Does anyone else here use their H31 in high brightness mode? I recently bought a spare bulb for mine, so at around 800 hours I started using the high brightness mode since I have a large screen (126"). I like the picture better this way. I recalibrated with THX Optimode, but the settings were almost exactly the same as normal lamp mode. Just wondering if anyone else uses this and if their bulb is holding up okay. It's supposed to last 2,000 hours this way. I'm not too worried since I have the spare bulb, more just curious.

I've turned the brite mode on when some ambient light is on. I only have about 280hrs on my lamp.

I have to back off the Red Brightness control in the advanced menu when turning the 'brite lamp' mode on. The lamp brite mode seems to bring on the reds a bit more.

Other than that, it's not much of a brightness difference to me. It's a little brighter for sure, it's noticeable when switching it on, but if someone switched it off when I wasn't looking, I wouldn't notice the difference.

Fleaman

For some reason I notice the difference more when watching movies on DVD than I do when watching TV, especially sports which are already bright. But certain movies especially seem brighter with Bright mode on. But it's definitely not a huge difference, though it for sure helps since my screen is so large.

Rick,
Mike at Optoma told me again today that the H31 is not designed to accept a dvi-d signal from a pc because of the HCDP handshake not going through. Is there any truth to this? I know that you've had a lot of experience with this, and various videocards plugged into the H31. I know that you dealt with them on this issue, and there was success in achieving a pc dvi-d signal to your pj. I need some ammo so I can shoot back at Mike. Mike wasn't interested in any of the info we've discussed here, just his opinion. He said that the vga signal, over dvi-a is the best that the H31 will do. Has Optoma ever told you anything like this?

Tom and/or Fleaman, has Optoma told you anything like this?

jedi35,

I don't run a PC, just a DVI dvd player. So, I've never discussed that issue with them. In any case, what 'Mike' said doesn't make sense as DVI as an interface originally was a PC/Computer interface, correct? HDMI is specifically for the video display market.

As for the HDCP handshake....I wouldn't think that would be the culprit either. HDCP is a copy-protect format and I think it would only be a problem if you played a HDCP dvd player connected to a projector that wasn't HDCP compliant. In this case you have a HDCP compliant projector and a PC that is not needing the HDCP handshake to play.

The DVI in on the H31 does not need HDCP to display, but if a DVI signal was sent to it encoded with HDCP, then the H31 will still display it. If it wasn't HDCP compatible, it would not display the HDCP signal and you wouldn't be able to watch Sat/cable/DVD players w/DVi.

Now, I'm not an expert on this, buy you might want to ask about this in the HTPC section as I'm sure they can confirm this. Remember, all those guys with HTPC's are running DVI to their projectors (4805, etc.) with no problems. And all those projectors have HDCP and the HTPC's are not outputting HDCP.

Fleaman

Rick,
Mike at Optoma told me again today that the H31 is not designed to accept a dvi-d signal from a pc because of the HCDP handshake not going through. Is there any truth to this? I know that you've had a lot of experience with this, and various videocards plugged into the H31. I know that you dealt with them on this issue, and there was success in achieving a pc dvi-d signal to your pj. I need some ammo so I can shoot back at Mike. Mike wasn't interested in any of the info we've discussed here, just his opinion. He said that the vga signal, over dvi-a is the best that the H31 will do. Has Optoma ever told you anything like this?

Tom and/or Fleaman, has Optoma told you anything like this?

that is baloney, HDMI and DVI-D are the exact same thing electrically and pin wise.

the HDCP is a handshake that occurs through other lines, the same lines used to get the vesa information


and I have used DVI-D from my laptop to the H31.

so again baloney

David

Thanks for piping in here, guys. I'm sure that Mike at Optoma is wrong. I also chacked with a buddy of mine here in town who has the H79. This pj has HDCP, and has no trouble geting dvi-d from a pc. I'm aware that many H31 owners have no trouble with this, but I'd love to know the right technical talk to shoot at Mike if I wind up with him on the phone again. He didn't respond when I mentioned that my AVS buddies said it should work. Fleaman thanks for the suggestion, and I'll pop over and do some reading in the htpc section. Maybe I can get Jason to chime in on this too.

Be aware there are some people at Optoma who really should not be allowed to speak to customers. I dealt with a few of them. They really couldn't find their own butt with both hands & a flashlight.

That being said, there are also some very bright & helpful people there. You have to keep trying until you find one - then don't ever let go of that persons contact info.

Mike is totally full of crap and someone needs to tell him so about using an htpc with the H31. Of course it isn't designed for HDCP but that is a different issue.
They requested that I send my video card and my PJ in so they could set up a test to see why mine would not sync with DVI-D then they discovered that it didn't have all the program & did a reflash. Then it worked right, as if by magic and also syncs at a 1-1 pixel map very easily.

Don't take bullshi+ for an answer, talk to someone else if you can't get through the numbskull you are dealing with. Never give up, never surrender!!!

Thanks Rick,
I'll keep trying.

then they discovered that it didn't have all the program & did a reflash. Then it worked right, as if by magic and also syncs at a 1-1 pixel map very easily.

Can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post the firmware version of the "good" firmware? I know it has been asked here already, but so far, no response. (unless I missed it...) I would like to verify that I have the good firmware before the warranty expires... (I do NOT currently use DVI-D, but I may in the future..)

Thanks.

- Frank

I know I posted mine somewhere in this thread.
If someone finds it before I turn my H31 back on then please quote it here.
(That will be tonight - and remember my memory isn't as good as it used to be although I will post myself a note

I decided to go ahead and do it now so I don't forget.

At the top of my service menu it says:

H31
C03 Oct 27 2004

That's it.

Thanks Rick. That's the same firmware version that I have, but maybe my H31 is like yours was when you were having trouble. Maybe something is missing and it needs to be reflashed. I'll push Optoma hard on this one.

They obviously did something different when they had mine, because they gave the instructions for doing a 1:1 pixel map and as far as I know they didn't have this before.

I connected my H31 to another PC tonight so I could watch some dvd's.
This one has a AMD 2400 & a TI4200 vid card.
Sync'd perfectly on DVI-D 854x480.
Looked pretty good too!

Can't wait until my mobo gets back from RMA. The PQ is a lot better with a faster machine.

Had a strange experience with my H31 projector this weekend. I have had this projector for a year now, and have a lot of hours on it. It is now my bedroom projector, having since upgraded. I still use this projector 2-3 hours a day though. I would say that the image is still fantastic, but it has dimmed since I first had it. What I seem to be losing is some shadow detail, and because my room is not as dark as the Home Theater room, I have been contemplating using the High Brightness mode continually.

One aspect of this projector I have used since having it is slight Keystone correction. What I mean by slight is 3-5 clicks. When I first brought home the projector I could not tell the difference in image quality when using the Keystone. Recently, as I notice the image getting just a tad dim( I don’t want it to seem like the image is dim, I would guess it had only dropped about 30 percent since I have had the projector, it is just I can tell a difference) I have been messing around with settings. Re-calibrating the projector with AVIA, and even trying different Keystone settings. When going from 4 to 0 on the Keystone, I did not notice a difference. Well this weekend I switched from 4 to 0, and exited the menu. No difference, until about 2 seconds later, the image suddenly got brighter. My guess is that when I was adjusting the Keystone before, there must have been a delay before something inside the projector took effect. I would not say that it was a HUGE difference in pop, but even my wife noticed.

If you have your H31 Keystoned, and feel that maybe it is getting a bit dim, trying setting the Keystone to 0, and wait a moment. You might like the result. For me at least, it is now as bright as it was when running the projector in Bright mode, and in Bright mode the projector is now to bright (just like when I first bought it, although still not AS bright as before)

Any reason for this?

Once the H31 is hooked up to the OPPO via DVI onto an actual screen I'm guessing it will look even better. Next report once I get there.

Finally got the room to about 90%. Enough so all the speakers could get hooked up and I could make my screen (DIY with high-end B/O cloth - I say "High End" since it is three layers - the cheap stuff has a glossy and and a matte side - this stuff is the same on both sides and is thicker).

I think the H31 Rocks. It looks amazing. Again, colors are rich, black level is deep, and I haven't seen any of the goofy issues people are posting about. And I haven't even calibrated the thing yet! If I had to nit-pick it would be that the PJ seemed a bit bright (blacks could be a bit "blacker") - I'm guessing I can clean this up once I mess around with DVE and the settings some.

Just wanted to throw out a positive post for any lurkers.

Rick,
Mike at Optoma told me again today that the H31 is not designed to accept a dvi-d signal from a pc because of the HCDP handshake not going through. Is there any truth to this? I know that you've had a lot of experience with this, and various videocards plugged into the H31. I know that you dealt with them on this issue, and there was success in achieving a pc dvi-d signal to your pj. I need some ammo so I can shoot back at Mike. Mike wasn't interested in any of the info we've discussed here, just his opinion. He said that the vga signal, over dvi-a is the best that the H31 will do. Has Optoma ever told you anything like this?

Tom and/or Fleaman, has Optoma told you anything like this?



Thats a bunch of bs. I 'm running my H31 with a HTPC(ATI6500pro) over DVI (digital) at 848X480. It looks great, and I have no tearing at all (had to place with some settings before getting it to go away).


Dan

Thanks Dan. I'll be coming back pretty hard at Mike if he shoots me that mess again. I knew that he was wrong the first time, but I wanted to hear from some other H31/pc users. My unit should be heading back to them in the next couple of days. They sent me a return UPS label.

Anybody else notice this: as my pj is firing up, I can peep very carefully into the front lens at an angle, so I don't take the full brightness of the direct light beam, and I can see huge fingerprints on the optics, as well as other debri. Ofcourse, I can't get to any of this, as it's on the other side of the lens, inside the pj. What do we do about that? Could any of this affect picture quality?

Given that the thread covers screenshots, I thought I would post a few screenshots and a few pics of my modest H31 setup, maybe others would like to share some pics of their H31 Theatre, come on guys show us what you've done. Mine is basic but it kicks pretty good, homemade ceiling mount from $4 worth of plumbing fittings and a piece of Lexan, Given my budget I am very pleased with my audio & video, friends and family are very impressed, especially those who just dumped a pile of cash on rear projection or plasma.

p.s hope link works...

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sdmarkey@rogers.com/album?.dir=979a&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//ca.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos (http://)

H31
Yamaha RXV 1400
4 Dahlquist QX8 Towers
Dahlquist QX50 Centre
Energy S10.2 Sub
HTPC over DVI
Panasonic DVD via component
Rogers Digital

Pics (http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sdmarkey@rogers.com/album?.dir=979a&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos)

Hi Sloan,
Looks like a great setup. I wish I had room for a dedicated theater, well I do but something else would have to give. I make do with the tabled H31,Oppo, Graywolf, Onkyo and Infinity speakers/Sub in the family room. The plus to the room is it has dark walls, plum carpet and dark furniture but I do wish I had a little more depth so I could sit back another foot from the screen. It works in other areas though as I can watch the screen from the kitchen while fixing dinner. The can lights in my kitchen don't affect the picture at all as they are over 35 feet away and at a substantial angle to the screen.

I'm thinking you must have a lot of echo in that room with out much for sound deadening.

Well not bad for now, I think the angled walls help the reflections, no room for bass traps in those corners...but yes acoustic treatments are next on the list, probably fabric covered semi rigid fibreglass panels, maybe a thick area carpet as well.

Anybody else notice this: as my pj is firing up, I can peep very carefully into the front lens at an angle, so I don't take the full brightness of the direct light beam, and I can see huge fingerprints on the optics, as well as other debri. Ofcourse, I can't get to any of this, as it's on the other side of the lens, inside the pj. What do we do about that? Could any of this affect picture quality?

anyone have steps to cleaning their H31? Anyone have success at doing this yet?

Other than cleaning the front of the lens, and putting a vac to the air vents everynow and then, the H31 shouldn't need much under normal conditions. I think that the back of my lens got some sloppy fingerprints when it went in for service. I'm going to ask Optoma to take a look at that.

Sloan,
Thanks for the pics. Wow, what a nice, clean setup. I wish I had a space like that to play with. All my stuff is in my living room, and it's mixed in with my audiophile equipment as well. Lots of wires all over the place. Say, are you thinking of eventually darkening the colors in your room? You'll get much better colors, contrast, and black levels if you can kill some or all of the light that may bounce back onto the screen from light or white surfaces. If that's not an option, maybe you could just darken the wall that the screen is on? Or, you may try what I did. I'm renting my house, so I have to be able to return the room to its original look. Painting the walls and ceiling would upset my landlord, and they are a light creme color. I created a kind of giant shadow box with a series of curtain rods and black cloth, up near where the screen is. The curtains run along my side walls about 7 feet out from the screen, and I even extended fabric across the room over the screen, using a second curtain rod(to kill the ceiling reflection). I had to tack it up in the center, to keep it from drooping down to low into my image. It looks kind of cool, sort of like an oriental temple. The side curtains can be pulled back to minimize the look of having so much black in the room if I want, or I can extend them for pj watching. Just an idea. It was a MAJOR improvement to my image. Certainly, the best option is to be able to paint the room and ceiling, but many of us have the WAF to deal with.

Given that the thread covers screenshots, I thought I would post a few screenshots and a few pics of my modest H31 setup, maybe others would like to share some pics of their H31 Theatre, come on guys show us what you've done. Mine is basic but it kicks pretty good, homemade ceiling mount from $4 worth of plumbing fittings and a piece of Lexan, Given my budget I am very pleased with my audio & video, friends and family are very impressed, especially those who just dumped a pile of cash on rear projection or plasma.


Can you describe how you fashioned your PJ mount?

Thanks.

Sure

I basically took a 3/4" pipe nipple (pipe threaded both ends) 2 1/2'" long, then threaded onto both ends of it, a 3/4" threaded metal floor flange, onto one end I fastened a piece of lexan cut to match the mounting holes on the H31 and the other flange screwed to the ceiling. The lexan plate mounted to the pipe flange with reg bolts then the M3 screws from lexan template to projector. I can adjust the PJ pivot left to right, but had to shim a bit to get the horizontal pitch just right. PJ basically hangs level.
Partts off the shelf from Home Depot. I had the piece of Lexan. Had to got to specialty shop for M3 screws.

Thanks for the ideas, your fabric treatment sounds pretty cool. Yes thats what I do like about my setup is the "non-cluttered" clean look. I think darkening the walls and ceiling are a priority right up there with the acoustic treatments. The WAF factor wont be to bad as she has the rest of the house to decorate the way she likes, the basement home theatre room is up to my discretion as to what happens, Dad's Zone.
I wonder how dark I have to go on the walls & ceiling to notice or achieve the results you have, I could see painting a darker colour but probably wouldn't enjoy a black ceiling....or walls. Maybe what I could do is paint the screen wall black and ceiling gray.

