I'd recommend the Graywolf also because of the room. Read up in the Graywolf thread in the screens area.

It's a cheap one but a great one.

ggavigli and guitarman,

Thanks for the recommendation. I've been reading about the Graywolf screens back when I had the Infocus 4805. Once I am payed next week, I think I will give one a spin and see what my results are.

If I do get the new screen, I was thinking of putting the Infocus screen into another room as a backup or for when we have more guests. The problem I have is the location I am choosing for ceiling mounting is not up against a wall. The screen will have noticeable ripples because of uneven weight distribution and my inability to hang anything straight. Outside of making sure the screen is perferctly level, is there anything else i can do to remove any screen distortion?

Has anyone had success mounting their Optoma's higher than the top of the screen? It looks like if I mounted the projector right at the top of my screen I'd need it to be about 18" from the ceiling (8'). That's pretty low! I know that I'd have to mess with the keystone settings but will my picture degrade that much?

From projectorreviews.com:
Optoma has a new H series projector scheduled for shipment in early December. The product is not officially announced, so all I can say, is that this new Optoma home theater projector will "replace" the discontinued H57, but be higher resolution. And, it will be far more affordable than the current H77 projector or my personal favorite, the H78DC3 DarkChip3 DLP home theater projector, (which, I should note, I'm considering as the replacement for my current BenQ PE8700+ projector in my own home theater).

I expect the new Optoma projector to arrive and be reviewed in advance of the first shipments!

(Had heard there was going to be a new release but I couldn't wait. I pulled the trigger on my upgrade. Hey there's a World Series going on, don't ya know.)

...for thos users who have the OPPO mated with the H78, do you have any basic tweak recommendations? Any trouble areas I should look into?

Additionaly, should I invest in a new screen? I would prefer not purchasing a new screen, but if I can improve my picture quality at a reasonable price, I am willing to do so.I've got the Oppo and really don't have recommendations except to make sure that if you don't have the new firmware to set brightness at +5. With the new firmware the -3 (edited to reflect reports per below) setting is correct for brightness. Otherwise the default settings work best.

Depending on how big your current screen is, how bright you like your image, and whether you'll have off-axis viewers, I think the biggest change you'd get would be with a High Power and on-axis-mounted pj, directly above and behind your viewing position. I've found that I've needed the 3 gain--granted at 116-inches wide in my case--as my H79's bulb has aged past 300 hours.

Calibration is important for these H7X's as is TV, gamma 1, color temp 2 for starters.

Dan

Edit: According to this post, -3 is now correct for black for the firmware upgrade issued 10-18-05:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6396599&&#post6396599

Has anyone done a shootout between these units and a good 8" LC CRT like a G70? I'm just curious as to how they compare. I know there are fundamental differences, but how is the overall comparison?

in the CRT forum Darinp did a shootout with the H78dc3, G70, & Panasonic AE900.

From projectorreviews.com:
Optoma has a new H series projector scheduled for shipment in early December. The product is not officially announced, so all I can say, is that this new Optoma home theater projector will "replace" the discontinued H57, but be higher resolution. And, it will be far more affordable than the current H77 projector or my personal favorite, the H78DC3 DarkChip3 DLP home theater projector, (which, I should note, I'm considering as the replacement for my current BenQ PE8700+ projector in my own home theater).

I expect the new Optoma projector to arrive and be reviewed in advance of the first shipments!

Has anyone had success mounting their Optoma's higher than the top of the screen? It looks like if I mounted the projector right at the top of my screen I'd need it to be about 18" from the ceiling (8'). That's pretty low! I know that I'd have to mess with the keystone settings but will my picture degrade that much?

Yes you can go 4 to 6" above but maxing out the lens shift adds a color fringing, which I don't notice in video. You'll see it with the Focus and Zoom Icon though.

Thanks Tom! My addition isn't completed yet so I've got the screen mounted in another room. I want to try and mock up some sort of temporary mount without having to drill any holes in my ceiling. Once I figure out how to do that I'll try the 4 - 6" above situation to see if it will work.

I'm assuming that mounting with a downward angle isn't an option is it?

in the CRT forum Darinp did a shootout with the H78dc3, G70, & Panasonic AE900.
Would you post a link to that thread?

I'm assuming that mounting with a downward angle isn't an option is it?

It is if you tilt the bottom edge of the screen out from the wall to compensate.

Would you post a link to that thread?

apparently, not the H78DC3. And no DVI cable, but the component which everyone knows is not as good.

Would you post a link to that thread?

Can't locate it .... strange...

I just read about 2 pages of it the other night... someone had put a link to it in another thread I was reading... perhaps it lead to another forum...??

If I find it I will put it up..., but I do know it was in a CRT based forum.

sorry I don't have the link....... it was quite interesting...

The gist was most of the people preferred the G70 (it was a highly tweaked model) overall. However, the mostly CRT crowd was quite impressed with both the 900 and the H78. They like the H78's pop on the colors, brightness, and sharpness. They liked the brightness of the 900 and the fact that the Panasonic smoothscreen technology makes the image look more "CRT like" (not a big surprise given the crowd).

The majority did prefer the image on the tweaked, maintained, and perfectly calibrated G70..... (the H78 and 900 were shown without any calibration... so it was not exactly a level playing field)......

Oh and I forgot to mention... they used the component connection on all of the projectors... a more objective shootout would have used the available DVI/HDMI inputs on the digital projectors which would have provided a much more interesting shootout.

Not that I mean to infer that the G70 still would not be considered to throw the best image... a highly calibrated and maintained G70 should provide a beautiful image... however, if as much care had gone into the calibration of the two digital projectors as well as using the higher bandwidth digital video connection... it would have made for a much more interesting and fair comparison.

Is this the thread you were referring to? http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248058

No, that's a UK forum. This is the local CRT thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=587950

Note this is not the H78DC3 with a digital connection. They had to use component.
So not the best shootout, but a good effort to get a general sense of comparison.

Thanx

Yes you can go 4 to 6" above but maxing out the lens shift adds a color fringing, which I don't notice in video. You'll see it with the Focus and Zoom Icon though.
I was just wondering, when you mention 4 to 6 inches above the top of the screen, do you mean from the center of the lens? I am planning to buy an H78dc3 soon but this limited lens shift thing is worrying me a bit, I hope I wont have to hang the PJ too low...


Thanks for your time

Stephane Olivier

I have only scanned this thread, but wondered if anyone can definitively answer if there is a difference between the Optoma H79 and H78 so far as brightness and contrast are concerned. The specs say the more expensive machine has 1,000 lumens and 4500:1 contrast, while the cheaper machine has 750-800 lumens and 4000:1 contrast.

Are there ANY other differences factual or perceived between them?
Sam
PS. This post proves I can talk about Optoma projectors other than my favorite new toy, the Movietime!

I have only scanned this thread, but wondered if anyone can definitively answer if there is a difference between the Optoma H79 and H78 so far as brightness and contrast are concerned. The specs say the more expensive machine has 1,000 lumens and 4500:1 contrast, while the cheaper machine has 750-800 lumens and 4000:1 contrast.

Are there ANY other differences factual or perceived between them?
Sam
PS. This post proves I can talk about Optoma projectors other than my favorite new toy, the Movietime!

Optoma employess could not tell the difference between the H-78 and H-79....if that tells you anything ;)

Dave and all other AVSers,

I currently have a Stewart Grayhawk 110" 16x9 screen viewed from about 13-15 feet. Projector lens to screen distance is about 13 feet currently. I am planning to upgrade a 4 year old SE Cinema 13HD (Sanyo PLV-60HT equivalent with 1100 lumens and 800:1 CR) to either an Optoma H78 or H79 soon. Would this be a good match and would the PJ throw be in range? Would the PQ be a significant leap from my older LCD based projector? My room is light controlled and sources are HD (D* H10-250), SD and plan to get an upscaling DVD player to go with the new projector all to be hooked up via HDMI to DVI-I cable. FYI - The Grayhawk screen was manufactured by Stewart before the FireHawk came into the market as you may know. Thanks for your help! :)

Any difference in pq if maxing out the distance parameter. I will have a 114" screen and have a throw range from 13' to 17'9". I will have the projector back around 17'8". I am wondering if clarity is affected by using the optical zoom?

I was just wondering, when you mention 4 to 6 inches above the top of the screen, do you mean from the center of the lens? I am planning to buy an H78dc3 soon but this limited lens shift thing is worrying me a bit, I hope I wont have to hang the PJ too low...


Thanks for your time

Stephane Olivier

Yes center of the lens, you can stretch it above the video area maybe 4 or 6 inches but you're maxing out the lens shift which could add a color fringing. I never really noticed the fringing in video, just the zoom and focus Icon.

Dave and all other AVSers,

I currently have a Stewart Grayhawk 110" 16x9 screen viewed from about 13-15 feet. Projector lens to screen distance is about 13 feet currently. I am planning to upgrade a 4 year old SE Cinema 13HD (Sanyo PLV-60HT equivalent with 1100 lumens and 800:1 CR) to either an Optoma H78 or H79 soon. Would this be a good match and would the PJ throw be in range? Would the PQ be a significant leap from my older LCD based projector? My room is light controlled and sources are HD (D* H10-250), SD and plan to get an upscaling DVD player to go with the new projector all to be hooked up via HDMI to DVI-I cable. FYI - The Grayhawk screen was manufactured by Stewart before the FireHawk came into the market as you may know. Thanks for your help! :)

ninoe99,

I used to own the same projector. You will think the Optoma is great!!
The Grayhawk may be a little too dark for the Optoma, depending how bright a picture you like.
If you have no plans of changing screen material, you may want to look at an Infocus 7205 or 7210. They are brighter but not as much contrast.
Your other option would be to switch out screen material for Firehawk or Studio Tech 130.


Scott

optoma.com has a screen size versus throw distance calculator, i think however that for 118 inches you need atleast 13.9 ft

It is if you tilt the bottom edge of the screen out from the wall to compensate.

Cool.... at least I know I have some options with going a bit higher than the screen. Since I'm using a Stewart Model A Electricscreen, has anyone been able to tilt the bottom of this type of screen to compensate for the downward angle of the projector?

ninoe99,

I used to own the same projector. You will think the Optoma is great!!
The Grayhawk may be a little too dark for the Optoma, depending how bright a picture you like.
If you have no plans of changing screen material, you may want to look at an Infocus 7205 or 7210. They are brighter but not as much contrast.
Your other option would be to switch out screen material for Firehawk or Studio Tech 130.


Scott
Thanks Scott! With no plans to switch to another screen material, I am now leaning towards the brighter and cheaper Panasonic PT-AE900U. I think PQ-wise, the H78 will still be better over the Panny but I am not certain that the rainbow effect will bother me without giving both the H78 and AE900U a home demo first.

I personally think you will be better off with the H78, but that's my opinion FWIW:rolleyes:

Gentlemen,

I was wondering if you could answer me a quick question. How high up the screen can you go before having to mount this projector in the "ceiling mount position" (ie upside down).

The reason I ask is that the back wall of my home theater is right at the throw distance I need for the screen size I'm looking at but my seating will also be along this wall. So I need to know if I can locate it far enough up my wall on a shelf so it does not interfere with my seating and such thus saving the cost of a ceiling mount.

From looking at the H78 manual it looks like you can roughly have it at about the center of the screen using the -100% lens shifting. Would the center of the screen be a correct assumption or is there an actual way to measure the height.

For reference I'm looking at about a 106" screen and a 13' projection distance.

Thanks for your help

I'm right at the 13' area for my 106" screen. Mounted on a four foot shelf it's a good match.
You're in a good zone to do this.

I just purchased a H78DC3 and a DaLite 106" Cosmopolitan Electrol. Based on where where my studs fell, I ended up using a 15.5' distance instead of the recommended 16.5'.

Despite the minor zoom, and a little keystone correction required for my ceiling mount being a touch higher than the top of the screen, I am absolutely thrilled.

Well can you just look a little happy then? I'm at 12 feet on an Optoma gray 106" Graywolf so I certainly share your enthusiasm. I moved up from the AE700 and it's still very impressive.

Was watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico and it's amazing the improvement of contrast and depth, even having enjoyed it on the AE700 multiple times.

Thanks Scott! With no plans to switch to another screen material, I am now leaning towards the brighter and cheaper Panasonic PT-AE900U. I think PQ-wise, the H78 will still be better over the Panny but I am not certain that the rainbow effect will bother me without giving both the H78 and AE900U a home demo first.

Nino, you are interested in the exact 2 projectors as I am...did you A/B them to determine which is best for you? Phil

Dang. I just started noticing the EXACT same panning issue on my H79 that i used to see on my H77:eek:!!! It is now only on the DVI Digital RGB input though. It is on every single source device I tried (Sony HD-DVR, Comcast/Motorola 6412, Pioneer DV-59Avi DVD)

I switched them to component and it is 95% fixed. Then I tried a DVI to RGBHV converter input to the DVI-I analog RGB input and it is fixed there also, so it appears to be a digital RGB thing on the DVI input:( I noticed it again while watching the Eagles get trounced by the Broncos, then watched more HD football and confirmed it. I tried the same scenes I used to use with the H77 and they all failed again.

What the heck is going on here!!! Could my DVI input have gone bad? As I said, it is only digital signals thru the DVI input. When the signal is analog it is OK, so it must do the analog to digital conversion with no issues.

Thanks Dave! I agree with you and I am testing out the AE900U this week at home.

Phil, have you made up your mind so far? My dillema now is that I am staying with the Grayhawk material and hope I can do an A/B demo this week also or at least see both the H79/78 and ae900u in action.

Anyone here in Houston who has an H78 or H79 to do a side by side with the Panasonic PT-AE900U? It might be good to do an A/B demo of these 2 projectors just to compare.

If I am blown away by the PQ of the AE900U compared to my 4 year old SE Cinema 13HD, I think I'll stick with the Panasonic since my screen material is Grayhawk at this time.

I have not made a decision, but also hear good feedback about the Sharp Z1200. I look forward to your review of the models...Phil

I'm in the middle of constructing my basement HT room now and am planning on getting the H78DC3 projector.

For all of my reading I'm more confused than ever on what screen to get. My room is 12.5' wide and 21' long. The projector will be on a suspended shelf from the ceiling anywhere between 15-20 feet from the screen. I was playing with the projectorcentral.com calculator and determined that this range was good, with a 1.0-1.3 gain projector.

Is there such a thing as too bright? If I move the sliders in the calculator to under 14' or so I hit the "non-optimal" zone with a screen of 1.3 gain...

I was leaning towards a Firehawk 110" screen (18" speakers on each side, limits the size to this, and I believe that much higher would be too big for the projector right?)

The thing that makes me hesitate a little bit is the cost, I think I've priced a fixed 110" Firehawk at just under 2K$. Most of the other screens that I've looked at are in the 600-1000$ range, and it makes me wonder if the difference is truly worth 1000$...I'm looking for opinions.

Thanks!

rks,

Contact Jason here at AVS
585-454-1460 Xtn 10
Tell him scottyb sent you.

Scott

110" will definitely not be "too bright." It should be bright enough, but it's the upper limit of the size you want to go, and it will of course, progressively get more dim with advanced lamp hours.

i just got my carada 118 inch screen, it is the brilliant white, my theater room is painted dark w/ black carpet and black front wall. I can watch movies w/ the optoma h 79 in normal light mode with the rear lights on and the picture is not washed out at all. the picture does appear more life like with the lights off though. at any rate this combo is sweet, kinda like a 118 plasma with a price tag nearer the sales tax of something like that. now i am waiting on my lg 4135 tv tuner with built in dvr, cant wait to get local hd, only nbc & abc for now but cbs & fox come in january.

No HD on Fox yet? How you be livin n$%#? That's a Samuel L. Jackson retort. All that football and no HD to go. 118 inches is good. That darn great Optoma Graywolf is maxed out at 106". But darn is it good.

