MrBreeze

Also, I am one of the many, I'm sure, who have had no problems with their new Epson 550 whatsoever.

Glad to hear it! I have been going back and forth on the Panny AE900 or the Epson 550 and I'm leaning towards the 550. However as you read all of these threads sometimes it is hard to forget that there are thousands of people out there that have absoultly zero problems with the A/V equipment, since you see so many experiencing problems. I have been also leaning towards the Oppo player mostly due to cost as like you I don't want to spend lots of cash on aging technology. Will wait awhile on the HD-DVD - Blu-Ray thing until I see who has a lead in this mess. But that is for a nudder time and a nudder thread.

Thanks again.

I have been also leaning towards the Oppo player mostly due to cost as like you I don't want to spend lots of cash on aging technology. Will wait awhile on the HD-DVD - Blu-Ray thing until I see who has a lead in this mess.
RTROSE,

Slightly off topic -- but are you talking about the Oppo OPDV971H? I did some research on this player and it looks outstanding for $200. I may need to get one to use until the new tech comes out (as you stated above).

[QUOTE=RTROSE]MrBreeze



However as you read all of these threads sometimes it is hard to forget that there are thousands of people out there that have absoultly zero problems with the A/V equipment, since you see so many experiencing problems.

[QUOTE]

I think this is very true in many ways. For those without problems, there is little reason to make a comment barring a tweak or other inquiry. In contrast, if there is a problem, it seems that aside from looking for answers to troubles there is also a desire to commiserate with fellow users who also experience complications. This undoubtedly skews the sampling data.

My experience with my Epson 550 thus far has been excellent in every respect. (If it goes down, however, I’m sure I’ll be back here on the other side!)

RTROSE,

Slightly off topic -- but are you talking about the Oppo OPDV971H? I did some research on this player and it looks outstanding for $200. I may need to get one to use until the new tech comes out (as you stated above).

Yup thats the one. I feel that in reading the reviews that I really can't go wrong for something around 200 bucks. I had been looking at the Panny S97 too but it is more expensive and it does have more features, however I really don't think that I would ever take advantage of all of the "extras" anyway. So why spend the extra cash?

It is good to hear that there are people out there that love their projectors and they are not experiencing any problems! :cool:

Every day I read the posts about the Benq 7700 nightmares, I am more happy about my choice!

Every day I read the posts about the Benq 7700 nightmares, I am more happy about my choice!

Too bad that owners of this projector don't sound off about how good the projector is and we only hear the bad. But that's life we rarely expand on the positive and go overboard on describing the negative.

What size screen are you using and what is your throw distance. I inquired earlier in this thread about screen size and throw.

"I planning on about a 15 or 16 foot throw and a 96 or 108" screen. For you guys that own this projector is this a realistic screen size and throw distance?" Nobody responded :( so I'm asking again to see if you can fill me in. :p

Even with my panel alignment issue, I am still quite happy with the projector. I'll never buy a PJ without lens shift again.

I am sitting here watching a Woody Allen Movie "Shadows & Fog" in b/w 1080i on Voom/Dish with quite a bit of ambient light in LR color mode and it looks surprisingly stunning with good contrast (some of this can be attributed to the dalite hipower I am using).

Just switched to local Hidef over cable, olympics, some sort of skiing event with snow falling - again, bright - but not blown out, with good detail. I am using dynamic iris for now. I notice the ocasional "iris flutter" when moving from a dark to bright scene only - very slight.

Noise: our 550 is shelf mounted about 5ft above seating, 3ft above ears. Theater Black modes are wisper quiet. In Theater, RGB, LR, and I would assume the other brighter modes it kicks it up a notch. You can't hear it with normal noise volume from your content - but you hear it in silent scenes. A issue for me? No. I owned an X1 before and its about the same as it, little bit less.

A side note: picked up a Harmony 880 universal remote. Best remote I have owned to date. WAF is enourmous, makes everything very easy for her. A little bit combersome to setup, but still is quick. Very customizable. IF is available on the 890. Check em out if your in the market for one. The auto-light is worth the price alone - plus strength of IR. You can hold it up looking at it and it can fire the signal. My receiver, even with the OEM remote is picky - but the 880 allows me to be lazy in my pointing.

Crazy! Dito what nightfly85 stated. . .

I too have been watching the Olympics in HD on the 550. Excellent. Typically we do not watch much TV on the “big screen” (as my son would say) but the picture really makes the experience that much better.

Sorry nobody answered your post TROSE. Sometimes the posts get lost among the others on discussion forums. You can always bump it back to the top.

As for my setup, my projector is 20.2 back from the screen with the “prime” seating at about 18 ft. I’m using a 133” 16:9 Elite Home Series screen with a matte white, 1.0 gain surface. While the ambient light in my HT is not completely regulated, even during the day the picture is brilliant in the higher light modes (although certainly watchable in the “theater” modes). I concur with nightfly as well as the sound right behind my head is nominal in bright modes and whisper-level in theater modes. I owned a Sharp PGM25X so this was a huge step down in the noise category.

Over the years, I gradually moved up from about an 80” screen through several different models until I hit my current. I love the really big screen experience so went to the outer edge of the highest-quality viewing ratio with zero SDE. Being on the higher end, your setup should be great in terms of picture, brightness, and SDE.

Lastly and on the same side-note tangent for we in the 550-club, I too just bought a Harmony 880 last weekend. I was intrigued at the ergonomic design and “family-friendly” capabilities so made the shift from my Sony 3000. Having used two of the touch screen Sonys, wow what a difference. The 880 is brilliant, even with my very complicated setup. Granted, it took a few hours of tweaking (much of which was voluntary rather than necessary) but what a great piece of equipment. I was able to program 19 different devices (with some doubling on “slots” for switches and such). I have it now so even my 75 year-old mother, with the push of a single button, can go from everything off to watching a DVD on the PJ including lowering the screen and dimming the lights.

Heck, one of the excellent little features that is never discussed on these threads was the “Media” capabilities that allowed me to load the film titles into the remote for all four of my DVD players. Now you can simply call up the title by alpha listing and with a button it starts it playing.

I like the feel and the color screen as well. I know other Harmony fans have griped about the stupidity of the need for color, but I find it brilliant for selecting activities, picking films, choosing channels, and just reading in the dark.

Even at full price, the 880 is well worth the cost and makes a great partner to the 550!

skellys

glad to hear that you too are very happy. I'm in the process of starting a basement HT and looking at a 13.5 x 20 foot room with the "primary" viewing area 10-12 feet back and then the secondary viewing area near the very back of the room. Good to hear that this will work well for me. Was "in all honesty" somewhat concerned about the noise issue, however I can tune just about anything out it was the wife I'm more concerned about.

I too have been "reading up" on the Harmony and thinking about it too. However I've got to take this thing one step at a time. Would be nice for the wife if she just pressed a button and everything "just worked" :p

Haven't heard much discussion on bulb life or replacement cost, I know that bulb life is dependant on the settings you watch. I'm figuring that for my situation that I'll be about 5/25/70 on PS2 regular TV and Movies. Figured that is probably a realistic split for my situation. Should I have any concerns over bulb life? I will have the luxury of having a totally light controlled room-pitch black to very bright recessed lighting so light control won't be an issue.

If you could change anything about your projector what would it be? What is it's weakest area IYO? Just curious

Thanks aging guys for answering all my questions :)

Makes sense on the remote. Ironically, the first time I saw a touch screen remote demoed years ago while visiting the “Home Theater of Tomorrow” at EPCOT center, I drooled at the thought. As soon as the demo was over but before I could even open my mouth to say anything, my wife said “You are so getting one of those.” Even without the easy programmability, she just wanted the piles of remotes to clear out.

In terms of bulbs, while I only checked back before I purchased the pj, I understand that while still in the hundreds, the Epson 550 bulbs are among the least expensive to replace. They also claim a 3000 hour bulb on the lower power setting (which you will likely be using) that is above the standard 2000 hour range. If they actually go that far remains to be seen as the unit is new, but with Epson’s reputation for significantly understating their technical specs (i.e. the stated 3000:1 contrast ration that according to some comparisons beats the stated 7000:1 of the Sanyo PLV-Z4), this has promise. At the same time, bulbs are inherently the Achilles heel of the projector world—in time, they all die. Until they can come up with a truly long life bulb (the dream of a high-intensity LED that lasts 20,000 hours may well be within the not-so-distant future) HT lovers of the big screen experience will just have to bite the bullet. For my last three projectors, I simply recognized that watching anything on screen will run about 25 cents an hour. Granted, a half dollar isn’t much to enjoy a regular movie (or 10 bucks to get through one of the LOTR films and extras  ) but it does help keep things in perspective. While I actually enjoy dozing off during a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon in summer or a basketball game in winter, at 25 an hour, I’ll stick to my regular TV for such times. Just as a final thought on bulbs, however, in all three of my previous projectors, I never once changed a bulb after hours and hours of use.

As for complaints, none really so far that I can think of. . .Granted, having a 1080p unit would be nice, but that’s not a legitimate complaint—and further, nothing out there broadcasts in 1080p at this point so jumping into an advanced unit like that in my book is a premature expense. Perhaps the size is a bit big, but this too is only when compared to my Sharp PGM25X (which was really not a home unit but a business unit). The 550 is still a beautiful size and has a really cool look (nothing against the box Panny, Sanyo, and especially the new Optima) which ads a great artistic “touch” to an otherwise obtrusive blob sticking out of the ceiling. The setup is done in a flash (lens shift rocks-I’ll never get one without again), startup time is very quick (far faster than anything I’ve used to date either at home or work) and the remote and “tweakability” are outstanding (although the picture looks quite good right out of the box with only a touch of change needed in the brightness and contrast area).

Fortunately, the “oh-wow!” factor really never wore off when using my Sharp. With the increased resolution and the brilliant picture range of the Epson 550, I’m expecting years of continued “oh-wows!” with this unit as well.

After I registered the PJ, I got a 10% off coupon from Epson for the Epson online store - where they have the bulb listed. I remember checking it out and after the coupon and free shipping, a new bulb was $300. Not too bad.

So I got the projector today and already own a universal projector mount. Anybody know the screw size? Will need to swing by Lowes to pick them up tomorrow. Thanks.

My comments apply to the TW600 but thought I would share as well.

First up, i'm using a 92" diag Grandview screen (gain 1.1) with a throw distance of approx 13' and seating of about 12' (under projector).

Going any bigger than 92" and I could see too much SDE for preference but different people have different levels of tolerance for this.

I had to return my PJ immediately after purchase as it had a convergence issue but Epson replaced the lamp assembly without any problems and I had it back within a week. It also has a slight chromatic problem where it has colors either side of the pixels but this can only be seen close up (2' from screen) and most PJ's have this to one extent or another as it's more a function of lens physics.

It's not noticable during normal use and it's really only because i'm using a HTPC that I notice it on text, although it's also visible in the PJ menu text so I know it's not my source or anything.

The TW600 has at least 3 different lamp speeds however it's not able to be controlled as they are attached to the lamp settings.
High speed is applied to all modes except Theatre Black 1 & 2.
Low speed is applied to Theatre Black 1 & 2.
Middle speed is applied if you flip the image for ceiling mounting.

I had my PJ sitting on a couple of boxes to test this and was using Theatre Black 1, then flipped the image from within the settings and it sped up, then put it in Living mode and it sped up again. I didn't check if there is a difference in speeds between the Dynamic mode and having it flipped.

Either way, and because the PJ is relatively close to my head, I find the high speed modes a bit intrusive so prefer the TB1 & 2 modes. This isn't a problem as I have good light control in my room. Also, in TB 1 & 2 modes, the fan noise is VERY quiet and is on par with my HTPC which i've taken great pains to make as close to silent as possible.