I went with a very dark flat green.
With the lights off, even during the day it looks black, you can tell it's green when the room lights are on. I also have off white carpet so I put down a black area carpet in front of the screen.
It does help, and it gives everyone the idea that this is a "special area" so don't mess with it.

Pics look great. Only thing I'd be concerned about with your setup is the lack of carpet. All those hard surfaces must make for a very "live" sounding echoey room.

jzero,
Sloan made some comments about your concerns at the top of this page. He's already on it.

Sloan,
Yep, I agree with Rick. You could go with something like a dark green, burgandy, brown, deep blue, or whatever. You'd have a great looking room with the lights on or off. I envy you, as you have so many choices right now. You're off to a great start.

What do you think is the best match for the H31 and a 72'' screen.... 0.8 gain High contrast, 1.0 matte-white, or 1.4 brilliant white. I will have a light controlled room and the projector will be about 13 feet back. I'm leaning toward High contrast because the projector will only be 13 feet back. Any thoughts?

I used matt-white Blackout cloth for my similarly sized and placed screen. It looks pretty great. However, I do wish my blacks were a touch darker. The H31 is so bright I'm not sure how much gain is needed. I would go with a light gray screen. I think at some point I'll pick up some Behr Silverscreen paint and coat my BO cloth with it.

Personally, I like the graywolf screen with the H31. I tend to notice the visual texture but if I'm engrossed in a film I don't notice it. I have BO and Matte White 1.3 that I also use at different times. The BO definately doesn't show the deep blacks and it gives a slightly softer look to the picture. You only really notice it after seeing it side by side with the Graywolf. On it's own it looks pretty good and works better in a little ambient when you aren't directly in a normal viewing cone. Otherwise if you are in the zone on the graywolf it beats the BO and 1.3 in any lighting conditions. My vote would be for gray just because I like the black, blacks.

anyone have steps to cleaning their H31? Anyone have success at doing this yet?


We need a trail blazer. It's time to dig out your phillips screwdriver, isopropyl alcohol and your microfiber cloth and let us know how it goes. :-)

We need a trail blazer. It's time to dig out your phillips screwdriver, isopropyl alcohol and your microfiber cloth and let us know how it goes. :-)

:eek:

Uhm....don't use alcohol on anything in the H31. I can't think of any user cleanable parts that would need isopropyl alcohol.

Vacuum the vents, use an air can to blow dust off the outside lens (make sure you vent the moisture out of the can 1st). Be careful with the microfiber cloth, you can still scratch the lens with it if there is dust on the lens. Don't use any solvents on the lens, most of the time just the condensation from your breadth is enough to clean the lens with microfiber cloth.

Still, be careful.

Fleaman

95-99% Isopropyl alcohol tends to be the solution of choice for the high end camera guys (my uncle being one of them... who has too much money invested in lenses). It's the same for microscopes and telescopes. The trick is in the application and the touch. You don't want to soak the lens and then rub it with the cloth. Apply a drop of IA to the cloth and lightly go over the lens, let dry and then breath fog and lightly go over with a new clean and dry cloth.

If he has fingerprint oil on the lens he will need a safe way to remove them without scratching the optics.

Compressed air is my favorite for the H31 and on a rare occasion, breath fog.

I have broken down and ordered an Oppo 971h along with a Denon 1705 to pair up with my H31. I already have a nice DVI switch for my HDTV Cable & my DVD source, so these new components will almost round out my HT.

I need speakers. The 1705 does 6.1 and I've more than blown my budget for the forseeable future (and credit is not an option).

Does anyone have some low cost ideas for speakers? I know there is an audio forum and I'll go ahead and ask over there but from what I have read the folks over there tend to be a little intolerant (or just out of touch?) when it comes to "low cost".

What do I need for 6.1 anyway?

If I may be so bold, you have made some questionable decisions:

1) the H31 is a 480p player. Its best output comes from 480p sources. To buy an upconverting DVD player for use with a fixed pixel display is.......poor judgement. upconverting DVD players work for CRT displays, where a visible reduction in scanlines results from upconverting, but *not* really for fixed-pixel displays....(?????)

You're taking a 720x480 signal, upconverting it to 1920x1080, and then down-converting it again to 720x480 (848x480, but whos counting). The only thing thats going to happen is things are probably going to look softer.

2)No Complaints on the Denon , but for the money you probably could have picked up an Onkyo receiver with speakers in a HTIB setup...or even a Yamaha HTIB. Those are quite good setups for people on a budget, and the receivers should hold their own even with better speakers being purchased down the line.

Leaving yourself without speakers is a very bad thing. you'll never be able to hear what your Denon can do with low-end, junk speakers.

Thanks (I think?),

I intend to upgrade the PJ before too long to a 720p model, but for now this will do.
I've been using my HTPC, so I am now switching to the Oppo for dvd playing.

I've watched dvd's on the H31 from "normal" dvd players, and from my htpc.
The view from the htpc at 3x using ZP pro is definitely much richer.

I expect at least as good from the Oppo and using the digital optical out to the Denon will be a good choice for some nice sound, if I can pair it with some decent speakers.

I've got a couple speakers now, and am looking at 6.1 kits on ebay. I was mainly asking for ideas about what I can do now before I collect enough budget to upgrade later.

My two questions would be:
1. How much do you want to spend now?
2. Will you want to ditch what you buy now when you upgrade, or will you incorporate it when you upgrade?

Around $200
I have an older receiver that I will put in another room, any speakers that I eventually replace can trickle down to that system.

Thanks (I think?),
I intend to upgrade the PJ before too long to a 720p model, but for now this will do. I've been using my HTPC, so I am now switching to the Oppo for dvd playing.


You know thats a step backwards, right? No set-top DVD Player can match what a HTPC can do with filters and such....not even closely.


I expect at least as good from the Oppo and using the digital optical out to the Denon will be a good choice for some nice sound, if I can pair it with some decent speakers.

I've got a couple speakers now, and am looking at 6.1 kits on ebay. I was mainly asking for ideas about what I can do now before I collect enough budget to upgrade later.

Dunno since you didn't give us a dollar amount to work with.....

The H31 has some issues with HTPC - and for other reasons I've come to the point of not wanting to use the PC. The Oppo player gets very good reviews.

You know thats a step backwards, right? No set-top DVD Player can match what a HTPC can do with filters and such....not even closely.

Also, I did just post what I can spend at the moment for some speakers, and that I am looking at some kits on ebay. Maybe you were posting at the same time as me?

Right..ok I totally forgot about the H31's tearing issue, I thought it was resolvable by adjusting the input frequencies......my bad.

Yeah, I didn't see the post re: pricing.

You mean you want 6.1 speakers for $200 bucks?

Or $200 each

$200 each, Paradigm Atoms all the way around.

$200 for all, including a sub, you can hunt around on some of the websites for auctions and "you-bid" type places and look for HTIB deals from Onkyo or Yamaha. They each have functional speakers with subs that youc an find pretty cheaply.

Example: I purchased a refurbished (with 1 yr warranty) Onkyo 5.1 system, with speakers and a 100 watt powered sub, for less than $150 shipped. I haven't seen that deal since I got in on it, but you might want to try shoponkyo online to see if they are offering any refurubs on just their speakers. Sometimes they do that, sell just the speaker sets.

Not sure if it includes the subs.

Lousy pairing for a nice Denon, but you have to work within your budget.

$200 is sort of tough. I am a bit out of touch with things in that range, so what I say may be marginally helpful. I also have some suggestions that diverge from what you specifically asked for.

I know that you said $200 and that you already have a receiver, but this is a system that I suggested to my father in law. Surprisingly good, actually. Very worth the money, in my opinion.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-Home-Theater-System-HT-S580-/sem/rpsm/oid/124130/catOid/-12954/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

If I were in your position, I would consider spending the coin on just 2 decent channels. I would snatch these up in a heartbeat.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=DMENERC3B
They originally went for $500 a pair (I have two pair in my home theater) and I really, really like them. Very clean, very solid, beautiful sound.

One thing that I've been wondering about (and very likely will do sometime in the future) is this kit. I've heard they're really great for the money and not difficult if you have a soldering iron, two hands, and at least one opposable thumb.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-642

Again, these are a bit more, but they have gotten great reviews.
http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html

I hope this is helpful to you.

The only problem with the HSU's is that you dont get the sub. With the Onkyo kit (the same kit I got for under $200 refurbed, btw) you get sub...but only 5.1...you'd need to add a 6th speaker (easy enough to do).

Plus, you get a spare receiver! And a good one too.

Refurbs are totally cool with me, so any refurb speaker kits would make me happy.
I'll check out those links.

Yes, one of the main issues with the HTPC is the tearing - it's greatly reduced from the time I first got the H31 but isn't gone and I believe can not be totally eliminated.

Wow - shoponkyo has some great deals on refurbs.

The place I ordered the Denon just notified me of backorder status - so I think I'll cancel and get one of the Onkyo kits instead.

This one looks nice for $349:
HT-S780 - 7.1-Channel Home Theater System

For only $319 I can get:
HT-S680S - 6.1-Channel Home Theater System

And just $179:
HT-S580 - 5.1-Channel Home Theater System

I wonder how their shipping prices run...

Wow again...

I got the "HT-S780 - 7.1-Channel Home Theater System" and after I signed up for the free club membership I got an additional 10 off and I chose UPS ground and the shipping charge was zero!

Does anyone have some low cost ideas for speakers? I know there is an audio forum and I'll go ahead and ask over there but from what I have read the folks over there tend to be a little intolerant (or just out of touch?) when it comes to "low cost".

What do I need for 6.1 anyway?


check out... Fluance loudspeakers


.

check out... Fluance loudspeakers

Those are real nice, but I think that if you think they are "low cost" we are not in the same world...

Wow, I found out on a personal level why ecost has such a very bad rep.
I ordered some items there, then yesterday got an email saying the main item I wanted was backordered. I immediately called and cancelled the order.
The lady said "your order number is now your cancellation number".
This morning I got a message saying "your order has shipped".
I called & was told the cancel call was not in the system.
OMFG!!!
They said I would have to receive the order, then call to get an RA & ship it back.
She said I would have to pay for shipping.
I said - but I cancelled the order, I should not have to pay for shipping.
Then she (Ramona) said she would arrange for shipping back, and I would not have to pay. I asked her if thqat info was being entered into the computer, she said "yes".

OK - my Onkyo system is coming via FedEx - WooHoo - 105 pounds of 7.1 goodness!!

Now, please someone help me with my H31 & Oppo dvd player - is there anything I should do to tweak the OPPO to get the best picture possible on my H31?
I have it hooked up via DVI of course.

Thanks!

Be prepared, its gonna be a big @ss box :)

My 5.1 ONkyo came in one giant box...it was.....cumbersome :)

No idea on your Oppo, but I'm sure the DVD forum can probably help out there.

Thanks, I am hoping that Tom can give me some input as I know he has used the OPPO with the Optoma PJ's.

Anyone else using this combo here?

I have the Oppo (thru DVI) H31 graywolf combo. As far as settings for the Oppo I found through trial and error that what they recommend in the Oppo brain dump forum really seems to be the best for me. Sharpness-off, Brightness-off (assuming 1111b firmware or better), contrast-0,saturation-0,Truelife-on, CCS-off, Noise reduction-off. If you have a dvd with a bad transfer you can try NR-on, TL-off or any combination of those two and it helps.

That's what I have too - GW screen, OPPO & H31.
Monday I'll have that Onkyo 7.1 system (gotta start figuring out the wiring now...

I'll give those settings a try tonight - Thanks!

Do you find you like it better at 1080i, 720p or 480p?
I think I like 720p best.

Should come with wires, although you're going to want to upgrade to a thicker gauge! :)

Oh you mean "plan" the wiring....7.1 system? Suggestion:
Run
Wire
Everywhere

:D

rbastedo,
PM sent...

Got it, replied to it.

Anyone else who can't get their H31 to sync with an HTPC and want to RMA it - go ahead & PM me - I will send you my communications with Optoma.

This is pretty good stuff that should help in getting them to admit that your unit needs help. There's also some info about things to try before sending it in.

I'm not much help getting the H31 to work with ATI as that was not involved in my 'final solution'. However it's not that much of a leap between the ATI & Nvidia worlds, the ideas involved still apply.

rbastedo,
Thanks very much for your help. I sent you my email address.

I ordered the da-lite 92" high contrast matte white model b screen to use with my h31 in a light controlled room. Projector is ceiling mounted. Ceiling is flat black over the screen area and walls are covered with burgandy curtains. Is this screen an ok choice? Just wondering if anyone would care to chime in here. Hope I didn't make a mistake with this screen. Thanks.

That's what I have too - GW screen, OPPO & H31.
Monday I'll have that Onkyo 7.1 system (gotta start figuring out the wiring now...

I'll give those settings a try tonight - Thanks!

Do you find you like it better at 1080i, 720p or 480p?
I think I like 720p best.

I really like the 480p feeding the H31 although I saw very little difference between it and 720p. I thought the 720p was slightly smoother but I really like the detail and clarity of the 480 setting (just my preference for movies). I don't know why but 1081 was slightly less sharp than 720 and I really noticed it with letters/words on the screen.

I really like the 480p feeding the H31 although I saw very little difference between it and 720p. I thought the 720p was slightly smoother but I really like the detail and clarity of the 480 setting (just my preference for movies). I don't know why but 1081 was slightly less sharp than 720 and I really noticed it with letters/words on the screen.

It makes perfect sense since less scaling is going on @ 480p than any other resolution w/DVD.

I run my Momitsu V880DX DVI player at 480p too, even though I've tried all the other upscaling and even custom resolutions (854x480).

Fleaman

OT:

Apparently there are different kinds / different connectors on the ends of digital optical cables?

I ordered a couple cables to connect up a dvd player & cable box to my new receiver... (everything arrived today)

The cables I got don't fit any of the plugs. The ones I got have m/m ends - I guess I couldn't have done any worse if I had tried. I hooked up with the RCA outputs from the OPPO & the Cable box so I could get some sound.

Any idea what cables I need to buy for digital optical connections?

Ok, first time for everything I guess.

The two cables I got from Monoprice had m/m ends - no way would they work.
I picked up the other type and took the little rubbery ends off & it plugged right in.

I've got wiring run inside the wall & under the floor from the receiver over to the speaker locations, now I have to mount the speakers & make the connections.

Can't wait to hear how it works! :)

Too bad I'm over an hour away or I'd come over and help you hook that baby up!

rbastedo,
It sounds like your first cables were the digital coaxial type, which plug into female RCA connectors. I'm glad that you did find the right digital optical cables, but it is widely accepted in the audio world that the coaxial cable provides a better digital signal with less jitter(digital timing errors). If you have a choice between the two(some components only have one) then I would choose coaxial everytime.

