Sounds good, I'm gonna switch mine back tonight. It consistently pulses, not just randomly, but everytime there is a large swath of darker color on the screen, you can see it, pretty annoying but glad to know it wasn't a defective projector.

That's what is great about this forum. Without it, many people would be thinking they had a defective projector if they just bought the 4805 and immediately applied the newest firmware. InFocus really needs to get the new firmware that fixes this problem released to avoid these situations. Not everybody is going to visit this forum.

Hey folks,

I just got my 4805 a few days ago and finally got it mounted and all setup... or so I thought. I tried to use the component video inputs on the back but it won't recognize the signal at all. It will get a signal just fine using every other input, but not the component video. With the others I just plug 'em in and it figures it out and within a few seconds I'm watching the movie. Is there some kind of trick to getting the component video to work, or did Infocus send me a piece of crap? I typically get asbolutely no kind of response at all when trying to use component video, but occasionally it will say "searching..." and just sit there for ever and ever, but still nothing. I've checked to make sure that the component video source is enabled. I've even tried disabling all other sources to force it only look for the component video source. It's still a no-go. I've tried multiple DVD players and even swapped component cables just to try to to eliminate every other possible problem. Anyone have any advice about how to get the component video to work? Did i maybe miss something? I've even reset the PJ to factory settings just to be sure I didn't screw up and change the wrong setting somewhere. Any help you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.


Peanut1181 -- frustrated first-time PJ owner

Any help you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.You seem to have covered most bases ... are you sure your component SOURCE works?

Hey all. Just had to share w/ someone that is into this like I am. I got my MM mount set up w/ the cords going in the ceiling. This could not have worked out any better. I am not a DIY type guy, but this was truly pretty simple. Mine looks great and is very functionable. I want to thank all those who offer advise and revolutionary design. MM has helped many here and I appreciate his design. Now I have to figure out how to shut off the progressive signal on my DVD player so I can send 480i to my 4805. Thank you all, and hope to have pictures here soon. Thanks

Peanut,

What kind of DVD player are you using? Do you know the cables work? Also, try hooking the DVD player up through Svideo to see if you need to change some type of setting to make the DVD player output over component. My cheapo DVD player needed a settings change to go from svideo to component.

Did you try assigning component to different source inputs? Go into menu, then settings, then sources. Go to component enable, make sure video 2 is enabled. Go back to soure screen pick a source number, click right onto it. Make sure video 2 is selected for that source. That source number should be component. I don't know if it matters, but make sure component(video 2) is only used once for one source.

Hope it helps.

I'm thinking that's what it is also. My DVD player has a switch on the back for s-video, composite, and component. Check to see if that is it.

Good Luck!

You stated earlier that you have plenty of space around the 4805, but is the unit itself getting sufficient air to keep it from getting hot? Is it away from where it wouldn't get cool air? It's winter and a warm house could get the unit hot making the fan run harder and louder.

Hmm... yes that's also a possibility (that it's getting hot air that can't cool it well enough) the room that it is in has the floor furnace for the house... one would think others would have had similar problems with ceiling mounted 4805s though... I am not sure....

To those who answered my last question, thank you very much, truly appreciate the links to the cable sites. (Daym expensive though).

Plain & Simple, I'm using my PC w/ a Radeon 9800 Pro (soft moded to XT) running s-video out to the pj. I've tried the search function here, as well as google and the ATI site and came up with nothing.

Can anyone tell me how to custom set the resolution for the TV (dual display) device to the native of 854x480? I tried ATI Control Panel, but it doesn't give me the option. Is there an easy way to do this, or must I go with PowerStrip? And if so, has anyone configured powerstrip to work on a 9800pro doing duel display? TIA for any tips

You seem to have covered most bases ... are you sure your component SOURCE works?

My component source absolutely works. I took it directly from my other home theatre setup where it was connected to a 42" plasma TV via component. It worked fine there so it should work with the PJ. Also, I have tried two other DVD players just to rule out a problem with that specific DVD player. Got another idea? :confused:


What kind of DVD player are you using? Do you know the cables work? Also, try hooking the DVD player up through Svideo to see if you need to change some type of setting to make the DVD player output over component. My cheapo DVD player needed a settings change to go from svideo to component.

I have used three different DVD players that have all previously worked with component video. I tried three different component video cables too. Two of the DVD players have S-video, one does not. I connected the two that do via s-video and they worked just fine. The PJ auto-recognizes the s-video feed and goes right to it. As for a settings change on the DVD player, I've gone into the menu on the one that needed the settings change and set it to component... still no-go. The other two don't need it and still don't work. I think I'm just about out of options.


Did you try assigning component to different source inputs? Go into menu, then settings, then sources. Go to component enable, make sure video 2 is enabled. Go back to soure screen pick a source number, click right onto it. Make sure video 2 is selected for that source. That source number should be component. I don't know if it matters, but make sure component(video 2) is only used once for one source.

Yep, I did that too. I've made sure it is enabled, tried assigning it to different source numbers, made sure it's only selected once... the whole nine yards. I think I'm out of options. Thanks for playing though. ;)


So basically the darn thing is just screwed, right? I mean it seems as though I am out of possible problems. Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out. I appreciate it. I guess I'll be putting in a call to Infocus this morning. :(



Peanut1181

Make sure you try the auto-image button 1st - then your out.

-W

I am another former X1 owner that has now bought a 4805. I had a 30’ VGA cable for my HD signals to the projector. I know that I want to run component cables and a digital cable. I am thinking of running an hdmi cable since this seems to be the most popular new connection. I could buy an hdmi to M1 cable, but if I am thinking of running an hdmi to hdmi cable and buying the hdmi to M1 adapter. I am doing this so that if I upgrade projectors in the next few years, my cable will work. Does this make sense, or am I missing something? Also, I am planning on using my existing VGA cable as a pull to get these two new cables run. The thinking here is that I will never connect a PC to the projector, and therefore the VGA cable is unnecessary. Also, pulling cables through my ceiling is a real pain, and that vga cable is nice and thick! Can anyone tell me if I am missing anything in my thinking? What digital cable did you run to your 4805?