I am using a 15m (40ft) long HDMI cable (24AWG) and feeding it a 1280x720p image from the HTPC and the picture is fantastic with both HDTV and DVD sources. I'm still playing around with my setup and should be able to improve on it yet.

I was a very early adopter of the TW100 (the Epson sales rep for the area even brought it to my house and let me use it for a weekend before I purchased it) and have been impressed with the unit from day one. How times change - I paid the $4995 list at the time!

I was wondering if anyone upgraded from a TW100 to a 550 and can make any qualitative comparisons between the two. I know for example, the TW100 had only one LCD engine compared the the three in the 550. On the surface the spec's seem superior to the TW100 at 1/2 the price.... Comments?

Thanks!

I had to return my PJ immediately after purchase as it had a convergence issue but Epson replaced the lamp assembly without any problems and I had it back within a week. It also has a slight chromatic problem where it has colors either side of the pixels but this can only be seen close up (2' from screen) and most PJ's have this to one extent or another as it's more a function of lens physics.\.



Thanks for your reflections. After you received your PJ back following the convergence issue:

1. Was it the same unit you sent away?

2. Was the problem fully resolved? Do you get a "pure white" test (or at least pure grey for those test patterns)?

Unless you opt for the carry-in service, you are sent out a refurbished PJ and then you must take in the old PJ to Fedex and ship it back pre-paid. If you want the want the shipped method, you have to have a CreditCard that can hold a $2500 hold charge. This is all well detailed in the warranty information from Epson.

I can't comment on my replacement as I am STILL waiting for it. I called yesterday to see what's going on - it's been over a week now, going on 2 weeks tomorrow since I called them originally. Somebody ship me a new (uhhh, refurb) PJ!

I was expecting a new one, especially since it's been so soon after I bought it, but getting a refurb is in the warranty too.

1. Was it the same unit you sent away?
Yes, as the unit stayed in the store that I bought it from and a new lamp was sent to them from Epson. The store guys fitted and tested the new lamp and then called me to say it was ready. This is in Australia, so warranty claims may be treated differently in different countries.


2. Was the problem fully resolved? Do you get a "pure white" test (or at least pure grey for those test patterns)?
My convergence issue wasn't quite the same as the screenshots posted earlier in the thread. I never had issues with colors changing from one side of the screen to the other.

What I did have, was a failure to create a straight single pixel wide vertical line. eg, the box around the on screen PJ menu had the line smeared across about 3 pixels. On top of this, it then had some colors either side of a straight edge which is a not a convergence problem and is still there.

I actually checked a few PJ's in the store and all of them have this to one extent or another and it was even evident on single chip DLP. As I mentioned before, it's a function of the optics.

Unless you opt for the carry-in service, you are sent out a refurbished PJ and then you must take in the old PJ to Fedex and ship it back pre-paid. If you want the want the shipped method, you have to have a CreditCard that can hold a $2500 hold charge. This is all well detailed in the warranty information from Epson.

I can't comment on my replacement as I am STILL waiting for it. I called yesterday to see what's going on - it's been over a week now, going on 2 weeks tomorrow since I called them originally. Somebody ship me a new (uhhh, refurb) PJ!

I was expecting a new one, especially since it's been so soon after I bought it, but getting a refurb is in the warranty too.


Are you in the US? My understanding of the warranty is that you call Epson, give them a credit card, they authorize the cost of a new one and ship you one Next Day Air, then you ship back the old one and they cancel the authorization on your credit card.

Yes, that is essentially it. I live in the US. That next day air for me will now be over 2 weeks. Still have not gotten a replacement after two calls. I expect it now on Monday if I get it then that would be a total of 17 days from the day I called in the problem.

When they shipped the wrong one to me they used FedEx Home Express delivery. Far from next day.

Their CS is clearly not consistent.

.

I am strongly considering purchasing the 550 over the panny 900. I'm limited to a small number of local retail options and they are primarily full installation companies. In order to get a good deal on a screen, mount, and cables, I'm considering purchasing online. If anybody has purchased through one of the online retailers, please share your experiences. Right now I'm considering projector.com. Also, if anybody wants to share their thoughts on the 550 vs panny 900. I'd appreciate those also.

This month's Home Theater magazine reviews the 550.

They claim the 550 cannot fully resolve 720 lines of resolution. Has anyone checked this on their's?

This month's Home Theater magazine reviews the 550.

They claim the 550 cannot fully resolve 720 lines of resolution. Has anyone checked this on their's?



I'll answer my own question... Here's some thoughts from Art's (presenter) review in the Epson 800 thread:

when I ran the 550 side by side with the 800, there was no question that the 800 was sharper on DVD. In fact the 550, as I had noted was softer on DVD than the 900u (slightly) and more so compared to the Z4. The 800 was definitely sharper than the 900u on DVD, and HD. What they are doing compared to the 550 to get the extra sharpness, I don't know. Their multi product pdf, doesn't give any indications.



Guess there's at least some reason for Epson's ridiculous price difference on the 800...

I got my replacement PJ yesterday - finally. Looks to be new unit. Initially, everthing looked good on a white backround. I notice a abnormal brightness patch in the lower left corner where it also lacked focus.

After getting every thing reconfigured - the bright spot was gone and my "green on the left" and "red on the right" problem appeared - so it has exactly the same problem as my previous PJ. It's very faint - although I can notice it on some scenes.

Otherwise, this unit appears to be shaper edge to edge. I use a htpc and feed it its native resolution and using a 1280x720 test pattern for geometry, the entire image is displayed with near perfect geometry. The few imperfections I see I am sure our due to my screen and/or PJ setup. Also, using the HTPC and inspecting the image really up close, the edge lines look sharp and uniform and straight, better than previous 550 and my old X1. The horizontal lines weren't as perfect, but I don't notice those as much in my 2.35 CH setup.

I think I am going to wait a month or two and return this one hoping that the green/red problem would be solved in future models.

I just installed one the other day. I gotta say that for the $2500 bucks for this unit and for the $5-$600 you would spend on the screen, this is one incredible little unit. Consdering a good 42" plasma will run you almost that much, this setup puts them to shame. I remember not to long ago when you had to spend upwards of $10k on a projector to get an image that was this good.
It's nice to tell clients that don't know any better and want to put a plasma in the theater room, that they can do a projector for less money and have a bigger, better picture, have them look at you like you have 3 heads, then watch the look on their faces when you show them for the first time. It's gold, really. Discovery HD almost brought tears to my clients eyes. I had no panel alignment issues that I could see. The Incredibles on DVD looked unreal as well. Good demo disk imo.

I have another small theater going in next month with a Cinema 800 going in, so I'll get to see how much better that one is. Should be a nice little theater:

Cinema 800

PSB CW-800 in-walls (fronts, and center)

PSB CW-383 rears with acoustic chambers

PSB CB-212 Dual 12" sub

NAD T-773 Receiver

NAD T-534 DVD w/ hdmi

I love my job.

I got my replacement PJ yesterday - finally. Looks to be new unit. Initially, everthing looked good on a white backround. I notice a abnormal brightness patch in the lower left corner where it also lacked focus.

After getting every thing reconfigured - the bright spot was gone and my "green on the left" and "red on the right" problem appeared - so it has exactly the same problem as my previous PJ. It's very faint - although I can notice it on some scenes.

Otherwise, this unit appears to be shaper edge to edge. I use a htpc and feed it its native resolution and using a 1280x720 test pattern for geometry, the entire image is displayed with near perfect geometry. The few imperfections I see I am sure our due to my screen and/or PJ setup. Also, using the HTPC and inspecting the image really up close, the edge lines look sharp and uniform and straight, better than previous 550 and my old X1. The horizontal lines weren't as perfect, but I don't notice those as much in my 2.35 CH setup.

I think I am going to wait a month or two and return this one hoping that the green/red problem would be solved in future models.

I dont think your replacement will have that issue fixed as well. It is soooooooooooooo common on LC PJs.

Has anyone bought this projector on Ebay or anywhere else online to get a lower price? If so, has Epson still honored your warranty when you have had problems?

Yes and No. Warranty does not state sale has to be from authorized Epson dealer. Only that it have a valid USA warranty.

Has anyone purchased theirs on line for less than $2500?

Not I. And I certainly looked around a lot before I bought. While stating who I went though on the thread is a no-no, the experience was truly excellent in every respect.

Well, I guess I need to shop around. Does anyone have any screen recommendations for use with this projector? I leaning towards some DIY options. I certainly wouldn't want to spend more than $1000 given the projector only costs $2500.

I am considering the 550 also because of its good reviews with some ambient light and the fact that it handles SD pretty well. I have been told the high contrast grey Severtson screen at Projector************* is a good screen for this projector and I think a 100" is less than $1000. I believe there is a thread under screen for Severtson. I havent personally seen this screen so maybe others could help with this pairing

After spending years with different DaLite screens (both matte white and then high contrast), after my last manual was damaged by Hurricane Ivan, I switched out to an electric Elite Home 150IWV. It is a 4:3 screen that I’ve masked so it can switch between a 16:9 or 4:3 (or anywhere in between). I’ve had it in place for over a year now and it has preformed brilliantly, excellent surface, no ripples or anomalies, just perfect.

While I considered getting a trigger to work with my pj, it has a great IR sensor that responds perfectly with the macro sent by my Harmony 880.

Although I did all the installation, framing, vapor barriers, insulation, and molding, the entire setup ran me less than $900 including next-day shipping.

It is an awesome match and without question one of the best purchases I ever made.

Granted, now having a power screen does remind me of a friend in high-school, who years ago when I bought my first CD player and receiver with a remote—one of the first in the late 80s—said “you have to have a big a$$ to need a remote for your stereo”.

Then again, with the touch of a button, (including the use of DVD changer), I can start everything (including the screen and lights) to watch a movie. If you are going to “do” home theater, may as well go all the way!

I'm set up for a fixed screen at the house I'm currently building. I was thinking of a 110" screen. Has anyone used this projector with this high contrast grey Severtson screen?

Hey where did all the Epson owners go? Are they all too busy watching this wonderful little projector to come to the forum to tease the rest of us? If I had mine I know that's what I'd be doing!

I was planning on a DIY screen with the Epson. Anybody here use a DIY screen? If so how does it look? Used the search function and came up with nada in regards to screen shots. Anyone got a link to Epson 550 screen shots?

Cheers

RTROSE

I have some photos of my TW600 projecting onto a DIY Screen which is basically 3 coates of plasterboard/drywall primer paint with a flat black border. The 550 & 600 are fairly close in specs. The shots demonstrate the ambient light capabilities and also the performance in a fully light controlled (night) room.

Hope these links work.
http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=31291
http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=31311


Regards,

John

John,

Nice Screen shots!

Thanks.....It is always nice to see what these projectors are capable of.

Regards

RTROSE

Hey where did all the Epson owners go? Are they all too busy watching this wonderful little projector to come to the forum to tease the rest of us? If I had mine I know that's what I'd be doing!

RTROSE



Well, at least we just released the english version of our 40+ pages review... (www.cine4home.com) :-)

Regards,
Ekkehart, Cine4Home.de

Cine4Home,

Hey thanks for that very in depth review! Whew! I like the fact that the review did not just "gloss over" the 550 like some of the reviews do. Some of the reviews of any projector seems as though the specs change but the general overview/review is the same. I am the type that doesn't want it "sugar coated" tell me like it is! Again great review and thanks. I had been leaning towards the 550 now I think that you and the link have pushed me over the edge!

Regards,

RTROSE

Holy cow! Talk about an excellent, detailed, and amazingly useful review! I’d like to say “yea, that’s just what I thought about the 550 myself” . . .By contrast however, my reflections were: “looky—pretty picture!”

