Wayne + Dave:

I decided to wait and work it out. I am trying not to incurr the $200 charge for the PJ, so I am hoping UPS and Customs are getting together on this one. I literally told UPS they are charging me an $85 fee to broker the package, THEN DO IT. Get it done somehow!

The work on the theatre has all but stopped; I just haven't been in the mood for it. This has really got me down.

I have a friend coming over tomorrow night to start the drywalling! This should renew my focus.

I hope UPS calls me today to resolve this.

Will

"I decided to wait and work it out. I am trying not to incurr the $200 charge for the PJ, so I am hoping UPS and Customs are getting together on this one. I literally told UPS they are charging me an $85 fee to broker the package, THEN DO IT. Get it done somehow!"

I know this doesn't help but may help others is that if you opt for the upgraded UPS delivery service, I think it's called Expedited, then the brokerage fee should be included as part of the delivery charge. I haven't tried it myself or priced it but have found this information from a couple of sources.

Thanks basement....

That may be true, increasing my costs on shipping for sure. But the $200 is for PST, and would be charged irregardless along with the 6% duty and then GST!

The Govn't makes sure you can't win! So. I think I have the problem solved now, seems to be a clarical error on the "legal name" vs the "business name".. again, damn govn't.

Im going to watch this thing for hours on end, just to rest from all this stuff. Although, I can't wait to see the picture...


Dave, how goes the DVD player?

Will

Hey Will, glad to hear that it might work out. After all this, it IS your projector, man! It just needs a bit of help to get home. Once again, I'm sure you will be pleased.
Wayne, the oppo. looks tremendous. Go and get a good PAL disc. Wow. I've been watching PAL converted to NTSC for years and I had a very good JVC, (much better than the zenith for PAL-NTSC conversion) and watching my Buffy sets, wow. I see SO many more freckles on Alyson Hannigan!!! (To each his own) Truly the extra 100 lines of true pic. resolution makes a difference. I kept my Oppo pretty much flat PQ-wise and had to jack up the brightness to 2x the contrast on the oppo, then have 3 on the gamma, but I got the test patterns looking swell, perfect tint and color saturation with the blue filter. Also, I noticed very, very few rainbows last nite. And I watched a movie that's almost 1/2 black and white!
I did have one sync issue. Blair witch went WAY out of sync early and wouldn't re-sync no matter what. I put the delay to 40ms. and wala, was perfect for the whole rest of the film. It seems like certain discs that are poorly authored, (Film flag-issue...?) might be giving the faroudja chip a workout and therefore the frames being stored in the memory buffer cause the video delay. Perhaps that's why some discs are fine. ????
Also, I'm pretty sure that the general consensus in the oppo threads in to have CCS in the off position. True-life ON, though.

More watching today! Gonna wait for the move with the new screen. Less than 2 weeks!

Peace, all! Good Luck, Will!!!!!!!!!!!

basement,

Peter, I want to thank you again for your help with regards to the Oppo. I just love this player. It's hands down the best stand alone DVD player I've ever owned. By far! Very close to HTPC quality. :)

Will,

It will be worth it all once the nightmare ends. :) You probably feel like you've had the stuffing kicked out of you. :( Soon, this will all be a distant memory and you can start your marathon of H57 viewing. You've got to post some pictures soon about the progression of your room. Oh, and you like 4:3 material right? You gotta get this Oppo player Will. I've never seen 4:3 video look like film based material the way that this machine displays it. 16:9 is awesome as well.

Dave,

Great news on the diminishing rainbows! :) Keep it up...er uh...don't keep it up. Oh, you know what I mean. :)

You've got me curious about trying out a PAL disc but I don't know where to find one locally. I don't know if it's even possible.

I've had some sync problems but I haven't messed with the delay function yet. I just pressed stop and then re-started and it synced perfectly without a problem since. Probably it may pop up from time to time but I don't mind. Beats the stuttering of my HTPC. :)

I'm really glad you're holding off on the screen until you move. Wise decision I think.

I've been meaning to check into the Oppo thread but it's one of those things that I just haven't gotten around to yet. Do you know what the CCS does? I can't tell the difference when I have it on or off. Also, the TrueLife thing? I don't see anything different with it on or off either. What's it supposed to do?

Thanks Dave! :)

Wayne

"Peter, I want to thank you again for your help with regards to the Oppo. I just love this player. It's hands down the best stand alone DVD player I've ever owned. By far! Very close to HTPC quality. "

Now you've gotten me all tempted again. I've been enthusiastic about the PQ you can achieve with the HTPC on both my old X1 and now on the PE7700; and, from most accounts, benefits almost any PJ including the H57. Incidentally, I came very close to picking up the H57. To me, native 480p/i sources just doesn't cut it anymore. For usability, my wife likes to just pop in a DVD and press play. However, the HTPC in my setup is not that friendly and I have a hard time finding the time to make it work in a well integrated manner with the rest of my components. I did it with my old X1 setup using xlobby, zoomplayer, ffdshow, JP1 remote, etc. If the PQ on the OPPO is so close to the HTPC as to be virtually the same then maybe this is a good player for me to use (prior to introduction of HD players).

You're welcome again.

I've tried Zoomplayer and I purchased TheaterTek and just use that when I operate the HTPC. There is occasional stuttering and it's not as easy or friendly to set up and tweak as a set top box. The results of course are phenomenal but there always seems to be some problem that crops up needing to be fixed. Tearing, stuttering, etc...

The Oppo isn't quite as sharp as what you can attain with ffdshow but as I said, it's sooooooooo close that I feel I could be happy to just ditch the HTPC if I had to. It's great to have both though. Some DVDs are poor transfers and need some de-softening and this is where the power of the computer really shines. But the Oppo displays almost every DVD I've tried with such smooth film-like characteristics that I can't bring myself to watch a movie on the HTPC ever since I received the player. I love the sound coming from this player as well as the colors, blacks and contrast ratio. And in combination with the H57. Wow. I'm sure Dave could back me on some of this.

And forget about using these computer software programs to de-interlace video based material. Combing is largely a thing of the past with this Oppo. I can't stand watching video based material on the HTPC. I could tolerate it on my LG/Zenith upconverting player but the Oppo really turns it into film. Amazing.

Wayne

Hey Wayne!

The True-Life basically turns on the Faroudja motion-adaptive de-interlacey thing on the chip. You want it on. The CCS, cross color suppression, Iv'e read to just leave off. I'll have to look into it.
The sharpness is neat to have but most of the complaints about the oppo. before the latest firmware had to do with people wanting an "off" option and there was none. Caused shimmering on some displays. Also, pause a closeup shot, zoom in withe the oppo to 200% and add some sharpness and you'll see what it does. Thickens lines a bit but enhances any noise present in the pic.
Try Amazon UK for a cheap R2 PAL dvd. remember to do the region hack though! 9210 code etc...

I've heard that some R2 discs have Noticeably better PQ than the R1's. LOTR discs, SW eosode 1, Beauty and the Beast....

Will! What happened!?!?!?!?

Thanks Dave! :)

I may try that PAL thing sometime. Sounds intriguing.

Wayne

Hi,
do you know about the new firmware available for h57?
Any news for me regarding how to mapping perfectly 1:1 the projector?
Thanks!!!!
Bye bye

'hotel',

Sorry, I myself don't know any more about your problem. I suggest that you start a brand new thread in this forum asking for help. It will be seen by those who don't read this thread.

Please tell us more about this firmware update. I haven't heard about it. Does the projector have to be sent into the company to have this update added or can it be done by USB cable?

Thanks,

Wayne

Follow this link: below the right colomn of the page you can find firmware news...

audiovideo.2dehands.be/markt/video/projectie-scherm/9338179-optoma-h57-dlp-projector-hdtv.html
Ciao!

Hello everyone.

I'm thinking of purchasing the H57. I have a question about the mounting of this unit.

I want to have the projector at just below ceiling height, however not hanging upside down (it will be sitting on a shelf). Is the offset switchable without turning the unit upside down?

This will be my first projector purchase/installation.

Thanks

hotellounge,

Thanks for that. It may only be available to European Themescene H57 owners. I'll check into it.

Deaners,

You can mount it near the ceiling on a shelf but you'll still have to place it upside down. Projectors aren't meant to take the stress of this kind of situation on the upper parts of the unit. You really should use a ceiling/wall mount of some kind. You could try putting it up on little blocks on each corner so that the buttons on the unit won't get pressured but in my opinion it's too expensive a machine to take chances like this with.

Wayne

After UPS called me again today to tell me my information is wrong AGAIN, I was pleasantly surprised when UPS walked into my store with a box from "V" at 3:30 today


I G O T M Y OPTOMA H57 !!!!!!!


Its here, it's finally here...... Yay for me!

unfortunately, I have a pounding headache and will go home and sleep tonight, I have a lot of work ahead of me tomorrow!!!.

I will post pics of the theatre construction, and as soon as I mount my player I will take screen shots/test shots with my Digital camera too. (I love the pictures from my P100 SONY 5.1 mp camera. Awesome!

Thanks for the support here guys, Wayne, Dave, everyone else.

Let the games begin!

Will (happy days are here to stay)

Congratulations Will! :)

Finally!! Well, rest up and get rid of that headache. You want to enjoy your new toy.

Looking forward to your pictures when you have an opportunity. First things first though. You gotta put that puppy through it's paces. :)

Good for you Will!

Wayne

Wayne,

Thanks for the reply. Just so I understand correctly, in order for the light to be thrown downwards, the unit has to be upside-down?

If this is correct, I can just as easily mount it under the shelf upside down, or build a second shelf to hang the projector above the first one. I only wanted to have the projector sitting on the shelf in the first place to hide it from view.

This bring me to a follow-up question if you don't mind. I have a ceiling fan/light fixture midway between the projector and screen. With the offset of the H57, I calculated (and please tell me if I did this wrong) that the top of the screen will be about 15" below the projector lens. So in order to pass the light fixture, I'll need to place the projector lens at just under the light fixture, which then means that the screen will have to be 15" below the bottom of the light. The screen will be a little low this way. (For reference, the projector will be about 14.5 feet from the 101" screen. Viewing distance is about 12 feet.

If I tilt the projector upwards, will this enable me to place the screen higher, and also avoid hitting the light fixture? I'd hate to set this all up only to have a big shadow at the top of the screen. And if I need to use any keystone adjustments, does this affect the quality of the picture?

Thanks again.

Deaners,

Surprisingly, keystoning doesn't seem to denigrate the image. If you had to do it, although not ideal, it would work.

The key is of course to try to avoid it if possible. I have the same problem as you; a ceiling fan. The fan is 8" down from the ceiling while my H57's lens middle is 17" from the ceiling. My screen is low though and I don't mind. It's actually kind of cool to have the screen low. The bottom of the screen is 14" from the floor. I think my offset is around 13" or so for a 92" diagonal screen so your measurements are probably correct.

You could do a dry run through and hold up the projector in both hands, standing approximately where you'd be putting your shelf and see whether the fan is in the way or not. Hold it upside down and make sure that you've gone into the menu system first and configured it for a ceiling placement so that the image will shine down towards the floor rather than up on the ceiling.

Even if you have to settle for your screen being a little low and maybe even a bit of a keystone, the experience will be fantastic as this projector is just that.

This pj is actually well suited to your situation because of it's offset being rather large. If you had a 0 offset then your lens would have to be level with the top of your screen which would most likely find the fan in the way for sure.

Wayne

Wayne,

Thanks again for the tips. I guess I've waited long enough and did all the research, so I'll be biting the bullet tomorrow.

One last question for you. I'm looking for a new DVD player since my old one is skipping and does not have component out. I like the reviews on the Oppo 971. Based on your experience, since I have not run the wires yet, would you recommend component or DVI wiring with the Oppo and H57 (or both -- I'll also be using s-video). I was hoping the Oppo's 576P output would perfectly match the projector, but after reading some reviews, it seems better to leave it at 480 and let the projector do it's thing.

Thanks again, I'll be sure to post results and more questions.

That's great Deaners! :)

We have another review we'll be expecting from you now. ;)

As far as the Oppo goes, I use both component and DVI-D cables. Component to send 480i to the H57 which then turns it to progressive. I watch all video based and 4:3 DVDs this way.

I use DVI-D for all 16:9 aspect ratio DVDs and currently prefer 1280 x 720p. I don't have any PAL discs so I haven't been able to see what 576p looks like but I have looked at 1920 x 540p which is interesting in that it appears to be just as good in my opinion as either of the other two upconversion configurations.

Wayne

Wayne,

My home theater room just took a big hit in its layout. Unfortunately, I'll have to cut the length down to 13ft. so the farthest I could project onto the opposite wall would be only at 13 ft. This is very disappointing. Before I had 16ft. to work with. So assuming that I sit 12ft. from the screen, can I still get that big screen experience without seeing much screen door? What screen size range do you still think I could pull off? I guess the dreams over. :(

Joe

Room: 13ft. by 11.5

Hi everyone.

I'm just about to take the plunge, but have a last minute installation question.

I carefully measured my room, and the front of the projector will be about 14 feet 6 inches from the front wall.

I checked Optoma's distance/image width guide, and for a 101" screen, the maximum distance is 13.7 feet. That's a difference of about 9 or 10 inches.

I can easily install the screen 10 inches from the front wall, but my question is: How accurate are the guides? Is there some room for error? I'd hate to have everything installed and have a wee bit of white screen left over. If their guides are dead on accurate, I think I would be better off moving the screen 12 inches from the wall instead. Or, I may be able to bring the projector forward a few inches as well.

Any thoughts or suggestions? It's getting a bit confusing. I think I see the wife giving me the "I hope you know what you are doing" look.

Joe,

I think you'll be fine. :) My distance from lens to screen is 13.5'. Of course you need to add another say 15" to accommodate the length of the projector and the distance behind it at the wall but you should be able to get a decent sized screen out of this. In my configuration I have the lens zoomed in as far as it can go to fit within the borders of my 92" diagonal screen. So, if I wanted to I could have a larger screen but with the huge offset of the H57, the image would drop lower to the floor if the screen were larger. This would be no good for me because I have the projector hanging from a false ceiling at the back of the room which is about 8 inches lower than the real ceiling in the rest of the room. Therefore, I really can't go much bigger than I have it now which is okay because I like 92" for the size of my room.

And consider this, because the H57 is XGA, I'm able to sit much closer to the screen than when I had the H31 and the X1. SDE isn't as much of a factor with the H57 so that's a plus. I'm only sitting at about 10' from the screen and I love it! Makes it feel like a much larger one at that distance.

Here's the kicker Joe. If your ceiling height is normal or even a little higher, you may be able to handle a bigger screen than 92" because the distance ceiling to floor will accommodate the screen height needed. However I'm not absolutely positive about this so even if you can only handle 92" in your room that's still a nice size.

You will no doubt only have about 12' distance to work with but you can zoom out the lens to get the larger image. Zoomed in like mine is from your distance you'd only be able to manage a smaller screen than what I have.

If your ceiling height is average or below average you can probably still get a 92" screen in but you may have to be willing to have your screen quite low or resort to keystoning. The good news is that keystoning on the H57 and the H31 doesn't negatively affect the image perceptively during movie watching.

I hope it works out for you and the dream is still alive Joe. :)

Wayne

Deaners,

I'm not sure how accurate that guide is. I'm about 13' back and I just barely squeeze the image in to fit my 92" diagonal screen from that distance so I could go probably to 106" diagonal or maybe even a bit larger if I played with the zoom. But I've got the lower ceiling problem so I can't go any bigger without keystoning but I'm happy.

It sounds like you'll have no problem getting 101" to work. Can you also move your projector closer to the screen or is it only possible from that distance you mentioned? No matter though, if you can adjust the distance by moving the screen, same diff. Go as high up as you can on the wall or hang the pj from the ceiling.

I think you ought to hang the projector where you need to put it and then work with the screen's placement until you've found your sweet spot.

When wives get nervous, we kind of get the same way. :) Kind of leaves room for 'I told you so's' later on doesn't it. :D

Wayne

Scarefaceforever, I took have those dimensions for my room. Mine is 130" wide, (10'10") by 14' 4" (approx.) .. I will be projection about 13ft - 13.5 ft, according to the opoma calculator, thats win a small bit of zoom added to give me 100" diagnal.
If I don't use the zoom, I will get a 96" or so image....

You should be fine from my understanding. I will open my box tonight and do some experimenting.

Will



Wayne,

My home theater room just took a big hit in its layout. Unfortunately, I'll have to cut the length down to 13ft. so the farthest I could project onto the opposite wall would be only at 13 ft. This is very disappointing. Before I had 16ft. to work with. So assuming that I sit 12ft. from the screen, can I still get that big screen experience without seeing much screen door? What screen size range do you still think I could pull off? I guess the dreams over. :(

Joe

Room: 13ft. by 11.5

Wayne,

Thanks for helping keep the dream alive. Some things are worth fighting for. :) I completely forgot to mention that the projector will either be table mounted or placed on a shelf in a recessed wall in the back of the room that I'm having built that will also hold all my other components using shelves. I'm having a hard time planning the room layout without actually physically having the projector to simulate various layouts. Will, thanks for looking into that and I'll be waiting for what you find.

Later,

Joe

You're welcome Joe! :) Keep us in the loop.

Will,

I'm dying to hear your report. Flex your finger muscles ASAP and regale us with a bedtime story. :D

Wayne

Will! How does it look?!?!

P.S. After calibrating to your specific room situation, lighting etc... it should look AWESOME!
BUT, crappy DVDs will look CRAPPIER! Try some good reliable discs for your initial viewing!

:) d

Ok Guys, the moment we have all waited for.

The Test Environment:

My living room, a 7.5 foot throw, projector sitting on a couch, level using a box containing a light fixture 4feet long. I projected the image onto a white eggshell painted wall, not a great screen. I didn't measure the image size -

I was blown away with the picture I got with zero setup. Was it perfect? Nope, not even close... But out of the box impression was very good. I played around with very quick adjustments. I had three main goals:

a.) how much difference did the zoom make to the image;
b.) how 'bright and clear' was the image projected onto the wall (assuming a screen would significantly improve this image);
c.) How did the H57 handle my 4:3 media.

Test DVDs -- The Incredibles 4:3, and Toy Story 2.45:1 (I think) and CONAIR. My DVD player: Inexpensive Toshiba 1900 using Component video outs, average cable (came with digital cable box)

The projector auto-selected my 480/i input via component and threw the image up on the wall. Within 30 seconds the blue intro screen appeared and jumped out at me screaming for attention. I loved it already.

I watched a bit of the movie, and turned the volume up to 'feel the picture' I adjusted the focus (very, very sensitive) and played with the zoom in and out. I viewed the maximum zoom out, and sat about 5-6 feet away, on an angle of about 40 degrees and I did notice SDE. (Of course) I am sorry, I would estimate the image to be about 30" by 60" as a guess. I felt comfortable with what I saw, imagining a worst case scenario it was super acceptible. I am glad I went for the higehr resoultion as I feel the lesser H31 would have disappointed me here.
The zoom made a significant difference, at a cost. Clearly, unzoomed looked much better. (manual adjustment ring). I compare this test to walking up to a RP TV and seeing the pixels/SDE and walking back from it. Naturally the smaller the image became, the 'higher' the resoultion was realtive to the room, thus a better picture.

