Mat,
Tune up the blacks and whites to their max levels to do away with low saturation and noise, also lower the sharpness for noise. Make sure the white peaking is off.

This is contouring you probably don't see this.
http://www.cigarbest.com/sales/palcontour.jpg

A bending of the plastic case is normal on many H77's I've seen. Sounds like your fans are working ok, re-check everything, set source lock in the menu and hit the direct button on the remote. If you can see a picture with S-video composite DVI you should be able to get the component to work.

If you see contour you can adjust it with the CWI in the service menu.
(Color Wheel Index)

You freeze an image like the one I showed and move the CWI level, try lower at first. Make a note of the original setting. Don't look at other things in the service menu you could mess the projector up.

Hope you got a REALLY REALLY good deal on it! Did you spend some time here at AVS reading about the heat and bulb problems with this pj or are you just now finding this site after buying the pj? I notice this is your first post but lots of folks are readers only until they have a problem or question.

Brent

$1999. I've been reading avsforum for a month or so while working to narrow my search and felt comfortable with the H78DC3. When I saw this come up for under $2k I had to go for it. Real clean - the previous owner took excellent care of it.

Mat,
Tune up the blacks and whites to their max levels to do away with low saturation and noise, also lower the sharpness for noise. Make sure the white peaking is off.

This is contouring you probably don't see this.
(link removed to prevent spam abuse)

A bending of the plastic case is normal on many H77's I've seen. Sounds like your fans are working ok, re-check everything, set source lock in the menu and hit the direct button on the remote. If you can see a picture with S-video composite DVI you should be able to get the component to work.

If you see contour you can adjust it with the CWI in the service menu.
(Color Wheel Index)

You freeze an image like the one I showed and move the CWI level, try lower at first. Make a note of the original setting. Don't look at other things in the service menu you could mess the projector up.

AH! Countouring - that's exactly what I see - and as the unit heats up the contouring gets worse. Thanks so much for the suggestions - I'll see what I can do tonight.

Hi. I just returned my H78DC3 to costco. I decided not to keep it even though there was a price drop of almost 1000CAN$ a few weeks ago which was applied to my porchase. The projector was WAY too dim for me. I tried it for more than one month on the GWII 92 diag screen that was bundled with it. The high power lamp mode was barely sufficent. Maybe the unit was defective?

Sorry...double post. The system server gets so slow sometimes...

stef,

I just ordered the H78DC3 from Costco and I've got a 106" Da-Lite High Power screen coming as well. I'm hoping that the High Power will give me the little boost in brightness that I've enjoyed with my H57 for the past year albeit with a 92" screen.

I can always try the HD72/6800 if this doesn't work out. Or send everything back and just continue to enjoy the H57. :)

Wayne

I too got my H78 from Costco about two weeks ago and I have some interesting experience to share. My first H78 arrived with some shipping damage on the Graywolf screen. So after some 20 hrs usage I return the projector and screen to Costco as per their instruction and ordered a replacement. The replacement screen was perfect, however the projector only last 2 hours before the lamp red light kicks in and shuts down the projector. This time I call Optoma Canada and asked for a swap which they obliged. So I am in my third H78 and they all looked different. The last one looked the best with much better image, color and brightness than the previous two. So I am very happy and yet a bit concern about the quality consistency and control.

Guitarman, thanks for the info. on adjusting the cwi - worked like a charm (original setting was 31 and I had to knock it down to 21).

Another oddity has cropped up. The pj was ceiling mounted and I took it down and set it on a table (thinking I'd likely be sending this in for repairs anyway). Oddly enough the jumpy-flickery-flashiness that was happening in low-lamp mode and over time in normal mode is gone.

I got the DVI input up and running but still - no signal out of the rca inputs. Note that when the pj is "searching" it flickers when it gets to one of the rca types like it's trying to lock on but then nothing. Finally just says "no signal".

Still happy tho'! Fabulous picture and I'm not even close to proper calibration. Tho' I do wish the machine was more adjustment-friendly like the Panny d-5500 we've got at the theatre.

I can confirm that the OSD at 480i will work over the DVI connection. Something is a little odd though. It registered it as 480x1440 digital RGB. The OSD did seem to look OK from what I could tell.

This is not that weird sending 480i over dvi is done by sending the signal 2 times so instead of 480x720 it sends 480x1440 and the receiving sides ignores 50% of it. This is needed since 480i normally would be below the min. specs for sending signals.

Daniel.

Hifiuser,

Thanks for sharing that. :( ;) You're already on your third one!? Yikes! Hopefully this one's a keeper for you.

I'm a little nervous about all of the issues of this projector but I want a 0% offset projector if possible because of my low ceiling where the mount is.

I may keep my H57, at least for a while in case this doesn't work out.

Wayne

Is there an echo in here;)?!?!?!

Dave Harper posted: 06-09-06 - 06:57 PM

gobrigavitch ,

That's how they get 480i to work via DVI. By doubling the horizontal res to 1440 to make it fit in the DVI specs.

Guitarman, thanks for the info. on adjusting the cwi - worked like a charm (original setting was 31 and I had to knock it down to 21).

Another oddity has cropped up. The pj was ceiling mounted and I took it down and set it on a table (thinking I'd likely be sending this in for repairs anyway). Oddly enough the jumpy-flickery-flashiness that was happening in low-lamp mode and over time in normal mode is gone.

I got the DVI input up and running but still - no signal out of the rca inputs. Note that when the pj is "searching" it flickers when it gets to one of the rca types like it's trying to lock on but then nothing. Finally just says "no signal".

Still happy tho'! Fabulous picture and I'm not even close to proper calibration. Tho' I do wish the machine was more adjustment-friendly like the Panny d-5500 we've got at the theatre.


Try re-seating the bulb several times to clear any crud off and make for a better connection. I've been using D5 on all my PJ's lately (deoxit5) to keep the contacts clean. The component cable problem, I guess you've tried other cables? Not sure but maybe the 75ohm BNC connections can double as a basic component connection, RGB without needing the H/V. Maybe another owner can confirm about that. You would need component to BNC adaptors, an item we can get at Radio Shack. But still you definetly want your basic RGB/component input working.

According to one ISF guy that tunes displays he says you'll get a better HDTV picture over analog RGB vs Digital/DVI. Something about DVI not being able to handle the higher registers well when using his Photo research 650 to tune up. It's worth a look.

I'm moving to a new house next week and finally getting a dedicated 2.35:1 constant height HT.

My H78DC3 will be behind a wall, mounted in an equipment closet. Within reason I can put it any height, but would obviously like to keep it high to avoid obstructions. (I normally like to ceiling mount, but don't necessarily have to in this circumstance.)

Anyhoooo ... I could have swore I saw online a visual offset calculator, but all I can find now are projection size calculators. Am I dreaming this, or is there one posted somewheres?

The offset on this thing always confuses me. Can I mount it right-side-up with the lens centered on the top of the screen? (That's how I have it now while inverted/ceiling-mounted.)

Yes you can mount high right side up, but I'd drop down an inch or two for safe measure.

Try re-seating the bulb several times to clear any crud off and make for a better connection. I've been using D5 on all my PJ's lately (deoxit5) to keep the contacts clean. The component cable problem, I guess you've tried other cables? Not sure but maybe the 75ohm BNC connections can double as a basic component connection, RGB without needing the H/V. Maybe another owner can confirm about that. You would need component to BNC adaptors, an item we can get at Radio Shack. But still you definetly want your basic RGB/component input working.

According to one ISF guy that tunes displays he says you'll get a better HDTV picture over analog RGB vs Digital/DVI. Something about DVI not being able to handle the higher registers well when using his Photo research 650 to tune up. It's worth a look.

Thanks again - Now that you mention it. When I took the projector down I did remove, check and reinstall the bulb. (Philips 250 btw) I didn't think the bulb could've been the culprit. The BNC connection was going to be my next try but I only had one on hand and apparently the local Radio Shack closes two hours earlier than the mall it's located in. (Go figure.)

The previous owner had no problems and the component connection was fine for about six hours. I've tried three different (all new) cables and two dvd players. Today I'm going to try my computer on the component rca and pick up those BNC adapters and give that a shot.

Admittedly, I'm surprised to hear a better HDTV signal can be had over analog RGB but I shouldn't be. I'm not the biggest "digital" fan being a proponent of film projection over video/digital. However, as I get older I find it easier to have all my music on the computer and it's a heck of a lot easier to plug in a dvd than to set up a film. Just not as fun.

If you do get a better picture via the RGB input versus the DVI, it would be because of a design problem with that input, not because there is anything inherently superior about analog RGB. In fact, the opposite is true.

Thanks, Tom. I thought that was the case but since every other PJ I've had has an offset, I never trust myself on the positioning. I move on Thursday, so hopefully my next post will be a pic of a 10' wide `scope movie! ;-)

If you do get a better picture via the RGB input versus the DVI, it would be because of a design problem with that input, not because there is anything inherently superior about analog RGB. In fact, the opposite is true.

It was J. Gannon of UltimateAV, here's his quote. Sounded interesting

"Input Quality
In a casual survey of DVI inputs encountered during my day job (I calibrate video displays), I've learned that this connection doesn't always provide the best image. Nearly every hi-def set can easily display the low to middle video frequencies at the high or low contrast levels offered by my Sencore 802b HD test-signal generator, but many won't resolve the highest frequencies. That limitation is shared by the PRO-730HD, in which high-definition signals have a wider bandwidth through the BNC component input than through the DVI."

I don't have any reason to doubt that assesment, but if so it's a real shame. There is nothing in the DVI spec to make it so ... like I said, it's a problem with a particular display's DVI input design. By the spec, DVI (or HDMI) has every advantage. I wonder if he is comparing analog RGB to digital RGB, or analog RGB to digital YUV? That *might* account for the difference.

I can confirm that the OSD at 480i will work over the DVI connection. Something is a little odd though. It registered it as 480x1440 digital RGB. The OSD did seem to look OK from what I could tell.

Thanks gobrigavitch & Dave Harper for your help on this. I'm off to order the Oppo 970 with it's 480i via HDMI output!

Try re-seating the bulb several times to clear any crud off and make for a better connection. I've been using D5 on all my PJ's lately (deoxit5) to keep the contacts clean. The component cable problem, I guess you've tried other cables? Not sure but maybe the 75ohm BNC connections can double as a basic component connection, RGB without needing the H/V. Maybe another owner can confirm about that. You would need component to BNC adaptors, an item we can get at Radio Shack. But still you definetly want your basic RGB/component input working.


Turns out that neither the RCA or BNC component connections are working. Talked to the folks at Optoma and they figure something's gone awry with that input board. Fortunately I live not-too-far away from their service center and will be running the pj up to them tomorrow.

So as far as anyone knows, there wouldn't happen to be an on/off "switch" for that input somewhere in the menu system?

Other than that, I'm crazy-happy with this machine! Once I got the bulb tucked firmly in and adjusted the color wheel I've had no problems with the picture and it's real nice.

Note that due to all the talk about excessive heat and bulb issues I've got a desk fan blowing across the back when I'm setting levels &/or watching something at my leisure when noise isn't a concern. I'm thinking of getting a quiet computer fan to place at the exhaust to help suck the hot air out.

Ok, got moved into my new digs, and I am finally starting on my new HT.

Last night I set about determining exact screen size and positioning. Since the PJ is going to be behind a wall in a separate room, I planned on setting it on a shelf. When I tried this mode last night, the PJ's red light would go off after running less than 5 minutes. Tried a variety of things, making sure the airflow wasn't blocked, but no matter what I did it would shut-off in less than five minutes.

So, on a lark I put it back into ceiling orientation (the way it has run for months @ my old home) and damned if it doesn't work fine.

Now, I *can* ceiling mount the PJ, but now I'm debating whether or not I should seek service? Anyone else experience the same or similar behavior?

Crank up the little " legs " to get maximum air flow. I had this happen once when I shelf mounted my H79, and after cranking the legs up to maximum it never did it again.

Thanks, Craig. I had made sure that the side wasn't obstructed, and I set the bottom of the PJ on an open surface, but I'll try raising the feet as well.

Well, sometimes you have to watch a romantic comedy to keep your lady happy, so last night we watched Shakespear In Love. Despite the bulb problems some are having ( and I'm sorry you are ), when you watch a great dvd transfer like this one on the H79 it really has a stunning picture! Just gorgeous looking IMO. I'm currently watching on a High Power screen too, and I'm pretty much sold on that material even if you don't have the ideal viewing angle. I find it more forgiving than some would say ( except with any ambient light ) and the picture just pops off the screen. I'm still quite happy with my H79!!

I'll second that Craig! :)

I just received my H78 yesterday and in combo with my 106" High Power screen it really is something to behold.

Wayne

Hey guys, quick question: my H78DC3 has somewhere in the vicinity of 1000 hours on the bulb, and I'm aware of all the issues that have been discussed wrt the bulbs. I'm not 100% sure where my problem fits after reading the last posts here. I got the red light after about 15 mins of operation the other night. Projector ran fine and then just shut down regularly midway. I waited a couple of hours and was able to reproduce the behaviour exactly.

I'm assuming it's natural bulb death, but reading people here having these problems much earlier in the game makes me wonder. Is the bulb dead or is the machine overheating due to the heat, which has indeed turned pretty bad just recently? Machine turns on fine and the brightness is fine for my screen, wouldn't want to replace a lamp only to have the new one overheat as well.

Machine is right side up with legs extended all the way. Free standing, too. The place is an oven at the moment though with all the wood.

sorry if this is redundant but does the Toshiba HD-DVD player sync via the HDMI input? i have one in a shopping cart but wanted to ensure operability. thanks!

Hey guys, quick question: my H78DC3 has somewhere in the vicinity of 1000 hours on the bulb, and I'm aware of all the issues that have been discussed wrt the bulbs. I'm not 100% sure where my problem fits after reading the last posts here. I got the red light after about 15 mins of operation the other night. Projector ran fine and then just shut down regularly midway. I waited a couple of hours and was able to reproduce the behaviour exactly.