Spixie

If you want to pixel map to the 4805 you have to do it over dvi, you cannot do it over s-video.

The quality of s-video compared to dvi SUX. If your vid card supports dvi out then go buy yourself a m1 to dvi cable; trust me its worth the 40 bucks.

Ja Phule, thanks for the heads up on the 4805 with M1 to DVI-D to the DVD with RGB color settings at 58 and offsets at 28.5. Even though I am not using the 4805 to de-interlace from 480i to 480p, the Toshiba SD-850 pogressive scan does a great job. The picture using the digital connections is great, I have been switching between inputs and notice a slight improvment with a slightly cleaner/sharper colorful image. I might need to get me a Bravo D1 to see it using pixel mapping instead. :)
Be nice having an htpc type image without all the fuss and overhead. Just love Luis's htpc image.

So far so good. Now onto the Yammy 5990 HDMI/DVI tests.

hey guys-

im getting ready to mount up my screen, 92" diag. 1.0 gain and right now I can mount the projector 13 feet back and use a little zoom. Or, if I do a little more work, I can go back another foot and use practically no zoom. Is the picture quality achieved worth the hassle in going back another foot? this is a basement theater with seating 12ft from the screen.

thanks!

According to the FAQ, this may make no difference.

hey guys-

im getting ready to mount up my screen, 92" diag. 1.0 gain and right now I can mount the projector 13 feet back and use a little zoom. Or, if I do a little more work, I can go back another foot and use practically no zoom. Is the picture quality achieved worth the hassle in going back another foot? this is a basement theater with seating 12ft from the screen.

thanks!

It is my understanding that using as little zoom as possible will yield the sharpest image. So if you can go back, then I suggest doing so - just make sure you leave yourself a little play.

I have mine up a little further (or is it farther?) because of a vent - image is fine.

Hey Guys, I picked up my refurb last week and have been very happy with it so far. It's still not as quiet as I would like but the colors are much better that my X1. My wife even noticed without me asking! Which means it was a worthwhile upgrade.

Anyway I was trying to get SOCOM 3 to output 480P through S-Video to my Pio Elite 56Txi through component to the 4805 and I could only get an error that read: Signal out of range.

Do I need component cables from the PS2 to output progressive signals?

If that's not the prob. What is?

This thing is really bright! My eyes are straining after some gaming but don't seem to be as bad for movie watching.

hey guys-

im getting ready to mount up my screen, 92" diag. 1.0 gain and right now I can mount the projector 13 feet back and use a little zoom. Or, if I do a little more work, I can go back another foot and use practically no zoom. Is the picture quality achieved worth the hassle in going back another foot? this is a basement theater with seating 12ft from the screen.

thanks!

Using a "little zoom" is better than using a lotta zoom. That said, no zoom is worse as you have no room to adjust it. :)

Hey Guys, I picked up my refurb last week and have been very happy with it so far. It's still not as quiet as I would like but the colors are much better that my X1. My wife even noticed without me asking! Which means it was a worthwhile upgrade.

Anyway I was trying to get SOCOM 3 to output 480P through S-Video to my Pio Elite 56Txi through component to the 4805 and I could only get an error that read: Signal out of range.

Do I need component cables from the PS2 to output progressive signals?

If that's not the prob. What is?

This thing is really bright! My eyes are straining after some gaming but don't seem to be as bad for movie watching.

Yes, you need the component cables for the PS2 to output 489P.

hey guys-

im getting ready to mount up my screen, 92" diag. 1.0 gain and right now I can mount the projector 13 feet back and use a little zoom. Or, if I do a little more work, I can go back another foot and use practically no zoom. Is the picture quality achieved worth the hassle in going back another foot? this is a basement theater with seating 12ft from the screen.

thanks!

My opinion is your eyes will tell you all you need to know. If you've got it zoomed and the image looks great, then don't worry about it. :)

Question for JaPhule or anyone else who has the Oppo DVD player:

I finally got my M-1 to DVI adapter (3 weeks coming from RAM Electronics :mad: ).

So, I know from the FAQ to change the RGB and Offset settings.

Are there specifc settings on the Oppo that I should have? Will they be the same for every setup (of Oppo and 4805)? Or do I need to use AVIA and come up with my own settings. And to be sure, other than the RGB and Offset adjustments, I should make all further adjustments in the Oppo menu, none on the 4805. Right?

Also do you send 480P from the Oppo? (I don't even know if you can send 480i over DVI, but just want to make sure.)

Let me add for anyone on the fence about buying this projector...the colors are spot on accurate. I couldn't be happier, especially for the price. I returned an H31 because I couldn't get the colors right. This was great right out of the box. Don't hesitate to pick one up!

-Bud

Anyone using either an ATI AIW 9800 Pro or the like? The older AIWs with a single monitor output? I am racking my brain trying to get the dvi-m1 cable working. I am using the very long (50 foot) cable from Monoprice...anyone using one from them? I assume the extreme cable length is the issue and have ordered shorter ones to test further. However, they won't be here until next week and I'm a lil' impatient! Basically, I get no output...either if I set the 4805 input to computer or just let it search continuously. My video card only has one DVI output (well, and then obviously s-video and component with all the breakout stuff) which I currently use the dvi-vga adapter with as I'm using a CRT.

One thing I do notice is that in the ATI displays tab I can't activate/enable FPD as a display...so is perhaps like the digital DVI not enabled? I mean, I can enable like TV even though one is not connected. I figured I could just plug in the cable and it'd work correctly. I doubt this is the problem as I would think even while the computer is booting I'd see something, right? Well, any help would be welcome. I guess I'll know for sure once I get a shorter cable as I have neither a different DVI device to try on the 4805 or a Digital Flat Panel monitor. Thanks!

Thanks Curtis - Duh!

Is it worth it?

hey guys-

im getting ready to mount up my screen, 92" diag. 1.0 gain and right now I can mount the projector 13 feet back and use a little zoom. Or, if I do a little more work, I can go back another foot and use practically no zoom. Is the picture quality achieved worth the hassle in going back another foot? this is a basement theater with seating 12ft from the screen.

thanks!