Result of this test: Not dissapointed in the least. No rainbows seen watching about 10 minutes total of CONAIR, TOY STORY 2, and INCREDIBLES.

Test # 2: Brightness test.

Out of the box the unit was set for about it's midpoint, plenty of brightness here, for little or no ambient light. I turned on the living room lights, and washed most of the picture away (due to 3 x 100watt bulbs) pointing in the direction of the screen. If I adjusted the brightness, it did excellent to compensate as much as anyone could expect. Just by playing around with the menu, very, very briefly, I could see I had excellent control over this input. Sorry Dave: I didn't pay attention to your earlier post about certain controls being 'grayed out' that will come when I actually begin a real test and setup of the PJ.

Result of this test: Very satisfied with the inital control, and the light output of the unit. I guess I'll ad the incredible job Optoma has done with the fan noise (lack therof). It is unresonable to expect 1 db less, I just couldn't hear it all. volume turned right down, and listening intently for it. Thats the only way I knew it was on. Well done H57!

Test #3: 4:3 Display

Again, I didn't fiddle with it at all, I was trying to get a feel for the general abilities of the Projector. I guess it picked up on the 4:3 material quickly and clipped it to fill my screen. Although, I did notice how much information was missing when I used the DVD controls, the responses were 1/2 clipped off the top right of the screen. Although, I was very happy with the 4:3 filling my screen and NOT LOOKING STRETCHED ARTIFICIALLY at all. I expected it to be worse. I don't know if this is specific to this model, but it makes me happy to see what was output, and the quality to boot.

I should mention that I also connected my Dreambox FTA Satellite receiver via composite video, just for a quick view. I could clearly see a reduction in overall quality in the video, and in the menus. ALTHOUGH, the dreambox appears to have an excellent video encoder and does display an excellent picture (better than some devices on SVIDEO) on my 53" HD Pioneer TV at work. my 51" Toshiba doesn't look as good as the pioneer, but if I hadn't seen the Pioneer, I wouldn't know.

Overall impression of the H57 - worth every penny.

Important Note reviewer wishes to pass on to the average person:

I am not overly critical of anything unless I see a reason to be. What do I mean? I am not wrapped up in huge technical explanations, nor am I supertechie in the video standards and 'proper' setups.... Not yet anyways. I get the feeling around here that many of the people on the forum are likely over critical, and have experienced so much techgnology they have every right to be. For me, what is important is what I see, now that I have made my decision to purchase after much reading. Don't get too technical, be open minded and then test what is important to you. I can't wait to hookup a DVI video source to the H57, I just know it will blow me away all over again. When I mount the PJ and setup the screen and all my video sources properly using the AVIA disc, I know everything will be top notch.

I also feel it important to mention I purposely didn't go out and view 100 projectors. I didn't view a single one. My opinion is therefor not valuable to some people out there -- but I feel my money is well spent on this PJ, and because I didn't view other projectors, I don't have to say it's better or worse than this or that. All I need to say is GET AN OPTOMA H57 and you won't be disappointed.

I am very happy with my purchase, and can't wait to do things right an improve on what I have seen so far.

Thanks Wayne, Dave -- you guys were my inspiration here to upgrade from the H31 to the H57. Btw: Something I did mention in an earlier post --> CALL OPTOMA and ask lots of questions about their product. Tell them what your looking for and have them make recommendations.... I almost bought an EP745 special revision of the EP739 makde for a specific retailer, lets call them "T". It would not have been suitable for movies.

Trust your instinct, read a lot and ask a lot of questions. Technical opinions are worth 50% of the product review. The other 50% is real-life viewing, and how you feel watching the image.

I hope what I have written here helps others understand I think I made an excellent purchase. Finally, here's my Pros/Cons:

Pros/ - came with free lamp. Price is resonable, higher than I wanted, but reasonable for sure. Shop around. Some retailers are out to lunch (ebay).
- Highly configureable and excellent out of the box impression.
- Bright, powerfull image
- SUPER, SUPER QUIET Fan. Less noise than my best CPU fan for computers..
- Nicely packaged (plastic shell, very little light leakage out the side of the cooling port) Well designed I feel.

Cons/ - I Took to long to make a decision to purchase.
- I had to pay GST + DUTY to get it over to Canada
- I hate UPS. (they still think the pkg is in CUSTOMS!)
- Shipping took too long..

I love this thing. PERIOD.

Will

Thanks for the review, Will!
Just wait til' you get it fully "Optomized"
I am right now just using a wall and because of my distance, have the projector fully zoomed and it's STILL amazing looking. In 2 weeks when we are in our new place with the FP properly set up on our new Greywolf screen? As they say in Brooklyn, "Fuhgeddaboudit!"
Wane, tell us how much better our h57's are gonna look!

:) d

Very nice review Will! :)

Honest and unpretentious. Quite refreshing.

Under your 'Pros and Cons', I especially found your 'Cons' to be hilarious. It's great to have a sense of humus, I mean humor after you've gone through an ordeal like the one foisted upon you recently.

Yes Dave,

You guys will notice a marked improvement once you start calibrating with AVIA or DVE or THX Optimizer or Sound and Vision and project onto a real screen using DVI cable. Add a good DVD player like the Oppo or LG/Zenith or an HTPC to the mix and you may never go out to the movies again. ;)

Wayne

Heck, I don't go out to the movies now! (Except for Star Wars ep. 3 opening day. THAT was worth it!)
I can't wait to get the dang screen! 10 more days, 10 more days!

:) d

A quick question. I'm a happy H31 owner, but the upgrade bug has already bitten. The Sanyo Z3 is so affordable now that I was thinking of selling my PJ, But I would hate to give up contrast for higher rez. Do you think the H57 has enough of a better PQ to upgrade from my H31, or should I be looking at the 720 DLPs? Is the Z3 a contender, or is the black level just too washed out? Thanks for the replies!

Well, I did exactly what you're proposing. I had two H31s in my possession and couldn't get either one to sync with my HTPC or stop tearing so I jumped at the chance to upgrade to the H57 after I had it in my house as a loaner on trial from Optoma.

The blacks and contrast ratio on the two different models are similar. I wouldn't give either one an edge. But the differences beyond that make it well worth your while to consider the H57 in my opinion.

As soon as I turned on the H57 for the first time after having tried two H31s, I couldn't believe how much better the images were. And I was impressed by the pictures generated by the H31s after having owned an X1 for nearly two years.

Right off the bat I noticed several things. The colors were more accurate and more saturated. Red especially was the way that red is supposed to be. Not orange like the H31s reds are. I know. Both units I tried could not eliminate the orangey reds no matter how much I tried to calibrate with and without AVIA. Right away I was impressed because I HATED the reds on the H31. Once again, the saturation was better and the colors were more accurate.

Light leakage is less on the H57. I noticed more light leaking out of the front of the H31.

On the H31 I had to share one input for my VGA and DVI cables. Not so with the H57. It has separate inputs for everything.

I can sit closer to the screen and not be bothered by screen door with the H57. I'm 10' away from a 92" screen whereas this same distance was troublesome with the H31.

The H57 is as bright as the sun! Much brighter than the H31. This was a real revelation let me tell you. I had to re-calibrate and it was almost impossible to find the moving bars on the AVIA disc because of the H57's brightness.

The H31 is a fine projector and you would do well to hold onto it. But if you feel the urge to upgrade is irresistable then yes, the H57 is worth it. Earlier in this thread you can read about a comparison that was made between the H57 and the H77 and it turned out to be basically a draw. The H77 is a 720p projector so that's telling you something about the H57.

Check out this review of the H57 by a fellow AVSer 'Presenter':

http://www.projectorreviews.com/review.asp?reid=35

Hope this helps you. :)

Wayne

Heck, I don't go out to the movies now! (Except for Star Wars ep. 3 opening day. THAT was worth it!)
I can't wait to get the dang screen! 10 more days, 10 more days!

:) d

Dave,

I saw SW Ep. 3 in a local Dallas theater using a DLP projector and let me tell you, it was the most visually impressive image I was ever privileged to see.

Joe, I hear ya. The ziegfeld in NYC has the new DLP projector and yep, best picture I've EVER seen. :) d

8 more days to go til' the screen!

Hey Dave,

This is like Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center. T-minus 8 days and counting until we have Greywolf. :D

When you post your review I think I'll alert the folks over on the Greywolf thread to wander over here to read it. :) Now don't feel pressured. We just want to read Hemingway quality prose! :cool:

Will,

Have you had a chance to try some tweaking and some other movies with the H57 yet? Any further impressions?

We've heard a rumor that you've been throwing a massive party for your friends at Customs and UPS. :D

Wayne

Wayne: Just got back from a nice weekend away in Cambridge. I played so many multi-player games of AOE2 and War2 and Starcraft my eyes hurt. *(not to mention my pride)* I have been lax in my work in the basement. If I can get some help, I will start drywalling tonight after work. If not, I will go down and stuff some more insulation into the ceiling and try to finish some of the smaller jobs. I am looking forward to building my audio rack.

I haven't touched the projector since my initial review, I don't even wanna look at it until I have it properly setup and running in my theatre onto a screen. Thats weeks away for sure.

Dave: I hop all is good with the move -- I think you and my brother are moving on the same day, as I help him move out on Saturday.

I will likely be absent from the forums for a week or so, as I put my focus on working in the basement to get this puppy started.

Wayne: Customs and UPS told me they were too busy trying to find my package, but thanks for the invite anyway. They still think they can charge me PST for it.

One thing I did want to mention: The H57 was not well packed for shipping. The 'master carton' had no padding whatsoever in it, allowing the bulb and AVIA disc to roam freely within. I called "V" and told Jennifer I wouldn't be surprised if the spare bulb was DOA. She made a note in my file. The projector itself is well packaged within it's own carton - it would take a serious mistake to damage it.

Speaking of "V" I must admit, I am very happy with their service, and contact was pleasant at all times. Since their price is also the best, I would say they are "Two Thumbs Up" ... Just be weary of the warranty differences with products shipped across the border to Canada. If enough people call and mention this is a serious sales deterent, maybe we can encourage V to work with their Vendor Partners and get this changed.

Will

All the best over the next little while with your room construction Will. :) We'll be looking forward to future posts.

Wayne

Thanks for the reading ...

Will I hope you do not hate me for this but ....

costco.ca is now selling the H57 for 2,200 canadian with a 92 inch screen....

until August 28th


just ordered mine today ...


Norm

Hi Norm,

Thanks for joining the discussion here. Your first post too. :)

Please do us the favor of a review when you get set up. Always curious about the opinions of new H57 owners.

Thanks for the heads up about Costco. That's a phenomenal deal, especially for Canadians.

Will,

I just checked on the website and the actual price listed is $2299.00 plus PST and GST. I don't know if a business person like yourself could get out of paying the PST but for argument's sake let's assume that you'd have to pay both taxes. That brings the grand total to $2644.99. You got a free bulb worth about $575.00 Cdn. Subtract that from the approximate $3000.00 that I estimate you paid and then add on the price of your screen and I think that you didn't lose in your transaction.

I'm hoping that the moderators will forgive us for dwelling on other than MSRP here. We've endeavored to not go against AVS policy and discuss this type of thing but I believe that the intent of these last two posts has been not to generally inform Canadians of this temporary deal, but to alert our fellow member Will to it and therefore perhaps get his response.

We wouldn't want an embarrassing warning from the moderators of the forum or to have this thread closed down so I would caution everyone to refrain from mentioning deals and dealers as it's frowned upon at AVS.

Having said all that, thanks for the info though Norm. Maybe some new folks like yourself will take advantage of the lower cost and join our chat. :)

Wayne

Wayne - quick question. What is the offset of the H57? I can't mount the projector on the ceiling so it will sit on a half wall ledge just above my couch. The H57 doesn't have lens shift does it? My screen starts approx. 24" off the ground so I presume that I would need to physically tilt the projector quite a bit and use keyston to correct which is something I would like to avoid.

Thanks.

Hi m@rkus,

If I remember correctly, the H57 offset is fairly steep @ around 37%. I think that if your screen is say 92" diagonal, the top of the image will start around 12 to 15 inches below the center of the lens. This won't work for you unless you do some drastic keystoning.

Can you mount the H57 higher up the wall? This is what I've done and you don't have to go that high. I have mine at about 6 feet 3 inches or so mid point of lens to the floor. The lens is about 12.5 to 13 feet away from the screen and the screen is quite low to the floor with the bottom being about 14 inches off the floor.

No keystoning at all in my configuration and I'm using a High Power screen.

If you can't go into the ceiling, try to go around the height that I have mine or even higher if possible. I know that you'd like to utilize the ledge as sort of a natural mount but it's not good for projectors to be laid upside down without being hung. Too much stress on the top of the unit. If you had planned to not put it upside down, then the image will be at least partly on the ceiling so you either should go with a table mount or a higher wall mount.

The H57 unfortunately doesn't have a lens shift option. The H31 has an electronic lens shift in the menu which allows you to place a 2.35:1 image at the top or bottom of a 16:9 screen but apparently using this option results in pixel loss. When I had my H31, I tried this option and couldn't detect any loss in quality.

See what you can do to make the H57 viable. It's worth it! :)

Let us know what you do.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne. Looks like the H57 is out of the question then. I'm happy with the Sharp Dt-300 I have but thought that since the H57 was now available in Canada for that great deal, I would make the switch to eliminate fan noise (since the H57 is whisper quiet).

I have 20' ceilings and no back wall (only a half wall between living room and breakfast area) so the ledge is my only option. Luckily I scored on the DT300 deal a month ago so things are still good :-)

Too bad m@rkus. :(

Wayne

screen.......soon.....screen......soon.......

:) next week, guys!

Lot's of excitement for you lately Dave. New projector, ND2 filter, Oppo, soon a screen and you're moving.

What we really want to know is when you and your fiancee are going to enjoy all these new toys with the same last name? :D

Wayne

Norm: I think the biggest benefit by purchasing from that retailer is the convienence factor, not having to deal with customs. The price isn't that much better than I paid ... (paying 15% tax on the pre-rebate price) is what kills you.

Wayne: with a business, you get tax deferment, not tax credits... So... not paying PST upfront, it still has to b paid with your remittances... (monthly, quarterly or semi-annually)

Although, I do wish I was able to walk into "C" and buy it off the shelf. There is a lot to be said about buying like that!

Wayne+Dave: I have 1 wall drywalled, and will be continuing throughout this week. The ceiling is going to be fun....

Wayne: I am really getting down to the crunch, and I am still missing some key components for my hookup. Namely a video switcher that will allow me to input 1 and output 2 (selectable) via component video (as a minimum). I have looked and looked with no luck.

" Can you mount the H57 higher up the wall? This is what I've done and you don't have to go that high. I have mine at about 6 feet 3 inches or so mid point of lens to the floor. The lens is about 12.5 to 13 feet away from the screen and the screen is quite low to the floor with the bottom being about 14 inches off the floor." Can the projector not be mounted higher, and slanted downward towards the screen to compensate for a higher mount? I believe that adjustment is referred to as YAW?

I took some pictures of the room, I will upload them tonight if I get time.

I have also come up with the idea I will get an artistic friend to sketch and paint a mural in my theatre, of superman, star wars, lord of the rings, braveheart a movie reel type images on the wall in full size as my own personalized theatre. I used to have a friend who was excellent at this, but I haven't talked to her in years... Time to dig up a phonebook and see if she's interested.

I'll check back in soon, if not tonight.

Will

Hi Will ,


I saw one component switcher the "Audio Authority 1154A HDTV Component Video and Digital Audio Auto Switcher/Selector "

listed at avdeals.ca for a Canadian distributor , no idea as to how it works ...

For myself I am also looking for a "switcher" but a DVI version

looking at the Gefen 2x1 HDTV Switcher , has anyone tried a DVI switcher with the H57 ?


Norm

Hey all!

I made it through the first 7 pages, but I didn't see anyone mention where the air intake and exaust vents are located on the 57. My ceiling has a soffet towards the back of the room, but I may be able to mount it ahead of that soffet depending on where the vents are.

Otherwise I'm out of luck based on the projection offset.

'bubba',

You can mount the H57 close to a ceiling or a wall as it exhausts out to the sides. All you need is enough room for a ceiling mount or room for the cables to go in at the back.

I have mine just underneath the soffit in my recroom at about 6'4" up the wall and my screen begins at 14" off of the floor. No keystoning whatsoever in my setup.

Hope you can spring for this projector. It's awesome! :)

Will,

Looking forward to those pictures. :cool: The mural idea sounds interesting. If you go for it I hope they don't turn out too well. You might end up watching the mural and not the H57. :D

Wayne

Where is the air intake?

Also, anyone using this with a HDMI upconverting player like the Elite DV-59AVi?

Okay, I turned on the H57 tonight and tried to figure out the answer to your question. It appears that the exhaust vents from the side furthest from the lens. There are air slots on the bottom of the unit also that may be expelling heat but I couldn't confirm that. My projector is mounted on the wall near the ceiling and it's not easy to see the under portion of it because there's only 4 inches between that and the ceiling and the mounting plate is covering up a good sized area of the bottom side as well.

Also there are tiny holes at the back where the inputs are. These may be for air intake but again, I can't say for sure. In any case, with the H57 hung high on the wall near the ceiling, it doesn't get hot or over heated. It's meant to be mounted in this fashion so no worries. :)

Wayne

For ceiling mounted applications has anyone noticed that the cooling fan(s) for the H57 cycle higher and lower (I’m very susceptible to noise)? One of the main characteristics why I chose the H57 was for its low SPL. When I initially set up my system the projector was table mounted and I didn’t notice this cycling issue or higher fan speed from startup. However, since it has been installed on the ceiling, the fan begins to cycle quite soon after startup and ends up at a higher fan speed than the startup fan speed.

Last night I took a temperature reading at the ceiling and it was 23degrees Celsius (not very warm). To give you an idea, when I turn the projector off and the projector goes into its two minute cooling mode, the fan speed actually slows down, in other words, the fan is working harder in the play mode versus the cool down mode? I have approximately 160mm clearance between the ceiling and the underside of the projector and the mounting plate affixed to the projector has a 15mm clearance. This plate has been made into Swiss cheese to facilitate air flow. The plate area is only large enough to accommodate the mounting bolts.

Peter

Peter,

Yes, mine does the same. I find it only mildly annoying and can only hear it when I have the sound down very low for when I'm tweaking and observing mainly the video.

Otherwise, when the sound is at normal levels, I don't hear the fan at all except during quiet scenes and even then I don't notice the cycling of the fan.

Wayne

Hi,
A new H57 user here in Australia.
I hope this isnt a silly question. I have been reading in here for a while now and I just made my purchase with a 92" Grandview Screen.
My problem is where exactly to position my PJ.
Currently it is on a shelf up the wall 2.1 m and is projecting 3.5m to my pull down 92" screen.
I find that with this setup I get too much keystoning.
The PJ is still in normal mode. ie. NOT upside down. I
cant understand what I should do.
I have tried placing it upside down, but thats just the reverse of the problem I have.
Too much tilt.
What am I doing wrong please.
TIA.

curious_,

Glad to have you aboard the good ship H57! :)

If my calculations are correct, your H57 is very close to the exact same position on the wall that mine is.