When you view your pc desktop on the H31 at 854 X 480@60Hz, are you able to see all the icons and taskbar buttons normally? I have not been able to achieve that rez, and I'm only getting dvi-a right now, but as I begin to get close to the native rez, icons and menu windows blow up so big that I can't even navigate to the buttons that control things. Is something else wrong, or is that the way things should be at such a low rez?

Is something else wrong, or is that the way things should be at such a low rez?

No, that's not right. If you have too many icons then they will not all fit on the screen, but every part of the desktop should be there.

My desktop with DVI-D is clear & clean - no problems except that I tend to have a lot of desktop icons so they are not all on the screen. However it's easy to get to programs by the start menu.

I get the same thing on my H31/Greywolf 106"......I've adjusted it so the bottom, left and right sides are touching the black...but the top part of the image doesn't quite touch the top part of the black on the top of the screen. I figured it might have something to do with an optical issue with the PJ at various stages of zoom, or tha tthe greywolf screen is...well....cheap :)

I'm hoping someone has a better explanation for this as well!

No, my problem isn't exactly the number of icons I have. Things just get way too big, even if one menu window is open with just one program up and running on the screen. For example, I might have the ATI CCC open, and the window that adjusts resolutions is open, but it's huge, and runs over the top and bottom of the screen. The control buttons would then be off screen, so you couldn't make new choices. It's as if the pc has zoomed in on a portion of the window. Is there any way to see the entire desktop at low rez? I'm only getting a portion of the taskbar as well. Sorry to bug you.

Jedi, IF the screen "SCROLLS" when you move the mouse to the edges...up or down or L/R, then yes your video drivers are telling the machine to display something larger than 848x480 (or whatever the native rez is), and its showing you 480 at a time.

IF you are saying some applications are opening so large that you cant get to the OK/CANCEL type buttons, then yeah I'm afraid thats as good as it gets.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP apps really aren't designed to be run on anything smaller than 800x600 resolution.....

I can always get to the buttons on those kinds of pages, so that I can change back to my Hitachi monitor after I am done watching on the PJ.
I set mine to do one monitor at a time, so it's absolutely necessary to be able to get at the OK button etc. Since my res is set at 848x480 everything scales to that size.
It was different with DVI-A - it was more difficult.

Will I see any SDE with the H31 for about 14ft back throwing a 106" diagonal? Has anyone sat and compared the H31 with the latest 720 PJ's. like the Panni AE900, sanyo Z4. Does the H31 still hold its own imagewise in comparison to the others from 14 back or so. Who has sat back and compared their H31 to the new crop and was moved to upgrade or to say, I don't see much of a difference and I am keeping my H31 for now.

Well, I don't think that my screen is scrolling when I get to the edges at the lower rez settings. However, I do get a strange effect when a window extends beyond the borders of the screen. Let's say that the control buttons are off screen because the window is too big, and I can't get to the Windows taskbar either. I can use the mouse to pull the window up a bit so I can se the control buttons. But when I release the mouse to click the button that I need, the window drops down again, instead of staying in the new location. I should also point out that this happens on the main computer monitor as well, which mirrors the image being projected. It's not limited to the pj. XP may have its limitations, but I'm only asking the pj to do for me what it's doing for other users at native rez. I haven't heard anyone else complain that things were too big to navigate around while using pc programs. Somebody posted screenshots of his desktop using the H31 over dvi-d and 1:1 pixel mapping at native rez, and things looked to be normal size. What gives??

rbastedo,
Perhaps you're right, in that I might get better sizing and response when dvi-d is working from the pc. I'm just trying to learn all I can right now. Yes, I know I need to head over to the guys in the htpc forum. When you say that everything scales to fit the 848 X 480 size, are you looking at a perfect image of your entire desktop with no parts of the screen being cut out? Are the icons still the same size as they would be at a higher rez?

shivaji,
Wow, cool screen name!! While I haven't seen the AE900 or the Z4, I have seen other high quality 720p pjs like the Optoma H79, Sony HS20, HS50/51, units by Marantz, Runco, and Sharp(12000). Each time I see one of these, I say to myself...yes, the image is a little better. It's a little sharper, clearer, colors are a bit better, blacks are a bit deeper. But the key word here is "little". I've never been bowled away by a night and day difference, which I must say I would have to see in order to justify spending many THOUSANDS more on a pj. To me SDE becomes a none issue if you can get back two and a half times the screen width for the seating distance. I say that because some may site less SDE as a selling point for the 720p units. Now, it does become more attractive if you absolutely must sit closer than 2 1/2 the width. If I had money to burn, sure I'd be all over a 720p or a 1080p unit. The fact of the matter is that for the money, pjs like the H31 or the Infocus 4805 just can't be beat for picture quality and dollar value.

Yes, tha't is what I'm saying - nothing is out of reach.
So it sounds like you are doing clone screens, and there is some kind of stretching or virtual screen stuff going on. I'm really used to the Nvidia way of doing things - the ATI CP gave me a headache.

I have a HTPC here now. Picture looks nicer but HTPC's can't deinterlace to save their lives. I always wondered what kind of deinterlacing quality these cards can do. My buddy ran tests on several top rated cards with my HQV test DVD, all failed badly. He was surprised and now's on the hunt for anything that can deinterlace correctly. Anybody know the holy grail of video cards?

Two I know that were checked are Theater Tek and ATI.

Hi Tom,
I take it that you are getting dvi-d from your htpc into the H31, or are you talking about another pj?

Hi Tom, how can we common mortals check for that with our HTPC / vid cards?

Hi All,

It's been over a year with my H-31 and I'm still loving it. Especially with how awesome the Xbox 360 looks on it. Hope everyone else is still enjoying there's just as much, if not send me you bulb...lol.

Your post reminded me that my 1 year anniversary just past.
I searched this thread & found my H31 was delivered on 3/09/2005.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5304522&highlight=rbastedo#post5304245

One year later my Onkyo HT-S780 was delivered.
I've got it half set up, still need to mount & connect the back speakers & surround speakers. I bought some more mounting hardware today, maybe I can get that done tonight.

Yes, I am enjoying my H31 more than ever! :)

Lenny,
How the heck are you? Good to see you around. We should get Mr. E back in here and have a reunion...LOL. Looks like several of us got our H31s right around the same time. I've had mine for just over a year. The funny thing is now I know that I have never seen the full potential of this pj. Optoma service told me that my unit had one or the worst cases of ROD misalignment that they'd ever seen. Now that it's been corrected, I'm dying to see what things would look like with a new bulb, something I can't pop for at the moment. I thought my picture looked great before, and it's even better now in lots of ways, though the bulb is dimming.

I'm looking at sending a VGA and a DVI-D signal to the H31 DVI-I input. Does anyone know if this will work by using this:
DVI-I to DVI-D and VGA adapter/Splitter
35-601 price - $35.95 Add-to-Cart
DVI-I male to DVI-D female and VGA female splitter adapter
from Ram Electronics?

Ok, I got all the speakers hooked up to my new Onkyo 7.1 system.

Problem: I get no (almost) no sound from the front right channel.
When I put it in test mode if I turn it way up I can hear a hiss from that speaker when it's turn comes around.

I switched right & left to make sure & the problem stayed at the receiver.

Tomorrow I will disconnect right & left & try a different cable etc just to see if I have done something stupid, but barring that I guess it's time to contact Onkyo about an RMA.

I get good Right & Left stereo from headphones, guess that's what I will be using until this gets fixed :(

nate,
Yeah, that should work for you. The digital signals will be routed through the dvi-d side, and analog vga to the other side. In fact, I need one of those too. It solves some issues I'm having. Thanks a lot!! However, this mean that I'll have to fit a vga cable into the cable tracking leading up to the pj. I'd be really happy if I could just find a dvi coupler with complete connections for female dvi-i on both sides. Then, I could use my existing dvi-i cable for analog and digital. Analog would require stacking a dvi to vga adaptor into the mix, while I could plug dvi-d cables from my digital sources directly into the coupler.

Rick,
Yep, it sounds like your right channel is shot, especially if the problem stays with that location when you switch speakers. Sometimes, things are wrong from the start, but you should have no problem getting a replacement. Keep us posted.

I guess I confused myself at the start of the troubleshooting session, last night I connected up a different speaker in place of the right front and found it working perfectly. So I have a bad speaker. I'll call for a replacement on Monday.
They have weekend support hours, but not for replacement parts.

Good news is we watched a family movie last night (Zathura) and the sound was very good. The Sub makes a perfect end table by my recliner :)

Congrats, Rick!! Enjoy your nice sound. It really adds to the theater experience, don't you think?

nate,
Yeah, that should work for you. The digital signals will be routed through the dvi-d side, and analog vga to the other side. In fact, I need one of those too. It solves some issues I'm having. Thanks a lot!! However, this mean that I'll have to fit a vga cable into the cable tracking leading up to the pj. I'd be really happy if I could just find a dvi coupler with complete connections for female dvi-i on both sides. Then, I could use my existing dvi-i cable for analog and digital. Analog would require stacking a dvi to vga adaptor into the mix, while I could plug dvi-d cables from my digital sources directly into the coupler.


Monoprice has one for way cheaper.... looks the same, but they say what we want to do won't work.
"This splitter cable is for splitting 1 DVI signal to 1 VGA and 1 DVI.

Connector : DVI Male to (2) HD15 Female
Length : 8 inches

(*) This is splitter cable. You can only connect one input device (i.e. DVD player,cable box or satellite receiver) to two output device(i.e. TV or projector).You can't connect two input device (i.e. DVD player,cable box or satellite receiver) to one output device(i.e. TV or projector)"

I guess someone will have to try it out and see if it works for sure on the H31. I'm also thinking if you run a DVI-I cable you wouldn't have to run a VGA and a DVI-D cable saving cost and an extra cable. The only thing for me is I need a 30ft cable and I only saw upto 15ft on monoprice. But maybe I could buy a repeater and 2 DVI-I cables. I wouldn't be saving money that way but whatever.

nate,
Can you post the link for both of these adapters so I can have a look? If they're saying that it won't work, I wouldn't want to take a chance on it. As I mentioned, I like the idea of running one dvi-i cable to the pj. It saves space, it's easier, and would handle both dvi-d and analog signals. I made a huge mistake when I bought a dvi coupler so that I could connect other dvi male cables to the end of the one running into the pj. I recently discovered that my coupler canceled all analog connections, because it didn't have metal contacts in the holes for the analog pins of the dvi-i connection. Therefore, no analog signals could travel from one cord into the next. One of 2 things would fix this: 1. find a coupler that has working connections for digital and analog signals for both of its female dvi-i sides or 2. replace the dvi-i cable running into my pj with one that has a female connection on one end. The male end would run into the pj, and then I could run shorter cables into the female end that would be dvi-d from my digital boxes, or analog with the help of a dvi-vga adapter. This is where I'd like to be.

The two spliters can be found at:
www.ramelectronics.net (http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_adapt.html#dviidvidvga)
or
www.monoprice.com (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10422&cs_id=1042202&p_id=2519&seq=1&format=2&style=)
The one from monoprice has a messup on it... is says it's "Connector : DVI Male to (2) HD15 Female" But according to the picture it's DVI to DVI and VGA.
One other thing.... Monoprice doesn't say if the it's DVI-I to DVI and VGA or DVI-A to DVI and VGA. I can't see it being a DVI-D to DVI and VGA because the VGA wouldn't get a signal. Maybe if you call either, they'll tell you.

There might be other places where a splitter like this can be found.... I didn't look for anymore... if you find any others let us know.

nate,
Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.

Watched "Good Night and Good Luck" last night and wanted to use the image shift without success. Does image shift on the remote only works with certain aspect ratios?
By the way this black and white movie appears to be almost 3 dimensional. I have never seen this superb and deep images on my screen (Panoview Graywolf and Oppo) - a reference class movie image in my eyes.

I know this is OT but as a general FYI for those of you considering a purchase from shoponkyo...

They have good support hours, 7 days / week, though on the weekend it is just troubleshooting support. You have to call M-F for replacement parts.

I ordered the refurb HT 780 HTIB and upon installation found one speaker to be dead.

Their parts dept says they have to send out an entire HTIB and have me ship it back (prepaid by them) just to replace one speaker. This is a huge 105 pound box, I think the FedEx guy is going to be pissed about lugging another one of these things up my stairs. It doesn't seem very smart on Onkyo's part - as I will simply pull the right front speaker out of the box & put my dead one in & ship it back.

I believe they would like me to pull all the stuff out of my HT & box it up & send back the original kit but that just isn't going to happen. Like an idiot I mounted everything one piece at a time before testing - so everything is in place. I'm not going to deinstall / reinstall everything for one speaker.

The worst part is that I had to buy the second kit & after I return it I'll get a refund. Fortunately I have a few extra bucks in the account atm - otherwise this would have been a problem.

Man, what a story. You just need one speaker replaced, for crying out loud. I've even seen some speaker companies request that the customer pull out the driver(s) and the crossover for shipping instead of the whole speaker, to save costs. Of course this doesn't work too well for smaller speakers. Dude, I feel your pain. Fight them on this one.

Well, the second big box arrived today.
I'm telling you this box is 5 feet tall - the FedEx guy is going to be pissed when he has to come back & get it, that will be his third time handling the same size package.
Oh well. Now I have to call Onkyo back & break the bad news to them that I don't want to box up all the original stuff & send it back, I only want to pull one good right front speaker out of the new box & replace it with one bad right front speaker & send the new one back.

I really doubt they will have a big problem with this, as I did buy both of them & just want to return one for a refund. There's no serial numbers on the speakers as far as I can tell.

Well i might as well crawl out from under my rock. I bought a h31 a year ago and had a hell of a time getting it to sync with a pc over dvi. I couldnt get the pc (ati) to do 854 at all, and 848 was not pixel mapped, it went blurry,good,blurry,good, all across the screen. I ended up saying hell with it and doing 720p, which was find i guess for dvd but text was horrable. And it teared at 848, but not at 720p. I sold it 4 months later.

I was wondering if they ever got a new firmware that would sync pixel perfect to 848 ( the easiest to program in)? Ive seen pics of perfect pixel and scaled and the perfect was worlds better.

Im back in the market now with $1500 burning a hole in my pocket. Right now its down to a z3 or a z4(free bulb was a deal breaker) or a 854 dlp.

Well, I just ordered my H31... Should be here early-mid next week... I cant wait to start piecing everything together... Just have to make my screen now and figure out which DVD player I want to buy (as mine is like 6 yrs old :eek: ).

Hopefully will have pictures of my setup up in the next few weeks. :)

Quick question for everyone though... What would a good choice of DVD player be with this projector??? Panasonic S97??? Oppo??? something else???

Im back in the market now with $1500 burning a hole in my pocket. Right now its down to a z3 or a z4(free bulb was a deal breaker) or a 854 dlp.