Well, little zoom is better, but I set mine back 14.2' with a lil zoom (92" 1.0 GAIN Draper screen) so I can upgrade to a 106" diagonal screen in the future if I want to using the zoom and not moving or re-mounting the projector. :)

My opinion is your eyes will tell you all you need to know. If you've got it zoomed and the image looks great, then don't worry about it. :)
Thank you. More people need to listen to this. If it looks good to *you*, then why worry about whether zooming theoretically makes a difference or not?

FWIW, with my setup I can move my PJ forward and backward, which I do a lot, and I mess with the zoom a lot, and I've never noticed a difference between further back with no zoom, and closer with zoom. I suppose there might actually be a difference, but I've never noticed it, so that's good enough for me!

-Dan

Hey folks,

I just got my 4805 a few days ago and finally got it mounted and all setup... or so I thought. I tried to use the component video inputs on the back but it won't recognize the signal at all. It will get a signal just fine using every other input, but not the component video. With the others I just plug 'em in and it figures it out and within a few seconds I'm watching the movie. Is there some kind of trick to getting the component video to work, or did Infocus send me a piece of crap? I typically get asbolutely no kind of response at all when trying to use component video, but occasionally it will say "searching..." and just sit there for ever and ever, but still nothing. I've checked to make sure that the component video source is enabled. I've even tried disabling all other sources to force it only look for the component video source. It's still a no-go. I've tried multiple DVD players and even swapped component cables just to try to to eliminate every other possible problem. Anyone have any advice about how to get the component video to work? Did i maybe miss something? I've even reset the PJ to factory settings just to be sure I didn't screw up and change the wrong setting somewhere. Any help you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.


Peanut1181 -- frustrated first-time PJ owner



I know what your problem is---

You have one or more of the red/green/ blue cables in the wrong outlet. This will kill the signal. probably put a blue in a green.

good luck
DenM3

BAD NEWS!!!! I downgraded the firmware back to the original and still get the fluttering!!! I followed the instructions exactly from the link, and it seemed like it worked, the sp4805 didn't turn on until the firmware was downloaded. I checked the firmware on the sp, and it says I'm at 1.0.2 already.

I set mine back 14.2' so I can upgrade to a 106" diagonal screen in the future if I want to using the zoomClever.

How do you guys calibrate your 4805 for video games?

I've just bought the Xbox 360, and I realized that I've never played video games on my 4805 before. I have DVE, but I guess that's more for DVD movies. I use the Movie Gamma for watching DVD's, but it seems like the PC Gamma gives colors an extra boost, which is better for gaming, in my opinion.

Advice and tips would be great. :)

Question for JaPhule or anyone else who has the Oppo DVD player:

I finally got my M-1 to DVI adapter (3 weeks coming from RAM Electronics :mad: ).

So, I know from the FAQ to change the RGB and Offset settings.

Are there specifc settings on the Oppo that I should have? Will they be the same for every setup (of Oppo and 4805)? Or do I need to use AVIA and come up with my own settings. And to be sure, other than the RGB and Offset adjustments, I should make all further adjustments in the Oppo menu, none on the 4805. Right?

Also do you send 480P from the Oppo? (I don't even know if you can send 480i over DVI, but just want to make sure.)

Let me add for anyone on the fence about buying this projector...the colors are spot on accurate. I couldn't be happier, especially for the price. I returned an H31 because I couldn't get the colors right. This was great right out of the box. Don't hesitate to pick one up!

-Bud

What firmware are you using on the Oppo? If you have the very latest firmware, then the oppo should be fine with 0 brightness on the Oppo. If you are using an older firmware, 1022 (which is what I'm using I think), you will want the Oppo's brightness at -3. The 4805 should be using the 58gain/28.5 offsets.

If you calibrate with DVE you should end up with these numbers or very close to it. I use the Oppo at 480p.

Question for JaPhule or anyone else who has the Oppo DVD player:

I finally got my M-1 to DVI adapter (3 weeks coming from RAM Electronics :mad: ).

So, I know from the FAQ to change the RGB and Offset settings.

Are there specifc settings on the Oppo that I should have? Will they be the same for every setup (of Oppo and 4805)? Or do I need to use AVIA and come up with my own settings. And to be sure, other than the RGB and Offset adjustments, I should make all further adjustments in the Oppo menu, none on the 4805. Right?

Also do you send 480P from the Oppo? (I don't even know if you can send 480i over DVI, but just want to make sure.)

Let me add for anyone on the fence about buying this projector...the colors are spot on accurate. I couldn't be happier, especially for the price. I returned an H31 because I couldn't get the colors right. This was great right out of the box. Don't hesitate to pick one up!

-Bud

You can always use Avia or DVE to check, sure, but with the OPPO if you get the brightness and contrast on the OPPO set right (contrast at 0, brightness at 0 for latest firmware) those gains and offsets from Bob Williams should be pretty much dead on, and that's all you need to do. Some people put saturation at +1 or 2, but that's personal taste.

You should be good to go- enjoy!

Wes

Thank you. More people need to listen to this. If it looks good to *you*, then why worry about whether zooming theoretically makes a difference or not?

FWIW, with my setup I can move my PJ forward and backward, which I do a lot, and I mess with the zoom a lot, and I've never noticed a difference between further back with no zoom, and closer with zoom. I suppose there might actually be a difference, but I've never noticed it, so that's good enough for me!

-Dan

Guys,

I have my 4805 zoomed almost all the way *out* because of where I had to mount it. I can only make my image about a foot wider than it already is, so it's pretty far out.

It looks great. I get a good focus, and don't notice any difference in the quality of the image when I decrease the zoom, besides the obvious that the image gets a little sharper and brighter as it gets smaller.

I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about zoom if your mounting location dicates a certain position. It will still look great!

