Badaboom!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=534504

This is where I found some more information.

I presently have a 100W fluorescent lamp (with shade) behind my screen - Da-Lite Hi=Power. It is used when I want some room light (and that's with an anemic L300 LCD PJ).

Edit: Oops. I posted that link already.

Jon O. -- I just finished reading that link you provided and it was not very useful, it degraded to mostly flaming. The one I posted in the >$3500 PJ forum was much more useful. It addressed real observations, and real solutions (not applicable to 100% of viewers).

The key, I believe, is a too bright picture. There is a reason that the SMPTE recommends a screen brightness of 11 - 16 Ft-L. They don't want sick patrons. Although 16 Ft-L may be too dark for some, pushing it beyond 20 - 25 Ft-L is asking for problems. With DLP PJs like the MT700, the too bright screen image coupled with the motion artifacts that the DLPs have, makes "eyestrain" type problems worse.

For someone, like me, that have a psychosomatic susceptability to motion sickness, the PJ brightness has to be reduced in order to enjoy the HT experience. I really don't want to think about the alternative (get an LCD) because I love the CR that the DLP PJs have.

{ASIDE: Is that called "rationalizing"?}

If your setup doesn't bother you or your friends and family, that's great! That''s also what I'm searching for with my next PJ. I loved your pictures, BTW.

I cant get it to work. I am running htpc with 9800pro over dvi/hdmi. It says 720p/60 in the lower right hand corner and will display windows for a brief second and then goes black. On the one time that it did not go black the icons on windows and the start menu were all off the screen. Does anyone have any ideas.

Thanks in advance.

Bsims2719 -- Both Kjelt and Senior_Curtains traded PC setup information a number (about 20) of posts back. Here is a link to one of the later ones:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5548033#post5548033

You might want to read the posts around that time frame (in this thread).

I believe those were all 48Hz timings which no one has gotten to work over HDMI. Try the 60Hz (actually 59.94Hz) timing I posted in my initial look at the MT700. Here's the post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5357319#post5357319) .

If the Radeon drivers have a 59.94Hz timing (look for 720p HDTV derived, etc.), that should work as well.

Does the MT-700 have source lock? When I had my Optoma H30 it would hunt around when I switched sources which was very annoying. I will be using only the HDMI imput on the MT-700.

thanks

Another thought is to just install Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition (preferably 2005) software.

Then you just select 1280x720 in the preferences dialog then sit back and enjoy the movie.........

Claus T. -

My apologies for posting a bum, worthless link. I only read the first post or two before copying it over. I removed it since it was non-productive. Yours looks much better BTW.

About the photos - thanks! I hate to post them because they are mere approximations of what I see with the MT700, but they'll do I guess.

As far as fatigue/eye strain goes - I definately agree it has to do with brightness; and since DLPs seem to have more lumens than LCDs in general (generalizing here), DLPs get blamed.

No-one else who has viewed my MT700 has complained about headaches or fatigue (even when asked), but I still feel some at times. To me, Xbox can be especially tough when it's fully dark in the room. I'm considering installing some backlighting behind the screen (xmas lights or something), and I think that will work nicely. OT - It sucks that I am one of those who can see rainbows on anything and everything, even when not looking, but I find the DLP picture too great to pass up for such a minor quibble.

Note: If someone finds a link where calibrated lumen outpout of the MT700 is measured please post it. I'd like to calculate just how many Ft-L's I'm dealing with.

Also, regarding motion dithering or whatever it is called, it might be my mind rationalizing or making things up, but I think i've noticed it depends on the source material. When using a Sony DVP-315 (480i), an Apex (480i), or sometimes on Xbox (480p) the dithering can be distracting or bad. But, using a panasonic RP-82 (480p) or my Cox HD/DVR (720p) I can recall any *significant* dithering (or just say I've noticed significantly less). Also running an older Tosiba player on both 480i and 480p, I swear I noticed less motion dithering during a dock scene pan in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' viewing the same segment minutes apart.

(yup I've had a lot of dvd players in and out the past few weeks ;) )

Could this be true? I haven't seen it mentioned before that motion dithering could be lessened or worsened depening on the quality of the source transport and/or source material. Sometimes I make things up, but I dunno... :)

The MT700 doesn't try to automatically find an active input. If you select HDMI it will always stay on HDMI.

Look at the projectorcentral.com review of the PE7700 for one estimate of the calibrated MT700 lumens.

However this seems somewhat low for what my eyeballs saw when comparing against the 4805 (which I think is 600-700 lumens in HT mode). I think this is also what MikeSRC saw, that the MT700 and 4805 were close.

Using a 700 lumen estimate I'm at roughly 12ftL with an ND2 filter. Whites seem plenty bright so I don't think I'm too far off from that.

FG -- Thanks, RE: Bsims question. I knew it was back there someplace, I just couldn't find it. I couldn't remember who posted it. I knew it was either you, Kjelt or Senior_Curtains, and Kjelt's was the first I ran into.

HHS -- But doesn't MCE have other problems? I don't want another MS OS to buy, at least until XP becomes totally obsolete.

BTW, I played around with timings a bit more and Juddertest looked the same to me at 47.954Hz, 60Hz and 72Hz. This was with refreshes at 2/frame and speed at 5 as well as 8. I may not know what to look for, of course.

Buffertest did look different on 60Hz - I think all the bar positions seemed filled more evenly (though I didn't switch back and forth as much on Buffertest).

I've entered the exact same timing I posted to get 47.952, but now get 47.954. I have seen the weird white shimmering that Kjelt saw. I actually saw it with my posted 47.952 Hz timing, but then moved the resize controls a bit and it disappeared. I *think* that's all I changed to get rid of it. I noticed that this sync shimmering comes and goes at various refresh rates.

Originally posted by FlyingGimp
Look at the projectorcentral.com review of the PE7700 for one estimate of the calibrated MT700 lumens.

However this seems somewhat low for what my eyeballs saw when comparing against the 4805 (which I think is 600-700 lumens in HT mode). I think this is always MikeSRC saw, that the MT700 and 4805 were close.

The two were very close after calibration, with the MT700 even a bit brighter than the 4805. However, the bulb in the 4805 had more hours on it than the MT700, so I'd say they're about equal.

Jon O. -- If and when Mike get the measurement made, he should post it here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=532141

FG -- That's the same analysis I did. We came to the same conclusion. I hope that I can reduce this with internal adjustments.

I bought a Da-Lite Hi-Power screen, last Nov., and at 600 Lumens, I might even have to go with a ND3 or ND4 filter. At 600 Lumens, a ND2 filter will only get me down to 25 Ft-L. That's about what I'm running now with my L300U. I would rather not buy another screen.

EDIT: Wow, I compose a post and Mike beat me to the punch:D. Thanks, Mike. It's always nice to get the hands on info.

If I remember right, the conclusion (at least for most people) was that it was simply too bright! They were using fairly small screens with fairly bright projectors.

The solution was to back light the screen. Some people put christmas lights behind the screen to ease the eyestrain.

I used rope lights from Home Depot. Here's a really bad shot (no tripod)...but you get the idea:

http://home.comcast.net/~jgilvey/IMG_0214.JPG

Can't say that I've ever backlit a projection screen, but I've done a number of them for rear projection sets, so I suppose the same principles should apply. I normally just use an ND filter if the image is too bright. However, if you're going to use backlighting, the backlighting should be as close to 6500K as possible to preserve accurate color perception. With RPTVs, I've used the German-made Ideal-Lume fluorescents. There's more info on them here (http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ideal_lume.htm).

I agree Mike. Backlighting only works for slight corrections. The ND filter approach is better for larger corrections, like I'll need. The problem with backlighting is that it can change the perceived color temperature of the picture, unless, like you said, the backlight is also D65.

The problem with backlighting is that it can change the perceived color temperature of the picture, unless, like you said, the backlight is also D65.
Ahh, I wasn't aware of that. My walls are deep flat red, so I'd need to come up with some kind of screen border along the wall behind to achieve D65. With my pj and screen size, I find both backlighting and the ND2 help a lot. As I'm interested in the MT700 (as you may have guessed ;) )as an upgrade, I'd likely need the same if brightness is similar...or I could go a little bigger.

So I played around a lot with the MT700 today and I reread the thread about juddertest but not completely. I found out that the artifacts I saw earlier and reported in this thread are NOT judder. They are 24 and 29 Hz low frequency artifacts that pop up in the juddertest program when displaying 2 refreshes per frame (or more) and for which I am very perceptive.

To be sure I lent a 24" CRT monitor from a friend and ran the juddertest at the same resolution as the MT700 (1280*720) and saw the same thing happening. The main difference between the CRT and the MT700 was the dithering. The bars were perfectly vertical no tearing and the same movement as on the CRT no shaking or pausing and continuing just smooth scrolling.

So this can mean two things: 1) the MT700 is reasonably judderfree or 2) I am not able to see the judder cause maybe I don't know where to look for or am imperceptive for it. As I was afraid for 2) that is why I lent the CRT to see if it was a big difference in movement, which it was not (in my opinion) just the looks of the bars were slightly different, the CRT was more compact and looked sharper then the MT700 bars which to my opinion is due to the dithering mentioned earlier on horizontal panning.

I tested on 60 Hz. So i would really like for someone else who has experienced judder on an older type of PJ to verify and confirm or deny this.

I also tried to put the MT700 on 72Hz which unfortunately in my case it did NOT sync to (I have an ATI 9700 pro). I tried three times but got fed up with having to reboot my computer since I get no picture on both monitors when the sync goes wrong.

BTW i ran the MT700 at HDMI input

just a question: for all the 48hz test done is the source HTPC capable of genlock ? By genlock I mean the source will strictly do 2:2:2:2.... Non-genlocked source will do 2:2:2:2:3:2:.... i.e. once a while drop/add a frame to sync with the display. To see the judder test the source must be able not to add/skip frames. I know only a few video processor like IScan HD can do it. Not sure abt the HTPC. Without the genlock the 48hz will look pretty the same as 60hz. With the genlock if the display can't do true 48hz or doing any conversion the judder is very obvious.

Has any one tried a IScan HD to test ?

Originally posted by Kjelt
So I played around a lot with the MT700 today and I reread the thread about juddertest but not completely. I found out that the artifacts I saw earlier and reported in this thread are NOT judder. They are 24 and 29 Hz low frequency artifacts that pop up in the juddertest program when displaying 2 refreshes per frame (or more) and for which I am very perceptive.

To be sure I lent a 24" CRT monitor from a friend and ran the juddertest at the same resolution as the MT700 (1280*720) and saw the same thing happening. The main difference between the CRT and the MT700 was the dithering. The bars were perfectly vertical no tearing and the same movement as on the CRT no shaking or pausing and continuing just smooth scrolling.

So this can mean two things: 1) the MT700 is reasonably judderfree or 2) I am not able to see the judder cause maybe I don't know where to look for or am imperceptive for it. As I was afraid for 2) that is why I lent the CRT to see if it was a big difference in movement, which it was not (in my opinion) just the looks of the bars were slightly different, the CRT was more compact and looked sharper then the MT700 bars which to my opinion is due to the dithering mentioned earlier on horizontal panning.

I tested on 60 Hz. So i would really like for someone else who has experienced judder on an older type of PJ to verify and confirm or deny this.

I also tried to put the MT700 on 72Hz which unfortunately in my case it did NOT sync to (I have an ATI 9700 pro). I tried three times but got fed up with having to reboot my computer since I get no picture on both monitors when the sync goes wrong.

BTW i ran the MT700 at HDMI input

Kjelt: As you are from the netherlands like me. Do you have problems with 50Hz PAL sources on this projector? And can you use the HTPC at 50Hz?

so....as far as everyone can tell, there are really no major issue's with this pj,

besides the one dead pixel case?

Zero offset a major problem for some.

Otherwise a great bargain in a HD2+ projector.

Has anyone tried the keystone correction to 'overcome' the zero offset issue?

The incorrect "zoom" aspect ratio for non-anamorphic letterboxed material. I hope this will be fixed with future units.

Pip

Originally posted by MikeA
Has anyone tried the keystone correction to 'overcome' the zero offset issue?

You can use keystone if you need a a greater offset, but the more you use, the more you will degrade the picture. If you only need to pick up a few extra inches of offset (by angling a few degrees), it shouldn't be a problem.

I second the motion on the "zero offset"......... if you have high ceiling's this is a "real" problem... you wind up having a long pole hanging down into the room!

Zero offset, must be cheaper to manufacture is the only reason I can think of they would do such a silly thing.

Pip, can the zoom problem be fixed with an HTPC (or video processor)?