Here we got all the major networks in HD and PBS too. Sorry, but all these Optoma people going crazy watching the same few DVDs endlessly is just not even up to snuff. Okay, Sin City maybe but good HD, forgeddaboutit.

CSI, Monday Night Football, etc., DVD doesn't touch good HD. I don't even know how some folks with this great projector even manage. You just can't get the real value out of these extraordinary pjs without sufficent HD, IMHO.

HD, yeah Godspeed. Rome on HBO. WoW! That's what I'm talkin.

amen to HD i cant wait for my LG tuner w/ dvr to get here, I already have the xg91 from antennaes direct,(appearantly the sattellite & cable HD feeds are compressed & the over the air feeds are wide open, so the HD is supposed to be far better, it is hard to imagine a picture better than a well mastered DVD, which currently beets cable HD) and i am only 30 miles from the towers so the NBC & ABC HD for free should be SWEEEET on the Optoma.

amen to HD i cant wait for my LG tuner w/ dvr to get here, I already have the xg91 from antennaes direct,(appearantly the sattellite & cable HD feeds are compressed & the over the air feeds are wide open, so the HD is supposed to be far better, it is hard to imagine a picture better than a well mastered DVD, which currently beets cable HD) and i am only 30 miles from the towers so the NBC & ABC HD for free should be SWEEEET on the Optoma.

Seen quite a few pictures mastered better than any dvd....its called DVHS...and in most cases..the sound quality is also better ;)

Do you have a model number for the LG?
Guess its time to sell my 4200a.

rks,

Contact Jason here at AVS
585-454-1460 Xtn 10
Tell him scottyb sent you.

Scott

Wow, thanks for dissin' me Scott:rolleyes:!!! After all I've done on these Optoma threads!!!

(Just kidding of course;), feel free to contact anyone here at AVS for your sales needs!!!)

Seen quite a few pictures mastered better than any dvd....its called DVHS...and in most cases..the sound quality is also better ;)
...


I second that earz, DVHS is light years ahead of DVD!!!

I was in the same boat a few weeks back but I got an unbelievable deal on the H79. I am very Happy I went with it. I am sure I would have been Happy with the 78DC3 but I will never know since I went with the 79. After watching Star Wars Episode3 lastnite, I don't really care. It looked like HD to me anyway. Oh, and I also third Earz, DTHEATER is the BEST. I own 92 titles and we still enjoy watching them. I miss the new releases, and since the format has past on, I have been buying very few movies...

Guys, Just an update and a call for assistance.......

I think I am now having issues with my H79's DVI input. I am starting to see the exact same panning and breakup issues with horizontal pans that I had on my old H77. I did not see this until recently and I immediately noticed it.

I play the exact same scenes via analog RGBHV and YUV and it is 95% non-existent.

What do you think the problem is? I notice this now with anything input to the DVI input, HDTV, DVD, etc.

If anyone has the new Star Wars EpIII DVD you can easily see it in the Disc 2 Deleted scenes section, deleted scene number four, Confronting the Chancellor or some such. It's when Padme' stands up to leave near the end of the scene, says something to Palpatine, then turns to the left (her right) then walks away. Her face edges break up terribly and turns to mush EXACTLY like the initial panning issues with the H77.

If someone else that has an H79 (like joerod since his is almost new:D) can test out this and other scenes and give me their feedback I'd appreciate it immensely:)!!!

We watched it lastnite and did not see any Panning effects at all. I did not put in disc two but I will tonite. Is it possible that disc two could be bad???

"I think I am now having issues with my H79's DVI input. I am starting to see the exact same panning and breakup issues with horizontal pans that I had on my old H77. I did not see this until recently and I immediately noticed it."

Calm down Dave, it could be just one of them unwanted flashbacks. :)

They only way DVI could be sent off tilt is if it's bypassing the Ti/H79 protocal flashed into the DMD controller chip. It can't happen :)

Take a look at Chap 28 FOTR Journey in the Dark. If it's a Wavy contouring mess then you have an H77 without the upgrade. ;)

Tom,

Did ya get my PM?

Scott

I got it saved.

Boy, this whole HT thing can eat your lunch. I've become addicted to this forum, yet can't decide on which pj I'll buy in a few months. That is probably not so bad since it appears that there will be some significant additions to the market that could cause 'higher end' pj's to become more affordable to my budget.

Here's my quandry:

So far the only place I've been able to see projectors in action is Home Theater Store in Arlington, TX. The least expensive unit they showed was $30k, 10-15x over our budget.

That said, I'm reading and searching like a madman, trying to decide what pj will provide a great picture of 110-120" diag, 16:9 in a totally light controlled room, first row viewing at approx 14'. We have a Samsung HD-850, Dish Network HD receiver, VHS, currently PS2 with hopes of PS3 and Xbox 360. My wife says we should go for affordability on this first pj and plan on upgrading in a few years. But I'm a guy!

Our budget is $2-$3k max.

I'm not sure which technology to go with; LCD or DLP. I know there are pros and cons of each, but finding a place to view either is a royal pain. I thought the D/FW area would have more resources, but itseems like any HT source I find the H79 is the low end I can view and that even is not in the budget.

A couple of weeks ago, I had just about decided the H78 was my choice, hoping that prices would fall by our purchase timeline of 1Q '06. But after reading many of the Optoma realated threads, it sounds like I would need to spend additional money to have it properly claibrated, possibly upgraded for latest firmware or something else, and even then I'm not sure of RBE being an issue. Also, there seem to be a fair number of QC issues relating to Optoma's.

Now I've read the H79 vs Z4 review which makes me wonder about one of the LCD pj's like the Z4, Panny AE900, Epson 550, etc. that will be available in the next few months.

Plus there are the H72 rumors milling about.

I don't want to buy a pj and immediately find out I need a scaler to dump another $1k+ into.

This is driving me nuts and I can't seem t find a source in the D/FW area where I can preview these things without it being a several hour one-way drive.

Any ideas on how to make a decison without ending up wearing one of those jackets where I'll be hugging myself? Has anyone bought a demo pj? I've seen a couple of places with H78DC3 on demo pricing, with warranty, authorized dealers.

Thanks. I'm venting frustration.

Jerry

Boy, this whole HT thing can eat your lunch. I've become addicted to this forum, yet can't decide on which pj I'll buy in a few months. That is probably not so bad since it appears that there will be some significant additions to the market that could cause 'higher end' pj's to become more affordable to my budget.

Here's my quandry:

So far the only place I've been able to see projectors in action is Home Theater Store in Arlington, TX. The least expensive unit they showed was $30k, 10-15x over our budget.

That said, I'm reading and searching like a madman, trying to decide what pj will provide a great picture of 110-120" diag, 16:9 in a totally light controlled room, first row viewing at approx 14'. We have a Samsung HD-850, Dish Network HD receiver, VHS, currently PS2 with hopes of PS3 and Xbox 360. My wife says we should go for affordability on this first pj and plan on upgrading in a few years. But I'm a guy!

Our budget is $2-$3k max.

I'm not sure which technology to go with; LCD or DLP. I know there are pros and cons of each, but finding a place to view either is a royal pain. I thought the D/FW area would have more resources, but itseems like any HT source I find the H79 is the low end I can view and that even is not in the budget.

A couple of weeks ago, I had just about decided the H78 was my choice, hoping that prices would fall by our purchase timeline of 1Q '06. But after reading many of the Optoma realated threads, it sounds like I would need to spend additional money to have it properly claibrated, possibly upgraded for latest firmware or something else, and even then I'm not sure of RBE being an issue. Also, there seem to be a fair number of QC issues relating to Optoma's.

Now I've read the H79 vs Z4 review which makes me wonder about one of the LCD pj's like the Z4, Panny AE900, Epson 550, etc. that will be available in the next few months.

Plus there are the H72 rumors milling about.

I don't want to buy a pj and immediately find out I need a scaler to dump another $1k+ into.

This is driving me nuts and I can't seem t find a source in the D/FW area where I can preview these things without it being a several hour one-way drive.

Any ideas on how to make a decison without ending up wearing one of those jackets where I'll be hugging myself? Has anyone bought a demo pj? I've seen a couple of places with H78DC3 on demo pricing, with warranty, authorized dealers.

Thanks. I'm venting frustration.

Jerry

like you i read all the optoma qc issues, but i also read all the optoma hype on avs. My budget was similar to yours (initially) because i had hopes of a 1080p projector in a year or 2. However after demoing the Marantz vp 12s3 then reading how similar the h79 was to the new marantz vp12s4 (the newer version of the vp12s3), i decided on the optoma sight unseen. I was taking a chance and hoping for the best. But when i got this thing in i fired it up on the wall, no screen, and it looked great. Now i have a carada 118 inch brilliant white screen in a fully light controlled room, and it is better that my old mitsubishi 73 inch wide screen hd rear projection unit, infact it is better than my current 50 inch pioneer plasma.

now that the new is wearing off (ie: i am getting over the 4 grand i spent on the pj) i am considering a lumengen scaler or maybe wait for the new gennum scaler to get a little less pricey. As far as dvd goes no picture quality issues, but standard def cable lacks something to be desired,. however the theater doc is hooking me up with an LG hd, ntsc tv tunner, which should make standard def ota look very nice and it will give me uncompressed ota hd (i only get ABC,& NBC in HD, BUT HEY MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL)

Long story short, if you can justify the little extra for an h78 or 79, i think you will be happy for a long time, and every couple of years you can spend a grand in scalers or other high tech toys to improve it a little. We are probably 10 years away from 1080p broadcasts and 3 years away from wide distribution of 1080p dvd so no need for all the extra money for the 1080p units. Plus by Q1 06 the 78 will probably be very close to your budget, optoma is close to announcing new models from what i have read.

Boy, this whole HT thing can eat your lunch. I've become addicted to this forum, yet can't decide on which pj I'll buy in a few months. That is probably not so bad since it appears that there will be some significant additions to the market that could cause 'higher end' pj's to become more affordable to my budget.

Here's my quandry:

So far the only place I've been able to see projectors in action is Home Theater Store in Arlington, TX. The least expensive unit they showed was $30k, 10-15x over our budget.

That said, I'm reading and searching like a madman, trying to decide what pj will provide a great picture of 110-120" diag, 16:9 in a totally light controlled room, first row viewing at approx 14'. We have a Samsung HD-850, Dish Network HD receiver, VHS, currently PS2 with hopes of PS3 and Xbox 360. My wife says we should go for affordability on this first pj and plan on upgrading in a few years. But I'm a guy!

Our budget is $2-$3k max.

I'm not sure which technology to go with; LCD or DLP. I know there are pros and cons of each, but finding a place to view either is a royal pain. I thought the D/FW area would have more resources, but itseems like any HT source I find the H79 is the low end I can view and that even is not in the budget.

A couple of weeks ago, I had just about decided the H78 was my choice, hoping that prices would fall by our purchase timeline of 1Q '06. But after reading many of the Optoma realated threads, it sounds like I would need to spend additional money to have it properly claibrated, possibly upgraded for latest firmware or something else, and even then I'm not sure of RBE being an issue. Also, there seem to be a fair number of QC issues relating to Optoma's.

Now I've read the H79 vs Z4 review which makes me wonder about one of the LCD pj's like the Z4, Panny AE900, Epson 550, etc. that will be available in the next few months.

Plus there are the H72 rumors milling about.

I don't want to buy a pj and immediately find out I need a scaler to dump another $1k+ into.

This is driving me nuts and I can't seem t find a source in the D/FW area where I can preview these things without it being a several hour one-way drive.

Any ideas on how to make a decison without ending up wearing one of those jackets where I'll be hugging myself? Has anyone bought a demo pj? I've seen a couple of places with H78DC3 on demo pricing, with warranty, authorized dealers.

Thanks. I'm venting frustration.

Jerry

No matter what you buy.....you will be behind the curve shortly....so pick your poison.

My poison was the H-78....but wharever you buy, enjoy it and forget about the latest greatest until its upgrade time again...which is about every 3-4 months around here :D

I would agree that the H78DC3 is probably the safest bet right now. It's priced right in lieu of what's around the corner (1080P). It is plain foolish to drop big bucks right now on a 720 unit. To be able to have this kind of performance for under $4K is great. I bought my H78 blindly, and have zero regrets.

The best poison agreed is the H78. I got it closer to 3K if you count the free lamp that came with the deal. The price has gone back up again on that special although the free lamp is still part of it.

If you can barely spend 2k, then that's out. You need a screen too but Optoma saves the day again with a crazy great gray screen perfect for the new LCDs, the Graywolf. It's dirt cheap with great performance.

I dived in last year with the AE700. It was great the first year in the pj game. The Optoma is a great step up but I expect that for many the Z4 will be perfect and many also will do well with the AE900.

There's really no point in mucking over this endlessly. The 1080p projectors will be out before there's much material available. By the time that catches up you'll be into the second third generation of them.

So why wait? Either beg, borrow, steal for the H78 or go with the new LCD releases. If not, then Optoma is releasing what will probably be a fine lower priced competitor the H72 with Brilliant Color for a range between the two.

Any of you using the SR CP2 screen? Tom, have you tested the H79 with this screen?

Anyone know if the replacement bulbs for the H-79,78,77 are all the same bulb or not?

I know the H77 and 79 are. Not sure at the moment whether the H78 is the same.

We watched it lastnite and did not see any Panning effects at all. I did not put in disc two but I will tonite. Is it possible that disc two could be bad???

Joe,

It's not a bad disc 2. As I said, I notice it on EVERYTHING being sent to the DVI input now:(!!! HD, SD, scaled SD, etc., etc., etc. The ONLY thing that sort of alleviates it a little is if I use a 72Hz refresh rate for DVD, but of course that doesn't help with HD:mad:

This is a new thing, believe me. I have been very wary of the Optomas after seeing that terrible motion on the H77 and it's the VERY FIRST thing I checked out when I got the new H79, which when it was new did not exhibit this issue!!!

....The only way DVI could be sent off tilt is if it's bypassing the Ti/H79 protocal flashed into the DMD controller chip. It can't happen :)

I wouldn't be too sure about that Tom, how do we know it can't happen??? In my book in electronics anything can happen:rolleyes:

Take a look at Chap 28 FOTR Journey in the Dark. If it's a Wavy contouring mess then you have an H77 without the upgrade. ;)

Already did, and MANY other scenes. They are a wavy, broken up nightmare now:mad:

I sent an email twice to Optoma in the last two days and haven't heard a thing from them. I think I am starting to piss them off because I keep finding these issues with their H7x line:D!!! I think I am having other problems too because I keep getting a LAMP FAIL red LED with the blue POWER button flashing. It usually happens when I first start it up so I have to recycle to get it to come on, but it has now happened at other times. I am starting to think there's something wrong with this thing and that's what caused my first lamp to fail prematurely:(

I guess my demo room will be worthless for another weekend:rolleyes:!!!

Joe,

It's not a bad disc 2. As I said, I notice it on EVERYTHING being sent to the DVI input now:(!!! HD, SD, scaled SD, etc., etc., etc. The ONLY thing that sort of alleviates it a little is if I use a 72Hz refresh rate for DVD, but of course that doesn't help with HD:mad:

This is a new thing, believe me. I have been very wary of the Optomas after seeing that terrible motion on the H77 and it's the VERY FIRST thing I checked out when I got the new H79, which when it was new did not exhibit this issue!!!

I have also had zero panning issues on my 78....but perhaps I am not very sensitive to this issue.
Isn't there something in the service menu that helped this a bit on the 77?

I still do not believe it's a "sensitive to this" issue, like the rainbow effect or something. If it is pointed out to you, I find it VERY hard to believe anyone that's not blind can't see it:rolleyes: I think it was maybe more of a QC issue where some of them just didn't exhibit the problem.