You do need to put your H57 upside down but you'll also need to go into the menu system and click on the 'Management' tab. Then click on one of the images beside 'Projection'. You'll know when you have the right one as the image will look correct in the right side up and non-reversed position. It's called the 'Front-Ceiling' position.

You should eventually try to hang your projector from a mount as it's not meant to be placed upside down on a shelf with it's weight being borne by the top of the projector against the shelf.

Hopefully you won't have to do any keystoning whatsoever.

Feel free to write a review of your projector and screen sometime. It's always nice to hear from new H57 owners and thanks for contributing and reviving the thread. :)

Wayne

bubba,

curious_ is in Australia. Read his post again. His measurements aren't from the imperial system. They're metric.

Secondly, no need to be nasty about this projector. :) It is a serious offset that's for sure but I know of worse. The H27 for instance apparently has over 50% offset. Now that's a big time drop! Optoma designs it's projectors this way it would seem. The H30 was kind of weird in it's offset as well, and the H31 too.

As for it's price drop, well, I think that Optoma realized that it was overpriced and couldn't compete with the LCD 720p units. It's very competitive now in my opinion.

Wayne

Thanks so far . I think.......
I tried positioning the PJ upside down as suggested. It still appears to do the same thing. The suggestion is that it offsets 37%??? Is that only in the upsdie down position? Does that make sense?
Secondly, I looked at the base of the unit, and I can see no where to attatch/ mount it upside down. Am I being shortsighted?
The manual makes no mention of ceiling mount either, nor of an optional celing mount.
TIA (again)
BTW. The picture is stunning. I hope to be able to write a short review on it, IF I manage to get it working as it should be.
With the setup I currently have what is the ideal height for the screen to be positioned @. I have a 2.4 M ceiling height, that is pitched uphil L/R. I would like to have it lower thanit currently is, but if I do that the keystoning will become worse.

Yes, I reread his post and saw that he indicated meters vs. feet, so I deleted my reply. He'll need to invert his projector and select the ceiling mount option.

Not being nasty at all. Since I deleted my post, I'll restate my question here by asking what Optoma was thinking when they designed a native 16:9 projector with an offset equivalent to a 4:3 projector in 16:9 mode. I'd love to confirm for myself whether the image that this thing throws is as nice as some have claimed, but it simply will not work in my theater due to the radical offset. Sorry!

Where is the air intake?

Also, anyone using this with a HDMI upconverting player like the Elite DV-59AVi?

I use the Samsung. I can hardly tell between 720p and 1080i (it's so much better than 480i/p ) The only problem I have is....sometimes the H57 takes a couple of tries to find the source. I've tried turning the projector on first, then the DVD player. But after a few tries it picks it up. I just finished painting the Home Theater, it should be done this week, I just have some trim work to do. My furniture won't arrive for another 4 weeks. I wanted a dark grey-blue seating. It had to be ordered. When I get finished I will post some pictures.

curious_,

Please re-read my post to you. I gave you detailed instructions as to how to fix your problem in the menu system. If you follow those, you'll be all set. :)

The offset is the same whether the projector is right side up or upside down. The only difference being that one position will place your image high up on the wall/ceiling depending on how high you place the projector and the other position will place the image lower on the wall/floor again dependent on projector placement.

It sounds as if you have your H57 in a workable spot. You just need to keep it in the upside down position and configure it as per my instructions in the menu. Probably the easiest way to do this is to first set the projector right side up so that you more easily navigate through the menu system. Otherwise you'll be reading everything upside down. :) So initially keep the projector right side up only until you've gone into the menu system and followed my instructions. If you've done this, the image should appear upside down and very high up on the wall/ceiling. Oh, and this is important. Keep the projector level without any tilting at all from side to side or up and down. Also, follow my instructions after eliminating any keystoning whatsoever.

Okay, so you've levelled the projector and it's not upside down and you've turned keystoning off. Once again, now's the time to go into the menu system, click on the 'Management' tab and then click on 'Projection' and then the 'Front-Ceiling' icon. If you don't know which one this is just click on all of the boxes until the image turns upside down but not reversed. Then turn your projector over so that it's upside down. Check the image. Does every thing look correct? If not go back into the menu system and click those boxes again until the image is presented properly. It's not hard at all.

As far as the manual and mounting go, there are pictures at the back of the manual which show a large mount arm going into the center of the projector. This method can be utilized much like the way a tripod holds up a camera. The other way and I assume that this is the most used method is to make use of the the three little holes for a traditional or non-traditional ceiling mount. Look closely at the underside of your H57. There are three tiny screw holes there that are for a mount.

There isn't really any ideal mounting position for a projector other than the general guideline that you should try to position your screen such that your eyes are level with the bottom third of it. This is not a hard and fast rule. With shorter ceilings and the fairly large H57 offset, you may find as I do that the screen is needed to be positioned a little lower causing your eyes to be level with a position that's closer to the middle of the screen. It's actually quite nice this way I've found.

As long as your screen isn't dragging on the floor :) and you don't have to use any keystoning, you're in good shape. Keysoning by the way isn't the boogeyman that it's reputation has been sullied with. At least not with this projector. A little bit of it won't necessarily be detrimental to the image. I've seen it used on both the H31 and the H57 without any discernible change so it is an option if you feel you need to use it.

Now, go set this up and then you can start tweaking the image colors etc... :)

Wayne

bubba,

I owned the Infocus X1 prior to the H57 and it's a native 4:3 projector so I understand where you're coming from. I too have a soffit at the back of my recroom and it shortens the height of the room by about 8 inches I think. Therefore, the highest placement I've been able to achieve is putting the lens at 6' 3" approximately. This necessitates screen placement at 14" off the floor. This may not work with some installations due to speaker obstructions but fortunately it works for me.

If you can't make this work similarly in your home that's unfortunate. :( I guess what you need is a projector with 0 offset. They are available but I can't remember by which manufacturer.

Do you have a projector now? If so, what's the offset like on it?

Wayne

Dave Mack :)

Where are you buddy! You must be really busy with your move. You should have your screen any day now. Check in when you can.

Wayne

Well, it looks like progress on my theatre will slow even more since I will be leaving the province and heading for New Bruinswick on Saturday for a little R & R. I am visiting a good friend and his family, who I haven't seen for over 1 year.

Taking unpaid time if is difficult on the pocket book, but sometimes you just have to take the hit. Besides, I'll be eating for free for a week, so that will more than cover the cost of Gas/time off.!!!!

I have managed to get three sheets of drywall up in my theatre so far, but things just keep coming up to prevent me from doing the work in the basement at all.

I have decided to create my own mount for the PJ. The way I see it, I will need a downward slope to compensate for my high mounting position. I nee my PJ mounted about 4-6" below ceiling, which puts it at the 7ft marker.... (by estimates)

Dave, I hope your move went well. I helped my brother move on Saturday and it hurt like heck (back pain). But otherwise, the move went smoothly.

Welcome to the new members posting in this thread. Seems we have some addicted people here to help... (and some new ones willing to learn right along side you!)

I have yet to purchase a screen. Wayne, you have me thinking again.
I ordered the component adaptor for my Satellite Receiver, I hope to see it shortly and test it's improvement over Svideo.

Wayne: I haven't forgotten the picture, they came out blurry for some reason. I am re-taking them tonight when I get home. I promise I'll have them up tonight!
(crossing my fingers here!)

I hope everyone is enjoying their H57's ... I appreciated the comments about the fan noise changing as the fan increases in speed to cool the bulb. I imaging as the Pj gets closer to the ceiling, the temperature change of 1-2 degrees is significant when it comes to cooling the PJ.

Will

bubba,

...Do you have a projector now? If so, what's the offset like on it?

Wayne

Yes, I currently have the Panasonic PT-L300 and was looking to move into DLP. Its offset is what I would consider standard (within ~5%) for a projector running in native mode. That is, depending on the mount, the center of the lens is within a few inches of the bottom or top of the screen.

I find it odd that the 57's offset is so radical. It makes no sense to me. :confused: It's as if the DLP used is actually a masked 4:3 resolution chip instead of native widescreen, or is this simply how the Matterhorn works?

Oh well, I'll just have to wait until the new D5 LCD machines hit this fall and force 720 DLP down below $2K.

EDIT: I should have clarified that my definition of a "standard" offset assumes no lens shift control of any kind. Most units offering lens shift start with lens and image area on center.

For ceiling mounted applications has anyone noticed that the cooling fan(s) for the H57 cycle higher and lower (I’m very susceptible to noise)? One of the main characteristics why I chose the H57 was for its low SPL. When I initially set up my system the projector was table mounted and I didn’t notice this cycling issue or higher fan speed from startup. However, since it has been installed on the ceiling, the fan begins to cycle quite soon after startup and ends up at a higher fan speed than the startup fan speed.

Last night I took a temperature reading at the ceiling and it was 23degrees Celsius (not very warm). To give you an idea, when I turn the projector off and the projector goes into its two minute cooling mode, the fan speed actually slows down, in other words, the fan is working harder in the play mode versus the cool down mode? I have approximately 160mm clearance between the ceiling and the underside of the projector and the mounting plate affixed to the projector has a 15mm clearance. This plate has been made into Swiss cheese to facilitate air flow. The plate area is only large enough to accommodate the mounting bolts.

Peter

I have exactly the same problem and it drives me mad... My H57 has been returned to Optoma a couple of times with this fault…. I am glad a saw this post as they where beginning to doubt there was a problem as they cannot replicate the fault. My 57 comes back this week with a new motherboard, but I have a horrible feeling it’s an inherent design flaw.

Jonas

Will,

The time away should be good for you. You'll hopefully return refreshed and ready to tackle the room again. :)

Many people on AVS have designed and constructed their own mounts and some of them are very inventive and even not too bad looking as well. You might try a search about this and some helpful threads might turn up.

Speaking of screens, I see that Dave just posted over in the screens forum on the Greywolf thread that he's finally ordered the screen. We look forward to your review Dave! :) So I got you thinking again huh Will? :eek: You know what that means...more greenbacks possibly flying out of your pockets. ;) I'm glad you haven't bought a screen yet. I think that the H57 is too good a projector for a starter screen. But I do understand the need to cut corners sometimes and I'm sure if you do buy an Elite or anything like it that it'll serve you well until you decide to upgrade.

Those bloody adapters and switches are so darned expensive aren't they!? I see that a decent DVI switcher runs about $300.00 U.S. :eek: :eek:

No pressure about the photos. :) Whenever you can.

Wayne

bubba,

I envy you with that nice offset on the Panny. No wonder you don't want to go for the H57. You're used to a better offset. I sure wish I could show you my set up though. I think you'd forget about the offset once you saw the images this thing throws. I really do. But your pj is old enough now that I can see why you'd have the urge to upgrade and the next generation of LCD based units might indeed propel DLP technology to lower price points. It's all good then. We the consumers win. :)

You're smart to check these things out now while you still have your money. ;)

Wayne

oddworld,

Jonas, it's great to have you aboard the H57 train. :) Yes the fan can cycle like that on mine as well and be a little distracting but I've found that I only notice it when I'm either listening for it (why do that, I know) or I've intentionally lowered the sound in order to concentrate on the image when I'm tweaking for instance. But usually when the audio is at normal levels I never notice this.

Anyway, you got a new motherboard if nothing else. :cool: That has to be worth a fair chunk of change not to mention the labor involved.

Wayne

Hey All!

Well we are in our FAB new place in Berkeley. 3 days of moving, (used mini-van instead of truck). We are WIPED but aren't done yet! Still have one last small amount to move from the sublet and cleaning up there either tom'w or wed. And then there's STILL more stuff at her relative's! (sigh...)

Anyways, I finally saw the h57 at 92 or so inches last nite on the wall here. WOW! Talk about Home Theatre! I ordered the optoma graywolf screen and should have it by thurs. or Fri! :)

Now my ONLY problem is that all of the outlets in the living/media room here are non-grounded ones! Not ONE 3 prong outlet at all! I have a few downstairs but I don't want to run a heavy extension cord if I don't have to. So, I have my Monster Power strip, with clean power/ circuit breaker etc... going into one of those 79 cent 3 into 2 grounding adaptor plug things! AGH!


We are renting, so we can't just rip out the power lines and run new ones.

Any ideas???

:) d

Hello H57'ers,

I received my H57, and am dying to install it and the screen, but have to wait for old furniture to be moved, and painting to be done (had to conceed to some remodeling).

Anyway, while all I can think about is installing the darn thing, I'm just wondering if the offset on the H57 is the exact same as the H31. The manual that came with the H57 does not mention any angles or measurements. For the H31 the distance the top of the screen is to the middle of lens (ceiling mount) is distance from screen x tan 7.42.

I need to install the projector so that the light just misses a ceiling fan halfway to the screen.

Thanks in advance.

I think the offsets are close on the two. I've had both in my home and didn't have to change the screen height much.

If the ceiling fan gets in the way you know what has to be done. :D The projector comes first! ;) You just have to convince your better half. :)

Seriously though, because of the big offset, you shouldn't have a problem. I have a ceiling fan between the H57 and the screen as well and the only thing that got in the way was the dangling pull chains that determine speed, direction and light on/off. I just shortened those chains until they were out of the way. Never had a problem since.

Tell your wife to hurry up and move the furniture and get the painting done because you've got a theater to erect. :D I mean, you can't be expected to do everything. :p

Wayne

Dave,

Good to hear from you man!

I'd be careful fooling around with those old non-grounded receptacles. They might not meet fire code regulations in your area and if there's a fire, you may not be able to file a claim for the projector if it's destroyed. This is especially true if the fire proves to have been caused somehow by the electrical wiring in that room.

Although it's unsightly and cumbersome, I think that the safest way to go is to use a grounded extension cord. Just be careful whatever you do.

At least your screen doesn't have to be plugged in. :D That is until you buy a motorized one with electric masking after you win the lottery. :)

Wayne

Dave:

Warning, Warning, Warning:

Anyone who knows anything about electricity should be jumping out of their skin right now. MAKE SURE your extension cord is 14/2 if not 12/2 (12 gauge or lower) depending on the length of the cable. You want to make sure it's capable of carrying the load easily, and that it provides adequate current to the projector, or you'll be in real trouble. Most extension cords (orange) fit this bill... Just make sure your not using a "really long lamp cord" which could drop enough current along the way and cause you real headaches. Steady power and uniform waves allow the projector to "clean up" and image. If the waves are interupted or "clipped" due to inadequate supply line, you'll likely notice a drastic performance drop in your projector immediately, and permanent damage will follow:

As far as your 3 pronged outlet issue, is there a ceiling light nearby? There are ceiling light fixtures that include a 3 prong outlet which would likely solve your problem with a simple light fixture change. Try a google search. I haven't seen one for a while, so I'll look too and post it if turns out. The only downfall is running an extension cord along with it you might find a nice little tracking system to make it look neat enough. My old living room had a ceiling box added where none exisited, to allow a ceiling fan install. This is how it was accomplished, less the 3 prong was not an issue for me. The end of that wire plugged into an outlet on the wall.

I hope you understand what I mean...

Will

Here they are folks!

The last 2 shots are my existing living room, showing a good shot on my 51" Toshiba RP TV that will be embedded (flush mounted) into the screen wall.

The first picture shows most of the back wall, the rear left corner of the theatre room. (facing the screen)

More ... con't next message.

More pictures....

Picture # 4 shows the location under my stairs where the electrical closet will be, and the amp rack/wires...(on the right) and the entrance door in the middle, left side of the picture.

Picture # 5 is an ariel shot of my current living room. (from on my stairs)

Picture # 6 is a shot of my 51" Toshiba TV that will be flush mounted into my new theatre wall.

I hope you guys enjoy these. Comments welcome.

Will

Thanks for those Will! I can almost smell the popcorn now. :)

I think it's going to be nice when it's finished.

Wayne

Hey again, all...

Thanx for the tips, Will! Yeah, the unit we moved into is in the back 1/2 of a house and our landlady has been a landlady for all of 18 months so she knows NOTHING, The house seems to be from the 30's and most of the outlets seem to be that old. There is ONE newer grounded outlet in the kitchen, (which I promptly moved the fridge plug into as it was plugged into an older one with the adaptor thingy. There are 2 newer ones in the downstairs room which seem to have been updated for the use of a now off-line first alert system. But upstairs, where ALL my equipmet is?? NADA. There are 3 outlets, 6 sockets. All older 2 prongers.
Now my problem is that I have my amp and subwoofer plugged in to a big monster power strip, (clean power, the $100 kind) which is then into an 3-2 prong adaptor into wall.
Now ACROSS the room is the projector and dvd player. They are plugged into a more basic monster power strip/surge protector, into a 3-2 thingy.
If I throw the downstairs lightswitch on or off, my amp stutters and loses the audio for a split second. Annoying... At our last place, whenever the fridge compressor kicked on or off it would happen too, like once every 5 minutes!!!!

So what to do? Run one (or two ?)of those heavy duty industrial extension cords downstairs? Try to get at the overhead light fixture? Or how much would it cost me to have an electrician run me some grounded stuff upstairs??

:( d

Hi folks. After all the fabulous things I've read here and elsewhere, I've just ordered an H57 with free lamp from the fabulous "V" company. I'm a New Zealander, and stand to save a small fortune by purchasing direct from the US even after paying freight and tax at this end. One worry I have is the subject of warranty which "V" advise doesn't apply when goods are shipped overseas. Does anyone know if Optoma would honour their warranty if I had to ship the unit from NZ, as long as I pay freight both ways? The H57 will replace an Infocus X1 so I'd like to setup some form of masking on my Da-Lite HCMW 4.3 - 120" pull down screen, at least until I can sort out a native 16:9 screen. I envisage that this would be required at the top only as I can obviously retract the bottom. What's the easiest way to do this without wrecking the screen, and hence resale value? How will the H57 deal with 4.3 PAL 576i material (native TV here) apart from displaying it centred with black pillars each side? Can the H57 scale it to fill the 16.9 screen reasonably nicely so that things doesn't look too stretched? Our Panasonic 42"plasma does this nicely. I can't wait. I'm sure I'll be thrilled with the H57 as the X1 has served me well, and apart from a slight lack of brightness, and some SDE, still rocks in our place.

[QUOTE=spong]

One worry I have is the subject of warranty which "V" advise doesn't apply when goods are shipped overseas. Does anyone know if Optoma would honour their warranty if I had to ship the unit from NZ, as long as I pay freight both ways?

Spong: I specifically addressed this issue with "V" and OPTOMA directly. I have an EMAIL in writing from OPTOMA stating exactly this. Also, I have Jennifer at "V" who told me all I would have to do is ship to them, and they would ship out and look after the warranty. After the shipping nightmare I went through initially, I think I would rather baby this thing to make sure nothing goes wrong. I feel comfortable that Optoma and "V" will make sure I get looked after.