I agree the zero-offset is a pain in the arse.

An HTPC can zoom non-anamorphic letterboxed DVDs, and so can some DVD players -- including those that upconvert. Whether it's fixed or not, the zoom problem is easily overcome.

That's great to know, as I'm considering this projector with a DVD player like the Oppo or Bravo D2. I'm assuming since they are upconverting that the zoom is not an issue, as you said. I also plan on using a constant height 2.35:1 setup eventually, but I will be using an HTPC at that point.

Well, I got mine up on the ceiling. Looks great from my Denon 2900, although I still haven't tweaked it yet, need to get the screen finished first.

I've been playing around with the different AR settings and couldn't figure out why Zoom didn't look right. Forgot about that error discussion, I definitely see it too. Not a problem mostly, but I don't have a good solution for LDs. I should check my 2900 to see if its zoom will work for non-anamorphic properly. Definitely would like to see a firmware fix. Who can we push on?

Another question for anyone with the MT700. Has anybody searched for extra IR codes that work? Or perhaps tried other Toshiba remotes? Specifically, I'd like to see if I can put the Sleep function on a remote button instead of buried in a menu.

The zero offset is a lens issue. They have apparently chosen a cheaper lens to get this below $3k street. There are some other features not available because of the price, too. Not many, though. This is an awesome PJ for the price.

I really wanted a constant height setup too (I got a panamorph and iScan HD+,) but after seeing how good it was zoomed to the max size, I gave up on that idea. The only lens that will work at full zoom, that I know of, is the ISCO III which is close to 2x the price of this projector. I have the projector at 15' and project a 12' wide image. If I could put the projector back much further with min zoom it would work, but the the projector would be in the kitchen. Just an fyi.

Interesting, Warren.. thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to see when I get it...

Spike .. need your help, please. I am unable to get a display thru my hdmi connection to the MT700 from the 2910. Both are set to hdmi. There is flickering but no image and the display reads hdmi 720x60.
What am I missing?

Originally posted by Spiky
Another question for anyone with the MT700. Has anybody searched for extra IR codes that work? Or perhaps tried other Toshiba remotes? Specifically, I'd like to see if I can put the Sleep function on a remote button instead of buried in a menu.

I've been looking for a discrete on command (off takes two button pushes so it's less of an issue), but haven't found any yet. I would expect that you'd probably have a better chance with BenQ commands than Toshiba though. I looked inside my MT700 and every visible circuit board (including the IR receiver) has BenQ stamped on it.

RE: Zero offset

I think it's wrong to call this a "problem". I'd call it an "attribute to take note of", just like any different offset. :) In my room a projector with a larger offset is harder to place (unless you start talking lens shift). I guess I'm in the minority. Go figure.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
I looked inside my MT700 and every visible circuit board (including the IR receiver) has BenQ stamped on it.

Hi Mike, very interesting, how about the board with the Genesis chip (Faroudja 2310), i would suspect that to be Toshiba or is it also made by BenQ?

Originally posted by _XipHiaS_
Kjelt: As you are from the netherlands like me. Do you have problems with 50Hz PAL sources on this projector? And can you use the HTPC at 50Hz?

No problems yet, and yes the HTPC works fine at 50Hz although I prefer the 60Hz. The reason is that with my ATI9700PRO at 50Hz the picture looks a bit (how do you say) washed? it is brighter then with 60Hz and the colors look nicer and richer at 60Hz with my HTPC. But that differs per setup i presume.

Originally posted by Kjelt
Hi Mike, very interesting, how about the board with the Genesis chip (Faroudja 2310), i would suspect that to be Toshiba or is it also made by BenQ?

I knew someone would ask that. :D

Actually the entire chassis is enclosed in a metal casing, so you can only see few circuit boards through the holes or around the edges. I'm not able to see the main circuit boards without removing the casing (which I'm not inclined to do). ;)

There are two fans right behind the front exhaust grill for those who are interested and (as reported previoulsy) the light path is sealed.

Originally posted by 645cntx
Spike .. need your help, please. I am unable to get a display thru my hdmi connection to the MT700 from the 2910. Both are set to hdmi. There is flickering but no image and the display reads hdmi 720x60.
What am I missing?

I'm not sure what's happening, but the display is correct. Are you sure that the HDMI cable is okay? Have you used it before?

Originally posted by 645cntx
Spike .. need your help, please. I am unable to get a display thru my hdmi connection to the MT700 from the 2910. Both are set to hdmi. There is flickering but no image and the display reads hdmi 720x60.
What am I missing?
Haven't gotten to HDMI yet, so I'm no help. Probably not til late summer or fall, I'm waiting for the DirecTV MPEG4 mess to be a little more clear.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
I've been looking for a discrete on command (off takes two button pushes so it's less of an issue), but haven't found any yet. I would expect that you'd probably have a better chance with BenQ commands than Toshiba though. I looked inside my MT700 and every visible circuit board (including the IR receiver) has BenQ stamped on it.
Good idea. One day I'm sure I'll play around with this. If I'm the first I'll bring it up again.

Discrete on would be nice, too. I don't want macros with the off button, I'll do that separately because of the cool down vs startup issues with PJs. I suppose On pressed one time is probably good enough in most cases since it won't turn it off. I haven't tried it, but Menu might remove the warning message from the screen, it works on some other display which I can't remember offhand. On, Menu might be a decent discrete on macro.

I took some time to program my MX-500, but haven't even checked to make sure the learning took!

Say, Mike. If you have both the MT700 and 7700, why don't you try using one remote with the other, see if they are directly related?

At remotecentral I noticed another Tosh PJ with IR codes that worked with its Infocus brethren. Probably their standard method to not change the IR system, no?

Originally posted by Spiky
Say, Mike. If you have both the MT700 and 7700, why don't you try using one remote with the other, see if they are directly related?

I don't have both, but if you've seen a picture of the 7700 remote, it's virtually identical to the MT700's, so I imagine they use the same IR commands.

Regarding the Power down, if I recall, pushing any button other than Power will remove the warning from the screen. Menu certainly will.

I've had my bonus room/home theater (HT) almost totally finished for about 2 years and now with the MT-700 price vs performance looking so good, I am about ready to install the FP. Here's my plan:
1. Ceiling mount the MT-700, about 14 feet from the screen.
2. In the beginnning, install a DYI 2.35 aspect ratio (AR) screen (48" X 113"). I plan to use blocking material, on the sides, to view 1.78 AR material.
3. Connect a Toshiba SD-5980 using 23' HMDI or component cables, which ever is better.
The HT is almost 100% light controlled.
Questions??
1. Should I wait a few months to purchase the MT-700, hoping that any "new product bugs" will be worked out?
2. Is the above combination of equipment about the best that can be purchased for under $3000 now?
3. Can you see any glaring errors in my plans?
Thanks in advance for your responses. I have been monitering AVS forums for about 2 years and have learned a lot!

O'Henry:

Wow, I can't believe you've had a completed dedicated HT for 2 years without a projector in it... either you're incredibly patient, or certifiably insane. :D

A few notes before your questions:

- Remember the zero offset, so you'll put the center of the PJ lens even with the top of the screen

- The "blocking material" you mention is called "masking".. that should help in your searches in the screens forum to get tips, etc

- Use HDMI instead of component, if at all possible

On to your questions:

1. That's up to you, but typically anything that can be worked out will be worked out in firmware at this point, and available to all. The only reason I'd wait at this point is to find out any more potential weaknesses in the projector (not that there are many... just a general point), and possibly more comparisons to other projectors. Price may also decrease somewhat by waiting. I personally am most likely going to buy it as soon as I save up enough for it.

2. It is certainly my opinion that it is, but it is only an opinion, of course.

3. None that I can see... enjoy the setup, and congrats!

O'Henry - the only problem I see in your plan (other than waiting so long to ge a projector) is your screen size seems a bit small.

I bought a MT700 a couple of weeks ago and am extremely happy with the image it projects. Enjoy!

As far as waiting, why? a couple of hundred bucks is nothing. Sure get the best deal you can but enjoy NOW!

O'Henry -- That sounds great EXCEPT ==> No mention of an audio system. Without at least a decent 5.1 channel surround sound system (7.1 preferred) you're missing about 40% of a HT.

Originally posted by Vashon Donique
so....as far as everyone can tell, there are really no major issue's with this pj,

besides the one dead pixel case?
Vashon-

I have had a TDP-MT700 for just over two weeks now, and I have only seen the same things others mention-the non-consistent 'zoom mode' and a couple of times when it did not want to re-sync on an HDMI/DVI signal until I switched to another active input and back.

This is a superb piece of video equipment!

this seems to be good news then....

i suppose if there were any inherent problems, they would show up in the interim and we'd be hearing about them, per the actual number of individuals who have this nice machine:D

One other thing I should mention... I am also in the (tiny?) group that is very happy with the 'zero lens offset'. It leaves one less calculation to worry about when measuring for screen position, and it also allows me to make minor zoom adjustments for overscan without having the whole image move above or below the screen area.

A correction to my posts from long ago:

I now see the zoom issues everyone is talking about, and I do see that some of the modes don't operate on 720p/1080i. I was being silly when I said they worked for me (need to verify before posting from now on) :)

Also - I've been using my Xbox a lot lately (Burnout 3, Halo), and I have to say that it is amazing. But, I wanted to report that I haven't had any of the 525i/p synch issues that were reported early on. No problems here!

I love Xbox on a pj...incredible!

PS: Wooo! A new member for ZOFC! The Zero Offset Fan Club! YEAH!

PPS: Or should it be...ZOSU! The Zero Offset Supporters Union! W00T!

great info....

so, for the zero offset heros, with 8ft. ceilings, how are you mounting the pj without mounting to the ceiling? i.e. wall mount (inverted)

The zero offset and short throw meant pretty dramatic changes to my living room. I used to have my InFocus mounted on the ceiling about 19' back (projecting onto a 116" wide screen). Now I have 6' tall Metro shelving directly behind my couch (15' back) with the PJ sitting upside down on top of it and all my AV equipment racked below.

Incidentally, it seems that, though several of us have played with the JudderTest program and have gotten the projector to sync to 720p@48Hz, none of us really know what we're doing to tell if it's really doing what it should be. So this is my call to someone who's got some expertise in that area to do a little testing.

Please?

Well, here's my solution to the zero offset.

I went to the local home improvement store and bought the materials to DIM (do it myself) ceiling mount the projector. I bought some aluminum square tubing on the hardware isle. It's already pre-drilled with holes that fit 1/4" hardware nicely. Used lag screws to attach it to the ceiling (after using a stud-finder to locate supports). Cut a 3' threaded rod into 4 pieces. Cut a piece of birch plywood just a little larger than the projector. Drilled holes in the wood in the correct locations for the projector mounting screws. Also drilled holes in each corner of the plywood. Mounted the projector to the plywood, hung the wood from the 4 threaded rods. DIM ceiling mount for about $50 in material.

The lens is probably a little less than 7' off the floor, but since the assembly is on threaded rod I can move it up or down to fine tune vertical position.

Next project: get rid of the antique white walls and carpet. I like the brightness of my picture, but there is way too much light relflection from the walls.

I'd like to hear thoughts on DVD players with the MT700. I need to upgrade mine but I'm having a hard time convincing myself that I need to spend top dollar on a DVD player or get one with an HDMI output. Since the MT700 won't accept 480i over HDMI, it seems to me that since it has a very good de-interlacer in it I'd get a great picture using 480i over component. In fact, depending on the quality of the de-interlacer in the DVD player, it's very likely I'd get a better picture that way than sending 480p over HDMI.

Comments?

PS: After about a month with my MT700, there's no way I can ever go back to a "TV".

I've been very impressed so far with the new Oppo OPDV971H upscaling DVD player I'm using with my MT700. Faroudja deinterlacing and scaling over DVI. It also plays DVD-A and is region free.

Originally posted by Vashon Donique
so, for the zero offset heros, with 8ft. ceilings, how are you mounting the pj without mounting to the ceiling? i.e. wall mount (inverted)

My ceiling height starts at 9' and goes up, so a ceiling mount would hang down 3'. Fortunately, the room is not that deep so I can rear wall mount as shown below. It's an inverted TV mount bolted to a steel plate painted white. All hardware from Lowes.

http://www.surfaudiovideo.com/graphics/MT700-wallmt.jpg

Mike:

Have you tried the Oppo with the H31?

No, I haven't. I imagine it would be similar to the Bravo I used with the H31, just better deinterlacing. Like it was with the Bravo, the 720p pixel mapping is a big plus with the Oppo.