Anyone have an H79 near Central PA that I can go check out:rolleyes:?!?!?!?

I still do not believe it's a "sensitive to this" issue, like the rainbow effect or something. If it is pointed out to you, I find it VERY hard to believe anyone that's not blind can't see it:rolleyes: I think it was maybe more of a QC issue where some of them just didn't exhibit the problem.

Probably true Dave...thats why I said perhaps ;)

Sorry if I offended you earz (real name???). That wasn't my intention. It was more aimed at the discussion we had about the H77 months ago.

Maybe something's weird with the power in this thing and it's frying the lamp and it fried the DVI chip...who knows:confused:?!?!?!?

Sorry if I offended you earz (real name???). That wasn't my intention. It was more aimed at the discussion we had about the H77 months ago.

Real name is Greg....and no offense taken.
The only things I don't like about the H -78 model after 350 hours is the need to re-sync video brightness every time I turn it on or switch sources which seems like a design flaw to me.....well that and I already am thinking of selling it while its still worth something....to save up for a 1080p pj :D

This would mean using my back up 4805 all winter though which might be ok for dvd.....not sure how DVHS would look as I never tried it on the 4805.

I got to stay out of this forum ....or something ;)

Yes, this habit's very addictive!!! How do you think I got in the biz? I used to be in broadcast Radio and TV, then I found the "Dark Side";)!!!

When I got my H78 I immediately noticed that the horizontal panning was not as "good" as reported here, I am glad to see that I am not the only one.

It is the type of artifact that you can "ignore" It seems if you are relaxed just "watching" it is not that bad. But if you focus your attention on the a backrounds in scenes and let it pan you'll see it. But that really isn't how you watch a movie or content is it? Kinda like shaking your head like a fool and complaining about rainbows when they appear under those circumstances.


Tom..I guess Dave has a "problem" too :)

Actualy Dave, I don't think your unit has electronic issues causing this, I think it was there, you just "found it" kinda like those SIRDS that were the fad in the early 90s, you stare and stare, then all of a sudden BOOM there it is and that's all you see.


If I had to grade the H7X series on panning as a whole it would be a 6.5-7.0 at best.

If it were not for the strong color and analog CRT vibe of picture I would be bummed.

It's like a good magic trick and the shift of attention is done with a nice presentation of everything else besides the motion.

I wish the SM had an option for color wheel speed ala the HC2000, because I don't see rainbows.

I wonder if the extra 2 segments and 5x wheel make for a situation where the mirrors are lagging.

I would trade some saturation for a diminished blurring effect.

That and user stored accessible "presets" within each input would make this guy perfect for me for the next few years.

TJ

Tom..I guess Dave has a "problem" too :)

Actualy Dave, I don't think your unit has electronic issues causing this, I think it was there, you just "found it" kinda like those SIRDS that were the fad in the early 90s, you stare and stare, then all of a sudden BOOM there it is and that's all you see...

TJ

TJ,

That is definitley not the case here. I saw this issue back when I had my H77 and felt it was a major defect, so when I went back to Optoma and the H79, this was the VERY FIRST thing I looked for and for me, it's easy to see. It certainly wasn't there when I first tested this unit, but it sort of popped up out of nowhere. I especially notice it when watching HD football, and that's where I saw it again:(.

As a matter of fact, I was watching my poor Eagles get spanked again last night and I had the firewire from my 6412 going to my JVC DVHS for recording, so I was watchiing the analog YPbPr outputs of the DHVS. The image was simply stunning and the panning defect was ~97% not there!!! When I switched over to the 6412's DVI out to the H79, BANG...there it was in all it's ugly glory:mad:

I think it definitely has something to do with the straight digital connection vs going thru analog to digital conversion, i.e. - maybe the chip is bad or something or maybe the scaler's kickin' in even though it is set to native and the input is 720P.

As I said, I am also getting a lamp fail LED intermittently again and I had a bulb go bad a little while ago also, so maybe there's a power problem that is affecting the DVI chip or something in that path as well as the lamp???

I am going to try to go to one of my client's house not too far from here that recently bought an H79 from me here at AV Science. I will see if his exhibits this issue or not, then go from there.

If you could compare your H78's analog BNC input to the DVI input on the same source for me that would be a great help, thanks!!! Make sure to use the same resolution, etc. but just change the input.

I've not read all the thread regarding your panning problem Dave, but I wonder if it's either color wheel related or DVI being in PC levels instead of video levels related.

If you press DVI to select the input, it should then be at video levels. If you press resyinc, it goes to PC levels. Try both and see if that changes the panning at all.

Then try adjusting the CWI and see if that can improve it. Does the banding occur with bright lights in dark backgrounds as well? If so you should eb able to pause a banding image and adjust the CWI accordingly (you've probably done all that before though with the 77).

Maybe it could be the source? Is it all sources in DVI?

Gary.

Yes, yes, yes and yes. I have tried all of those things and then some. It happens on EVERY source through DVI. Thanks for the tips though. I am sure it will help some new people coming on board now if they see this and haven't followed the previous threads.

Of course Optoma hasn't responded to a single call or email as of yet and I've been trying since last week:rolleyes:

Hi Dave,

I figured you would have done all of the above but thought it doesn't hurt to mention things again in case it's been forgotten. Sorry to hear you're having this problem.

I'm real curious as to why this has started to happen. It can't be the cable can it? Something reducing the bitrate maybe? Pure guesses I'm afraid but this is a bit of a baffler isn't it...

Gary

Gary,

No, it isn't the cable either. I have tried different DVD players that were connected directly under the H79 with a small 6' DVI cable and it exhibited the same issue.

That said, I think I "may" have stumbled on the cause. I have an old Bravo D1 DVI DVD player. When I got my new plasma, I wanted to hook it up to that system via DVI since the plasma doesn't have HDCP support, but does have DVI, so that's why I decided to go with the Bravo D1 since it also doesn't have HDCP. Well, when I tried to hook it up, the D1 would lock up and even when I turned it off and unplugged it, the blue light around the jog dial would remain lit:eek: So I deduced that it was getting power from somewhere (after of course thinking that the D1 was bad), so I knew that DVI has a pin that carries power (5V), so I unplugged that and the power went completely off of the D1 and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I tried to figure out a solution to this issue, then realized that I had one of these ( http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=1378 ) in stock from Gefen, the DVI Detective for another solution I was working on a year or so ago. I knew it didn't require the 5V power supply for sources that supplied the 5V thru the connector, so I connected it to the plasma and lo and behold, it got power and lit the LED on the unit. So then I connected it to the D1, which also supplied power to the DVI Detective, without the plasma connected. So I was thinking that that dueling power between the two sources was screwing up the D1 when I connected them directly together (plasma and D1). I hooked this DVI Detective device between the two and then all was fine, so I gathered that the Gefen unit isolated both 5V supplies and then made everything honky dorey. It's the only way that these two units work together.

So, to get to my point, when I tried hooking up the D1 to the plasma to check to see if this combo exhibited this panning issue and I remembered that these two required the DVI Detective between the two in order to work so it gave me an idea....as I thought that there was a wierd power issue with the H79, maybe, just maybe the power coming in from the DVI input was the culprit with the H79 panning issue:confused:???

So I of course hooked up the DVI Detective between the Gefen Switcher I have and the H79. I did this right before I watched the MNF game last night in 720p HD. I didn't have time to do extensive testing yet, but I definitely think I saw an improvement in the motion/panning and wasn't getting the image pixeling/breakup that I saw recently. In other words..."Manning wasn't panning", badly anyway........(sorry, couldn't resist;)!!!) I will try to get some time today to test this theory out further and report back.

What I did think happened was that the "dueling 5V power" on the DVI input "may" have affected the chip and screwed up it's programming, as well as possibly leaking it's 5V from the DVI input onto the MB and screwing up the lamp's logic also????

I will also check into more info involving power from DVI. Is it supposed to be just on the source device....the display...both...??? If both, then why can't I hook up the Bravo D1 directly to this plasma's DVI input without the need for the Gefen DVI Detective:confused:??? Me thinks there may be manufacturer confusion going on here...again:(!!!

I advise ANYONE connecting the H79 to a DVI source to check to see which ones are supplying 5V power thru the DVI connector and if they are I think they should be isolated so as not to cause any issues and possible input chip damage:eek:

As fate would have it, I literally just got off the phone to place an order for an H78, which I thought after mucho research was the way to go. This latest issue was unknown to me and now I'm not sure I want to spend close to 4k for something with pan issues. My main viewing will be sports.

'tis not good

Shane

Shane,

I would NOT be hesitant to get the H78 or 79. If you read my post above you can see that I think it's something external to the Optoma. If it is an issue, one of these Gefen DVI Detectives only runs about $70 and I will see if I can get better pricing for anyone that has an Optoma DLP or any other display bought from AVS with this possible DVI issue. We are a dealer for Gefen, so it shouldn't be too hard to do this. I would just need approval thru Alan.

If you want to save ~$70, you could also just remove the pin that carries the 5V from the DVI connector. I have heard that others have needed to do this for various reasons, one of which may be the same as this one. I just don't know enough about it now to comment fully.

The H78DC3 and the H79 in my opinion are still the absolute best price/performance value in HT projectors today:)!!!

Wow, I just found this http://forum.gefen.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=420 on the Gefen Forums. I wonder if they are related?!?!?!? I'll have to check out this DTV HD-TiVo HDMI issue further. I see that the HDMI input board of the HR-250 was going bad. I wonder if it's because of the 5V coming thru the DVI/HDMI connectors that's blowing the HDMI input boards:confused:??? Maybe this is what's happening to my H79?

Getting my H78DC3 in on Friday...anyone in Houston, TX who does good ISF calibration? Appreciate your help on this. Thanks!

I personally think you will be better off with the H78, but that's my opinion FWIW:rolleyes:

Dave, thanks for the advice, I went ahead and took it after I tested the AE900 at home (really bought it already to keep it but did not work out so I am sending it back) and I was not thrilled with the softness of the image on my 110" screen. The colors on it were great though even just from the presets out of the box, better with some tweaking but I could not get myself to like it enough viewing HD sources to keep it since there was a softness to the image that I just could not get used to. I missed the sharpness I was used to on my older projector for viewing HD content though DVD viewing was very good on it. So now I am looking forward to the H78DC3 and hope to be thrilled with it after some tweaking. I will use Avia first and possibly hire an ISF person to calibrate it properly later on if necessary.

That's great to hear nino:)!!! I think you will like the H78, despite my nit picking;)!!! I tend to get anal about things, so the things I seem to complain about don't seem to bother others.

Thanks for the input. I'm still banging my head against the wall trying to find any place with pj's under $20k to view so I can make an informed decision.

I am still leaning towards the H78 and since I'm still 3-5 months away, hopefully the H72 will be out or the H78 price will come down due to higher end offerings.

One reason I am hesitant on the H78 is what I've read about RBE. Having never seen it since I've only seen a couple of $20k-$30 and one $250k pj's for a few minutes, I don't know if I or anyone else in the family will be affected. I don't want to spend that much money, have issues with RBE and either be stuck with something we can't watch or face a substantial restocking fee.

Also the panning issue concerns me as this will also be used for HD sports watching; NFL, NHL. I have real issues with spending nearly $4k and then having to send it somewhere else, spend more money for firmware upgrades, calibration, etc. I understand the calibration using Avia or such being necessary, but from this forum it sounds like the Optoma's nedd more than that. Or is it just the seriously anal videophiles that go to this extreme?

Not trying to be offensive, just searching for info to make a good decision and not have buyers remorse.

Thanks
Jerry

"Also the panning issue concerns me as this will also be used for HD sports watching; NFL, NHL"

I don't know where this panning talk popped up from (Dave) :) It's kind of ridiculous, it's already been confirmed many times the Optoma H79 and I assume the H78 DC3 are about as good as it gets at eliminating the typical 1 chip dither effect panning.

Now take a look at the Toshiba 700, BenqQ, Sharp Z2000 which all have know very poor abilities at handling 1chip dither panning. The H77 also but that's a pre Upgrade H77. After the H79 protocal upgade the H77 reacts very much like the H79.

They shouldn't bring the H78/H79 into that category at all. To give you one example, Thirdkind who has had many HD machines is a stickler for this dither/panning thing. He put the H79 right up there and more so at being the best at panning over his favorite the Sharp Z12000. He's had the Seleco and some others that didn't fair so well.

Bruno's tested the other models, the Z2000, Tosh 700, Benq. He's also stated after the H79 protocal upgrade on the H77 that his H77 was all fixed up, no more panning issues.

Dave started this whole miss information, I think he's narrowed it down a little. If you read he stated his H79 was super fine when he got it. Now he thinks it might be some source problem fouling up his DVI input. Fix it up Dave you're starting a panic frenzy on an awesome machine. ;)

Yeah Dave. Stop that. :). I have a H79, I had the H77. My H79 does not have any panning issues at all. It hasn't any issues for that matter, with the AV-RS232 controller a Lumagen HDP, a Panamorph 752 anamorphic lens, and on my 110" Firehawk, it's a beautiful thing.

But alas, I want a light cannon. I'll be putting my H79 setup up for sale soon. I'm lusting for a 2.35:1 screen and a 3 chip DLP now that they are streeting way under MSRPs of $15k. I'm in the camp that likes Bright, adn high contrast, that's why I have the H79 now. And mine dosen't have any panning issues. It's only fed via DVI, originally by a Denon 3910, now by the Lumagen.

Cheers, Scott

3chip 1080p would be nice. I'll be getting what ever Optoma is offering in the 1chip 1080p line probably. Hopefully it will have high brightness and an auto-Iris w/analog control also.

You know I started a thread sometime back, "why not an HD 4.3 projector". Looks to me I got my wish. The 1280X768 chip will do full screen 4.3 and Cinema 16.9. Very tempting for my large 4.3 DVD inventory. I still have a 120" 4.3 screen around somewhere. Could be the end of my HT1000 affliction.

3chip 1080p would be nice. I'm talking about 3 chip 720 DLP. I measured the C3X and Infocus 777 at around 1800 lumens last weekend. That's about 50FtL on a 110 matt white screen, 62FtL on a Firehawk. With contrast to boot. Yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about. It would be a nice problem to *need* a ND filter :):) But it's still pricey and soon to be outdated. I like it anyway :). If I don't have to eat too much on my 79 setup :eek:

I'm interested know if you guys are watching DTV High-Def through component or DVI/HDMI. I used HDMI for my DVD player, and component for TV, on my Infocus 7200.

I'm getting an H79 this weekend so I'm looking forward to all this joy around here.

I'm interested know if you guys are watching DTV High-Def through component or DVI/HDMI. I used HDMI for my DVD player, and component for TV, on my Infocus 7200.

I'm getting an H79 this weekend so I'm looking forward to all this joy around here.

Just remember the H79 only has 1 dvi input so you will need a switcher or alot of patience for all those hd inputs

Just remember the H79 only has 1 dvi input so you will need a switcher or alot of patience for all those hd inputs

So I'm betting most dedicate that one input to DVD, then go component for broadcast?

HDTV looks great over component or DVI, I really couldn't see a hugh difference between them. So for convienence I run HDTV and a D-VHS deck switching thru the receiver w/component and sent at 1080i, because the D-VHS deck is 1080i. 1080i HD is grayscale tuned with the Accupel. On DVI i run several players, a Pany S97, Oppo Digital & Bravo D2, been using the S97 lately.

Some members use DVI switching with their receiver or Geffen switcher and send 720p from the receiver. I don't know if this is true but a member did state that the Pixelworks scaler prefers 1080i over 720p.

Just remember the H79 only has 1 dvi input so you will need a switcher or alot of patience for all those hd inputs

Or just get splitters. I have one for DVI and one for component. Mostly because I am feeding 2 projectors.