Why not go for the HD72?...looks like a steal.

I was wondering if they ever got a new firmware that would sync pixel perfect to 848

After sending my H31 in for these same issues I got it back from them and it did sync perfectly and everything was clear & clean.

However tearing was never completely eradicated from the PC. It was greatly improved, but not gone.

I've switched to using the OPPO 971H - which is a fine DVI out DVD player.

I have the OPPO & the Comcast HDTV cable box connected via DVI-D to the H31 through a DVI switch (DVI Link) and both connected to my Onkyo HT 780 via digital optical.

Tonight I'll put in Chicken Little & crank up the sound, the kids should enjoy that :)

Quick question for everyone though... What would a good choice of DVD player be with this projector??? Panasonic S97??? Oppo??? something else???
I have been using the Denon 1910for about a year now and I love it. No problems. I heard others had some push with certain colors, but I have had excellent luck with it.
Enjoy!

Nightanole,
I have an ATI card as well, and I'm trying to get it to sync with my pc through dvi. What did you do to finally get it to sync? Maybe there's somethign that I missed. If you can't remember, that's ok, mine is going back to Optoma soon, for the second time.

After sending my H31 in for these same issues I got it back from them and it did sync perfectly and everything was clear & clean.

However tearing was never completely eradicated from the PC. It was greatly improved, but not gone.

I've switched to using the OPPO 971H - which is a fine DVI out DVD player.

I have the OPPO & the Comcast HDTV cable box connected via DVI-D to the H31 through a DVI switch (DVI Link) and both connected to my Onkyo HT 780 via digital optical.

Tonight I'll put in Chicken Little & crank up the sound, the kids should enjoy that :)

Have you tried sending the H31 720x480 from your PC and letting the H31 scale it?
I know this somewhat defeats the purpose, but I'm wondering if the tearing is from trying to get the 854x480 to work, and not just because you're using a HTPC.

When I tried some custom 854x480 settings from my Momitsu V880DX DVI player, I also noticed the tearing issue. I think there was one custom setting that almost eliminated the tearing, but in the end, even when there wasn't any tearing (at the moment), I didn't notice any difference between 854x480 and 720x480, so I just stuck with the default 480 DVI setting in the Momitsu and left it at that. No tearing at all on the 720x480 setting and at least with the Momitsu, no difference in pic quality between 854x480 and 720x480 (other than the occasional tearing @720).

Fleaman

Got my H31 and Graywolf II setup today. Played Josh Groban concert for 30 minutes and played with some adjustment. I though it looks pretty good until I turn on my plasma. The plasma look so much better. I ran the same material on each of the unit by using HTPC, H31 via DVI port and plasma via VGA port. Is there any tips for me to improve the quailty of the H31? Am I asking too much from the H31 to have plasma quailty?

Tony

You dont let us know what part of the picture quality you are unhappy with. Yes the plasma will look better. It will look brighter and punchier than any projected image, and of course it will work in daylight whereas your projector will not. Of course the last time I checked there were no 92 or 106" Plasmas, nor were there any plasmas of reasonable size in the $1k range.

Got my H31 and Graywolf II setup today. Played Josh Groban concert for 30 minutes and played with some adjustment. I though it looks pretty good until I turn on my plasma. The plasma look so much better. I ran the same material on each of the unit by using HTPC, H31 via DVI port and plasma via VGA port. Is there any tips for me to improve the quailty of the H31? Am I asking too much from the H31 to have plasma quailty?

Tony
To make a like comparison you would need to shrink your H31 image to the same size as the plasma.
Now adjust the H31 properly and put on a high quality DVD transfer. Report back with your results.

To make a like comparison you would need to shrink your H31 image to the same size as the plasma.
Now adjust the H31 properly and put on a high quality DVD transfer. Report back with your results.


I will try to take some pictures tonight. Maybe I was just asking too much from the H31 with the Graywolf screen. I though the H31 can project image quailty equally as good as a rear DLP projector.

Thanks
Tony

Calibration makes a great deal of difference. Pop in Incredibles or something else with the THX calibration utility & adjust the brightness & contrast.
If you have Avia or DVE & know how to use them then by all means do that.

That small amount of work will make a big change in your PQ.

So, I’ve been enjoying the hell out of my Optoma H31 for the last 9 months or so, and I just started getting the bulb warning (I’m almost at 1500 hours). So I’m looking for some advice on how (and when) I should replace the bulb…

Should I just wait until it fails? Will it always pop, or could it just die without popping? Is there any danger of damaging the unit if it pops?

I’ve come up with three basic ideas:

1. Wait until it pops, then order a replacement. I understand the bulbs have a 90 day warranty? If this is correct, then it’s probably best not to buy the new one until the old one goes out.
2. Buy the replacement bulb, switch it out, and keep the original for emergency use only (like if it died right before a big game party, or something like that).
3. Buy the replacement but wait until the original goes out before replacing. I’d probably only do this is there is no danger of damaging the unit when the old one goes, and if the replacements were on sale or something.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as always.

Got my H31 and Graywolf II setup today. Played Josh Groban concert for 30 minutes and played with some adjustment. I though it looks pretty good until I turn on my plasma. The plasma look so much better. I ran the same material on each of the unit by using HTPC, H31 via DVI port and plasma via VGA port. Is there any tips for me to improve the quailty of the H31? Am I asking too much from the H31 to have plasma quailty?

Tony


Allow me to recap. I'm a first time user of front project. I got the Optoma H31 along with a Graywolf II screen. I have been playing with the adjustment for 2 days with the buld setting at high and just unable to get the projector to produce the "WOW" that many people talks about in the forum. The distance between the 92" screen and projector is about 15' ceiling mounted. The distance is abit far because I might want to get a bigger screen later. My expectation was the image quality of the H31 is nearly as good as a rear DLP projector TV when playing in little or no light. I have a plasma tv playing the same source at the same time outputing from a HTPC. Plasma via VGA and H31 via DVI. Initially, I was happy with the quality of the H31 only if I didn't compare it with the Plasma. Plasma just display so much detail while with beautiful color. I adjusted the H31 to the color that close to the plasma but the detail is gone and vice versa. Avia disc is no its way. Meanwhile can anyone give me some advices on the adjustment that I should make at this moment.

Here is more photos

What are the brightness and contrast settings on your Plasma. As an example, the second picture in your list, the close up of the face (is that Don Henley of the eagles? I'm not sure)..anyhow, the H31 has the superior picture there, not the plasma. The Plasma's DEFINATELY cranked too high.

It could very well be that you've looked at an over bright, over-saturated picture on your plasma for so long you think thats normal.

Also, I'm not sure how good those pictures are going to turn out, since the Plasma is throwing out so much light, the CCD on the digital camera is going to dim the entire picture down a bit...if your H31 is definately that dark, on a greywolf screen, somethine else is going on there.

Hello,

Thanks for the reply.

I told my problem with some of my coworkers, all of them think I'm crazy to expect a front projector to get the image of a plasma produce. They said no matter what I do I will not able to get the color that plasma able to display while maintaining the high detail. One of them stated that if I want plasma color from the projector I will loose detail and vice versa. Are they onto something or just don't know what they are talking about?

Anyway, that 2nd picture it is Don Henley from the Eagles in Hell Freezes. I know the video source should be the same becasue I selected clone in Windows and didn't change any Nvidia setting under individual monitor. The H31 should get even better picture because it is via DVI connection and plasma via VGA from the source. Maybe you are right about over-saturated picture from the plasma. I will definitely try to turn the plasma tonight. Can you share your setting for your H31? So, I can try your setting and take some more picuters tonight.

Thanks,
Tony

From the camera shots which may or may not be telling the story it looks like the Plasma is really out of whack for color and contrast and the H31 needs some basic brightness/contrast work which you should be able to clean up with AVia and then some fine tuning for color.

Do you have Gladiator, Fifth element or LOTR's that you can pop in there. I think you would get better advice with screenshots from those as they are widely used for comparisons.

I can't give you my settings for the H31 since we're using different sources, so the numbers would be irrelevant. If you have a DVD that has the THX Optimizer in it, you can start by using that to tune the display. You'll want to adjust brightness, contrast, etc.

Its a problem because you are comparing a small, bright display with a larger, dimmer display. There is only so much light reflected back at you from a front projection screen.
If you want to get a true "blindingly bright" screen, you'd need something with huge gain, like a Vuetec (sp?) SilverStar.....but if you had a screen as bright as your plasma at 92", you'd not be able to look at it without getting a headache.

Also, because you are using a PC it can make tuning extra difficult because a PC will let you tweak things that your average DVD player wouldn't let you touch....ie Most DVD Players dont let you adjust gamma curves at the source, etc..but on a PC you can.

Start by putting away the plasma...accept that one of the tradeoffs of going with a $1k projector is in image punch...you lose that, you gain size. Your plasma can put out a great pucture, but it wont duplicate the "huge screen" effect of watching a film at 92".

So start by putting away the plasma, then calibrating the Projector, and start to watch some films on it. You'll adjust. If you can't, you can think about a higher-gain screen, but those aren't cheap.

I can't give you my settings for the H31 since we're using different sources, so the numbers would be irrelevant. If you have a DVD that has the THX Optimizer in it, you can start by using that to tune the display. You'll want to adjust brightness, contrast, etc.

Its a problem because you are comparing a small, bright display with a larger, dimmer display. There is only so much light reflected back at you from a front projection screen.
If you want to get a true "blindingly bright" screen, you'd need something with huge gain, like a Vuetec (sp?) SilverStar.....but if you had a screen as bright as your plasma at 92", you'd not be able to look at it without getting a headache.

Also, because you are using a PC it can make tuning extra difficult because a PC will let you tweak things that your average DVD player wouldn't let you touch....ie Most DVD Players dont let you adjust gamma curves at the source, etc..but on a PC you can.

Start by putting away the plasma...accept that one of the tradeoffs of going with a $1k projector is in image punch...you lose that, you gain size. Your plasma can put out a great pucture, but it wont duplicate the "huge screen" effect of watching a film at 92".

So start by putting away the plasma, then calibrating the Projector, and start to watch some films on it. You'll adjust. If you can't, you can think about a higher-gain screen, but those aren't cheap.


Thank You for your explanation. That is really helpful. What gave me an impression of having wonderful picture from the H31 is the word "punch" and "wow" that I see alot in this forum. I guess I was not fully understand how front projector works and expected it performs like a rear projector DLP tv. Does your PQ look like the picture below?

bbjustin... the graywolf screen does not perform at its best with a ceiling mounted projector. As a test, try table mounting the projector to see if that makes a difference... if it does and it gets you closer to the image you are looking for you may want to consider a different screen.

bbjustin... the graywolf screen does not perform at its best with a ceiling mounted projector. As a test, try table mounting the projector to see if that makes a difference... if it does and it gets you closer to the image you are looking for you may want to consider a different screen.


Oh man! If GW II doesn't do well with ceiling mounted projector, I guess my only option will be a new screen. Only option because I can't imagine telling my wife that I need to table mount the projector after all that works setting up the projector and don't want to piss her off again. You guys going to laugh after seeing this pictures and will understand why she will be mad. At least now I have a great reason for wanting a power screen.

Quick question for everyone though... What would a good choice of DVD player be with this projector??? Panasonic S97??? Oppo??? something else???

Get a Bravo D1! It's the cheapest and best! Join us(4805ers) and enjoy 1:1 pixlemapping! The player needs only needs a $2 cap replacement.

Edit.... maybe you can't join us 4805ers... I didn't know there was a problem with tearing.... I don't even know what that is. But if you guys ever do fix that Get the Bravo D1! :)

Oh man! If GW II doesn't do well with ceiling mounted projector, I guess my only option will be a new screen. Only option because I can't imagine telling my wife that I need to table mount the projector after all that works setting up the projector and don't want to piss her off again. You guys going to laugh after seeing this pictures and will understand why she will be mad. At least now I have a great reason for wanting a power screen.

Oh, so you cut a big hole :)

Well look, first of all....the end of the world isn't here yet.

The Greywolf is retro-reflective....that means that the closer you are to the center of the lens the brighter the image is going to be. It sends light back in the direction it came from, where as other screens will scatter the light around, resulting in lower overall gain. I have my Optoma ceiling mounted, its about 3 feet above my head at seating position, but I dont miss the extra brightness gain...its hardly dim or murky.

Bright scenes make me squint....if that tells you anything. Have you calibrated yet with Avia/THX Optimizer?

Ok, I optimized with THX Optimizer and still waiting for blockbuster.com to send me the Avia.
I will upload more photo after all the proper adjustment. THank You guys.

Thank You for your explanation. That is really helpful. What gave me an impression of having wonderful picture from the H31 is the word "punch" and "wow" that I see alot in this forum. I guess I was not fully understand how front projector works and expected it performs like a rear projector DLP tv. Does your PQ look like the picture below?

There are so many things here to say....

> That image you posted of the front projection image in a room with the lights on, that is a photoshop image. Not real. What they normally do is take a pic of the screen in the dark, then photoshop that image into a pic of the room with the lights on. Although in that image you posted, it looks like they photoshopped a picture, not the actual projector shot.

> Projectors imitate Film projectors, not TV's. TV's are like floodlights beaming at you! For things like sports, news, that is ok. Plasmas imitate TV's, not theater projectors. Notice how dark it is in the commercial theaters? Even when the image is a bright daylight image, it doesn't light up the whole theater? Now, turn all your lights off in your room, turn on your plasma or TV and put on something bright, like Animation, it will light up your whole room! You will be able to read a paper with that light. Not in a film theater.

> You cannot compare your 92" H31 image to a tiny plasma image!!!! Reduce the H31 image down to the plasma size. You will also notice that when you do that, the H31 image will become much, much brighter!

> You have to calibrate both displays. Your plasma looks pretty far off. The H31 will probably need some adjusting too. Since you are using DVI, you can try some others settings that might work. DVI inputs are less variable than other inputs. I'll try to post some #'s in a little bit. Try to post some shots of the DVD's someone else mentioned above.

> What your co-workers mention is just a generalization. I suppose none of them have a good projector? I'm only projecting a 65" wide image with my H31. At that size, there is NO plasma that I've seen that can out perform it with DVD film material. There are Plasma's that can probably out perform it, but at $6,000+. Again, this is assuming I'm comparing to Film Theater, not TV brightness.

Fleaman

What gave me an impression of having wonderful picture from the H31 is the word "punch" and "wow" that I see alot in this forum. I guess I was not fully understand how front projector works and expected it performs like a rear projector DLP tv. Does your PQ look like the picture below?

Also, the 'Punch' and 'Wow' adjectives are relative to other projectors (which imitate Film projectors), not overly bright over saturated TV sets (which Plasmas imitate).