Kudos to the effort that went into this analysis. (And certainly a brilliant report for those of us who debated and went with the 550.)

The TW600's U.S. equivalent is supposed to be the 800, not the 550...

Robert,

It appears from this (http://www.epson.de/product/projector/index.htm) that you are correct. It is the tw520 that is the 550 equivalent. However given the family tree and it's linage I am sure that there are more similarities than differences between the two. I'm sure that due to price differences that there were some "corners cut" (hate to put it that way because I don't consider that the 550 has many of those) but I'm confident that the review of the tw600 would closely mirror that of the tw520 and thus the 550.
That is my logic anyway being flawed or not. The 550 is still on my short list. I am very confident that this is the projector for me. I am going to look at the IN76 and see how it compares, but I think that its lack of lens shift and zoom will again make the 550 the leader in a field of many contenders.

RTROSE

That is my logic anyway being flawed or not. The 550 is still on my short list. I am very confident that this is the projector for me. I am going to look at the IN76 and see how it compares, but I think that its lack of lens shift and zoom will again make the 550 the leader in a field of many contenders.

RTROSE
RTRose,

I'm considering the same (2) projectors. Would love to hear your feedback on the picture quality of both -- especially any SDE differeces. I say this because I saw the 800 in person and SDE was gone after about 1x screen width. I've heard that the SDE on the IN76 was more pronounced but have not seen it in person.

Cine4Home,

Great review. Any chance of you guys posting the menu settings you used to dial in the projector? Would love to tweak my 550 a bit.

Thanks,
Andrew

Hello All,

I've been reading this thread and I couldn't seem to find anyone commenting if a ceiling mount would affect performance, or it doesn't matter to this Epson?

I'm a noob so forgive me, I want a HD PJ that can be ceiling mounted and project onto a 92" GWII screen from about 13-14 ft.

Thanks all :)

Mine is ceiling mounted and almost all of my reactions and reflections are based upon that configuration. As far as I can tell, it makes no difference (although there was some discussion on the fan noise that for me was identical both ways).

On the topic of the 800 being the TW600, I concur that even a step down is still a remarkable machine. Strange that the photos were all of the white-cream housing of the 550 and not the 800. perhaps they 600 uses the same color as the 550.

On the topic of the 800 being the TW600, I concur that even a step down is still a remarkable machine. Strange that the photos were all of the white-cream housing of the 550 and not the 800. perhaps they 600 uses the same color as the 550.

skelleys1031,

I think you have to remember that Ekkehart's review was of the TW600. It is off-white in colour. No use showing a black one or wishing he'd shown a black one, the TW600 don't come in black !

Re: TW600 vs Pro Cinema 800. If you download a PDF of the actual spec sheets you will clearly see that from a hardware point of view, apart from the colour they are exactly the same. Same lamp, same lamp brightness, same assumed contrast
and exactly the same weight. The only perceived change is in the software and the description of picture modes. Whether more time has been taken on the 800 to tweak the picture, I don't know. Maybe slightly set up differently for PAL / NTSC
markets , don't think so, as the TW600 is sold to the Japanese market.

Simply the difference is 1) the market placement into the US. Epson are endeavouring to price point it as a premium LCD which I don't think it is compared to the Z4, AE900. I think it's better and I like/love it, but I paid $ 2,500 Australian for my TW600. Suggested retail of $ 4,500 US really is a joke.

Noise: Mine is inverted, ceiling mounted with it's belly about 7 inches from the roof. Mainly use Theatre Black 1 mode which is one of the quietest. I find the tone of Living Room also fine with Dynamic, Theatre and Natural being the loudest in that order. I am projecting on to a 82 inch screen in a light controlled lounge room from 3 metres. Seating is 4.2 metres. Picture is great. Sharp and Contrasty.

When I get a chance, I will post what I find to be the best settings for Living Room, Natural and Theatre Black 1 on my TW600. Even though they may not be to your liking, I think it's good to compare. Im constantly fiddling with the various options, tweaking , tweaking and more tweaking.

It drives the missus crazy when I change picture modes on the fly during Lost !!!

Waingro

RTRose,

I'm considering the same (2) projectors. Would love to hear your feedback on the picture quality of both -- especially any SDE differeces. I say this because I saw the 800 in person and SDE was gone after about 1x screen width. I've heard that the SDE on the IN76 was more pronounced but have not seen it in person.

swithey,

You are a step ahead of me it seems......at least you have seen the 800. I guess when I'm ready I will more than likely buy "sight unseen" for my projector be it the IN76 or the 550.

What encourages me the most is actually strange if you think about it, but is the lack of activity on this thread. Let me explain.......On the other threads their is a lot of traffic and discussion between respective owners and they are here to try to solve problems, brainstorm and trying to fix the shortcomings of their respective projectors. While here on the 550 forum it is quiet because the owners are at home actually ENJOYING their projectors and not here trying to solve problems. :D !!!!!

I think that even though my short list numbers two the IN76 is still a distant second......you just cant beat the 550 in performance or flexibility in mounting options at this price point. Sure there are cheaper projectors, but I think that they "give up" something to the 550 IMO. Now if only we could convince Epson to lower that MSRP a smidge or two and all would be well. :p

RTROSE

What encourages me the most is actually strange if you think about it, but is the lack of activity on this thread. Let me explain.......On the other threads their is a lot of traffic and discussion between respective owners and they are here to try to solve problems, brainstorm and trying to fix the shortcomings of their respective projectors. While here on the 550 forum it is quiet because the owners are at home actually ENJOYING their projectors and not here trying to solve problems. :D !!!!!
Let's hope you're right. I tried to demo the 550 but they only had the 800 on display. I did talk with one guy at my office who owns the 800 and he said he has seen some slight image ghosting on his (you really have to look for it he said, but once you know it's there, you can't NOT see it -- kind of like rainbows on a DLP projector). He thinks this is just inherent of any LCD projector. He still likes the projector but probably has "Ruby/Sim2" tastes on a 800 budget :D

I'm actually going to look at a IN74 tomorrow (they don't have the IN76 on display :( ). I know this one is a lower resolution, but at least worth a look since I was going over there for something else anyway.

"...he has seen some slight image ghosting ..."

That might be a cable problem

"...he has seen some slight image ghosting ..."

That might be a cable problem
That is a possibility. He a real videophile -- so I did not really consider that. I do plan to check out his PJ in person so I can see what he's talking about in person.

I can confirm some slight image ghosting on TW600 via component. I was able to tweak this out using the Horizontal and Vertical sharpness settings . No ghosting via HDMI. Strongly suspect that it was my component cables, which are average at best.

I know that compared to the Panny 900 and the Z4 that the 550 is relatively "new", but I was wondering as these projectors "age" what the current owners opinions are about the projector as the Honeymoon phase ends and the "marriage" begins.

Spare time is a dangerous thing (especially around here) but I was reading some of the other threads and there seems to be some debate as to the LCD burn in issue and some image retention problems. Other than swithey, radee any body else experienced these problems?

swithey if you could give us some input on you friends ghosting issue. I think that with the current technologies that there are certainly trade offs and compromises LCD SDE, some problems with true black levels, DLP possible RBE, lack of (on a lot of models) lens shift, zoom and 1080p models and three chip DLP's $$$$$$$$$$. But I still see this little 550 as a diamond in the rough. The possibility of true burn in and the image retention issues are of some concern, however I do not see that too many owners have lodged that complaint. I do know that good quality (not necessarily high dollar cables) seem to make a difference. However I tend to lean that the ghosting issue is source related vs. 550 related but I have been wrong before (just don't tell the wife I admitted to that) so it will be interesting what you determine swithey.

Regards,

RTROSE

I know that compared to the Panny 900 and the Z4 that the 550 is relatively "new", but I was wondering as these projectors "age" what the current owners opinions are about the projector as the Honeymoon phase ends and the "marriage" begins.

Spare time is a dangerous thing (especially around here) but I was reading some of the other threads and there seems to be some debate as to the LCD burn in issue and some image retention problems. Other than swithey, radee any body else experienced these problems?

swithey if you could give us some input on you friends ghosting issue. I think that with the current technologies that there are certainly trade offs and compromises LCD SDE, some problems with true black levels, DLP possible RBE, lack of (on a lot of models) lens shift, zoom and 1080p models and three chip DLP's $$$$$$$$$$. But I still see this little 550 as a diamond in the rough. The possibility of true burn in and the image retention issues are of some concern, however I do not see that too many owners have lodged that complaint. I do know that good quality (not necessarily high dollar cables) seem to make a difference. However I tend to lean that the ghosting issue is source related vs. 550 related but I have been wrong before (just don't tell the wife I admitted to that) so it will be interesting what you determine swithey.

Regards,

RTROSE
Sure -- I'll run down the guy next time I see him and see how he has it hooked up, what type/brand of cable/connection and the source material. He is in/out of the office a lot so it may take me a few days to get the answer - but happy to do it.

Has anyone compared the 550 with the Panasonic AE900 side-by-side? I'm particularly interested in whether the 550 produces a noticeably better picture than the 900 when there is some ambient light (I know on paper the 550 has a brighter output, but I wonder if this is really apparent under real world conditions).

Also, the 550 would cost $500-$1000 more than the 900 for me -- can anyone comment generally on whether the 550's value justifies that difference?

here (http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson_cinema_550.htm) Capitol K

I don't know that there has been a review of the 550 vs. the AE900 but the 550 has been compared with the Z4 and the Z4 has been compared to the AE900 on this web site. (http://www.projectorreviews.com/comparison/z4ae900u/index.asp) I know that this is the long way round to get to what you are asking but I'm thinking that it is the best that we can do to this point. This online retailer (http://www.projectorpeople.com/hometheater/projdtls.asp?itemid=20340&itmname=Epson+PowerLite+Cinema+550) is offering a special rebate on the 550 which brings its price closer to the AE900 but still ends up being 200-500 more. I don't have mine yet (my basement HT is still being planned/designed, but if I were ready I would definitely take advantage of that offer.

Hope this helps

Regards

RTROSE

Has anyone compared the 550 with the Panasonic AE900 side-by-side? I'm particularly interested in whether the 550 produces a noticeably better picture than the 900 when there is some ambient light (I know on paper the 550 has a brighter output, but I wonder if this is really apparent under real world conditions).

Also, the 550 would cost $500-$1000 more than the 900 for me -- can anyone comment generally on whether the 550's value justifies that difference?

Tough call!

The 550 is brighter and punchier with better colors out of the box. If youre anticipating ambient light it would be worth the extra cost, imo. But the panny is one sweet deal and something better is always around the corner. ;)

You could invest in a high gain screen with the savings too..

Some help, huh?


-Ric

The reviews I have read put the AE900 with better colors out of the box, and the 550 needed more tweaking to achieve them. However, it sure looks like the 550 would be punchier and brighter. I'm wondering why this projector has not gotten more fanfare? Projector central seems to hold it in high esteem, and that the contrast level was actually rivaling that of projectors with levels listed higher.
On the other hand, the review that RTROSE posted has a digital picture of the starfield in star wars, even though the picture was small the AE900 seemed to show significantly more stars. I think it was summarized by the author that after the 550 was tricked out for theater mode it's brightness was significantly diminished, etc, etc, so I'm sort of concluding that the 550 is really a good fit for a room that has occasional ambient light and the AE900 may be better in many aspects for a room that will be completely dark.

DOH!!!

I had forgotten that in the link I provided they did do some what of a comparison between the AE900 and the 550. I think that the key here and with all projectors is that they ARE VERY SOURCE DEPENDANT the old adage garbage in garbage out.