Thanks for your thoughts.
1. Sound system: Yes, I do have a nice surround system we have been listening to music on for about a year.
2. Screen size: I thought about going larger, but my front row seating will be about 13' from the screen and I am concerned with lack of sharpness/screen door. Will this be an issue, seated less than 1.5 times (diagonal) screen size?
3. Mounting bracket: Would like to purchase one that lets me have the option of adjusting from 16'' to 24". Can't seem to find one with those dimensions.
4. Aspect ratios: I am not clear on what is the problem with this projector. Will it not project the 2.35 and 1.78 aspect content properly?

Has anyone measured the black level on the MT700?

O'Henry, if you are planning a 2.35 screen then you will have an offset. It will be 12.5% of the screen height (the one black bar)
I wanted 2.35 also so I got some blackout cloth to test this.
I have a 14 foot throw distance. The blackout cloth is 54" by 144"
The problem I found is the maximum zoom for 2.35 is 49" high on 2.35. Going to 16x9 material I zoom to minimum and the image height is 53" so a 2.35 screen would cut off the top and bottom a little. Plus it wouldn't be fun to change the zoom all the time.
I could be wrong about this, but that is what I found so far. I bought a panamorph lens and iScanHD+ planning to make it constant height, but the image is so nice cranked up full size that the Panamorph won't work. I think I will end up getting a 16x9 screen and masking the other way.
Warren.

Oh, yeah. I am sitting at .9x screen width and love it. Only on bright scenes do I see the screen door, and that doesn't happen enough to bother me.
Warren.

Originally posted by O'Henry
2. Screen size: I thought about going larger, but my front row seating will be about 13' from the screen and I am concerned with lack of sharpness/screen door. Will this be an issue, seated less than 1.5 times (diagonal) screen size?

Your screen size should be fine at that distance. I'm using a slightly smaller screen (92" 16:9) at the same seating distance and wouldn't mind it being larger. :D


4. Aspect ratios: I am not clear on what is the problem with this projector. Will it not project the 2.35 and 1.78 aspect content properly?

The issue is with being able to zoom non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs with the projector. I've always had a DVD player that could do that (plus I have very few DVDs that are non-anamorphic widescreen), so it hasn't been an issue for me. Any of today's anamorphic widescreen DVDs at any aspect ratio will display correctly.

Originally posted by Vashon Donique
great info....

so, for the zero offset heros, with 8ft. ceilings, how are you mounting the pj without mounting to the ceiling? i.e. wall mount (inverted)

My room is kind of unique which is why it worked out for me (There are diagrams in my signature below). I have 7'1" ceilings because of a suspended foam tile ceiling system. The complicating factor in my case is a dropped portion of the ceiling (full of HVAC stuff) directly over the viewing area. It's 6.5" lower than the rest of the ceiling and is just wide enough to cover the couch area. My couch is approx 12.5 ft back from the front wall and is 35" high. The room is 24'6" deep so the rear wall is not an option (plus there's a window).

Thusly, vis a vis, ergo...I have two options for projector placement:

1) Directly behind the couch on a desk or stand 36" high. (that's where it is now)

2) (This is where it will go soon) Under and behind the dropped portion of the ceiling, hung on a shelf connected to the dropped portion. This will give me an image that starts about 7" below the front ceiling.

I tried very hard to get the center channel speaker to have as little vertical separation from the mains as possible, and a PJ with an offset from position #2 would have pushed the ctr channel too low for my taste.

Obviously there are many complicating issues in here such as zoom ratios and lens shift, but all other things equal, the zero offset worked out better for me.


Phew.

On the zoom issue...

I tested this out last night with a 1.66:1 non-anamorphic movie. It basically filled the 1.78:1 screen precisely with no apparent overscan or letter/pillar-boxing. I can't think of the geometry of that at the moment, but it looks like that's what the zoom is set to, just too much horizontal to get 1.66 fullscreen* instead of the correct 1.78 to get fullscreen*. I suppose I should have measured the movie (in Direct mode) to see if the 1.66 was correct, I am just going off the back of the box. Makes me wonder if it is set for a different setup, aren't European TVs 1.66:1?

It was still better than Full (16:9) mode for this movie, which stretched it horizontally to fill the screen, but not vertically at all. Talk about too wide!

Oh, I didn't take time to compare to my DVD player's zoom. I should try that tonight just to understand it all.


* By "fullscreen", I'm refering to fullscreen on an HDTV, just for this post. Don't confuse that with the standard "widescreen" vs "fullscreen" discussion of aspect ratios.

Mike,

you are officially my hero, :D

the wife is involved in the new theater as much as I am, & we both didn't want to go tearing into the ceiling....

even though we have a generous budget, we still didn't want the design and layout to look cheapish.....

still considering the acrylic hushbox from Dave at whisperflow....

found this little bugger a few minutes ago..

Bretford TVPW20-BK (http://www.mountsandmore.com/prods/Bretford/TVPW20-BK/TV-Mounts/0C261/0PBR1079.htm#additional)

Jonny,

what I like about this one is the cable management...

Originally posted by Vashon Donique
the wife is involved in the new theater as much as I am, & we both didn't want to go tearing into the ceiling....

As was mine.
A "minimum of visible cables" was the key phrase. :D

found this little bugger a few minutes ago..

Bretford TVPW20-BK (http://www.mountsandmore.com/prods/Bretford/TVPW20-BK/TV-Mounts/0C261/0PBR1079.htm#additional)

Jonny,

what I like about this one is the cable management...

That's a nice looking mount. I already had the one I used just laying around, so it was a no-brainer to make use of it.

I was going to mention the Panasonic S97 upscaling player -- a lot of forum members have reported very good results with it on various PJs.

However, the Oppo OPDV971H sounds very interesting (I googled it - have to read more) and is $100 less than the S97. It also sounds like it works good too - a big plus.

The Panasonic S77 is going to be my choice to buy along with this projector. I think it's the same as the S97 but we'll have to wait and hear back from the new adopters. I had the Oppo and returned it. They've fixed a lot of the problems, but not some of the major ones. I am very surprised it got such high marks with the shimmering problem. And the S77 is only $199!

For those that have or have tested this projector, is there one or two fan speed? The Benq 8700 & 8700+ would occassionally kick into a higher fan speed, which was apparently somewhat annoying.

Unless you change lamp mode, I haven't heard any change in fan speed over hours of viewing. If it's changing speed, I can't hear it. Also, some projectors may kick into a higher speed based on temperature, which can be affected by room temperature and ventilation.

Originally posted by ChrisW6ATV
One other thing I should mention... I am also in the (tiny?) group that is very happy with the 'zero lens offset'. It leaves one less calculation to worry about when measuring for screen position, and it also allows me to make minor zoom adjustments for overscan without having the whole image move above or below the screen area.

I would have liked zero offset too. Now I've to tilt my table top PJ a little down to get the image right.

But, when I get the next projector I want it to be below my coffee table ... that would make the zero offset a little annoying and I'd have the tilt the projector up. With all the care we would like to take to minimize scaling, we can do as little of digital key stone as possible i.e. zero.

So, when I wanted the zero offset I didn't get it. But when I don't want it, I'll have it :(

How does this player handle 1080i? There was a big article on slashdot about how most 720p projectors convert 1080i to 540p first and it really screws up the picture quality. It would be nice to feed it native 1080i material from my HD Tivo. Who knows how good the scaler is in that thing.

Benchobi,
I had planned on getting the Panasonic S97 with the MT-700 but have decided not to. Am satisfied with my 5 yr. old Toshiba 5-disc player, outputting 480i over component. There is a slight edge over 480p, as the PJ indeed does an excellent job with this signal. Fifth Element in Superbit is the best yet.

Will save the $ toward HD-DVD in a couple-two-three years.

Panny S77 is excellent choice. All the PQ quality of the S97 w/out some of the bells & whistles.

Mike,
Mmud screen done. Will post in DIY screen forum over the weekend. VERY SATISFIED. With the six screen samples on hand from DaLite and Stewart, compares remarkably to the Greyhawk, as was my goal.

Originally posted by Jeffcom
Mike,
Mmud screen done. Will post in DIY screen forum over the weekend. VERY SATISFIED. With the six screen samples on hand from DaLite and Stewart, compares remarkably to the Greyhawk, as was my goal.

That is good news as I have recently had the opportunity to view a Greyhawk in action with an AE500 and it was marvelous. Question: Are you just using the Mmud mix or the SM/Mmud combination?

Originally posted by Vashon Donique
So, for the zero offset heros, with 8ft. ceilings, how are you mounting the pj without mounting to the ceiling? i.e. wall mount (inverted)
I have 8-foot ceilings and I did ceiling-mount my MT700, using the same DIY mount I used for the Infocus X1 before it. Because the Toshiba has a shorter throw as well as the zero offset, its picture simply hits the wall higher (as well as lower and wider, of course). The bottom of the projector is about 6 feet, 1 inch above the floor (and I am 6-feet-4), but since it is right above the couch it is not a problem.

I have a few questions about this most excellent looking PJ.
[list=1]
Is this another rebranded Infocus, a Benq, or is it an actual Toshiba product?

Is the bulb life 3000 hrs in low lamp mode or regular?

What's the average cost of a replacment bulb?
[/list=1]

Thanks

Originally posted by mobius
I have a few questions about this most excellent looking PJ.
[list=1]
Is this another rebranded Infocus, a Benq, or is it an actual Toshiba product?

Is the bulb life 3000 hrs in low lamp mode or regular?

What's the average cost of a replacment bulb?
[/list=1]

Thanks

Please read the thread before questions, most are answered previously!

1) BenQ with some Toshiba technology like deinterlacer
2) 3000hrs eco mode, 2000 high brightness mode (you won't need high brightness unless you have a footballstadium size screen or daylight interference
3) in europe about 500 euro's probably same prize in US as replacement bulbs for BenQ8700 so froogle or google around for best price.

Originally posted by nothru22
How does this player handle 1080i? There was a big article on slashdot about how most 720p projectors convert 1080i to 540p first and it really screws up the picture quality. It would be nice to feed it native 1080i material from my HD Tivo. Who knows how good the scaler is in that thing.

MT700 also downconverts to 540 first unfortunately so for best picture you need an external deinterlacer scaler to 720p.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
Fortunately, the room is not that deep so I can rear wall mount as shown below.


Mike if you had the opportunity and go ahead from the wife would you still go for wall mount or go to ceiling mount.
I am asking since you;re post brought me in doubt about which one to choose. The ceiling is gonna be an awkward piece of engineering since it will involve a hanging construction that must be put away when not watching movies (sort of projector lift) otherwise i will hit my head in daytime (projector will be hanging middle of the room at ear height (when i am standing) .

On the other hand hanging it at the wall as you did will bring my 92" screen darn close to the viewers and i think i will have more problems with the noise from the PJ (although I must admit the MT700 is reasonable quiet)
So what would you have choosen?

Jeffcom:

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing. I think I'd be happy with any good player outputting 480i over component. In fact, my old Panny A110 looks mighty good over S-vid, but it's starting to show its age. There's a couple of disks it has a hard time with.

ssj2:

I can definitely hear the fan speed change on my PJ. It's mounted directly over my chair. Doesn't bother me too much. I can usually "tune it out" when watching a movie. My sat receiver is MUCH louder. I'm in the process of moving all of my A/V gear to the back of the room, which will mean I probably won't even hear the PJ anymore unless I put the sat receiver in a hush box. No joke - it's a noisy box.

niggenz,
Added 2oz of silver metallic (SM) to the 1:1:1 Mmud. The formula originally called for 1oz SM but since paint applied using a HVLP sprayer, had to add over 2X the water called for to thin. A judgement call that turned out splendid.

benchobi,
I'll bet you can get a new Toshiba DVD player w/ 480i over component real cheap. Try it, you'll like it.

Benchobi,

I will have to pay attention but, I have never heard my Mt700 change speeds at all, even during a 4hr+ movie/tweak session. The projector is ceiling mounted and I am very sensitive to "noise" from every other projector I have had.

This thing is very quiet, and still remains cold to the touch even after extended viewing on every surface other than the actual exhaust face itself.
Seems to be well thought out and efficient enough to keep it in low fan mode.

I will say the Optomas are still the most silent PJ I have never heard, but my buddies EZpro 739 runs real hot on the exhaust port, it was like 188F surface
temp compared to the 139f the Toshiba has at the same interval, both at the same low bulb setting.

In contrast my Nec was nuclear and caused the bulb housing to scorch and deposit the results of that condition on my color wheel, so I have checked the Toshiba closely in that regard.