Wes

Just played around more with some different movies, and have some more observations.
Ther is a big difference in a lot of the movies I have when it comes to brightness settings. Even the THX optimizer settings vary widely. The newer animateds like Incredibles, Nemo, Toy Story, etc. are giving brightness settings around 49/50 and contrast around 57. These settings also looked good on Fantastic Four, Fifth Element, Austin Powers.

Other movies look really dark with these settings. The THX optimizer in Terminator 2 had brightness jacked up around 60+ and contrast 65 or more, Once Upon A Time In Mexico was also just as dark, and so were a few others I threw in.

Whats up with this? Once Upon A time In Mexico was almost unwatchable without boosting brightness.

Ok, went back and actualy watched some of T2, the movie looks good at normal settings. Just the THX optimizer was off. I didn't actualy watch the movie last night. Mexico is still way dark. Hitch is in the middle. Some Lou Diamond Phillips movie, Presidio something was way dark too.
I thought Mexico was supoosed to be a good transfer.

Hi,

I live in an apartment, and the walls and ceilings are white. I haven't received my 4805 yet, but I am thinking to ceiling mount it. One thing that I am concerned about is the light/reflection that may be created by the projector on the ceiling. Do you think it would be better to table mount or shelf mount the projector rather than ceiling mount?

Since the projector will be in our living room, we don't really want to change the paint on the walls and ceilings which I believe are semi-gloss white. Not sure if it make a difference, but the ceiling is textured, not a flat surface.

Do you have any suggestions? As I'm shopping around for accessories and things (which is so fun and tiring), I don't want to spend money on things like a ceiling mount if its not the best move in my situation.

Please help! Thanks so much!

One thing that I am concerned about is the light/reflection that may be created by the projector on the ceiling. Do you think it would be better to table mount or shelf mount the projector rather than ceiling mount?There is no light spill from the projector. In fact, the beam is directed away from the ceiling to the screen and the reflection is primarily on the floor. The reverse is true of table-mounting.

The ceiling is the preferred location as you can set it and forget it. Nothing bumps into it. Nothing gets poured into it. People don't 'burn' their fingers on it. No finger prints on the lens. It's always in focus and zoomed properly. Generally, people don't walk through the beam, blocking the screen. The fan noise is generally above and behind you and is easily ignored. You get the idea. ;)

Wow,

great info on that. So actually table mounting, and can I assume right side up shelf mounting, will probably be the worst setup for me, correct?

How about screens - do I need something special that will help in this situation?

Thanks for your help!

So actually table mounting, and can I assume right side up shelf mounting, will probably be the worst setup for me, correct?I've never liked table-mounting for all of the previously mentioned reasons, plus it foreshortens the distance to the screen. Shelf-mounting ultimately is the same as ceiling mounting. You can't right-side-up shelf mount the projector and still have it behind you. You have to understand the dramatic offset of this projector (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6636261&highlight=img#post6636261): you must ultimately table-mount it about 20" off the floor or ceiling-mount it about 6" below the ceiling for a 'normal' screen setup.

How about screens - do I need something special that will help in this situation?You probably simply want one that suppresses ambient light reflections.

Hi,

My ceiling is 8 feet high, is that sufficient space? It's not like i can do anything about that anyway.

When I set the 4805, it should be straight on and not tilted at all, correct? It's looking that the projector will be about 12 feet away about 7 and half inches off the floor. When I use the projection calculator from infocus it says I will get anywhere from a 78-93 inch screen. Is that something I can choose/select? Can I assume that images will be clearer with a smaller screen rather than the larger?

Also, could you help me with how much distance will the screen be from the floor? On the wall that the screen/image will be I have some bookshelves already there.

And finally, do you have any recommendations for screens and or screen material?

Thanks so much!

My ceiling is 8 feet high, is that sufficient space?"Everyone" has 8' ceilings!When I set the 4805, it should be straight on and not tilted at all, correct?That's correct - in order to get a square image on the screen and avoid the use of keystone correction.It's looking that the projector will be about 12 feet away about 7 and half inches off the floor. When I use the projection calculator from infocus it says I will get anywhere from a 78-93 inch screen. Is that something I can choose/select? Can I assume that images will be clearer with a smaller screen rather than the larger?The size of screen from a given position is based on the adjustment range of the zoom lens - you dial in what you want. Smaller images are brighter. SDE and image detail are determined by screen size versus viewing distance. A smaller screen viewed from a smaller distance looks the same as a larger screen viewed from a greater distance. A 92" diagonal screen is generally accepted as the "sweet-spot" for the SP4805. Brightness will be such that you can use an ND2 filter to obtain the desired ~12fL image brightness and then remove the filter when the lamp dims with age to restore the desired brightness level, effectively extending the useful life of the lamp.
Also, could you help me with how much distance will the screen be from the floor? On the wall that the screen/image will be I have some bookshelves already there.You have to use the screen calculator to determine that. If you decide on a 92" screen, the height of the screen is 45". The offset will be 12.5" below the centre of the lens (if ceiling mounting). The distance from the ceiling to the centre of the lens is dependent on the type of ceiling mount you use. The calculator provides the dimensions for Infocus's (expensive) ceiling mount. So, once you determine the height of the centre-line of the lense, you know the top of the screen will be 12.5" below that and the bottom of the screen is 45" below the top. Capice?
do you have any recommendations for screens and or screen material?I have a Stewart Firehawk screen which I like very much. But it cost me 5 times what SP4805 just sold for on Black Friday so I don't usually recommend that approach. You can paint it on using Goo Systems paint or use 'blackout cloth' or even a $20 4'x8' sheet of 'foam-core'. It all depends on your budget. But I suggest you mount your projector and blow it on the wall or a bedsheet till you have gained some experience and can make those decisions for yourself.

If you get interested in a diy screen, you should check out the diy screen forum. Some really interesting things going on lately. DIY is much cheaper.

This is a silly question--How can I search the FAQ that people mention on this thread. I get nothing when I search the FAQ on this thread-- even on the word "video". I'm looking for FAQs on 4805 settings etc. Are people referring to the Infocus site FAQs?

Could someone post a link to the real FAQ?