Dave: Those 3-2 outlet plugs are the only way your going to get it to work for now. I don't understand why the receptacles themselves can't be changed out, grounded and changed to 3 prongers ... Can you take a picture of the outlet and post it here? I would caution you on using your high end electronics on these plus. Sounds like you're already experiencing "brown outs" and these will kill your equipment over time for sure. The monster power surge protector likely doesn't have the ability to protect against brown-outs, if it doesn't say it, it likely doesn't do it. Brown outs cause more failures then surges, probably at a ratio of 7:1 or similar. GET A UPS device for your lower powered devices, like the PJ. The amp will need more than a standard UPS as it's draw is likely too high for a standard UPS.

Wayne: I know the pictures aren't as clear as they could be, as far as identifying room dimensions and such, but I didn't feel like moving the drwall out of the way!
You can see my nice bundle of wires though at the amp rack!!!!

Will

Hey Will, I will take some pix. Technically since we are in an apartment, I'd have to get permission most likely from our landlady, who lives in the front 1/2 of the house to do any re-wiring and I don't know how much that all would cost. I also have a keyboard, 16 trk. digital hadr disk recorder and guitar amps as well. Basically, I SHOULD have looked more carefully at the outlets when we looked at the apartment last month.

here

more

Hey again, Will!

I went to the home depot site and looked at some outdoor extension cords, (since I will probably run this out the window and down the house. I found 2 by the same company...



Coleman Cable
50 Ft. 13 Amp Orange SJTW Extension Cord
Model 02408-88-03



This 14/3 AWG cord is UL listed and meets OSHA requirements for an outdoor use extension cord. It is a medium-duty cord made up of a vinyl jacket which resists moisture, abrasion, and prolonged exposure to sunlight. This cord is ideal for drills, routers, grinders, sanders and other tools and equipment.

Store SKU # 277541
Internet # 300816
Catalog # 100083560
Price: $13.99/ea

Coleman Cable
50 Ft. 13 Amp Orange SJTW Extension Cord
Model 02308-88-03



This 16/3 AWG cord is UL listed and meets OSHA requirements for an outdoor use extension cord. It is a heavy-duty cord made up of a vinyl jacket which resists moisture, abrasion, and prolonged exposure to sunlight. This cord is ideal for drills, routers, grinders, sanders and other tools and equipment.

Store SKU # 277517
Internet # 300820
Catalog # 100094739


What's odd is that the one for "heavy duty" is cheaper! Any thoughts?

Thanx! d

spong,

So many newcomers joining our thread. :) Welcome. Check with Optoma to see if they would honour your warranty locally even though the H57 was purchased in the U.S. You may not have to ship it outside of NZ or Oz.

I also came from the X1 to the H57. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!! :) Less SDE, much brighter, quieter, the list goes on and on. The X1 is a great little unit but can't possibly compare to the H57 and no one expects it to. You will be impressed.

As for masking, what I did was I went to Wal-Mart and bought some felt material, cut it to the size I wanted and then affixed a strip of magnet roll that can be purchased here in Canada at Home Depot. It's just a roll of magnetic material that is sticky on one side and magnetic on the other. You just peel off the paper protecting the sticky part, place the strip (cut the roll into strip lengths that are suitable) along the edge of the felt material and then place the magnetic side of the strip on the metal casing of the screen. It sticks perfectly and can be adjusted easily for minute changes and also can be removed quickly. It doesn't scratch the casing either.

The H57 scales not too badly but not as nicely as my Pioneer CRT RPTV does. It's really best to try to watch anything in it's native format and mask where necessary if you don't want any distortion.

Wayne

Will,

You're coming along much better on that room than I had envisioned. :) It's looking like you've done the lion's share of the work. Much more to do, I know. :( Keep those pictures coming as you progress. :)

Dave,

Check with your local municipality. Your landlady may have to upgrade your electrical wiring at her expense. It's very possible that the wiring in your apartment would not pass local electrical codes. I would also approach your landlady and try to convince her how upgrading the wiring would possibly allow her to raise the rent (after you have moved out of course :D ). You could offer to pay half of the electrician's bill if she's not required by law to upgrade it. Or you could barter with her. Offer to do some handyman work around the place for her in exchange for the electrical upgrade. You really need to have this done. I wouldn't plug much of that expensive equipment in any of those sockets. You can go the route of long extension cords but it's really a stop gap measure. Did you sign a lease for a year? In that case, that's a long time to live with extension cords.

And this is most important: Please ensure that you have tenant's insurance covering you for theft and fire etc..

But the most important thing is that we want to read your review of the H57/Greywolf screen. :D :D

Wayne

Sirredz,

Many thanks for putting my mind at rest re: warranty issues with the H57. If you could send o copy of those email(s) to me I'd be most grateful. Sorry, I'm new here and the system won't even let me post my "spam-magnet" address here yet but hopefully there's a way around it.

Mystery,

Also many thanks for your advise. I hadn't thought of using felt for masking. Most of the materials I would have used would have been too reflective. I'll check local warranty possibilities also, just in case.

Thanks, Wayne

Yep, we're in a bind. Our hot water heater isn't currently working and she is getting a guy here tomorrow at 7:30am to look at it! AGH! But at least we'll have hot water soon!
She's a recent single mom and bought this house with it's apartment unit (for income) in 2004 and obviously has no CLUE about being a homeowner. Today I discovered that the older in-ground lights were installed out in our backyard and our walkway path which were not working and had been all knocked about and kinda disassembled, (she said she'd be working on them...) were still live and plugged in! At any moment, my dog could've chomped down on one of those wires and been fried.
So we already got on her about the hot water heater after a day and a 1/2 and now I have to bring up the outlet issue. Eeeeesh. The previous tenant had a power strip plugged into an adaptor into the wall.
Honestly, I am in a pickle. As long as the older wiring is well done and safe, she might not legally have to do anything since there is one grounded outlet in the kitchen. I could run an extension cord out the upstairs window and in to the kitchen window but then I leave the kitchen window unlocked. Not the most desirable plan.

In many ways, this apartment situation is ideal. It's a beautiful place, the rent is reasonable and we have no one above OR below us which is almost impossible in an apartment situation. And we have 3 pets which many buildings here don'e even accept. OY!

Dave,

Well, why don't you see if you can find out whether the current wiring is legal or not? Contact your City Hall. You could also try to check in at a local Fire Hall and just quickly ask a Fire Fighter whether home outlets have to be grounded or not.

Sounds like you've got some good and bad things going for you. I agree that it's not good to leave your window open to accommodate the cord.

Wayne

"As for masking, what I did was I went to Wal-Mart and bought some felt material, cut it to the size I wanted and then affixed a strip of magnet roll that can be purchased here in Canada at Home Depot. It's just a roll of magnetic material that is sticky on one side and magnetic on the other. You just peel off the paper protecting the sticky part, place the strip (cut the roll into strip lengths that are suitable) along the edge of the felt material and then place the magnetic side of the strip on the metal casing of the screen. It sticks perfectly and can be adjusted easily for minute changes and also can be removed quickly. It doesn't scratch the casing either."

I did this as well, until I found out that zoomplayer supports offsetting the video image in the display area. For example, 2:35:1 material can be rendered at the top of the video display area. Retract the screen to the bottom of the image and your image is framed almost perfectly. This is almost better than having a 16x9 fixed screen. Of course, this is for a computer. I'm still using a 4x3 screen until I can convince myself that a High Power 16x9 pulldown is worth getting.

My theater and basement remodel is coming right along, here is a link to yahoo photo's. I've posted my progress.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/james_winston2002/album?.dir=/3851&.src=ph

Peter,

Interesting info on ZoomPlayer. I'm currently using TheaterTek and the Oppo as my DVD vehicles.

Your way once set up would seem easier than fiddling with masking. One thing I wouldn't like though is watching 2.35:1 material at the top of my screen. I like it where it is in the middle. But I may try it sometime. I wonder if TT has this option?

Tacjam,

Very nice photos. We sure have some handy people contributing to this thread! Your new theater is looking real classy. :) Please do this again with the finished product and maybe a screen shot or two.

Wayne

Just got my projector , and its came with a pleasant surprise … the screen that was packaged with the projector as listed on the site was the normal panoview white with the 1 gain , however , it shipped with the 92 inch greywolf !!!! Moving this Saturday and can hardly wait to set it up!

Ceiling mounts just wondering if the cheap $15 universal mounts that you see on ebay work ok ?

Norm

Norm,

Congratulations on your decision to go with the H57. Our family is growing. :)

And you got the Greywolf by mistake?? Well, this makes it a race between you and Dave Mack to see who can come up with the first H57/Greywolf review. :D

Too bad you're in the middle of a move. Boy, everyone's either moving or renovating right now except me. :o

Looking forward to your review!

I may have seen the mount you're referring to in a thread somewhere. This is a fairly heavy projector as you know so just be careful that whatever you use can handle the weight.

Wayne

I think my screen comes tomorrow! Or Fri. at latest! HOORAY!

:)

And to update, my landlady just had to pay today to have a new hot water heater installed in our apt. as the old one was toast. So now to hit her up with the electric issue...

eesh

mystery,

Thank you for the warm welcome to the thread. Nice to find some many H57s owners in one place. I do agree with not being able to hear the fans with the volume turned up but I do find it spoils dialogue-based movies. I watched Million Dollar baby and got close to moving to the Plasma as I found it very annoying.

The H57 is a great product and it's a frustrating problem as it only seems to occur when you have the projector ceiling mounted.

Jonas

Grrrrrr!b Arghhhhh!!!

PCnation called my MOM today to check on the address issue. Since I am having the screen shipped to a new address not associated with my credit card, they wanted to check if it was kosher, I guess. So the screen shipped today. I'll have it monday most likely. There goes the big weekend movie-fest. :(

Murphy's Law strikes again. :(

Wayne

That DAMN Irishman! oops! I'M Irish! ;)

well, kinda good news. I read in another forum how my Monster clean power strip has a coax cable in and out and when ypu plug in a cable, it gets grounded. I thought, wow, can't be that easy, but I tried it and sure enough, the grounding light lit up and I'm in business.

:) Now, I gotta extend the cable line upstairs!

Wayne, You have your h57 ceiling mounted? How far away is your oppo? The DVI-I cable that came with both can't be long enough. I looked at some cable prices and they don't reccomend a DVI-i cable being longer than like 10 feet, I think. What did U do?
:) d

That's interesting that your cable is grounded when the Monster strip isn't plugged into a grounded outlet. :confused:

My Oppo is about a 30' cable run away but I'm using my 50 footer that I switch between the computer and the Oppo. I had to get one that long because I'm about that far away from the H57 as afar as my HTPC goes.

Anyway, my cable is an Ultralink Pro DVI-D and is rated to work at lengths of up to 100 feet! As you can probably guess, it's very expensive. MSRP in Canadian funds is $350.00 at the 50' length but I got it much lower than that through a dealer.

Bottom line is that it works perfectly with no sparklies or drop outs whatsoever.

Wayne

My theater and basement remodel is coming right along, here is a link to yahoo photo's. I've posted my progress.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/james_winston2002/album?.dir=/3851&.src=ph

Tacjam,

Your theater's looking great. I especially like the pic of Scarface. :) You mind if I borrow some of your design ideas?

Joe

Hi Wayne,

Yeah, I heard that since the cable itself is literally grounded, that the powerstrip becomes grounded, odd but hey.
I thought the h57 needed a DVI-i connection, same with the oppo? I looked at the back and it said use DVI-i...
Will a DVI-D cable work? hmmm.... Perhaps ceiling mounting might work! Also, where on earth do I get a decent cheap mount. Oh and lastly, how do you run the PJ power cord to a supply? Ceiling socket?

:) d

Still battling Keystone problems.
But I got my new Toshiba SD350e yesterday and its HDMI out!!!
The cost of the cable was almost the same as the DVD player however. :mad: But the pictures are sensational.
Supports up to 1080 and the PJ handles it no problem. Well worth the investment.

Dave,

Yup, DVI-D works great. I saw that about DVI-I as well but it recognizes DVI-D instantly either from the OPPO or an HTPC. DVI-I will carry digital signals so if you do happen to get that cable you're fine.

Some people are having good luck with ebay mounts. AVS member Mandarax sells mounts and has a thread about them but I don't think he has any optimized for the H57. However, I have one of his mounts specifically made for the Infocus X1 and I adapted it to work with both the H31 and the H57. You can also check out PerfectMounts.

I had a problem with the short cord as well so I ordered a 5 metre power cord from Optoma for $20.00 and it runs from the H57 along the wall at the ceiling and down the wall to the receptacle with some length to spare. Some people put in dedicated outlets for their pj near the mounting area.

Wayne

Tacjam,

Your theater's looking great. I especially like the pic of Scarface. :) You mind if I borrow some of your design ideas?

Joe

Thank you very much! I am working hard at it. It would be an honor if you took some of my design ideas!!!

Tacjam, WOW! Awesome, man! Wanna come by here and help me out?

:) d

Wayne, thanks for the advice as usual. Having the PJ in a rack low to the ground is easy for now, but every time a kitty walks by, I see tail shadows!!!! Ceiling monting is intruiging but we are just renting, so drilling holes in the ceiling migt not be cool. Also, if a quake hits out here... eeek! :) still screenless dave

Oh and BTW, all

With the oppo. outputting at 1080i, I figured out the best way to show the pic. I had been using 16:9 by default to pretty much fill the image. I then remebered reading that the h57 had a certain mode for hd or 1080i and that's why it looked surprisingly good with HD. So I put the h57 in "native" mode instead of 16:9. Now the pic. is a wee bit smaller because it's 540 pixels out of 576 being utilized, BUT I believe that there is no scaling going on now by the h57. It is simply displaying the 1080i output of the oppo. at 540P. It looked a bit better to me even after zooming the lens a teeny bit to have the same screen size. So now, the only scaling going on is the oppo. Instead of double-scaling the image, I believe it's only once. To me, it looked a teeny bit better. And wanna see something interesting? Put the oppo. output to 720P and hit NATIVE! WOAH!

:) ssd

Tacjam, WOW! Awesome, man! Wanna come by here and help me out?

:) d

Wayne, thanks for the advice as usual. Having the PJ in a rack low to the ground is easy for now, but every time a kitty walks by, I see tail shadows!!!! Ceiling monting is intruiging but we are just renting, so drilling holes in the ceiling migt not be cool. Also, if a quake hits out here... eeek! :) still screenless dave

Thanks Dave Mack! I put some updated pictures today. I have to wait for my furniture to come in. They didn't have the color I was looking for, so it was special ordered, the color is between the carpet and the dark grey on the wall. I went with two recliners and a sofa that reclines on each end, the sofa also has the table that folds in the middle that has drink holders. I'll put the sofa on a riser constructed of 2X4 base with 2X6's stacked on top. The base will be bigger creating a step. The reason I went this route instead of theater seating is simply, I might not have the room to make a theater in my next house (ya never know) So this way, I can use the furniture in another place if I decide to sell. After the upgrades I am making here....I might just do that! I will continue to upgrade the photo's as the project continues. I also want to make a small stage about 14 inches high under the screen to hide the subwoofer and store my audio equiptment.

My H57 arrived yesterday from"V". Incredible to believe, but they shipped it Wednesday and it arrived here in New Zealand two days later, just in time for the weekend (we're +12hr ahead of GMT). UPS did a great job and handled customs clearance super-efficiently. (Sometimes it takes longer to get stuff across town.) First impressions of the H57 after my X1 are WOW! How did I managed without this? Spent last night shifting my ceiling mount to allow for the shorter throw, and getting the basics right. Will mask my 120" 4:3 screen to 16:9 this weekend. The resolution, lack of SDE, colour saturation, impact, sharpness, and brightness are a huge step up from the X1. Landed cost here after GST paid etc, was about half NZ retail. Now I'm thinking about an Oppo DVD player as the next step to take advantage DVI. Just a couple of questions if I may about the Oppo. Is it best to always scale DVD material to native 576P or to a higher res? Being a PAL country, I have mainly PAL DVDs, but also a large number of NTSC 480 discs. Approx how long can I get away with for a DVI cable?

My H57 arrived yesterday from"V". Incredible to believe, but they shipped it Wednesday and it arrived here in New Zealand two days later, just in time for the weekend (we're +12hr ahead of GMT). UPS did a great job and handled customs clearance super-efficiently. (Sometimes it takes longer to get stuff across town.) First impressions of the H57 after my X1 are WOW! How did I managed without this? Spent last night shifting my ceiling mount to allow for the shorter throw, and getting the basics right. Will mask my 120" 4:3 screen to 16:9 this weekend. The resolution, lack of SDE, colour saturation, impact, sharpness, and brightness are a huge step up from the X1. Landed cost here after GST paid etc, was about half NZ retail. Now I'm thinking about an Oppo DVD player as the next step to take advantage DVI. Just a couple of questions if I may about the Oppo. Is it best to always scale DVD material to native 576P or to a higher res? Being a PAL country, I have mainly PAL DVDs, but also a large number of NTSC 480 discs. Approx how long can I get away with for a DVI cable?

As far as upscaling a DVD, it depends on the scaler. With my Samsung, when I upscale to 720p/1080i...it looks awesome!!! I bought a 30' DVI-D cable from one of our sponsers. No problems here.

I would like to thank everybody in this post for making my decision making easier. I just picked up my H57 with free screen tonight from Costco. I was originally going to go for the H31, but you guys switched me. Plus they were having $700 off; so I couldn't pass this up. I will certainly be asking questions later. Thanks all

Tacjam,

Are those recliners from IKEA you're using? I thought I recognized them from somewhere. How do they feel?

Joe

Tacjam,

Are those recliners from IKEA you're using? I thought I recognized them from somewhere. How do they feel?

Joe

VERY VERY GOOD EYE!!!!! Yes those are from IKEA, not the ones I am going to be using, the ones I am going to use are big plush recliners. The ones in the photo are chairs so I can watch some movies until my furniture arrives. They are VERY comfortable. I seen those at IKEA, so I sat in them.....I couldn't believe it. I picked up two. They are for another room. The lighting in the theater is from IKEA as well. IKEA has cool lights.

Dave,

I'll have to check out your native mode suggestions. :)

When you're kitty decides to walk in front of the lens, it turns your H57 into a medical device called a 'cat scan'. :D

Better not give up my day job. :rolleyes:

spong,

Congratulations on taking the plunge! :) It sure is a step up from the X1 isn't it? You'll have to ask Dave Mack about the resolution question. He has PAL discs and the OPPO and seems to like the result.

You can go up to 100 feet in length with DVI but you must be willing to pay huge bucks in order to do so. Most people don't need to go that far but the principle remains the same. You need good quality cables to carry DVI a long distance. So you'll have to be prepared to do a little research but I recommend UltraLink. That's what I have in a 50 foot length (15 meters) and the images are flawless.

phaelon,

Welcome to AVS and especially to the H57 family. :) You got a great deal and an even greater projector. I am quite enthused about the number of people who have decided to buy the H57 after having initially intended to purchase the H31. It's well worth paying more for this projector. I know, as I've had both in my home and although the H31 is a fine projector, the H57 is much better and it should be, given the price difference.

Has anybody seen 'Sin City' with the H57 yet? I hear that it's a gold standard transfer to DVD.