Before you fork out $400 for a DVI switch, look at the Lumagen HDP. It has 2 DVI in (+ other inputs) transcodes all to 1 DVI out, thus it's a DVI switch and then some. Then for a relatively small incremental increase over a DVI switch you get a high end scaler, too. No more H7x resyncing with it either.

Does the H79 come with a DVI to HDMI adapter?

Dave started this whole miss information, I think he's narrowed it down a little. If you read he stated his H79 was super fine when he got it. Now he thinks it might be some source problem fouling up his DVI input. Fix it up Dave you're starting a panic frenzy on an awesome machine. ;)

Tom, you've got a lot of guts sitting there on the other side of the country in your cigar shop calling it "miss information" ("miss" spelled by the way, is that Mr. Information's daughter:D?!?!?!). Have you actually seen my issue on my DVI input??? Are you so talented you can troubleshoot electronics from thousands of miles away? As I said, when I initially got the H79 it didn't have this issue and it just popped up recently.

You couldn't even see the original panning artifact on the H77, so how are you to judge it or fix it??? Just for once I'd like to see you take off those rose colored Optoma glasses. Sure, these are excellent machines for the money and as I said probably the best bang for the buck in price/performance, but they are far from perfect as is anything else in this price range. I LOVE my H79, when it works right of course;)!!!

I have been in this business a long time, I think I can handle this one myself, but thanks for the "expert" advice.:rolleyes:

Does the H79 come with a DVI to HDMI adapter?

Yes, it does.

If I were to use a long HDMI/HDMI cable to connect the OPPO 971H DVD player to the H78DC3/H79 , would it be okay to use this cable/adapter combo?

Oppo (DVI + DVI to HDMI connector) + HDMI cable (16.4 feet) + (Optoma supplied DVI to HDMI adapter) to H78DC3/H79 DVI port.

I know there's too many adapters in there but I bought the long HDMI cable previously to work with an HDMI port equipped projector which I had to send back so I have to make use of it. I assume this should be fine and the answer is "Yes" but don't know if there's any degradation (I suppose not since it's passing digital signals anyway) or electrical pin connector issues I need to be aware of. Just trying to be safe, have the best PQ and not fry the projector out of the box. I also intend to connect this to a GEFEN 3x1 or 4x2 HDMI switcher (Dave, you sell these, right?) with my sources being HD-Tivo 250, Oppo (this will connect via Oppo's supplied DVI to HDMI cable to the Gefen switch when I get the switch in) and an HTPC...the 4x2 is for me to switch between the Optoma and a 50" Plasma set for TV viewing.

Thanks for your help!

Tom, you've got a lot of guts sitting there on the other side of the country in your cigar shop calling it "miss information" ("miss" spelled by the way, is that Mr. Information's daughter:D?!?!?!). Have you actually seen my issue on my DVI input??? Are you so talented you can troubleshoot electronics from thousands of miles away? As I said, when I initially got the H79 it didn't have this issue and it just popped up recently.

You couldn't even see the original panning artifact on the H77, so how are you to judge it or fix it??? Just for once I'd like to see you take off those rose colored Optoma glasses. Sure, these are excellent machines for the money and as I said probably the best bang for the buck in price/performance, but they are far from perfect as is anything else in this price range. I LOVE my H79, when it works right of course;)!!!

I have been in this business a long time, I think I can handle this one myself, but thanks for the "expert" advice.:rolleyes:


Ahhh you took it the wrong way. You could see people were thinking they're all like that and canceling orders also. I had to make clear that it's just your H79 that fouled up.

OK, sorry for getting a little heated Tom.:( I am just getting frustrated at the situation. Yes, it appears that this may only be my unit, but I will test others to find out.

Just please don't call it "mis-information" when it certainly is not. I am having an issue with bad movement/panning only on the DVI input, that is NOT mis-information. That is FACT. If people see this for other than it is I apologize, but I feel I have been clear on my issue.

If I were to use a long HDMI/HDMI cable to connect the OPPO 971H DVD player to the H78DC3/H79 , would it be okay to use this cable/adapter combo?

Oppo (DVI + DVI to HDMI connector) + HDMI cable (16.4 feet) + (Optoma supplied DVI to HDMI adapter) to H78DC3/H79 DVI port.

I know there's too many adapters in there but I bought the long HDMI cable previously to work with an HDMI port equipped projector which I had to send back so I have to make use of it. I assume this should be fine and the answer is "Yes" but don't know if there's any degradation (I suppose not since it's passing digital signals anyway) or electrical pin connector issues I need to be aware of. Just trying to be safe, have the best PQ and not fry the projector out of the box. I also intend to connect this to a GEFEN 3x1 or 4x2 HDMI switcher (Dave, you sell these, right?) with my sources being HD-Tivo 250, Oppo (this will connect via Oppo's supplied DVI to HDMI cable to the Gefen switch when I get the switch in) and an HTPC...the 4x2 is for me to switch between the Optoma and a 50" Plasma set for TV viewing.

Thanks for your help!

Nino,

Yes, I sell those Gefen devices so let me know when you need it.

The DVI-HDMI adapters should work OK with no degradation. The only issue would be if you had signal loss too high that you would get the same effect as having a cable too long, like digital blocking, snow, sparklies, etc. so be on the lookout for that.

I recommend if you're running new wires for an installation and you need DVI/HDMI, always run HDMI and use adapters for DVI if you need it. It is a smaller connector for easier running and then you are also ready if you upgrade in the future to a display that has HDMI.

Hello all,
Been playing with my H79 for a few weeks now and i absolutely love this PJ.

Before i had a Sim2 300Xtra-H, which was about £7000 here in the UK. and while it was a great machine it did have some issues i found quite distracting with the overall image.
It amazes me that i can quit honestly say the H79 is a step up from this unit in terms of pic quality and it only cost £2600 here. Optics wise i see no difference in sharpness or clarity. There is more fine detail with the H79 as well.
Noise levels are a huge improvement, even in bright mode the H79 has less noise than my old Sim2, and i love how even in bright mode you can still have a very contrasty image.
The remote on the H79 is a little pesky but so was the Sim2 so i have not gained or lost there although the sim2 menu system was a little better as it did not fill almost the whole image.
There is a small amount of increased image noise but at present i am not sure if thats down to the S97 dvd player or the DC3 chip which i have been told could cause this.
I do miss having a HDMI input, and i whish the dam dvd-players would not force RGB, but small issues.

I would like a longer throw as well, H79 is a little too short for my liking. Its at 18ft approx for a 110" diag. the old Sim2 was at 23ft for the same image which was better for me.

Also i have had no problems with the H79. I have read all the complaints on its slow sync etc, but it is doing better than my Sim2 was in this regard so i am well happy, infact the sim2 would struggle to sync with the HDMI input and would forever display a Static Image and i would have to turn the dvd player on/off till it locked. So i would not be all that sad guys. No shut down issues and panning is so silky smooth

Down side is its ugly and its a bit big, and did i say its ugly! although now its on the ceiling it does blend out well.

All in all its fab and colours are brilliant and the red is is on par with the sim2 reds that get much praise. I like the extra contrast i now see as well, good to see a proper black (or closer to one at least).

Now when can i have a H81, as that seems to address some of my issues.?

Try the Mpeg noise reduction option the Panasonic has. I set mine to 1 or 2 accordingly.

I will give that a go but i have an pioneer 79avi on order, so will report more when thats installed in the system.

Has anybody had any problems with the projector displaying No Signal when connected throught DVI? I was just trying to hook up my new H78 through DVI and I couldn't get a signal from the Zenith DVB-318. The component cables worked. Any ideas that I could try?

barry

I've had no problems with several DVI upscadled players I have. Try checking source lock in the H79 menu system. Hit the remote till you see Digital/RGB on the screen readoutl. If no go it could be the cable isn't sending a strong enough signal, try a different or shorter cable.

I have had the H78 for a week now and I love it. I just replaced the Benq 7700 due to the bulb problem. When the Benq worked, I loved it and if it had never continued to fail, I would still be raving about it. As a first time projector owner, I could be easily pleased. I started by going to local stores and looking at demos. I knew that DLP was the way for me. The contrast is a definite improvement over the Benq. The dark scenes still show the detail and shadows, whereas the 7700 would simply show a large black/dark area (the dark scenes was my only complaint about Benq). The picture also seems to be cleaner, which may be due to the better contrast. HD is GREAT!!! and I have seen no panning issues. This projector performs as well as the demos that I have seen of much more expensive projectors.

I watched the latest Star Wars DVD on my H78 last night. WOW. Colors were vivid when needed and sublte when needed. This DVD looked closer to HD than about any other DVD I've watched (through one of the new cheap Sony upconverting DVD players). While watching the movie I started thinking that this is about as good as it gets. If I'd spent 3 times the price of the H78 on a 3-chipper, how much better would the viewing experience be? 5%?

AV Guide has a nice review of the H78 in their latest issue at http://www.avguide.com/index.jsp. You have to sign up, but the download is free after that. The reviewer thought the H78 compared favorably with a good CRT projector.

Love the pj. Just got one from Jason Turk, who has been a pleasure to deal with. I'm in sales, and I know a conscientious salesperson, and Jason is the opitome of that.

This is a tweaky damn thing, and I don't have the Cyborg 9000 set-up at the house, nor the ability to speak to this like so many of you. I do have persistence, and I took Guitarman's basic settings and worked from there.

I think I nailed it last night, or close to it. After tweaking from the 0 IRE point and enhanced/normal settings on my Denon 2910 to some frustration, I changed the IRE to 7.5 (which wasn't good on my previous pj) and used enhanced and voila, popping saturation and brilliant contrast.

I had a bunch of green push with Tom's settings on broadcast, and too much red on DVD. I finally tweaked those out without giving up on the other end. It'll take a month to get it right where I want it, but it's terrific now.

That, and the SV sub I got a little while back, have been great additions to my HT.

Love the pj. Just got one from Jason Turk, who has been a pleasure to deal with. I'm in sales, and I know a conscientious salesperson, and Jason is the opitome of that.

This is a tweaky damn thing, and I don't have the Cyborg 9000 set-up at the house, nor the ability to speak to this like so many of you. I do have persistence, and I took Guitarman's basic settings and worked from there.

I think I nailed it last night, or close to it. After tweaking from the 0 IRE point and enhanced/normal settings on my Denon 2910 to some frustration, I changed the IRE to 7.5 (which wasn't good on my previous pj) and used enhanced and voila, popping saturation and brilliant contrast.

I had a bunch of green push with Tom's settings on broadcast, and too much red on DVD. I finally tweaked those out without giving up on the other end. It'll take a month to get it right where I want it, but it's terrific now.

That, and the SV sub I got a little while back, have been great additions to my HT.

Hey is that SV an ultra II i am thinking of getting one my self

so, i've had my h78dc3 projector for a few weeks now and am enjoying it. but i'm new to all of this and so haven't changed any of the out of box settings...yet. i have an avia disc but haven't gotten around to doing anything with that yet either.

my question is whether anyone can point me to a link that walks me through the basics of tweaking this projector? i assume there is such a post, and if there isn't, i'd appreciate any basic advice as well.

fwiw, we use the projector in a light-controlled that has darkish beige walls. thanks,

tu

If you're willing to spend a couple hundred more bucks and have a laptop with Excel on it, buy a Spyder Pro Studio Suite and use one of the spreadsheets posted on the Calibration forum to calibrate the H78 based on measurements from the Spyder sensor. I did this and am very pleased with the results. You'll also need an AVIA calibration DVD (about $30 from most Best Buy stores).

The spreadsheet by Gary Rader is very easy to use, even for a novice. It includes several pages of basic instuctions.



so, i've had my h78dc3 projector for a few weeks now and am enjoying it. but i'm new to all of this and so haven't changed any of the out of box settings...yet. i have an avia disc but haven't gotten around to doing anything with that yet either.

my question is whether anyone can point me to a link that walks me through the basics of tweaking this projector? i assume there is such a post, and if there isn't, i'd appreciate any basic advice as well.

fwiw, we use the projector in a light-controlled that has darkish beige walls. thanks,

tu

am willing to go with the spyder package, but there seem to be a few different packages and it's not clear which one is the right one. there's a "datacolor spydertv" package, a "spyder2" package, and a "spyder2 studio pro 2.0" package. which one do i need? and any good tips on where to buy it (do they sell it through avs or one of the affiliated dealers)?

Ask over int eh Sryder thread in the calibration forum, you'll get a good objective answer there from those who have developed the things.

Has anybody had any problems with the projector displaying No Signal when connected throught DVI? I was just trying to hook up my new H78 through DVI and I couldn't get a signal from the Zenith DVB-318. The component cables worked. Any ideas that I could try?

barry

As soon as I plug in the DVI cable teh Optoma loses signal and the DVD player locks up, and I cant do anything but unplug the DVD player. Component works fine. It looks great but I was looking forward to the DVI upscaled to 720p.

One other thing that I had to laugh at was I had left the lens cap on and was watching Star wars III and was thinking "this looks pretty good" It is a bright projector right now. I need to tame it with DVE soon. After I get the DVI thing settled. I really need to figure out if it is the DVD player or the projector. I was hoping there was a DVI cable in the Optoma box, but no.

thanks
barry

Basic starting point is setting the Image area to -

zero white peak
color temp 2
TV (image choice

In the Picture menu -
Cinema
Gamma 1

Use Avia from there to tune the brightness, contrast and color. After all that take a look at a graysteps pattern and look for any color bias. Use the how to eyeball a better grayscale I put in the first post of several Optoma review threads, h79, h77, h31.

Major problem possibly.

I've got two faint vertical lines of stray light about a foot to the right and left of my screen coming from the lens. In dark scenes, they're quite noticeable.

Is this a setting item, or do I have a defective projector? And has anyone else experienced this? It's only about 10 hours old.

The only time I'll see light on the sides is if the projectors angled off or zoom is not tight on the screens border frame.

The only time I'll see light on the sides is if the projectors angled off or zoom is not tight on the screens border frame.

It's not that. The light is outside the border of the picture about a foot and a half.

Sounds odd, call the Optoma tech area.

I have a possible weird problem with my Home Theater set-up.
I have an H78DC3 connected VIA a 30 foot HDMI cable to a Denon 1920 player.
The cable installed in my ceiling was about 4 inches too short for where the projector hangs from my ceiling (bummer), so there is a 1 meter extender cable connected via HDMI plugs to the cable then connected to the projector using the Optoma provided HDMI - DVI plug.
The HDMI cables and HDMI connectors are made by Audioquest.
Here is the problem. The 1 meter extender cable has now been replaced THREE times in as many months. All of a sudden, I get no picture and the HDMI light on the DVD player flashes. As soon as I replace the 1 meter cable, its fine again. It could be that the cable was bad twice, but is probably unlikely.
Anyone heard of this?

As soon as I plug in the DVI cable teh Optoma loses signal and the DVD player locks up, and I cant do anything but unplug the DVD player. Component works fine. It looks great but I was looking forward to the DVI upscaled to 720p.

One other thing that I had to laugh at was I had left the lens cap on and was watching Star wars III and was thinking "this looks pretty good" It is a bright projector right now. I need to tame it with DVE soon. After I get the DVI thing settled. I really need to figure out if it is the DVD player or the projector. I was hoping there was a DVI cable in the Optoma box, but no.

thanks
barry

Barry,

I can almost guarantee 100% this is your issue too:) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6495148&&#post6495148 . That sounds ike the exact same thing that happens to my Bravo D1 when I try to hook it to my plasma's DVI.

Read the threads after that one too for some other follow-on advice. I can get you one if you need it?