Thanks

Thanks cavu!

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help, and everyone on the forum that is so kind and generous with their time for helping a newbie out. Honestly I spent hours doing searches all over the place, and you answered most of my questions in 1 post.

Thanks so much!

avsnewb360, I have no problems whatsoever using a 15' Monster extension cord with my 4805.

This is a silly question--How can I search the FAQ that people mention on this thread. I get nothing when I search the FAQ on this thread-- even on the word "video". I'm looking for FAQs on 4805 settings etc. Are people referring to the Infocus site FAQs?

Could someone post a link to the real FAQ?

Thanks

The link to the 4805 FAQ is in JaPhule's signature. Look for a post from him (he posts frequently) in this forum, and then go from there. It's a very helpful document.

Wes

This is a silly question--How can I search the FAQ that people mention on this thread. I get nothing when I search the FAQ on this thread-- even on the word "video". I'm looking for FAQs on 4805 settings etc. Are people referring to the Infocus site FAQs?

Could someone post a link to the real FAQ?

Thanks

Ja Phule is your man. It is in his sig.

Link Here (http://japhule.collinsreport.com/4805FAQ/html/index.html)

It's also in the 1st post of this thread. :)

I did a 92" diag. DIY screen with sandply wood ($34), 1"x4"s($10), HCCV from Jason ($184), black velvet to cover 1"x4"s ($15). 1"x6" ($5) split in half in a French cleat cut for mounting, some bolts and nuts ($10) and a staple gun. About 5 hours of work or less with the Princess and we have a very professional looking screen for approx: $258.00. Used the money saved to buy velvet curtains and ascots for most of the room (Princess would have it no other way)

When I got tired of the waviness in the pull-down screen I got with my 4805, I built my own screen. I just built a frame out of 1X2 pine, and stretched blackout cloth (from JoAnn's fabric, I think Walmart has some too) over it, like a canvas, fastening it with small nails around the edge. Looks real nice, and at least as good as the original screen I got with the PJ, if not better. And all of it cost probably $30.

I thought about painting it with Screen Goo or the Mississippi Mud concoction that people brag about, but it seems like all of these options have some drawbacks, like hot-spotting and limited viewing cone. With this screen, I have a viewing cone of probably 180 degrees (ie, there is no brightness loss or loss of detail at any angle), no hotspotting, and this projector is sufficiently bright to look great on it. I wish there was someway to help it in higher ambient light situations, but all of the solutions come with other drawbacks that I'm not willing to compromise on.

Hi.

I have my SP4805 all set up now and am loving it. I have a Sony 53" HDTV as well and would like to use that via the component inputs if possible when not watching HDTV or a DVD.

I have a Denon 1705 receiver that has 3 component in and one comonent out on it. What I want or think I need is some sort of comonent switch box the will take the component out from my Cable box and allow me to either feed it to my reciever to watch via the SP4805 or to my HDTV to watch other programming. So the box would have to have one input and two comonent outs. I would like to have this controllable via remote to add to my Home Theater Mater Mx500 RC.

Any of you PRO's here can point me in the right direction?

Reading this forum is such a great help with the 4805 I just can't tell you!

Tony

There is no light spill from the projector. In fact, the beam is directed away from the ceiling to the screen and the reflection is primarily on the floor. The reverse is true of table-mounting.

The ceiling is the preferred location as you can set it and forget it. Nothing bumps into it. Nothing gets poured into it. People don't 'burn' their fingers on it. No finger prints on the lens. It's always in focus and zoomed properly. Generally, people don't walk through the beam, blocking the screen. The fan noise is generally above and behind you and is easily ignored. You get the idea. ;)

Perhaps I don't fully understand light spill, but a bunch of light comes out of my ceiling mounted 4805 that doesn't carry colour to the screen. I also have a room with white(ish) walls and a white ceiling. The most notable excess light hits the ceiling a few feet infront of the projector (constantly). The way I understand this is that they have 'pointed' the run-away light away from the screen to minimize it's effects, but it still reflects around and illuminates the room to some extent.

The room illumination was distracting when I first got the projector set up, but after adding an ND2 filter it is less so. I believe that means that the noticable portion of 'room filling' light comes from the screen itself.

I also went from table mounted to ceiling mounted, and in a hurry! The projector seems ideal for ceiling mounting and having people stand up and move around without walking through the 'beam'.

Hi.

I have my SP4805 all set up now and am loving it. I have a Sony 53" HDTV as well and would like to use that via the component inputs if possible when not watching HDTV or a DVD.

I have a Denon 1705 receiver that has 3 component in and one comonent out on it. What I want or think I need is some sort of comonent switch box the will take the component out from my Cable box and allow me to either feed it to my reciever to watch via the SP4805 or to my HDTV to watch other programming. So the box would have to have one input and two comonent outs. I would like to have this controllable via remote to add to my Home Theater Mater Mx500 RC.

Any of you PRO's here can point me in the right direction?

Reading this forum is such a great help with the 4805 I just can't tell you!

Tony

Radioshack 4in 2out component switch
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103918&cp=2032057&f=Taxonomy%2FRSK%2F2032057&categoryId=2032057&kwCatId=2032057&kw=component+switch&parentPage=search

I just got back my 4805 from infocus , they change the color wheel engine because of a hight pitch sound. My question is it in Infocus habit to change the bulb for such a repair? You see all my setting are exactly as they where when i send my PJ except for the lamp counter wich is reset to 0 when it should read 1250 hrs, and the bulb it self dont look like the one i sent with the unit.

SGR

Just a remider to some of the newbies that if you wanna go the HTPC route to get that pixel-mapped 480p stuff going you don't need much.

Any old PC over 500mhz outfitted with 512 RAM and Windows XP is the start point.
Just go to Ebay and get it an older video card with DVI out, and a Sound Blaster live 5.1. ( I use an Nvidia 5700 and a SB Audigy)

And of course a DVD drive needs to be in there. Biggest hard disk you can afford is a good thing, but I'd say 40g is the minimum to be able to store and manipulate a few movies at a time.