After wading through thousands of posts here and elsewhere I have discovered a couple of things. 1) That even though owners may have gripes about their respective projectors they are for the most part happy. 2) Once you make a decision on wich projector fits your needs, appeases your desire, fills in a midlife crisis etc. etc. etc. don't spend all of your spare time looking for flaws, short comings, nit picking et all. Set it up do some calibrating/tweaking and for lands sakes ENJOY THE THING!!!!!

The 550 still has my vote (even though I have researched others) I still think that if you would purchase this projector you would be happy.

Can't wait to get that basement done so I can order mine!!

Regards,

RTROSE

P.S. If you look at the screen shot on the 550 vs. AE900 there are more stars on the 900 but IMO the color looks better on the 550, but alas it is hard to really tell with the size of the shots.

Jude-
There is a simple answer to lack of fanfare for this projector. Clocking it at an unshakable price MSRP of $2499, the Epson is hovering at about $1K more expensive than competetors like the Panasonic with rebates (from any of a number of AVS Forum sponsors). Is the added punch and better colors worth an extra $1000? Not to many of us considering what is on the 2-3 year horizon (1080p actually showing up in this forum) - It seems that most are choosing to do other things with that money than invest it here-
v

Yeah, Epson's price fixing is annoying, and not wanting to support a company that engages in such practices is definitely a factor that weighs against purchasing their products...

I don't really understand the rationale for this sort of behavior in the first place -- manufacturers sell their product for a wholesale price to retailers, who typically add an acceptable profit margin and sell to end users. As long as Epson gets the wholesale price it wants, why should it care about where retailers want to set the end-user price?

I don't think people are making a concious choice to not support epson for its practices...its simply a price decision. When the marginal cost associated with spending extra money is not equal to the value gained, we as consumers tend to not make the choice for the more expensive product.

I understand companies wanting to control their supply chain. The fact of the matter is that we at AVS Forum likely represent a smaller fraction of home theater purchasers than we'd like to believe. Picture Joe Consumer. He's been to his buddies house and has seen an awesome set up. He's moderatly educated in what he wants to do with his theater and has 20K to put into a home theater. He's read the magazines and has a good idea of his budget, but isn't an enthusiast. He walks into the typical high end store and is shown a product like the Epson. What about the Panasonic I've read about? If the dealer is a decent one he'll say...the Panasonic is a great product but the Epson is brighter, better warranty, company that actually makes the panels that Panasonic uses, etc (while at the same time knowing that he can make $$ on the Epson that he couldn't possibly make if he sold the Panasonic). Joe says, sure, ok. I don't want to be on a ladder aiming a projector in my living room. Go for it.

Remember, dealers will only invest in products that they can make a profit on. No small/mid sized dealer is going to sell enough Panasonics or Sanyo's to make a substantial profit. We do have a few dealers present on this forum (the guys from Integrity in Denver for example) that are different - but they do not represent the typical high end, front projection focused dealer. Epsons practices allow the traditional dealer to know that he is not going to be undersold and can safely invest in demos. Similar practices are employed by other high end companies. Try to buy a Marantz, Runco or Sim2 online from a reputable dealer like those which you can obtain the Sanyo or Panasonic...I'm not talking about Videogon posts here. It seems that Epson is committed to being a low cost alternative in these settings versus being a large presence in the online, DIY market. Is it a viable sales/marketing strategy? Only time will tell.

I agree that the vast majority of consumers likely don't know anything about Epson's pricing practices - they just see the end result (higher price). Personally, however, the high price and the price fixing are two distinct negatives to me.

Even if you're right that Epson's price fixing is in the interests of its dealers (which I don't think I fully accept*), it certainly isn't in the interests of consumers, who pay higher prices as a result. (And if this tactic is really necessary for dealers to support a projector, why is Epson the only one (at least among 550 competitors) doing it? If dealers, as you say, aren't making any money on Panasonics, why can I find the AE900 at virtually every store that sells projectors?)


* Every store I've spoken to about the 550 has complained about Epson's pricing requirements, and most have offerred to "covertly" discount the unit (e.g., by heavily discounting other products or throwing in free extras if I agree to buy the 550).

Not sure where you're writing from but you are certainly lucky...in Raleigh/Durham area it is impossible to see the Panasonic in action except for at a members house (I've hosted half a dozen members at my house to see my 900). In the Washington Metro area the only place I knew of that sold Panasonic projectors was a large education centered outfit that certainly didn't have the setup necessary to demo projectors in a theater type setting. That might have changed recentely.

For me and my buying and shopping experience, front projection has always been the realm of the very high end store. Only now is it beginning to become more affordable.

My experience with higher end dealers has been that they exclusively carry video products with higher margins that have tighter distribution (lines you can "only get from them" - Toshiba's Cinema Line RPTV's used to be like this). I see Epsons strategy with the 550, at least for these dealers that I have most experience with, was a higher margin item for them to bring in customers that perviously would have been priced out of the traditional offerings from high end stores - especially front projection.

Either way...it is what it is and if you want to buy the Epson you're spending $1K more than some other projectors mentioned as comparable.

Has anybody tried this projector (or the 800) with an anamorphic lens? If so, please provide details and results. Thanks!

Has anyone used this with a Dish vip622 through the HDMI connections? Is there any problems using this connection, and is there any improvement over using the component connection?

I bought a 550 at Xmas time. I got it at what one would consider a fair, not deep, discount price. I don't have any idea if the vendor I bought it from still sells it for what I paid, but I would be happy to furnish their contact info to anyone who PMs me.

prfssr

Well as I have stated before I have the 550 at the top of my short list and there have been others that have come along that I have researched and looked at only to have the 550 return back to the top of my short list. The IN76 was one that looked like it might be a contender but alas Projector Central has reviewed the IN76review here (http://www.projectorcentral.com/infocus_play_big_in76.htm), but it did not make their "Highly Rated" status. I know that reviews are subjective and that you should not base your decision solely on said reviews, but I just makes me feel more confidant that when I finally purchase the 550 I will have made a good decision.

swithey,

Did you ever have a chance to check on the ghosting issue?

Once again the 550 owners are quietly enjoying their projectors while others are here to solve problems and others (like me) are here because they don't have a projector (yet) and have nothing else better to do!

Regards

RTROSE

I am enjoying my PJ except for one big issue: the left half of my screen is a faint green, the right side a faint red (or pink).

I sent back my original PJ for the same problem and my replacment has the same problem. I am waiting another month or so and am going to get another replacement that hopefully doesn't have this problem.

Otherwise, love the projector. The coloration issue only comes up on skin tones and light backgrounds (which happens a lot), but I don't obsess over it - to much :rolleyes:

nightfly,

Are you one of the few that has experienced this issue? I know that when you have more than one panel there is always the potential for convergence issues, in their report Projector Central made note of it, but then they stated that there are 550's out there with properly aligned panels. Do you post earlier in the thread a screen shot of your issue. I think somewhere the issue was mentioned before, I think it was you even. Is your new projector better or worse than the one it replaced?

If you have a quick link to your screen shot please post it......I'm too lazy/tired to search for it now!

Regards

RTROSE

swithey,

Did you ever have a chance to check on the ghosting issue?

Once again the 550 owners are quietly enjoying their projectors while others are here to solve problems and others (like me) are here because they don't have a projector (yet) and have nothing else better to do!

Regards

RTROSE
RTROSE,

Funny you should ask. Yesterday, I actually ran into the guy that owns the 800 and asked him about his setup. He is using high-quality professionally made component cables for his video and a Stewart motorized screen (not sure on the material).

Good news is the ghosting issue has been fixed! He originally had the lens shift near the bottom of the range. After some experimentation, he was able to remove ALL visual ghosting with these changes:

#1: Lens shift closer to the middle of the range (ghosting still visible without #2).
#2: Projector tilted slightly down (yes, his projector was level before)

No more ghosting :)

NOTE: He was using the same DVD player and component cables with another LCD projector (don't know which one) before and had not experienced the ghosting issue -- which rules out the cables in IMO.

Hope this helps and sorry for the delay on the post.

BTW -- The IN76 is also on my short list along with the Epson 550. Here is another new review of the IN76. See it HERE (http://www.projectorreviews.com/Manufacturers/infocus/IN76/index.asp).

swithey,

thanks for that review. Kinda looks like the only reason that the IN76 did not get a hot product award is mainly the price. Looks like that the review is favorable except for that. Glad to hear that the ghosting issue has been resolved....the lens shift makes sense to me especially if he was at limits....but the level/tilting has me confused, but oh well good that there is no more ghosting!

BTW I clicked on your HT construction thread very impressive and kudos to you on your progress and work. I've got some outside landscaping and house touch up's to do then I'm hoping that in the next two or three months I can begin construction on my very own basement dedicated HT. I will be finishing off about 75% of my basement part of wich will be a 13.5 x 20 HT. I can't wait, but I'm planning on doing the finishing in stages due to time and of course budget restraints.

Regards,

RTROSE

swithey,

thanks for that review. Kinda looks like the only reason that the IN76 did not get a hot product award is mainly the price. Looks like that the review is favorable except for that. Glad to hear that the ghosting issue has been resolved....the lens shift makes sense to me especially if he was at limits....but the level/tilting has me confused, but oh well good that there is no more ghosting!

BTW I clicked on your HT construction thread very impressive and kudos to you on your progress and work. I've got some outside landscaping and house touch up's to do then I'm hoping that in the next two or three months I can begin construction on my very own basement dedicated HT. I will be finishing off about 75% of my basement part of wich will be a 13.5 x 20 HT. I can't wait, but I'm planning on doing the finishing in stages due to time and of course budget restraints.

Regards,

RTROSE
Thanks for the comments on the HT. Make sure your start a HT Construction Thread so we can all watch your progress.

BTW -- I don't understand the projector tilting either but if it fixed it for him, that's a good thing.

hello to all

i bought tw600 on march 10th for 1350 Euros and i m projecting on a matt white painted wall screen 104" through component from a 30 Euros bluesky dvdp (progressive) in 625p using simple rca cable.

from the very first time with only basic contrast/brightness tweaking and small reduce to red colour the picture was amazing, in TB2 , very soft and cinema looking. Very good colours generaly, amazing dark scenes (forest in gladiator, details on van helsing) and great white (vertical limit).

on about 60 Hours two dust signs appeared on screen but visible only on totally dark pic, nothing to worry about yet, but after 100 hours that i m now, convergeance come up. i had no problem till now but all of a sudden half left screen is blue and half right red. no big problem on coloured films but visible (not much disturbing) on B&W films.

and this come up to another two tw600 of friends almost after 100 hours use....

so the question is... is that going to be worst? and is it possible to appear after some use and what is the reason for this? the lamp? i didnt hit pj and never turned it on/off before 24 hours from last use...

i still enjoy picture a lot, but reading about general lcd problems i start to worry how long this excellent picture will be.... cause i think that being those pjs so cheap will affect their long lasting use... i cant imagine how yet, maybe the fan noise will increase, the convergeance, the dust or sth else......

i havent seen any other competitor lcd (panny, sanyo etc. or dlp) but if i see that picture with that set up i cant magine what i ll see with a better dvdp through hdmi or even better through hd ....

i m still happy with my pj but start to worry if this will go all the way... i read about older models of different pjs with happy owners for 3.000/4.000 or 5.000 hours and i wonder if i ll be one of them.... cause old things had better quality....

some screenshots....

1 more for screen

Any owners experience stuck pixels? I'm on my second projector and it too has a stuck green pixel. This one is 14.5" right of center on a 92" screen. It's tolerable(frustrating to think tha 2500 gets you this) on colorful scenes, but very noticeable on darker scenes. Is this acceptable? Or, should I attempt to return this one and try again?

Hi,

Im also having this exact issue (shading) on my TW-600. Im also just past 100hrs as well. If you contact Epson, please let me know how they respond.