I have a possible weird problem with my Home Theater set-up.
I have an H78DC3 connected VIA a 30 foot HDMI cable to a Denon 1920 player.
The cable installed in my ceiling was about 4 inches too short for where the projector hangs from my ceiling (bummer), so there is a 1 meter extender cable connected via HDMI plugs to the cable then connected to the projector using the Optoma provided HDMI - DVI plug.
The HDMI cables and HDMI connectors are made by Audioquest.
Here is the problem. The 1 meter extender cable has now been replaced THREE times in as many months. All of a sudden, I get no picture and the HDMI light on the DVD player flashes. As soon as I replace the 1 meter cable, its fine again. It could be that the cable was bad twice, but is probably unlikely.
Anyone heard of this?


It may be the same with yours too. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6495148&&#post6495148 . I think this problem is wider spread than many realize:rolleyes:

Phil, I got in my H78DC3 today and I know you were waiting for my feedback on it against the Panasonic AE900...all I can say is that the folks on this forum who talk about the H78/H79 do know what they are talking about. Not to rain on the AE900 owners out there or start a flame, but the DC3 DLP projectors are definitely in a separate league when it comes to picture quality, black levels, filmlike-quality, contrast ratio, shadow details, etc. You do get what you pay for and I am glad I was able to see both in my home to make my decision. For me, it is worth the extra $$$ so go for the more expensive H78DC3 if you can afford it. I was also fortunate enough not to be sensitive to the RBE that DLP has and this was my greatest fear/risk in going from LCD to DLP. I am not a first time projector owner and have seen many other models in the past 5 years I've had this hobby. I was amazed at what your money can buy you nowadays. This projector is a great value at this time, if not the best and should last you a long while until 3-chip 1080i DLPs come along and come down at the less than $5K prices. Hope this helps you in your buying decision...and thanks to all the AVSer's here who have provided their input on this model in one way or another, I am now a happy H78DC3 owner as well...

We told ya so! ;)

Enjoy!

Anyone know if the replacement bulbs for the H-79,78,77 are all the same bulb or not?

Yes, they are the same part number for all 3 models. I got my spare bulb in for the H78DC3 and it says H77/79...

It may be the same with yours too. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6495148&&#post6495148 . I think this problem is wider spread than many realize:rolleyes:

Hummm, could be the problem. The cable going into my DVD player is HDMI and this is where the device would need to go since the power is easily accessible and can be hidden. Is there an HDMI version? Or will I need to get more HDMI - DVI plugs :(

Major problem possibly.

I've got two faint vertical lines of stray light about a foot to the right and left of my screen coming from the lens. In dark scenes, they're quite noticeable.

Is this a setting item, or do I have a defective projector? And has anyone else experienced this? It's only about 10 hours old.

I have seen that on my H76. I have had the H76 RMA'd several times for other things :confused: and it is not projecting the stray light at this time. I don't know why it does it, but it might be related to lense shift or zoom. Try playing with either or both and see if it goes away. Otherwise call Optoma. They are helpful, though they are getting a bit too scripted these days.

Hummm, could be the problem. The cable going into my DVD player is HDMI and this is where the device would need to go since the power is easily accessible and can be hidden. Is there an HDMI version? Or will I need to get more HDMI - DVI plugs :(

I think it's DVI only, sorry:(!!!

For your H78 owners-- how do they do with sports for instance with some lights turned on? Is it bright enough? I love movies but sports-watching is definitely my top priority and many like lights on (but all dimmable). Will it still give you a good bright picture in this type of setting like a 7210 would?

Regards
Shane

My H79 has absolutely no problems with this with indirect lighting like sconces.

For your H78 owners-- how do they do with sports for instance with some lights turned on? Is it bright enough? I love movies but sports-watching is definitely my top priority and many like lights on (but all dimmable). Will it still give you a good bright picture in this type of setting like a 7210 would?

Regards
ShaneThis is about the screen, not the PJ. If you want some lights on, get a Firehawk or a supernova. SN is double the cost. If it was on your list, a HCCV does not compare in light rejection to the FH. I saw them in person side by side a few weeks ago.

Other than Lumens, the PJ isn't a factor here. The screen is. But, the H79 (same bulb) was brighter than a 300E, Marantz S3, but NOT as bright as a IF 7205/10. It will not compete in brightness against a 7210. And teh 7210 will not have the same pic in the dark as the H79 IMO.

HTH

For your H78 owners-- how do they do with sports for instance with some lights turned on? Is it bright enough? I love movies but sports-watching is definitely my top priority and many like lights on (but all dimmable). Will it still give you a good bright picture in this type of setting like a 7210 would?

Regards
Shane

I have watched lots of Football, some Basketball, a little Baseball and even 1 Nascar night race.....and wish I could get Hockey ota HD and can watch sports with some dim lights on with a gray screen....but a hi power from Da-lite or a Silverstar would be required if your looking for a plasma look....and /or are using lights.
I prefer the CRT look and usually watch in the dark...or close to dark.

I am in the process of buying my first home projector. I have spent endless nights reading reviews on-line and reading this forum. I think the H79 stands out as the best value in home theater projection, but the H78 seems like the same thing with a little less light output.

I am also planning on getting Vutec Silverstar 103" 16x9 screen.

Here are my questions...

1) Do I buy the H78 or H79?

2) What are your thoughts on the Vutec Silverstar screen with this projector? I have read nothing but rave reviews on this screen... but none so far used an Optoma projector!

H78 and if seating is not to side and allignment is good, then the ultra cheap and incredible Optoma gray screen, Graywolf. :)

You won't be sorry.

I am in the process of buying my first home projector. I have spent endless nights reading reviews on-line and reading this forum. I think the H79 stands out as the best value in home theater projection, but the H78 seems like the same thing with a little less light output.

I am also planning on getting Vutec Silverstar 103" 16x9 screen.

Here are my questions...

1) Do I buy the H78 or H79?

2) What are your thoughts on the Vutec Silverstar screen with this projector? I have read nothing but rave reviews on this screen... but none so far used an Optoma projector!

I would buy the 78....but your screen seems a bit small for such a high gain screen imo.
You may want to consider going with a larger Silverstar. 110-120"...or a screen with less gain.

You could P.M. joerod also as he owns an H-79 and Silverstar.....but he is a newlywed so probably doesn't spend much time here.

Wow thanks fellas. The H78 came in today. A full report forthcoming!

For your H78 owners-- how do they do with sports for instance with some lights turned on? Is it bright enough? I love movies but sports-watching is definitely my top priority and many like lights on (but all dimmable). Will it still give you a good bright picture in this type of setting like a 7210 would?

Regards
Shane

if you want to watch sports, you may want to consider dark walls ceiling, and floor coverings. this will not reflect the ambient light. I have an H79 w/ a carada brilliant white screen (118 inches) my room is 15x 20, I have 2 can lights in the back over the seating area, and 2 up front . If I turn the 2 in front off and leave the 2 in back on full, my picture is not washed out at all, but it is a little dimmer than full dark. Now my carpet, ceiling, & front wall are black, and my side walls & back wall are a dark red, I also have gold base & chair rail. Sounds tacky I know, but I do love my KC Chiefs (not really sure why though). I feel like I have the best of all worlds, I have the plasma look in full dark. I have a very nice picture with half light on (besides you only need light over the seating area for sports, up around the screen can be dark) all for about the cost of a rear projection big screen from BB.

I have brown walls, and I also painted my soffet brown as well. I have a darker industrial theater style type carpet. Anyway, I enjoy movies as much as sports. Liek this Thanksgiving, we have football plans (in HD) and then we plan to watch a Christmas movie or two. Probably the Polar Express for starters. I have 4 can lights on a dimmer as well. Two up front and two in the back area. Then I have two wall sconces on the back wall. When I have the back wall sconces on they tend to wash the picture out. The four can lights can be on at medium levels and do nothing to the picture...Hope this helps...

I'm interested in purchasing H78 from an AUTHORIZED dealer. Who is a good on-line merchant and has anyone seen this PJ in a store in the Philly area? Phil

Phillip,

Good luck finding one being demo'd in a local store... not that it could not happen, but it would be as easy as finding an honest politician!

However, our sponsors here at AVS do sell them! and I believe Dave Harper who works with AVS lives in the Philly area as luck would have it... at least he is a "die hard" Eagles fan, so he is probably close by.

Yes, I am a dealer for Optoma thru AVS here. I am also located sort of in the Philly area and have a demo room featuring an H79, so you will get a good indication of what it will look like.

I am in the far western edge of Lancaster County, almost exactly half way between Lancaster city and Harrisburg, in Elizabethtown. Feel free to call me anytime after 5PM when I am in the office. Right in the heart of Amish country, so I gotta watch those buggies:D!!!

And unfortunately for now.....I am a die-hard Eagles fan:(!!! Where's T.O. when you need him:rolleyes:

Yes, I am a dealer for Optoma thru AVS here. I am also located sort of in the Philly area and have a demo room featuring an H79, so you will get a good indication of what it will looks like.

I am in the far western edge of Lancaster County, almost exactly half way between Lancaster city and Harrisburg, in Elizabethtown. Feel free to call me anytime after 5PM when I am in the office.

And unfortunately for now.....I am a die-hard Eagles fan:(!!! Where's T.O. when you need him:rolleyes:

take your check book to daves house, cause you are gonna love that H79. I was in the market for the very much more costly marantz vp 12s4, and i could not see a difference in pq for the h79, so guess which one i own.

Still enjoying ours several hours every day. After about 700 lamp hours, it's running great and still stuns visitors with the picture. No glitches except one episode of the lamp failing to strike on the first time. Nothing to report but a beautiful, sharp, smooth picture with an IMX lens and Carada 119 inch brilliant white screen.

I'm planning on purchasing a H78 very soon and wanted to know which screen is "best" for this PJ in a basement where the HT is NOT enclosed, but I WILL have control over the lighting conditions.

I also plan to purchase a motorized screen, with tensioners, if necessary for a 93" screen and have no alligence to a particular manufacturer, but have seen that Steward is MUCH MORE expensive for everything, including their 12 volt trigger interface.

Thanks...Phil

Dalight tensioned Cinema Vision 1.3 gain is more reasonable.

Yes, I agree with Tom. Dalite is probably your next best option if budget is a concern.

I am going to be purchasing either a H78dc3 or a H79 in the next few days. The problem is making the decision between the H78 or the H79. In reading through the forums over the past several months it appears that more people purchase the H79 than the H78, even though the H79 is more expensive. For those who purchased the H79, what were some of your reasons of purchasing the H79 over the H78?

In looking at Optoma's site, the 4 main differences I can see between the H78 and the H79 are... the H79 is quieter than the H78 (by a couple of db), the bulb has a little bit of a longer life in the H79 (about 250 more hours), the H79 has a 4500:1 contrast ratio the H78 has 4000:1, and the H79 has an extra year warranty (3 years compared to 2 years for the H78). Here in Canada, the H78 is about $1200 cheaper than the H79.

With the H78 being basically the same projector as the H79, and being substantially cheaper than the H79, why did you chose the H79 over the H78, or the H78 over the H79? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

I am going to be purchasing either a H78dc3 or a H79 in the next few days. The problem is making the decision between the H78 or the H79. In reading through the forums over the past several months it appears that more people purchase the H79 than the H78, even though the H79 is more expensive. For those who purchased the H79, what were some of your reasons of purchasing the H79 over the H78?

In looking at Optoma's site, the 4 main differences I can see between the H78 and the H79 are... the H79 is quieter than the H78 (by a couple of db), the bulb has a little bit of a longer life in the H79 (about 250 more hours), the H79 has a 4500:1 contrast ratio the H78 has 4000:1, and the H79 has an extra year warranty (3 years compared to 2 years for the H78). Here in Canada, the H78 is about $1200 cheaper than the H79.

With the H78 being basically the same projector as the H79, and being substantially cheaper than the H79, why did you chose the H79 over the H78, or the H78 over the H79? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

The 79 has been out much longer than the 78 and has more pro reviews.....but if Optoma employees can't tell them apart and you don't need a 3 year warranty....get the H-78 imo.
If your like most here...you will be upgrading to a 1080p pj long before 3 years.

Maybe Guitarman has compared the two and can offer some more incite.

I am going to be purchasing either a H78dc3 or a H79 in the next few days. The problem is making the decision between the H78 or the H79. In reading through the forums over the past several months it appears that more people purchase the H79 than the H78, even though the H79 is more expensive. For those who purchased the H79, what were some of your reasons of purchasing the H79 over the H78?

In looking at Optoma's site, the 4 main differences I can see between the H78 and the H79 are... the H79 is quieter than the H78 (by a couple of db), the bulb has a little bit of a longer life in the H79 (about 250 more hours), the H79 has a 4500:1 contrast ratio the H78 has 4000:1, and the H79 has an extra year warranty (3 years compared to 2 years for the H78). Here in Canada, the H78 is about $1200 cheaper than the H79.

With the H78 being basically the same projector as the H79, and being substantially cheaper than the H79, why did you chose the H79 over the H78, or the H78 over the H79? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

i chose the 79 because i was told the h78 is comprised of b stock parts. also i wouldnt be so sure the 78 numbers are as low as the say, thats probably more an effort not to dismantle what is left of the original cost basis of the 79. I paid around 400 more for the 79 or i would have chosen the 78. I figured 1 extra year waranty, 6 month hot swap on pj, and first quality parts were worth $400 extra, but probably not $1200. If your not in a rush wait till end of january, optoma has a new dlp comming out these things will get cheaper (by spring for sure, I couldnt wait that long myself).

I am about to get my first H78DC3 in here to calibrate for a customer. I already have 2 H79s. If you can wait a couple days I'll let you know any differences I see between them?

I seen a press clipping on the internet a couple nights ago saying that Optoma will be releasing a new model in 2006. The press clipping said that this will happen sometime mid next year (which makes it summer of next year). I don't know if I can wait that long. The pricing I'm getting here in Canada is around $6500cdn for the H79, and $4500 for the H78dc3. I'm trying to justify if the H79 is worth the extra $2000.

I am about to get my first H78DC3 in here to calibrate for a customer. I already have 2 H79s. If you can wait a couple days I'll let you know any differences I see between them?

Yes I would be extremely interested in your findings between the H79 and the H78dc3. The price difference between the two models in Canadian dollars is around $2000 (which is quite a bit!). I don't mind spending the extra $2000, but there had better be some good justification for doing so. I have a pretty keen eye for picture quality and am curious about picture quality between the two models. If the picture quality is "identical" between the two models, then I would obviously purchase the H78dc3.

There's a rumour of a well spec'd 1080 H81 at a very good price coming in January so that might be worth a look. If it's too much the 720 models may come down by then so you've nothing to lose waiting a couple of months.

Gary

I seen a press clipping on the internet a couple nights ago saying that Optoma will be releasing a new model in 2006. The press clipping said that this will happen sometime mid next year (which makes it summer of next year). I don't know if I can wait that long. The pricing I'm getting here in Canada is around $6500cdn for the H79, and $4500 for the H78dc3. I'm trying to justify if the H79 is worth the extra $2000.

Careful about price information in your posts, the forum rules only allow for MSRP numbers in public...

Gary,

No, it isn't the cable either. I have tried different DVD players that were connected directly under the H79 with a small 6' DVI cable and it exhibited the same issue.

That said, I think I "may" have stumbled on the cause. I have an old Bravo D1 DVI DVD player. When I got my new plasma, I wanted to hook it up to that system via DVI since the plasma doesn't have HDCP support, but does have DVI, so that's why I decided to go with the Bravo D1 since it also doesn't have HDCP. Well, when I tried to hook it up, the D1 would lock up and even when I turned it off and unplugged it, the blue light around the jog dial would remain lit:eek: So I deduced that it was getting power from somewhere (after of course thinking that the D1 was bad), so I knew that DVI has a pin that carries power (5V), so I unplugged that and the power went completely off of the D1 and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I tried to figure out a solution to this issue, then realized that I had one of these ( http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=1378 ) in stock from Gefen, the DVI Detective for another solution I was working on a year or so ago. I knew it didn't require the 5V power supply for sources that supplied the 5V thru the connector, so I connected it to the plasma and lo and behold, it got power and lit the LED on the unit. So then I connected it to the D1, which also supplied power to the DVI Detective, without the plasma connected. So I was thinking that that dueling power between the two sources was screwing up the D1 when I connected them directly together (plasma and D1). I hooked this DVI Detective device between the two and then all was fine, so I gathered that the Gefen unit isolated both 5V supplies and then made everything honky dorey. It's the only way that these two units work together.