Maybe it does change and my years of being a live musician have taken more of a toll than I am aware of.... :)

My PJ is overhead a few inches in front of my head when seated, with the bottom (actually the top inverted with ceiling mount) about 6'3" off the floor. I cannot hear the fan in standard mode with any sound coming from the speakers. I only have my front 3 speakers hooked up at the moment and it is plenty to drown out the fan. I was listening to a sitcom last night at a fairly low volume, which is basically just talk from the center speaker. Didn't notice the fan at all.

If there is no sound from the show, I notice the fan. But I'm so used to computer fans at work it really doesn't bother me at all. After a couple months I probably can ignore it completely.

Actually, late at night I can hear that my wife's air filter and breathing machine through the ceiling from our bedroom above are louder than the fan. These I can sometimes hear with quiet dialog during a show.

Ditto Spiky. Mt MT700 is mounted about 34" from the ceiling and the fan cannot be heard. I must add I am more sensitive to sound than most.

Originally posted by Kjelt
Mike if you had the opportunity and go ahead from the wife would you still go for wall mount or go to ceiling mount.


In my case, the seating is right below the projector, but there's no danger of hitting your head on the projector and noise is not an issue. My ceiling is 9' at the corner right above the projector and goes up from there, so I wouldn't have done a ceiling mount unless I had to (if the wall was too far back). In your case, it sounds like wall mounting requires you to move the screen forward, so in that case, I'd probably deal with the ceiling mount.

Originally posted by Jeffcom
niggenz,
Added 2oz of silver metallic (SM) to the 1:1:1 Mmud. The formula originally called for 1oz SM but since paint applied using a HVLP sprayer, had to add over 2X the water called for to thin. A judgement call that turned out splendid.

Sounds good. I'll look for your post on the Screens forum. Did you have the sprayer or did you buy/rent one?

If I had skills for a DIY screen, I would most definitely go that route, but I think the paint would end up more on me than the screen:D

Surprising to me just how sedate this thread is. Where's all the "FREAKIN AMAZING" and "3D POPS OFF THE SCREEN" accolades? Is it just a reflection of the age range / maturity / 2nd time arounders who've got their hands on this particular projector? Or (as a 4805 owner) is the 4805 thread just that much more enthusiastic about FPs?

Interesting observation, acksnay... I think it does have to do with the age range / maturity / 2nd time arounders that are the highest percentage of owners with this projector. I'd consider the 4805 an entry level projector... just look at all the X1 owners saying how awesome it is (I own it, and it's indeed awesome, but more so because I'm comparing it to my 32" SDTV).

I'll be sure to throw in my $0.04 when it comes time... :) I just need to see this thing in person now! Been looking for someone/someplace to be able to view it.

Originally posted by acksnay
Is it just a reflection of the age range / maturity / 2nd time arounders who've got their hands on this particular projector? Or (as a 4805 owner) is the 4805 thread just that much more enthusiastic about FPs?

I think your "2nd time arounders" comment has a lot of merit. Many of the MT700 owners are moving up from a 4805 (as I did) or some other lower resolution projector. Also, the 4805 is pretty amazing for its price!

Mike,
I purchased the HVLP sprayer for $70 at Harbor Freight (my new toy store!)

How did you like it, Jeff? I need to paint three sides of my house in the next couple weeks, and have thought about painting my Parkland Plastics 4'x8' "screen", so between the two of those, it's probably well worth it... I was just going to use a roller and brush for the house...

The HVLP worked great and since the material was applied directly to the wall, fortunately overspray was not an issue. There is a "micro" fine dust which settles on nearby surfaces that can be removed easily as it is dry. The paint must be heavily thinned with distilled water so many coats are necessary so as to avoid runs. The dry time is very fast. This is not a sprayer for heavy jobs. Mask area 4' on all sides. Sprayer cleans in minutes.

Took very little time to learn how to adjust flow rate and technique. I do have experience with heavy duty airless sprayers, but this is altogether different. Just practice on a piece of drywall till you get it right.

Vashon- you can do this!!

Originally posted by acksnay
Surprising to me just how sedate this thread is. Where's all the "FREAKIN AMAZING" and "3D POPS OFF THE SCREEN" accolades? Is it just a reflection of the age range / maturity / 2nd time arounders who've got their hands on this particular projector? Or (as a 4805 owner) is the 4805 thread just that much more enthusiastic about FPs?

Well to be honest, the first time I saw the MT700 with 720p HD material I was glad I was sitting on the couch cause was I standing I would have fallen back over from the beauty i saw, i think it is just hard to translate a picture in words and comes with age words as quoted above disappear from my dictionary (if they were ever in them i wonder). :D

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
Another thought is to just install Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition (preferably 2005) software.

Then you just select 1280x720 in the preferences dialog then sit back and enjoy the movie.........

Yesterday the projector has arrived to me and I have connected it to the computer with a DVI/HDMI cable.
I use Media Center 2005 and Ati 9800pro. I have not succeeded in making to work it. I see anywhere a lot of pixels shining like stars ( I don't know if I am explaining it well) and the text looks bad. Happens only to me?
Do I perhaps have to use RGBHV instead of HDMI ?
Thanks.

Andrea

Abel - Those could be sparklies from a bad HDMI or DVI cable. You could try another one to see if it helps.

Also, what resolution are you running at? You probably need to be using a 720p @ 59.94 Hz timing like the one I posted a ways back. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll track it down. The 1280x720 setting in MCE *should* be using this - make sure it's not 72Hz, etc.

I plan to locate the signal sources about 22 feet from the projector. Abviously, I will have to purchase a 22' (approx), HDMI cable at some point. In the meantime, I am thinking about purchasing 3 "factory made" 25' RG-6 cables and attaching COAX to RCA adapters (available at Radio Shack). The only down side I can see to this is that these "component" cables will not be as flexible as "factory made" cables with braided center conductors. One of my motivations for DYI component cables is that, in the past year, I have repaired or thrown away 2 sets of RCA cables because of poor workmanship (at the connectors).
1. What are your thoughts and experiences with DYI RCA cables?

For the money they can't be beat! How about $30 for a 25 foot HDMI cable! $11 for a 25 foot component cable!! These are their MSRP's! Trust me, my picture looks fantastic over both! Forget DIY or over-priced Monster, etc. Check out M-n-price.com, they rock! (dashes inserted to not violate forum rules!)

Thanks to FlyingGimp for the help. I have tried with BNC cable and it works very well, so I think that the other cable is the guilty :(
I can finally watch a film without problem :)

This week I hooked up a 50' HDMI cable with a DVI-HDMI adapter between my cable box and MT700. Works AbFab!

Got the cable from Monoprice. It was 24AWG gold plated. It also had plastic end caps protecting the connectors. I highly recommend them.

On the Radioshack component cables, which are $16.99 each, you're at $51 plus $4 for the f-type to RCA adapters.

For this price you'd be better off getting a good cable from bluejeanscable.com. Their 1694A cable is $69 for 25 feet. I think they're slightly cheaper if you buy from their ebay store (or buy a used one on ebay). I can highly recommend bluejeans - I have a 50ft component run that looks great (before using DVI I actually viewed my HDTivo on a PLV-Z1 pj over the 50' run.)

Pccables.com or monoprice.com are also good sources for cables. I haven't used their component cables, but am happy with my monoprice HDMI cables and HDMI-> DVI adapter.

In the Benq thread someone posted how the Pe7700 is listed with a "fixed Cat Lens"

This sparked speculation about the possibility of it being an older contrast enhancing photo lens. I wondered what was happening in there so...

It does not seem to resemble the speculated photo lens design but
I took some shots of the MT700 and it would seem that there is a fixed iris in there I was not aware of, this results in a Cat's eye appearance...

have a look:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/stayceejovi/pj057.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/stayceejovi/pj048.jpg


It seems they took some time to setup a factory preset iris setting to get the most out of the PJ, I do wish they allowed for a user setting, just for the tweaker in me...



TJ

Originally posted by FlyingGimp
BTW, for anyone who cares, the timings I am using are:

Horizontal
Front Porch: 112
Back Porch: 216
Sync polarity: +
Sync Widt: 40
Scan Rate: 44.96kHz
Active Pixels: 1280

Vertical
Front porch: 5
Back porch: 20
Sync polarity: +
Sync width: 5
Refresh rate: 59.943
Active pixels: 720


Pixel clock: 74.09MHz

These are best timings for 60 Hz, and for 50 Hz ? (BNC cable)

Acksnay, about raving, I got the 7700 and it is my first projector. I am still speachless at the picture. I had no idea it would look so nice. I watched the superbit version of Fifth Element and it looked so good I dang near cried.
Warren.

Originally posted by wnielsenbb
I watched the superbit version of Fifth Element and it looked so good I dang near cried.
Download the HD version of Fifth Element on a.b.repost.hdtv, watch that and don't forget a handkerchief :D

Originally posted by Jack Gilvey
Ahh, I wasn't aware of that. My walls are deep flat red, so I'd need to come up with some kind of screen border along the wall behind to achieve D65. With my pj and screen size, I find both backlighting and the ND2 help a lot. As I'm interested in the MT700 (as you may have guessed ;) )as an upgrade, I'd likely need the same if brightness is similar...or I could go a little bigger.

To ensure that the D65 light back light does not detract from the colors in the image projected on the screen, the wall behind the screen on which the light shines should be painted neutral gray (aka 18% gray).

This way you will not washout any color on the screen that comes close in color tone to the wall reflecting the light.

It's been a great thread, lots of general information. I have been reading it the gain a better understanding of the MT700... Why? Because I am comparing it to a MT800.

I know that there are some real differences between these 2 units, also a lot that aren't defined. I know that they are both HD2+ units, but there are things about the Mt800 that I like better, like the CZ lenses, the auto input selection etc.

At this point I am trying to better understand just how much the extra cost of the MT800 buys...

I just placed an order for the MT700. The vendor I purchased it from said it may take up to 2 weeks for it to come in. After 3 years of watching a 400:1 (Panasonic LC-75U) contrast ratio LCD, I am very exited about getting this DLP. I have been waiting for the 720P DLP’s to come down to a reasonable price level. I am paying about half what a friend of mine spent on his HD2 chip projector ( about 1-1/2 years ago) and this is a HD2+!!!

I will post a review when it comes in.

I have a question. For those of you with this projector. How big of a difference do you see between the HDMI and regular component feed?

I noticed a perceptible difference between HDMI and component feeds from my comcast HDTV. If you have the option I would definitely go with the HDMI.

SJK: I only have a htpc with DVI -> HDMI adapter at the moment and between HDMI and RGBVH connection (comparable to the component i would think) there is not much difference, actually if someone would swap the cables I probably wouldn't find out.

Ofcourse the length and quality of the cables and the source are also very important.

Is there any news on a fix for the zoom function. I understand it is a little off and won't work for letterboxed DVD's or for ananmorphic lenses. I'm hoping they will have this fixed soon.

Thanks Kjelt. Has anyone compared HDMI vs. up-converted component on this unit (or the PE7700)?

Are any of you using a anamorphic lens on the MT700. I'm using a Infocus 4805 (480P) with a Prismasonic H-1000 lens now. I believe the MT700 has a throw ratio of ~ 1.8. Prismasonic recommends a 2.0 or grater throw. I would like to get into a 720P projector and this one looks good with the exception of the throw ratio. The "0" offset is no problem for me.

Does this projector use a glass lense? Is it a Carl Ziess unit?

Thanks

Originally posted by Al Sherwood
Does this projector use a glass lense? Is it a Carl Ziess unit?

Thanks

nope...

only the MT800 has the CZ lens if not mistaken;)

Originally posted by Vashon Donique
nope...

only the MT800 has the CZ lens if not mistaken;)

Thanks Vashon, Do you know if it even "all glass"? One way to reduce the cost of any device that uses optics is to use plastic instead.

Curious if this is how some of the cost of manufacturing is reduced.

The MT700 is way cheaper then the MT800 especially given the similiar specs.

The MT800 is an InFocus 7205, so it's a completely different animal than the MT700, which is a BenQ. I believe the lens is glass but I'm not 100% sure.

I believe the lens is glass but I'm not 100% sure.
It's very easy to test.