:confused:


-Ric

hello to all

i bought tw600 on march 10th for 1350 Euros and i m projecting on a matt white painted wall screen 104" through component from a 30 Euros bluesky dvdp (progressive) in 625p using simple rca cable.

from the very first time with only basic contrast/brightness tweaking and small reduce to red colour the picture was amazing, in TB2 , very soft and cinema looking. Very good colours generaly, amazing dark scenes (forest in gladiator, details on van helsing) and great white (vertical limit).

on about 60 Hours two dust signs appeared on screen but visible only on totally dark pic, nothing to worry about yet, but after 100 hours that i m now, convergeance come up. i had no problem till now but all of a sudden half left screen is blue and half right red. no big problem on coloured films but visible (not much disturbing) on B&W films.

and this come up to another two tw600 of friends almost after 100 hours use....

so the question is... is that going to be worst? and is it possible to appear after some use and what is the reason for this? the lamp? i didnt hit pj and never turned it on/off before 24 hours from last use...

i still enjoy picture a lot, but reading about general lcd problems i start to worry how long this excellent picture will be.... cause i think that being those pjs so cheap will affect their long lasting use... i cant imagine how yet, maybe the fan noise will increase, the convergeance, the dust or sth else......

i havent seen any other competitor lcd (panny, sanyo etc. or dlp) but if i see that picture with that set up i cant magine what i ll see with a better dvdp through hdmi or even better through hd ....

i m still happy with my pj but start to worry if this will go all the way... i read about older models of different pjs with happy owners for 3.000/4.000 or 5.000 hours and i wonder if i ll be one of them.... cause old things had better quality....

ilias-hellas, dgrambo,

My tw600 also had a similar issue develop at approx 60hrs, except mine was a green area top centre right (not a dust blob as green area covered 1/3 of screen). Appeared one night, was gone the next, and then reappeared again and stayed. Over the course of the next 100 hours, this green area began to fade/merge/disappear. Now at over 200 hours this anomolie is no longer present.
(could see it when the 'greyscale' screen was displayed. Is now solid grey again)

to be honest, i m not so sure that this problem appeared after some hours of use as this is my ever 1st pj and maybe i hadnt noticed it till now as i was atracted only from the big screen, maybe this convergence was there from the beggining.

in some other forums one told that this problem solved by unplugged all wires from pj for 3-4 days but asking him if he has any technical explanation about that he said "no, it just happen"....

apart from that i keep on having auto iris off as when i watch football picture become very.... dizzy in fast movements of camera, and i do the same at movies as i cant see the difference between AI on/off .

anyone know what we must use between 1. film or video? 2. larger or normal? 3. 0 or 7.5% ? i dont remember the parameters they refer to and never understand whats the difference among them....

I'm still amazed that this thread is so far down the list of talked about projectors on this forum. It's a bit odd to me that this thread is on page 7. Hopefully, it is because most people that bought this projector are extremely happy with it, thus having very little to complain about, and not because no one is buying it.

Another thing.......How does this projector rate where VB is concerned? I have viewed the 550 at a local B&M in two different store locations. VB was more noticeable at one store's location compared to the other where it was hardly noticeable. Pretty much the same display set-up at both locations, as it was the same retail chain.

The thread mysteriously became unsticky while pjs AVS sells are still sticky. Makes you think what this forum is about.

I think its more to do with people enjoying a projector that does not seem to be exhibiting any major problems.

Eh... I think that might just be wishful thinking. For example, compare the projectorcentral.com user review pages on this projector vs the Panasonic 900:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Cinema_550-user-reviews.htm

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic_Home-PT-AE900U-user-reviews.htm

Both have mostly positive reviews, but the Panasonic has 8 TIMES the number of reviews! (i.e., it's not simply the case that only people unhappy with their PJ come to the internet to talk about it).

And if you look just a couple of posts up, there seem to be a disturbing number of people having color issues with the 550... (this isn't the first place I've seen people noting this problem)

I was strongly considering this PJ, but the essential question for me was whether the 550 is worth $1000 more than the Panasonic 900. I concluded that while the 550 would give you a brighter image, pretty much all other factors weighed in favor of the 900, especially the fact that the 900 is a far more popular PJ and thus has been tested more thoroughly (and despite this, still seems to have on average fewer issues than the 550).

I'm going to have to call you out on this one nightfly85. This thread was sticky for ages (6, 8 months?). Being a avid checker of this forum and very interested in this projector when it was annouced I kept a keen eye. Days and weeks went by where this thread received no posts. As a sticky it just didn't make sense. Why feature so prominently a thread that wasn't getting much use - hence it ended up on page 7. I feel the mods tend to make sticky threads that really have tons of interest...for better or worse, this thread, and the projector for that matter, have lost lots of buzz to other projectors this year.

Eh... I think that might just be wishful thinking.............

Both have mostly positive reviews, but the Panasonic has 8 TIMES the number of reviews! (i.e., it's not simply the case that only people unhappy with their PJ come to the internet to talk about it)..........



Could that not be for the fact that the 550 is close to $1000 more than the Panasonic, hence more people are reviewing it? When something is a really fashionable pick and, more importantly, an inexpensive alternative, you're going to find it more in the mainstream and reviewed more. There's no doubt that there's a lot of bang for the buck in the Panny. I'm just amazed that the Cinema 550 is relatively ignored in this forum.

The thread mysteriously became unsticky while pjs AVS sells are still sticky. Makes you think what this forum is about.

Yes... it makes you think that you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Lots of projectors that AVS doesn't sell are stickies. Fact is this one is pretty far down the list of interest around here, so it got unstickied. Not everythingis a conspiracy.

I am one of the happy owners of this projector. I have no issues with it at all. It looks beautiful--no vb that I have been able to detect, my panels seem to be adjusted perfectly, I could not be happier.

Having finished my new house and home theater (for now anyway) I haven't been visiting AVS much lately. When it is time to make another upgrade or purchase I will be back.

As to the price, there are dealers who will discount this projector. You just have to know where to look.

I was strongly considering this PJ, but the essential question for me was whether the 550 is worth $1000 more than the Panasonic 900. I concluded that while the 550 would give you a brighter image, pretty much all other factors weighed in favor of the 900, especially the fact that the 900 is a far more popular PJ and thus has been tested more thoroughly (and despite this, still seems to have on average fewer issues than the 550).

What additional issues have you seen here vs. the 900 thread? I think that every projector has its quirks however I still think that there are more here voicing negatives vs. positives (in the forums)but that is just my opinion. I have read some of the 900 thread and the Z4 thread too and there are issues there also.

I think that the $1000 difference between the two is one of those questions that will be addressed by individual buyers, but in the end only the individual will be able to answer that.

I still like this projector and it is still number one on my short list, however I do wish that Epson would revamp their pricing policies I think that it is pricier than it needs to be, but I have heard good things about Epson support and customer service and not so about Panasonic and that weighs in too in my decision.

Who ever said that it seems that the enthusiasm has died for this projector may be overstating the issue, however it does make one think where are all the 550 owners? I think that they are all too busy enjoying there nearly flawless projector to worry about coming here. :D

Regards

RTROSE

I've had my 550 since Christmastime. No complaints. I haven't had to perform any adjustments or calibrations to it.

prfssr

prfssr,

That is good to hear!!! What size screen do you use? And you say that you have never had to perform any adjustments on the projector? Have you done say for example the THX optimizer found on many titles? Just curious how the 550 looked out of the box.

Regards

RTROSE

Is the red push exhibited on this projector, which I've easily noticed on two different setups, able to be removed using a calibration disc? Try as I might, I was unable to remove it on either setup at two different store locations. As long as the reds can be evened out with the rest of color palette without diminishing other colors in the process, it'll help me decide on this projector. I'd rather not have to look at clown make-up faces.

having tw600 for 2,5 months now and 150 hours i m very satisfied except the convergence in white scenes (not visible in colour scenes).

i want to ask that when i connect pj through hdmi the picture moves a bit out of my screen (moves right 5cm) while on component is fullfilling screen exactly. why does this happen?

prfssr,

That is good to hear!!! What size screen do you use? And you say that you have never had to perform any adjustments on the projector? Have you done say for example the THX optimizer found on many titles? Just curious how the 550 looked out of the box.

Regards

RTROSE

RTROSE,

One of these days I'll check the calibration, when I want to fiddle and not watch. I've had the 550 for 5 trouble-free mos now. I even took it with me when I visited family over Memorial Day weekend -- in checked baggage, no less. It worked perfectly upon arrival.

I had planned to post a couple of out-of-the-box screen shots, but I don't know how (I used the "Manage Attachment" button and uploaded two files, but they did not appear when I previewed this reply.). I can PM them to anyone who wishes to see them. One is an analog std def projection of a bowl game from last New Year's Day, projected onto a gloss white wall in my family room (before I had bought a screen). The other is a shot of a DVD image (from last year's Cream reunion concerts) projected onto a 92-inch high-contrast gray Draper Traveller pull-up screen.

The truth is, I have sent the screen back, not because the picture wasn't good, but because I have Magneplanar 3.6Rs in my living room, where I watch movies, and I wanted to hear them. It was a pain to set the Traveller screen base on a pair of stools every time I wanted to watch a movie, so I could at least hear something resembling my stereo, not to mention how ugly it was. So right now I have a white sheet stretched over my Magneplanars using clothes pins, with a black sheet draped behind the speakers. It's good enough for now, and I get to hear those wonderful speakers. Haven't decided on a permanent screen solution. I have a sloped, two-story, vaulted ceiling, or I would have hung something by now. I'll probably bite the bullet and hang a 92- or 106-inch matte white screen. My seating is about 10-11 feet away from the screen.

Prfssr

I just purchased a Cinema 550 this weekend. When I was checking it over to see if it was in good shape, I noticed a single blue dot made with a permanent marker immediately after the Model #:TW550 on the label. Does anyone have any idea what this blue dot signifies? Does anyone else have a blue dot on their serial/model number label? There was also a small yellow dot sticker immediately after the name of the projector on the sides of the box.

I sometimes let the worst run through my head right after buying something expensive and I was hoping that this blue dot didn't indicate a refurbished unit or something like that. :o I bought it from a reputable B&M dealer and the box was only sealed once.

Any ideas? Speculation?

I sometimes let the worst run through my head right after buying something expensive and I was hoping that this blue dot didn't indicate a refurbished unit or something like that. :o I bought it from a reputable B&M dealer and the box was only sealed once.


Sure, I think most folks go through the same thing, but I wouldn't worry about it. Email Epson your serial and ask if you have doubt, otherwise, enjoy your PJ!

Thanks, Nightfly85. :)

There is something I've noticed while tinkering with the pj. Like others have, I noticed a pinkish hue on the left hand side of my screen. Although, while others have noticed their screen go from pink to white to green, or vice-versa, I only noticed slight pink on the left. Anyway, I tried zooming the screen size in and out. As the screen size got larger, the pink hue on the left seemed to get much less noticeable and almost disappear with a bit of pink showing up at the extreme edges of the right side of the screen. So, I'm wondering if these pink and green tints that people are having problems with can, in some cases, be attributed to the position of the lens within the zoom range. So, perhaps it's something to do with the lenses and how clean they are, or how pure they are, as the image is zoomed in or out. Just a thought.

So, I'm wondering if these pink and green tints that people are having problems with can, in some cases, be attributed to the position of the lens within the zoom range. So, perhaps it's something to do with the lenses and how clean they are, or how pure they are, as the image is zoomed in or out. Just a thought.


Doubtful, my issue is consistent across all zoom and other configs, not to say the hues don't diminish if I zoom it in, but that would be expected as you're simply diffusing the overall image brightness, and thus pink would look less pink eventhough the amount of pink is actually the same.