So, to get to my point, when I tried hooking up the D1 to the plasma to check to see if this combo exhibited this panning issue and I remembered that these two required the DVI Detective between the two in order to work so it gave me an idea....as I thought that there was a wierd power issue with the H79, maybe, just maybe the power coming in from the DVI input was the culprit with the H79 panning issue:confused:???

So I of course hooked up the DVI Detective between the Gefen Switcher I have and the H79. I did this right before I watched the MNF game last night in 720p HD. I didn't have time to do extensive testing yet, but I definitely think I saw an improvement in the motion/panning and wasn't getting the image pixeling/breakup that I saw recently. In other words..."Manning wasn't panning", badly anyway........(sorry, couldn't resist;)!!!) I will try to get some time today to test this theory out further and report back.

What I did think happened was that the "dueling 5V power" on the DVI input "may" have affected the chip and screwed up it's programming, as well as possibly leaking it's 5V from the DVI input onto the MB and screwing up the lamp's logic also????

I will also check into more info involving power from DVI. Is it supposed to be just on the source device....the display...both...??? If both, then why can't I hook up the Bravo D1 directly to this plasma's DVI input without the need for the Gefen DVI Detective:confused:??? Me thinks there may be manufacturer confusion going on here...again:(!!!

I advise ANYONE connecting the H79 to a DVI source to check to see which ones are supplying 5V power thru the DVI connector and if they are I think they should be isolated so as not to cause any issues and possible input chip damage:eek:

Well, I got the chance to check out the new H79 that came in. I compared it directly to mine and there is DEFINITELY something wrong with the processing on mine. The motion is horrendous and the image falls apart.

I play the exact same scenes on the new one and it is smooth as butter. What an improvement:D!!! The new H79 is head and shoulders better, so this old one is heading back.

I don't know what could have gone wrong, but it dumped it's algorithms somehow.

Happy Thanksgiving:)!!!

Glad to hear that Dave!

Christmas has come early for you. :)

Gary

Thanks Gary, but I believe this was just a Thanksgiving present. The Christmas present will be the new Sony Ruby I'll be getting soon:D!!!

Have you seen one in action yet Dave?

Gary

I am about to get my first H78DC3 in here to calibrate for a customer. I already have 2 H79s. If you can wait a couple days I'll let you know any differences I see between them?


Hey Dave! Have you had a chance to compare the H78DC3 with the H79. What have you been doing these last few day! :D

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these two in order to complete my theater room. I'm also getting a 120" diagnal StudioTek to complete it and if the H78 is bright enough I'll defintely go with that. looking forward to hearing what you have to say.......

Gary,

Yes, I saw it at CEDIA a few times and after some of the preliminary pro reviews I'm sold:)

movieguy,

I don't have time right now for a full post about it, but from what I saw there is a slight difference with the H79 having the edge. If you're running a 120" screen I'd definitely go with the H79 and it's slightly higher brightness, which I saw first hand. The H79's optics were also clearly better and sharper, at least from the two I compared. Black level looked about the same to the eye, but with the H79's higher brightness the image has more punch. I'll have to measure to get a true CR reading difference. I'll see if I have the chance to do that before they're outta' here, which is coming up soon.

My vote, if it's in the budget and you plan on having it for a little while, go with the H79. If you plan to replace it soon (in the next year or two) for an upgrade to 1080p or something, then you may be better served in the long run going with the H78DC3.

Good Luck in your decision:)!!!

Dave,

Let me ask you this, assuming it's less than a 120" screen and the scene is a good mix of contrast and color.... do you think you could, from an average viewing distance, pick the H79 in a double blind study a few times?

I have to say that when I first got a HD2 machine I did not know what people were talking about when they still complained about screen door, at the time I had a Mt700 Toshiba.

When I got the H78dc3, I realized what they were talking about, I attribute that to the better optics in the H78 over the Toshiba's, because I can see SD at the same distance and screen size where I could not before. It is not drastic but it occured to me how much sharper the Optoma was, so I do believe the "hand picked" variety may offer some improvements

There is also much less chomatic abberation with the Optoma on grid pattern.

I say you can't go wrong either way but if I had 1400 to burn I would have Opted :) for the H79..for the warranty first, and slight improvements second.

TJ

Probably not unless the differences were the same as the two I compared. The key thing here is that the H78 is a standard "assembly line" type unit so the tolerances are worse between units. With the H79 you know what you get (hand picked parts, longer warranty, etc.). One H78 might be sharper than the next, etc, etc, etc.

Thanks Dave. I appriciate the advise. To be honest, I'm not sure when the upgrade bug will hit again. I cant tell you how many times I've thought I was done upgrading for awhile only to replace the item way before I planned because the upgrade bug bit me.

If there is a noticable difference in light output then its worth the difference on a screen that large. Thanks again.

I have a new H78 with about 100 hours on the bulb. Within the last 2 days it has become suddenly dimmer. I don't have any meters to quantify but I would guess it's not even half as bright as it was before. With 16:9 content it is 89" wide and it looks dim at that size. Previously I thought it was very bright, now it's not even tolerable. I went through the menus and couldn't find anything altered to account for it. I even turned on bright mode, but didn't see much difference. Is this a bulb failure? Since it's only 3 months old, and only used the past month should I contact my dealer, or should I contact Optoma directly? If I should contact Optoma, do they have a Canadian contact or do I just contact their American office? This is a real bummer.

It is most likely a bulb issue. I have noticed the same thing previously on some units. I would contact Optoma tech support. Go to their website and find out what the procedures are for Canada.

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

This could be serious. I just purchased the Sony NS-3100ES DVD player and it failed to carry the HMDI signal to my projector via HDMI to DVI adapter.

My projector, Optoma H79 has a DVI input. I used the DVI-HDMI adapter and ran HDMI to the 3100ES. Over several days I came to realize the Sony could not passthrough a signal via HDMI to DVI adapter. I took out my DVI to HDMI connection and ran it to the HD cable box and no problem, the signal was transferred from the cable box to the projector onto the screen. I was baffled, one would expect the lower resolution from the DVD would be easier to transfer than HD resolution. That's when I knew it was the DVD player, 3100ES.

I called Sony, they had no clue. First level of service told me that I had to have the Video Off switch to "off" to playback through HDMI, that made no sense and didn't work. Sony's second level of service said it was a faulty HDMI input and told me to return it.

When I took it back to my A/V store they tested the 3100ES and it worked via HDMI. However, when I got it home, via HDMI came up blank again. (Note, component worked with no problem) Then I realized, let me test the 3100ES with a tv with DVI. I went to a neighbor who happened to have a flat-panel Dell with a DVI-I input just like my projector. We set it up and again, just as I thought, no signal.


I then returned the 3100ES to my A/V store, they weren't too happy, they seemed more interested in how they would sell an "open box" item rather than the fact they may have the same problem with future 3100ES purchasers. Anyway, I exchanged it for the Denon 1920, took it home and it worked. The Denon was able to transfer the HDMI signal through my DVI-HDMI adapter. I was slightly perturbed becasue the audio on the 3100ES was fantastic. But, I have no use for it, if the video can't transfer a signal via HDMI.

I would be interested to hear from anyone else that had this problem with the 3100ES.

Are you the one I talked to on the phone the other day;)???

Did the Dell have HDCP on it's DVI input? If not, it wouldn't have worked regardless. You need to hook it up to a unit that has HDCP support, then the Sony would have sent the HDMI/DVI signal (if it's not broken of course).

I would have tried another Sony unit first before I went to the Denon.

Yes, we spoke Saturday. I meant to call you back. I just got frustrated with Sony, after three separate calls, no one person was able to give me answer. I searched the Sony manual to see if they had a separate setup if using a DVI-HDMI adapter and no mention of it. I needed an answer last weekend, I have a Gefen HDMI switcher and HDMI cables on order via Jason and I had to know something. And yes, the Dell has HDCP. I was willing to live with the Denon if the issue was the projector, but it was not. The oddest thing is that I had no problem via HDTV cable box. Actually the Denon is very good, I didn't get the any drop off in audio, the video was very good. The only issue I have with the Denon 1920 is that I didn't get the pop from upscaling the DVD from 480p to 720p or 1080i. The picture was more natural in 720p than 1080i, but I thought the 1080i produced better resolution. I guess what bothered me the most was the response I received from my so-called "High-End AV" store in NNJ. I've spent a couple thousand there on speakers, cables etc. and would have like a better response than "well you know I have to take a hit on an open box item", clearly I will not go back to them. And to think, I felt bad about buying my screen, projector, cables, switcher from Jason because they couldn't beat the pricing. Thanks Dave for speaking with me. Once the HD DVD is out, I'll upgrade my DVD then, until then the Denon will do fine.

Please add me to H78DC3 vs H79 group. I am sooooo ready to pull the trigger on one of these. I have a a 133 inch Da-Lite screen 1.0 gain and I am wondering if the 800 vs 1000 lumen difference will be noticable. Any advice or suggestions???


Thanks,


Kevin

Please add me to H78DC3 vs H79 group. I am sooooo ready to pull the trigger on one of these. I have a a 133 inch Da-Lite screen 1.0 gain and I am wondering if the 800 vs 1000 lumen difference will be noticable. Any advice or suggestions???


Kevin,

Dont mistake me for an expert (more the village idiot), but I've polled several people on this and the advice has been very consistant. If you are going 120" or larger you'd be better off going with the H79. While, when first set up, he H78 will put out enough lumens, as the bulb ages you will have a darker image. With a 1.0 gain screen at 133" you may want to ask a different question - Will the H79 be bright enough? You may want to consider an Infocus 7205 or 7210. with a screen that size.

The best I can tell you is - I will have a 120" diag 1.3 gain screen and I would have loved to save some money on the H78 but I just dont think it would be bright enough in the long term so I'm spending the extra on the H79. Even with the Holiday deal going on now with the H78, I'm sticking with the H79.

Good luck with your decision!

Kevin,

Dont mistake me for an expert (more the village idiot), but I've polled several people on this and the advice has been very consistant. If you are going 120" or larger you'd be better off going with the H79. While, when first set up, he H78 will put out enough lumens, as the bulb ages you will have a darker image. With a 1.0 gain screen at 133" you may want to ask a different question - Will the H79 be bright enough? You may want to consider an Infocus 7205 or 7210. with a screen that size.

The best I can tell you is - I will have a 120" diag 1.3 gain screen and I would have loved to save some money on the H78 but I just dont think it would be bright enough in the long term so I'm spending the extra on the H79. Even with the Holiday deal going on now with the H78, I'm sticking with the H79.

Good luck with your decision!

I realize that the "quoted" lumens on the H79 are higher than those quoted for the H78 (I do not recall any objective reviewers making an instrumented check of this claim), but my question would be How does that happen. Supposedly the only differences between the two projectors is that the H79 has "hand-picked" parts.

Can the "hand-picked" lens be responsible for the increase in lumens? Seems to novice me that it could possibly have a "limited" difference, but not 200 lumens worth.

So what else could be the difference? The only other difference is the bulb and as we all know all three (H77, H78, H79) are spec'd as using exactly the same bulb. Now Kevin (of Krasmusik) has mentioned several times in other threads that the bulbs have a +/- of 20% output on lumens and that his experience has shown that InFocus normally equips their projectors with bulbs from the "+" range helping with their "light cannon" reputation. If this is the case then Optoma could be "hand-picking" the higher output bulbs for the H79 series projectors and leaving the "-" batch of bulbs for the H78, which would account for the higher lumen output over the H78.

Of course this then begs the question of what happens a year or so down the road when it is time for a new bulb??? At that point in time there may be absolutely minimal difference between the projectors as who knows what type of a replacement bulb you will get. If you order your replacement bulb from Optoma will they be sure to grab one out of the "+" bin if you have an H79?

Inquiring minds.........

I realize that the "quoted" lumens on the H79 are higher than those quoted for the H78 (I do not recall any objective reviewers making an instrumented check of this claim), but my question would be How does that happen. Supposedly the only differences between the two projectors is that the H79 has "hand-picked" parts.

Can the "hand-picked" lens be responsible for the increase in lumens? Seems to novice me that it could possibly have a "limited" difference, but not 200 lumens worth.

So what else could be the difference? The only other difference is the bulb and as we all know all three (H77, H78, H79) are spec'd as using exactly the same bulb. Now Kevin (of Krasmusik) has mentioned several times in other threads that the bulbs have a +/- of 20% output on lumens and that his experience has shown that InFocus normally equips their projectors with bulbs from the "+" range helping with their "light cannon" reputation. If this is the case then Optoma could be "hand-picking" the higher output bulbs for the H79 series projectors and leaving the "-" batch of bulbs for the H78, which would account for the higher lumen output over the H78.

Of course this then begs the question of what happens a year or so down the road when it is time for a new bulb??? At that point in time there may be absolutely minimal difference between the projectors as who knows what type of a replacement bulb you will get. If you order your replacement bulb from Optoma will they be sure to grab one out of the "+" bin if you have an H79?

Inquiring minds.........

I have been looking into these two projectors and one reseller said that they come down the same production line and the only difference is how many lumens one produces when it is complete and that is how they decide which is a H78 and which is a H79... I am just repeating what I heard but considering the similarities of these two projectors it wouldn't surprise me.

Edit- Just as an FYI I am still considering these projectors, I just have a few more months before a purchase will be made so I am waiting, no hoping for lower prices. :)

Can the "hand-picked" lens be responsible for the increase in lumens? Seems to novice me that it could possibly have a "limited" difference, but not 200 lumens worth.

So what else could be the difference? The only other difference is the bulb and as we all know all three (H77, H78, H79) are spec'd as using exactly the same bulb.

Inquiring minds.........


I agree with all of this and this was part of what took so long to chose a projector. However, what put my mind at ease was Dave seeing the difference first hand. It may only be a slight difference (and one based on a single viewing of a H78) but I needed to make a decision. I got tired with my indeciiveness and figured I'd err on the side of caution with the H79.

Ether way, I know I've read in a few reviews that a 120" screen is pushing it for an H78 (www.projectorreviews.com). I did not see the same expressed in in the H79 reviews (www.projectorcentral.com). Again, take all this with a grain of salt, but thats all the info I could gather on this topic through the forums.

I have been looking into these two projectors and one reseller said that they come down the same production line and the only difference is how many lumens one produces when it is complete and that is how they decide which is a H78 and which is a H79...

I forget - does the H78 have a zero dead pixel warranty like the H79 does? That may also be important to you!!

I have been looking into these two projectors and one reseller said that they come down the same production line and the only difference is how many lumens one produces when it is complete and that is how they decide which is a H78 and which is a H79... I am just repeating what I heard but considering the similarities of these two projectors it wouldn't surprise me.

Interesting indeed.... of course just third hand from a reseller, so it may or may not be factual..., but it certainly does conger up some "interesting" pictures... the projectors running down the line and at the end of the process when the QC guys fire up the projector if it produces X lumens or above it is an H79, if it produces less than X lumens it is an H78... voila!

I'm looking to replace my Sanyo PLV-60HT with the H79. I currently have a 100" 16:9 Stewart GrayHawk and moderate ambient light control. Will the H79 work well with the 100" GrayHawk or would I have to change that out also?

Thanks,
Eric

I would find it VERY hard to believe that slight changes in the optical path's quality control could change the lumen output enough to be able to drive a 120" on one but not the other.