Wayne

hi
after hours and days and weeks and months of research i'm entering soon the world of REAL digital video and projection.
my new Oppo 971 is on it's way here and i'll order the H57 very soon..
i have just one small question that i couldn't find a clear answer for..
what is the best type of cable recommended to connect the Oppo and H57?
this couple is just too popular... :)
i need 15 feet or 5 meters of cable. i want of course, DVI. is Dual link better than single link for these two? Do both support dual link?
if i plan on moving around the projector and need the flexibility to watch in other places should i get a DVI-D or DVI-I cable that will connect to other devices that will usually be inferior to these two?

which brands are recommended for mid-price range? what's the best i could get with up to $40 USD?
thank u all..
Avi

avi,

Welcome to AVS and in particular our H57 thread. :) You have made a wise decision in buying the Oppo and in your intention of ordering the H57. It is a great coupling indeed.

Although component cable to the H57 from the Oppo provides beautiful images, they are only interlaced and not progressive. This is not a big deal since the H57 has in my opinion a great de-interlacer and scaler. However, to get the best images out of both units you must go DVI and that will give you progressive out from the Oppo. If you wish to send a digital signal for longer lengths then you also must invest and procure a cable that will do the job without exhibiting sparklies or dropouts. I recommend Ultralink cables and I feel that they are the best in the world. My 15 meter DVI-D run doesn't display any of the typical digital flaws that can accompany runs of this length. It also cost me about as much as the Oppo so you get what you pay for as the popular axiom goes. However, at the length that you need, you could probably get away with something different.

DVI-D dual link cables provide extra bandwidth for maximum clarity and resolution and yes both the Oppo and H57 support dual link

If you feel safer going with DVI-I that's fine. It will still pass digital signals but of course also accepts analog. If you can get by without going DVI-I, I would but again it's probably not going to show any discernable difference in quality.

There are some advertisers here on AVS that could probably help you purchase a good cable for around the price that you're suggesting but you'll have to research that.

Let us know when you get the two set up and write up a review. We're always appreciative of people's opinions.

Wayne

thank u Wayne for your suprisingly quick reply,
i'll definitely let u know how everything will turn out..
might take a while.. but it's the least i owe u all for all the info here..
Avi

"...if I only had a screen." (Sang to scarecrow's melody)

Hey all, My screen is SUPPOSSED to be delivered today. FEDEX SAYS it is on their website. It's 4pm. Do you know where your screen is? :)
Anyways, Wayne! Wanna ask a question again! Would a DVI-d cable at 5 feet look any better than the DVI-i cable that came with the PJ? I decided to keep the player next to the h57 and just run a long component cable to the amp.

Hopefully tonite, fellas! :) ssd (still screenless dave)

Hi Dave,

I feel like we're all waiting for you to give birth or something. :) It's a momentous occasion after all. ;)

I kind of doubt that you'll notice any difference in cables, especially at that short a distance.

Let us know when your water breaks er uh, I mean when the screen arrives. :D

Wayne

actually my water DID just break! The kitchen sink faucets just exploded all over me! This apt. is falling apart!!!!

Still no screen and it's 5:30! We have to go out at 6:15!!!!

IT CAME!!!!!!

Dang! Can't set it up til' tonite after we get back!

:( d

Crap! :o

That means it's gonna be a late night for me too! ;)

I'm 3 hours ahead of you here. :( :)

Wayne

Hey guys!

Ok, had some time with the screen which came via FedEx in PERFECT condition!
pic. compared to white wall is now dimmer which makes sense, grey vs. white. There is DEFINITELY a "cone" that the image looks best in. Since I have my PJ currently 12" off the floor. pic. looks great and punchy from my seated position. However, if I stand up picture noticeably dims and washes out. Now I'm sure one could increase brightness/contrast and maybe take off nd2 filter. Dunno. One GREAT thing now is that in bright scenes, the walls and ceiling are not all lit up by reflecting light. Screen easily retracts/pulls down for me which is great due to the kitties.
I will need to do some more viewing to really get into depth. Hopefully tom'w nite. Unfortunately, our new apt. window faces the sunset so until sun is down, even with blinds room is WAY too bright for optimal viewing. During day here, forget about it.
All told I'd say for the $$$ I am very happy. I recommend PCnation. Good service and great price. My fiancee did not notice ANY difference with the screen. But we have only been watching ANGEL which is not exactly reference video. She sees me popping in "5th element SB", "The Incredibles" and my calibration disc over and over and thinks I'm nuts.

But we love them, yes...????

Nite all! More tom'w! shd (screen having Dave)

Congrats Dave!

You must be just about the only one who's received one of these screens in perfect condition.

I suggest that you try it with the ND2 filter off. It will make it brighter during the daylight hours for you and perhaps even watchable. At night you could put it back on if you wish. I'd recommend trying it without the filter day and night and observe the results. I probably have darker walls than you but whenever I try my HCMW 1.1 gain gray screen, I have to take the filter off because otherwise the images aren't as punchy as the High Power screen, even though the H57 is a bright projector.

So try it both ways during the day and night and see which you prefer. Also, do you see any grain to the screen's texture while viewing? Many have complained of this and I do see it on my HCMW screen.

Glad you're happy. :)

Wayne

Wayne, I might indeed try it without the filter. I do notice the grain compared to the wall but it is not unpleasant. One of the kitties knocked the nd filter off the PJ at 7:15 am , waking us up this a.m.
Since I am for now keeping the pj in a table, I think I'm just gonna take off the filter and put the lens cap on when not in use.


:)

Hi Dave,
Do you mind me asking what settings you've found work best for you with your Oppo/H57 combination when playing PAL discs? My Oppo's on it's way and I'd be grateful for a good starting point when setting up the Oppo.
Cheers, Dave.

Hey mate! (my sis' boyfriend is from NZ...)

There is a feature called "true life" in the menu which is essentially the enabling of the faroudja chip. I have found that with it "on", my PAL video based discs had what looked like combing! With it turned to OFF, pic. looked better. Most likely the faroudja chip is designed for ntsc. On Film based discs, I am still experimenting. DEFINITELY set the resolution output to PAL, 50hz. 576P since that is the native res. of the h57. For NTSC, I set it for 1080i 60hz and run the h57 in native mode which means the pic. is only scaled once.
When you switch from PAL-NTSC output, (if you do) you will have to readjust the brightness. It's a minor but slightly irritating glitch. If say, your brightness was set to zero, then bump it up one notch and then back down right away and it's correct. More info re: this in the oppo. threads.

It's a great player!
Enjoy! d

Ladies and Gentlemen, can I please have a round of applause for the newest member to this fine group, we, the Optoma H57 owners? I made the purchase and now I'm as giddy as a teenage girl going on her first date.

Ladies and Gentlemen, can I please have a round of applause for the newest member to this fine group, we, the Optoma H57 owners? I made the purchase and now I'm as giddy as a teenage girl going on her first date.

congrats, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

congrats, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Thanks Tacjam. I'll be getting the exact IKEA recliners you have to go with my HT room. I'm going to have to go on the cheapside for the furniture to get nicer equipment seeing how I'm poor and all. :)

scarface,

This is good news indeed. Don't forget that teenaged girls on their first date carry protection (ND2 filter). :D Ahem, you just slip it on over the focus ring.

When your furniture arrives and you've set it up etc.., post some photos for us. :)

Wayne

Hey all! I tried the h57/greywolf combo. without the ndh2 filter and at first I was like, "oooh! Ahhh!" but unfortunately for me, the rainbows became VERY noticeable again. :( So filter is back on.

:) After calibrating again with filter on, I got the pic. looking pretty sweet.

dave

scarface,

This is good news indeed. Don't forget that teenaged girls on their first date carry protection (ND2 filter). :D Ahem, you just slip it on over the focus ring.

When your furniture arrives and you've set it up etc.., post some photos for us. :)

Wayne

Actually, I'm going to try the H57/graywolf combo first. Unfortunately, I won't be able to set anything up until a couple of weeks when I move into my house. As soon as I can, I'll make sure to post some pics.

Dave, I've read in the main graywolf thread that people have complained of the texture of the screen and that it really takes away from the viewing experience. Have you found that to be the case? That has me a bit worried. Could you please pm me with the link to where you purchased the screen because there has been plently of confusion with others getting wrong or flawed screens.

Wayne,

I really wanted to wait until after CEDIA to make my purchase, but I really can't envision how any new technology would really have a major, instant impact on H57 pricing and projectors in general, especially after the h57 just had a big price drop.

Speaking of future technology, how do you think the H57 will hold its value price and performance wise as technology continues to evolve?

Thanks guys.

Joe

Dave,

I'm glad you tried it without the filter. Now you know what's best for you. Thank goodness you bought that filter eh? :)

Joe,

That's a good question and I think we're all set for quite a while really. I've seen HD resolution projectors and they're good mind you but I don't believe they're worth the extra dollars right now versus the H57. This projector has proven to hold it's own against the H77 so I think people who own the H57 can enjoy it for several years if they wish to. I know that's my intention. Even when HD DVD comes out I'm not sure that I'll be rushing to buy a 720p projector. I've seen what the H57 can do with 720p from my Oppo and 1080i from my Scientific Atlanta cable box and I don't think I'll be unhappy with this pj for quite a while. :)

I think we have the best kept secret on AVS Forum with this H57. It doesn't get all of the hoopla that some of the others do but I think it's worthy of as much commotion stirred about it if not more.

This is coming from an ex X1 and ex H31 owner so I appreciate the step up with this projector.

Wayne

Howdy! I DO notice a bit of "texture" to the screen. But I have never used a screen with my h57 before so I can't compare how the pic. looks specifically with this settup. If I had a white screen b4, perhaps. Also, my white wall was not perfectly smooth so it wasn't THAT jarring. It is not unpleasant but I DO notice it. But I am VERY happy with the my room not getting all lit up by the FP anymore with bright scenes.
Wayne, didja try using the h57 in NATIVE mode with the oppo. at 1080i? Theoretically the pic. should be better because the h57 is not scaling, just the oppo. The image is a bit smaller, 540 of 576 being utilized but you could zoom a tad to fill the screen. I'm curious as to your take.

:) Just goy my ALIEN Quadrilogy boxset from JAPAN today. Better PQ on 3 of the films than the R1 and DTS on ALL 4 films. ALIENS in DTS! Woo-hoo! Unfortunately, fiancee is sleeping... :( We have moved bed upstairs where PJ lives. I also got the R4 PAL discs of SCREAM (in DTS, too!) and INNOCENT BLOOD and the PQ is GREAT at native 576P PAL, 50hz. Try some PAL discs!

dave

This is total speculation on my part, but do you think the new D5 720p LCD chip projectors will look better than the H57's 576p DLP or do you think that even the new LCD chips will still suffer from poorer black levels and faulty polarizer plates that discolor over time?

The price of the H57 right now is about the same as the Sanyo Z4, Panasonic 900, and Epson 600 will probably street for.

Hi,

I just purchased an H57 and am currently looking for a screen to pair the two up. The room I'm working with is 17.5' x 12', I was browsing Ebay and there seems to be one seller that is licensed by Da-Lite. The screen I was looking at is as the name on the auction is: 65x116 DA-LITE PERM WALL High Contrast Screen DLP LCD Fixed Framed Screen HDTV format HC Cinema Vision Fabric; the screen is 1.1 gain. I will mostly be using the projector for DVD viewing and also XBOX 360 when it comes out. Should this screen be sufficient? Is it too large for the H57 to handle? or could I go even larger? Any input is appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Here's a bit of a problem. I'm looking at the H57 too, but the room is pretty tight due to a low and angled ceiling in the bonus room upstairs where it will go.

Ceiling is 82" high. The width of the usable wall gives me enough for a 92" Optoma GreyWolf screen. With an average drop I could just fit the 19.3" high B&W 602 bookshelf, being used as the center channel speaker, underneath it. Would it be prudent to table mount it with a very low table, and given the offset how far up from the floor should the projector sit?

I'm new to all this front projector stuff, so any advice would be appreciated.

Dave,

I've tried the native mode and I don't see any difference besides it being smaller so I stick with 16:9.

Glad you're enjoying your screen. :) Makes a difference doesn't it!?

Dan,

Tough to say whether the newer LCD units will be better than the H57 or not. So many things go into making a great image in addition to resolution. They'll need to address the vertical banding issue and the poorer contrast ratio etc....

As to your dilemma about whether the H57 would work in your room or not, I think you could mount it at the ceiling and just make it over your center channel speaker. You might have to use a tiny bit of keystoning the difference of which you won't notice during normal video presentation.

Otherwise you could turn your speaker on it's side maybe? You could also put the pj on a low table. The image should start about 12 to 15 inches up the wall higher than the center of your lens.

Luke,

Welcome aboard! :)

The H57 as you know is a very bright projector. It could handle a screen that large but you'll be risking seeing pixels depending on how far back you'll be sitting. Also, to use a screen that large you'll need a high ceiling because the larger the screen, the larger the offset (distance from the lens center to the point where the image starts).

I myself would be very leery about ordering something like this from ebay but I don't trust ebay at all anyway so I'm not a good person to ask. Still, I think you should be dealing with a known reputable dealer even if you have to pay a little more. It's worth it for the peace of mind in my opinion.

Wayne

Gotcha wayne! Interesting... Theoretically, it SHOULD look a wee bit better with less scaling. Only the oppo scaling the image and the h57 showing native. less scaling is usually better as they say. I guess the h57's scaler really is THAT good. :)
I thought it was a teeny bit better. A bit sharper, but hard to tell because of the size difference. If you zoom the lens to fill screen, easier to see. Anyways, I am VERY happy with my Optoma/Oppo. combo until the future HDdvd wars are resolved. I will not spend a DIME on them until then.

:) d

I'm with you Dave. I just read yesterday that HD-DVD is now delayed until sometime in 2006. They were going to release in Japan and the U.S. concurrently this fall. I guess they're still working with retailers and movie studios. No matter, between HTPCs and good players like the Oppo, we're fine for now. :)

I was able to 1:1 pixel map from my HTPC to the H57 yesterday @ 1024 x 576. The video card indicates that it's sending out this resolution to the H57, but the pj shows 1024 x 768. I don't know what's happening here but I believe that the projector somehow thinks it's receiving 1024 x 768 when it's actually getting the H57's native resolution. I could be wrong here.

Anyway, I won't be using this resolution because unfortunately, although it looks good, there is a waviness, a form of tearing I suppose, that's evident during panning shots. I don't like it and it's not necessary to put up with it since 1280 x 720 looks superb and there isn't any tearing.

Wayne

Poor Man's ISF Calibration

Here's how to achieve killer grayscale on your H57!

Go into the menu's RGB settings for contrast and brightness. Bring up AVIA's contrast test pattern with the gray log steps in the upper half and the white moving bars in the lower half.

Start at 0 for all values in RGB. Begin with the R brightness and move the control back and forth above and below 0 and observe the color of the gray bars. You should notice with the R control a red push as you increase the R value. As you decrease it, you should notice green being introduced into the bars. Adjust this way back and forth until you don't see any red or green in the bars.

Then go on to the next color which is green. Do the same thing as before and you'll notice green either being enhanced or reduced to the point of introducing another color which I believe is blue. Toggle the control up and down until you notice no green in the bars.

Do the same with the blue control now. Back and forth, observing the color changes until the bars look plain gray. Too far to the plus side and the blue will show up. Too far the other way and you may get red or green showing up.

This will take some time but it's highly worth it! Follow this procedure with RGB brightness as above and then contrast.

Once you're done, take a look at the log steps one last time just to make sure you aren't seeing any colors. By this time you'll probably be wondering if you're seeing things. Your eyes will tend to go a little buggy after all of this intense observation. Bring up the menu control panel on the H57. It should look gray.

Now it's on to facial tones from one of your DVDs. Test several discs because as we're all aware, they ain't created equal! :( Do you see too much green or red in people's faces? If so, you need to adjust the controls a wee bit or even a lot. :) If you've been careful though, you should be just about spot on.

I did this last night and I've got to tell you, I have never seen such breathtakingly accurate facial tones ever on any projector. I don't feel that a professional ISF calibration would be giving me any better pictures right now and I've saved hundreds of dollars by doing this myself.

Anyway, this is the best way to calibrate the H57 outside of having someone come in with expensive equipment. Give it a try and don't forget to post your impressions. :)

Wayne

Wow Wayne! Sounds great (and daunting!)

Cool! :) d

Thanks Dave! :)

I bought Sahara this week and this is the first movie post RGB calibration that we've watched. It looked GREAT! And the movie's a lot of fun and entertaining.

Anyone looking for a super way to cool down their HTPC video cards can look no further than what I installed yesterday. It's the Vantec Spectrum PCI Fan Card. Here is the link to more information:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=120565&Sku=V13-4200

Be sure to read the reviews if you're interested in the product. It's a unique fan in that it sits directly under your video card and directs air UPWARDS to the video card rather than sucking air away from the video card. It has a variable speed slider switch which protrudes out the back of the tower and you can choose from low to high and anywhere in between. And it's really cool to look at because it emits blue ultra violet LED lights.

The important thing is that this card really works! The fan on your video card will kick in less if you have the Vantec in use thereby saving wear and tear on your video card.

Anyway, for those of you using HTPCs for gaming or movies, this is one essential piece of equipment to have in my opinion and it's cheap and really easy to install.

Wayne

Im back from my trip to NewBrunswick! What excellent land they have out there.

Boy, can't say I enjoy a 13hour straight drive tho, pulling over only for gas and candy! I drove home direct too, was very anxious so I made the trip in 12.5 hours!

Welcome to all our new H57 owners here. Someone here said I think we have the best kept secret- I agree.

Tacjam, I believe your theatre looks amazing *scarface pictures right?* I have a lot of work to do to get looking like that.

Anyway, just a quick hello to everyone -- I'll be diving head first into my construction tomorrow morning. I'll

Will

Welcome back Will! :)

Yes, summer's over and time to finish your theater!

It may seem like a daunting task but where there's a Will there's a Wayne. :rolleyes: :D

Wayne

p.s. I hear that Nagra 2 has been hacked. Should be interesting.

Hi again,

So I'm about to purchase my screen.. Da-lite HC Cinema Vision. Before I purchase I would just like confirmation that 110" (diag.) would be alright for this projector? Distance from lens to wall is just over 16' and seating distance just under 17'. Thanks in advance!


Luke

Luke,

You'll need to visit Optoma's website and plug your measurements into their calculator to confirm that your room configuration will work.

I think you'll be okay but you should check into it just to make sure. The H57 is certainly bright enough for a screen that big and you probably won't have any problem with SDE from that distance although the screen is fairly large.

Wayne

Checked out the Optoma calculator and for 110" screen is as follows:

Projection Distance: Due to the zoom lens, the minimum and -maximum Projection Distances for H57 are:

Minimum: 12.5 Ft.
Maximum 14.9 Ft.

Now, I put in 119" and it gives me the following:

Minimum: 13.6 Ft.
Maximum: 16.2 Ft.

So does that mean I should be going with a 119" in. screen? That seems a bit large if 110" is borderline pushing it. Any thoughts? Should I just go with the 110" screen? Then I would be mounting the projector 14.9 Ft. from the screen, correct?