Just reach up and see how hard it is to scratch the lens... :D


(I am not responsible for any damage done by somebody who unthinkingly follows my advice on this issue... ;) )

I tried using a panamorph lens on my BenQ 7700. It works fine despite not having the prefered throw ratio, but I prefer the image larger, so I don't use it. I would love to see the H-1000 on it. That would probably make me very happy. Expand rather than compress the image. If I could put the projector back to 18 feet or so the panamorph would be nice.
Warren.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
The MT800 is an InFocus 7205, so it's a completely different animal than the MT700, which is a BenQ. I believe the lens is glass but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks Mike, I am just trying to quantify the differences between the MT700 and the MT800. I knew who the respective manufacturers were, but I am wrestling with the relative value of the differences between these 2 machines.

Sort of a comparison of 1280x720 DLP FP's. I know that these models are using the same DMD device, but there are differences that each manufacturer want you to pay for... and are they worth it?

I'm confused. I thought I had read that the zoom function didn't work properly and that letterboxed DVD's were not expanded vertically the proper amount. This would also throw off the expansion for an anamorphic lense. Now it sounds like it does work with an anamorphic lense. Can anyone say with certainty that the zoom is working properly and that it can be used with 720p. I'm planning on using whatever pj I buy with an upconverting HDMI DVD player and a Prismasonic H1000 lense. I want to know if it's going to work properly before I buy it.

Vashon - Perhaps I'm mistaken but earlier when I researched the MT700 I found a source that said the lens was not only glass but Zeiss as well. Unforunately I can't recall the source.

Oh, sorry, I meant the throw ratio works for the panamorph anamorphic lens. The projector doesn't have the proper stretech mode for it. I use my iScan HD+ for that. There are dvd players, like the samsung that do the stretch.
Warren.

originally posted by Al Sherwood
I am just trying to quantify the differences between the MT700 and the MT800.

Al:

See my post here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5557489&highlight=Pip#post5557489) in the BenQ thread.

Pip

Originally posted by Pip
Al:

See my post here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5557489&highlight=Pip#post5557489) in the BenQ thread.

Pip

Thanks Pip, it's not that I wanted to spend the extra money on the MT800, it's just that I thought that there may be value for the extra $$ over the MT700... ie 7 segment color wheel, CZ lens etc.

Al

Al:

Regarding the lens: Other than the difference in throw, I doubt that one would be able to discern any difference.

Regarding the seven segment wheel: There will probably be less near black dithering on the MT800, but unless you sit very close, I doubt you will be able to see any difference - at least with DVDs. I am very sensitive to dithering, but at a distance near enough to see it on the MT700, I am more bothered by mpeg artifacts. Again - this applies only to DVDs. With HD material you may be able so sit close enough so that it is an issue. I don't know.

There have been some excellent comparisons done by Angilasaurus between the 7200, 7205, and 7210. I'm sure you can get a good feel for the effect of the seven segment wheel from these comparisons. Search back about three or four months on the >$3500 forum.

Pip

Way off topic - Last night on my 700 I watched Pulp Fiction The 2 disk collectors whatever...

I noticed on dozens of shots there was flickering (most noticable on walls)
Watching frame by frame you could see what looked like a pulldown frame that was darker every or 3 or so frames.

Has anyone seen this on this disk?

Regarding my experiments with various refresh rates, here's where I'm currently at (all testing done through RGBHV):
If I go for 72 Hz (or 71.9whatever) the PJ syncs just fine (says in the corner "720p72Hz")and when I switch to my Comcast HD DVR (which is on the HDMI) it also syncs fine
If I go to 48 Hz (47.9whatever) it syncs fine (says in the corner "720p60Hz"!?) but when I switch to the HDMI it says "no signal". If I power cycle the DVR then it syncs up again.

Now, here's something that may make that pointless: I think in both cases it's actually displaying at 60Hz.
With the 48, it might make sense that it was displaying at 50 Hz and, who knows maybe it is. with 48 refreshes per second, the buffer test in JudderTest doesn't tell me whether it is or not. With the 72, the buffer test tells me it's certainly not running at 72Hz (missing bars)


So, here are my questions: can anyone who knows what they're doing more than I corroborate this? And also, can anyone say for certain whether the color wheel is running faster at 50Hz than 60Hz? And, if it is, are you seeing any PQ differences?

I haven't tested to see if the lens is glass, but I did look carefully for lens-zoom defects. Couldn't really see any at any zoom. Looks like part of the reason for the small throw range is they limited it to where the lens looks good. An excellent choice if I'm correct.

I couldn't even see significant changes in CA, which should be obvious in any zoom lens. I suppose I should have tried this on the Grid screen, but I did it on a high contrast image from some movie and it looked quite good.

emailists, have you seen what you described with the darker frame on any other discs (or HDTV)? What is your source? Thanks.

Quote from HiHoStevo

"When I viewed the projector at CES in January the salesman there told me the MT-700 was using the Zeiss lens... now this does not mean he actually "knew" what he was talking about! It could be he was just used to quoting that on the MT-800... dunno... but that was what he told me when I asked in January."

TheFerret also stated that he was sure it was already established that the MT700 uses CZ lens.

Whatever - I can confirm that the image looks ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!

If I get some free time I'll look elsewhere on the web looking for TRUTH.

I guess that I am rapidly getting to a point where it would seem that the MT700 has just about all of the features and functionality I want and that the few things that the MT800 has that would be nice are not really justified by it's extra cost!

It would be nice to have the input 'auto source', the available hard connection for the Niles remote and not to have to buy a new cable for my HTPC-PJ connection (currently DVI - M1/DA)...;)

Just about time to lay that money down!

No other caveats then?

Senor - I definitely hear a difference in color wheel pitchwhen I switch from 50 to 60hz, so I believe it's changing speeds.

I've given up on trying to "correct" a judder problem I can't see anyway. I went to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (waste of money - where's Zaphod's two heads?) today and I noticed the pans look the same as on my MT700. They lose focus in a similar manner. I *think* the theater was using a film projector (I could hear the reel and there were some film frame defects).

Kjelt mentioned in the PE7700 thread that judder on the PE7700/MT700 was almost imperceptible. I'm thinking I was just chasing ghosts...

RE: DIY SCREEN FORUM

Posted new thread moments ago concerning results of Mmud screen. "call if any questions"!!

Sorry to get off track if only for a moment.

What, no link Jeff? :)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=539063

FlyingGimp,

I was just about to post about the panning situation, I am still in awe of the projector vs. price .

My only complaint is the panning blur on certain sources, It's not terrible, but my 2x wheeled NEC had less of this issue, I guess it is an artifact of the faster wheel speed. I am not sensitive to rainbows, and i hope Benq/Toshiba with allow a color wheel switch ala the Optoma H77 to reduce these.

On a 720p HDMI feed of AmericanIdol last night I saw the edge blurring on pans with slight solorization in the colors if that makes sense?

My understanding is this is a mirror response time issue at the 5x wheel speed...?

Do you guys notice the same deal? I just want to establish this is a broad situation and I don't have a lemon in my processing.

If it was never addressed as an issue I would still love the PJ..but it would be nice to have more solid edges on action sequences and pans....

I will say even a crt exhibits this on some films, I just never looked for it...damn this forum!!

I would liken the effect I see on the Mt700 to the same effect when a 16x9 title is reformatted to a 4:3 format and they pan the film on a wide shot? Does that make sense? It is not as drastic but the effect is very similar.

If the projector wasn't so damn sharp punchy bright and resolved, I doubt this issue would be as apparent.

Still waiting for service menu access to see what's in there...I would love to be able to turn the wheel down and see if it reduces this artifact.

Anyone care to speculate if and when firmware updates are released... if the process will entail the rs232 din port, or do you think it will have to go to the depot center for that service?


Thanks guys,

TJ

I've noticed the panning artifacts on occasion as well. Much like the panning vertical edge issues on my Oppo DVD player, neither are significant enough to diminish my enjoyment. Nonetheless, I would hope that if we ever are able to get into the service menu, we can do something about it.

I would also hope that any firmware upgrades can be done through the RS232 port, but who knows. Anyone know the history of Toshiba (or BenQ) in this regard?

TJ:

My observations are in complete agreement with yours. I don't think you have a lemon.

Many fortunate people will not notice, or perhaps not even be able to see these artifacts. If you don't see them - please do not go looking for them!

I also completely agree with your observation that this projector throws an excellent image and is a superb value.

Enjoy!

Pip

I'm debating over several projectors: Panasonic AE 7000, Sony HS 51, benQ 7700, and the Toshiba MT 700. I am leaning toward the MT-700 but would like to find out if it fits my situation.

I'm building a home theater for watching TV, sports, and movies with a FP from the ground up on a 4-6k budget. Mostly I and a lady friend will be using the projector but I do plan to have the occasional sports/movie party with friends. For right now this will be my main viewing source.

Here are the descriptions of my space. The living room is 14 x 14 with a 10 foot sliding glass patio door in the front and 11 foot ceilings. Directly behind the living room resides the dining room. The dining room is 14x10 and elevated 36 inches above the living room with 8 foot ceilings. Both the rooms have dark hardwood floors with off white walls and pure white ceilings. Ambient light is marginal but I don't want to be in a dim room all the time while watching basics such as news and kill the time tv shows.

What I envision is to use a front projector on a 106-120, 16.9 pull down screen. The main viewing couch will be 13 feet away. The screen will be mounted at 98 inches and above a large sliding glass door. I already have a patio curtain with blockout, so ambient light from this door will be minimal to non-existent. The projector will be located behind the main viewing couch on the dining room level approximately 14.5 feet from the screen.

I did the calculations at projectorcentral.com and it appears that i would need a 120 inch screen to maintain a 14.5 feet mounting point. Is it possible to do a 106 inch screen? I don't think a ceiling mount would suffice because the projector would have to drop three feet from the ceiling since a number of posters said the projector would have to be mounted at the same height as the top of the screen.

What are the pros and cons of an MT 700 given the schematics? Thanks for you feedback.

You can use a PJ calc like this one:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Toshiba_TACP-TDP-MT700-projection-calculator-pro.htm

For a 14.5' throw, you can use between a 111" and 151" screen. I would recommend on the low end of that if you're going to be 13' away from it. You are correct about needing to mount it 3' from the ceiling... or you could mount it on a permanent stand at the edge of the 36" raised floor, and high enough to clear a viewer's head.

Regarding ambient light and watching TVs to pass the time.. I'd recommend using a regular TV for that kind of watching, as you will need to have the room dim to watch, unless you invest heavily in a high gain screen, etc. (but you could get a nice TV for the cost of them).

I second Tim's suggestion. At a 13' viewing distance, you really shouldn't be using anything bigger than a 112" diagonal, 16:9, screen.

I also second the regular TV set for ". . . watching TVs to pass the time". Turning on the PJ just to watch TV is a waste of PJ bulb life. Occasionally watching TV on the PJ, before or after watching a movie is what we do, but we have an older TV set for "regular TV" watching.

i plan on using a second tv. point well taken. i'd like to use a 106 inch screen but i don't think it will work given the throw distance of 14.5 feet.

Another option is to put it on a coffee table in front of you, but the image will be only that high off the floor, and if it's say 9 ft away, you could have up to a 94" screen. My current screen is about 98" and is a pretty decent size (in the same size space as you). You can always try that on a $13 parkland plastics 4'x8' panel from menards (or a sheet, etc), and move it to behind the couch if you want it bigger (and return the temporary "screen").

TJ: I also agree with your findings, you can read my horror half way this forum when i watched my first movie on the MT700. This temporal dithering as I now call the effect (someone pointed it to me that it is the correct term) is caused by the 1 chip DLP in combination of fast panning with the huge amount of lumens the PJ throws. You can do a little bit to make it less: use a bigger screen or use a ND2 filter. You loose light therefore the temporal dithering should be less obvious (i have not tested this but i heard this should work).
On a more positive note: when I was done technically analysing and investigating the picture and went in to the human home theater mode myself by relaxing and enjoying the picture I found out that the dithering doesn't disturb me as much anymore. I got used to the little flaws there are and enjoy the great merits of this projector.

miltimj,
Thanks for providing the link.

I am interested in what users of this projector are feeding it in terms of signal - 480i, 480P, or 720P? I have both types of DVD player and I am wondering and I am wondering if the projector will up-convert better than the DVD player.

Was talking with Toshiba Customer Service (Jessica) 1-800-631-3811 today who explained that if a Toshiba projector is purchased from a non-authorized dealer that the warranty is not in effect. My impression is that almost none of the folks selling MT-700 on the internet are "authorized dealers". However, Mike at SRC says (in an E-Mail) that he and 2 of his customers have received warrranty service on the MT-700. I must say though that the statement by Toshiba Customer Service concerns me.