I'm assuming it's natural bulb death, but reading people here having these problems much earlier in the game makes me wonder. Is the bulb dead or is the machine overheating due to the heat, which has indeed turned pretty bad just recently? Machine turns on fine and the brightness is fine for my screen, wouldn't want to replace a lamp only to have the new one overheat as well.

Machine is right side up with legs extended all the way. Free standing, too. The place is an oven at the moment though with all the wood.
Have you cleaned filter recently? It should have been cleaned every 100 hours or so.

Hey Big L, thanks for your response.

I thought I did, but I did it again last night anyway. Also made sure the place was unrealistically ventilated to minimize heat, just to see what was up. Turns out the machine has separate LEDs for lamp and temp, never saw that (never needed it). Suffice to say it did it again under optimal conditions, and it was the lamp light that came on. Case closed, I'm off to order a new lamp. Checked with my dealer and Optoma here has them in stock. The only thing that irks me a bit is that at this rate, the machine is much less economic in maintenance than I thought.

My H79 projector lamp finally quit after 1800 hours. It was still plenty bright when it worked (on the high lamp setting), but I could not bring it back no matter what I tried (red light with flashing blue kept coming on about 10 times in a row). Replaced it. Wow - really bright even on the econo setting. Hopefully this one will last as long. Stunning picture. SJ

I know all about the dim bulb issues, but what aggravates me about this is the original claim of bulb hours. Wasn't it 2500? No sign of that being the norm at any brightness. So that was just an out and out lie. Or a WAG and in that case shoudl not be part of a product spec.

I know all about the dim bulb issues, but what aggravates me about this is the original claim of bulb hours. Wasn't it 2500? No sign of that being the norm at any brightness. So that was just an out and out lie. Or a WAG and in that case shoudl not be part of a product spec.
Original claim of bulb hours is 3000 hours in eco ja 2000 hour in bright mode.
I agree, Optoma should really stand up and come up with a plan how they fix this issue. I bet they will be loosing a lot of customers if they don't do anything.

How close do other brands get to specced hours? Judging from previous discussion my 1000 hours would be regarded as early, but OK. I didn't expect anywhere near 3000 hours out of it, but it is a bit less than I would have liked to be honest. The only reason I'm saying this is as I said above: don't we all kinda, sorta calculate the upkeep of these things? What they cost an hour? I calculated with a range between 1500 and 2000 hours of use in eco mode, and that price in my head just doubled for the next bulb. I'm not mad, but I'd prefer an average figure with less of an extreme margin of error. Just keep the spec down if you must. My last projector was specced at 1000 hours per bulb and I burned through 3 of those, getting the 1000 hours out of all of them. They were probably good for 1500, but that way I at least knew what to expect.

sorry if this is redundant but does the Toshiba HD-DVD player sync via the HDMI input? i have one in a shopping cart but wanted to ensure operability. thanks!No problem here using a Monoprice HDMI switcher.

Dan

How close do other brands get to specced hours? Judging from previous discussion my 1000 hours would be regarded as early, but OK. I didn't expect anywhere near 3000 hours out of it, but it is a bit less than I would have liked to be honest. The only reason I'm saying this is as I said above: don't we all kinda, sorta calculate the upkeep of these things? What they cost an hour? I calculated with a range between 1500 and 2000 hours of use in eco mode, and that price in my head just doubled for the next bulb. I'm not mad, but I'd prefer an average figure with less of an extreme margin of error. Just keep the spec down if you must. My last projector was specced at 1000 hours per bulb and I burned through 3 of those, getting the 1000 hours out of all of them. They were probably good for 1500, but that way I at least knew what to expect.
Yes, I understand. And the H7x's should get 3000 if one wanted to drag it out that long. But what it definately should have done was 1500 at a decent brightness (50% of advertised). It appears a lot of them aren't even making it to 30% of their life, much less 50% at a decent brightness. But some may be. Dunno. I think Craig has had a good experience with his. Mine was doing fine before I sold it so hopefully it's still doing well for that guy.

Mine was plenty bright after 1800 hours. I would have liked to have put an additional 1000 hours as the brightness was very acceptable. I'm sure there is a lot that factors into the total life of a bulb. What gets me is that the bulb didn't seem "burned out" or "pop" and was still plenty bright. However, the projector would keep shutting down. Hopefully my next projector will be 1080p DLP with a LCD based lighting system.... SJ

Yes, I understand. And the H7x's should get 3000 if one wanted to drag it out that long. But what it definately should have done was 1500 at a decent brightness (50% of advertised). It appears a lot of them aren't even making it to 30% of their life, much less 50% at a decent brightness. But some may be. Dunno. I think Craig has had a good experience with his. Mine was doing fine before I sold it so hopefully it's still doing well for that guy.

I guess it partially boils down to the question of if you use your projector like a TV ( many hours every day ) or if ( like me ) you use your projector only for movies and the few favorite shows on cable in HDTV - which in my case works out to usually no more than 6 hours of viewing a week / 312 hours a year. Which is about what I have on mine now, after a year. Plus, I have an HT1000 for 4:3 and HDTV ( which still looks really great on the old machine ). If I only get 600 hours out of a bulb, that's still only $ 200 a year for great entertainment in my own home theater. In comparison, I spend at least $ 2,500.00 a year on wine alone. And for crappy looking TV I bought myself a cheap but decent flat screen LCD TV. I don't need to burn bulb time watching the evening news! Just my 2 cents.

And yes, my H79 still looks so good, after seeing a SIM C3X, I decided overall I liked my H79 almost as much ( less screen door on the H79 believe it or not ). That saved me the equivilent of 35 bulbs!!! I tend to change bulbs early anyway though, because i like a brighter picture. I changed my HT1000 bulb at 300 hours and am saving the old one as a back up too.

I'm sure the curve smooths out when you think of it as an investment over time and aren't a heavy user. A bulb would have to be pretty expensive to feel expensive when it lasts for 3 years regardless! As you say Craig, 200 a year wouldn't bother me one bit, regardless of hours. Us heavy users are of course little hour-counters because bulb life is a much bigger factor in short-term cost. I'll get used to the fact that my Skoda suddenly burns gas like a Porsche. Funny thing is I decided to buy a new machine when the bulb price for the last one went up, making that model uneconomic. Now I'm back to that same price, on the dot.

Chinch,

does the Toshiba HD-DVD player sync via the HDMI input?

Not mine! I assume you mean the DVI input on the projector. I have the 1.2 version firmware update on the Toshiba, but it won't sync with the H79. A Denon DVD-2910 works fine via HDMI to DVI. I don't have an answer yet, if there is a fix. :(

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

Isn't HDMI fun? :rolleyes:

My H78 syncs with my Oppo and HTPC (straight DVI) and a Samsung HD850B(HDMI>DVI) upconverting player but it won't with my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR (HDMI>DVI).

However, my H57 works fine with the PVR (HDMI>DVI). Go figure. :confused:

Wayne

I bought a H78DC3 two weeks ago from Costco.ca; must have been one of the last unit available since it is discontinued. I bought this unit fully aware of the "bulb problem" figuring it couldn't possibly affect 100% of owners out there.

I have only 30 hours on it so I am still in the happy camp. However, I had an "incident" last weekend that had me concerned. About 5 minutes afters firing up the projector, I was tweaking the focus (so I was heavily playing with focus buttons on remote) when it freezed. The projector actually hang, wasn't responsive anymore to any button press on the remote and unit itself. The image wasn't refreshing anymore; dvd player I was on pause for focusing tweaks obviously but I resume to play when this problem occurred. I stood there looking dumb not knowing what to do... so I did the only thing that I fear doing to any projector, shutting it at the power switch.
It wasn't hot since it was on for less than 10 minutes so I figured I could turn it back on.... So I did but the lamp didn't fired and after a couple of minutes, I got a red light and flashing blue light. At that moment, I think I was in shock...
Then I turned it back off and after 10 long minutes of waiting, I turned it back on. This time, the lamp fired ok and I watched 2 movies that night. The next day it fired up ok.

Do any of you guys have ever heard or lived something similar? A projector actually freezing? What are you thinking about the lamp not firing up? Is it just a one time glitch or did it hide something else?

Thanks

Francois

Just noticed that costco.ca is selling H77 replacement bulbs. I presume it will work in the H78 and 79 as well. Price is now close to the US price and without shipping and duty etc.

Isn't HDMI fun? :rolleyes:

My H78 syncs with my Oppo and HTPC (straight DVI) and a Samsung HD850B(HDMI>DVI) upconverting player but it won't with my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR (HDMI>DVI).

However, my H57 works fine with the PVR (HDMI>DVI). Go figure. :confused:

Wayne


Strange, I have no problem with DVI using a Panasonic DVD player AND my HD box which is the same model as yours...

Just noticed that costco.ca is selling H77 replacement bulbs. I presume it will work in the H78 and 79 as well. Price is now close to the US price and without shipping and duty etc.

Really? I just checked Costco.ca web site and the only buld they are selling is for the DV10... Is it in the "projector" page?

I bought a H78DC3 two weeks ago from Costco.ca; must have been one of the last unit available since it is discontinued. I bought this unit fully aware of the "bulb problem" figuring it couldn't possibly affect 100% of owners out there.

I have only 30 hours on it so I am still in the happy camp. However, I had an "incident" last weekend that had me concerned. About 5 minutes afters firing up the projector, I was tweaking the focus (so I was heavily playing with focus buttons on remote) when it freezed. The projector actually hang, wasn't responsive anymore to any button press on the remote and unit itself. The image wasn't refreshing anymore; dvd player I was on pause for focusing tweaks obviously but I resume to play when this problem occurred. I stood there looking dumb not knowing what to do... so I did the only thing that I fear doing to any projector, shutting it at the power switch.
It wasn't hot since it was on for less than 10 minutes so I figured I could turn it back on.... So I did but the lamp didn't fired and after a couple of minutes, I got a red light and flashing blue light. At that moment, I think I was in shock...
Then I turned it back off and after 10 long minutes of waiting, I turned it back on. This time, the lamp fired ok and I watched 2 movies that night. The next day it fired up ok.

Do any of you guys have ever heard or lived something similar? A projector actually freezing? What are you thinking about the lamp not firing up? Is it just a one time glitch or did it hide something else?

Thanks

Francois


I had the same problem with my H77 and it froze after several hours. I had to turn it off at the switch but I used a fan to blow air through the PJ. I have had a bulb go prematurely due to many on-off cycles. I turned it on several hours later and it worked fine. It occured when I was pressing buttons too fast for the remote. I now do it more slowly. Hasn't happened since.

Look under televisions and then under accessories. It is there.

The pj can freeze if you use the zoom or focus via the remote. It doesn't seem to do it if you use then on the pj itself though. Mine did it once too, and since then I've never used the remote for zoom or focus and so far it's been fine. I had to do a lot of zoom/focus with the anamorphic lenses I've fitted, and it never froze once, so it seems safer to use the pj controls rather than the remote zoom/focus.

Gary

fp007,

Thanks for letting me know that your SA8300HD PVR works with the H78. Maybe mine needs a look see by Optoma Canada. I'm going to try a switcher and perhaps a video processor. I really don't want to send it in for repair for this.

Wayne

fp007,

Thanks for letting me know that your SA8300HD PVR works with the H78. Maybe mine needs a look see by Optoma Canada. I'm going to try a switcher and perhaps a video processor. I really don't want to send it in for repair for this.

Wayne

One thing I should have added, I am using a 25' DVI cable with HDMI to DVI adapter, not a HDMI cable.

thanks fp007,

I'm using a 50' DVI cable with an HDMI/DVI adapter. This cable works flawlessly in every other application and especially sending the SA8300HD PVR signal to my H57 projector but not the H78.

Monoprice switcher in transit and should arrive any day now. Will switch to straight HDMI to the switcher. Hoping that may help.

Wayne

What size screen are you using with your H78? Anyone see a problem with a 133" diag High Power screen and the H78? I want to find out if the picture is not as sharp after a certain distance.

any input of your size screen and the H78 would be great!

thanks,

Gary

I'm using an 110" wide cinemascope screen. It's a grey screen with small gain in a light controlled room. I find the PJ to be plenty bright (in economy mode, no less.)

garykagan,

Don't forget to factor in projector mounting location, seating distance and viewing environment conditions. All are critical when considering how a projector's image looks to the viewer. As Joe12south mentioned, lamp mode is also important.

Thanks! -

Projector will be shelf mounted within the borders of the screen.
There will be NO light coming in the room.
Seating distance is 13-14 feet for first row, 19-20 feet for second row.
Lamp mode will be what is necessary.

Gary

garykagan,

Don't forget to factor in projector mounting location, seating distance and viewing environment conditions. All are critical when considering how a projector's image looks to the viewer. As Joe12south mentioned, lamp mode is also important.

Gary,

I use a 133" diagonal High Power with my H79 that is mounted about 15 ft. from the screen, but I have my picture zoomed in a little for an image about 123" diagonal. Mounting the projector so it's height just above the viewers' line of sight, so they are more within the viewing cone, will provide near maximum gain. Then, the picture will likely be bright enough for at least the first 300-500 of the bulb's life. Be aware that the viewers on your front row might see pixels.

Dan

Gary,

I use a 133" diagonal High Power with my H79 that is mounted about 15 ft. from the screen, but I have my picture zoomed in a little for an image about 123" diagonal. Mounting the projector so it's height just above the viewers' line of sight, so they are more within the viewing cone, will provide near maximum gain. Then, the picture will likely be bright enough for at least the first 300-500 of the bulb's life. Be aware that the viewers on your front row might see pixels.

Dan

After the 300-500 hours, I can adjust the brightness of the projector to make up for the dimming correct?

As for the pixels, do you have that problem? is that because the picture is so big?

thanks!

Gary

Gary,

I use a 106" Da-Lite High Power and I view from about 10 1/2 feet away. It's very immersive from this distance and the H78 is bright enough in low mode to have a lot of punch with this screen and I can even use an ND2 filter to cut the lumens in half and still enjoy an adequate picture. However, I've taken the filter off because I missed the 'pop' that the bare lens gave me.

Wayne

After the 300-500 hours, I can adjust the brightness of the projector to make up for the dimming correct?