I say this because any change that noticeable would have to have a noticeable change in the uniformity, focus, and chromatic abberation areas as well.

I will say that it could be a cumulative gain in that the H79 may have slightly more pure optics and focusing prisms...slight but better, now couple that with a "hotter" bulb and you can get your slight improvement.

The analogy I would use is the tolerances in silicon production, assuming the same micron process, the 800 is the same as a 1.2 and clock locked.

But if they run short, they rebadge the 1.2 yield to satisfy the lower end demand. Hence all the overclockers delights and tracking runs and manufacturing dates.

I believe the assembly line "picking" to make the most fiscal sense as well....It seems very far fetched to have two separate lines for identical units...Really, they are identical in a manufacturing sense. The idea of B-stock parts is nonsense....imagine piles of DC3 chips considered B-stock...fans tested but found to be loud, Optics pre-tested and sorted....BS...I just think they have a QC guy at the end of the line sorting the better yield, tested with a sound meter, lumen output at the most. Anyone ever think to ask for a tour of the lines? I am betting it would not take place.

BUT...couple all those little things and with Optoma standing behind the H79 deeper and you have your value.

It is like Pioneer Premier and Pioneer standard in my industry....Gold plated Preamp Outputs and two year warranty vs. Standard rcas and 1 Year. It also protects boutique dealers from getting "shopped" and the line losing points.

Big box stores can sell it at 15 points and do well in volume, while boutique stores sell value and service at 35-40 points. Same unit.

To this day I have yet to see calibrated side by side quantified comparisons between these brothers. Vauge speculations and "I remember it being" posts.. I know if I bought in at the high side of the H79's cycle I would be a little bummed and find reasons to try and believe the differences were justified...it is that simple..and I would not be too quick to put my machine to the comparison that would prove otherwise.

I would love for an independent to do this test and I'll eat crow, but I don't think it will be drastic, hell if a DVD players display on axis in a HT can change onscreen contrast by 300-500:1 do you think the marketed specs are to be realized?


It would seem to me the number crunchers realized where 720p was headed and needed the midpoint.... With MSRPS for 720p headed towards 2500.00 you need to create a mid-value so you don't perpetuate the whoring of the rez.

The H78dc3 satisfys that spot and I don't feel there is a better all around unit for the current price point.

TJ

I'm looking to replace my Sanyo PLV-60HT with the H79. I currently have a 100" 16:9 Stewart GrayHawk and moderate ambient light control. Will the H79 work well with the 100" GrayHawk or would I have to change that out also?

Thanks,
Eric


100" Grayhawk an a H79 would be absolutely killer. Big jump up from the 60HT. Plenty bright, high contrast, great blacks & shadow detail, good match for the 100" Grayhawk.

Let me just say I agree with all the naysayers in this thread saying they are most likely nearly the exact same unit. The comparison was indeed VERY close and all I reported on was the difference between the exact two units I had here in my shop. The H78 was, for a brand new unit, definitely not as bright as the H79, also a new unit. The easiest thing to see different was the focusing. WHen you do focus it brings up that magnifying glass icon and I clearly couldn't get the pixels as sharp with the H78 as I could with the H79. you couldn't really see it with real world material though. The other thing I noticed was more of a 3-D depth to the H79, probably due to higher brightness and CR and the added sharpness.

If you were to see these side by side I think anyone would would notice the slight difference, but if you saw one in a room, then went to another room and saw the other I don't think it would be as noticeable.

Like a few people have said, if you want peace of mind knowing you're getting what you pay for, maybe the H79 is the way to go. If all you care about is the budget, then it's easy, go with the H78.

Could the difference in brightness and contrast come from selecting the best lamps for the H79. I remember many posters speculating that this was the most likely difference. If this is true, it would lose much of its advantage after a lamp change.

I could agree with that, sure.

Dave............

I don't consider myself a "naysayer"... but rather just trying to get to the facts beneath the advertising layer. I have no doubt that there is value in purchasing an H79 rather than the H78... as you pointed out the optics are demonstrably better on the H79.
The question is how "much" is that added value worth, especially once you are on your 2nd bulb?

As I said, I totally agree. FWIW, I also compared it to my old H79 (the one with the panning issue) that got a new bulb about a month ago and that was also brighter.

Side by side calibrated screenshots

Side by side grid photos

Calibrated numbers done by htMag or widescreen review would settle this one....

but they don't even bother with the H78, that alone makes me wonder?


TJ

I agree, and if anyone's willing to pay for my time to do those numbers I'd be happy to:) Other than that I have waaayyyy too many things on my plate;)!!!

Besides, I won't even have either one of them after today.

Budget = H78DC3
Performance/long term = H79

That's my take on it anyway after seeing and playing a little with both. Take it however you want to:rolleyes:

Sometimes I think we get a little too anal about this stuff.

For me it was an easy decision. There was no way to get WAF for the extra 2K CAD difference. I keep telling myself there is no real difference, that way I feel good about saving the money.

It seems to me that a definitive answer on whether an H79 is really inherently brighter than an H78DC3 requires that the exact same lamp be used in both projectors. Measure one projector then swap the lamp into the other projector for it's lumen measurements.

This is would be something that I would really want to know. If any new-in-box brightness differences are just due to pre-selection of the lamps either at the beginning or the end of the assembly line, then on the first lamp swap, all bets are off. An H79 could turn into an H78DC3 and vica versa.

... The easiest thing to see different was the focusing. WHen you do focus it brings up that magnifying glass icon and I clearly couldn't get the pixels as sharp with the H78 as I could with the H79.... This observation is a bit more troubling though for those of us with H79 image quality aspirations but H78 budgets. It would be nice to see screen shots of that effect. However, I prefer to think of this as an advantage of the H78, poorer focusing should mean less SDE :)

Brent

Brent, the differences are not enough to get concerned about. It is ONLY when you walk directly up to the screen that you notice the difference. SDE is not much of a factor at all at normal seating distances on either of these units.

Brent, the differences are not enough to get concerned about. It is ONLY when you walk directly up to the screen that you notice the difference. SDE is not much of a factor at all at normal seating distances on either of these units.Dave - Thanks for the reply.

I have seen enough 720 DLPs, H79 included, to know that SDE is an issue for me up to about 2X screen widths. I just mention this in case someone else who is also hyper-sensitive to SDE reads your reply, buys an H78 or equivalent sight unseen and then gets a nasty surprise with respect to SDE when they first turn it on.

I also think that when 1080p projectors get more mainstream people are going to realise that SDE and pixelation are more of an issue than they thought on 720p at "normal seating distances".

Brent

I have he H79 and am glad to say at 1.5X I still have not been exposed to the SD effect. I can also get the focus dialed down pretty sharp. I am an inky black level and sharpness fan and I can say this PJ has both!

I agree, I never had it so good since jumping from SVGA to VGA to 720p. Can't wait to see 1080p maybe in a month at CES. ;)

Another interesting year ahead huh Tom? :)

Another year of trying to not upgrade and hold on after seeing or hearing of the new stuff being shown at CES...

Gary

Hi Eric,

We have the same screen material (Grayhawk) but my screen is 110" diagonal. I came from a Studio Experience Cinema 13HD (PLV60HT equivalent) and I was concerned with the lower lumens output of the Optoma since I planned to get the H78DC3. To make a long story short, yes, it will work very well with your current screen, no need to swap it out. I requested the Stewart screen samples (8.5 x 11 FireHawk, StudioTek 130 & UltraMatte 150) and I think if I were to switch out my screen fabric in the future, my choice would be the FireHawk since it is darker than the GrayHawk, has a higher gain and ambient light is not reflected on the screen from the sides. However, I am very happy with the H78DC3 today and the GrayHawk combo although I prefer running the unit in BrightMode. I did get a free lamp when I purchased the H78DC3 so it's not much of an issue for me. Only thing is the SE13HD was much brighter than the Optoma so I find that when I turn the room lights up, the screen washes out quicker than when I had the SE13HD. Other than that, the PQ is so much better with the Optoma unit and I normally watch movies & HD content in low light anyway. My next step is to paint my walls & ceilings from off white to a darker color (burgundy or maroon) to really improve the black levels with the GrayHawk/Optoma combo then I should be set for the next 2-3 years until affordable 1080P becomes affordable. Go for it! You'll be amazed at the leap in PQ.

I'm looking to replace my Sanyo PLV-60HT with the H79. I currently have a 100" 16:9 Stewart GrayHawk and moderate ambient light control. Will the H79 work well with the 100" GrayHawk or would I have to change that out also?

Thanks,
Eric

My 78DC3 arrived yesterday, since the theater room still needs taping, paint, carpet and furniture, I tossed a white sheet on a wall and fired up using the now replaced xbox.

I put up Madagascar and then played some Burnout, and wow...just wow. I can't wait for my screen to arrive and tweak. I can't even say if it was in bright mode or not (I assumed so), but at the approximately 110" size it was very nice even on my wrinkled hacky sheet :)

Thanks Dave!

Another interesting year ahead huh Tom? :)

Another year of trying to not upgrade and hold on after seeing or hearing of the new stuff being shown at CES...

Gary

This is the year we take a hugh step up but you already knew that. :) It's going to be tuff not to indulge if prices are nice. Expect to see high brightness, contrast and definded little pixels. I can't wait to see HDTV on one of these machines.

My 78DC3 arrived yesterday, since the theater room still needs taping, paint, carpet and furniture, I tossed a white sheet on a wall and fired up using the now replaced xbox.

I put up Madagascar and then played some Burnout, and wow...just wow. I can't wait for my screen to arrive and tweak. I can't even say if it was in bright mode or not (I assumed so), but at the approximately 110" size it was very nice even on my wrinkled hacky sheet :)

Thanks Dave!


They come from the factory in econo mode or they call it Normal in the system menu.

Thanks Dave!

Wow, did I have something to do with that:confused: If so, no problem at all:D!!!

I can't even say if it was in bright mode or not (I assumed so), but at the approximately 110" size it was very nice even on my wrinkled hacky sheet :)


RKS1789...Congratulations on your new family member!

I had a similar experience 18 months ago with my new at the time 8700+. I was so anxious (1st FP) to see it in action I had the projector sitting on top of the cardboard box it came in which was sitting on the couch and pointed at the then beige wall in my HT. I fired up Nemo and called in my daughter (19 at the time) and she was as impressed as I was... her comment was "why would anyone waste the money on a screen when the image looks that good?"

So I sort of followed her advice... I splurged with $15 on a 110" piece of Joann's Blackout Cloth, built a frame for it with baseboard and have been happy for the last 1850 hours...

Although I have given several sidelong glances at the H78dc3.... da#@ that upgrade bug!

I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a much overdue PJ upgrade. The H79 is at the top of my list, but placement issues are causing some nagging concerns:

1) I need to ceiling mount. If I understand correctly, I'm going to have to use the max lens shift just to get the picture where most PJ's normally start (top of image inline with center or lens.) Is this correct? What if any distortion occurs at the extreme of the shift?

2) I want to grow into a "constant-height" variable width set-up. (i.e. I'm starting with a 16:9 screen, but will be moving to a 2.35:1 screen of the same height. In my set-up (ceiling mount) when I use the zoom, will the picture "grow" from the top down? Am I going to be SOL because of issue #1 ?

1) I need to ceiling mount. If I understand correctly, I'm going to have to use the max lens shift just to get the picture where most PJ's normally start (top of image inline with center or lens.) Is this correct? ?

Correct-o-mundo!

The center of the lens of the H79 must be located somewhere within the vertical plane of the screen.

cannot help you on the other part of the question.......

Joe.

Yes, it will "grow" from the top down as you say. In other words, the top stays consistent while expanding in all other directions (bottom, left, right when ceiling mounted)

Give me a call when you're ready to order.

P.S. - I am having trouble with my home office phone, so please call my cell for now listed in my signature.

Dave,
I emailed you for a quote on the special mentioned in your sticky, but I don't think I got a response (unless my junk filter caught it.)

Joe,

Shoot me a PM with your email address and I'll see if I have something from you.

with mine I have the projector upright about 3" below the top of the screen. When I zoom only the bottom and sides expand. So if ceiling mounting I'd guess it would be the same.

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

This could be serious. I just purchased the Sony NS-3100ES DVD player and it failed to carry the HMDI signal to my projector via HDMI to DVI adapter.

My projector, Optoma H79 has a DVI input. I used the DVI-HDMI adapter and ran HDMI to the 3100ES. Over several days I came to realize the Sony could not passthrough a signal via HDMI to DVI adapter. I took out my DVI to HDMI connection and ran it to the HD cable box and no problem, the signal was transferred from the cable box to the projector onto the screen. I was baffled, one would expect the lower resolution from the DVD would be easier to transfer than HD resolution. That's when I knew it was the DVD player, 3100ES.

I called Sony, they had no clue. First level of service told me that I had to have the Video Off switch to "off" to playback through HDMI, that made no sense and didn't work. Sony's second level of service said it was a faulty HDMI input and told me to return it.

When I took it back to my A/V store they tested the 3100ES and it worked via HDMI. However, when I got it home, via HDMI came up blank again. (Note, component worked with no problem) Then I realized, let me test the 3100ES with a tv with DVI. I went to a neighbor who happened to have a flat-panel Dell with a DVI-I input just like my projector. We set it up and again, just as I thought, no signal.


I then returned the 3100ES to my A/V store, they weren't too happy, they seemed more interested in how they would sell an "open box" item rather than the fact they may have the same problem with future 3100ES purchasers. Anyway, I exchanged it for the Denon 1920, took it home and it worked. The Denon was able to transfer the HDMI signal through my DVI-HDMI adapter. I was slightly perturbed becasue the audio on the 3100ES was fantastic. But, I have no use for it, if the video can't transfer a signal via HDMI.

I would be interested to hear from anyone else that had this problem with the 3100ES.

For grins I tried a Sony ns-70 that was bought for one of our monitor tv's and tried it on my h-78 and had no problems at all syncing via hdmi/dvi....and this is an el cheapo 150.00 non es player.
My Onkyo sp 1000 is in no danger of being replaced by it....much like the Pany s-97 I tried...but for 150.00 I was quite impressed.

Being wrapped up with a bunch of other things, I totally forgot to get a ceiling mount.

My StudioTek screen is on the way, with the "thicker" 3-4" border, which will be mounted flush with the ceiling.

Any suggestions as to which mount would be "best"?


P.S. Dave, you are the one I ordered the screen and H78DC3 from....so yes you had something to do with my happiness :)

Is anyone here a former Benq 7700 user? Can anyone offer a direct comparison? The whole no lens offset issue is making me second guess the H78DC3 in my set-up (I'll have to use the maximum lens shift to ceiling mount, and even then I'm going to have to drop the PJ lower than I'd like.)

I'm upgrading from an ancient LS110, so either machine is going to be a major step up in PQ. What factors make spending $1,500 more on the Optoma a good choice?

I haven't seen the 7700, but I do own the H78. The H78 has the 8segment color wheel which offers less dithering in dark scenes; It has better contrast; equal or greater brightness; Will likely be quieter; and likely the most significant is the DC3 chip instead of the DC2 chip in the 7700. They both are reviewed on www.projectorreviews.com.

Thanks, gobrigavitch. Actually, by spec the 7700 is 300 lumens brighter. (How much that equates to real world brightness ... who knows.)

I've read all of the "professional" reviews. Has anyone auditioned both?

I had the Mt700 which is the 7700 clone, it put out a nice picture but let me list the differences as I saw them

1: Mt700 had very bad motion artifacts on pans, ala any hd2+ machine, and while my H78dc3 is vastly better in this area I still see them. Flame suit on :)

2: I feel the brightness is equivalent, but your eye may "see" the 7700 as brighter due to the elevated black level. I don't feel a 100 IRE field on both units in ECO would prove much different after calibration, but I have no numbers to support this. They both use 250w UHP bulbs and there is no escaping E/I*R so resulting brightness is similar from what I have found.