I suspect that if you spoke to someone else they'd give you a different answer. The warranty statement that comes with the projector makes no reference to authorized dealers, so they'd have a problem enforcing that policy. If you call them for warranty service, they don't even ask where you bought it. The first time I called customer service, they told me that a different division handles the projectors, which was wrong. Some of the reps are more knowledgeable than others.

Originally posted by SJK
I am interested in what users of this projector are feeding it in terms of signal - 480i, 480P, or 720P? I have both types of DVD player and I am wondering and I am wondering if the projector will up-convert better than the DVD player.

I feed the MT700 720p over HDMI from my DVD player and have found it to be the best. However, the DVD player also uses Faroudja deinterlacing, so it's a wash. Depending on the DVD player, you might want to feed it 480i.

I have an older Toshiba SD-3755 DVD player which is 480i or 480p over component. I find that 480i is best and the PQ is excellent.

Depends on what player you have now. If you like you PQ now, keep the player and hold onto the $ savings toward a HD-DVD in a few years. HDMI will provide the best PQ with 720p for sure, but I am saving that input for HDTV. I will shell out the bucks for a HDMI switcher when get HD-DVD.

To each his own. Time to put in Fifth Element- Superbit again.

tehotaone,

I agree, panning blur is the only artifact I ever notice. Of course I only notice it when I'm being hyper-critical. I'm not sure how much is in the source or how much is caused by the pj. Whether what I saw in a full size theater was a DLP or a film projector, I saw the blur in exactly the same way.

I need to take a look at a CRT to see what's source related. Of course I'm too busy enjoying movies to do it soon.

I doubt there will be a way to slow down the color wheel in the service menu. Color wheel sync might help. Maybe 3 chip DLPs aren't too far away from the <$3500 forum...

I was terrifed of seeing temporal dithering after reading the entire H77 thread and almost buying an H77. I have seen a little posterization a couple times, but only when I was looking for problems. I've never noticed in normal, relaxed viewing.

Thanks for the responses. I have a Toshiba SD-9200 ($2000 MSRP) and a DVB-318. The Toshiba only has component output and the 318 has HDMI. I think the colors on the Toshiba are better than the 318 and overall it seems to be a more solid player - but technology moves on. Which one do you think would be better for this projector.

SJK,
Since you have both players to compare, I think only you can decide which works best. Do you have HDTV and are you willing to purchase a switcher if the 318 gives better PQ?

Flying,

Remember when they spec these newer 720p units as having an adjustable color wheel? I was just hoping that was true and it may be left in there.

Also, the "fix" for these problems on the H77/HC2000 was implemented for this very issue.

It depends on the day/movie for me, I some times see it prominent and sometimes it is not that bad.

I guess I need more a firmware tweak than the projector does!!


TJ

I've seen motion blur all the time for years. I mostly assume it is in the source. I have seen this more with the MT700, but I can't say for sure it is the PJ causing it, or just the bigger screen helping me see it more. It isn't that bad. It's taking quite a bit to get used to 90" from 27". I'm still not sure what is good or bad because it is so different.

I understand the MT700 uses the Faroudja 2310 chip for at least de-interlacing, and perhaps scaling as well. In the DVD player forum there has been a lot of talk with macroblcoking from this chip.

Does anybody see macroblocking when using a 480i input?

For some reason macroblock enhance only occurs in DVD players that use that chip.

I got my new MT700 today but I can not get the projector to work. When I turn on the back power switch, the orange light comes on. When I press on/standby, the orange light flashes, the fans come on and it tries to power up but after 3 cycles at attempted powering up, the steady red lamp light comes on. I took the lamp out to check it and to make sure it did not come loose in transit and also checked the lamp cover, but the same result. Has anyone had anything similar happen? Could it be a bad lamp?

I am really disappointed at the number of quality problems folks are having with this projector. I looks like the customer is actually performing final inspection and test for BenQ/Toshiba. Does anyone know what country these projectors are made in?

Considering how close MikeSRC's samples are to 6500K, I'd be surprised if they weren't flipped on for calibration at the factory. Electronics just tend to die in the first thirty days.

People are far more likely to post here if they have problems. If you extrapolate (3 total?) posted problems to the overall population then just about every product talked about on here is a POS.

I agree with FlyingGimp,
the person who complained had only 2 posts in this forum, i interpret this as someone who joins the forum because he has a problem (nothing wrong with that). If you think about the hundreds of PJ's already shipped and the owners who do not have problems the math is easy.
Another problem are the transportation firms, i have seen the way they sometimes stack and handle "boxes". The PJ's are sensitive equipment and may be damaged when they are tossed or dropped from a pile in a truck. That has nothing to do with toshiba or benq more to the way the product is handled and the enormous cost to design a packaging box that can handle all the mistreatment properly. I rather have to sent my PJ back on arrival then have to throw away a $50 shock-proof G force handling packaging box, although it would be nice if the transportation firms would use aluminium shipment boxes with all the damping inside :D
I guess it is all economics, they calculate that 2% of the PJ's will be DOA (just a guess not a fact) with a $2 carton box, or 0,04% with a $50 shock absorbing box.

Just my opinion :)

If the number of complaints become close to the Panny AE700 I'll start to worry!

At this point is really insignificant.

Rickknyc -- Call your dealer ASAP, He needs to replace it.

Hey FlyingGimp you had reported some interesting syncing on 48Hz and 72Hz right? That was with a VGA->RGB cable?

I found out yesterday reading the HDMI specifications 1.0 (www.hdmi.org)that HDMI only supports 720p ad 50Hz or 720p ad 60Hz. That explains why I couldn't sync through HDMI at 48 or 72Hz. Anyway the 48Hz could be beneficial if you use reclock on film source but I wonder how much better the picture will look and if this is noticable.

Is there anyone who has the pdf with HDMI version 1.1. and can email this to me? I am very interested to see if this has changed.

hey, i'm about to get this proj and a receiver without lip sync correction. i kind of got the impression that lip sync was display-dependent, and particularly bad on samsungs. and i'm hoping that this new fp will have enough horsepower or whatever to upscale/etc without introducing lag.

can anyone confirm or deny my thinking here, or better yet, let me know if it's an issue on this toshiba? as always, thanks a million.

I have no kind of lip sync specific hardware and I've never noticed any problems. Of course it's possible that I'm just not very sensitive to it.

I'm sorry if this has already been asked but the chain is too big for me to find anything.

I'm thinking about ordering the mt700 from the US since it provides HD2+ performance at a very reasonable price. The question is, can I fix all the possible problems with it through my HTPC(I use zp + DScaler 5 + ffdshow)?

If someone can give an answer, I will be very grateful.

I've seen some lip sync issues. But mostly they've been temporary, and on TV. I'm not sure where the problem is, though. On some shows from DirecTV through my DTivo, I've seen lip sync off one moment, then it is perfect the next. That suggests the source is at fault. And I mean the channel or D* for source, not my Tivo.

Originally posted by OlliM1985


I'm thinking about ordering the mt700 from the US since it provides HD2+ performance at a very reasonable price. The question is, can I fix all the possible problems with it through my HTPC(I use zp + DScaler 5 + ffdshow)?



What problems specifically are you speaking of?

Should I be worried about a basement having a minimum height with this projector?

This projector is actually well suited for a low ceiling height due to its zero offset. You should be able to ceiling mount it without a problem.

Hmm, I was worried about this house we have a bid on because the ceiling is so low. Thanks!

anyone knows the screw size/type for mounting this projector on the ceiling?

Thanks.

"Hmm, I was worried about this house we have a bid on because the ceiling is so low."

Ahhh, the words of a truly obsessed man. ;)

EL, this is discussed in the PE7700 (brother to this PJ) thread, starting here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5625434#post5625434

Apparently they are 6.0mm threads.

Originally posted by EL
anyone knows the screw size/type for mounting this projector on the ceiling?

Thanks.

Yes, they're 6 mm. It was posted previously on this thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5335745#post5335745).

For those who have the MT700 (or are thinking of getting one), a few calibration tips for those who don't have equipment to calibrate it:

The "Warm" temperature setting is the closest to 6500K (about 6200). The "Middle" setting is much higher, in the 7500-7700 range. Forget the others completely. The "Warm" setting does push red, so dial back Red Gain a few notches. RGB gamma should be increased by 5 or 6 for each setting to get gamma below 2.5.

These are general rules and will get you closer than eyeballing, but there's still variation from unit to unit, so each calibration is different.

thanks guys.

I tried searching first, did not have the proper keyword it seems.
I'll mount it tonight and do a first shot. :rolleyes:

I'll adjust it with opticone tomorrow.

Originally posted by biglyle
"Hmm, I was worried about this house we have a bid on because the ceiling is so low."

Ahhh, the words of a truly obsessed man. ;)

You have NO idea! I have turned down houses in the past few weeks based on the viability of the basement as a home theater. This basement is pretty sweet, especially where these closets (with real doors!) are located, but the ceiling is low and a vent runs through the middle of the room and is horribly low (in addition to the low ceiling!)

Originally posted by MikeSRC
For those who have the MT700 (or are thinking of getting one)

So sell me one, dammit!

Originally posted by O'Henry
Does anyone know what country these projectors are made in?
Taiwan (Benq/Acer/Aopen's location).

Thanks for the updated calibration info Mike.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
... The "Warm" temperature setting is the closest to 6500K (about 6200). ... Mike -- what's the logic behind this factory calibration if 6500K is theater reference?

Mike...............

Did you say the 700 uses the 23010 Faroudja chip?

If so, did you ever check for the Macroblocking issue?

Thanks,

Steve

Originally posted by acksnay
Mike -- what's the logic behind this factory calibration if 6500K is theater reference?

None that I know of. :)

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

Did you say the 700 uses the 23010 Faroudja chip?

If so, did you ever check for the Macroblocking issue?

Thanks,

Steve

I assume it uses that chip (or one of the other 23XX variants), but I'm not sure. You can't see it inside the projector unless you completely disassemble it (which I'm not doing any time soon). :)

Macroblocking is usually a function of a DVD and DVD player, so I haven't seen it with either the 4805 or the MT700.

Mike have you had the opportunity to view much SD with the Toshiba?

Thanks,

I search this thread and found no related case (with PAL as keyword for the search).

I plugged an Oppo player on the MT700 using a gefen adapter + DVI cable + HDMI cable.
I tried to play a PAL DVD upscaled at 720p. The projector displayed that he was receiving 720p 50Hz but there was no image.

To see something I had to set the oppo in 480p/576p

This same 720p 50Hz works fine on a panasonic projector, AE500 + DVI cable (Itried it couple of days before).

Any clue? The Oppo or the Toshiba? the adapter?

First, I want to say thanks to all for a most informative thread. I'm a newbie to both HT and this forum, but I've learned a lot and could use a sanity check on my initial plans.

My current viewing preferences:
- 90% DVD
- 10% non-HD TV
- I'm not a techie, but do enjoy movies and TV-on-DVD greatly

After some initial product comparisons, followed by reading every post in this thread, I have the following tentative plans for my 16' x 20' family room (8' ceiling).

- 133" (i.e. 10' wide) 16:9 screen w/top 16" below ceiling height
- ceiling mounted MT700 droped 16" from ceiling (i.e. "0" offset)
- primary viewing distance 15' (my wife's and my recliners)

If I understand, that would give a 1.5 viewing-distance-to-screen-width ratio, which would work fine with this 720p product but would be problematic with a lower resolution PJ. I haven't educated myself yet on screens, so that will be my next step.

Here are a few questions that I would apprectiate help on:

a) is there anything obviously wrong with my initial plans?

b) what would be the best combination of DVD player and cabling to connect to the PJ?

c) I have a low-end Toshiba DVD player that is capable of puting out component video at either 480i or 480p. Am I correct in understanding that with the MT700 it is better to let the PJ perform the de-interlacing vs. the DVD player?

d) would it be a wise investment to purchase an upconverting DVD player (like a toshiba SD-5980) in order to send 720p to this PJ?

Hopefully none of these are straying off-topic. I'm sure I'll have additional questions. Thanks in advance.

NMJack,

Welcome to the forum!

a) Nothing that I can see

b) Best solution would be an upconverting player w/HDMI out. Next best would be DVI out. Look in the DVD forum for comparisons of DVD players, with the fact in the back of your mind that you'd have a 720p display and HDMI output as ideal.

c) Since you mention that it's low-end, I would suggest 480i and having the PJ's DCDi chip deinterlace (that's what I do with my DCDi PJ, since I have a low-end DVD player). You will almost certainly notice a significant improvement w/ a decent upconverting DVD player over HDMI, according to many here. (I don't know that first hand.... yet!)

d) That seems like a great DVD player for this situation, though I don't know first hand how it performs.