A rough analogy:
If you take the same amount of paint and paint two sections on a wall one 2x2 the other 4x4, the 2x2 will have more color than the 4x4 using the same amount of paint.

Good point.

The only reason why I thought the zoom position could be the culprit, in some instances, is that a pinkish tinge showed up in small areas at the very edge of the right side when the picture was enlaged to it's fullest, where there was none at it's smallest size.

I feel the need to chime in again that I am still loving my completely trouble free 550. I am so happy with my home theater that I hardly ever visit the forums these days.

I tend to visit mainly when I am on the lookout for the next upgrade, which will probably be to some kind of high definition DVD player but not until the format war shakes out a bit and they get a generation or two old.

Anyway, if you would like to buy the Epson, I can assure you that they can be had for less than retail from authorized dealers, and when I purchased mine the price was comparable to the 900. I will try to check back more regularly in case anyone PM's me for more information.

I got my 550 about 4 weeks ago, and have been busy enjoying movies and sports on it. I have about 50 hours on the bulb now. I’m ready to finish some trim around my screen in addition to some other things. I’m curious about the screen size. I had my home builder make a border frame for the screen with inside dimensions of 8 feet wide by 4.5 feet high. The projected image doesn’t match these dimensions. I have the projector standing right side up in an open box mounted to my 11’ high ceiling. I’m using most of the vertical shift down. Are the actual dimensions of a 16:9 screen not exact? Is this caused by my vertical shift? Is there something else that could be causing this? Is there a setting I can adjust to fix this?

I have recently upgraded from a TW 100 to a 550. My comments:

1. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Make sure the projector is level at the mount - the size difference or balance(mine was 3" right to left) goes away at level mounting front to back and side to side.
3. Do not shift right or left too much - there are changes are fine if within 6-10"
4. Shifting up and down - ONCE LEVEL - fine - mine was 12-15 inches on ceiling until I shifted
5. Perhaps specific to me: I have HD-DVD from Toshiba - do not use 720p from HD-DVD to Epson the HD-DVD has poor translation to 720p. Use 1080i
6. The list price is just that - deals are gone - get over it
7. Use Epsons mount - old ones wont work and universal are too much of a pain - most dealers - especially online will discount it or throw it in.
8. Going through Yamaha 2600 - HDMI upconvert looks great (for SD TIVO) - difference between component and HDMI are notable
9. If using Yamaha 2600, if you have progressive scan on for DVD (Pioneer 45A for me ) it is reduced in size - shut progressive scan off and the Yamaha upconvert works great
10. BTW: With yamaha 2600, Tosihba HD DVD and removing VHS, Replay and using HDMI from DT HD-TIVO, and only HDMI and component to 550 my wire "snake" was reduced by 80%

This 550 is a great unit - wow - and the Yamaha 2600 rocks and made the 9 unit Definitive tech speakers system 5X better.

Ask questions!!!

Scott

Initially I was going to buy the epson 550 and it was at the top of my list. Then,
I saw some negative stuff in past threads about the epson and it was kinda pushing me to buy the optoma HD72.

Should I rethink my rethinking?
<dazed and confused, and having a hard time pulling the trigger>

I have recently upgraded from a TW 100 to a 550. My comments:

1. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOWWWWW too 4 me (tw600)

5. Perhaps specific to me: I have HD-DVD from Toshiba - do not use 720p from HD-DVD to Epson the HD-DVD has poor translation to 720p. Use 1080i

some more details? why's that? some pics? differences between dvd and HD-dvd? is there in the market any hd-dvd 1080p or not yet?

9. If using Yamaha 2600, if you have progressive scan on for DVD (Pioneer 45A for me ) it is reduced in size - shut progressive scan off and the Yamaha upconvert works great


also to me by changing from component to hdmi there is a crop in my picure, any idea why is that?


Ask questions!!!

Scott

once again tw600 is WOW !!!!!!

Initially I was going to buy the epson 550 and it was at the top of my list. Then,
I saw some negative stuff in past threads about the epson and it was kinda pushing me to buy the optoma HD72.

Should I rethink my rethinking?
<dazed and confused, and having a hard time pulling the trigger>





I think the initial issues with "convergence" and red/pink color issues may have been early manufacturing issues. I have installed 3 in last month and have had no issues. I cannot comment on the HD72 but I think you will mainly see people either really happy with the 550 or discussing this convergence issue which I beleive is a non-issue now and even if it comes up Epson has super customer support. The few reports of stuck pixels I think are in the same space.

5. Perhaps specific to me: I have HD-DVD from Toshiba - do not use 720p from HD-DVD to Epson the HD-DVD has poor translation to 720p. Use 1080i

Ask questions!!!

Scott


some more details about that ? fotos 720/1080?

Here's a question for the TW600 crowd: Is this projector worth getting if a I have to deal with a ship back to Japan warranty? I can get the TW600, Sanyo Z4+free bulb or the Optoma HD6800 + screen and mount all for the same price approximately. I'm having a hard time justifying the TW600 though as it's the most expensive by a few hundred, it doesn't have any add ins and it's warranty sounds iffy as it involves me covering shipping charges back to Japan if anything goes wrong.

I like what I read about the Epson but I'm just not sure if it's worth it in this situation.

Finally, some people to talk to. Has anyone here, who has the 550 or it's equivalent, noticed an instance of vertical banding which is located from top to bottom on the left, roughly 3 inches of the screen, or right 3 inches if you have it ceiling mounted? I've seen two in the home like this on all inputs and modes and one in a B&M store in town. It's not extremely noticeable all the time, but it is definitely an instance of vertical banding.

Finally, some people to talk to. Has anyone here, who has the 550 or it's equivalent, noticed an instance of vertical banding which is located from top to bottom on the left, roughly 3 inches of the screen, or right 3 inches if you have it ceiling mounted? I've seen two in the home like this on all inputs and modes and one in a B&M store in town. It's not extremely noticeable all the time, but it is definitely an instance of vertical banding.


Vikes4ever,

Yes, Again mount projector level using the provided level left->right but most importantly front to back. Reference the guide in the manual about distance and vertical screen size (most of us have over done it on size) and at least for test normal all horizontal shift to neutral. Then start adjusting. I promise this will fix it or you will see what adjusts introduce the problem. Pick a living room or regular theater setting and set to factor defaults on everything else for the test. With the three LCD lamps I think it is less forgiving - or more rigid - on setup - my old TW100 you could put on the sofa (not that I did) and it was fine. Give it a try.

some more details about that ? fotos 720/1080?


I had setup my Toshiba HD DVD at since I knew the max resolution was 720P I put the output of the HD DVD to 720p. Most HD DVD content is 1080i or 1080p and the HD DVD player has to convert to 720p. It looks like a regular DVD. I set to 1080I output and WOW. Perfect. See June 2006 Sound and Vision review - after the fact I read it - and they said the exact same thing. The conversion from 1080 to 720p in the Toshiba HD DVD is poor. But since it is software based and requires internet connection for updates perhaps they will fix this soon.

Unfortunately too busy for photos this week - give it a try !!!

I got my 550 about 4 weeks ago, and have been busy enjoying movies and sports on it. I have about 50 hours on the bulb now. I’m ready to finish some trim around my screen in addition to some other things. I’m curious about the screen size. I had my home builder make a border frame for the screen with inside dimensions of 8 feet wide by 4.5 feet high. The projected image doesn’t match these dimensions. I have the projector standing right side up in an open box mounted to my 11’ high ceiling. I’m using most of the vertical shift down. Are the actual dimensions of a 16:9 screen not exact? Is this caused by my vertical shift? Is there something else that could be causing this? Is there a setting I can adjust to fix this?

pATRIOT12,

Did the adjustments work that i recommended - just did those with another 550 uer the other night and poof- no problems! Vertical shift is not really the issue - it is the level of the PJ front to back and left to right before you start adjusting - see other posts.

Scott

Doubtful, my issue is consistent across all zoom and other configs, not to say the hues don't diminish if I zoom it in, but that would be expected as you're simply diffusing the overall image brightness, and thus pink would look less pink eventhough the amount of pink is actually the same.

A rough analogy:
If you take the same amount of paint and paint two sections on a wall one 2x2 the other 4x4, the 2x2 will have more color than the 4x4 using the same amount of paint.


I have played with about 12 of these now and these issues can go away if properly leveled and not taxing the r->l shift. Plus what is the output - HDMI or Component? Your have got to hang the wiring at this throughput especially at HD-DVD if by conduit or other issues.

Scott

I have recently upgraded from a TW 100 to a 550. My comments:


6. The list price is just that - deals are gone - get over it


Scott


If this is supposed to mean that this unit is only sold at list price, that is not true. My local authorized Epson dealer sells this unit at a discount. I hesistate to say more for fear of violating the "no prices/deals/dealers discussion" rules.

I can't speak to the rest of your points execept to say that my dealer is also my installer and they fabricated a custom mount for me that seems to be perfect.

Regards,
Breeze

Over the weekend, I bought this projector from an online store for about 2 grand. Next thing i know, i get an email from the site asking me to call to confirm the order. Well, I call and the salesman starts pushing other stuff on me. He talks me into getting the epson mount, which wasn't too bad at $150. Then he talks be into buying a 3 yr bulb warranty for $300, then talks me into buying a 4 year extended warranty for another $400.
Anyway, I call my home theatre friend and he tells me I'm a moron for buying the bulb/projector extended warranty and to call back and cancel.
So I call back and cancel, and the guy tells me he can't cancel the warranty because it is already attached to the serial number, and the only way I can cancel is to just send back everything and cancel the order. I tell him that I will do that. So then he offers me another big discount and will sell me the whole package for $1700 (this includes shipping), so projector, epson mount, 3 yr bulb warranty, and 4 year projector warranty. I get suckered into it again and agree.

Did I mess up? Am I a moron?
Please be honest with me.

I am sorry to discuss prices, I know I'm not supposed to on this forum. But maybe my experience and the responses I get will help someone.

In regards to the "leveling issue" how does this help the projector's image? Sorry for the seemingly silly question but must ask just the same. This projector is still my first on a short list of 2 (Optoma HD 7100 is 2 and some quality issues plus mounting requirements have me concerned), but if using lens shift both vertical and horizontal will cause convergence problems I may have to rethink. I'm planing on doing a shelf type mount 8 inches from the ceiling (not inverted) about 16-17 feet back for around a 106" image.

Anybody see any problems with lens shift or other maladies that I'm overlooking?

Regards,

RTROSE

P.S. Leveling the projector won't be a problem.

I would agree with Swandersen that the leveling is critical to getting a good rectangular picture. I was being probably way too critical in how far off my 16:9 aspect was off (less than a half inch in left to right compared to top and bottom). My problem was more with content from Dish Network not fitting inside good. But when I switched the Output Scaling to Larger (for Component Inputs), everything is great. I use different Color modes depending on the time of day and content I'm watching, so I don't know that I'll do any more tweaking than that. It looks great now.

Well, I had been demoing two 550s at my home and was about to decide to keep the second of the two, because it had the least noticeable 2-3 inch vertical band on the left hand side. All of a sudden on Friday night, a pink haze showed up on the second 550 and an even darker red tinge appeared in the upper left corner. This came out of nowhere on all inputs and you could easily see it on the test screen. This occured after 20-25 hours and the test screen was absolutely evenly grey prior to this. I thought I had finally found a projector that I was going to keep, but that was the last straw, as far as things I'm willing to accept. So, I returned them both and I'm on the hunt again. :mad:

I wonder if I should return the projector I just bought.

Vikes4ever, were you testing one of the early production models of the 550?

zenboy4,

Well, I just bought both of them no earlier than May 27th. I don't know why Ultimate Electronics would still have early production models left, but who knows how long they were sitting on their shelves. However, I would highly doubt that they were that old. It would have been nice if Epson put a manufacture date by the serial number.