2.5: Contrast calibrated is ~1400:1 for the 7700 and ~ 2300:1 H78/H79, I thought the 7700 had good black levels until I saw the Optoma, again I think this is why people may find the unit "dim".... it really isn't .... it just has a very low black level that can fool you, once you are used to a higher one.

3: The difference in dithering and noise is no contest, the Optoma has a very smooth almost noise free, refined picture, the 8 seg wheel contributes to a very smooth "green worm" free black. The color saturation difference between them is dramatic as well. The 7700 looks decent, but the Optoma (if not tamed) looks almost wet in the colors. The Optoma has the best saturation I have seen in a digital, but it may be a preference....careful attention must be given here during calibration not to make the picture unrealistic, but the range is there for you if you need it.

4: Optics are not even close, the Optoma has such a better focus ability it allows me to see SD at the same distance and screen size where I saw none on the Mt700...this is a good and bad thing :)

5: Mt700 was quiet, the Optoma is silent...

6: Creature comforts like lens shift and Motorized Zoom+Focus help install.

Downsides:

Optoma has no presets per input, but memorizes rez/settings by input...not too big of a deal but presets would be nice like the 7700, 3 per input.

No HDMI, the use of a re-pin converter is required

Out of the box the 7700 will render a more accurate picture, the Optoma looks like green fog out of the box....once cal no contest....the finese of the picture is so pleasing.

The remote is a little laggy and cheap in my opinion for a machine of this quality.

Menus on the 7700 were very nice with a very attractive GUI, interface and design. Relocatable popup indicators helped while calibrating.

Menus on the Optoma are cheezy but functional, not more than a days effort for the right coder went into these.

Overall the Optoma is just in a different class. The 7700 and Mt700 were decent but with VAST problems and failures it is dead in the water, and eclipsed in performance by units currently or very shortly shipping.


TJ

Thanks, TJ. Very helpful. What PJ, if any, were you using before the Mt700 ?

Do you want the a list? :)

Just prior to the Mt700 I had a xga Nec Lt240k and a Infocus 4805, before that I had a short time with a 8" CRT( big pain in the a$$, wife put her foot down on that one :)), before that I had a Davis DLS8, before that it was a Epson LCD, then a XV_S95u Sharp LCD, Sony LCD.....

Started in roughly 97 with this "hobby"

Obsessed? no...:)

I will say, the Optoma has me doing the least "tweaking" of all the units I have owned...it just looks good....I am close to being (dare I say it? ) Satisfied..... :)

If you can deal with the setup challenges of the 78, I can't imagine you being any less than thrilled coming the the projector/era of unit you are replacing.



TJ

Do you want the a list? :)

I will say, the Optoma has me doing the least "tweaking" of all the units I have owned...it just looks good....I am close to being (dare I say it? ) Satisfied..... :)

TJ
Just wanted to say I am also very happy with th Optoma H78 being my first fdigital after NEC XG crt.

Funny note: Called a local HT store near Chicago called "The L***** G***" and spoke with "R*****". I was looking for the JVC SRDVD 100U - he had nothing comparable and tried to sell me a $$$$ upscaling player - I said well what about .ts playback and he was at a loss.

Next he asked what my projector was - he went on to say Optomas are not made for home theater and are for computer use...apparently he does not sell them and has not seen the picture quality. Needless to say at this point I hung up - god I hate pushy, salespeople.

The same guy who told me I would not be able to figure out how to use and setup a crt by myself...yea right.

Hi there, I just received my new H78DC3 today and was wondering if there is supposed to be a serial number sticker displayed on the unit itself, or only on the box?

yes...it starts with H79****-***** :)


JK

Not sure...

TJ

Due to much heavier pj use....mostly from my kids xbox 360....I was thinking I should probably buy another bulb for my h-78 to at least have a spare and understand the bulbs are said to be the same for the 77/78/79.

Should I buy it from Optoma direct...asking for an H-79 bulb and hope that it offers another hundred lumens....or just get the cheapest one I can find elsewhere?

What say you?

Due to much heavier pj use....mostly from my kids xbox 360....I was thinking I should probably by another bulb for my h-78 to at least have a spare and understand the bulbs are said to be the same for the 77/78/79.

Should I buy it from Optoma direct...asking for an H-79 bulb and hope that it offers another hundred lumens....or just get the cheapest one I can find elsewhere?

What say you?


That is the very question I have been asking!!!!

My gut feeling is that the replacement bulbs will all be the same. I think they pick the best bulbs to put in the H79 at the factory. I doubt they would do that with replacement bulbs though.

My gut feeling is that the replacement bulbs will all be the same. I think they pick the best bulbs to put in the H79 at the factory. I doubt they would do that with replacement bulbs though.

I would agree. Best case, your H78DC3 becomes an H79. Worst case, it stays an H78DC3. What sucks if if you are an H79 owner, and become an H78DC3 owner by changing bulbs :).

Well...I just ordered a backup bulb..should be good to go until the H-81 is sold for 30% off its initial street price with a free extra bulb :D

Well...I just ordered a backup bulb..should be good to go until the H-81 is sold for 30% off its initial street price with a free extra bulb :D

I was thinking of getting one as well. I checked my hours last night, 263. Not too shabby. Where did you get it?

I was thinking of getting one as well. I checked my hours last night, 263. Not too shabby. Where did you get it?


www.electrified.com

Hello happy H78 owners. I am planning on joining the team and buying mine this week. My room will be completely light controlled, no windows and the screen I plan on is 120 diag.

What screen did you guys purchase for your H78 with similar conditions?

Anyone get a perf screen and notice loss in picture quality?

My budget is around $1200 for a screen.

I am just trying to find the right match for this projector and I am looking for opinions in that budget.

thanks,

Gary

Hello happy H78 owners. I am planning on joining the team and buying mine this week. My room will be completely light controlled, no windows and the screen I plan on is 120 diag.

What screen did you guys purchase for your H78 with similar conditions?

Anyone get a perf screen and notice loss in picture quality?

My budget is around $1200 for a screen.

I am just trying to find the right match for this projector and I am looking for opinions in that budget.

thanks,

Gary

I use two screens...Optoma Gray Wolf for when the bulb is new.....and a hi power for after 500 hours ;)
The HP kicks the crap out of the el cheapo GW for quality....but the GW is a nice bargain screen when you have enough lumens.

For your screen size...I would either go with a silver star.....or the hi power for long term use.

My H78 frustrated me last night and I can't figure out what I was doing wrong. I just got a Velodyne SMS-1 subwoofer equalizer that outputs the video screens to make adjustments via either S-video or composite video. I couldn't get the H78 to display either of these signals from the SMS-1. I turned off signal lock in the menu and it would say it was searching for composite and S-video, but never displayed anything. Manaully selecting the inputs didn't do the trick either. The signal was there all right and displayed fine on a small TV I finally lugged down to the basement.

Can anyone think why I couldn't get the H78 to display either S-video or composite from the equalizer?

Thanks.

Hello happy H78 owners. I am planning on joining the team and buying mine this week. My room will be completely light controlled, no windows and the screen I plan on is 120 diag.

What screen did you guys purchase for your H78 with similar conditions?

Anyone get a perf screen and notice loss in picture quality?

My budget is around $1200 for a screen.

I am just trying to find the right match for this projector and I am looking for opinions in that budget.

thanks,

Gary

I have an H79 w/ a 118 inch brilliant white carada screen (cost of screen delivered $900) w/ all lights off picture is plasma like, and w rear lights on and front off picture is still very nice. I should say i have a black front wall, carpet and ceiling, and dark red walls, so there is very little light reflection. Also note it takes about 2 weeks to get the carada screen to you, carada is great and they have great customer service, unfortunately DHL is a terrible shipper, but they are the only ones whom will handle that size package for less than a fortune (fed x about $200, dhl about $70)

mraub,

Some menus need a signal to be carried on as thjey don;t generate their own, which is why it has to be via a tv and not a monitor (such as a projector). I have the same withing with my Denon receiver - it has to be via a tv composite dignal from my set top box or the pj won't show it. It was the same on the NEC HT1000.

Gary.

I want to be a happy owner. Dave, give me a call.

I am trying to find the best place to purchase a H78DC3 as well. I was told to call the guys at AVS, so I did but I haven't heard back from them yet.

Can I get a quote via email from them??

Thanks,

Check Visual Apex it is the best deal right now...I think...they are in the forum sponsor links above...


TJ

try Dave Harper at the top of this page. 1st post on page 16

I beat you to it Scotty, but thanks for the plug anyway;)!!!

I'm worried about heat.

I'm wrestling with how to mount the H78DC3 on the ceiling. My room is 201/2 feet long, 12' wide. I plan on putting the lens at 16' for a 110" screen.

In my last room I needed to hang the center channel over the tv, and I used four eye-hooks latched into the ceiling (joists) then regular chain down to some U shaped hooks latched into a piece of plywood. Add some S hooks and I was all set, and I could also adjust the height if needed in the future.

In my new room I was thinking of "shelf" mounting the projector using this same method both to save some money on a mount, make it easily adjustable, saving headroom (ceiling height is just under 7'...).

Looking at the projector (sitting in a box waiting for room construction to be finished :( it looks like the heat gets pushed out the sides, so would having little to no space between the top of the projector, the sides wide open, and the bottom on a shelf be a problem?

Should I put holes into the shelf to help air flow? Make some swiss cheese? :) Or suck it up and get a mount (any suggestions on to very low profile mounts?)

I say suck it up and get a mount,.........why you ask??? Because the H78DC3, if bought thru AVS comes with a FREE mount and some other goodies.

Call, email, PM, Pony Express, teletype, morse code or do whatever you need to contact us for details;)!!!

I would definitely go with the mount option to.

I have mine on a shelf like you describe. It's a 24x24 piece of MDF hung from the ceiling with 1/4" threaded rods. I have about 6 inches of clearence between the PJ and the ceiling. The biggest benefit is the ease of setting up my H600 anamorphic lens. Just set it on the shelf in front of the pj

That's a GREAT idea if you have an anamorphic lens:)!!! I never thought of that.

Thats why I made the Monkey mount, see sig

Yes, I saw that pix before...VERY impressive. I don't think many mere mortal men would tackle a beast like that though, hehehe;)!!!

Maybe you should market those???

LOL... thanks Dave. Not a pretty design but superior functionality for my needs. The over all designed could be clean up. The slide could be a 1-foot shorter with the ceiling plate being one piece apposed to two

Do I smell an AVS power buy:D?!?!?!?

Your too much :)

Plexiglass idea. I like the PJ upright on the shelf where you can move it around and use it's feet to level. It is good if you want to place a lens infront of it. All I need is to find metal extenders that could lag screw into the ceiling stud, then rig up some kind of clamps at the plexiglass to keep it sturdy. Any ideas?

Idealy thin metal extenders like 1/4" with threads at one end and lag screw threads at the other. With the Plexi you get a clean look and clean look at the projector.

The U shaped hooks I used on my shelf were pretty nice looking. You pre-drill 2 holes on the shelf, stick the pointy part of the U through each hole (upside down U). Then it has a metal plate that goes over the threads and you put a nut on each end of the U.

I have to say it looked pretty sharp with a black painted shelf, and silver hardware. The other bonus to hooking it up this way is you can do minute adjustments to the height using the U connectors and screwing in/out the nuts on the threads.... This is in addition to adjusting the chain's length.

Plexiglass idea. I like the PJ upright on the shelf where you can move it around and use it's feet to level. It is good if you want to place a lens infront of it. All I need is to find metal extenders that could lag screw into the ceiling stud, then rig up some kind of clamps at the plexiglass to keep it sturdy. Any ideas?

Idealy thin metal extenders like 1/4" with threads at one end and lag screw threads at the other. With the Plexi you get a clean look and clean look at the projector.

I had a plexiglass shelf at one time. I used 18.5" double rail pueter color system that looked nice. I tried to mount the PJ at head level to use all the High power screens gain but it just couldn't get it to work right with the Panamorph. The shelf would hit in me in the head at the right level. All well not a biggie. However, it did look nice with the plexiglass. It made the PJ really stand out. Some people think the Optomas a ugly but I think they are nice looking. The white color works well in "my" room. I suggest 1/2" plexiglass to do want you want. I just doubled with two sheets of 1/4".

http://www.msu.edu/~hagenmi1/IMG_0501.jpg

Hello,

Easy one for you experts..

For a ceiling mount of this projector, how flush to the ceiling can this projector be, and how close to the ceiling would my screen go if it has a 3" border (what part of the projector do I line up with the screen white edge?

Ceiling is 7' 6", and I need the screen as close to the top as possible so that my second row has a good line of site with my riser height. Basically, I want to put the screen as high as possible, but this is somewhat dependant on how the projector is mounted.

thanks,

Gary

Gary,

The center of the projectors lens needs to be phyically inside the screen dimensions. Some have reported that they could get slightly more play than that..., but for planning purposes I would plan for the center of the lens to be at the most level with the top of the image portion of the screen.

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, I just found it the other day, and I've got to say, this site is great! I've been reading posts for several hours now.

Anyway, I too have joined the H78DC3 club, I have the projector sitting in its box, waiting for me to set it up...(construction on my house isn't complete yet...) which is so frustrating...I want to set it up and play!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any experience using this projector with a 106" Da-Lite Cinema Vision screen, or Cinema Vision High Contrast. If money were no object, a Stewart Firehawk would be my first choice, but unfortunately, money is a concern for me. Luckilly for me though, I found out the other day that an old friend of mine has become a Da-Lite dealer, and so I can get a REALLY good deal on a Da-Lite screen.

Is this projector going to be bright enough on a 106" screen at 16' projection distance? Which of the two screens (HCCV or CV) would be a better choice?

Nate,
I'll be able to tell you for sure in a couple of days (ordering my H78DC3 today) but I do have that screen which I'm using with an older DLP right now. It should work very well. While it might not have the gain of a Firehawk, it has a wider viewing cone ... and of course ... is much cheaper.

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, I just found it the other day, and I've got to say, this site is great! I've been reading posts for several hours now.

Is this projector going to be bright enough on a 106" screen at 16' projection distance? Which of the two screens (HCCV or CV) would be a better choice?
I am using the H78 on a Carada Brilliant White Precision series at 126" diagonal - just over 9' wide. It has a gain of 1.3.

Without having test meters, I can say its plenty bright. Brightness is not an issue at all with this projector even at 9' wide.

Very happy with the H78 and cant wait for the three chippers to drop.

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, I just found it the other day, and I've got to say, this site is great! I've been reading posts for several hours now.

Anyway, I too have joined the H78DC3 club, I have the projector sitting in its box, waiting for me to set it up...(construction on my house isn't complete yet...) which is so frustrating...I want to set it up and play!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any experience using this projector with a 106" Da-Lite Cinema Vision screen, or Cinema Vision High Contrast. If money were no object, a Stewart Firehawk would be my first choice, but unfortunately, money is a concern for me. Luckilly for me though, I found out the other day that an old friend of mine has become a Da-Lite dealer, and so I can get a REALLY good deal on a Da-Lite screen.

Is this projector going to be bright enough on a 106" screen at 16' projection distance? Which of the two screens (HCCV or CV) would be a better choice?


first off why wait to finish your house, when i got mine i was 3 months from my house being complete, so i set it on a shelf in my apartment, and in the evenings i had a drive in movie for the apartment complex. now the picture wont be as nice on a white sheet or on just the plain wall, but i promise if your pj is atleast 10 feet from the projection surface, it will impress.

second off the brightness of your room has as much to do with picture quality and brightness as the screen does. Go with dark walls ceiling and flooring, and ambient light wont be nearly the issue.

Good luck, congrats, and welcome to the club.