Fleaman

Thank You for your explanation. That is really helpful. What gave me an impression of having wonderful picture from the H31 is the word "punch" and "wow" that I see alot in this forum. I guess I was not fully understand how front projector works and expected it performs like a rear projector DLP tv. Does your PQ look like the picture below?

Here are a couple of screen shots of my old H30 Optoma that I sold to buy a H31.

This screen is a blackout cloth material, gain about 1.0, bought for about $30 at the local fabric store. Screen is 60" wide width (not diagonal).

The Finding Nemo shot is pretty bright....I can't see how I would want it brighter, otherwise I would have to put sunglasses on!

Remember, this is with the older H30. The H31 is a little better.

Fleaman

BTW, comparing the uploaded images from AVS to the exact same file in photoshop, it seems something happens to the image when going through AVS, because there is seems to be staircasing distortion in the uploaded AVS images that are not there in the original file. The original file is much smoother. But either way, you get the idea for brightness and punch.

Fleaman

BTW, comparing the uploaded images from AVS to the exact same file in photoshop, it seems something happens to the image when going through AVS, because there is seems to be staircasing distortion in the uploaded AVS images that are not there in the original file. The original file is much smoother. But either way, you get the idea for brightness and punch.

Fleaman


Never mind! I found that I had to expand the image and it looked fine afterwards.

Make sure to mouse over the lower right hand corner of the image to see if it needs expanding!

Fleaman

Ok, I optimized with THX Optimizer and still waiting for blockbuster.com to send me the Avia.
I will upload more photo after all the proper adjustment. THank You guys.


Hopefully it will come with the color filters....otherwise you won't have a good way to calibrate colors.

Fleaman

bbjustin -
If you do decide to keep the projector, do yourself a favor and send it to Guitarman for a D65 calibration. Well worth the meager price.

-Mike

is there a super duper factory reset on the H31 other than the one in the system menu?

my gamma seems off and i don't know why. i'm seeing gray on the borders of 4:3 material (where it would normally be black bars) and the picture just looks like someone has turned the brightness up or something. it doens't look like it did when i took it out of the box. i'm not sure if someone was messing with it or not, but resetting it in the menu doesn't seem to fix it.

Billy, seems like a silly question but... are you in hi lamp mode or low lamp mode?
If that got switched from low to hi it would maybe cause those kinds of problems.

I run mine in low mode all the time, hoping it will increase bulb life. Also the Hi setting just seems too high, while low looks "right".

FLeaman,

Those pictures are awesome. Do you think H31 w/ GW II can produce color like that? That Nemo picture made my mouth watery. Thanks for showing those pictures that just renewed my hope. Thanks

FLeaman,

Those pictures are awesome. Do you think H31 w/ GW II can produce color like that? That Nemo picture made my mouth watery. Thanks for showing those pictures that just renewed my hope. Thanks


That's pretty much what you should be seeing. It does dim quite a bit with a ceiling mounted PJ (w graywolf) though. You may have to use normal/vivid or bright mode to get it bright enough to your liking. I have mine tabled with the graywolf and I really like the 1.8 gain (as well as the ambient light reflection, my wife is always turning the lights on for some reason or another).

bbjustin -
If you do decide to keep the projector, do yourself a favor and send it to Guitarman for a D65 calibration. Well worth the meager price.

-Mike

I just sent one of mine off. When I get it back I'm going to compare it to the other H31 I have. It should be interesting running them side by side.

nope not hi mode

but i did mess with it some last night. when you reset it, it puts the brightness at 15, i lowered that and it seemed to help a little bit. still doesn't seem like it did when i pulled it out of the box, but it could be in my head.

bbjustin,
I know that you're not going to be able to do much about this, but since no one else mentioned it, I thought I'd add this to the pot. The pics of your room reveal that you're dealing with bright surfaces. That's very bad for image quality from a projector. Even with the lights off at night, the light coming off the screen reflects on your walls, floor, and ceiling, especially in bright scenes, and then bounces right back onto the screen. This can kill your color saturation, and contrast. It's hard to do anything about that with a wife to deal with, but you are looking for reasons why you're not getting what you need from the H31. It might help to understand this, atleast. Theaters are dark environments, as Fleaman explained, and this is the reason.

hey guys, can you H31 owners do me a favor and tell me if there are any identifying marks, lables, vergabe etc. on your H31 power cable? i think i've got mine mixed up and i just want to make sure i have the original one with the unit.

also if you feel it in your heart to pm me, that would superduperific.

thanks!

Sorry Billy, I haven't a clue where my original power cord is. When I sent mine in for repair they didn't want any cables.

I put in KING KONG last night. Not only did it look great on my H31 - my new Onkyo 7.1 sound system really shined! At the point where they enter the foggy cloudy area just before reaching the island there was this huge fog horn blasting off to the right end of the room - it seriously sounded like it was coming from outdoors :)

Having a sound system really completes the experience. I still watch some stuff with headphones, generally when I'm the only one watching, but it's great to crank up the surround sound when there are half a dozen of us watching something together!

I agree that the sound can really add to the home theater experience. In addition to having a subwoofer with a 12" driver and a 200 watt internal amp, I installed some bass shakers under my couch. These transducers don't really make sound that you can hear, but they make the sufaces that they are attached to vibrate and jolt in response to low frequency impacts. I thought that my sub was doing a fine job by itself, but combined with the shakers, it feels like movies with huge creatures such as Godzilla or King Kong are actually in my room about to tear the place up. Each step feels like an earthquake.

Sound is definitely the other half of the movie experience. With a great surround setup, a pj like the H31 makes it hard to leave the house. Rick, I'm happy for you!!

FLeaman,

Those pictures are awesome. Do you think H31 w/ GW II can produce color like that? That Nemo picture made my mouth watery. Thanks for showing those pictures that just renewed my hope. Thanks


I don't have, nor ever used a GW, so not too sure. You might want to try your H31 against a white wall, if you happen to have flat white walls.

Also remember that my screen is only 60" wide, it will be a bit brighter than your larger screen.

But yeah, your H31 should look like the pics from my old H30.

Fleaman

hey guys, can you H31 owners do me a favor and tell me if there are any identifying marks, lables, vergabe etc. on your H31 power cable? i think i've got mine mixed up and i just want to make sure i have the original one with the unit.

also if you feel it in your heart to pm me, that would superduperific.

thanks!

Don't know where mine is either. I got a right angle white cord that works better in my set up....

Fleaman

bbjustin, my H31 GW combo looks fantastic!

In my setup I have the PJ just a little less than 2 feet over head and slightly behind the seating area so the bright area is within seating view. You can see the brightness dim moving off to the sides of the viewing area or getting down by the floor - but that's a little out of what I consider to be "normal" viewing range.

I project a 92 inch image, and it looks fabulous. I had the 1.0 Panoview screen before, and I like the GW better.

bbjustin, my H31 GW combo looks fantastic!

In my setup I have the PJ just a little less than 2 feet over head and slightly behind the seating area so the bright area is within seating view. You can see the brightness dim moving off to the sides of the viewing area or getting down by the floor - but that's a little out of what I consider to be "normal" viewing range.

I project a 92 inch image, and it looks fabulous. I had the 1.0 Panoview screen before, and I like the GW better.

That is roughly the same location I would prefer to place my projector as well..

How did you manage to compensate for the H31's high degree of offset which the projector at that height?

I have searched the archives for the answers to these questions but I'm still wondering... just received my H31 and am looking for a budget fixed frame 45x80 screen and wondered what you may think about the Elite EZ HC gray 1.1? My dedicated room is quite dark. Also considering selling my Sony DVP 9000ES and picking up the Oppo... would this be an upgrade? Can you reccomend a quality ceiling mount for this PJ? Wondered what the Guitarman D65 calibration was all about? I've been lurking here for years and you've all taught me so much. I would appreciate your sage advice... Thanks.

How did you manage to compensate for the H31's high degree of offset which the projector at that height?

It just works in my room - it's an upstairs area where the screen end is a slanted wall due to the roof and the other end (also roof slanted) is where the PJ is mounted. My screen is very low - it would not be considered to be acceptable to most here. But it works for me - and that's the golden rule!! So, my screen is basically mounted so the top is about 5' high and it pulls down to within inches of the floor.
On the other side the PJ is mounted at about 6' (maybe 6.5') high.

Like I said, it works for me :)



Welcome bardolph!

Just received my H31. I'm looking for a budget fixed frame 45x80 screen and wondered what you may think about the Elite? Also considering selling my Sony DVP 9000ES and picking up the Oppo... would this be an upgrade? Can you reccomend a quality ceiling mount for this PJ? Wondered what the Guitarman D65 calibration was all about? I've been lurking here for years and you've all taught me so much. Thanks!

Have you thought about making your own out of BO cloth. I bought a bunch that I am going to hang outside for summer theater nights.


My Guitarman tuned H31 should be back soon. I have another H31 to compare to. It should be interesting...but maybe not.

If you’re using the DVI inputs, you can try these settings that CMRA posted a while ago. I tried them and it worked well on my H31. The DVI inputs seem to have a fairly similar calibration OTB. While rooms, screens (sizes, types, etc.) will affect pic balance, you can at least try CMRA's settings as I did (and still run BTW).

His settings below>>>

What a little Gamma will do.
Or, my drop dead gorgeous almost think it's a CRT settings.I knew it was good. I knew it could be better. Tom even let me know I didn't have to enter the service menu to make it happen. He was right. So you want blue skys? Black blacks? White whites? Gorgeous fleshtones? Shadow detail (highlights in the blacks) like no tomorrow? A color pallet that won't quit? Or simply an H31 playing "The Fifth Element" out of this world and see what the big boys are talking about?

Write these down:

Picture menu:Mode cinema
Cont: 4
Bright -8
Gamma 2
Image Menu:
Temp 2
Mode Film
Advanced ,
RGB cont 18,12,15
RGB bright -7,-7,-7

This setup is hooked up to an Tosh 5970 via HDMI>DVIon a 'white' screen. Each player has its own bias, but if you this Tosh...watch out. More later.

BTW, most will find that there is no Temp adjustment available when using the DVI inputs.

Fleaman

I ordered the da-lite 92" high contrast matte white model b screen to use with my h31 in a light controlled room. Projector is ceiling mounted. Ceiling is flat black over the screen area and walls are covered with burgandy curtains. Is this screen an ok choice? Just wondering if anyone would care to chime in here. Hope I didn't make a mistake with this screen. Thanks.

Seems to be good and bad with this screen. My previous screen was a standard matte white 1.0 and it had a lot of punch, which the new high contrast 1.1 screen does not. However, my old standard matte white 1.0 screen also displayed much more noticeable pixelation in bright scenes, which I didn't like at all. With the new screen this problem seems to have vanished, which I really like. I'm not certain I like it so much as to give up the punch factor though. Kinda torn.

Unfortunately the myth of weight=safety partly helps perpetuate the ZIP-code sized monsters on American roads which endanger all less well-endowed vehicles (as well as their own drivers) through sheer size. And because of that, I don't think a preference for these vehicles is just a difference of opinion. The US government has closed more than just one eye to the inadequacies of SUVs in particular for the sake of the economic benefit of the Big Three in the face of massive import competition. Eventually I hope sanity and a certain sense of reality will return.

Sorry to disagree, but any object of significant additional mass will destroy the smaller vehicle regardless of how well designed it is. Test data is done by smashing vehicles into a solid structure, which is the equivalent of smashing it into itself. This is why a large Humvee might do poorly in a crash test and a Miata might do very well, but I can assure you if the Humvee hits the Miata head-on both doing 40mph, the Miata driver will die, while the Humvee driver may escape with only nicks and scratches.

This tibit came from the publication Physics Today.
"The evidence is compelling that body-on-frame light trucks cannot safely coexist with passenger cars under existing conditions."
http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-59/iss-1/pdf/vol59no1p49_54.pdf

Now I don't mean to impugne your conclusion that a well-designed vehicle is better than a poorly designed vehicle. And you are ALSO CORRECT, that crumple zones and other safety designs are extremely important factors, but the science of physics is never going to change the fact that a 1 ton vehicle is at a severe disadvantage to a 3 ton vehicle. Maybe the future will bring extremely light and strong composite materials, but as long as two objects are built out of the SAME materials, the larger one (by larger I mean mass not size), will always win the collission.

--SimpleTheater

PS: I drive a COMPACT car - I choose to avoid a collision with a larger vehicle with my nimble vehicle, but I'm under no illusion who will die if a Ford Crown Victoria decides to cross his lane head on into my car. :(

Hello Everyone,

I received the Avia disc and just finished making all the adjustment on both of my plasma and H31. I included two photos of The Santana Concert, one on the H31 and the other on the plasma . My H31 with the GrayWolf II performed really bad in dark scene comparing it to the plasma. Things that I normally see in the plasma I couldn't see them in the H31. For example, In the plasma I see hundreds of fans getting excited but on the H31 all I see was blur off the stage. Watching concert on the H31 really take the excitment away. Is that normal performce with projector? Could it be I got a defective unit? Please tell me what you think.

Thanks
Tony

The H31 is not a bright enough projector for use with the GrayWolf II. The H31 works well with a white screen.

I just got a H31 yesterday to replace my BenQ pb6100.
I am using the included VGA to DVI adapter with my 35 ft componenet to VGA cable that I have been using. Does anyone have any pros and cons with this adapter with their H31.
Also, the H31 is having trouble with several DVD's I have been throwing at it. Such as The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Chronicles of Riddick, Bourne Supremacy to name a few. It will play some and not recognize others. The unit just keeps searching for an imput. Anyone know what is going on with that.
Thanks,

Does it always play the same movies and never plays the other movies, or is it a random thing. Like one time Nemo will play, another time it wont?? If so its probably the excessively long cable run you've got going on there thats to blame. 35 feet is a long, long cable. Considering you are converting from vga to dvi, and then using a component to vga cable, you're getting alot of signal loss along that path I'm betting.

Could be the H31 is just more sensitive to those things?? I have a 30 foot run of component cable from my DVD Player to my H31, and it plays without issue..but I'm not doing so many conversions from RGB to DVI and COmponent....

No it is always the same response, when I reload the DVD's mentioned. Also there is a 2 inch green horizontal line on the bottom edge in the middle of the image. I used the edge masking function and it did remove it but does using that function degrade the image at all? Is that a dead pixel issue or something else?

I had my PJ calibrated through Guitarmans mail in PJ program and just received it last night. Several of you knew that I was having it done and I was going to respond individually but I think I’ll just post some quick thoughts instead.

I have 2 H31’s and I had used DVE to do the calibrating on both units. I spent quite a bit of time on each one playing with the grayscale patterns and trying to tune it by eye. I like to tinker so I was having fun experimenting and I finally got them both to where they were really pretty good.