In regards to the "leveling issue" how does this help the projector's image? Sorry for the seemingly silly question but must ask just the same. This projector is still my first on a short list of 2 (Optoma HD 7100 is 2 and some quality issues plus mounting requirements have me concerned), but if using lens shift both vertical and horizontal will cause convergence problems I may have to rethink. I'm planing on doing a shelf type mount 8 inches from the ceiling (not inverted) about 16-17 feet back for around a 106" image.

Anybody see any problems with lens shift or other maladies that I'm overlooking?

Regards,

RTROSE

P.S. Leveling the projector won't be a problem.

RTROSE,

Now that I have mine perfect I'll take some steps backwards tonight and recreate the video noise on the lower left that I had before and attributed to right->left shift. I dont think the shifting "noise" and the convergence (which was discussed a lot in early posts) are the same. I am getting concerned about Vikes4Ever and the red issue. I'll let you know what I find.

Scott

I chose the Epson 550 based on a number of factors:

The amount of ambient light in the room during the day (no basement here - but 7 windows and a French Door in my Living Room with a northern exposure) and the fact that I planned to play PC games on it (gotta have enough light to see the keyboard!)

LCD technology (don't want to give my guests a headache, even if DLP doesn't bother *me*)

Reputation of manufacturer

Local availability

I had the dealer set the PJ up to show me there were no defects, as well as give me some instruction on how to use it, since this is my first projector and I'm hooking it up to a PC. Perfection!

It does everything I hoped it would do and does it beautifully. To me, that makes it worth what I paid for it. I've had it for about a month now, and have used it almost every day. It is very powerful, and I can get a stunning picture even during the afternoon hours when the room is at its brightest.

The ONLY time I have a problem is when light is shining directly on the (DIY) screen, for about an hour in the morning - and that is not the projector's fault, but the fault of my temporary room darkening shades...

-Judy

RTROSE,

Now that I have mine perfect I'll take some steps backwards tonight and recreate the video noise on the lower left that I had before and attributed to right->left shift. I dont think the shifting "noise" and the convergence (which was discussed a lot in early posts) are the same. I am getting concerned about Vikes4Ever and the red issue. I'll let you know what I find.

Scott


Scott,

Thanks. Looking forward to reading what you find out. I'm not too concerned about the left/right shifting should be able to center the lens with the screen. More concerned about the vertical shifting. Will definitely have to use that per my installation requirements.

...........It does everything I hoped it would do and does it beautifully. To me, that makes it worth what I paid for it. I've had it for about a month now, and have used it almost every day. It is very powerful, and I can get a stunning picture even during the afternoon hours when the room is at its brightest..............

-Judy

Glad to hear there is another satisfied 550 owner! Congrats Judy! Hope to be joining the ranks here in the next few months!

Regards,

RTROSE

I pulled the trigger on this thing...Have been using it for a few days but I love what I see....

I mean WOW!!!

Glad I decided to risk it!

Scott,

Were you able to find anything out?

zenboy,

Glad to hear it. Do you have any prior experience with FP?

Regards,

RTROSE

Scott,

Were you able to find anything out?

zenboy,

Glad to hear it. Do you have any prior experience with FP?

Regards,

RTROSE
RTROSE,

Yes, I upgraded from a Pany ptae700u.

I think that the review of this projector at Projector central hit it on the nail concerning the epson cinema 550. The reviewer basically stated that if happen to acquire an epson 550 with the LCD panels aligned so that you don't have any convergence issues, then you have an incredible high end projector for a low end price. I got mine for under 2K BTW.

zenboy,

I have (since deciding to go FP) had the Epson 550 on my short list basically from the start. I have looked at some others Z4, AE900, Optoma 7100, but have come back to the 550 every time.

There does not seem to be much out there that matches the 550 for quality and minimum hassle. I think that the 550 is a touch pricer than it needs to be, I wish Epson would modify its pricing policy, but that does not seem to be happening any time soon.

I think that the only serious contender (for me) was the 7100, but its initial quality hiccups and the mounting requirements have again put the 550 at the number one spot on my short list.

Out of curiosity if you are a former owner of a Panny why did you not upgrade to the AE900. Bad experience with the AE700?

I think that if you paid sub 2000 then you paid a "fair" price for the Epson and more like where it should be price wise.

Regards,

RTROSE

zenboy,

I have (since deciding to go FP) had the Epson 550 on my short list basically from the start. I have looked at some others Z4, AE900, Optoma 7100, but have come back to the 550 every time.

There does not seem to be much out there that matches the 550 for quality and minimum hassle. I think that the 550 is a touch pricer than it needs to be, I wish Epson would modify its pricing policy, but that does not seem to be happening any time soon.

I think that the only serious contender (for me) was the 7100, but its initial quality hiccups and the mounting requirements have again put the 550 at the number one spot on my short list.

Out of curiosity if you are a former owner of a Panny why did you not upgrade to the AE900. Bad experience with the AE700?

I think that if you paid sub 2000 then you paid a "fair" price for the Epson and more like where it should be price wise.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well, if you do a search with nextag or pricegrabber, you will find the epson 550 for under 2k.

The ae700 did not have enough brightness for me, nor enough sharpness/Contrast. There is a big difference between 1000 and 1400 lumens.
The Pany had very userfriendly/easy mounting requirements, and I had the same experience with the epson.
I think you should go for it!

I have been noticing slight horizontal lines creeping upwards from the bottom of the screen to the top. one is pink and one is green. Depending on which source I choose, like going from cable HD signal to DVD, it gets a little worst.


I have a 20-25 foot component cable running from where my tower is to the ceiling projector (prewired when I had the house built) is mounted. The component cable isn't sheilded well.

My old projector never had any problems (pany ae700). Also, when I connect the source directly to the projector, I don't see these lines.

What should I do? Rewiring is not an option!
A component video signal amplifier? A component video signal filter??

Any help would be appreciated!

Been looking on pricegrabber, froogle and nextag and the only seller I see for under $2499 is this company. http://www.nextag.com/PrestigeCamera~1626804zzzreviewsz1zmainz17-htm
If you read their feedback you can pretty much guage their reliability...
Any authorized sellers out there that are genuinely at $2k??
Thanks! d

I'm a new 550 owner, and am very pleased with everything so far--however, I've only got a couple of hours on it! :)

One early problem I need advice on: I have a screen that is exactly a 16:9 ratio. But the 550 projects the DVDs (have only tried a couple) at a slightly different ratio that leaves black bands at the top and bottom when the image width matches the screen width. I tinkered briefly with the image adjustments and different modes, but can't get the 16:9 image. Is this common? Is it dependent on the DVD widescreen numbers? I'm a newby at home theater and just assumed that a "widescreen" DVD would be translated by the projector to show at 16:9. Can anyone help?

I'm a new 550 owner, and am very pleased with everything so far--however, I've only got a couple of hours on it! :)

One early problem I need advice on: I have a screen that is exactly a 16:9 ratio. But the 550 projects the DVDs (have only tried a couple) at a slightly different ratio that leaves black bands at the top and bottom when the image width matches the screen width. I tinkered briefly with the image adjustments and different modes, but can't get the 16:9 image. Is this common? Is it dependent on the DVD widescreen numbers? I'm a newby at home theater and just assumed that a "widescreen" DVD would be translated by the projector to show at 16:9. Can anyone help?

Have you played with the different aspect ratios like squeeze, zoom, auto, etc? I have gotten it to work when I played around with this thing.

Been looking on pricegrabber, froogle and nextag and the only seller I see for under $2499 is this company. http://www.nextag.com/PrestigeCamera~1626804zzzreviewsz1zmainz17-htm
If you read their feedback you can pretty much guage their reliability...
Any authorized sellers out there that are genuinely at $2k??
Thanks! d

I bought my epson 550 from them, it was $1950 plus shipping. Unfortunately, there is a reason there are so many negative feedbacks about them. I had a very very unpleasant experience and would strongly advise you not to buy from them. I won't get into the details but I'm disputing their charges with the credit card company.

You should look into getting one from one of many ebay sellers with excellent feedback (over 99%), they will sell for under 2K. And, I usually see a new one up for auction on a regular basis.

I wish one of our forum sponsor would sell it for a good price.

Hi rchris,

Film content isn't exactly 16x9, which is 1.77:1 width / height aspect ratio. Modern films are generally either 1.85:1 ( flat ) or 2.35:1 ( cinemascope ). So, watching DVD's you will either have some small black stripes at the top and bottom for 1.85, and larger ones for 2.35. HDTV non-movie content is 1.77 and should fill your screen correctly.

Let everyone here know how you like the 550 once you've had a chance to play with it for a while.

Jonathan

Thanks Zenboy4 and jrwhite for your feedback.

I did quickly try the different aspect ratios without achieving the 1.77 ratio, but will spend some more time playing with them.
I think jrwhite's explanation is probably what I'm experiencing.

I'll post some more feedback on my experiences with the 550 after some more quality movie time!

Dave,

I have been doing the nexttag, pricegrabber, ebay thing searching for the 550 at less than MSRP which is what most of the retailers are still selling at per Epson pricing policy. I won't list specific prices (as that is against forum rules here) but have found some that are selling less than MSRP, but have run into their less than stellar reviews.

If I spend anywhere near MSRP or less I want my purchase supported and I don't want to have that knot in my stomach every time I need support from the retailer.

I have heard good things about Epson support, so that is not a worry, but the online purchase certainly is for me.

I'm planning on using a forum sponsor listed here at the top of the page for my purchase (when my basement HT is done) I have heard that they are good to work with so I'll do business with them hopefully in the next couple of months.

I typically do not purchase very much on line. I really like to go hands on when I purchase something. I am really leaving my comfort level here in the HT world because just about all the HT gear I have considered is ID or available for considerably less on line vs a B&M retailer so in this gig every dollar counts! Not to mention the money spent in finishing off the basement just so I can spend several thousand more on HT gear!

I am looking forward to becoming a satisfied 550 owner and hopefully a hassle free pj purchase.

Regards,

RTROSE

P.S. Dave shoot me a PM and I'll give you some info.

I wrote a short review somewhere on this board not too long after I bought this unit back in December. Now that much more time has passed, I feel it's a good time for a review now that it's settled in a little more.

My Setup
I dealt with the projector shining on a slightly off-white stucco wall for around 6 months. Eventually I became tired of it and bought a screen. Price being a factor I went for a Panoview Graywolf 106". I found it for a good price and it arrived within a few days, fortunately with no dings or other markings on the case (I've read of them getting damaged in shipping on this forum). It's proven a tremendous improvement in the uniformity of the picture (no more stucco!) and sitting within the hot-spot offers a VERY bright picture. Only concerns are that since it is untensioned there are sometimes visible waves if a fan or the AC is on. The picture also has a hint of "sparklyness" due to the glass beads, but I got used to it quickly.

The projector is about 12' from the screen and is about 3.5' off the ground. It has a lens shift far to the left, so much that the far right of the picture is just about in front of the lens itself. When the image zoom is set to fill the height of the screen, I get about 1" sticking off to the left and right each. Not too big a deal, could be distortion related to the extreme lens shift. I plan to ceiling mount it, directly center, but there is a fan in the way, so that has not occurred yet.

Panel Alignment
My only major complaint with this unit. The original one had an intermittent panel alignment problem where the right-hand side of the image was reddish and faded to a greenish/neutral color on the left. It was VERY irritating when it occurred and made watching frustrating to a point. I had the unit replaced, but the replacement had a ghosting problem. For something simple such as white text on a black background, there appeared to be a lighter "drop shadow" to the bottom right of the text. I actually Sent back the replacement and kept the original in this case.