What the old PC's won't let you do is post processing with FFDshow (in order make a great image even better.) They just don't have the horsepower to play the movie and post-process much video at the same time.

However, what's never ever mentioned is that you can use the freeware DVDShrink to do PRE-processing of your movie. Just rip the main movie clean over to the hard disk and then tell DVDShrink to compress it to 98 or 99 % of it's former size with all the bells and whistles turned on. It takes about 2 hours on an older machine, but as long as it was a good DVD transfer to begin with, you get a really nice final product. And it even lets you chose from 5 settings of sharp vs smooth on the final output. then when you go to play it, all you have to do is play it.

I'm fairly picky.... but not OCD picky like some... :D And I'm VERY happy with my little "retired computer dedicated to HTPC" project. For those that bought the 4805 because of a tight budget, there is a way to do a "tight budget HTPC" too.
The ability to store and manipulate movies is well worth it.

-W

Radioshack 4in 2out component switch
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103918&cp=2032057&f=Taxonomy%2FRSK%2F2032057&categoryId=2032057&kwCatId=2032057&kw=component+switch&parentPage=search


Thanks! That looks like exactly what I wanted... :)

I am considering getting one of the hoya nd2 filters for my 4805:

here is the description from B&H:

Hoya 62mm Neutral Density (ND) 2x Ultra (Thin) HMC (Hoya Multi-Coated) Glass Filter
Mfr# 017918 • B&H# HOND2U62

the questions:

Is this the correct "ND2" filter?
How does it attach to the projector? The lens doesn't have threads like my camera lens


According to the 4805 calculator page, my current light output is about 20.
Would the nd2 be a good investment?

I am considering getting one of the hoya nd2 filters for my 4805:

here is the description from B&H:

Hoya 62mm Neutral Density (ND) 2x Ultra (Thin) HMC (Hoya Multi-Coated) Glass Filter
Mfr# 017918 • B&H# HOND2U62

the questions:

Is this the correct "ND2" filter?
How does it attach to the projector? The lens doesn't have threads like my camera lens


According to the 4805 calculator page, my current light output is about 20.
Would the nd2 be a good investment?


yes, good investment and the right product at B&H. It still "screws" in even though there is no threads. But it holds perfectly well.

Hmm, if you're already at 20 lamberts, an ND2 may bring you below what you want to be looking at. 10 would be too low for my taste...

I'm looking for FAQs on 4805 settings etc.The quick answer to SP4805 settings is:

Use the default, out-of-the-box settings. Adjust brightness and contrast according to the THX Optimizer (found on many DVDs) or the Avia or DVE calibrations disks.

If using a source with a DVI digital connection (other than a PC), set the RGB Gains to 58 and the RGB Offsets to 28.5; all other settings will be default. For DVI on a PC, don't change anything from default.

Hi,

Does the 4805 come with the m1 adapter so that I could use dvi from my computer, or do I have to get it. And then what would be best, as I see different types of dvi?

Thanks!

The 4805 comes with an m1 to vga adapter. You must buy the m1 to dvi separately.

Hey gang. I have had great sucess with www.bestbuycables.com


Their help is terrific and so are the prices. Some of the prices I have seen mentioned here have made me choke!

happy holidays

DenM3

what would be best, as I see different types of dvi?The Infocus 10m DVI-M1 cable is part number SP-M1-10M (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=SP-M1-10M&btnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=unknown).

Just picked up the 4805. Glad to be on the team now. I love it.

But I think I might have gotten the wrong screen. I got a 92" Panovision Graywolf w/ 1.8 Gain.

If I'm calculating correctly, that gives me 43.24 ftl and maybe explains the slight headaches for my wife and I.

A Hoya ND2 would bring that down to 21.6 and ND4 to 10.8. Any recommendations as to the best way to be in the recommended 12-18ftl range?

Hi,

Does the 4805 come with the m1 adapter so that I could use dvi from my computer, or do I have to get it. And then what would be best, as I see different types of dvi?

Thanks!


Do a search for M1 at monoprice.com. I am using one now and it works great and the price I don't believe can be beaten.


UPDATE: Just checked, most of their stuff for M1 have been sold out already.

A Hoya ND2 would bring that down to 21.6 and ND4 to 10.8. Any recommendations as to the best way to be in the recommended 12-18ftl range?Two filters - one of each. Use the ND4 until the lamp fades a bit, then use the ND2. If and when the lamp fades further, remove the filter altogether. Eventually start over with a new lamp. It will be money well spent.

I'm getting lamp flicker. I have 14 hours on the bulb. It was a refurb so who knows. I tried running it at hight power for 3 hours straight and it didn't help. As long as I run it in high mode no flicker. It also flickers on the blank screen so I know it is not my sources. Do you think I just need to put more hours on the bulb, or run it in high power for a longer period of time?

Two filters - one of each. Use the ND4 until the lamp fades a bit, then use the ND2. If and when the lamp fades further, remove the filter altogether. Eventually start over with a new lamp. It will be money well spent.

Sounds like a good plan.

Thanks!

Finally recieved my 4808 OPPO M1/DVI ND2 filter Please correct me if any of this is wrong.

4805 set Gain Red Blue Grn to 58
set offset to 28.5 on Red Blue Grn...how do you get the .5...mine saids 28
Anything else to set on the 4805 or is this it.
OPPO...set to 480p
Anything else.

Thanks I have some freinds coming over tonight and want to impress!!!!!!

New problem !!!
Have anyone encountered this and how to fix ??

My 4805, which have 156 hrs on fresh lamp suddenly reseted the lamp counter ??!
All other settings for all modes intact...
1.0.3 fware..

Any ideas ?

There are 2 steps between 28 and 29. Set the offset to 29 and press down until it goes to 28. This is 28.5. Pressing down again will bring it to 28.

The quick answer to SP4805 settings is:

If using a source with a DVI digital connection (other than a PC), set the RGB Gains to 58 and the RGB Offsets to 28.5; all other settings will be default.

I'm using OPPO DVD player direct to 4805...M1/DVI.