As for the pixels, do you have that problem? is that because the picture is so big?

thanks!

GaryThe brightness comment is related to premature bulb dimming noted by some users, including me, with the H79. I now have the bulb that was dimming appreciably at around 300 hours as a backup and my second bulb has been OK so far at around 250 hours using the britemode all the time to increase fan speed, cleaning out the intake filter at the bottom of the projector every month or so, and maximizing space under the projector by unscrewing the legs to maximum height. Check out the thread(s) about the bulb issue.

Sitting at less than 1.5 x screen width from the screen increases the likelihood of seeing pixels with a 720p projector. I use slight defocusing to reduce my perception of them.

Dan

I tried to search through the numerous post on this thread, but I couldn't find an answer, so I apologize for asking a question that might already been answered.

I am trying to find a 720P projector and was wondering if anybody has used this unit with similar room setup to mine. Here is my current setup:

I have a 92" diagonal 16 x 9 screen.

I measured the projector from the lens to the top of
the screen and the
total was right at 12.7/12.8.

The screen is 7 3/4" from the ceiling.

The PJ is mounted 2 3/4" from the ceiling.

If needed, I would be able to move the projector up
5"-6".

If anybody can help, that would be great. If you can direct me to another post, that would be nice as well.

Thanks,

I tried to search through the numerous post on this thread, but I couldn't find an answer, so I apologize for asking a question that might already been answered.

I am trying to find a 720P projector and was wondering if anybody has used this unit with similar room setup to mine. Here is my current setup:

I have a 92" diagonal 16 x 9 screen.

I measured the projector from the lens to the top of
the screen and the
total was right at 12.7/12.8.

The screen is 7 3/4" from the ceiling.

The PJ is mounted 2 3/4" from the ceiling.

If needed, I would be able to move the projector up
5"-6".

If anybody can help, that would be great. If you can direct me to another post, that would be nice as well.

Thanks,

You can use that set up for an H79 that projection distance will allow for 82 inch to 110 inch, you are not supposed to have the pj mounted above the screen w/ this pj, however, there are built in adjustments wich can be manipulated to allow for it, some pq degradation may be noticed. I have had my H79 for about a year now, I only use it for movies & football, but I absolutly love mine. I think it is the best home theater investment I have made.

What if I mounted the H78 lower than my where my H31 currently is so it is lined up with the top of my screen? If I did that, would I be able to use the H78?

The brightness comment is related to premature bulb dimming noted by some users, including me, with the H79. I now have the bulb that was dimming appreciably at around 300 hours as a backup and my second bulb has been OK so far at around 250 hours using the britemode all the time to increase fan speed, cleaning out the intake filter at the bottom of the projector every month or so, and maximizing space under the projector by unscrewing the legs to maximum height. Check out the thread(s) about the bulb issue.

Sitting at less than 1.5 x screen width from the screen increases the likelihood of seeing pixels with a 720p projector. I use slight defocusing to reduce my perception of them.

Dan

Exactly....I use bright mode for the higher fan speed and elevate my 78 with four 1 inch cork/rubber blocks under the feet as well as checking the filter monthly.
It will be interesting to see how much longer the second lamp lasts using bright mode.

What if I mounted the H78 lower than my where my H31 currently is so it is lined up with the top of my screen? If I did that, would I be able to use the H78?

you can use it either way, however if you get it within the area of the screen you will have less distortion of the picture, and you will enhance the viewing cone for optimal viewing angle.

I'm trying to replace my bulb but I can't remove the cover. Great instructions, remove screw then remove cover, only that thing feels like it's held in place by at least another screw or other mechanism. How do I get it off without breaking it?

EDIT: nm, did it. Who designed this? The last thing anyone will try to use on equipment like this is force or prying tools. There're plastic hooks under the hood and the best thing you can do is pry them open with something long and flat? My Optoma just lost its cherry to a letter opener. Let's hope it was the lamp and the thing is at least working again. Dealer said he'd back me up if the lamp underperformed again.

On a sidenote, removing the lamp made me nervous. It looks perfect. Only the slightest hint of use. New one looks exactly the same. Wonder if it's really dead. People have switched positions with this thing and it started working again? Maybe I should turn it on its side or head with the old lamp in place sometime.

you can use it either way, however if you get it within the area of the screen you will have less distortion of the picture, and you will enhance the viewing cone for optimal viewing angle.

If this is true, then I will be very happy!

Now, I just need to find a recommended retailer.. If somebody would be nice enough to PM me a good company to contact, preferably a forum sponsor, that would be great!

Thanks..

I'm trying to replace my bulb but I can't remove the cover. Great instructions, remove screw then remove cover, only that thing feels like it's held in place by at least another screw or other mechanism. How do I get it off without breaking it?
There's only one screw. Then slide it sideways (to left, if your are on the lens side) a bit and then lift up. However it does get stuck over time, be very careful. Use only yours hands to remove cover.

Yeah, mine was stuck alright. I tried the moving thing and nothing helped until I used my mad letter opener skills.

If this is true, then I will be very happy!

Now, I just need to find a recommended retailer.. If somebody would be nice enough to PM me a good company to contact, preferably a forum sponsor, that would be great!

Thanks..


Dave Harper
A/V Science, Inc.
Sales, ISF Calibration & Installs
daveharper@avscience.com
877-823-4452 Toll Free
717-489-1702 Direct
M-F 9AM-5PM

I'm trying to replace my bulb but I can't remove the cover. Great instructions, remove screw then remove cover, only that thing feels like it's held in place by at least another screw or other mechanism. How do I get it off without breaking it?

EDIT: nm, did it. Who designed this? The last thing anyone will try to use on equipment like this is force or prying tools. There're plastic hooks under the hood and the best thing you can do is pry them open with something long and flat? My Optoma just lost its cherry to a letter opener. Let's hope it was the lamp and the thing is at least working again. Dealer said he'd back me up if the lamp underperformed again.

On a sidenote, removing the lamp made me nervous. It looks perfect. Only the slightest hint of use. New one looks exactly the same. Wonder if it's really dead. People have switched positions with this thing and it started working again? Maybe I should turn it on its side or head with the old lamp in place sometime.

There has been a couple and I had one H77 that would only work right side up. At first I used it inverted ceiling mounted and it developed this short no start problem.

Next time you remove the lid get your finger nails under the middle side area and use the palm of your other hand to press down the top center of the lid to relieve the hooks. It should slide over easier.

Dave Harper
A/V Science, Inc.
Sales, ISF Calibration & Installs
daveharper@avscience.com
877-823-4452 Toll Free
717-489-1702 Direct
M-F 9AM-5PM

Thank you.

In looking at the 'lamp hours' section of the H79 user menu I noticed it gives you two numbers: one for Economy mode one for Bright mode. In the service menu I found it gives you a third 'Actual Lamp hours' number (or something like that). The service menu hours read different than the two user menu hours. In my case it reads like this:

Econ user menu: 363
Bright user menu: 116
Service menu: 280 (this is an approximation as I didn't write it down).

How does one interpret all of this?
I always assumed total hours = Econ hrs. + Bright hours. But the service menu hours are in between the user menu hours.
Also, on occasion I will put the pj into 'video mute', when I want to leave it on, but need to leave the room for a bit. Does ‘video mute’ affect the hours of the lamp? Is there any point in using it?

Thanks in advance.

Also, on occasion I will put the pj into 'video mute', when I want to leave it on, but need to leave the room for a bit. Does ‘video mute’ affect the hours of the lamp? Is there any point in using it?

I don't recommend using video mute for longer period of time, because it will heat up you projector internals as all light (=heat) will stay inside. I believe lamp hours keep running as usual, because lamp will be on, only DMD mirrors are in off position.

I don't recommend using video mute for longer period of time, because it will heat up you projector internals as all light (=heat) will stay inside. I believe lamp hours keep running as usual, because lamp will be on, only DMD mirrors are in off position.

Thanks for the warning. This makes sense. The last thing this particular pj needs is MORE internal heat.

Video mute doesn't do anything other than display a black screen, right? No effect on the lamp life versus displaying a pic. The bulb is on, the bulb is on.

I don't think it stops the DLP mirrors ... I don't think it could if it wanted to. Even when black is being displayed they are flipping many, many times a second ... I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think it stops the DLP mirrors ... I don't think it could if it wanted to. Even when black is being displayed they are flipping many, many times a second ... I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I didn't mean that it actually stops DLP mirrors, but they act same way when you are projecting black picture, all light is directed inside light engine.

Thanks for letting me know that your SA8300HD PVR works with the H78. Maybe mine needs a look see by Optoma Canada. I'm going to try a switcher and perhaps a video processor. I really don't want to send it in for repair for this.

Hi Wayne,

I just picked up the H78 last week and am also having a problem getting the 8300HD HDMI out to work with it. Did you ever find a solution?

Thanks,
Jason

Jason,

I saw your post about this over on the HD6800 thread this afternoon and I was planning on answering it tonight but I'll give you the lowdown here. :)

If you want to read about it in detail you can go over to the Monoprice thread. It's in the HDTV Reception Hardware forum.

In a nutshell, I decided to try the Monoprice 5x1 switcher so I ordered it and voila! The problem was completely solved. The image boomed right in from the SA8300HD whether it was SD or HDTV. I took the switcher out of the chain to see what would happen and it went right back to the way it used to be with those strange resolutions and sometimes sparklies and other times a black screen.

Needless to say I put the switcher right back in the system again and I'm using my HTPC, the Oppo, and the SA8300HD with no problems.

What's really neat is that I have the SA8300HD connected to my CRT RPTV via component and via HDMI to my Optoma H78 projector. When the PVR is sending a signal out via HDMI to the pj, the component signal stops and the TV goes to black and then when I change inputs on the switcher to say the Oppo for instance, the pj shows the Oppo image and the TV then starts showing an image from the PVR. Very cool. :cool:

So my recommendation is to call Sean at Monoprice or go online and order this because it worked for me and I was having the exact same problem that you're going through. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work for you as well. If it doesn't you still have a great switcher. :D

Wayne

I am very pleased with my H79. However, it doesn't sync with my Toshiba HD DVD player's HDMI. I have tried firmware versions 1.2, 1.3 and now 1.4. All the usual combinations of unplugging this and that, plus shorter HDMI cables have failed. The projector displays the player's menus just fine, but as soon as a movie loads I only get HDMI ERROR on the Toshiba's display and the "handshake" is lost. My Denon DVD-2910 HDMI connection works fine. Any ideas?

I am very pleased with my H79. However, it doesn't sync with my Toshiba HD DVD player's HDMI. I have tried firmware versions 1.2, 1.3 and now 1.4. All the usual combinations of unplugging this and that shorter HDMI cables have failed. The projector displays the player's menus just fine, but as soon as a movie loads I only get HDMI ERROR on the Toshiba's display and the "handshake" is lost. My Denon DVD-2910 HDMI connection works fine. Any ideas?
this was happening to my H78dc3 when i first installed my HD-A1 but the hdmi cable inadvertantly came half unplugged from my switchbox. duh!

since then in a few weeks i've had no similar problem. v1.3 and now v1.4 on the toshiba

perhaps the h79 has an old firmware that needs updating?

I don't see any port available on the projector for download of a firmware update.

I don't see any port available on the projector for download of a firmware update.
you'd have to call optoma for details and then ship it out. worth asking around about as the pJ should work with the HD-A1. One of these devices is creating a problem assuming a direct cable connect on a confirmed working cable.

I had the same problem with my H57 a while ago. I sent it in to Optoma Canada for repair and they replaced the main board. After that it worked! You could always try an HDMI switcher like I did with an equalizer in it. It may be what you need.

Wayne

Eureka! I got the projector to lock onto the HD DVD signal finally! There is a mode in the projector's user menu that's called "source lock." The dumb projector would go into signal type search mode when the DVD player switched from it's on-screen menu to the movie. That broke the digital "handshake" and sent the player into HDMI ERROR mode. The "source lock" setting prevents the projector from leaving Digital RGB or Digital YPbPr mode. The problem was with the projector all along.

Eureka! I got the projector to lock onto the HD DVD signal finally! There is a mode in the projector's user menu that's called "source lock." The dumb projector would go into signal type search mode when the DVD player switched from it's on-screen menu to the movie. That broke the digital "handshake" and sent the player into HDMI ERROR mode. The "source lock" setting prevents the projector from leaving Digital RGB or Digital YPbPr mode. The problem was with the projector all along.
glad it's working.

it should work w/o source lock though assuming you just kick it back into DVI digital mode. that said i couldn't imagine owning a H7x without enabling source lock. this pj is great but the "source locking" if you change inputs is dreadfully slow. Heck it even switches resolutions and flashes blue 3x while i boot my HTPC. LOL. my HD-A1 boots almost as fast as this syncs to a source :eek: :D

Well you're lucky. :) I tried that with my H57 and it didn't make a difference.

Monitor it and see if it's consistent from now on.

HDMI sure is fun isn't it? :rolleyes:

Wayne

I changed back to "signal lock off" and stopped the HD DVD player. Then I tried to restart the movie. The player lost the sync again when the movie started. I went back to lock mode on the H79 and restarted the movie again. No problems again. This projector will have to be set to signal lock if I'm going to view anything over HDMI from this DVD player. HDMI sure has a way to go yet!!!! I guess life isn't fair. Picture sure looks great, though! :D

I don't see any port available on the projector for download of a firmware update.
Actually there is a RS-232 port that is also used for firmware upgrades. Even cable comes with the projector. But for some (no good) reason Optoma is not allowing users to upgrade it by themselves.

Wayne - thanks for the info about the Monoprice HDMI switch. I'm probably going to hold off on that for now though because I've been thinking about upgrading my receiver to the new Pioneer VSX-84TXSi. It has HDMI switching built-in, along with a Faroudja DCDi scaler. It's supposed to list at around $1,800 CDN which is a really good deal considering all the features. I'm hoping the H78 will work properly with the receiver's HDMI output and then I won't need to bother with the standalone switcher. Worst case I can always pick up the switcher later.