NMJack,
a. No. Screen size no problem. Mine is a 120". Size does matter- good job.
b. see c.
c. I am using the SD-3755, 5-disc, 4 yr. old player w/ 480i component using high grade cables and the PQ is outstanding.
d. Save your dough and use it for HD-DVD player down the road.

The MT-700 is my first PJ and it exceeds my expectations even with a DIY screen! OTA HDTV w/ HDMI is also remarkable.

NMJack

One thing that strikes me is your screen placement. A 133" screen is 65" high or so. If you drop it down 16" that means the bottom will be roughly 81" down. Now most 8' ceilings are really a few inches less than 8 feet which would mean the bottom of your screen would be less than 1 foot off the floor. I'm not sure if your comfortable with that or not. I'm not sure where you plan to put your center speaker, I'm assuming that you're putting it above the screen.

Another thing I noticed is that you have no plans for HDTV listed. With a pj this good I feel you are REALLY MISSING OUT if you can't view HD. Even with my lowly Panasonic 300u HDTV is night and day better than SDTV and significantly better than DVD. I would STRONGLY suggest you find a way to get an HDTV signal (Whether that be satellite or cable)

Where the heck has this projector in stock for a good price?

Originally posted by gobrigavitch
NMJack

One thing that strikes me is your screen placement. A 133" screen is 65" high or so. If you drop it down 16" that means the bottom will be roughly 81" down. Now most 8' ceilings are really a few inches less than 8 feet which would mean the bottom of your screen would be less than 1 foot off the floor. I'm not sure if your comfortable with that or not. I'm not sure where you plan to put your center speaker, I'm assuming that you're putting it above the screen.

Here was my thinking.....

I read in this thread that "ideal" viewing height for a screen is to have 1/3 of the screen below the viewer's eye and 2/3 above. 2/3 of the 65" screen is about 44". I did a rough measurement, and determined that while sitting in my lazy-boy in a partially reclined position my eyes are at about 38". 38" + 44" = 82" which is actually 14" (not the 16" I posted) below the 96" ceiling height. That would leave about 16" below the screen for a very low oak shelf and my center speaker (currently an Infinity that is ~18" wide x 7" high). The other variable in this equation is a ceiling fan. It will be about 5 feet in front of the projector and, after removing the light kit, will hang down 10" (requisite TM700 reference to keep this on topic = hurray for the "0" offset!! :cool: ). I really don't want to relocate the fan (they're critical here in Arizona), so at most I could bump the screen and projector up to 10" below ceiling height. That would move the bottom of the screen to 20". I may do that so as to a allow a 12" Oak cabinet with the 7" center channel sitting on top. Thanks for the feedback.

Originally posted by gobrigavitch
Another thing I noticed is that you have no plans for HDTV listed. With a pj this good I feel you are REALLY MISSING OUT if you can't view HD. Even with my lowly Panasonic 300u HDTV is night and day better than SDTV and significantly better than DVD. I would STRONGLY suggest you find a way to get an HDTV signal (Whether that be satellite or cable)

That's a good thought. My best option for HDTV would probably be to pay Comcast for it. I have full basic, but I believe it would cost me another $20 - $30 for digital basic, a converter box and their +$5 "HD" support. I'm sure this is OT, so let's not go there.... :)

Originally posted by Jeffcom
NMJack,
a. No. Screen size no problem. Mine is a 120". Size does matter- good job.
b. see c.
c. I am using the SD-3755, 5-disc, 4 yr. old player w/ 480i component using high grade cables and the PQ is outstanding.
d. Save your dough and use it for HD-DVD player down the road.

The MT-700 is my first PJ and it exceeds my expectations even with a DIY screen! OTA HDTV w/ HDMI is also remarkable.

Jeffcom - Did you try any connections other than the 480i/component. I think Mike(?) also recommended that as opposed to other ways to connect a DVD player to this projector.

Miltimj/all - I would be interested in other opinions (preferably based on first hand experience) of the MT700 PQ with either a) 480i/component or b)upconverted 720p via HDMI. DVD players are so cheap now that it really is a minor variable in comparison to a $3500 list PJ.

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
Mike have you had the opportunity to view much SD with the Toshiba?

Thanks,

Steve, the only SD stuff I've seen is with a DirecTv HD tuner that upconverts it. As with any projector and big screen, it generally looks poor, depending on the channel.

Originally posted by NMJack
Miltimj/all - I would be interested in other opinions (preferably based on first hand experience) of the MT700 PQ with either a) 480i/component or b)upconverted 720p via HDMI. DVD players are so cheap now that it really is a minor variable in comparison to a $3500 list PJ.

Upconverted 720p over DVI/HDMI is a definite improvement over 480i via component IMO. Using a Panny S77, 97 ot Oppo using Faroudja is a great match.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
Upconverted 720p over DVI/HDMI is a definite improvement over 480i via component IMO. Using a Panny S77, 97 ot Oppo using Faroudja is a greta match.

Thanks for weighing in Mike (and thanks again for all the great info in this thread). As I said, I'm an absolute newbie. I really need to upgrade from my 36" Sony CRT-TV. My DVD collection has grown to significant levels and I feel silly investing my time watching them on a "normal" sized display.

Does your last comment suggest that those DVD players you mention, like the MT700, also use a "Faroudja" chip to perform the upconversion? I'm reading that to suggest that having the chip in the DVD player with an HDMI interconnect is supperior to performing the upconversion at the PJ? Am I close? :o :)

Originally posted by NMJack
Does your last comment suggest that those DVD players you mention, like the MT700, also use a "Faroudja" chip to perform the upconversion?

Yes, they do.

I'm reading that to suggest that having the chip in the DVD player with an HDMI interconnect is supperior to performing the upconversion at the PJ? Am I close? :o :)

Not always, but in this case, yes, mainly because you're not converting to analog inbetween. Having the DVD player deinterlace and scale, then output digital directly to a fixed pixel display (like DLP, LCD or plasma) keeps the path digital which results in a sharper image IMO. Being able to match the native resolution of the fixel pixel display (in this case 720p) is also a big plus.

Originally posted by MikeSRC
Yes, they do.



Do the cheaper upconverting DVD players use a lesser chip? (i.e. the Toshibas, etc.)

Yes the cheaper players have lessor scalers. If you have a good scaler (like the Panasonics) it is thought that it is best to avoid D->A and A->D conversions. If you use a DVD player to upconvert to 720p internally and then send the signal directly to the projector in a digital fashion it's considered better than sending the projector a 480i signal and letter the projector perform the conversion. On the flipside, Mike, if you are talking about an HD Tivo, it does a poor job of scaling (it's no faroudja!) I would recommend programming 480i into your choices and using the up button to choose 480i when you are watching SD shows. This way you can let the faroudja in the projector have a crack at it. Then when you watch HD shows, return the projector to 720p (or 1080i, I haven't had a chance to see what converts 720p to 1080i better yet, because I don't have the projector!! Sell me one!!!)

What do you guys think of the "3-Year Extended Warranty on Projector Lamp" that I've seen offered with this projector?

Originally posted by nothru22
On the flipside, Mike, if you are talking about an HD Tivo, it does a poor job of scaling (it's no faroudja!) I would recommend programming 480i into your choices and using the up button to choose 480i when you are watching SD shows. This way you can let the faroudja in the projector have a crack at it.

I'm not using the HD Tivo with the projector right now, but that's a good point. The Samsung HD STB I'm using does a pretty good job of scaling. I've tried it both ways and SD is still mediocre. Having the STB output 720p works best for me for HD. I often experiment with it though, depending on the channel.

What do you guys think of the "3-Year Extended Warranty on Projector Lamp" that I've seen offered with this projector?

Take a look at this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=534657).

In the absence of an HDTV feed, is a single composite video cable from my VCR an acceptable method for getting a regular TV signal to the TM700? I am envisioning an HDMI cable for the DVD feed (per earlier posts/suggestions) and a composite video for the TV. If I understand this all correctly, if I later add an HDTV cable box, I would probably be manually swithcing the HDMI cable or have to buy some type of HDMI A/B splitter. Is that correct?

Originally posted by NMJack
In the absence of an HDTV feed, is a single composite video cable from my VCR an acceptable method for getting a regular TV signal to the TM700?

If that's all you have. S-Video would be preferable to composite and component would be preferable to that.

I am envisioning an HDMI cable for the DVD feed (per earlier posts/suggestions) and a composite video for the TV. If I understand this all correctly, if I later add an HDTV cable box, I would probably be manually swithcing the HDMI cable or have to buy some type of HDMI A/B splitter. Is that correct?

You can either use a switcher, or use the component input for DVD or HD, depending on your equipment. If I have to choose, I prefer to use the HDMI input for the highest resolution source, which would be HD.

NM Jack...............

I would urge you NOT to run composite to the projector.... at the very least you would want an S-video cable. (IMHO)

Component is better (some digital TV boxes have component out...

If you pick up an HDTV box, most of them are still DVI, but you can use a DVI/HDMI dongle to change that and just use your HDMI cable... that would be the very best signal you are going to get.

Thanks guys. I've started pricing cables and they are certainly not a trivial part of the overall price. I'm expecting that this is an area where we pretty much get what we pay for. I believe that top prirority will be a high quality HDMI cable of ~30 foot length. Those look to run in the neighborhood of several hundred dollars (and up), so if I have to do some manual switching between DVD and another source I can live with that (vs. a second high-end interconnect). Despite the multiple input options on the MT700, it may make more financial sense to focus on getting all sources to HDMI so as to only have to run one cable to the PJ.

Originally posted by MikeSRC

Originally posted by GCG
What do you guys think of the "3-Year Extended Warranty on Projector Lamp" that I've seen offered with this projector?

Take a look at this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=534657).

Thanks for the link. It looks that after all those exclusions is not really worth it :(

OTOH I've also seen "initial calibration option available". Would that be something to consider?

Thanks again for your help.

I would disagree, since the only exclusion that is applicable to things other than misuse is the "exploding" lamp exclusion and that's pretty rare in my experience. However, it is a new product (for the warranty company) and there's no track record to point at one way or the other.

Originally posted by NMJack
Thanks guys. I've started pricing cables and they are certainly not a trivial part of the overall price. I'm expecting that this is an area where we pretty much get what we pay for. I believe that top prirority will be a high quality HDMI cable of ~30 foot length. Those look to run in the neighborhood of several hundred dollars (and up), so if I have to do some manual switching between DVD and another source I can live with that (vs. a second high-end interconnect). Despite the multiple input options on the MT700, it may make more financial sense to focus on getting all sources to HDMI so as to only have to run one cable to the PJ.

I'd suggest you look around a little before spending several hundred dollars on an HDMI cable. Ram and Bluejeans cables are both known for high quality cables and are much cheaper than that. You should be able to get one for a little over 100. With the money you save you can get a good quality HDMI switcher.

Originally posted by GCG
What do you guys think of the "3-Year Extended Warranty on Projector Lamp" that I've seen offered with this projector?

Maybe not the $300 but if you don't take the $80 one Mike is offering I'd say that's pretty stupid.

So sell me one, Mike!

Originally posted by gobrigavitch
I'd suggest you look around a little before spending several hundred dollars on an HDMI cable. Ram and Bluejeans cables are both known for high quality cables and are much cheaper than that. You should be able to get one for a little over 100. With the money you save you can get a good quality HDMI switcher.

Thanks. I hadn't heard of Ram, but have looked at Bluejeans. Their 40' HDMI cable is under $200, so that may be a good approach. They seem to be spoken of fairly well around here.

EDIT: just looked at Ram. Excellent pricing. Their S-video cables get downright cheap. :) Thanks again for the info.

I received my MT700 on Friday. I am trying to get it set up this weekend. When I do, I will post a review. I am experiencing a problem were I can not seem to get the moving grey bars to appear on the Avia disk or the THX logo on the THX optimizer. I am trying to tweak the brightness/black level. When reading the PE7700 review-they mention that the BenQ has this problem as well. Has anyone else experienced this and what are you settings to overcome this? Any help would be appreciated.

SJK,

In the "Setup" menu, change the NTSC setting from "USA" to "Japan".

I just found your other post. Wow... that was easy. That is what is great about these forums. An "Odd" setting that makes all the difference.

Now I will do some watching and post a review for those who are thinking about this AWESOME machine.

Oh. I forgot to say - THANK YOU for your review and advice in this forum.

NM Jack...........

As another way to spend money.... which may in the end save money...