Morning everyone,

I finally got the projector and screen up and level. I was really blown away by the picture and clarity of the H57 coming thru an OPPO player. Really awesome. And this was with no adjustments -- straight from the box.

I keep reading about calibrations, and got my contrast & brightness figured out. What I can't figure out is how to adjust for color, tint, etc.

Right now I have the H57 connected via DVI cable, but I can only access the Contrast, Brightness, and Gamma levels. Is there a special menu or code I have to enter, or by using DVI input, is the color not adjustable -- it's really nice as it is, but I want it as good as it's suppose to be.

Luke,

I myself wouldn't recommend going any larger than 110". Although the H57 most likely can handle it, you'll be risking SDE. After all, this isn't an HD resolution pj although it gives those big fellas a run for their money. :)

Also, don't put your mount up until you've tested out the distance with the H57 to the screen. So mount your screen first and then hold up the H57 at several different distances in order to discern which is the best placement. I wouldn't necessarily place the projector at either extreme end of the distance calculations. Many on AVS recommend keeping the lens at it's smallest possible image on screen. Something to do with the optics being better when not zooming to get a larger picture. So if you mount the H57 in a way that keeps the image just within the black borders of your screen without having to use any zoom, that may be the best bet. It isn't critical but it will leave you room so that in the future if you opt for a larger screen, all you'll have to do is use the zoom lens to enlarge the image.

Deaners,

What you're seeing is normal for DVI and VGA cables. You can adjust the color from the Oppo if you wish. The tint will have to be adjusted using the RGB brightness and contrast controls on the H57. You need to get a good setup disc such as AVIA or DVE or Sound and Vision. This will help a lot.

Otherwise, go back about 8 posts to my instructions about how to dial in color and tint on the H57. With my setup I have to have the Oppo brightness at 5 and the contrast at 1 and the color at 2. Then I tweak the RGB brightness and contrast on the H57 and the images are FANTASTIC!!

Wayne

Wayne,

Thanks for your response. I have AVIA, and believe me, I have studied your instructions in detail. If I adjust the color from the Oppo, don't I have to stop the DVD to access the menu - which then stops me from using AVIA? I just re-read the manual, and found that you make the RGB adjustments in menu II?

Also, regarding ceiling mounts, does anyone know of a mount that can do minute adjustments for height, and back/front or left/right tilt? I'm having the hardest time locking in the exact placement of the projector. Once I get it where I want and tighten the mount, it ends up lower or tilted by 1/4 of an inch (on screen) -- and that just bugs the hell out of me. I just got a cheapo mount from eBay, but after spending hours trying to manipulate this darn thing, I'm ready to throw in the towel. I need one that once it is "locked" if you could still make very small adjustments that will be solid.

Deaners,

You can adjust the color on the Oppo while AVIA is playing. Just bring up the menu on the Oppo by pressing the setup button and find the color control to tweak it the way you like. You can also keep AVIA playing and go into the H57 menu (Image II) and adjust the RGB brightness and contrast settings.

Try www.perfectmounts.com. Their mounts are good and I've seen one of them here in town with an H31 and it worked nicely. They'll answer your questions by email.

Wayne

The H57's been discontinued and I don't know if my order will be honored. This is indeed the darkest day of my life. :( But if it is somehow honored, do you guys still think I should keep it or go ahead and cancel my order? I'm thinking it may be difficult to get parts and support for a machine that is no longer manufactured.

Joe

Joe,

Optoma still has to honor it's warranty for two full years if you buy the H57. So, worst comes to worst and something goes wrong within that time and they can't repair it due to lack of parts, you win! They'd have to supply you with a comparable machine which would be a newer model with at least the same value as the H57.

If I were you I'd call Optoma outlining the exact scenario above and see if they don't confirm what I'm saying. I'd also ask them to send you an email so that you've got something official just in case this actually happens and then you'd have proof to back you up.

The other way to go is to hold off since it's now getting into the fall period and soon the trade shows, especially the big daddy in January will be exhibiting the new products. If you can wait there should be some interesting things happening although I have no insider information, just a hunch. Could be wrong.

If Optoma says they'll back you up to the full extent of the warranty, I'd be tempted to go for it. But then again, a 720p DLP pj around the same price as the H57 is now may be just around the corner and you may kick yourself for not waiting. Tough call.

One thing's for certain, if you do buy the H57 now, you'll get a super projector at a great price that already kicks butt and even goes toe to toe with it's big brother the H77, a 720p projector.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do. :)

Wayne

Wow. No more H57. Guess we all got in before the wire. Costco has some in store, yes? I'm sure there are some out there.

:) d

Hey, how's everyone doin'...??

Joe,

Optoma still has to honor it's warranty for two full years if you buy the H57. So, worst comes to worst and something goes wrong within that time and they can't repair it due to lack of parts, you win! They'd have to supply you with a comparable machine which would be a newer model with at least the same value as the H57.

If I were you I'd call Optoma outlining the exact scenario above and see if they don't confirm what I'm saying. I'd also ask them to send you an email so that you've got something official just in case this actually happens and then you'd have proof to back you up.

The other way to go is to hold off since it's now getting into the fall period and soon the trade shows, especially the big daddy in January will be exhibiting the new products. If you can wait there should be some interesting things happening although I have no insider information, just a hunch. Could be wrong.

If Optoma says they'll back you up to the full extent of the warranty, I'd be tempted to go for it. But then again, a 720p DLP pj around the same price as the H57 is now may be just around the corner and you may kick yourself for not waiting. Tough call.

One thing's for certain, if you do buy the H57 now, you'll get a super projector at a great price that already kicks butt and even goes toe to toe with it's big brother the H77, a 720p projector.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do. :)

Wayne

Wayne,

I might just wait until the H77 comes down in price but that machine does have its issues. Though I haven't researched it too much because I had my heart set on the H57, the H77 , if I recall correctly, has problems with panning and dithering. Though I'm not worried about its ability to handle HDTV, I am somewhat worried about how the H77 will handle dvds since its a 720p projector and might soften a dvd's image.

Wayne,
How do these two machines compare?

Oh decisions, decisions.

Later guys.

Joe,

Read this post from the first page of this thread.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder someone said. I have a H57 with 350 flawless hours of operation. Could I have spent another 1k to say I have a 720 projector? Absolutely. So why didn't I?

I had a friend bring his H77 to my house one weekend for a neighborhood movie night. My H57 against his H77. We had 7 couples watch two movies. The first half of the movies we watched the H57 and the second half we watched the H77. Both projectors calibrated with AIVIA. Both projectors using a Harmon Cardan DVD 21. The other couples were not told which projector was in use. We then watched some HD broadcast on various stations using both.

The movies were: Gladiator and Lord of the Rings Return of the King.

Results:
Gladiator - H57 - 8 votes and H77 6 votes
LOR - H57 - 6 votes and H77 8 votes

HD Broadcast - H57 7 votes and H77 7 votes

When all asked if they had to choose one over the other, they all said, which one is cheaper? What does this all mean? We all see things differently. I think some people get so wrapped up in all the technology that they become afflicted to the point of never being satisfied. Of course the manufactures love it. The best is not always better. The middle of the pack is sometimes the better choice. The newest technology comes with an unproven cost performance measure. The oldest is always stable but getting behind the times. The middle takes in some new technology while perfecting what was learned from the older technology.

In the end. Both me and my neighbor are still very satisfied with our purchase. My money went for buying more movies and a better DVD player while his money gives him the bragging rights of having a newer technology that cost more.

The H57 was trapped in a bad time with too high of a retail price. The price dropped and in my opinion is the (Best) middle of the road you can buy and knocks on the door of the super projectors.

That's what I meant when I said that the H57 compares favorably with the H77. I was remembering this post.

Wayne

Hi again,
So I've had some time to play around with my new toy and concerning my previous question about screen size, I tested the H57 on a blank, flat wall and moved back and forth between 110" and 119" and there doesn't seem to be any real difference in picture.. am I missing something here?

I'm sitting about 15' back and don't notice any SDE..I do have a little bit of ambient light in the room currently (waiting for it to get dark), is that when I will begin to notice the SDE? during complete darkness? I am going to order my screen tonight, contemplating between the 110 and 119 inch screens, and as stated earlier what should I be looking for when I'm moving the PJ back and forth increasing and decreasing the size of the picture, again, I don't see any real difference in quality between the two sizes.

You'll need to view the images in a dark environment and it would help if your walls are white in order to get a better idea of what to expect.

If your walls aren't white then you'll just have to go with your gut feeling. If 119" doesn't appear to be too big to you then you can go ahead and order it. You don't want to have to dart your eyes from side to side to take in the whole picture. If you find yourself doing that, then the screen is too big and you'll be risking seeing rainbows.

SDE will show up better the brighter the screen but if you order the larger screen and see it you can just defocus the focus ring a little bit to get rid of it.

Wayne

Just going to go with the 110" to be on the safe side.

Have another question though, I want to shelf mount the H57 just above the seating area. However, I held the PJ in my hands about as high as I wanted it and I was holding it eve and steady and it was throwing 25% of the image onto the ceiling, is there any way to correct this? I tried fidling with the menu's and couldn't really find what I was looking for, mind you I've only had this projector for about 10 hours now so I'm barely just getting the hang of it. Anyway, how would I go about making the PJ throw the image onto the center of the wall while the PJ is about 7-8' above the ground. Thanks in advance!

I want to shelf mount the H57 just above the seating area. However, I held the PJ in my hands about as high as I wanted it and I was holding it eve and steady and it was throwing 25% of the image onto the ceiling, is there any way to correct this?

Turn it upside down of course! :D

Seriously, there's a setting in the menu that will invert the image, and then you mount the projector upside down from the ceiling.

~ Kiran <entropy@io.com>

Problem is, I would really rather not mount it on the roof. I would like to mount it on a "floating shelf" it's a glass shelf that looks like it's floating and it looks really nice and clean. Our ceilings were rather expensive to be drilling and stuff into, so I would really rather not do that. Is there any other way to center the image on the wall by shelf mounting the PJ, it would be aprox. 7-8 feet above the ground, or am I SOL with shelf mounting it?

Got to watch a couple of movies on my new projector. Was really impressed the first time the projection hit the screen, the colors looked damn good right out of the box, but I HAD to fiddle and had to try my hand at AVIA & Wayne's RGB adjustment recommendations. Some of the movies I watched seemed a little dark (Castaway) so I upped the Gamma to 4. I actually can sit closer than I expected too without any SDE. I'm at 1.7 times width, but will probably end up at 1.5.

My wife really likes it also. And even if our room is still a MESS from remodeling/painting/furniture all over the place, she hasn't complained about getting it cleaned up. The only downside is that she likes it so much, I'm probably going to have to sit thru some of her movies now too.

I only have the projector hooked up with DVI cable, but had a composite cable thru VCR for a few minutes (the projector has to be hooked up to something to access the menu screen for some reason), but even thru that it looked pretty decent too - better than I expected. I mean I could probably watch some football games on regular cable and not get an eye strain.

Anyway, I'm glad I purchased this when I did.

The only negative thing, and it's not that bad, is the fan is really quiet, but once in a while you can hear it turn on higher. On really quiet movies it's noticeable. But since the H57 is supposed to be one of the quietest projectors, I can't complain.

One last thing, I tilted the projector up a bit to slightly diminish the offset, the top of the image dropped 20 inches from the projector lens before, but is about 10 inches now. I think I had to keystone about 4 clicks vertical, not much, and I can't tell any difference in image quality. Also, for people that have questions about the offset on this projector -- if you have to use the zoom, the offset increases as you zoom in.

Using the H57 with the greywolf 92 , the picture is awesome but the texture does bother me , specifically in areas with a white back ground … just feel the texture takes away from the clarity … this will probably be a big concern when hockey starts hehe

Is this an affect of all glassbead screens or just specific to the greywolf ?


I think the “fuzziness” of the greywolf will cause me, budget willing in the future to buy another screen ….

Norm

Luke,

Put your H57 as high as you possibly can up your wall if you don't want to mount it from the ceiling. Go as high as 8' or more if you can. Follow Kiran's advice and make sure the H57 is upside down and that you've gone into the menu system to configure the image so that it shows correctly on the wall. It should be about a foot or so below the level of your lens. You may not be able to view your images exactly in the center of the wall because of the offset. However, you could tilt the H57 up a little to put the image higher and then use some keystoning to square it up. You should be able to get this done to your satisfaction. :) Maybe you could post a picture of your 'floating shelf' sometime. That would be cool!

Kiran,

Nice to see you lurking and posting in our thread here. :cool:

Deaners,

Nice mini review! :) Did you find my adjustment advice to be helpful? I'm wondering if you were able to get most of the color out of the gray bars and what the resultant flesh tones looked like?

It's really great how close you can sit to the screen with this projector isn't it? :)

I hear the fan cycling up and down as well. Not bad though. As you say, it's quiet otherwise.

Good observation on the keystoning and zooming offset. It's amazing how keystoning doesn't seem to affect the image when showing video.

Wayne

Wayne,

Your adjustment advice was very helpful, please post more as you discover them. I had thought the colors were great out of the box, but when I moved the RGB levels against the white & gray screen, I then noticed that out of the box the projector did have some extra color in them.

I'll need to fiddle with it more when I have more time. I got my HomeTheaterMaster remote all programmed, so I am one happy camper right now. Nothing else to do but enjoy my movies -- oh, and get the room & equipment cleaned up.

I'm so lucky and my H57's on its way. :D I guess I was one of the very last ones to get in on the deal. Now to order the OPPO. I'll keep you guys posted.

Joe

Deaners,

Thanks! :) I've noticed that the factory settings of the H57 are quite good but do need a little tweaking. Not much though in my experience. I generally leave the reds and blues at default and take away some of the green as it seems to be pushed a little. My settings are in normal and user modes. I think I have R0, G-5, and B0 in normal and R and B the same in user but with G at -2.

Bought 'Elektra' this week previously viewed for $6. It shows very well on the H57 and is a nice transfer. Jennifer Garner isn't too hard to look at either. :D Oops, my wife is coming, better change the subject. ;) Just kidding. :)

Joe,

So glad you got in on this before it was too late. Your decision to buy the Oppo is a perfect one. The H57 works extremely well with it. Especially with video material through analog component cables. What the Oppo does with this type of material is unbelievable! No hyperbole here. I really mean it.

My wife was horrified to find out that the H57 is now out of production. Naturally she thinks that I'll want to buy it's successor but not a chance. I'm all set now for several years. Even if HD DVD finally comes out next year. HD from my Scientific Atlanta PVR cable box looks stunning on the H57 so I don't think upgrading would offer me much more really. And I'm comparing HD on the H57 to HD on my 64" Pioneer CRT RPTV which does 1080i. The H57 is very, very close to the CRT in quality.

Wayne

Joe,

So glad you got in on this before it was too late. Your decision to buy the Oppo is a perfect one. The H57 works extremely well with it. Especially with video material through analog component cables. What the Oppo does with this type of material is unbelievable! No hyperbole here. I really mean it.

Wayne

Wayne,

This brings an interesting point to me. Now if I were to use a component to composite converter, and I don't know if there is such a thing, would it improve the quality of video saved on a DVR from a regular satellite feed? I'm not quite sure about how I would be able to do it and where to purchase, but it is indeed interesting.

Poor Man's ISF Calibration
Here's how to achieve killer grayscale on your H57!
Go into the menu's RGB settings for contrast and brightness. Bring up AVIA's contrast test pattern with the gray log steps in the upper half and the white moving bars in the lower half.....WayneBack again I have given up on the Toshiba 350e dvd player. Hardly plays any copied dvd's and in some case doesnt play originals.!!! Now I have a new (in Australia) Panasonic DVD S 97. Seems OK so far, and HDMI is brilliant. Highest resolution all the time is gr8 :D

2 questions here please.
1. The above calibration for the Grey scale you mention Wayne,
How do I get into this AVIA test pattern?
Maybe I am dumb I see no option anywhere for that. Please advise.
2. How do I get to the sharpness option??? It is "grey"ed" out. ie. I cant get to it. What (if anything) am I going wrong?

Back on the subject of my keystone problems, its best to mount these guys upside dow. I didnt want to do that originally, but as they throw so much off centre, in the 'normal' position its impossible to mount them on a shelf behind me on the wall. That means I have to but a ceiling mount . :mad: They are expensive here.(Oz) Any clues for O/S???? Please.

TIA.

Hi Wayne, Dave, Scarface, Tacjam, Luke.... etc.. (sorry if I missed you)

Tomorrow is a big day for work in the theatre. I have a couple of people coming over and my goal is to pretty much finish the walls for drywalling.

I know the ceiling will be a challenge, so I'll wait to have a few friends come over and help with that as well.

I must admit i do feel guilty that my H57 has been sitting on my stairs, ever since my original tests... Im sure it's screaming out for use.... Since I really love movies, I don't think that will be a problem.

Wayne: Yes N2 is open, and we're back. This reassures my job too, lifting my spirits which were definately affected by the demise of the PPV and such...

Dave: How you making out with your electrical and appartment issues?
Is the H57 still blowing your mind even today?

Luke: Can't you sit your projector on a shelf, secure it from the bottom and have a slight downward slope? I an seriously considering this myself. This will reduce the higher offset and all the PJ to be mounted fairly high....

I haven't purchased my screen yet, I suppose I should. I'll have to get some time to drive all the way to the west end of Toronto to get it...

Im going hunting for my ceiling mount tonight, so hopefully I will find something there.

I'll check back shortly.

Will

I just ordered my mount from " P " for MSRP of [(GRETZKY)] USD. It has X,Y,Z adjustments but was originally designed for H31. I will adapt as I have been advised to. (Thanks Wayne, think that was you)

Will

Will,

I'm also putting together my theater room. Now it's a race to see who will build their HT room first. There can be only one! :rolleyes:

Joe,

I'm not sure that using a component to composite converter would help. You're still basically sending composite quality video out to your component inputs. I don't know if there even is such an adaptor either.

curious_

In AVIA, go to the Main Menu and click #7, Audio and Video Calibrations. There will be a short introduction that you'll have to sit through before another menu comes up. Click on Basic Video Adjustments and then click on White Level and after an introductory explanation as to how to do it, you'll be on the White Level page with the gray bars.

It's quicker to access the White Level page if you go directly to the Title Menu page in stead of the Root Menus page and from there click on Advanced Avia and then White Level.

I think that the Sharpness option isn't available unless you're using composite or s-video cables. It's normal for it not to show with component or DVI. You'll have to either live with it that way or adjust sharpness from your DVD player or HTPC if it's available. My Oppo has a sharpness control.

I recommend PerfectMounts.com if you're interested.

Wayne

Will,

Yes, I think it was I who suggested the place where you ordered your mount. Hopefully you'll be able to procure your screen soon. It makes such a difference over a wall. Doesn't it Dave?? :D

Looks like you and Joe are in a race to the finish! :)

Too bad you have to work inside today on your Theater when it's so nice out. :(

Wayne

curious_
In AVIA, go to the Main Menu and click #7, Audio and Video Calibrations. Wayne
No such menu on my system (for AVIA) that I can see. Is there another menu anywhere?
Could they be different for Australia?
WTF am I doing wrong?
Please advise.
:mad: :mad:

Will,

I've decided I'm going to end up mounting the projector on the ceiling, it will just make things so much easier, and will look good too. Is there a company that makes a ceiling mount specifically for the H57 or only universal mounts and ones that you would have to tweak for it to fit our projector?