I finally got my screen today and it is definitely an improvement over the blank wall. :-) However, I'm still going to upgrade it anyway because I don't really like the "sparkly" look it has with whites. I'll likely pick up a Carada Brilliant White instead. Anyway, things are looking promising with this projector and I'm anxious to get it set up in the new home in a couple of weeks!

grog,

Don't forget that the Monoprice switcher has an equalizer built in which may be what is helping the PVR to sync with the projector properly. The receiver may not have that capability so it's something you might want to check out.

You're right about the screen. I don't use it. It's pretty good but not great. I use the High Power screen and really like it.

Keep us in the loop. :)

Wayne

Can anyone recommend a ceiling mount for the Optoma H78DC3? I have a low ceiling (6'10") and need the mount to be as low profile as possible.

Thanks,
Jay

Yeah, the Cheif mount is inexpensive, high quality, and very low profile. You can see a bit of it in the thread in my signature.

chief universal for sure. even with lateral shift kit is real low profile (any lower and ventilation would be an issue IMHO.

if a rear wall is in the pj range you might consider a DIY shelf mount, guaranteed cheaper than any pj mount, also easier to get optimal viewing cone w/ those picky ho screens like the grey wolf

Thank you for the recommendations. I don't have a wall nearby to mount to and the drywall has just finished. I'll pursue the Chief RPA-U from mountcenter for $150.


Thanks again for the help,
Jay

It should work great. I was genuinely surprised at its rugged quality, being as it is relatively cheap. It's so nice having that amount of control to center and square the picture.

Jay,

I'm using the Peerless universal mount and I really like it with the H78. It holds the pj in place rock solidly and it's a mount with good weight to it. Feels heavy and strong. I like the adjustment screws on it for pitch, yaw, and roll. I'd say my H78 is hanging between 3 and 4 inches from the ceiling.

It's in the same ballpark pricewise as the Chief mount I think.

Wayne

This is probably too late, but I don't have a wall close either, but I did a DIY shelf all the same.

4 eyehooks, good looking chain, 4 u-shaped connectors, 8 s-hooks, and a piece of wood painted nicely.

The eyehooks go into the ceiling, the chain hangs from them hooking into the U-shaped connectors that are put into the corners of the wood.

Cost is minimal, projector can be replaced at will, distance from ceiling is whatever you want it to be, stable as hell, bass doesn't shake through the chain.

Just put the eyehooks at an angle to hold it in place.

I've had it up on this for at least 6 months, works great!, wife actually likes the way the black wood looks with the silver chain.

This is probably too late, but I don't have a wall close either, but I did a DIY shelf all the same.

4 eyehooks, good looking chain, 4 u-shaped connectors, 8 s-hooks, and a piece of wood painted nicely.

The eyehooks go into the ceiling, the chain hangs from them hooking into the U-shaped connectors that are put into the corners of the wood.

Cost is minimal, projector can be replaced at will, distance from ceiling is whatever you want it to be, stable as hell, bass doesn't shake through the chain.

Just put the eyehooks at an angle to hold it in place.

I've had it up on this for at least 6 months, works great!, wife actually likes the way the black wood looks with the silver chain.

that does sound pretty snappy, how about a photo?

I'm envisioning a shelf hanging from four chains that would be easily bumped so that it would start swinging.

What am I missing here? Yes, photos please? :)

Wayne

Safe to assume it's high enough not to be bumped.

Scott

It is indeed just over my head, and I'm the tallest of the bunch here. When it does get bumped it wiggles for 30 seconds maximum.

The only time I spend under it is when I'm loading a dvd, everything else can be worked by remote, and it's not in the "walkway" of the room.

Putting the eye-hooks out at an angle causes tension so that it doesn't wiggle very much even when you hit it, and it always snaps back to it's original position.

I'll try to take some pics tonight.

Unless $100 bucks is a deal breaker, the adjustability of a ceiling mount is hard to beat. For years I concocted home-brew solutions, but I got a free Chief mount when I bought my H78, and now I'd never go back.

I hate to ask this ... because I know it is hiding somewhere in one of the H78/H79 threads and I just can't find it ... but can somebody post the basic settings for the Oppo 971 and Optoma H79 combo? If anyone has calibrated advanced settings those would be appreciated as well. (I know longer have my meter, so I need to eyeball adjustments for a new theater and I need a good starting point.)

I hate to ask this ... because I know it is hiding somewhere in one of the H78/H79 threads and I just can't find it ... but can somebody post the basic settings for the Oppo 971 and Optoma H79 combo? If anyone has calibrated advanced settings those would be appreciated as well. (I know longer have my meter, so I need to eyeball adjustments for a new theater and I need a good starting point.)
Read this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=642308

There are atleast two set of nicely working settings. Pls let me know if those worked for you, and which ones you chose.

Many thanks. I'm going to start from these and see where I get tonight.

I decided to go ahead and get an ISF calibration done in late August, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

So I FINALLY got around to taking my H78DC3 up to San Jose for repair. Even though the component inputs weren't working I was using the DVI input and really didn't want to let go of the machine for a week as I have a guest in town. Anyway, the problem I was having with the "flashing" (mentioned a few pages back) ended up becoming worse. It started out as a problem in low lamp mode only. Then it started to happen in regular lamp mode as the machine heated up...first after a few hours...then after just half an hour...finally pretty much from the get-go.

Turns out the connector board needed to be replaced and they're having to replace the main board for a total cost of $572, incl. shipping. Again, this was a used machine with only a couple hundred hours on it for under $2k so I don't feel too put out.

Attached (I hope) is a picture of the image (in a lightened room, mind you) as it was failing...

I decided to go ahead and get an ISF calibration done in late August, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.
Indeed. It would be really interesting to hear how they compare. I guess there shouldn't be much difference between the units, since bulb is the only difference (which can of course vary a bit).

So I FINALLY got around to taking my H78DC3 up to San Jose for repair. Even though the component inputs weren't working I was using the DVI input and really didn't want to let go of the machine for a week as I have a guest in town. Anyway, the problem I was having with the "flashing" (mentioned a few pages back) ended up becoming worse. It started out as a problem in low lamp mode only. Then it started to happen in regular lamp mode as the machine heated up...first after a few hours...then after just half an hour...finally pretty much from the get-go.

Turns out the connector board needed to be replaced and they're having to replace the main board for a total cost of $572, incl. shipping. Again, this was a used machine with only a couple hundred hours on it for under $2k so I don't feel too put out.

Attached (I hope) is a picture of the image (in a lightened room, mind you) as it was failing...

I had this exact same issue and symptoms a number of months ago. My projector was replaced under warranty. At the time the Optoma tech thought it was a power supply issue.

I picked up my projector today and TSC did a great job with the repairs - in fact there was very little to tweak to get the picture looking near-perfect. Kristine at TSC kept me updated on the progress and was quick to respond to my (probably too many) emails. I'm a very happy H78DC3 owner. :)

All, Thanks for the recommendations on the ceiling mounts. I went ahead and purchased the chief. The idea about the chains and platform sounds good for high ceilings or places where the projector is out of the way... unfortunately for my situation, the projector is rather low (ceiling is 7').

Thanks again. One last question for those who have already mounted their H78DC3... Any special tips/tricks you can offer? I'm using the Chief RPA-U.

Jay

Any special tips/tricks you can offer?

Jay
Make sure you center the pj to the center of the screen based of the postion of the LENS, not the pj. I learned this one the hard way.
"Measure twice, drill once", is always good advice... :)

After a year of building I finally got my HP screen and H78 in position. The H78 is shelf mounted at around 6 feet. The picture is way to high and on my ceiling even with the back legs all the way up and the front legs down. I thought if the lens is right at the top of the screen, the picture shoots down from there.

I have the screen top at 90 inches.

I planned on the projector lens at 72 inches (about)

What am I doing wrong?

I am trying to avoid a manual tilt with pieces of wood and then adjusting with the keystone as I have it setup now.

thanks for any help!

Gary

Keep moving the lens shift it should work.

ok - that is the manual lens shift on the top of the proj. I will give that a try.

thanks!

Gary

Yes, I used a high shelf mount and at first the image was on the ceiling. Using the shift I was surprised how much the image could be lowered. 100% movement I think they call it.

Yes - thanks, I did that and it worked great. I put the keystone back to zero as well.

Gary

Anyone know how much horizontal lens shift the H78DC3 is capable of? I'm about to mount it and it looks like the best I can do (with projector weight centered 'almost') will be to have the lens about 1-2 inches off the center of the screen.

Will this create a major problem?

Jay

The H78 is designed to have the lens in the screen area, then you can shift up or down to align the screen border. You can have it at the top, at the bottom or for sure in the middle.

Thank you all for the suggestions and recommendations. I was able to get the projector mounted without issue. The Cheif mounting bracket is awesome... plenty of adjustability for someone like myself who can't level your basic picture shelf. :)

Thanks again,

Jay

I hooked up my DVR (motorola DCT6412 III) HDMI out to a 25 foot HDMI ---> DVI cable into the H78 projector (got it from monoprice, and I have never had any problems with their cables).

When I switched the signal to the DVR (to use the DVI input from the proj), I got a green picture. I then swiched to component and it works great. I would like the HDMI --> DVI cable to work though. I am not using a reciever for video switching for this test.

any thoughts?

thanks,

Gary

bump - no one else has had this green colored image problem with an HDMI cable? anyone?

Gary

bump - no one else has had this green colored image problem with an HDMI cable? anyone?

Gary

The only time I saw that was when my cable was not fully seated at the DVI end. I just about croaked when I saw it. If that isn't it, I would try a cheap short cable. Drag the dvr over close enough if you have to. Try simple first. There is always time to worry about the worst.

Thanks! I will try that tonight. I had a 25 foot DVI to DVI on the projector for 6 month on my PC connection so I know the projector is ok.

This is the first HDMI --> DVI I've tried.

Gary

Thanks! I will try that tonight. I had a 25 foot DVI to DVI on the projector for 6 month on my PC connection so I know the projector is ok.

This is the first HDMI --> DVI I've tried.

Gary

I am going HDMI-->DVI for my Toshiba HD-A1 to my H78DC3 and it works fine. I also use that same Motorola Box but that is connected to my projector via component.

I am going HDMI-->DVI for my Toshiba HD-A1 to my H78DC3 and it works fine. I also use that same Motorola Box but that is connected to my projector via component.

Can you see if the HDMI from the motorola box will work for you?

Gary

about 9 months ago when I got my h79 I was messing with some of the settings, when I was trying to use the avia software, and I made the picture turn green out of the dvi, but not component, but I now have forgotten which setting did that, you might pm guitar man and ask him about your issue

Can you see if the HDMI from the motorola box will work for you?

Gary

Ya, I'll test this tonight and post my results.

I wonder if it has to do with the different between RGB and YPrPB. Have you tried pressing the DVI button again to force it to switch between the two?

bump - no one else has had this green colored image problem with an HDMI cable? anyone?

Gary

I had a bad cable once and was getting this. Try a different cable (even a short one) to see if that helps. SJ

I hooked up my DVR (motorola DCT6412 III) HDMI out to a 25 foot HDMI ---> DVI cable into the H78 projector (got it from monoprice, and I have never had any problems with their cables).

When I switched the signal to the DVR (to use the DVI input from the proj), I got a green picture. I then swiched to component and it works great. I would like the HDMI --> DVI cable to work though. I am not using a reciever for video switching for this test.

any thoughts?

thanks,

Gary

DVI 720p is probably way out of tune on your projector. Use the advance RGB adjustments while viewing a graysteps pattern. Take out the green bias by pulling back the green sliders. If it takes a 12 numbers stop and make it just half 6 and inturn increase the red and blue sliders by a similar number (6each) for balance. You're good if you do it by eye, lets see how you do.

I've had a small amount of H77s and H79s come by me with strong green bias for DVI HDTV, you're not alone.

guitarman,

I'll try to follow and check that too. The weird thing is I had a 25 foot dvi to dvi cable hooked up to the proj from my pc for 6 months and it worked great. When I switched to the hdmi - dvi on the cable box this happened.

Gary

DVI 720p is probably way out of tune on your projector. Use the advance RGB adjustments while viewing a graysteps pattern. Take out the green bias by pulling back the green sliders. If it takes a 12 numbers stop and make it just half 6 and inturn increase the red and blue sliders by a similar number (6each) for balance. You're good if you do it by eye, lets see how you do.

I've had a small amount of H77s and H79s come by me with strong green bias for DVI HDTV, you're not alone.

I tried all of the above from all member responses. The connections are tight. When I tried the RGB adjustments it did not change the color much. I did notice that the green I am seeing is more like a reversed polarity sepia picture actually. It does not look like color corrections will fix this. Also, while I was trying stuff, I saw a bright red spot appear in the upper right a few times. That freaked me out enough to stop messing around.

I will have to try the 6 foot hdmi --- > dvi cable I have next. This blows...

I did switch back to component and all is still working there.

Gary

Gary,

I didn't have any problems with my Moto 6412 Phase 3 into the H78 DC3 via HDMI/DVI. I'd suggest checking the settings on the Motorola box itself. If you press 'Menu' on the remote while the box is off you get the internal settings. There you will find additional HDMI settings (Press the right arrow on the remote). There is an HDMI/DVI mode setting as well as a color space. Make sure its set to DVI and try playing with the color space (toggles between RBG and YCC 4:4:4)

Gary,

I didn't have any problems with my Moto 6412 Phase 3 into the H78 DC3 via HDMI/DVI. I'd suggest checking the settings on the Motorola box itself. If you press 'Menu' on the remote while the box is off you get the internal settings. There you will find additional HDMI settings (Press the right arrow on the remote). There is an HDMI/DVI mode setting as well as a color space. Make sure its set to DVI and try playing with the color space (toggles between RBG and YCC 4:4:4)


You are a genius. I changed the color space to YCC 4:4:4 and it worked.

Note: the advanced settings only come up when the HDMI is plugged in.

On the main page there are settings for component and 4:3 settings, etc.

I set it to 16:9 - this one makes sense.

What settings are you using for the output for component and the 4:3 above the advanced settings.