I decided to see how much better these little units could get if at all. After a conversation with a local ISF guy I decided that it was smarter and more cost efficient to send it to Tom. I don’t know Tom other than from what I read from his posts. I sent him an email telling him I was sending it down and he sent one back telling me to go ahead where to send it and that he would look for it.

After a couple days I received the PJ back on my doorstep complete with colorfacts performance graphs of before and after. When I sent the PJ to Tom I basically reset it back to the factory numbers. My plan was to run both of my PJ’s and compare the pictures but after playing a few scenes from several of my favorite disks I quickly realized it was unnecessary as the picture was substantially more accurate color wise. I ended up doing a side by side (actually top/bottom) comparison and was surprised to find that the picture seemed to have a little more depth than the non calibrated H31.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the whole experience. My personal feeling is that it is an exceptional bang for the buck. I definitely recommend having it done to get the most out of your PJ.

Rod

If you’re using the DVI inputs, you can try these settings that CMRA posted a while ago. I tried them and it worked well on my H31. The DVI inputs seem to have a fairly similar calibration OTB. While rooms, screens (sizes, types, etc.) will affect pic balance, you can at least try CMRA's settings as I did (and still run BTW).

His settings below>>>



BTW, most will find that there is no Temp adjustment available when using the DVI inputs.

Fleaman

I had tried these settings. It was interesting on my setup and had lots of punch but not very accurate color wise.

Thx Rod I bet HDTV is looking allot better. What's on tonight? :)
enjoy

Hello Everyone,

I received the Avia disc and just finished making all the adjustment on both of my plasma and H31. I included two photos of The Santana Concert, one on the H31 and the other on the plasma . My H31 with the GrayWolf II performed really bad in dark scene comparing it to the plasma. Things that I normally see in the plasma I couldn't see them in the H31. For example, In the plasma I see hundreds of fans getting excited but on the H31 all I see was blur off the stage. Watching concert on the H31 really take the excitment away. Is that normal performce with projector? Could it be I got a defective unit? Please tell me what you think.

Thanks
Tony

That picture looks bad. My H31 blows that out of the water. You really need to take your H31 down and try it out on a coffee table, on brite mode (use avia again) and tell us what you think. My H31 looks better by far then what you are showing even in your plasma.

That picture looks bad. My H31 blows that out of the water. You really need to take your H31 down and try it out on a coffee table, on brite mode (use avia again) and tell us what you think. My H31 looks better by far then what you are showing even in your plasma.


Same result with coffee table placement. Just ordered a new DVI cable from Monoprice.com and hopefully the problem is due to my current cable. Foxdvd.. Can you post some pictures of your H31 in dark scene?

Thanks
Tony

Same result with coffee table placement. Just ordered a new DVI cable from Monoprice.com and hopefully the problem is due to my current cable. Foxdvd.. Can you post some pictures of your H31 in dark scene?

Thanks
Tony


Have you tried different dvd players to determine if it's the player, the connection or a particular input? It's definately bad, could be the PJ but I'm thinking it may have to do with your source or settings.

Rod

Thx Rod I bet HDTV is looking allot better. What's on tonight? :)
enjoy


Tom,

I've never seen Lost and CSI look so good. :D

Rod

Great, both shows have excellent coloring. Nice to see faces looks so 3D and natural.

So, I’ve been enjoying the hell out of my Optoma H31 for the last 9 months or so, and I just started getting the bulb warning (I’m almost at 1500 hours). So I’m looking for some advice on how (and when) I should replace the bulb…

Should I just wait until it fails? Will it always pop, or could it just die without popping? Is there any danger of damaging the unit if it pops?

I’ve come up with three basic ideas:

1. Wait until it pops, then order a replacement. I understand the bulbs have a 90 day warranty? If this is correct, then it’s probably best not to buy the new one until the old one goes out.
2. Buy the replacement bulb, switch it out, and keep the original for emergency use only (like if it died right before a big game party, or something like that).
3. Buy the replacement but wait until the original goes out before replacing. I’d probably only do this is there is no danger of damaging the unit when the old one goes, and if the replacements were on sale or something.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as always.


No advice on the bulb warning? I have to assume that, since I haven't heard any warnings, there's not much risk of damaging the unit when the lamp blows. So I guess I'll wait until then to order, or at least wait until I get to 2000 or 2500 hours...

By the way, is there any way to turn off the bulb warning? I mean, I can turn it off when it pops up, but after powering off the unit it's back the next time I turn it on. A minor annoyance, but if possible I'd like to turn it off.

Also, there's no filter to change or clean on this unit, right?


I must say that this thing still blows me away, even on a freebie screen and with a moderate amount of keystone adjustment (11, I think). I can't wait to see what's available when the warranty is up, and that's still over 2 years away! Life is good for technology geeks these days...

If I remember right you can turn the lamp warning to off in the system menu.

If that doesn't cure it if it were me I'd just reset the lamp hours to zero.

Problem solved. Problem that I was having with is due to my cable. I hook up an xbox via composite and it looks good, detail was shown in dark scene. Exchanged a new dvi cable bought from monoprice.com and it works great. Big improvement. Those cable from monoprice seems like a high quality stuff, the circumference are as big as a hotdog.

Thank you everyone.

If I remember right you can turn the lamp warning to off in the system menu.

If that doesn't cure it if it were me I'd just reset the lamp hours to zero.


Well, you can turn it to off, but the next time you power up the projector it defaults back to on.

And I tried to reset the hours, but couldn't.

Perhaps I'm missing something? Maybe I should open up the manual...

Problem solved. Problem that I was having with is due to my cable. I hook up an xbox via composite and it looks good, detail was shown in dark scene. Exchanged a new dvi cable bought from monoprice.com and it works great. Big improvement. Those cable from monoprice seems like a high quality stuff, the circumference are as big as a hotdog.

Thank you everyone.

WOW! Great, good thing that's all it was. Now get it calibrated and you are all set to go.

Does anybody know where the Graywolf 2 is being sold online??? Cant find it anywhere.

berserker37,
I think that you have to reset your H31 back to factory default in order to get the bulb hours back to zero. It's in one of the user menus. Just write down all your settings first, as you'll lose them after the reset. I've done this a couple of times, but maybe I'm thinking of another pj.

I see the setting posted earlier for optimal DVI settings. Does anyone have the settings for component (for DVD and HD?)

I see the setting posted earlier for optimal DVI settings. Does anyone have the settings for component (for DVD and HD?)

H31 component out of the box settings are more varied than the DVI inputs. So you really can't use someone else’s component settings. Another H31 OTB component would have been a bit different than yours.

DVI varies as well, but seem to be more close together and also seem to be better calibrated OTB than any of the other inputs.

Not to mention everyone has different rooms (white, black, etc.), different screens (sizes, material, etc.), etc., etc.

Fleaman

How's this for Saturday night? (What I give up for Lent)

Well, after almost a year of ownership of my H31, and a dying curiosity how my D50 would fair, I made a few screenies. A bit more contrasty than the original but still captures the H31's 'juicy' colors.

Sourced from a Tosh 5970 HDMI/DVI 480p, Nikon D50 50mm f2.0, handheld.

OK,OK, it's really because of the three attachment limit.

CMRA, looks real nice! :)

I have the Greywolf screen & the case is white & very reflective.
This bothered me a great deal as sometimes I couldn't tell if I had my PJ misaligned or if what I was seeing was simply reflection off the casing.

So I asked my wife to pick up some black felt the last time she went to the fabric store. Then I thought a while about how I would attach it. I settled on carpet tape, basically 2" wide double sided sticky tape. Very sticky...

I cut strips of the felt & attached to the casing and then a couple short pieces to wrap around my mounting hardware.

The top of the screen area completely disappears now when I am watching a movie or HDTV. Afterwards I noticed a strong reflection from the bottom of my center speaker, so I cut out another piece of felt & greatly reduced that also.

These little things all help, now my walls & ceiling (surrounding my screen for the first 4 feet) are very dark forest green (flat) and I have a black 6' x 8' rug in front of the screen & the black felt covering the casing. My speakers are all black.

Each of these things by itself helps a little, all of them togehter really helps a lot - removes the little distracting elements and lets you really tune into what you are watching.

I'm envious of people who are not bothered by those things, to a point anyway. I have to be consoled by the thought that they probably don't get the richness of the experience that I am capable of... yeah that's the ticket... :D

CMRA,
Great shots!! Pic 0063 is when she just finished saying the letter p in help, right? I wish I could take some decent screen shots.

CMRA,
Great shots!! Pic 0063 is when she just finished saying the letter p in help, right? I wish I could take some decent screen shots.

Thanks, guys. Truth is, my D50 did most of the work. With a fairly fast f2.0 lens I was even able to handhold the camera at 1/25th and 1/30th of a second. Set the camera on manual, set the WB to Auto, selected my shutter speeds, and ripped.
A tripod, at those shutter speeds, is a much better way to go.
Caveats: Always "pause" your player first. You'll need to resize your images to 640x480 or less to post. Expect your images to look a little more contrasty than what you see on the screen. Experiment with your camera/lens to find the sweet spot to avoid unwanted video anomalies.

Can anybody recommend a good but reasonably priced gray wolf 100 inch motorized projection screen?

Caveats: Always "pause" your player first. You'll need to resize your images to 640x480 or less to post. Expect your images to look a little more contrasty than what you see on the screen. Experiment with your camera/lens to find the sweet spot to avoid unwanted video anomalies.

When I did screen shots I thought the 'Freeze' function on the H31 did a better job than pausing the DVD player.

Have you tried that?

Maybe it was my imagination.

Fleaman

Just swithed my Panasonic S77 for an Oppo DVD player.

Strangely the picture is not centered on the screen anymore? My Panasonic would usually almost completely fill my 16:9 screen when watching 1.85:1 movies. The Oppo has definate black bars top and bottom (I realize they should be there but maybe because of the overscan of the Panny and possibly my zoom level on the projector, I rarely noticed black bars on the Panasonic).

I used the image shift option on the remote to move my 1.85:1 movie back to the middle of the screen (about 2 inches up).

Wondering if image quality will take a hit because of this?

Also how do you save this position? There is mention of presets in the manual but no instruction on how to save to a preset or access them in the future for that matter.

Thanks for any info.

When I did screen shots I thought the 'Freeze' function on the H31 did a better job than pausing the DVD player.

Have you tried that?

Maybe it was my imagination.

Fleaman

Guess I'm still a little old school. My DVD player allows me to go back and forth, frame by frame. I'll take a look, nonetheless.

CMRA,
Nice pics. How do you like the Nikon D50? My father puchased the D70s about a month ago. Now that's a sweet camera! So sweet in fact that I started pricing out the D50 just so I could take similar pics? Did you get the 18-55mm kit lens?

Sorry everybody if this is a bit off topic from the Optoma H31 but I do own one!!! I've had the H31 mounted in my theater since February. My full review is posted on projectorcentral (Jeremy - April 11th). I'll post some screen shots later.
Thanks,
-Jeremy

I just became the proud owner of the H31 after all the avs forum reviews. I work in the digital video industry so I have been spoiled on HD demo-quality content for years and know how much harm a bad deinterlacer or scaler can do, so I decided to go 480p for now and wait a couple years for 1080p equipment to come down in price, settle on LCOS or something, support Dolby TruHD, HDMI 1.3, and so on, never mind choose a disc format.

I have to say, WOW! I projected Nemo on a beige wall and although I can see where tuning and a proper screen would help, it was immediately way better than I expected. SDE faded once I was behind the projector, and the contrast with good light control was excellent. My wife was immediately very pleased.

The basement is still in plastering, so it will be a couple weeks before I can truly appreciate it, but this is one sweet projector.

My questions: do I need firmware upgrades, and can I load them myself? If I download and burn the grayscale calibrartion disk, do I really need any additional color calibration tools? How does Guitarman's program work - I couldn't find the details in a search.

welcome kascs,
It's great to have someone like you, who works in digital video, to come forward and talk about how great the H31 is. As fas as I know, firmware upgrades happen only at the factory. Each unit is flashed if it has to go in for service. I'd bet that since you just recently got your unit, you're probably ok on that. Are you going to be using your unit with a pc? If so, let us know if you can get a pc dvi signal to sync digitally with your H31.

Congrats kascs,

My experience is that firmware is flashed only by Optoma at Optoma.
Mine was flashed to get it to sync with HTPC DVI.

I completely agree with your views of the H31.
With my eyes at 11 feet 6 inches away from the 92" Greywolf screen I can not see SD.
Using the Oppo player I get a great view of DVD content and with my Onkyo 780 HTIB I get awesome movie sound.
Added to all that is a DVR HDTV Cable box for fine Television viewing.

"Life just doesn't get any better than this..."

At 140 pages long, I downloaded this thread and tried searching but couldn't quite find what I'm looking for, so I'm hopeful someone has firsthand knowledge.

Basically, I'm curious whether the H31 will present a good enough picture if I send a standard definition signal from a DirecTIVO utilizing either an S-Video or composite cables. I believe the DirecTIVO is limited to 480i, and I suspect that upgrading to a receiver that can bump the signal to 480p would be best, but will my picture be comparable to the 36" TV I currently have -- just larger? Or do I have to bump up the signal to 480p?

Although I tend to watch DVD's more, I'm trying to avoid spending the $500+ right now to upgrade to the HD DirecTIVO plus OTA antenna for broadcast shows. Maybe in 8-12 months I would upgrade, but will I find the picture quality good enough or will I be kicking myself for not setting up HD immediately?

Thanks,
Jason

Jason,
SD looks pretty dismal on everything but a CRT display.
Pjs put out a nice big picture when sourced with a good signal. The H31 is no exception. Think DVDs and HDTV and you'll be fine.

CMRA,
Nice pics. How do you like the Nikon D50? My father puchased the D70s about a month ago. Now that's a sweet camera! So sweet in fact that I started pricing out the D50 just so I could take similar pics? Did you get the 18-55mm kit lens?

-Jeremy

Hi,
Jeremy, there really isn't anything not to like. I'd shop out 'glass' options on ebay. Stay clear of DX due to their 'digital' only nature.

Basically, I'm curious whether the H31 will present a good enough picture if I send a standard definition signal from a DirecTIVO utilizing either an S-Video or composite cables.


Here's the problem....define "Good Enough". SDTV on any digital big screen display is going to suffer from looking very soft, and depending on the compression level of the channel, you may or may not see more macroblocking, you may see snow, or ghosting, or other signal degredation problems that just aren't noticible on a 480i small screen analog set. Only you can determine if what you're seeing is acceptable to you.

I have grown used to seeing SDTV on bigger screen sizes. Its not good, I've just grown *used* to it. Maybe you can do the same.


I believe the DirecTIVO is limited to 480i, and I suspect that upgrading to a receiver that can bump the signal to 480p would be best, but will my picture be comparable to the 36" TV I currently have -- just larger? Or do I have to bump up the signal to 480p?