So far, I've been viewing my H57 on a wall, although the picture looks great but can look blurry and put a strain on the eyes in certain parts of the movie. The color of the wall being projected onto is very, very light subtle pinkish color, certainly not white. I'm waiting for my 110" Da-Lite HCCV screen to arrive, should I see a huge noticable difference (for the better) when using a screen?

Also, right now I'm using a Pioneer DVD player that I bought back in '99 :(
I'm deciding on ordering an Oppo or thinking of going to Best Buy and picking up the Samsung HDMI DVD player instead of waiting for the Oppo to ship...
Should these 2 things (screen + new DVD player) make my image a lot clearer, and overall a lot better? (I'm really hoping so).

Thanks again.


Luke

curious_,

You should be able to press the menu button on your remote to your DVD player and then see it come up just the way that I explained. I can't imagine AVIA being any different for Australia but you never know. :)

If you don't have any luck perhaps you could take the disc to a high end Video store and see if they can help you out. It's just AVIA's menu page. All DVDs have menu pages. AVIA is no different. If you can bring up menus on movies you should be able to do the same with AVIA.

Wayne

Sorry for the question. Why has it been discontinued? The h57 isn't that old! What's replacing it? Any CEDIA people on this?

I just installed my H57 over the weekend and a need a good DVD player to go with it. Any suggestions? Anyone have the Sony HD-Conversion (DVPNS70H)?
Should I use component cables and digital optical cord for audio?

If anyone out there is new to projector scene I strongly suggest getting one.
I got Optoma H57, screen, spare lamp, 25ft component cables, pioneer 815 receiver, and Paraidgm 5.1 110 cinema speakers all for under 3500. I'm currently using 480p DVD player and basic cable connection. I haven't used its full capabilities yet, but I'm still happy.

thanks for the help

curious_,
You should be able to press the menu button on your remote to your DVD player and then see it come up just the way that I explained. I can't imagine AVIA being any different for Australia but you never know. :)
If you don't have any luck perhaps you could take the disc to a high end Video store and see if they can help you out. It's just AVIA's menu page. All DVDs have menu pages. AVIA is no different. If you can bring up menus on movies you should be able to do the same with AVIA.Wayne

Sheesh no wonder I am confused.
Thats the 1st time a DVD has been mentioned.!!!

Are we saying that I need an AVIA dvd, which I dont have??? / not supplied.

#7?
a numeric key?

Maybe I am daft. Any Aussies (Kiwis) on here that can explain what I need to do, cos clearly there must be something I am missing or not got!!!!!

Yes, AVIA is a calibration disc that you'll need to purchase separately. Try to find one locally or order it. It's invaluable to dialing in your picture. Then when you get it, just re-read the posts about it that I've provided and you'll be in good shape once you work through the calibrations.

Wayne

Will,

I'm also putting together my theater room. Now it's a race to see who will build their HT room first. There can be only one! :rolleyes:

Hehehehe It's on Scarface -- although if I remember your pictures, you win already!

The room really looks amazing now, it's incredible what a little drywall will do.
I have a couple more electrical plugs to wire in, and then I'm ready to run the electrical to the panel and breakers. That'll be a treat.

All this talk of the OPPO DVD player makes me jealous. Hmmmmm. (leave it at that Wayne!)

Luke, Me too. I also and going with a very high ceiling mount, made by perfect mounts. (I will have to modify to fit the H57 specific holes)
I plan on having a downward pitch to my PJ to allow for a higher ceiling mount.

Will

Does anyone know what size threaded filter the H57 takes, if any? I'd like to get a clear filter to help save the lens. The projector is installed a little too high for me to be putting on and taking off the lens cap all the time.

Thanks.

Hey all!

Will, I just got digital cable with HD and like Wayne said, "wow! Wait til' U see this baby in HD! Unbelievable! I know there are PJs with higher res. but alot more goes in to PJs than just pixels, there's optics, color decoders, black levels etc... and the h57 is the best looking pic. I have yet seen outside a 4k movie theatre DLP.
Wayne, I have gone back to 16:9 instead of using "native" with DVDs as to fit the 540 pixels to the screen I was seeing more SDE! Also, you HAVE to get a good PAL disc to see this puppy at 576P, 50 hz. native! I just got the Lord Of The Rings extended editions in PAL and the PQ, especially on "Fellowship" is NOTICEABLY better than the R1 NTSC discs!And no 3/2 pulldown artifacts! And thesoundtracks on them has been pitch corrected.

Anyways, hope everyone is well!!!

:) Dave

Deaners,

I hear you on the on and off with the cap thing. That's why I'm glad that I purchased an ND2 filter. Now I don't fiddle with the cap anymore because the filter stays on and keeps the lens clean and I reduce the lumens because they're way too high anyway so I kill two birds with one stone.

The size that I feel is ideal is 67mm. It's not snug but I've attached it to the focus ring with the sticky backing of a small piece of velcro, half of it placed on the focus ring and the other half over the filter. Holds it in place perfectly. Oh, and the other advantage to this is that I'm not messing around with the focus ring trying to sharpen up the image anymore. Just set it and forget it! :)

Wayne

AMEN!!! :)

Hey all!

I know there are PJs with higher res. but alot more goes in to PJs than just pixels, there's optics, color decoders, black levels etc... and the h57 is the best looking pic. I have yet seen outside a 4k movie theatre DLP.



I've been saying this exact same thing for quite a while now. Resolution isn't everything. That's why I never make any New Year's resolutions! :o :D

Seriously though, Dave is right. A lot of factors go into making a good image and resolution is important but just one of several ingredients.

So you've gone back to 16 x 9? Yeah, no sense making SDE worse.

I'm not sure I understand your comment about the lack of 3/2 pulldown artifacts and the audio pitch correction. :confused: Isn't 3/2 just for adapting film to video? Don't PAL discs have to do this as well? Is audio on 480p discs a little askew for some reason?

I am curious about this and may have to order a disc sometime to see how the H57 handles 576p.

Wayne

AMEN!!! :)

I'm not sure I understand your comment about the lack of 3/2 pulldown artifacts and the audio pitch correction. :confused: Isn't 3/2 just for adapting film to video? Don't PAL discs have to do this as well? Is audio on 480p discs a little askew for some reason?

I am curious about this and may have to order a disc sometime to see how the H57 handles 576p.

Wayne

Here in NZ, we are native PAL, and I would have a roughly 70% PAL/ 30% NTSC DVD collection. I can vouch for the superiority of a good PAL disc, although there are always good and bad transfers in either domain. Of course you've got nearly an extra 100 horizontal lines mapped natively to the H57, so it helps. I'm no expert, but I understand PAL doesn't need to use 3/2 pulldown as PAL is 50Hz natively. As original film is 24 frames per second, PAL interlaced is 25 frames per sec and 50 frames deinterlaced it simply runs at 50 frames instead of 48. Therefore in PAL we actually play the movie slightly faster to retain sync. Some people can actually see the slight speed up, but most would never know. My explanation is pathetically poor I'm afraid, and may have errors, but I'm sure there are much better explanations on the net, or someone else maybe able to help.

I have my new Oppo now, to go with the H57, and what a fantastic combination this makes. Soon I'll have a go at calibration, but it seems fabulous with everything at the default. I have the PAL version of DVE, and I have to say it has the most confusing navigation system I've ever come across. I've also just managed to get hold of Avia, which from my research only comes in NTSC. Therefore having calibrated in NTSC, chances are the results will not be accurate for PAL, but at least it'll be interesting seeing if a compromise can be found. My other DVD Player is a Pioneer DV676A (not DVI but has SACD/DVD-A etc) which has a similar Nth American equivalent, and the Oppo just blows it away, despite the Pioneer being very competant until now. I just wish the Oppo had some of the convenience features we take for granted these days like a play memory, and bit meter. I understand that there will be another firmware update at the end of this month. The Oppo threads are an absolute marathon read, but there are a few interesting ideas there. :)

Cool spong! :)

Thanks for the explanation about 3/2 pulldown.

I also appreciate learning about an upcoming firmware update. I assume that there'll be a file on the Oppo website that we can burn to a disc and then run in the Oppo.

Wayne

I just got my H57 today and man am I impressed. Now taking into account that I'm projecting onto a wall and only using a satellite feed through s-video, I'm surprised how well the machine handled the material. I'm no expert, but the image this beauty put out was just as good as my 32" Sharp CRT but only so much bigger. I was expecting that since satellite was such a poor quality source, all its imperfections would have become so much more evident because they were now being blown up. To my delight, this was clearly not the case. If the H57 can render this material with such ease, I know it will certainly shine once I start seeing what it can do with DVD's and HDTV using DVI/HDMI cables.

Speaking of DVI/HDMI cables, what brands do you recommend for 25ft? Now I'm a little confused as to what cables I'll need to hook-up the H57 to my new OPPO player. Is there any differences between the two that are important that I should know? I'm thinking that they both pretty much do the same thing and the only real difference is that each is used to fit the connections available on your components.

Guys, I'll have a more thorough review once I start using the OPPO, HDTV, and DVDS, and Will, I think you're thinking of tacjam's theater room. I'm barely starting on mine, so we both have something to shoot for.

Joe

... and Will, I think you're thinking of tacjam's theater room. I'm barely starting on mine, so we both have something to shoot for.

Joe

Sorry Joe, I think your right!

Tacjam, Scarface -- Its on!


Congrats on your purchase Joe. I too run satellite and that will be my major input source into the H57. I am going to build an entry level PC that starts off only with Satellite feed via DVI into the H57, and later I will expand into more HTPC solutions for a "proper" system. I run the DVB PCI cards for FTA and they output a terrific picture (*software HD*) so it should be interesting. I will have to get a DVI output video card though...

I got my ceiling mount from Perfectmounts on Tuesday, forgot to logon and share that. Looks like very well manufactured, several parts. The company seems well organized and the box came with instructions, the small little parts stapled to the instructions (to avoid being lost/forgotten)... Guys, if you need a ceiling mount -- perfect mounts is the place. Inexpensive, not cheap - there's a big difference. I should mention I ordered the 2000 series for the H31 -- they didn't list an H57. I will adapt my plate to fit, I'm sure it's close.

Another big weekend coming up for working in the basement.

New pictures coming soon....

Joe,

Congratulations on receiving the H57! :) Man, if you think it looks good with a compressed satellite feed, you are in for a shock when you view DVDs or High Definition so I suggest that you have a comfy chair beneath you to catch your fall. :D

Go with a good cable for that length. I recommend Ultralink. I have their 50 footer and it's amazing. You can go straight DVI-D from the Oppo to the H57. You might have trouble finding a DVI-I at that length and I wouldn't bother with that anyway unless you plan to send an analog signal through the cable as well as digital. HDMI incorporates audio along with the video and you could use it but you'd need to buy some adapters since neither the Oppo nor the H57 have HDMI outputs or inputs. Best not to add adapters if you don't have to. You'll be risking signal loss, especially at that length. There is no difference that I'm aware of between HDMI and DVI other than the fact that with DVI you also need to have separate audio cables.

I can hardly wait for your real review Joe! :)

Wayne

Will,

I think it was I who referred you to PerfectMounts. You described their product very well. I have seen the very mount that you purchased attached to an H31 here in London this year and it was great.

Please send me a pm Will when you get a chance. No rush. I'm curious about what you just said concerning using a computer to get satellite. Let me know how this works and what it might set me back. I know how to install a PCI slot fan so I could probably install something like this, no? Do I also need a FTA receiver? What about software, codes, etc...?

Thanks Will,

Wayne

Wayne,

Do you know of any good companies here in the US I can purchase the Ultralink cables from? I've been looking and I can't seem to find any. Thanks.

Joe

Hi Joe,

You can contact their corporate offices here: usasales@ultralinkproducts.com

They should be able to tell you where you could purchase them in the U.S. They are expensive so be prepared but they're well worth it. My cable is rated to pass digital video up to 100 feet flawlessly.

Wayne

You guys that have bought a mount from PerfectMounts for your H57, did you get the H31 model? If so, is modification needed to make it fit the H57? If modification is needed, is it at all hard to do? and what is involved if needed? Thanks again.



Luke

Luke,

Will can answer that question for you specifically I'm sure but PerfectMounts also has universal mounts for a little more money that will work with virtually any projector. Going this route eliminates the hassle of having to adapt the H31 mount to fit the H57.

I have a mount that is specifically manufactured for the Infocus X1 which I owned up until April of this year. I took the mounting plate into a machine shop and had them drill new holes in it for me that fit the measurement of the holes of the H57. Worked like a charm.

Wayne

I made a mistake ordering my bracket from perfectmounts. Not their fault - mine.

I ordered the H31 mount as I thought that wasy the one that Wayne modified for his H57. I was wrong.

The H31 mount is not large enough to cover the holes for H57, so it doesn't fit. All that I need to do is attach a steel plate to the bottom of this one, and drill holes to line up with my H57. I'm sure I can figure something out here locally, but I wanted to let you know that perfectmounts doesn't make a H57 model. I didn't want to go universal for some reason either...


I have emailed them about MY mistake and asked for help I'll see what they say.

Will



You guys that have bought a mount from PerfectMounts for your H57, did you get the H31 model? If so, is modification needed to make it fit the H57? If modification is needed, is it at all hard to do? and what is involved if needed? Thanks again.



Luke

That's too bad Will! :(

Perhaps they will allow you to exchange the H31 mount for a universal unit and you pay the difference. I bought fellow AVSer Mandarax's mount for my X1 and modified it's mounting plate to fit the H57. I first adapted it to fit the H31 but after I returned the H31 to Optoma and upgraded to the H57 I made the necessary changes. Sorry for any confusion about that. Let us know how you make out either by exchanging/refunding your mount or adapting it further with your own materials.

Wayne

Sorry Joe, I think your right!

Tacjam, Scarface -- Its on!


Congrats on your purchase Joe. I too run satellite and that will be my major input source into the H57. I am going to build an entry level PC that starts off only with Satellite feed via DVI into the H57, and later I will expand into more HTPC solutions for a "proper" system. I run the DVB PCI cards for FTA and they output a terrific picture (*software HD*) so it should be interesting. I will have to get a DVI output video card though...

I got my ceiling mount from Perfectmounts on Tuesday, forgot to logon and share that. Looks like very well manufactured, several parts. The company seems well organized and the box came with instructions, the small little parts stapled to the instructions (to avoid being lost/forgotten)... Guys, if you need a ceiling mount -- perfect mounts is the place. Inexpensive, not cheap - there's a big difference. I should mention I ordered the 2000 series for the H31 -- they didn't list an H57. I will adapt my plate to fit, I'm sure it's close.

Another big weekend coming up for working in the basement.

New pictures coming soon....

Mine is all but done....I am waiting for furniture to get done. It should be here in the next couple of weeks. I've added to the remodel pics as the project went along. I think I am more happy about getting rid of that floor to ceiling brick wall than I am about the theater, you have to understand how much I really disliked that wall, now it's nice and modern!



http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/james_winston2002/album?.dir=/3851&.src=ph

Excellent Job-- Well DONE!

You have done an outstanding job on your theatre; you should be very proud.

Tomorrow, erhmm, today is going to be another productive day for me and my father to drywall even more in the basement. Once this room is done, I will be continuing to finish the rest of the basement.

I hope to take some pictures today, espcially of my "false wall" where the 51" RP Tv sits flush mounted inside, and the screen will drop down in front of when desired.

What is your H57's mount distance to screen, as I see how high you have it mounted and that's exactly what I want to do. How big is your image?

I didn't see any shots of your audio rack/equipment and how you handled that. Do you point the remote at the front wall, or do you fire it up and sit and relax?

Thanks for sharing!


Will

I´ve gotta a question: which one should I choose between these two: the Sanyo Z3 or the Optoma H57?

Thank you!

You need to tell us more about your setup and personal preferences. Have you seen either one of these projectors in person? Do you suffer from DLP rainbows? Tell us what you perceive to be the different strengths and weaknesses of these two.

Is price a factor? Does vertical banding bother you? Are you new to projectors or is this an upgrade for you?

We need to know more before we can help you.

Wayne

Will,

When you ordered your mount from PerfectMounts did you call them up and see if they carry a mount for the H57 at all, or did you just order straight from their site the H31 hoping it would fit the H57? I'm tried calling them just now but unfortunately they're closed. I was also looking at a couple different universal mounts, and one in particular caught my eye which is by a company called AbTus. If PerfectMounts doesn't have one that directly fits the H57 I will order the universal mount which is only $110 Cdn.

Thanks!

Luke

I think I emailed them a while back to find out Luke.

I see ebay has cheaper mounts, but ebay leaves a bad taste in my mouth with regard to something that will hold up my $3000 PJ. Know what I mean?

I am satisfied with perfect mounts, only my error to be upset with. I will adapt theirs with a simple flat steel plate, which will also serve to extend my mount slightly lower!

I got a little bit of work done today in the basement, but while I was waiting for dad to come and help my neighbor was putting up a temporary fence to hold in his new puppy. I helped with that for a few hours.... Oh well, turned out ok for him.

Anyways, off to watch some more smallville, and then I'm calling it a night.

Will

I totally agree with you about the ebay thing, I actually went on there looking for mounts but stepped back thought about it for a sec and came to the same conclusion as you did. I think I am going to give perfectmounts a call tomorrow to confirm that they do (or don't) have a mount specifically for the H57. Hopefully they will, but from what you've said I highly doubt it. Like I said before, in the case they don't carry such a mount, I will just order a universal mount - I found one semi-locally that is pretty decent looking and looks like an overall good product. I too didn't want to go with a universal mount for whatever reason, but more than likely I will be biting the bullet on this one. Hopefully all goes well :)

Well, I called Perfectmounts and it looks like they DO have an H57 mount.

Will, you might want to check if you can exchange your mount. The rep I spoke to said that the mount you're looking for is "Optoma 758 or 759" on their website, both in 1000 and 2000 series. Looks like I'm ordering a perfectmount!

Luke

perfect mounts has offered to exchange my plate, FREE OF CHARGE.
I pay the shipping to them, they're even covering shipping back.

What a company! I'm very impressed.

Thanks Luke!. They should list that H57 mount. Be sure to tell them we spoke and we're from AVS!

Will


Well, I called Perfectmounts and it looks like they DO have an H57 mount.

Will, you might want to check if you can exchange your mount. The rep I spoke to said that the mount you're looking for is "Optoma 758 or 759" on their website, both in 1000 and 2000 series. Looks like I'm ordering a perfectmount!

Luke

I use my H57 mainly for movies and video games. I would like to start watching football and other sports games on (ABC,FOX, etc) but I don't want or need digital cable. I've heard that you can get a better HD signal on an antenna. Does anyone have this or know how it works? What equipment will I need?