When I have the output on 720p and 1080i, I get the same result (good picture either way). What is the difference and what should the settings be at for this?

any thoughts on this are appreciated, now that it is fixed, I just want to learn something!!

Gary

You are a genius. I changed the color space to YCC 4:4:4 and it worked.

Note: the advanced settings only come up when the HDMI is plugged in.

On the main page there are settings for component and 4:3 settings, etc.

I set it to 16:9 - this one makes sense.

What settings are you using for the output for component and the 4:3 above the advanced settings.

When I have the output on 720p and 1080i, I get the same result (good picture either way). What is the difference and what should the settings be at for this?

any thoughts on this are appreciated, now that it is fixed, I just want to learn something!!

Gary

Glad it helped.

I'm using 1080i on the HDMI/YPbPr and 480i on the 4:3 override. You may want to play around with 1080i/720p. Most HD channels are broadcast 1080i. On a 720p display it becomes a matter of which device do you think does the better job of scaling. If you think its the Moto, choose 720p. If you think its your display choose 1080i. I'm not sure how good the Optoma scaler is. My Moto feeds two TVs and my other TV is a 32" Sony on which it does 1080i natively so I had it set to 1080i and 480i for the Sony since I owned it first and when I got the projector, the picture looked fine so I never changed it. I personally don't think the Moto scaler is great but not sure if the Optoma is better or not.

In regard to the 4:3 override, on my Sony, it defiantely looked better on 480i, letting my tv scale it. The DRC chip on the Sony shuts down if it detects a progressive signal. Here is what the various settings mean (from the manual):

OFF displays non-HD programs having 4:3 aspect ratio in wide screen format. On an HDTV, black bars display on the left and right of the picture. Selecting OFF for a 4:3 TV may result in a small picture with black bars around it.

480i displays non-HD programs in their original 480i format.

480p converts non-HD TV programs to a higher quality 480p

Stretch automatically stretches all SD programming to fill your widescreen display. Strech can onlt be selected if you have TV Type set to 16:9

Play around with it and use what looks best to you.

thanks for the info! I will try different settings and see what is best. I'll post my results here.

I also will throw the yamaha 2600 scaler into the mix and have to determine the best way to get the best picture.

I didn't know this was so difficult!! The moto, the proj and the receiver can all upgrade the picture so I have to figure out which one is the best. My guess is the battle will be between the projector and the yamaha receiver.

So to recap, if I choose 720p on the moto, the moto takes over and does the scaling. If I choose 1080i, the moto is just a "pass through" and the display does the scaling. If I put the yamaha in the middle, as I recall, the only upscaling the 2600 will do is if I put component into the yamaha and component out to the proj. If I use the hdmi in the yamaha, it just does a pass through to the proj.

As for the 4:3 override, I will use 480p as this projector is dedicated to the moto and any non-HD channels should be upscaled as much as possible.

thanks,

Gary

thanks for the info! I will try different settings and see what is best. I'll post my results here.

I also will throw the yamaha 2600 scaler into the mix and have to determine the best way to get the best picture.

I didn't know this was so difficult!! The moto, the proj and the receiver can all upgrade the picture so I have to figure out which one is the best. My guess is the battle will be between the projector and the yamaha receiver.

So to recap, if I choose 720p on the moto, the moto takes over and does the scaling. If I choose 1080i, the moto is just a "pass through" and the display does the scaling. If I put the yamaha in the middle, as I recall, the only upscaling the 2600 will do is if I put component into the yamaha and component out to the proj. If I use the hdmi in the yamaha, it just does a pass through to the proj.

As for the 4:3 override, I will use 480p as this projector is dedicated to the moto and any non-HD channels should be upscaled as much as possible.

thanks,

Gary

If you choose 720p on the moto, it will pass 720p (basically the espns and abc) and it will scale 1080i to 720p. The optoma is receiving 720p so it shouldn't have to do anything.

If you choose 1080i on the moto, it will scale 720p up to 1080i and it will pass 1080i. The optoma will scale 1080i (essentially everything) down to 720p for display.

Since the majority of stuff is 1080i, choosing 1080i has the motorola scaling less (unless of course you primarily watch espn/espn2/abc).

Regardless of what type of signal the Optoma is getting, it can only display it in its native 1280x720 and it will up/down scale as necessary.

This is how I understand it to work. If I'm off base hopefully someone will corrrect me.

I'd try 480i on the 4:3 override as the Optoma will also scale it to 720p for display.

Got it - I'll try that tonight!

thanks again,

Gary

I've recently hooked up a Lumagen HDQ to my Optoma H79 and have set the scaler to output such refresh rates as 47.95Hz and 71.92Hz on NTSC inputs to minimise the judder caused by 3:2 pulldown.
The Optoma picks up the correct rate and reports the correct refresh rate onscreen. My question is... Does the Optoma actually display at these rates, or does it simply use it's internal processing to change the rate back to 60Hz?
I asked Optoma support this question, but can't get a response, so I'm hoping someone like Guitarman will know

I can say I heard the pj slow down and judder was gone with film sources when I used the Bravo D1 outputting 48 Hz and, as you say, the display would indicate 48 Hz. I don't know about the 72 Hz.

Dan

Although I plan on upgrading to the H-81 after I see some user reviews.....my H-78 is not working after my daughter and her boy friend were evidently laying/sitting on the remote :mad:

When I got down to the theater to check out the problem....the picture was on with the focus graphic stuck on the screen and the remote would not function....although it still lights up.

I tried powering it up manually this morning and no go :confused:

Would a broken remote cause the pj to not power up manually?

Pull the batteries out of the remote. Unplug the projector for a while also. I remember having a Focus Icon lockup with an H79 unplugging fixed it.

Pull the batteries out of the remote. Unplug the projector for a while also. I remember having a Focus Icon lockup with an H79 unplugging fixed it.

Thanks Tom.....trying it now.

I forgot to mention that when the focus icon was stuck....the xbox 360 was on screen via component.....and I was unable to switch to dvi...or any other source.

Basically the pj was froze up at that point.
Is this failure to power up after shutting it down overnight what you experienced also?

It seems to be a software glitch within the pj that happens when you use the remote to operate the zoom or focus. If you use the buttons on the pj to operate the zoom and focus the locking up doesn't seem to occur. It happenned to me once so I use the buttons instead. I don't use the zoom or focus much anyway - once the image is set I don't have to touch it again.

Gary

Well it worked......thanks Tom.


Gary...I have used the focus quite a few times and never had this happen until my daughter was evidently sitting on the remote......but at any rate....all is good again until the H-81 upgrade.

I went down to plug it back in.....and it wouldn't power up because my son had his Marshall amp plugged into the wall end......dam kids :)

Ones sitting on the remote with her boy friend...and the other is playing his birthday present in the theater....instead of his room ...or the garage.

Love the sound of a Marshall a good Les Paul with new strings in the morning.
"Smells err sounds like Victory"

Love the sound of a Marshall a good Les Paul with new strings in the morning.
"Smells err sounds like Victory"

LOL...he has to settle for his new Shecter c-1 elite which does have the LP sustain and plays like budder....or his SG.


Any LP....especially a good one will be mine....until he gets a job in a few years :)

I've recently hooked up a Lumagen HDQ to my Optoma H79 and have set the scaler to output such refresh rates as 47.95Hz and 71.92Hz on NTSC inputs to minimise the judder caused by 3:2 pulldown.
The Optoma picks up the correct rate and reports the correct refresh rate onscreen. My question is... Does the Optoma actually display at these rates, or does it simply use it's internal processing to change the rate back to 60Hz?
I asked Optoma support this question, but can't get a response, so I'm hoping someone like Guitarman will know


Does any one know the answer?? How about you Guitarman?

I have noticed my H78 showing a light intensity change a handful of times over the last week. It is not a dramatic change, but noticeable none the less. To be honest I can't say if it was always in one direction (darker to lighter) or not, but now I am wondering if this is a sign that the lamp is on the way out. I haven't check recently, but it's probably under 1000 hours at this point. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this type of behavior before.

"rm48il
I've recently hooked up a Lumagen HDQ to my Optoma H79 and have set the scaler to output such refresh rates as 47.95Hz and 71.92Hz on NTSC inputs to minimise the judder caused by 3:2 pulldown.
The Optoma picks up the correct rate and reports the correct refresh rate onscreen. My question is... Does the Optoma actually display at these rates, or does it simply use it's internal processing to change the rate back to 60Hz?
I asked Optoma support this question, but can't get a response, so I'm hoping someone like Guitarman will know"

First sri for being so slow, absolutely the H7x series when it see's 48Hz dispalys it in 48Hz, you can hear the colorwheel slow down and see the diference is panning activity. Take a look at ATOC Speeder Chase, very nice.

I've just posted my review of the SpyderTVPro colorimeter over in the Display Calibration forum under the thread SpyderTVPro reviews in case anyone's curious.

Wayne

I have the h78DC3 and a HD DVD player. I found I had to raise the RGB bright settings to 18 (all three) in order to get an exceptable picture without crushed black levels. How are the rest of you calibrating with the tosh HD DVD player? guitarman?

I have the h78DC3 and a HD DVD player. I found I had to raise the RGB bright settings to 18 (all three) in order to get an exceptable picture without crushed black levels. How are the rest of you calibrating with the tosh HD DVD player? guitarman?

What is the firmware version?

2.0

"rm48il
I've recently hooked up a Lumagen HDQ to my Optoma H79 and have set the scaler to output such refresh rates as 47.95Hz and 71.92Hz on NTSC inputs to minimise the judder caused by 3:2 pulldown.
The Optoma picks up the correct rate and reports the correct refresh rate onscreen. My question is... Does the Optoma actually display at these rates, or does it simply use it's internal processing to change the rate back to 60Hz?
I asked Optoma support this question, but can't get a response, so I'm hoping someone like Guitarman will know"

First sri for being so slow, absolutely the H7x series when it see's 48Hz dispalys it in 48Hz, you can hear the colorwheel slow down and see the diference is panning activity. Take a look at ATOC Speeder Chase, very nice.

Thanks Guitarman. It's a great feature as many DLP units won't do this. I assume the same is true for 71.92Hz?

MM,

HD DVD has a known bug that messses up the colorspace. On HDMI-DVI connection it introduces a PC level RGB instead causing the problem that you see. A solution is to downgrade it to v1.2.

Once you're running 2.0 there's no going back to 1.2 for HD DVD. I have the H78DC3 also, actually there's been a bunch of us talking about this issue in the HD DVD players subforum in a thread containing 'black crush' in the title. There's no way around the PC levels, you can also hit ReSync on the Optoma after the disc starts. That will preclude calibration though, as the Optoma only remembers Brightness and Contrast in that mode. A stop-gap measure for sure, we're all hoping a future firmware revision addresses the issue as per version 1.2. Component doesn't have the problem.

Once you're running 2.0 there's no going back to 1.2 for HD DVD. I have the H78DC3 also, actually there's been a bunch of us talking about this issue in the HD DVD players subforum in a thread containing 'black crush' in the title. There's no way around the PC levels, you can also hit ReSync on the Optoma after the disc starts. That will preclude calibration though, as the Optoma only remembers Brightness and Contrast in that mode. A stop-gap measure for sure, we're all hoping a future firmware revision addresses the issue as per version 1.2. Component doesn't have the problem.

You're right no downgrade to 1.2 once you're 2.0. BTW, does this affect just SD DVD or HD DVD as well?

A scaler in between the chain may help.

BTW, does this affect just SD DVD or HD DVD as well?

I believe it only affects HD DVD, DVD plays fine. Appears to be related to an update to the drive firmware that in turn results in incompatibility with older player firmware on HD DVD playback.

While I'm learning about scaling, etc., I do have some questions.

First of all, I'd appreciate suggested reading/threads on the subject.

It's my understanding that not all internal scalers are the same and some are much better than others. Still, I'm not quite sure what the best resolution to send to the pj would be. I read that the H78 is 1280x720 native.

I have a DishHD box (VIP622) and Sony DVD player (DVP-NS75H) both sending an HDMI signal, via receiver and dvi adapter, to the H78.

Should I set both dvd and dishhd to 1280x720? Or would it be best for the dvd resolution be 720x480 and let the pj handle the scaling? Along those lines, should I let the DishHD box output 1080i?

Honestly, although I am someone who can see a dramatic difference between HD and SD - even on a standard t.v. set - I've been changing settings around on and off for a month now and I'm not seeing any difference. Note that my screen material leaves much to be desired (gatorboard with black gaffertape framing surrounded by dark red curtains).

I'm guessing the scalers of all three devices are about the same and that's why I'm not seeing much difference. However, I assume it's best not to have them doing double duty (upscaling at one end and downscaling at the other).

I know that in the end it's up me and what I find to look the best, but as I'm not seeing a difference I'd like to know what SHOULD be correct.

Hope I'm using correct terminology and making sense and thanks in advance for any insight!

I'm guessing the scalers of all three devices are about the same and that's why I'm not seeing much difference. However, I assume it's best not to have them doing double duty (upscaling at one end and downscaling at the other).

I know that in the end it's up me and what I find to look the best, but as I'm not seeing a difference I'd like to know what SHOULD be correct.Yep. Most of the time the difference in scalers won't really be evident. So, try it both ways and set and forget at whatever looks slightly better. Also, you are right in that some sources, such as the Oppo DVD 971 player, are specially designed to up-convert well and in the Oppo's case I see a difference when it does the work instead of the H79.

On the other hand, I use the Toshiba HD-XA1 (with firmware 2.0) and my Dish HD receivers set at 1080i output. The Toshiba had issues putting out 720p with earlier firmware, and I still go with the original 1080i out although these issues have been reduced. For me the visual difference between that and 720p is small. With the Dish HD receivers I have (942 and 622) I thought I imagined a very slight improvement at their "native" 1080i out but someone could switch the settings unbeknownst to me and I'd likely not notice the difference, at least right away.

Dan

I have the original Oppo player and it's set to 1280 x 720 DVI/HDMI/Monoprice Switcher/HDMI/DVI to H78. I have tried using 720 x 480 and decided to just use 1280 x 720 which is also the same resolution I send to the projector from my video card in the HTPC. Although the Pixelworks scaler in the H78 is no slouch, I seem to prefer allowing that kind of magic to be performed elsewhere in the video chain.