Your H31 can't display an interlaced signal. It will deinterlace the signal at turn it into 480p for you regardless. The H31 has a decent chip inside of it, so I wouldn't waste any money getting a deinterlacer for a TIVO box, the H31 will do a more than adequate job. If Memory serves, doesn't the H31 have the Faroudja chip tucked away inside of it? Hmmm...so long since I looked at the spec sheet :D



Although I tend to watch DVD's more, I'm trying to avoid spending the $500+ right now to upgrade to the HD DirecTIVO plus OTA antenna for broadcast shows. Maybe in 8-12 months I would upgrade, but will I find the picture quality good enough or will I be kicking myself for not setting up HD immediately?


Again...it all depends on you, the viewer, your tolerance for soft images and how many shows you'd watch in HD. I guess if you wanted to "try it out" you could always get cable service and rent a HD Cable box for $10 bucks a month just to see how its going to look on your projector.

Again...it all depends on you, the viewer, your tolerance for soft images and how many shows you'd watch in HD. I guess if you wanted to "try it out" you could always get cable service and rent a HD Cable box for $10 bucks a month just to see how its going to look on your projector.
HeadRusch, thanks for your input. I frequent a hockey forum and a common refrain is "it's all personal preference...." :)

Unfortunately, your last suggestion won't work because cable isn't available on my road. By the time the cable companies thought about servicing our road, they learned that most of the residents had satellite.

I'll probably go ahead with the purchase and see how often I watch TV in SD. If I'm mostly watching DVD's with an occasional game on ESPN, it sounds like I'll probably be able to accept it. If the lack of clarity becomes distracting, I'll probably upgrade to the HD DirecTIVO when NFL Sunday Ticket starts up.

Again, thanks for your advice.

Jason

I was running the R10 DirecTV setup to my H31, and it wasn't too bad. The biggest problem is with letterboxed content. It's better to watch it without blowing it up to full screen, as the lower resolution really shows up then. I ended up switching to cable because of the lousy deal DirecTV has on the HD DVRs. Paying $500 to lease the box is a real crock. I'll see what happens when the new HD DVR comes out, but for now I'll stick with cable.

No faroudja in the H31 which is why the Oppo looks so nice on DVI out.

SDTV is hardly worth watching. HDTV really looks nice...even cleaner than SD DVD's.

What the heck. I've been bustin my buns making new screens for my H31. Might as well share. Screenies don't look bad...but they don't look awesome either. This little gem can throw out one heck of an image.
Here's a couple from my H31, 'newest' screen, and Nikon D50:

Nice.....great little projector ;)

What's the model number of the popular Oppo DVD player that many people use with the H31? Would it work as well with a HD72 or Z4 if I happen to upgrade in the near future?

Over the last few days, everytime I fire up the H31, I get an orange light with nothing happening. I wait about 5 minutes and unplug the unit and plug it back in and it fires up. This projector has been sent back to Optoma twice before. Is this something that needs to be fixed by Optoma or is it not a big deal? Does anyone know why this is happening? Any help would be great. Still love the H31.

Thanks
Kevin G.

Make sure your power connector into the PJ is firmly pushed in.....I had the same problem with mine....just pressed a little harder and the power connection went in all the way.....mine was fine after that.

Reset the lamp (take the lamp out and put it back in).

How many hrs on the lamp?

Fleaman

Maybe 600hrs at most. I am at work right now. I will reset the lamp tonight. Thanks

What's the model number of the popular Oppo DVD player that many people use with the H31? Would it work as well with a HD72 or Z4 if I happen to upgrade in the near future?

OPPO OPDV971H, I have one that I use currently with both an H31 and an HD72. Works fine for both. Make sure you are planning to use DVI out to get all the benefits of the player.

I primarily watch DVD movies only with my H31. No plans of yet to get HD-DVD or Bluray. My current projection is a 75" home made screen. Seating about 12' from the screen. I have an Oppo DVD player. With this setup, will I see any major difference in picture quality if I upgrade to an H72? Or should I wait till I go fully HD. Thanks for any inputs.

I primarily watch DVD movies only with my H31. No plans of yet to get HD-DVD or Bluray. My current projection is a 75" home made screen. Seating about 12' from the screen. I have an Oppo DVD player. With this setup, will I see any major difference in picture quality if I upgrade to an H72? Or should I wait till I go fully HD. Thanks for any inputs.


If SDE doesn't bother you at that size and distance I would stick with the H31. I really like the sharpness that the H31 delivers. If all I watched was standard def DVD's and didn't notice SDE I would not have gone to the 72. You are at approx 2x screen width where I can only get back 1.6x, hence the change.

I primarily watch DVD movies only with my H31. No plans of yet to get HD-DVD or Bluray. My current projection is a 75" home made screen. Seating about 12' from the screen. I have an Oppo DVD player. With this setup, will I see any major difference in picture quality if I upgrade to an H72? Or should I wait till I go fully HD. Thanks for any inputs.

When you make the HD jump you'll appreciate the HD72 (or any 720p PJ for that matter). For now, the H31 will serve you well.
Remember also, HD source signals tend to improve 480p machine image.

I always enjoy the punchy vibrant colors Optoma offers. These were captured via my Oly ES100. Hope nobody minds if I 'color' this thread up a bit.

Exactly: A native signal rendered higher rez (game, HDTV, whateveR) will look excellent on a 480p device....the higher the native source, the better the image regardless of display type.

Nobody squawked, so I guess it's OK. This PJ does have an almost CRT image to it.

CMRA....what flavor screen are u using in the above screenies?

S-I-L-V-E-R
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7626202&&#post7626202

Looking at the H31 over the H27 basically for the price ($100 rebate makes it hot). Looking at the 92" screen at about 13-15' away, seated on a surface (can't ceiling mount due to apartment policy). Will be running directly from computer the whole time. Primarily for movie viewing but some computer gaming. I tend to pick up on rainbows and screen door well. Am I barking up the wrong tree? Any other projector I should be considering?

13-15' for SDE on 92" is fine.

I can't speak to rainbows as I don't see them. That may be something you have to test for yourself on the H31.

The closer you get to your screen, the more your eyes have to move around to take it all in..the more your eyes move around, the more likely you are to see rainbows. Simple equation.

Sit the proper distance back and rainbows become almost impossible to see. I haven't seen a rainbow in ages, and I'm about 14 feet away from a 106" screen. I get some peek-a-boo SDE on whites, but other than that...its golden.

I watched a few movies this past weekend after not using the projector for some time..and was reminded again just how stunning an image this little PJ throws...

Nice. Got my H31 in the mail. My video card only does 848x480 so the H31's 854x480 is pretty close (8 pixels). I'm amazed at how hot the unit gets but shouldn't be a problem after it is all set up. Here are some pics of the software calibration program I used. The H31 has a very good color curve so not much tweaking was necessary (only for the dark colors as is common I find). TV looks like junk sadly. :( DVDs look exceptional. :D Really, the DVD is looking great but when you go to that 4:3 TV size everything seems less, how can I say, 'spectacular.' Sorry for the poor image quality (long exposure wobble). My camera needs a tripod (Nikon S1).

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6177/dscn15819iz.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn15819iz.jpg)http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5953/dscn15828jh.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn15828jh.jpg)http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9377/dscn15922ch.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn15922ch.jpg)http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/3506/dscn15933rd.th.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn15933rd.jpg)http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2152/dscn15991dp.th.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn15991dp.jpg)http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/6919/dscn16020jf.th.jpg (http://img464.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16020jf.jpg)

The movie shots are of that Segal film Black Dawn (good to rent). The setup is now at 65-68" diagonal. If I ever move it will be neat to see the image get really big. Ambient room light or any light completely washes out the picture. It needs to be dark. I'm super happy seeing that with a rebate it only cost about $600 I think. More movie caps to come once I satisfy my demand for just sitting there and watching with my jaw open. :D

Hello,

I have just ordered the H31 from Amazon. and paied 824$..."2 hours later it reached 924.83$!!! "
I have 2 questions

First, Would the THX calibration tool "founded with some DVD", be enough for calibration or should I use another tool?
Second, I just bought a Philips DVD player "no DVI" only Component, how good/bad the picture will be comparing to the DVI?

I have 2 questions

First, Would the THX calibration tool "founded with some DVD", be enough for calibration or should I use another tool?
Second, I just bought a Philips DVD player "no DVI" only Component, how good/bad the picture will be comparing to the DVI?

From my experience, calibration software gets you close. Nothing beats tweaking by eyeball. Remember to write down your settings.
I prefer DVI over component on the 31. Reds come out 'right'. (Tosh 5970) YMMV
Little cleaner image also.

DVI will give you a slight advantage....but honestly, comparing the two its so miniscule that component will be absolutely fine.....I run mine over Component and I do have a player that outputs via DVI...I dont bother with it because, frankly, I already ran the components.

Well. After a day of running the H31 I've noticed a little rainbow. There is also some 'flicker' which I would describe as a horizontal line redraw 'buffer under run.' I was using the zoom feature (physical zoom) by the focus knob. Don't use the physical zoom. Keep it smallest. I noticed a huge improvement in image quality by moving the projector back instead of zooming the image closer to the wall or screen area.

Think of it like this

|(wall)___________projector w/ zoom
|(wall)_________________projector w/ no zoom

the _________ means the distance

The last picture of Claire Danes is with the second setup with no zoom. The pixels are much tighter and less grey area between pixels. I have the image at about 85-90 inches now. Plus, if you use DVI-I Single Link your computer won't recognize the built in color profile the H31 carries in it's memory. When I switched the DVI-I Single for a DVI-D Dual Link I received the H31's color profile seen here. This didn't happen with the DVI-I single link cable.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6383/picture11ms.png

Caps w/ pj close to wall w/ zoom enabled (lens zoom not menu zoom)

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5051/dscn16071xr.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16071xr.jpg)http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5034/dscn16097mu.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16097mu.jpg)http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/876/dscn16343tp.th.jpg (http://img86.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16343tp.jpg)http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4374/dscn16376qw.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16376qw.jpg)http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6498/dscn16477lp.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16477lp.jpg)

The 3 Troy shots are zoomed TV. There is a feature called 'zoom mode' in which you can zoom 4:3 sources out to 16:9 with obviously cropping. The T3 shot is from a DVD.

Had to move the pj inside the closet to get the max image size w/ no zooming.

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2805/dscn16583zb.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16583zb.jpg)

All the above images I've ever posted on this thread have been with using the zoom. Here is the result with moving the pj back in the room and using zero zoom. I don't know what the ____ to call it, 'physical zoom,' or 'lenz zoom,' it's just the barrel zoom by the power button on the pj itself. Again if you can try not using this as you will get better image quality by moving the pj back to increase the image size, rather than using the zoom.

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/7610/dscn16637nx.th.jpg (http://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn16637nx.jpg)

CMRA, HeadRusch
thank you


Yobo,
Honestly!
I don’t like the pictures, they look blurry.
"using CMRA and getarman screenshots as a benchmark"
Is it the camera? Bad connections? The wall paint? Or the PC connection!?

^

It's lack of a tripod. :D

yobo,
I think you would see much improvement (not that it look bad now) if you painted that white door a dark color or at least draped it in dark cloth. You are getting a lot of reflection off of that and it goes right back onto the screen. I don't think you have to watch movies in a "cave" but keeping items and areas around the screen as dark as possible will yeild the best percieved contrast and "punch" possible. Just a suggestion that worked for me. Nice screen shots other than the fact that they are a little blurry. Yeah, a tripod would help. Once I set mine up it made a huge improvement in clarity. Keep up the good work.

Yeah so that was a good idea. Thanks.

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/537/dscn18276pn.th.jpg (http://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn18276pn.jpg)

It'd be so funny if I painted everything black. The reflection is something I'm noticing. How do you get the best results? Dark fabric around screen?

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/4656/dscn18338pi.th.jpg (http://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn18338pi.jpg)http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1516/dscn18369mq.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn18369mq.jpg)http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3205/dscn18430ji.th.jpg (http://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn18430ji.jpg)

Ok so sorry for the blurry shots. Def. need to cop a tripod but don't really have any use for it other than taking pictures of this stuff. So I'm projecting on a blank wall. The fabric over the door seemed to help. The most useful thing I've done since I got the projector is buy a Sony ES line DVD player, adjust the throw, and calibrate the focus. Those things getting perfect really make this a nice setup. I can't belive what a screen would do!? Movies with good lighting such as Requiem for a Dream look like silk. :)

I'm finally ready to purchase my first projector. I'm definitely going with the H31 and I have a few questions.

I'm a newbie in this area so please excuse me if these have been answered before in this very long thread.

First off I'm primarily going to use this with my Cambridge Audio DV-89 DVD player which has DVI & HDMI. I plan to use the projector only at night in a room which I will attempt to make as completely dark as possible. I should be able to make the room very dark but not pitch black.

Also since I live in a relatively small apartment the screen must be on a tripod so I can easily put it away. I was thinking of a Da-Lite Picture King screen. Is this OK?

My questions are:

1. What aspect ratio should I get for this projector 4:3 or 16:9?

2. What size screen would be well suited for this projector?

3. What screen material is best suited for my type of setup?
(The Da-Lite Picture King is available in Matte White, Glass Beaded, Video Spectra™ 1.5 and Silver)

4. Can I watch HDTV with the H31? (Our cable company offers 1080i and said I needed a component connection from the HDTV cable box which I know the H31 does have)

If anyone who owns this projector can help me out with the answers I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you.

Good luck with your H31...it's an awesome PJ.

1. 16:9 - its a 16:9 PJ

2. Depends on the dimensions of your room and how far back you will be sitting.
Usually with the PJ at about 12 - 14 feet you can get a screen image of 92" to 106".

3. I hear good things about the Silver but this also depends on the setup and dimensions.

4. The H31 does HDTV really well. I watch HD in 1080i all the time. LOST on ABC looks amazing....also American Idol but too bad the show sucks.

Hope this helps a bit.

If you give a bit more information about your setup then we can probably help out even more.

Congratulation on choosing a nice projector. The H31 will not give you true HDTV. The projectors resolution is only 854x480 in 16:9 mode.

For

720 i/p you need 1280 x 720
1080 i/p you need 1920 x 1080

Since the H31 is only 854 x 480 is it not HD. The DVI port does do HDCP over DVI but that's really a junk option imo because HDCP is only used for HD, which this projector is not.

If you really want HDTV get a projector that does at least 1280 x 720 so you can get your 720 i/p.

If you don't really care about HDTV or HD-DVD/Blu-Ray then it's a good projector. It will 'downscale' HD but that means nothing since what really matters is the pixels.

The H31 is only good for 480p imo and that's why I recently bought mine only for 480p material. Hook it up with a progressive scan dvd player and you'll be good. :D

As far as screens go do a search for what you're thinking about and I'll bet you find some information.