Should I use the settings?...Who recommended them and why?

Husker

There are 2 steps between 28 and 29. Set the offset to 29 and press down until it goes to 28. This is 28.5. Pressing down again will bring it to 28.How about the OPPO settings...480P anything else...Thanks :)

Any help with 0 hrs ?

I'm using OPPO DVD player direct to 4805...M1/DVI.

Should I use the settings?...Who recommended them and why?

Husker


Yes
Infocus Engineering


-W

Set the dvd player to 480i (!) and RGB-Expand/Enhance

Still no help about sudden reset of lamp counter ?

Ok, then, mail me pls at adm@tehnobit.ru

thanx

btw it looks like counter stopped at 0...

Who recommended them and why?Bob Williams (Infocus SP4805 design engineer) provided these settings; they adjust the SP4805 to use standard 16-235 "studio" video levels (as output by DVI on DVD players/ cable STBs/ etc.) as opposed the the 0-255 PC levels used by computers.

Basically it calibrates the BTB and WTW levels. See THIS THREAD (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=494606) for more info on source settings.

My 4805 lamp reset at around ~600 hours. I dunno how it happened but it did. Not sure what else there is you can do about it, just remember where it was so you know the true hour usage.

Just a remider to some of the newbies that if you wanna go the HTPC route to get that pixel-mapped 480p stuff going you don't need much.

Any old PC over 500mhz outfitted with 512 RAM and Windows XP is the start point.
Just go to Ebay and get it an older video card with DVI out, and a Sound Blaster live 5.1. ( I use an Nvidia 5700 and a SB Audigy)

And of course a DVD drive needs to be in there. Biggest hard disk you can afford is a good thing, but I'd say 40g is the minimum to be able to store and manipulate a few movies at a time.

What the old PC's won't let you do is post processing with FFDshow (in order make a great image even better.) They just don't have the horsepower to play the movie and post-process much video at the same time.

However, what's never ever mentioned is that you can use the freeware DVDShrink to do PRE-processing of your movie. Just rip the main movie clean over to the hard disk and then tell DVDShrink to compress it to 98 or 99 % of it's former size with all the bells and whistles turned on. It takes about 2 hours on an older machine, but as long as it was a good DVD transfer to begin with, you get a really nice final product. And it even lets you chose from 5 settings of sharp vs smooth on the final output. then when you go to play it, all you have to do is play it.

I'm fairly picky.... but not OCD picky like some... :D And I'm VERY happy with my little "retired computer dedicated to HTPC" project. For those that bought the 4805 because of a tight budget, there is a way to do a "tight budget HTPC" too.
The ability to store and manipulate movies is well worth it.

-W

Clams, just want to say thanks for the tip!

But I think I might have gotten the wrong screen. I got a 92" Panovision Graywolf w/ 1.8 Gain.


That screen is only 1.8 gain if the 4805 is table mounted. Ceiling mounted its 1.3 or 1.4 I think maybe less depending on angles. Ther may be some other issues with ceiling mount, can't remember.Definatly need ND2 at minimum.

Set the dvd player to 480i (!) and RGB-Expand/EnhanceI don't think the Oppo can do 480i over DVI. Also the Faroudja filter does work on anything input through the M1 port. The Oppo can't do pixel-mapping so I think you are stuck with 480p, but that isn't so bad - the Oppo uses the same Faroudja deinterlacer as the SP4805!

Has anyone else cured their lamp flicker by running it on high power for a few hours. It didn't help me.

Still no help about sudden reset of lamp counter ?

Uhhh, ever heard the phrase: "Patience is a virtue" ??? ;)
Four posts in 20-30 minutes = excessive. :confused:

Mine reset itself over the last few weeks. My explanation is static. It's finally gotten cold here..the furnaces are on...lots of static pops when reaching up to flip the power switch. In any case you cant do anything about it....think of it is going back in time and getting to use those hours all over again.

Yes Bob. Most but not all have been able to solve the problem with the high setting. Try it longer...like a day....

Has anyone else cured their lamp flicker by running it on high power for a few hours. It didn't help me.

Quick primer in lamp technology -

Projection lamps consist of two main elements, burner and reflector. The burner produces the light, the reflector directs the light. The burner assmebly is a sealed tube normally made of pure quartz and is extremely pressurized. Within the burner there are two elements typically made of tungsten. These elements can be represented like this. __ __ The burner also contains many compounds and chemicals such as mercury and bromide.

When the lamp is struck an arc of electricity bridges the gap between the two elements. As the burner heats up these chemicals vaporize within the burner to stabilize the arc of electricity. This arc is your light source. As the lamp cools the chemicals and compounds go back to a solid state and have the potential to leave deposits on the elements. Over time this can change the shape of the elements from straight to varying degrees of deformity. This can be represented like this
--~ ~-- or like this -~- -~-

As electricty will always follow the path of least resistance the deformed elements can cause subtle changes in the location of the arc which can result in flicker. The good news is, projection lamps are basically self-maintaining and this is easily fixed. To "re-form" the elements requires running the lamp for a prolonged period of time, say, 8-10 hours. This will soften the elements. Then, let the lamp cool completely. (2-3 hours) The burner tube is under extremely high pressure and is basically a vacuum. As the lamp cools the elements will be "pulled" straight again. When the lamp is re-struck the bromide and other chemicals within the burner will "scrub" the deposits off of the straightened elements, the arc will again be stable and the flicker should be gone.

I would suggest that three hours is not nearly enough time to sufficiently soften the elements so that they can "self maintain". Try the procedure above and see if it provides any relief from your flickering problem.

htr

not bad for rookie! ;)

Got my 4805 refurb via the Staples deal... Pretty happy with it so far, even with the lack of resolution. It's not anywhere near as much of an issue as I'd thought it'd be.

I do have one question: It seems that whenever I turn the PJ off, then on again (after a reasonable amount of time, >8hrs let's say) the picture is greenish and washed-out. I can remedy the issue by changing to a non-HD channel on the cable box and then back to HD. After the change, everything is fine. I'll be getting a DVI -> M1 cable Monday (which'll connect the cable box, then the component cable I'm using will be on the DVD player) so maybe that'll fix the problem.