Wayne

Thanks for the replies - really appreciate it. I feel I've been over-thinking the whole thing. However, I do like the idea of letting the player handle the scaling as opposed to the projector if there's no visible difference. Wouldn't want my baby to work more than it has to! :)

I also have a Sony DVP-NS75H feeding an H78. It produces a superb picture outputting 720p (1280x720). A well transferred DVD does not look all that less sharp than HD. I slightly preferred the Sony picture quality to the Oppo. Cinema 2 on the Sony looks best to my eye.

I just saw an add for the Panamorph lense. they claim that with a native 16:9 PJ (like our H78) that it increases brightness by 20% and resolution by 30%. anyone use this with the H78/79? It's expensive - $1k, but cheaper than buying an upgrade PJ....

I have a 16:9 screen, btw and doubt I will change.

Here's a cheaper version they made for only a little while. I used one for a whil. For me it was just a hassle, but others swear by them.

Scott

MatintheHat,

I'll throw in my 2 cents on the input settings:

I try to send the projector 720p whenever possible, but you should test with the input source to be sure. As time passes, the pixelworks chip will become more and more behind the times, so for new equipment it will be more and more likely that you should send it 720p.

I have my comcast Motorolla HD DVR sending it component 720p and my HTPC sending 720p over DVI.

To me, the 1080i from the comcast box did not look as good as the 720p, and for the channels that are native 720p, it should Never look as good if you set the input scaler to change it to 1080i. This causes the projector to just scale it back to 720p again, and there is no way that 2 scalings can result in a better picture than no scaling.

If Dish HD only uses 1080i natively for all HD channles, then picking one or the other is something to experiment with because it will only result in 1 scaling either way. But if the Dish HD also uses 720p for some HD channels, then you should make sure you look at the 720p channels in both settings to make sure they are not being degraded with the 1080i setting.

Happy Tweaking!

Has anyone noticed loss of brighness and yellowing at around 750 hrs?

I went to a H78 owners's house after 8-9 months.

Before:
The image was very nice and punchy. HD was impressive.

After:
1. Brightness is gone. The image is pretty dark with no shadow detail.
2. Also, now everything is slightly yellow. Grass is yellowish green, skies are a little yellowish-blue and so on.
3. HD is no longer impresive.


We looked into the setting to see if someone changed them (he swears nothing was changed) I could not find anything screwed up there.

I did try to change the “film-video-tv“ setting from film to video, that improved the contrast a tiny bit.

With only around 750 hrs on the lamp, I am wondering what could it be?

He did switch from cable to dish network. But the DVD player is still the same. The DVDs are also dark and yellowish.

Any ideas?

probably need a new lamp

probably need a new lamp


Are you speaking out of experience or this is a guess ?

And if it need a new lamp at only 750 hrs, is this typical of a H87DC3 ??

Are you speaking out of experience or this is a guess ?

And if it need a new lamp at only 750 hrs, is this typical of a H87DC3 ??
see the other H7x threads.

my 1st lamp was replaced around 270 hours and the last 50+ of those were very DARK.

I have an H78DC3. I currently have a pixel in the upper right hand corner that is showing white all the time. It's just noticable enough to be distracting at times. Anyone know if this is just a dead pixel and is there anything that can be done to fix it?

I have an H78DC3. I currently have a pixel in the upper right hand corner that is showing white all the time. It's just noticable enough to be distracting at times. Anyone know if this is just a dead pixel and is there anything that can be done to fix it?Thought they had a no dead pixel warranty?

Same here. However, I did test it out again last night... and the dead pixel was gone. weird. It was definitely there the other night, but not last night. And it was only occuring while watching TV via the cable box... so it might be something with the cable box.

thanks for the reply.

So last night over the course of about an hour the bulb on my H78dc3 went from very good to black with only about 500 hours on it. A quick look at the bulb reveals a large, dark bulge - glad I didn't push it any longer or it may have been an explosive situation.

I've said it before and I'll say it again......

If you have an Optoma H7x projector, I HIGHLY suggest you get the DVI Detective from Gefen. It is only about $65 and I really think it will help with these issues from the H7x.

I just confirmed my theory once again last night with an HD Tivo and a Sony Ruby. The Ruby's DVI does not have the 5V power from it, but the H7x does. The Gefen DVI Detective isolates these two competing 5V sources and seems to make things OK. I think that 5V is bleeding into ground on the H7x's and causing these issues.

Just my humble thoughts anyway............:rolleyes:

I just purchased a slightly used H79, and I was already aware of a bulb problem with the H7x line of projectors. From what I understand from having sifted through this thread, you believe that the bulb problems are caused by the 5V portion of the DVI input, and that the DVI Detective would eliminate this problem and therefore the premature bulb death issues? For $65 I figure it's worth a shot, I just want to make sure that this is what you think is causing the issues, and, for my edification, why exactly it's causing it. Thanks for your help.

So last night over the course of about an hour the bulb on my H78dc3 went from very good to black with only about 500 hours on it. A quick look at the bulb reveals a large, dark bulge - glad I didn't push it any longer or it may have been an explosive situation.


anyone got a good place for new bulbs for the h78/h79?

So last night over the course of about an hour the bulb on my H78dc3 went from very good to black with only about 500 hours on it. A quick look at the bulb reveals a large, dark bulge - glad I didn't push it any longer or it may have been an explosive situation.


anyone got a good place for new bulbs for the h78/h79?

anyone got a good place for new bulbs for the h78/h79?

Someone suggested a mass buy directly from Philips in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8578995&&#post8578995

Nothing has been said one way or the other as to whether that's been attempted yet or not.

My house is being remodeled and a severe rainstorm ended up finding its way through the ceiling and down onto my H78DC3. I would say it was like an open water faucet running onto the projector for about an hour.

I waited a few days for it to dry out then tried to start the projector. At first everything seemed fine but after about 1 minute the image went away and a red light flashed on the side of the projector. Now the red light always flashes when I start the projector. I took out the lamp and it seems fine.

I'm thinking of sending the unit into Optoma to be repaired but I'm worried it will always be defective in some way and I should just buy another. Would it be a waste trying to get it fixed? (I suppose it really depends on how much Optoma will charge to do the job)

Thanks

If you had a contractor doing the remodeling work, ask him to report the damage to his CGL carrier. Most CGL policies cover damages to items other than the contractor's own work. The contractor certainly had a duty to make sure water didn't intrude in your living space during his work. If you were doing the work yourself, I'm afraid I couldn't be too optimistic that a water soaked projector can be fixed for a reasonable cost.

Please note that even if the contractor's insurance company accepts the claim they only have to pay the fair market value of the projector damaged, not buy you a new unit.

I just want to throw something out there concerning the lamp red light on the H78's. I've been having a problem with my red light for a while and could not figure out what caused it to go on outside of a bad bulb. I finally figured it out. I have a 18 min battery backup setup for the projector as most do to allow for a proper cool down incase of a power outage. I plugged this batter backup into a furman 8 conditioner. So far so good. Then I plugged in my 2600 yamaha and sony 995 into the furman. No problems yet....

Then I plugged in my 2 buttkicker amps into the furman. As soon as I turn on any of the amps for the buttkickers, it must be drawing so much power away from the projector that the lamp can't handle it and the lamp light goes on. I moved the buttkickers to their own 18 min backup surge protector.

Does anyone know if using the battery backups for the buttkickers amps is dangerous for the battery backup? Maybe the buttkicker amps should just be directly plugged into outlets.

any thoughts?

Gary

Then I plugged in my 2 buttkicker amps into the furman. As soon as I turn on any of the amps for the buttkickers, it must be drawing so much power away from the projector that the lamp can't handle it and the lamp light goes on. I moved the buttkickers to their own 18 min backup surge protector.

Does anyone know if using the battery backups for the buttkickers amps is dangerous for the battery backup? Maybe the buttkicker amps should just be directly plugged into outlets.

any thoughts?

Gary
Interesting. When I was getting the flashing red light my house was running on a generator. Maybe I'm having a similar issue. My power came back on last night so I'll try again later today.

Gregg

I can only hope that this helps explain why this is happeing to everyone who has it and does not have a bad bulb...

Gary

I can only hope that this helps explain why this is happeing to everyone who has it and does not have a bad bulb...

Gary
Amazingly enough the projector works now that it is running on electric company power. I'm pretty sure my Honda generator produces a sine wave but maybe not? Anyway, my H78DC3 that recently had water pouring through it now works fine.

Amazing... Typically water and electronics don't work so well together.

On the topic of bulbs and false starts, I can only offer my own personal
experiences with my own H79. I was one of the first to buy in Canada March 2005
and had it setup on a table top, plugged into wall outlet while building the home
theater. Over the 6+ months in this configuration, I would experience the odd
false start, lamp light issue every once in a while. Prior to the 1yr hot swap
expiring (March 2006), I contacted Optoma Canada and expressed my
concerns over these abnormalities. In the end, Optoma swapped out the unit for
a new one. The unit had about 600hrs on it and was considerably dimm.

The new unit has been installed in the completed home theater, connected via
an Iscan VP30 and plugged into an APC H15 power conditioner. I have not experienced any gliches whatsoever.

Not sure if this is because of a newer unit or the VP30 scaler or H15 power conditioner, but I have a feeling it's perhaps a combination of the later two.
As it stands, I have clocked 600hrs with a measured lumen output of
Normal = 270 Brite = 362. The unit has been calibrated. While these output
levels don't exactly impress me, I am glad to have made the conscience decision to pair the H79 with a Dalite high power in an effort to extend the viewing hours
before swaping the bulb.

Honestly, since this is my first projector, I don't really know if this output level is
normal or not. I did pick up one of the Dell "pull outs" bulbs off ebay and
found another deal a few months ago for a new retail bulb, so if need be I have
a backup.

In the end, still a happy H79 camper :D and not looking to upgrade for a while
yet.

Does anyone know if anyplace has he h78dc3 still available, new or used? Thanks!!

PS PM if you would like so I am not breaking forum rules!! Chad

I purchased anH78DC3 several months ago, but just recently was able to set it up in my HT. When I power up the projector, I see horizontal flashes of color across the screen...like the projector is struggling to display all the colors. This occurs even with no connections. The 'No Signal' letters are pink in a light blue box on a lime green background. Sometimes I get pink letters in a blue box on a dark/black background (should be white letters). The Optoma 'warming up' display appears washed out like it is missing colors as well. This problem occurs more often than not. It is hit and miss to get a correct display. Any help would be appreciated.

I have had my H79 for 17 months, and I'd estimate that I've used it for about 500 hours. I have just burned out my second bulb.

Does anyone have any recommended settings for me to extend the life of my bulb? I am not using 'bright' mode, which I thought was the first obvious thing to do.

I just called Optoma and they confessed that the H79 is their only projector that burns through bulbs quickly. It's quite a change from the 3000 hour claim that's in the projector's documentation.

I'm still very happy with the unit, except for the frequency and expense of the bulb burnouts.

I have had my H79 for 17 months, and I'd estimate that I've used it for about 500 hours. I have just burned out my second bulb.

Does anyone have any recommended settings for me to extend the life of my bulb? I am not using 'bright' mode, which I thought was the first obvious thing to do.

I just called Optoma and they confessed that the H79 is their only projector that burns through bulbs quickly. It's quite a change from the 3000 hour claim that's in the projector's documentation.

I'm still very happy with the unit, except for the frequency and expense of the bulb burnouts.
see this thread. i have my fans running 24/7 since losing the first bulb waay prematurely (under 300 hours if i recall)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=669348

Man, I feel lucky. I just finally changed my first bulb after about 2,500 hours. It was still usable, but had started dimming pretty significantly. (Didn't realize just how much until I put in the new one!)

I am at 250hours and no discernable dimming.

From what I have read, seems like this is a greater issue with cabinet mount versus ceiling mount installations - because of heat buildup.

Is that pretty much the concensus?

see this thread. i have my fans running 24/7 since losing the first bulb waay prematurely (under 300 hours if i recall)


Thanks. So did you construct this external fan setup that's in this thread (and choose to run it all the time rather than have it turn of and off with the projector)? It seems strange that Optoma wouldn't sell an optional extra cooling setup or have any idea what I'm talking about when I call.

This sounds like it'll be worth the effort to implement.

I am at 250hours and no discernable dimming.

From what I have read, seems like this is a greater issue with cabinet mount versus ceiling mount installations - because of heat buildup.

Is that pretty much the concensus?

I'm reading conflicting stories on whether the heat buildup is worse on a cabinet mount versus a ceiling mount. I would think the cabinet mount would be worse, which is what I have. I can switch to a ceiling mount fairly easily if that's a better setup, so this is a good question, what's the consensus?

For the record, mine is ceiling mounted.

see this thread. i have my fans running 24/7 since losing the first bulb waay prematurely (under 300 hours if i recall)


Thanks. So did you construct this external fan setup that's in this thread (and choose to run it all the time rather than have it turn of and off with the projector)? It seems strange that Optoma wouldn't sell an optional extra cooling setup or have any idea what I'm talking about when I call.

This sounds like it'll be worth the effort to implement.
i used two fans connected to a radio shack variable power supply but running 24/7 at full speed (9v or 12v as it's silent). i didn't want to do the relay AND more importantly i wanted the fans to run 15 minutes or more AFTER the pj shut off. it's not worth the effort to shut it off.

i have a ceiling mount (chief flush mount) close to the rear wall and felt heat is an issue as the PJ is very hot to the touch near the exhausts. this premature burnout was disappointing, given my non-abusive use of the PJ and previous PJs that lasted well over 1000 hours without negative effect on brightness/contrast.

Ceiling mount, table mount doesn't matter. The H7X series has a cooling issue regardless and needs the extra fan(s) to help cool the pj. Anybody who does not add one is just asking for premature bulb failure IMO. I only got about 300 hours on my first bulb and am at 450 on the second with fan added and it's doing great. Still using an ND2 filter with it.