Edit:

The only two pjs that I could find that do WXGA for under 2 grand are the Epson PowerLite Cinema 200+ and InFocus ScreenPlay 5000. This is regarding Q4 about HDTV. But even if you went with a 720p pj make sure to hook it up to a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player imo and make sure the one you select has HDCP, if you want that feature, which you would need for HD-DVD.

I find WVGA to have noticable pixels on the H31 and would have liked to go to a unit that had 1280x720 for 720p, but didn't because HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are still competing and the longer you can wait the less expensive it will be.

:D

If you can afford it I would not go with the H31 and get a WXGA unit with HDCP over DVI or HDMI if your pj has HDMI. As far as HD over component the H31 should work fine with that, just realize that the native resolution is the 'real' resolution. Just because the H31 says it will do HD doesn't make it a 'true Hd' unit.

Yobo,

While I think some of your comments are accurate I also believe they are misleading to a new owner of the H31.

Your are correct the H31 is not a true HD PJ it is 854x480. Quaxtros asked if he could watch HD material with the H31. HE most certainly can. The H31 is also one of the best known PJ's to handle HD being a non-HD PJ. When I watch Lost in HD 1080i it has a way better picture than any of my DVD's.

I think it is a harsh statement to dismiss the H31 altogether if you are going to use a HD/Blu-ray or watch HD. Sure the better option would be a HD PJ if that was going to be your main material.....but the H31 is no slouch at all.

No offense meant by this post. Just trying to make things a little less confusing for Quaxtros.

Peace.

That's a good point. I am a bit of a hardliner when it comes to stuff like the HD issue we are talking about. :D I kind of put my foot in my mouth as I have not tested HD material with the H31. I'm honestly waiting for a 1080p projector to come out. That would be sick if they could pump one out for under $3,000.

Hey guys on another note I've been having a bugger of a time gettting the focus on the H31 consistent over the entire projected image. Check out this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681896) for help with that.

Also note that the H31 doesn't have a digital focus setting. The zoom ring and the focus ring a manual adjusting. It would have been nice to get a remote controlled menu type focus so you can stand real real close to the screen and dial in that focus with the remote. Now you kind of have to adjust, run up to the screen, check consistent focus, run back, yeah.

That image file I made for the focus has really really helped a lot, check it out and let me know if you know of something better.

edit:

Ok, so I should prob. list the features I really like about the H31 compared to the cons.

Pros:
- well packaged
- comes with it's own bag and arm strap
- when setup properly gives amazing images
- i've noticed stuff i've never seen before in movies such as lens flares, odd things, that's been part of the fun, atmospheric affects, such
- never need to go to a movie theater again, yea!
- portable so if I move never have to hunk around a crt ever again
- cost vs. weight vs. image size compared to a regular 300 pound rear projection unit, H31 hands down.
- can get up to I think about a 300 inch image, wow
- excellent menus
- ability to easily switch between 4:3 and 16:9
- the remote is awesome, the red buttons are so cool
- very reasonably priced
- ability to select 1.66, 1.83 or 2.35 or whatever the ratios really helps on some dvds
- progressive scan
- DVI input I didn't expect to get so that was nice
- ability to zoom if needed via the zoom ring
- abiltiy to focus image via the focus ring
- dust cap
- fairly quiet
- decent lamp cost $300 for a new lamp
- good contrast
- decent lumens
- built in color profile :)
- digital zoom feature is nice if you want to fill up a screen in 4:3 mode
- can adjust the image height if you want via the menu options and also a lever type foot
- clean looking menus
- easy to operate
- bulb life in hrs used
- hide and re-sync are nice
- the remote is just so cool
- wow factor vs. price. impressed with what you can get for under $1,000.
- much better than a crt or lcd because the light is only projected where you need so there is no backlight bleed or shadow mask type stuff to deal with. all those problems dissappear.
- separate component input, some pjs have the component over vga.
- ability to run your computer on a pj = fun/very usefull
- not to bulky, some of those projectors like the optoma w/ dvd one seem giant in size, the H31 is like the size of a medium sized dictionary
- digital keystone

cons:

- runs very very VERY hot, i had to use potholders to adjust the unit or else i would have burnt my hands. the area near the right of the pj is the area that gets hot
- only 480p, but that's a given.
- no digital focus
- manual claims you should get more accessories that I received. Perhaps that was an issue with the vendor but it came factory sealed. ?
- the fan is audible and it would be ideal to have it a tad quieter
- unsealed so maybe dust will build up

the real testimony of the H31 is the image quality and plain out wow. this was the first projector I have ever bought. I am happy with it and have spent the last few days 'on vacation' watching movies. Some movies will look like doo doo FYI. I watched Die Another Day and it didn't look to good on the H31. Other movies look like silk. It's the only way I know how to describe it. So yeah I rec. the H31 for an entry level projector to anyone who needs or wants one for home movies. It doesn't have a built in TV tuner so you'll have to deal with that. I use my computer for TV over a PCI tuner and then use DVI to the pj. My DVD player is running over component video and it looks really nice.

You'll start to become more informed about which movies had a good or bad digital transfer from film. Which dvds are ones you would rec. and which ones you would not rec. It's like you become your own little film critic. Ha ha.

1. What aspect ratio should I get for this projector 4:3 or 16:9?

2. What size screen would be well suited for this projector?


Q1: You need a 16:9 screen for this projector to pair it up correctly, as its a 16:9 native projector.

Q2: This totally depends on how far you plan on sitting from the screen.


3. What screen material is best suited for my type of setup?
(The Da-Lite Picture King is available in Matte White, Glass Beaded, Video Spectra™ 1.5 and Silver)


Out of those choices the Matte White is the only one worth going with, as those screen materials are primarily designed for business presentations and bumping up lumens...they aren't great for color accuracy and the like. Ideally you want to pair up a home theatre projector with a screen designed for movies and DVD's...not one made for business presentations...


4. Can I watch HDTV with the H31? (Our cable company offers 1080i and said I needed a component connection from the HDTV cable box which I know the H31 does have)


Yes...you'll get the 1080i signal, and it will be displayed at 480p, which is the maximum this projector can do. It will look better than the best DVD you've ever seen.

"Now you kind of have to adjust, run up to the screen, check consistent focus, run back, yeah."

We use binoculars at the projector postion to get the sharpest focus.

Thank you everyone for your answers and advice. Its is greatly appreciated.
I'm still trying to figure out what type of screen material I need.

Or as an alternative, you can always get married..and have your spouse stand up close.

It worked for me, tho some may say my solution was...extreme :D

Incidentally, for a screen.....consider either a High Contrast Cinema Vision from DaLite, or if you want to save a few dollars, a roll-up 16:9 Panoview GrayWolf.
Its what I use, and its fantastic.

Hey guys on another note I've been having a bugger of a time gettting the focus on the H31 consistent over the entire projected image. .

This a budget PJ with budget optics. I've fiddled with 4 different H30's and 1 H31 and none of them had perfect focus, far from it. I use the pixel structure lines as a reference and I could not get the pixel lines sharp all across the screen. There will be patches of sharp line and patches of blurry lines through out the screen area.

From the normal seating position I've not noticed that this effects the image. I've made note of the out of focus areas on the screen and could not tell that they were anymore out of focus than the sharp areas when sitting 2x screen width back.

But once you start getting into the more expensive higher resolution PJ's, the optics and it's alignment get better...which of course would be more important on a higher resolution PJ that you will be sitting closer to the screen on.

Fleaman

There will be patches of sharp line and patches of blurry lines through out the screen area.
Fleaman
Exactly. I can get it nearly perfect if I use that image I created. You need to have uber steady hands though because a slight tick on the focus ring will throw either the top or bottom lines out of focus. It really needs some sort of servo controlled focus you can adjust on the remote. That would be nice. It's really not that bad though and I can't tell when I watch movies. You can def. tell when you are projecting that image I created and then walk up to the screen. The pixel grid is a good way to describe the sharpness of the individual pixels. Like you said it's difficult to get consistent sharpness on every pixel. It's like when you adjust the focus ring either the top or bottom becomes sharper. Getting consistent focus takes a few minutes and I've found looking at the corners to be a good marker. But then sometimes the middle center area gets out of focus.

Yobo - of course what matters is how it looks where you sit & watch.
Don't forget to just sit & watch once & a while :D

Quaxtros,
IMHO viewing upconverted DVD source and 1080i HDTV on the H31 is great!!! I've tried a lot of different ways, and for me this looks best.
Of course, there are those who think you should just stick to 480p into your H31 - my experience is that pumping higher res into the H31 & letting it do the scaling is best.
Of course: YMMV

yobo

pictures look much better

guys,

how good or bad is the optoma on a blackout materials?

Yeah so that was a good idea. Thanks.

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/537/dscn18276pn.th.jpg (http://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn18276pn.jpg)

It'd be so funny if I painted everything black. The reflection is something I'm noticing. How do you get the best results? Dark fabric around screen?

Great! I'm glad you like it. Yes, dark fabric around the screen will also help your picture quality. Your eye will be drawn into the screen and less distracted by reflections coming from light colored areas around it. I covered my screen wall in dark, flat black felt fabric and then hung my screen on top of that. Then I took drapes made of the same material and hung them from ceiling to floor on both sides of my screen. This gave it a real movie theater look and greatly improved my perceived contrast and brightness. It also kills any light overspill you might be getting outside the borders of your screen area. Not to mention it just makes the whole thing look more fancy and finished. Dark black room good. Bright white room bad. My theater is no cave but I am of the opinion that this is my "movie theater" and it's DARK when you go to the movies so I am going to try and replicate that experience as closely as possible, thus giving my equipment every opportunity to perform to the best of it's ability. Good luck and keep the pictures and updates coming. :D

Hey wait a minute, I think I missed something. You are not using a screen are you? It looks like you are projecting onto a blank wall. No problem with that but you might try something in the DIY screen forum just to see how you like it. I went with a blackout cloth screen myself and never saw the need to have anything else. Cost me about $35 total and about an hour of my time.

guys,

how good or bad is the optoma on a blackout materials?

Optoma H31 is great on BO cloth with a velveteen border. I've been very happy with that setup for almost a year now.

Now that I'm completely hooked on projectors, I think I will try a primer and Behr Silverscreen finish over the BO cloth a little later this summer to enhance blacks.

Guyz!,

Just got my h31.
In 1 word ‘””woooooooooooow”! :D

Spectacular, isn't it?! :) What size image did you go with? I'm looking at a rather "smallish" 7ft diagonal!

i'm using A DIY balckout screen 92' Diag. and its amazing. :)

Excellent, enjoy it. If I did the math properly I think you're screen is about an inch bigger than mine on the diagonal... Mine is roughly 79 wide by 44.5 high. Did you go with the metal L-braces in the corners? I had trouble with that design. Because I got the BO cloth really tight, the screen wanted to twist.

ahmed82,

WOW is right. I just got my H31 last night. It is great, can't beleive I waited this long. I watched U2 concert Live in Boston, Elevation Tour. WOW again.

Question to all:

1. What's with the blinking stand-by button....this is just plain weird???
2. If I'm inputing a standard interlace signal, does the H31 do the progressive scaling automatically? There is no mention of the PixelWorks in the manual at all.


Thanks to this forum in helping me make my dicision to buy.

Jay

I've always considered "blinking green" as "off".

Unless you're providing an 854x480 image via DVI to your projector, then the scalar is doing its job.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1580/dscn20829hg.th.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn20829hg.jpg)http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2672/dscn20854xs.th.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn20854xs.jpg)http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3149/dscn20877yu.th.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn20877yu.jpg)http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1447/dscn20909uu.th.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn20909uu.jpg)http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7254/dscn20912nd.th.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn20912nd.jpg)

I havnt checked this thread in ages, but I'm not suprised that its still going.

I have had my H31 for awhile now, almost 2000 hrs on it...

All I can say, if you buy this pj, you will always love it, but sure you might like a more spendier pj better, but for the money, the H31 will always be a great option.

But all I can say about the resolution, I prefer 854x480 res anyday with this pj over 1080i or any other resolution, even though the 1080i will look great, but i cant get over the 1:1 pixel mapping picture quality.

Arty13,

How did you get a 1:1 pixel map? Sorry if you already answered this. Thanks

Arty13,

How did you get a 1:1 pixel map? Sorry if you already answered this. Thanks

I use a PC with DVI-I, and with powerstrip I get 1:1 Pixel Mapping (854x480)

Hello folks. I'm brand new to the projector world and after doing a great deal of research settled on purchasing an Optoma H31. Many thanks to those on these boards as your reviews helped the process greatly.

I have a question about the H31 (and maybe projectors in general)...

Is it supposed to project a black border around the image? I'm throwing about a 100in screen and there appears to be a 2in (roughly) dark border projected on my wall. Is that an H31 function? Is it normal?

I'm going to paint a goo screen on my wall and was measuring the size for taping and found that the screen image would shift an inch or two depending on what the format of the DVD... I taped off a nice 16:9 frame based on a 16:9 movie only to find when I put a 2.35:1 film in, it shifted a bit to the right. I wasn't taping to include the black projected border (was going to mask that off with dark paint). I'm wondering if the black area is variable based on aspect ratio? Again, I'm new to this so this might have been covered elsewhere or belong in the DIY screen thread. It may be a simple matter of including the dark areas in the screen area to get a consistent size.

Any insight is welcome. Thanks in advance.

William

I have a question about the H31 (and maybe projectors in general)...

Is it supposed to project a black border around the image? I'm throwing about a 100in screen and there appears to be a 2in (roughly) dark border projected on my wall. Is that an H31 function? Is it normal?


William

William,

What are you hooking up to the H31? and what Resolution are you sending it?

I know often with PC's when you do various resolutions the H31 will crop the picture differently, giving dark borders or shifting the image to a side.

So check what resolution you have, and try sending it a different resolution, to see if that helps.

Arty

William,

What are you hooking up to the H31? and what Resolution are you sending it?

I know often with PC's when you do various resolutions the H31 will crop the picture differently, giving dark borders or shifting the image to a side.

So check what resolution you have, and try sending it a different resolution, to see if that helps.

Arty

Thanks for the quick response. I'm running 480p to the projector via component cables from a non-PC DVD disc changer. When doing testing I had 3 DVDs of different aspect ratios loaded and each different ratio moved slightly (only noticable because I taped off the wall).

Thanks for the quick response. I'm running 480p to the projector via component cables from a non-PC DVD disc changer. When doing testing I had 3 DVDs of different aspect ratios loaded and each different ratio moved slightly (only noticable because I taped off the wall).

What dvd player are you using?

I also know, when I use my dvd player (samsung hd841 via Component) when i shift through 480p 720p, 1080i, the image does shift, either slightly larger or slightly smaller, but not 2" all around the screen. I can get that effect through my PC via DVI, but not my DVD player.