You will need an HD tuner as the h57 doesn't have one (or even an SD tuner) built in. Just an antenna won't work. I just got comcast cable and the HD is Jawdropping. I've heard HD on DirectTV isn't that good, too compressed I believe, but cable HD looks awesome IMHO.
:) d

I just read the "projector poll" thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=393801

And there are no H57! I guess you fellow H57 owners are either too happy watching movies, or too busy reading this thread only to further enhance the viewing, that no one bothers to vote there! :p

Very strange, most of the newer projectors are not on that poll! SP4805, H31, PE7700, ...

Now, I see why, that thread was started in 2004, so some one is bring the poll back? No wonder all the newer machines are not there.

Wayne:

A little birdie told me you now are the proud owner of a FTA satellite card. How does the picture look on the H57?

What output did you connect the H57/ your video card with - DVI?

Can you take some pictures?

Thanks!

Will

Will, :)

How did you know I have an FTA satellite card?? You must be telepathic or you pay your birds very well! :D

As I related to you in my pm, I've been really busy trying to solve my standby and program compatibility issues this weekend and I'm happy to say that all is working normally again for the most part.

Sooooooooooo......I haven't had much time to fiddle with the satellite signal on the H57 since I don't intend to use it with the projector much until you teach me how to get HDTV with it. ;)

Unfortunately, it's been my experience that no matter what satellite provider you have, the signal is so greatly compressed on so many channels that by the time you blow it up to 92" diagonally like I would be doing, the images are not as nice as they are on a smaller screen such as my 64" Pioneer CRT RPTV. This has been the case with Bev, Dave etc... It's my understanding that the resolution going out from a satellite receiver or card is 640 x 480 SDTV. When you expand that via a projector on a large screen, you tend to see anomalies that are 'hidden' when viewed on a smaller screen.

Having said that, I did try the satellite reception via DVI from my computer to the H57. The effects of the compression were evident and there was a bit too much softness to the image and it was washed out compared to my 17" LCD monitor but of course that's to be expected.

Where the card really shined was when I sent the image to the TV and configured it via my video card so that it would ft the widescreen set. I'm very impressed with the images I'm getting on the TV. :) Of course, some channels are overly compressed and don't really look too good no matter how small a screen you're using but many are really very nice and show almost as well as a DVD which is saying something. :)

I have found that the best resolution to set the video card at is 800 x 600. The program guide comes up big enough to read from 10 feet away and it's sharp and clear as well.

So, I'm afraid that I haven't experimented enough just yet with the projector and the satellite signal and I think that I can probably get it to look better.

I'll tell you one thing though. If I ever get this satellite card to allow me any HDTV channels, I will for sure take some pictures with the H57! Why? Because you requested them for one thing. :) And secondly, because I have Rogers Digital Cable and a PVR with HDTV and the results on the H57 are breathtaking!! :)

But for now with SDTV, it just wouldn't be worth it in my opinion to post any photos but I will work with it a bit in the next week and see if I can't tweak the images over DVI or VGA to the point where they'll show well in a photo.

In the meantime, if you have any suggestions as to how I might add HDTV to the satellite card, pm me because I'm very much interested in getting into that.

Thanks Will! :)

Wayne

Hey again,

I'm trying to calibrate my H57 with the AVIA disc, finally. When I go into the H57 menu while the DVD is playing (via DVI..Oppo player) I am unable to access any of the setting except contrast or brightness, that's it; I can't access tint, or RGB or anything at all. What am I doing wrong?

Also, would the settings someone else has particularly work for me? or should I be calibrating it myself and not use someone elses settings? I would really like to get the best picture out of my H57.

Thank you!

Luke,

You're not doing anything wrong at all. This is normal. Color and tint aren't available with DVI. You can compensate for that by using the color adjustment in the Oppo menu and also by going further into the H57 menus and adjusting the RGB parameters for contrast and brightness. DVI doesn't or at least shouldn't cause RGB contrast and brightness to be grayed out.

Other people's calibration numbers won't work for you. We all have our own issues with light reflections and ambient light etc... The color of the walls, ceiling and carpeting affect our images as well as the type of screen and whether we're using a filter on the lens, an HTPC or a set top player. A whole host of reasons really. So fine tune your setup as best you can with the tools available to you. It will look far better than anything we might suggest. :)

Wayne

I just wanted to follow-up on my filter question for the H-57 I posted a while back. Wayne had recommended a 67mm filter. The H-57 from what I can tell doesn't have a threaded lens ring, so the 67mm filter fits PERFECTLY on the outside of the focus ring. I used a tiny strip of velcro between the filter and focus ring which holds the filter on pretty tightly -- it's actually on backwards. I purchased a Tiffen brand UV filter. Supposedly UV filters don't affect the color of light.

If you want to protect your lens and don't want to use the lens cap after every viewing I highly recommend getting a filter.

Regarding calibration: I had originally fooled around with AVIA and tried my hand at calibrating the projector. This was my first time doing this process so I had made the colors ok, but messed up the brightness/contrast. I had to ask my wife for help and by God she helped correct my errors, and now the picture quality is perfect. There is no grain in the black areas, the picture looks very smooth, and my wife is very very happy that she could help. I didn't realize that by adjusting the RGB settings thru DVI, I was actually messing with the total brightness/contrast levels which needed to be adjusted a second & third time.

This projector is amazing. This brings up another question. How often should I check AVIA for correct brightness/contrast levels? Do projector lamps get dimmer slower, will I notice the picture quality suffering?


Thanks everyone for your helpful tips.

Hi Wayne-

I'm going to have to research that one, I'm told the PCI cards (software mode) can do it. Since I've never had a HD signal/tv I have ignored HD altogether.

I'm glad you're enjoying the H57 so much. Still very much looking forward to mine.

I decided to go with 90" screen, and I purchased it. I've not going to tell you how much I paid yet. I've show pictures soon.

Only the ceiling, potlights and final electrical to go.

Will

Looking forward to those photos Will! :)

Teasing me on the price of your screen eh? ;) I'll bet you got a killer deal.

90" is a great size. Not too big and not too small. The H57 should look really snappy on that screen. Did you go matte white?

Sounds like you're real close now to the finish line with your theatre room. :) Soon you'll be able to put your feet up and relax with a good movie in your own cinema.

Thanks for finding out about HD for me. It's good to know that this card will do it. If you come up with anything let me know. That would be really something to output HD satellite to the H57 from the HTPC.

Deaners,

Good advice and observation on the filter issue. I feel really good about protecting the H57's lens by using the ND2 filter. No fiddling, the image is always in focus and I never have to clean the projector's lens.

Glad you've dialed in your image so well. And it's great that you got your wife to help out. Sometimes 4 eyes are better than two. :) It's true that when calibrating with AVIA, touching some controls can have an effect on others as you've found. So then it's back and forth and back and forth...you know the drill.
Well worth the effort though.

I wouldn't worry about checking the AVIA settings too often. It seems to me that a projector's bulb dims slowly. You probably won't be aware of any change anyway as the eyes tend to adapt to this. You could make a habit of doing it maybe every six months or so if you want or whenever something changes like if you paint your walls or something.

It is an amazing projector isn't it? :)

Wayne

Hi
This is my first post - Im from Chennai India and I ve just gone and bought a H57 after going through all the postings in this thread.
I first want to congratulation Wayne for starting this thread... the H57 did not disappoint me at all with its rich colours and deep blacks.

At the moment Im projecting it onto a wall in a small 12X10x10 all white room , my plans are to get a Panoview Graywolf 106" 1.8 grey screen and shift the whole system to a new 15X18X10 room in a few months.

Could some one here point me to a store that, from their experience, could possibly 1) Send me the correct screen (grey screen instead of matte white)
2) Send the goods to my friends place undamaged (since he s bringing it over)
3) Offer a good deal on the pricing.
Im not sure if this is violating any rules here if so my apologies and please PM me.
thanks in advance to all you guys who are helping out - this is one of the best forums Ive ever come across so far :) !

Hi Rosh1. Nice to have you aboard! :)

Thanks for your comment. It's good to have a place where we H57 enthusiasts can come to discuss this wonderful projector.

You have chosen well in that you've decided to go with a gray screen since you have white walls.

As far as where to order this screen here's what you should do. Go over to the screens forum on AVS and look for the Optoma Greywolf screen thread. Particularly pay attention to the last few pages in that thread. You will find some people mentioning that they've experienced glad tidings with some dealers when it comes to shipping, cost and overall satisfaction including the now famous dented portion in the middle of the screen, the shadowy line caused by the protective paper etc....

So visit that thread and you should get more than one reference as to where to confidently purchase this screen and good luck to you. :)

Wayne

Wayne,
Thanks for the tips- Im gonna look it up
I had a very odd/disappointing experience today that I thought I' d share:
I had to return the H57 I d bought because I noticed that it was very slightly damaged during shipping and transit.
However the replacement H57, though cosmetically spanking new, is unable to reproduce the brilliant blacks the first one had by default in the normal mode... its shades of green in all preset modes...
I adjusted RGB till i got some semblance of black.. but how do i get the same effect in the preset modes..? Is the H57 firmware upgradeable?
Any way of tuning the preset modes?
thanks in advance
Rosh

I saw a claim that the HS57 is discontinued and not many optoma dealers appear to carry the model. What was the last msrp price drop for the hs57 ?. Also please PM me with who might have stock.

At this point I am looking at the NEC HT1100 on which msrp has dropped to $2K and the HT510 which has dropped to $1K. It's either one of these or I take a chance on the Optoma 480p H31 and hopefully I can stand the SDE at 1.5x screen distance.

Wayne rules! He should be getting a bonus from Optoma!
Still loving the PJ. Now that the lamp has settled in a bit, PQ is tremendous!


:) d

I Agree! - Wayne should get compensated for lighting the path ....

I can taste the projector running, just some ceiling drywall, mud, mud, mud, sanding, sanding, sanding..... and then I'll be there.

Im not looking forward to wiring my amp rack, it's going to be a doozy.

I actually went and investigated the OPPO DVD player, so I may be upgrading once all is said and done...

Welcome aboard Rosh1.

Dave, nice to see you're enjoying the Pj so much. I am very envious, to say the least.

Well, I am actually about to start working in the basement so I had better get my rear end moving...

Back soon!

Will

Sirredz, thanks for your welcome,
My tweaking saga continues :)
I've now managed to get acceptably deep black levels i was used to from the previous H57. I ve also just noticed that if i switch to Dynamic mode there is no way to adjust any values.. is this normal for all of you? I like the brightness levels of dynamic but would like to tune the preset away from the default greenish black..Would be very grateful for any inputs.
Meanwhile Im enjoying a marathon session of movies even without a proper screen!
thanks
Rosh

hardwired,

I think that the last MSRP on the H57 was $2000.00 U.S. It's a steal at that price and worth much more if you can find it. I don't know who has any left but search diligently. The other projectors you mentioned are very good as well. I think that the HT1100 is 4:3 native. I have researched this as well as the 510 and I owned the H31 prior to keeping the H57. I have actually seen all of these in action save the 510 and I wouldn't trade my H57 for any of them.

Dave,

I thought you'd fallen into a black hole or something. :) Nice to hear from you. Glad the H57 is working out so well along with the Greywolf screen. Rainbows still under control? Thanks for the compliment! Glad to have influenced you in this.

Will,

Thanks to you too for your encouragement. :)

You're almost done with the room! Hang in there. Won't be long now. :)

So you took a peek at the Oppo eh? Nice player. If you're ever out my way for any reason let me know and I'll show you mine with the H57. I love it!

Rosh1,

Pretty tough to calibrate your pj without a proper screen. Get the AVIA calibration disk or Digital Video Essentials. Either one will help you tweak out your excess greens. You're on the right track though with the RGB controls. What you need is a good test screen with gray bars such as the one AVIA has. Then you can eliminate the colors that shouldn't be there. You can also do this by eye quite acceptably.

My opinion is that you should stay away from Dynamic preset. You're probably blowing out your whites. Try to stick with Normal or User modes. After you've tweaked the picture properly in either one of these modes and gotten used to them, you'll find that if you switch back to Dynamic that the picture will be overly bright and cartoonish.

Wayne

Wayne,
Thanks for the inputs.. Yes I am waiting for the AVIA & DVE bundle (along with my Greywolf screen) to arrive for proper calibration.
With reference to the dynamic preset, point is well taken . I however plan to use it on computer games & data rather than movies.
However my question was actually whether its possible to the adjust the dynamic preset at all. Because my screen doesnt have any values and is simply blank.. is this a fault or is it normal?
thanks for your inputs.
Rosh

Hi Rosh,

I believe that your H57 is operating normally. If my memory serves me correctly, Dynamic mode doesn't allow for any adjustments.

Wayne

Wayne,
Thanks for the info..am relieved! :)
Has anyone on the list bought a replacement lamp for the H57? Might be a good idea to stock up since this seems to have a least a 2 week or more lead time. Found pcnation the lowest at $342 and surprisingly many others are selling it much more than Optoma's MSRP at $399- Typically $415!
On the other hand http://www.myprojectorlamps.com might become an alternative solution in future.

Woo-Hoo, my sofa and two recliners are coming tomorrow. I can't wait!!! Been waiting for a long time, I guess that's what you get when you want a certain color.

I see "V" have the H57 back in stock with free lamp , and a few other sellers still have stock also. The H57 maybe end of line, but there are still some out there. Grab them while you can.

my furniture arrived....the color was a perfect match with what I was looking for in my theatre, it's so comfy I might not make it through an entire move =(

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tacjam30/album?.dir=dcbc&.src=ph

rosh,

Thanks for the lamp link. :)

spong,

That's kind of interesting news about the H57 stock. I'm sure glad I'm not trying to find one any more though. Glad mine's hanging from the back wall. :)

Tacjam,

Awesome furniture! WAF friendly too I'd think! :) I love your color scheme in the room. How do you darken it at the back with all that light pouring in through the patio/french doors and the window? :confused:

I can imagine you WILL have a rough time staying awake during a movie sitting in furniture as comfy looking as that. As a matter of fact the more and more I look at your pictures, the harder it is to (yawn) keep awake. I'd better not look at them any......zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ

rosh,

Thanks for the lamp link. :)

spong,

That's kind of interesting news about the H57 stock. I'm sure glad I'm not trying to find one any more though. Glad mine's hanging from the back wall. :)

Tacjam,

Awesome furniture! WAF friendly too I'd think! :) I love your color scheme in the room. How do you darken it at the back with all that light pouring in through the patio/french doors and the window? :confused:

I can imagine you WILL have a rough time staying awake during a movie sitting in furniture as comfy looking as that. As a matter of fact the more and more I look at your pictures, the harder it is to (yawn) keep awake. I'd better not look at them any......zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ
Are you implying my room looks boring? :mad: :) :)
I'm getting blackout curtains. I really haven't watched any movies in the daytime yet, so it's not an issue at the moment. But I am confident I can remedy that problem. After all the hard work I've done here...I'm sure getting a lower level room dark , won't be that big of a project. It's just one window and the french doors.

I don't get it. If you have the third most popular projector in that category..why would you discontinue it. If you have a demand.....supply it!


http://www.projectorcentral.com/home-theater-multimedia-projectors.htm

Dave, Wayne and everyone else ....

Here are some pictures you may enjoy!


More in next message ....

Will

I was playing with exposures and gama so don't be critical of picture quality plz.


(I'm totally UNPRO...)

Will

Hi guys!

Just thought I'd let you know that I'm hard at work on my HT room. Break time is over and now back to work. Hopefully I'll have some pictures for you soon.

Joe

Cool! Looking forward!

Wayne, did you ever get any PAL discs? I got the LOTR extended editions and with native PAL out of the oppo. at 576P 50hz. the pic. is MUCH better than the NTSC R1 editions, especially on the first, FOTR. I'm getting the R2 Titanic as well. 4 disc set man! Only 3 disc here in R1.

:) d

Will,

I envy you and your talent/ability to be so handy in this way. :) It should be terrific once it's finished. Coming along very nicely now.

Tacjam,

I guess like everything else, nothing lasts forever. :(

scarfaceforever,

Yes, get to work man! :) You want to be putting your feet up enjoying the H57 in your dedicated theatre before Christmas don't you? ;) Imagine how good those holiday movies are going to look when you're done.

Dave,

Sadly, I haven't done anything about PAL discs. It's just not on the radar. DVD money's going other directions right now. Maybe someday. I don't know. I think I'm scared that I'll like PAL too much and not be satisfied with NTSC anymore which would bug the heck out of me. :o

Wayne

Wayne:

Thanks for the comments. I am very proud of what I have accomplished.
I am a little upset that the speakers will be partially blocked by the screen and that I wasn't able to forsee that while I was in the design stage. I can't really modify it now due to the electrical being run in behind those very studs. But I have the electrical all tested, except the ceiling lights.

Ahh, sigh.... more work to be done.

Will

Well I have come to a very hard decision. Ever since I got my H57, I had ran it on the wall for about 2 weeks and was getting eye strain after about 30 minutes of viewing, I thought this would go away after getting a proper screen put up. Last week I had put up a screen (HCCV) and I am STILL getting eye strain, and mild headaches, it is getting to the point of me not being able to watch anything for more than an hour at all. I had friends come over and no one else has complained about this but since I am the main viewer of the projector I think I am going to have to part with this projector and switch to a plasma or something

I Hate to ask about this here, but am wondering does anyone know a good place where I could sell my H57? I am not an AVS member and do not have permission to post in the for sale section of this site, I do not have Paypal either, and do no wish to setup an account with them to pay for a membership here. Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

Luke

Luke, I am very sorry to hear that you are unable to continue viewing your projector. I am hoping that doesn't happen to me once all this work is done.

On another note:

Perfectmounts has delivered!

I got my new mount today, to fix MY ERROR in ordering previously. Emily looked after my RMA and shipped back to me at NO ADDITIONAL charge.

What a phenominal company. I highly recommend them to anyone wanting a mount for their projector at a reasonable price.

They do have a specific H57 mount in case anyone is asking!

Three cheers for PerfectMounts!

Will

Too bad Luke! :(

Looks like you need LCD technology rather than DLP.

Let us know what you finally get. You're still one of the family. :) Separated by divorce. :D

Wayne

Thank you Wayne!

Will, I don't think you should have any problems, out of the many guests who have watched the projector at my house, I am the only one out of the bunch who has problems viewing the H57 (and probably most DLP projector from what I've gathered).

I've been reading up on LCD projectors all morning so I might swing to that side and possibly purchase an LCD projector instead. Going to do some extensive research before I make another plunge.

So, I've decided I'll just get the AVS subscription and post the H57 on here, I've already posted on a couple other HT boards. But I am wondering what you recommend for a sale price on the H57? Note that it has about 40 hrs. of use on it, and comes with everything that I purchased it with (plus the ceiling mount). I am completely in the dark as far as the resale value of this goes, any recommendations?

I'll take it off your hands for $500?

Actually, I'll take 1,00 pieces at that price!! I'll be rich in no-time.

Hard to say, now that it's used many people expect a drastic drop in price. I would say a $300 drop minimum for people to be interested. You have to give them a reason not to buy new, with warranty. Someone's going to get a deal!

Good luck--

Will

Well I put it up for $1,600 so hopefully that will spark some interest. I think retail is at $2k now, am I right?