JVC has announced a new line of HT Receivers that include HDMI switching. As I understand it the 401/402 (silver/black) include HDMI switching and are going to retail for around $600 (approximate), while the 701/702 (around $850) will not only offer HDMI switching, but will also transcode all of the video signals input to the receiver and output them over the single HDMI cable (Whoo Hoo).

As more companies jump on this HDMI bandwagon I am sure we will have more and more choices... up til recently I was bummed because it seemed all of the Receivers with DVI switching capability started around $4-5k and up. There is also the Marantz 8500 with has DVI switching and is around $1500, but it does not transcode any of the other video signals... the transcoding on the JVC is what has got my motor running!

HiHoStevo - that's good info, thanks. That thought had actually occured to me as I was reading abaout HDMI. The fact that it is intended to carry both video and audio made me think about how much easier cabling would be if there was a single HDMI interconnect between each system component (i.e. cable box, DVD, display, etc.) and some central hub like a receiver. The fact that such receivers are in the works might lead me to skip investing in an a/b switch and just manually switch cables until such time that I was ready to buy a new receiver. My philosophy on receivers is to never spend more than I have to - since their features (increase) and price (decrease) change so rapidly.

Originally posted by nothru22
Maybe not the $300 but if you don't take the $80 one Mike is offering I'd say that's pretty stupid.

Thank you. Words of wisdom like yours are hard to find these days. :rolleyes:

DLP life span
First of all, thanks guys for the great MT-700 / PE7700 review/comparison. I know a lot of time and effort were expended.
Is there reliable date (for us consumers) on the expected life span for the DLP devices (moving components) used in todays projectors. I know in the "old days" one could expect 12-15 years out of a CRT system.

Guys, please avoid the name calling and rebuttal.

Thanks,
Kysersose

HiHOSteveo

Thanks for the JVC receiver info w/DVI switching this is OT but very welcome info.

Do you have a link... I need to understand the transcoding comments.

I would like to know if anyone has posted their settings and (if not) if they could. Of course, we now know the NTSC has to be set to “Japan”. So far I seem to like Theater 1 the best with no changes at all except color which I am trying values between 0 and 4. I have color temp set at “middle". Has anyone set the Faroudja True Life setting any higher than 0? I have been using AVIA and it is interesting that this projector is nearly perfect out of the box.

Take a look at this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5636849&&#post5636849).

In addition, TrueLife adds undesirable edge enhancement, so I don't recommend using it at all with DVDs. It might be of some use with SDTV.

I haven't seen a MT700 yet that needed adjustment to "Color" or "Tint". Brightness and Contrast will vary with your room and other settings.

Haven't messed around with setting much. For DVD theater 1 work best for us. Some time when I'm done enjoying just watching I'll tweak it some.

My brightness and contrast are right on. When I was using AVIA with the blue filter test it did appear that the blinking squares blinked a little less when I increase color a couple of notches - but flesh tones appeared more red so I did move it back to 0. Again, this machine seems to be nearly perfect out of the box.

Wow, this tread has taken off again in the last few days. Also the threads appear sharper and with more contrast!!!

Good work on the changes AVS.

NMJack,
Yes I did try 480p but saw no appreciable difference (maybe not quite as good), so left it at 480i to let PJ do all the processing.
Purchased R* cables (AVS sponcer, discount to members) both HDMI and component. Great product and return policy. <$200 ea.

Thanks Mike on the "Japan" reminder. Planning on an Avia tweak myself. I didn't switch to Japan since am using 480i over component. Should I switch back to "USA" after Avia or just leave it on "Japan"? :)

Take a look at this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5636849&&#post5636849).

In addition, TrueLife adds undesirable edge enhancement, so I don't recommend using it at all with DVDs. It might be of some use with SDTV.

I haven't seen a MT700 yet that needed adjustment to "Color" or "Tint". Brightness and Contrast will vary with your room and other settings.
I agree that Truelife is horrible for anything DVD or greater resolution. Completely unnecessary. And any Truelife setting over, say...3, is horrible no matter what. I can't believe it goes to 15. When I first started playing with it, setting Truelife to 1 helped SDTV (via Svideo) immensely. But then I set it to Theater 2 and it actually looks good! I couldn't believe the difference. Theater 1 isn't too bad as I recall.

So now I have my Svideo set with Truelife back to '0' and set to Theater 2. I haven't even tweaked it much from there, I probably will but everything except the sharpness is just fine. The lack of sharpness is not something I expect to overcome, it is because of the massive upconversion from (probably less than) 480i to 720p.

I had Mike calibrate mine to 6500K and haven't played with the settings much after that, either. DVD and HDTV look excellent over component. Haven't really gotten to HDMI yet, only a quick test, and probably won't for awhile.

I finally discovered the one major de-interlacing chroma fault of my Denon 2900 with the Blue Man Group Complex video DVD. The MT700 handled it perfectly when I switched to interlaced output from the DVDp. BMG is not a great DVD, do NOT use it to show off anything.

Thanks Mike on the "Japan" reminder. Planning on an Avia tweak myself. I didn't switch to Japan since am using 480i over component. Should I switch back to "USA" after Avia or just leave it on "Japan"? :)
Japan for component or better connection. USA for Svideo or composite. All you have to do is throw in a dark movie and flip between them to compare. If you really want frightening, see if Legend of 1900 is still playing on IFC. Really bad signal from the source, and super black scenes occasionally.

Hello fellow AVS members,

I'm planning on getting this projector in about 2 months and will be using it for: 40% PC gaming, 40% Xbox/Xbox 360/Playstation 3 and 20% DVD (I'll still use my old 27" sony TV for SDTV).

I'll be making my own 60" grey screen.

Does anyone know what contrast ratio i'd expect to get when playing PC games on such a small screen with little indirect ambient light ? (just some rough numbers would be fine)

I'd just like to know how much worse the contrast ratio would be when using a smaller screen with this PJ as compared to a 100" or 120" screen.

BTW i'll be a first time PJ owner.

Contrast ratio does not change with screen size. Only brightness changes: larger screen = dimmer picture, smaller screen = brighter picture.

A larger screen will have a lower absolute black level.

If you prefer a dimmer picture, you can get a larger screen, or just add a ND filter.

Pip

I recall reading in this thread that the MT700 will not accept 480i over HDMI. Is this something can/may be added as part of a firmware upgrade? I read that the HDMI spec supports 480i, so it should be possible.

I'm waiting for recievers with HDMI switching to come down in price before upgrading. When that happens it would be nice to be able to use HDMI as much as possible but feed 480i to let the PJ's deinterlacer do the dirty work.

Thoughts?

Ben, what source do you have with 480i? SDTV, or DVD, or both? From what I've heard, upconverting DVD players will beat out a similar deinterlacer/scaler in a projector since it's done at the source. If you're using SDTV, I would highly recommend doing whatever it takes to get an HDTV source (satellite/cable/OTA tuner) for a projector of this caliber, or it's really not doing it justice.

Regardless, I thought I heard here that modifying a PJ to add the capability you're requesting requires a hardware upgrade, instead of just a firmware update; I'm not sure of this though.

Hey guys, I'm planning a HT in the basement of my home had some questions on the MT700. I'm new to projectors so apoligies in advance for any dumb questions.

- Does the size of the picture adjust (+ or – in size) to the width or the height of the screen when switching from a 16:9 ratio to a 4:3? In other words, would it be benefitial to get a 4:3 screen to be able to watch a larger 4:3 movie and just shorten the screen height to 16:9 for letter box movies? The projector will be fixed ceiling mounted.

- I'm considering a Sony NS975V w/HDMI and wanted to know if this is the right way to go and what cables/hook up I needed to a Pioneer Elite 54TX (also considering) for best performance?

- Screen considering is an Elite HOME100IWV(63”x84” 4:3) or WH(63”x84” 16:9) for a room size of approx. 23'x13'

I've had a 100" (80" x 60") 4:3 screen and now have a 106" (92" x 52") 16:9 screen (with a 16:9 PJ). I prefer the 16:9 screen. The number of 4:3 movies that I have is small compared to widescreen movies and a lot of 4:3 transfers to DVD are not good enough to warrant a 4:3 screen (exceptions are Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and some other classics).

The problem (for me) with using a 4:3 screen with a 16:9 PJ is that you have to re-zoom and refocus (?) for each format, and that can be a hassle. However, each person has his own preference.

One Persons view: http://www.projectorcentral.com/formats.htm

- Does the size of the picture adjust (+ or – in size) to the width or the height of the screen when switching from a 16:9 ratio to a 4:3? In other words, would it be benefitial to get a 4:3 screen to be able to watch a larger 4:3 movie and just shorten the screen height to 16:9 for letter box movies? The projector will be fixed ceiling mounted.

With a 16:9 projector like the MT700, you're better off with a 16:9 screen. The image will have the same height regardless of whether it's in 4:3 or 16:9 mode. With a 4:3 projector, having a 4:3 screen gets you a bigger image (greater height) in 4:3 mode.

- I'm considering a Sony NS975V w/HDMI and wanted to know if this is the right way to go and what cables/hook up I needed to a Pioneer Elite 54TX (also considering) for best performance?

There are better DVD players than the Sony in that price range IMO. Check the DVD forum for suggestions, but I'd look at the Pansonic S77 or Oppo 971H.

- Screen considering is an Elite HOME100IWV(63”x84” 4:3) or WH(63”x84” 16:9) for a room size of approx. 23'x13'

A 110-120" diagonal 16:9 screen would be fine.

I recall reading in this thread that the MT700 will not accept 480i over HDMI. Is this something can/may be added as part of a firmware upgrade? I read that the HDMI spec supports 480i, so it should be possible.

Thoughts?

There a few sources available that output 480i over HDMI (and even fewer in the future), so I don't see it becoming a firmware (if possible) or hardware change.

Tim-

My sources are lacking at the moment, that's for sure. I'm looking to slowly but surely upgrade my sources as the budget allows. Right now the only sources I have that run 480i would be DVD and video cam.

It's not a big deal to use component cables for 480i, but it would be nice to have one cable that can handle all formats. It would help clean up my PJ install a bit.

Thanks for your comments.

---------------------------

Mike-

I was just thinking the same thing ...... that there will be fewer 480i sources in the future. The next stopping point looks to be 720p. The whole "issue" is not a big deal. More less just my random thoughts for the day. :)

can you guys help me figure something out, my brain is not working properly this morning

i went to pj central's calculator, but i'm not sure if i'm reading it right

with a throw of 15', what is the min and max screen size i can hit with this puppy?

i'm hoping i can hit a 92" from that distance, but i can't tell if that's possible, there's a blank in the bars, but the green isn't on it so i'm not sure. i really like the fact that there's no offset with this thing because my screen is extraordinarily high in comparison to most.

also one more question, has anybody measured actual lumen output at or around D65? what is it? so benq oem's this right? it's basically the pe7700 right?

you guys all pretty happy with this unit? i like the price.

At 15', the smallest screen size would be about 122" diagonal. The largest, about 158". I have a 92" screen and the MT700 barely makes it at 12'.

wow, bummer, that's a shame

the wife isn't going to go for that :)

guess i have to be patient. i just hope there will be something good that meets my requirments. turns out the best feature of the ae700 is that darn lens shift and favorable throw options

Maybe not the $300 but if you don't take the $80 one Mike is offering I'd say that's pretty stupid.



I've been using dlp projectors from nearly 5 years ... yet to buy / change a bulb. I always sell the projector and get a new one (with minimal price difference) before the bulb runs out.

I was planning on a smaller eletric screen too, for the same reason, wife factor. After seeing it at 144" diaganol she is coming over to the light side. She said I can get a large permanent screen now. Just get it and you will both be very happy.
Warren.

HiHOSteveo

Thanks for the JVC receiver info w/DVI switching this is OT but very welcome info.

Do you have a link... I need to understand the transcoding comments.

Link: http://www.jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=437&pageID=1

I was excited about this too.

I believe that transcoding means that the receiver will take whatever input (composite, s-video, component, hdmi) you're giving it and turn it into a signal which can be carried by the highest-quality output (component on the lower end receivers, hdmi on higher end). Very handy to minimize # of video cables, if it's done well, but I wonder how good that signal would be, even if the receiver does its job very well--you know the old saying about garbage in...

Seems like the release date might have been pushed back--the Jan 6 press release says that some of them are due out in March & April; I haven't heard anything about them.

Also, I'm a little leery of the relatively small # of digital inputs. I've got an HD box, DVD player, XBOX and a CD jukebox all digitally connected to my current receiver -- the 401S/402B only has one optical input and one coax input! (The top-end 701S/702B is better in this regard, with 3 optical and 1 coax digital inputs.)

Sorry about the OT...