Optoma won't admit there is a problem and just doesn't give a rip. Very poor business practice if you ask me. I will never buy Optoma anything again.

Brent

Yes, I added two fans, one 80mm and one 120mm at 9v and 12v respectively both powered by separate supplies plugged into a power bar. I added them when I had 100 hours on the bulb and I now have between 600 and 700 hours on my H78 and no discernible dimming. It probably helps that I'm using a Da-Lite High Power screen as well.

I actually think this wouldn't be a bad idea to implement on ANY projector.

Wayne

I've have been reading occasionally "Official Optoma HD7100 thread" to see how that one is working. Guess what? They are suffering from similar problems as H7x owners are. Take a look at that thread and see it yourselves.

Now I definitely know what brand my next projector won't be.

That is why I went with with the Sony Pearl. Too many problems with these H7x models.

I have an h79 for about 600 hrs it is shelf mounted and I regulary clean prefilter, and bulb went out, so I ordered a new bulb, waited 3 weeks and no show. so I called and they said they were back ordered and they cancelled my order, but never told me. they said I could call back at hte end of the month and maybe they would have some more. When I get my new bulb I am donating the h79 to my church ( they have pj in room behind the screen so extra fan noise wont matter) and I am buying a 1080p pj but not the h81, I dont want to buy new bulbs every 600 hrs. Guess Ill get the new sharp 21000, not sure though

Does anyone have any ideas how to add 80mm and 120mm fans to help cool with no powersource close by. My h79 was installed and everything was run behind the sheetrock I have a ceiling mounted unit but no outlets close by in the ceiling. is there any way to pull power from the unit itself? I am not worried if the fans have to run 24/7, I guess the only other way to install a fan is by battery...that seems like it would be a pain though, not to mention a battery wont last long. thank for any suggestions

12v trigger might source enough current probably not but you can see if they have a spec on it. Short of that, a 110v splitter cable (www.cablewholesale.com or home-made), and a wal-wart PS ought to sit on top of it OK. A small 12v relay would probably be able to be triggered withthe 12v trigger output to turn the fans on-off even with a PS.

12v trigger might source enough current probably not but you can see if they have a spec on it. Short of that, a 110v splitter cable (www.cablewholesale.com or home-made), and a wal-wart PS ought to sit on top of it OK. A small 12v relay would probably be able to be triggered withthe 12v trigger output to turn the fans on-off even with a PS.

This thread has general fan info with the H79 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=669348) but does not address your issue.
I personally would not reccomend using the projector remote switch as a power source since this not what it is designed for. Pull too much current and you will have bigger issues than cooling.
You might be able to build or buy some kind of splitter for the 110v power cord. Else you are looking at getting into drywall...

I have an Optoma H79 that has developed a problem all of a sudden. Any scenes with bluish backgrounds are really blotchy. I don't know the exact terms to use, but I describe it as smears in the blue with banding of all different shapes in the blue areas. It looks like all different shaped clouds within the blue scenes. This is the only way I can describe it. Also, when there are scenes of bright lights that are blue in color there are all these bands or halos around the lights.

It is really frustrating as it is only in the blue areas.

I thought maybe it was my Denon 3910 dvd player which is hooked up to projector by DVI, so I switched over to Dish satellite and still have the problems. I even used a different DVI cable to hook the dvd player up thinking maybe it was the cable and still have the problem.

I went into the service menu and did a factory reset and that did not help either.

I did a search to try to find others with this problem, but did not find any.

Does anyone know what this could be or what else I could try ?

Try switching the projector into brite mode. If the probelm goes away, it means you have a board or power supply probelm and will have to return it to Optoma.
Also, you might not want to hear this, but I seem to remember hearing GUITARMAN saying it was a bad idea to hit the 'factory reset' button in the service menu. If I remember correctly, the factory does some of their own calibration prior to shipment and this messes this up. May be a moot point as I have a feeling you might be returning the projector regardless.

I've seen h78 prices in the lower 2k's (optoma refurb w/warranty)... do you think there is any other pj out there that can beat the h78 for that price???

I've seen h78 prices in the lower 2k's (optoma refurb w/warranty)... do you think there is any other pj out there that can beat the h78 for that price???

Mitsubishi HC3100 might give it a run for the money...maybe even beat it?

Problem is no official availability in the U.S., but if you're not in the U.S., it would be the closest thing in that price class that would have a chance.

Fleaman

BTW, while I know this is the 'happy' thread, according to many others (do a search), the H78/79 series---or at least the last years of that series, appeared to have lamp life issues (they seemed to be overheating). There were many threads of those consistently getting only a few hundred hrs from lamps before they dimmed to an unacceptable level.

I seriously considered the H78DC3 due to it's performance to price ratio that could not be beat at the time....even by Optoma's replacement PJ', the H7100. But due to what seemed to be way too many reports of lamp life issues, I decided to not take the chance. The warranty only covers lamp life for 90 days on a new projector and I think it might be even less (30 days) for a refurb. At $300-$400 a pop (sorry for the pun), that low $2,000 price point becomes moot.

Fleaman

Well, mine died two weeks ago. The lamp kept going off and the red light kept coming on steadily. It would start up fine though and work for a while, sometimes a few minutes, other times a few hours.

I decided that I just couldn't handle such inconsistency and returned the unit to the store whose name rhymes with 'Moscow' for a full refund.

It's too bad because it was the best of the 4 projectors I've owned so far. I loved it's image quality and I did get over 600 hours on the lamp.

Interestingly enough, I had no perceptible dimming problems even at between 600 and 700 hours which I thought was somewhat of a curious thing given that the model's track record in this area is reportedly less than stellar. However, I did utilize two fans on both of the exhausts to help pull the heat out and I think this may have helped as I noticed a measurable difference in temperature.

So, I'm projectorless and searching. Thinking of the HD7100 but am concerned about the issues reported in that thread.

Wayne

Sorry to hear your projector died. Right now my H79 is my temporary projector in my new theater while I wait for two new electric screens and my new dvision 1080p. I'm watching HDTV with it on a 92" wide Hi Power screen from about 1.35 screen widths and it looks better than ever. I could see blemishes in Jack Bauers nose on 24 I never saw before.

Well, mine died two weeks ago. The lamp kept going off and the red light kept coming on steadily. It would start up fine though and work for a while, sometimes a few minutes, other times a few hours.

I decided that I just couldn't handle such inconsistency and returned the unit to the store whose name rhymes with 'Moscow' for a full refund.

It's too bad because it was the best of the 4 projectors I've owned so far. I loved it's image quality and I did get over 600 hours on the lamp.

Interestingly enough, I had no perceptible dimming problems even at between 600 and 700 hours which I thought was somewhat of a curious thing given that the model's track record in this area is reportedly less than stellar. However, I did utilize two fans on both of the exhausts to help pull the heat out and I think this may have helped as I noticed a measurable difference in temperature.

So, I'm projectorless and searching. Thinking of the HD7100 but am concerned about the issues reported in that thread.

Wayne

Wayne-- How about the panny 1080p? Its now at 'Moscow' for $3400 :eek:

Thanks tubaprde! :)

I can't order from 'Moscow's' website because I'm in Canada and the Canadian site isn't carrying the Panny so I'm out of luck. :(

Actually, after seeing images this good on Optoma projectors, especially the H78 with Dark Chip 3, I don't think I could buy an LCD unit. :eek: No offense to anyone who likes the technology or has to 'settle' for it due to rainbows etc..., but I've never been impressed with LCD when comparing it to DLP. Something's missing like that 'pop' or 'wow' factor. And most importantly, I just can't bring myself to buy a projector that uses a dynamic iris or more to the point, I wouldn't mind a dynamic iris to improve upon already naturally superb black levels. I just don't want to 'have' to use it in order to get levels that equal or improve upon DLP.

I have seen the Panny AE1000 in person and although it's not bright enough for me, the image clarity was extremely good.

I'm actually considering the JVC RS1 but the HD7100 is tempting even with all of the problems associated with it.

Sometimes I think I should have just stuck with my Infocus X1. :cool: Amazing picture for the price and for me it was like the energizer bunny because it just kept going and going and I'm sure I could have gotten obscene hours on that thing if I hadn't sold it.

Wayne

Has Optoma ever acknowledged anything about the early lamp failure? I'm now at 500 hrs and starting to worry a little. I got mine w/an extra bulb but I was planning on some 1000 - 1500 hours before I had to change bulbs.

Sorry to hear, mistery. So even after you installed the extra fans the lamp still failed early. I was planning on doing the extra fans too but I see now that the failure may still happen.

Nice job, Optoma.

Thanks Kramer.

I think it's worth it to install the fans. Without them I might not have made it to over 600 hours the way I did. It was at about the 100 hour mark that I put them on the H78.

I gotta say that I had been absolutely thrilled to own this projector. I loved it's image. It had great 'pop' and was a super match for my Da-Lite High Power screen. I especially liked how HD DVD looked on it. :cool: When I fed my desktop from the HTPC to it the shortcut icons were amazingly clear and sharp.

I could have been happy with the H78 for a long time and indeed would not even be considering a 1080p projector as I am now if the H78 were still working.

Wayne

Mystery,

Please keep us posted as to your next projector selection. I too have a H78 and reliability is an issue with Optoma. I think we both bought from the same place and I just may have to return mine also. It seemed that 7100 or 73 just does not have the same placement flexibility as the 77/78/79 series. I was actually thinking of switching to the Benq 8720 as the price is getting close to the price I paid for H78.

Tom

I'll do that Tom. :) BenQ projectors are nice. I do like the lens shift on the HD7100. And you can get it from ' Moscow'. ;)

Wayne

I finally hooked up my new HD A2 HD - DVD player last night to my H79 - WOW, what a nice picture. Considering that it's taken me 2 years to get up to 350 hours on my first bulb I'm not too worried about the bulb issue. I have a new one in a box waiting anyway. The picture on my new 106"x 59.5" HCCV screen looked wonderful. It will be interesting to compare the H79 to my new 1080p machine when it arrives soon!

I'll do that Tom. :) BenQ projectors are nice. I do like the lens shift on the HD7100. And you can get it from ' Moscow'. ;)

Wayne


Dude, how about the benq 8720? Its around 3k now... It has better contrast and is sharper than the h78/79... But my question is: why buy a 720p when you could buy the panny 1080p for about the same price? The panny is supposed to have inkier blacks than the h79 or 8720..... thoughts?

Also Wayne: would you say that when you saw 1080p projection--was it like the first time you saw hi-def 720p projection? Was it that kind of difference? Thanks for the input!

Dude, how about the benq 8720? Its around 3k now... It has better contrast and is sharper than the h78/79... But my question is: why buy a 720p when you could buy the panny 1080p for about the same price? The panny is supposed to have inkier blacks than the h79 or 8720..... thoughts?



Inky blacks only in scenes of mostly all dark material. Once something bright comes into play (say a bright moon in a black space), those inky blacks turn gray. You can thank the DI for that. Read up on the pro's and cons of dynamic irises.

Fleaman

tubaprde,

fleaman is right. According to the reviews, the dynamic iris functions to deliver really excellent blacks as long as the image overrall is primarily dark. Once bright portions are introduced the iris opens up and allows more light and the blacks lighten up.

This is why I don't want to go with the Panny AE1000. I'm too used to the punchy images from DLP that for me it would be a step backwards even if the blacks are better in darker scenes. The BenQ 8720 is definitely a nice projector. Art at ProjectorReviews owns it and loves it. I would have to research it but I've found that BenQ projectors seem to have a long throw which won't work in my room. I also would like to have lens shift this time which seems to be absent from many if not most DLP projectors.

I must say that the difference between 720p and 1080p was basically nil from the distance that I was viewing the screen at the dealer's establishment. I think that unless you're sitting very close, the resolution difference should not factor in your buying decision. I kind of want to upgrade now to 1080p because I'm between projectors and there are all of these new 1080p models out. However, I think a good 720p projector could serve as a useful stopgap for quite a while yet as prices continue to tumble on the 1080p units. So I haven't yet decided what to do. I don't think I can lose either way though. It's all good right now for those into projectors. :)

Wayne

Has Optoma ever acknowledged anything about the early lamp failure? I'm now at 500 hrs and starting to worry a little. I got mine w/an extra bulb but I was planning on some 1000 - 1500 hours before I had to change bulbs.

Sorry to hear, mistery. So even after you installed the extra fans the lamp still failed early. I was planning on doing the extra fans too but I see now that the failure may still happen.

Nice job, Optoma.
I am curious as to whether these early lamp failures apply only to the lamps initially installed at the factory or also to replacement lamps people bought later. My lamp started dimming up a lot (around 300 hrs) and I have a decision to make (new lamp or new projector)? Other than the lamp issue, I absolutely love my H79.

When researching the web regarding recent H79 unexpected shutdowns, I discovered this thread. From the discussion I am extremely happy to have had 1570 hrs of trouble free performance from my original lamp. Over the past few days however, the pj has shutdown at least once during each evening's use.

This pj is ceiling mounted and appears to have acquired little dust in its filter during the past 14 months. I removed and replaced the original lamp and cleaned the filter. Whether related or not, the pj just survived 4.5 hours of the Oscars without a shutdown.

I have been very pleased with the picture quality of the H79. I have used this projector roughly 5 hours a day since 12/05. I hope the replacement lamp just ordered provides similar performance. I will try the fan remedy should shutdowns continue.

Thanks to all for your considerable insights,
Pete

I just installed my 3rd bulb. 650 hours on first and 700 hours on second. I inspected the 2nd and 3rd bulbs and noted that the screen is removed from one side and the mesh is larger on the newer bulb. The mesh almost looks like it was hand cut since some of the black was removed. I added a simple 120v fan to the exhaust side-no relays-runs 24 hours a day. It was attached neatly using small pieces of 3M hd velcro It is a computer fan so it is quiet. My projector is in a AV room behind the media room so additional noise is not bothersome. Love the picture but at $400 a bulb I would consider other manufacturers.

