't buy what he has in stock which is the standard 1 inch border. Ask them to order your model from Dalite with custom border (which should be free) and then make your side borders 2 inches and your top and bottom borders about 4 inches. That should cover the light spill above and below your picture if you run 16:9. The only issue with that is that you will need to run 4:3 within the 16:9 frame and have black border on left and right of the picture. I hardly do 4:3 pictures so it all good.

Joe, Re the light spill, If I didn't have the dark curtain above my 16.9 screen, the white will would be lit up with the unused area of the 4.3 chip. If I opt for the firmware and keep the 16.9 screen up I'll hv to mask underneath the screen also. If I put up my 4.3 screen I won't have to do any masking.


0k now i think i got it if i use a 4:3 screen the lite spill that we get will be on the screen and when viewing 4:3 material it will fill the whole screen with no lite spill and i use the 16:9 mode on the 4:3 screen i will have the usal bars top and bottom ,so then when i measure the lite on the wall that should give me the hight for my pic and it should be the same after firm ware the only diff. will be it will fill a 4:3 lite on the wall with out bars on the side correct . tom :D