I sat around for a month and called Epson again and asked for a warranty replacement again. The replacement has a small panel alignment issue, but it is unnoticable during most of what I do. It can still be seen somewhat when used with a PC running the exact resolution on any sharp edges such as text.

Vertical Banding and Ghosting
One of the replacement units I received had a major ghosting problem, but neither the original or the current one (which I am for the most part satisfied with) show any. None showed any VB at all.

Screen Door Effect
When on the wall, the picture was around 126" diagonal. Probably too big, but I had just bought the unit and was enjoying it. The SDE was visible, but more the most part disappearing when watching movies/tv shows. Even on the 106" screen, the SDE is slightly visible if you look for it. For the most part, it really isn't a problem, especially not when TV.

Inputs
The only inputs I ever have and currently use are the Component and VGA ports. The component is attached to my amp which switches between a PS2 and HD digital cable box. Both look great with no evidence of ghosting. I've run both 480i (525i as the Epson calls it) and 1080i (1125i) from the PS2 with no problems. The cable box is set to output 1080i and the Epson seems to do just fine a job of converting to 720p.

Color and Stuck Pixels
I've never used a professional color calibration disc, I just adjusted everything until it looked "natural". PS2, computer images and HD programming look fantastic, but SD programming usually ends up washed out or having contrast problems. Since the SD comes from the same source as the HD, this is likely due to the signal the cable company receives/transmits.

As far as I've seen, I've had no stuck or dead pixels on any of the units so far.

The brightness is definately a plus. I considering the AE900 and Z4, but total light control is not possible and I frequently watch casual TV or play games with other lights on anyhow. This caused me to decide on the brighter unit. Along with the Graywolf, it for the most part looks very good, even with lights on.

Price
I got it for a little bit under the $2500 MSRP, including free shipping. I have no idea if the deal is available again, but message me an I can provide the retailer I used.

Final Thoughts
Overall, I'm happy with the projector itself. Epson gave me flak when I called again because "this is the 2nd time you're calling about this issue". However, it ultimately has been resolved. DLPs are cheaper now, so if I were still in the market, I'd probably see if anything was available of similar specs in a similar range, but otherwise I'm satisfied with an LCD.

Let me know if there are any questions.

-A.P. Etc

Ghosting[/B]
One of the replacement units I received had a major ghosting problem, but neither the original or the current one (which I am for the most part satisfied with) show any. -A.P. Etc

i m glad u r satisfied with ur pj and forgive my bad english....

i bought epson on march 10th and till now i have 240 hours...

i noticed couple of days ago this ghosting problem, maybe it was there before and didnt notice it... so i want to ask...

is this something that came up for some reason after some use or its there from the beggining? and how can i solve this issue with some calibration ? is it because of sharpness or something else?

i also watch on wall, through hdmi (2m) and issue is very visible on faces ahead a sky etc. could it be he mastering of dvd? the cable? any idea?

and do u know if ghosting and convergeance (which is also there/green left-red right) are under guarantee and how can i prove to epson that its disturbing enough and pj needs replacement?


thanx in advance

Simply call them up and tell them your problem. They may have you run some tests to make sure the problem is still there (typical script based support), but in the end, they will cross-ship you a replacement, possibly a refurbished unit.

I am on my second 550, both have/had convergence issues. I am simply waiting for a year to pass to call them up again and try to get a unit that doesn't posses the problem.

Hello,

If anybody wants a Epson 800 for the 550 price check out my post in the market place.

rmlowz

i m glad u r satisfied with ur pj and forgive my bad english....

i bought epson on march 10th and till now i have 240 hours...

i noticed couple of days ago this ghosting problem, maybe it was there before and didnt notice it... so i want to ask...

is this something that came up for some reason after some use or its there from the beggining? and how can i solve this issue with some calibration ? is it because of sharpness or something else?

i also watch on wall, through hdmi (2m) and issue is very visible on faces ahead a sky etc. could it be he mastering of dvd? the cable? any idea?

and do u know if ghosting and convergeance (which is also there/green left-red right) are under guarantee and how can i prove to epson that its disturbing enough and pj needs replacement?


thanx in advance

So far I haven't used HDMI, so I can't really comment on that port.

I have just over 400 hours on this current unit and so far the Component port seem to have no ghosting. The VGA port has some ghosting, but it always has and I've attributed this to the $10 cable I usually use for hooking it up. When using the computer to browse the web or just general use, it is visible. When watching a video or playing a game (anything with motion), it is mostly negligible.

If you have another HDMI cable to test with or even a different source, I'd say give it a go. If you are absolutely sure the ghosting is not part of the setup or cabling, I'd say call Epson. I would also call about the convergence issue, I did and received a replacement.

-A.P. Etc

Simply call them up and tell them your problem. They may have you run some tests to make sure the problem is still there (typical script based support), but in the end, they will cross-ship you a replacement, possibly a refurbished unit.

I am on my second 550, both have/had convergence issues. I am simply waiting for a year to pass to call them up again and try to get a unit that doesn't posses the problem.

Unfortunately I'm on my 3rd and still have a bit of a convergence issue. It's less than any before, but still noticable on computer and HD sources. Since I now have a screen, the slight variances at the top and bottom edges are somewhat masked by the edge of the screen and not really that noticable.

Once I get a ceiling mount done, I'll see if the lesser lens shift reduces the visibility of the problem. This is likely still a few weeks or months down the line. If that doesn't offer a significant improvement, I'll call again.

-A.P. Etc

I now have another problem in addition to the convergence issue that will likely cause me to move to my 3rd 550.

I noticed on dark backgrounds (say a black desktop in xp), I have an green sphere showing up nearthe bottom of the screen. I noticed it at first watching Ultraviloet the other day and thought it was in the dvd/film. But then I noticed it on other dvds.

A quick test revealed that it's produced by the PJ as the sphere moves with the lens shift. Anyone else noticed a similar issue?

So far I haven't used HDMI, so I can't really comment on that port.

I have just over 400 hours on this current unit and so far the Component port seem to have no ghosting. The VGA port has some ghosting, but it always has and I've attributed this to the $10 cable I usually use for hooking it up. When using the computer to browse the web or just general use, it is visible. When watching a video or playing a game (anything with motion), it is mostly negligible.

If you have another HDMI cable to test with or even a different source, I'd say give it a go. If you are absolutely sure the ghosting is not part of the setup or cabling, I'd say call Epson. I would also call about the convergence issue, I did and received a replacement.

-A.P. Etc

I too have about 400 hours with a HDMI cable at ~39ft (39.36 ft. HDMI Cable
Product Part #: HDMI-12-HH from best cable) - no problems - Also have component (3x4 shield RG6 with RCA plugs) and really enjoy HDMI - its eye-popping. On the lense shift issue as I have written in my other posts I do sense a problem with over-right-to-left shifting - not up and down. Key through was to use the provided level and really ensure the unit is prefectly level. This resolved issue for me. Finnaly, when I added a APC power conditioner with battery backup the pic quality improved substantially - I was really shocked that I could notice. Also, play around with your cabling harness - I've found in many of my installations that using average or below cables with power cords intermingled can lead to ghosting and quality issues - I bundle power off to the side from AV.


Regards,

Scott

Another PJ on the way. The customer service/warranty was a primary reason I went with epson, and it's paying off now. Of course, I'd rather not have to use the warranty, but...

I just hope I get one of the good ones.

I noticed that Epson's web site is showing a big drop in MSRP for this projector, now: $1,599.99.

I'll now add it to my list of temptations.

They just sent me an 800 as a replacement for my 550. The black case is so much better looking IMHO. I guess the 550 is flying off the shelves due to the price reduction and they haven't any stock left for replacments.

One thing is for sure, Epson support is top notch. They want satisfied customers.

[QUOTE=nightfly85]They just sent me an 800 as a replacement for my 550. The black case is so much better looking IMHO. ..QUOTE]
This seems like a real bonus, though it sounds like you earned it.
It would be interesting to here your opinion on the difference in
picture quality between the 800 and the 550.

I have the projector ceiling mounted (Front) and the display is not aligned properly. The top image from left to right is aligned straight across, however, the bottom from left to right is not. The bottom right is slightly higher then the lower left (about 1-2 inches). The projector must be leveled properly since the top is aligned straight across. This is driving me crazy :eek: please help....Thanks

I have the projector ceiling mounted (Front) and the display is not aligned properly. The top image from left to right is aligned straight across, however, the bottom from left to right is not. The bottom right is slightly higher then the lower left (about 1-2 inches). The projector must be leveled properly since the top is aligned straight across. This is driving me crazy :eek: please help....Thanks

I have the projector ceiling mounted (Front) and the display is not aligned properly. The top image from left to right is aligned straight across, however, the bottom from left to right is not. The bottom right is slightly higher then the lower left (about 1-2 inches). The projector must be leveled properly since the top is aligned straight across. This is driving me crazy :eek: please help....Thanks


Actually, it is not level and not squarely pointed at the screen. I believe that you are aimed a little left or right of square which is causing a horizontal type of keystoning. You have compensated for the top edge by tilting the projector ever so slightly. However, the bottom edge is tilted due to the keystoning. Try aiming a little left or right until the top and bottom edges are exactly parallel.

I just bought this projector from a reputable ebay dealer for $849 shipped (it is factory refurbished with 2 year warranty). I was looking at the powerlite 400 and ready to pay $1400 but after seeing this price I couldn't pass it up. I hope I made the right decision...

Now I need to find a nice fixed 120" matte white finish screen.

Just grabbed it for 700 shipped (refurb), it's coming in this weekend. Can't wait to see it! I'll update with my results later, need to build myself a blackout cloth screen :D!

Just grabbed it for 700 shipped (refurb), it's coming in this weekend. Can't wait to see it! I'll update with my results later, need to build myself a blackout cloth screen :D!

Where did you happen to run across this deal? Sounds like you made out like a bandit!

Regards,

RTROSE

It was at ProjectorPeople :)... coming in tomorrow :D. I found a screen on newegg of all places for $40ish shipped (Elite 84" diagonal manual pulldown 16:9 ratio "open box") to go with it this evening. At that price, since I hadn't bought materials to build one with yet, I figured I may as well save the hassle and get a better quality screen to boot.

First one came with a broken HDMI port (no signal): http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1002159

Second one came today, and works perfectly. My screen hasn't come in yet (Thursday!!!), but for now at ~70" on a beige wall for testing functionality, it looks SPECTACULAR even with a readable-amount of ambient light :)!!! It blows away my Viewsonic N3751W 37" LCD 720P HDTV all around with only a couple minutes of by-eye calibration, whereas the LCD was calibrated heavily by me. I might go buy Avia to help calibrate soon.

I'll post back with some screenshots and all once I have the full setup, and a pic of the whole shebang soon. Further impressions to come :D!

This may or may not be the right thread to post this in, but seeing that a lot of you have or had Epson 550s, some of you may have either taken the plunge and upgraded or are considering it.

I bought this projector a couple years ago. I'm thinking about upgrading to either the Epson 8100 or 6100 (depending on price and promotions). I'll probably hold out to see what Sanyo has also. The PLVZ700 is also attractive and in my price range.

I'm just wondering if I would see much of an improvement? The contrast is better, they're 1080p, it's newer improved technology and the lamp life on the newer Epsons (4000 hrs) are much more than that of the 550 (2000-3000 hrs). The Sanyo PLVZ700 also does 1080p/24. Is 24 frame viewing the cats meow?

I could most likely sell my 550 for between $500-$800 if I can pitch it to the right person. I'm in Canada and the 6100 and PLVZ700 are about $2000. No pricing on the 8100 yet but in the US it seems to be less expensive than the 6100. So would spending $1000+ be worth the upgrade?