I work for an A/V company in Florida that within the past year has purchased 2 Optoma H79 PJ's. One unit has been sent back 3 times for over temp problems and the other is in the process of being sent back for the 2nd time because the picture from the projector looks like its melting with purple and silver colors on the screen. Optoma has so many excuses for these problems and also talks down you like your some kind of hillbilly from Arkansas. These problems make my company look bad.
Optoma's reply: We can replace it with a refurbished unit.
Either Optoma builds expensive junk or their techs can't do repairs or just don't care.
Optoma has showed us no compassion in regards to these issues.

Thanks for reading,
Angry Dealer in Florida.

That is a shame. My H79 ( I got one of the first ones, from AVS, over 2 years ago ) hasn't had any problems, although the first bulb did get pretty dim by around 380 hours ( 230 or so lumens on high ). Hope Optoma gets their act together.

Hello,

Just thought I would let you all know with my H79 I rigged the double fan set up spoke about in this thread. with a lux meter I measured 184 lux in the meter(before any measurement adjustments) with a brand new bulb. At 100 hrs on the new bulb without the additional fans I got 165 lux. I replaced that bulb around 350 hrs(at that point it had less than 100 lux)...then set the fans up for cooling. With a new bulb it once again measured 184 lux. At 125 hours I measured 160 lux...the difference for the first 100 hours or so was not that significant with the additional fans. I am hoping over the next 200 to 300 hours this bulb will not lose at the same pace as the first 100 hours or I may rethink if the extra noise from the additional fans is really worth it.

Somewhere in one of these threads dealing with Optoma's H7x bulb issues somebody mentioned buying just the lamp off Ebay. Well I did just that for $150 a couple months ago and for me, it wasn't worth the effort. Although all went well at first, I've only 40 hours on the bulb and now it's too dim to watch.

On another note, I was adjusting the color wheel timing in the service menu a month or so ago on my H78DC3 and accidentally hit 'restore factory settings'. I had only copied the setting for the color wheel. Somewhere, somebody posted their service menu settings after they'd been tweaked... I've been searching for an hour and can't find it. Can someone re-post or re-direct me to that post?

Thanks!!!

3yrs for the 79. Still a fine projector hang on. I've seen people let go of H77s with a extra bulb for ouch $720, I almost bid on the dam thing.
Hang it there get fixed up and keep enjoying 3000.1 tuned and tons of features.

quantumstate,

It's a LONG shot, but if you haven't already, make sure you disconnect the pwr cord from the PJ (not just the pwr down). Normally only takes a few minutes, but I usually leave it disconnected for at least 30 minutes.

Fleaman

Thanks, but I've left it unplugged overnight.

Some internal fan comes on way faster than it was designed for, as wobbling & vibration. And the DLP spazzes out on varying zones of color on the screen. Then bulb fault after 3 minutes.

It's definitely had a stroke. Seems like power supply. Going back tomorrow. :(

OMG! So here's the quick story: Bought this H78DC3 off Ebay for a great price about nine months ago. I was pretty happy with the picture but the bulb had 450+ hours on it and I guess it was a tad dim. Went the cheapskate route and bought a 'bulb only' off ebay - it was a tad brighter but only lasted about 40 hours.

I just broke down and bought a brand-spankin' new bulb that I just received. I cannot effin' believe what a beautiful, bright picture this machine puts out with a good bulb!

Here's hoping I can get a good life from this bulb - still, I'm going to budget about fifty cents per hour of use for future bulb purchases.

So has anyone else noticed that "new bulb smell"?

OMG! So here's the quick story: Bought this H78DC3 off Ebay for a great price about nine months ago. I was pretty happy with the picture but the bulb had 450+ hours on it and I guess it was a tad dim. Went the cheapskate route and bought a 'bulb only' off ebay - it was a tad brighter but only lasted about 40 hours.

I just broke down and bought a brand-spankin' new bulb that I just received. I cannot effin' believe what a beautiful, bright picture this machine puts out with a good bulb!

Here's hoping I can get a good life from this bulb - still, I'm going to budget about fifty cents per hour of use for future bulb purchases.

So has anyone else noticed that "new bulb smell"?


I'm at the 350 hour mark and considering a new bulb. Seems this PJ series is only good for weekend movie watching otherwise it will get really expensive. I bought my h78dc3 back in november of 2005. I'll be waiting for the price of the R1 to go down until I upgrade.

Martin,

Since the bulb is new and you love the picture, I will repeat what others here have done: add a PC cooling fan to the vent to keep it going until you absolutely have to upgrade. My 2nd bulb is ~470hrs at the moment and I'd have to say that the picture is fantastic. And I do not think of upgrading a bit despite all the good news about the RS1.

DG

now have 230 hours on my bulb that I have been using the additional fans with and I am getting a lux reading(reading right off the lux meter) of 132 lux as opposed to 144 lux on my old bulb at 212 hours without additional fans. As you can see there is no real difference with the additional cooling fans. On another note.....the question of cleaning the color wheel came up...if the wheelgets a filter like coat on it and the bulb may be able to burn brighter if wheel was cleaned....my question is when I put a new bulb in I get the same brightness on every new bulb which is about 185 lux meter reading. If the wheel cleaning made any difference you would think the new bulb readings would be higher. Does anyone have hope for the H series optoma's in regards to retrofitting a new bulb technology? is it possible to build a top 222 250w bulb that will actually stay bright? or is there another projector out there with a different technology that can maintain a bright picture for long periods of time?

Since the bulb is new and you love the picture, I will repeat what others here have done: add a PC cooling fan to the vent to keep it going until you absolutely have to upgrade. My 2nd bulb is ~470hrs at the moment and I'd have to say that the picture is fantastic. And I do not think of upgrading a bit despite all the good news about the RS1.

Not to mention the fact that no one knows if the RS1 could have its own bulb or other issues in the future!!! Too early to tell!! If it's costing you 80 cents an hour for bulbs its still cheap entertainment compared to a lot of other things I can think of!

quantumstate,

what would happen if you used the high quality bulb with the exsisting envelope? Any idea where I can buy one of these high quality bulbs? thanks for your info

Dean

The actual transparent glass (quartz) bulb inside the reflector is referred to as the "envelope". It is the bulb glued into the reflector.

You will get much better service life if you used a quality 250W Philips envelope, rather than the cheap Red Chinese envelope which comes in all Optoma reflectors. And a Philips bulb will work fine, as the bulb-driver electronics are Philips' standard board for their 250W envelope.

Philips sells their envelopes through distributors in the US, but you must buy quantities of them, as I've said. And you must use the proper mastic to glue them in the reflector. This is all the info I've had time to gather in the past year.

Wonder if Optoma gets royalties for every lamp purchase. Wouldn't that be something...

Fleaman

Unfortunately it's no longer under warranty.

I was watching a movie last night and suddenly the pictures goes all funky and there's a loud noise coming from the H79. Long story short, I opened the thing up to find that a piece of the color wheel had broken off.

Frankly I'm not sure if I should keep fighting this thing or just cut my loses. I'll call Optoma regarding repairs on Monday. Anyone have any idea how much a replacement color wheel will cost me?

My gosh, I wonder if this is what happened to mine? It sounded like a fan spinning too fast and out of balance. And some picture colors had gone all flashing white. Only thing that doesn't fit is that it would cut out on bulb fault after a bit.

Justin, why did the wheel break? Was it brittle? Or too thin?

Could have been you had the same thing happen. The unit turned on a couple of more times and then eventually would just come up as lamp faults. I think the color wheel may have cracked and then after turning it on a couple of more times broken apart.

As to why this happened? I think it's fairly obvious that Optoma products are rushed to market with little regard to design, quality control, etc.

Folks,
I am having an issue with this H78DC3 and a HTPC running Vista 32bit with the new nVidia 8600 GTS card.

1. When I feed the PJ 1280 x 768 the PJ thinks that it is being fed 1024 x 768. (upon re-sync, it displays this rez) If the PJ’s selected aspect ratio is “Native” I get a 4:3 window in the middle of the screen; instead of getting a wide-screen image. The image is also not clear, text is barely readable.

2. The PJ does detect 1280 x 960 correctly but the image is still not clear, text is barely readable.


Please help !


PS: there is nothing wrong with the HTPC because I tested it by connecting it to :

1. a CRT monitor

2. Another projector.

Also, due to a limitation of nVidia card drivers the native rez (1280x720) is not available, yet.

Rajdude

Could you select 1280x720 when you connected the HTPC to another monitor? I'll assume no, because that is what is going on with my Vista installation with an Nvidia card.

I am pretty sure your issue is with the video card driver and not the projector,
(as you might have already guessed).

Unfortunately, Nvidia is a bit behind right now on their drivers due to the large re-write required for Vista.

I have Vista and a 7300 card that I does not allow 1280x720 natively and used to allow it with Windows XP. Luckily that is only a work machine and not for my projector.

So if you are running Windows Vista, I am not sure there is a way around that with the current drivers from nvidia. A good site for information on Nvidia Drivers is www.guru3d.com in their forums. There may be a beta out that fixes this problem.

You can also try to set the display mode to 1920x1080i, if that is available, since the H78 will sync to that. Not good for surfing, but still good for video.

I have also heard that a tool called ATItool (on guru3d and other places) that might allow you to set up custom resolutions in Vista that should then be selectable in the display setup. But I have not tried this myself.

If, on the other hand you have Windows XP, you should be able to turn on the setting "Treat this display as an HDTV" in the custom resolutions area, or you can set up the custom resolution (720p) yourself in that area as well. I know this works for setting up an 8800 in XP, but I don't know about the 8600's.

I will warn you that I heard that there might be issues with 720p in vista when it is "forced" so it might be better to wait until Nvidia fixes the driver.

Let us know how/if it worked for you.

Nelson4u (or anyone else who has experienced the problem below): After 2 years of flawless performance, my H79 has developed these exact symptoms - did you ever determine what the cause was? I'm still on my original bulb, with nearly 900 hours - no significant dimming or other problems. Sat night, after running the projector for about 3 hours, I started to notice the "blotchy bluish backgrounds" problem. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I have an Optoma H79 that has developed a problem all of a sudden. Any scenes with bluish backgrounds are really blotchy. I don't know the exact terms to use, but I describe it as smears in the blue with banding of all different shapes in the blue areas. It looks like all different shaped clouds within the blue scenes. This is the only way I can describe it. Also, when there are scenes of bright lights that are blue in color there are all these bands or halos around the lights.

It is really frustrating as it is only in the blue areas.

I thought maybe it was my Denon 3910 dvd player which is hooked up to projector by DVI, so I switched over to Dish satellite and still have the problems. I even used a different DVI cable to hook the dvd player up thinking maybe it was the cable and still have the problem.

I went into the service menu and did a factory reset and that did not help either.

I did a search to try to find others with this problem, but did not find any.

Does anyone know what this could be or what else I could try ?

Thanks for trying to help!

You are right about the 720p not being available due to the drivers. But that is not the issue I am having.

The issue is that "When I feed the PJ 1280 x 768 the PJ thinks that it is being fed 1024 x 768"





Anyway, I will also try the frequently used app - Powerstrip to correct the rez to 720p. Maybe the PJ will sync to it correctly.

Rajdude

Could you select 1280x720 when you connected the HTPC to another monitor? I'll assume no, because that is what is going on with my Vista installation with an Nvidia card.

I am pretty sure your issue is with the video card driver and not the projector,
(as you might have already guessed).

Unfortunately, Nvidia is a bit behind right now on their drivers due to the large re-write required for Vista.

I have Vista and a 7300 card that I does not allow 1280x720 natively and used to allow it with Windows XP. Luckily that is only a work machine and not for my projector.

So if you are running Windows Vista, I am not sure there is a way around that with the current drivers from nvidia. A good site for information on Nvidia Drivers is www.guru3d.com in their forums. There may be a beta out that fixes this problem.

You can also try to set the display mode to 1920x1080i, if that is available, since the H78 will sync to that. Not good for surfing, but still good for video.

I have also heard that a tool called ATItool (on guru3d and other places) that might allow you to set up custom resolutions in Vista that should then be selectable in the display setup. But I have not tried this myself.

If, on the other hand you have Windows XP, you should be able to turn on the setting "Treat this display as an HDTV" in the custom resolutions area, or you can set up the custom resolution (720p) yourself in that area as well. I know this works for setting up an 8800 in XP, but I don't know about the 8600's.

I will warn you that I heard that there might be issues with 720p in vista when it is "forced" so it might be better to wait until Nvidia fixes the driver.

Let us know how/if it worked for you.

Rajdude,

Sorry I didn't get the real problem. That is a bit simpler. I don't think the projector will sync to 1280x768 correctly no matter what device feeds it that.
If you really need to, you can try to mess with a custom combination of settings with powerstrip, but even if you get it to work, it will not look nearly as good as 1280x720.

I don't know why 1024x768 will work easily but not 1280x768, probably just an
oversight or plain limitation of the scaler.

The H78/79 is a 1280x720 native device and that is definitely what you want to feed it. That will give you perfectly crisp text.

Let us know what you find out. I am curious what the best solution is to get 1280x720 from an Nvidia card in Vista.

Oh Thanks! :)
That puts my mind to rest.

Now I will concentrate on gettng the nVidia to output 720p.

But then again, judging from the responses I got from the dedicated nVidia 8600 thread here at AVS, it is the drivers which dont let it do 720p.

I guess I'll have to try Powerstrip (which is reported to NOT work) or wait for nVidia to come up with drivers supporting 720p.

This sucks ! :mad:

Rajdude,

Sorry I didn't get the real problem. That is a bit simpler. I don't think the projector will sync to 1280x768 correctly no matter what device feeds it that.
If you really need to, you can try to mess with a custom combination of settings with powerstrip, but even if you get it to work, it will not look nearly as good as 1280x720.

I don't know why 1024x768 will work easily but not 1280x768, probably just an
oversight or plain limitation of the scaler.

The H78/79 is a 1280x720 native device and that is definitely what you want to feed it. That will give you perfectly crisp text.

Let us know what you find out. I am curious what the best solution is to get 1280x720 from an Nvidia card in Vista.

Does anyone know why the h78dc3 was discontinued? Also my lamp for the H78DC3 went out. I purchased in Nov 2005. Used about 4 hours a week. Any reason?