Anyone had an experience like this before?

-Josh

the picture is greenish and washed-out. I can remedy the issue by changing to a non-HD channel on the cable box and then back to HD.
-Josh

Yes! I have the same problem. Mine is usually after playing xbox or non-HD channel (both 480p) then switch to a HD channel (720p). If anyone knows why please let us know, thanks!

Just wanted to say CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just came down to my unfinished basement to watch some TV and found my projector on. The last time I was down here was 2 days ago. Sure enough I check the lamp hours and there up to 60. Not that big of a deal, but still 48 hours less with my beloved 4805.

I guess on the bright side I got my lamp good and burned in now.

TO fix the greenish tinge hit auto image on the remote

Just wanted to say CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just came down to my unfinished basement to watch some TV and found my projector on. The last time I was down here was 2 days ago. Sure enough I check the lamp hours and there up to 60. Not that big of a deal, but still 48 hours less with my beloved 4805.

I guess on the bright side I got my lamp good and burned in now.

If you do not hard power the projector off (switch on the side) it will startup if you have a power failure. Have you lost power in the last few days?

htr

Gushy - I tried that, didn't seem to have any affect. I'll double-check next time I turn the PJ off (tonight has been my first full night /w it, so I'm going back-n-forth between LOTR in HD on TNT and NBA on TBS). Pretty sure I tried the auto-image button though,

-Josh

If you do not hard power the projector off (switch on the side) it will startup if you have a power failure. Have you lost power in the last few days?

htr
Nope the powers been on, but that's good to know for the future.

Doc,
If you leave it on standby, you should turn on the power save option so that the 4805 will turn itself off after 20mins. The power save option will turn off the 4805 if there is no video signal being received by the 4805 in that time.

i MUST say, if anyone out there is still doubting that they should get it, this is (among) the (2) best choice(s) you could make.

after all the hub-bub (a 500 page thread!) as well as this one, i knew there was something about this projector that made it so popular. i went to every damn store in town, and none of them had PJs on display. my last stop was a high end store with a $4,000 yammy DLP and a the $2,000 pany 900... the yamaha made me want to cry that i couldn't afford it -_-

well, after breaking the promise that i'd read the thread before blowing half of the money i had in the bank, i went to the only place in town that had the 4805 in stock. the lesser of evils, Circuit City. well, of all things ********, a) i couldn't see it BEFORE i bought it, and b) there was a 15% restock fee as well. so i made them match an out-of-town Best Buy (my most hated store) price and financed it for 6 months no money or interest (!@#$ aren't getting my money so quickly) after reading all the fine print. also got a bulb replacement within 4 years too (read all the fine print on that, too) for $180.

anywho, grueling experience aside, i've loved the projector from the moment i turned it on. i'm even projecting on a bare wall, haven't calibrated it, nor have i figured out getting a 1:1 pixel setup yet, but man i'm STILL happy!

all i can say is wow, wow, wow. if you are not affected (or 99.9% not affected) by the rainbow effect (look at modern DLP projector before making up your mind on that. i could see them all over a screen on an older DLP we had at school) this is one of your best choices in this price range.

i'd trust the excitement over this and the H31 on this board (if you don't mind and adventure with DVI issues). i also didn't find the DV10 too bad that i saw in a store, either.

thanks guys!

*back to lurking*

dammit, tried to post my images but @!@#$ restriction... :mad:

*insane cackle*

http://plonkmedia.temp.powweb.com/tempphotos

edit: oh, forgot to paste what i'd said for the first post warning that the pics were taken from a wall-projected image, first several with lights on even, and on a $120 digicam. also, that reminds me of one of the other items i was testing with the unit: all but the Firefly pics are xvid dvdrips (i don't plan on taking my originals to many of my friends' places unless they're REALLY good friends =P or something...)

Bob Williams (Infocus SP4805 design engineer) provided these settings; they adjust the SP4805 to use standard 16-235 "studio" video levels (as output by DVI on DVD players/ cable STBs/ etc.) as opposed the the 0-255 PC levels used by computers.

If this is the case on DVI, might it be the same with VGA - which is what my DVD outputs? Is a VGA input on the 4805 recognized as a PC-type source? I know it calls the input "computer," but I thought that might just be the name of the input, rather than a reference to the type of signal.

JAFO turned poster, just a quick question… I received my refurb. 4805 (1.13 firmware) from the Black Friday deal and when viewing very dark scenes or when using the black screen blank, I notice a halo of light (not the 3-6 pixel border, more like the Phillips ambilight) around the projected 16:9 box. I’m using a white wall as a “screen” and the pj is table mounted. The effect is not noticeable on brighter scenes. I’m calibrated to Bob Williams’ values, with 720p output from an Oppo (latest firmware). Is the halo-effect/light spill normal? Does anybody else have this? Remedies? Thanks for the reply, you’ve all been a great help so far!

JAFO turned poster, just a quick question… I received my refurb. 4805 (1.13 firmware) from the Black Friday deal and when viewing very dark scenes or when using the black screen blank, I notice a halo of light around the projected 16:9 box. I’m using a white wall as a “screen” and the pj is table mounted. The effect is not noticeable on brighter scenes. I’m calibrated to Bob Williams’ values, with 720p output from an Oppo (latest firmware). Is the halo-effect/light spill normal? Does anybody else have this? Remedies? Thanks for the reply, you’ve all been a great help so far!I thought we were to set the oppo on 480P...and were are the Bob Williams’ values located...Thanks

JAFO turned poster, just a quick question… I received my refurb. 4805 (1.13 firmware) from the Black Friday deal and when viewing very dark scenes or when using the black screen blank, I notice a halo of light around the projected 16:9 box. I’m using a white wall as a “screen” and the pj is table mounted. The effect is not noticeable on brighter scenes. I’m calibrated to Bob Williams’ values, with 720p output from an Oppo (latest firmware). Is the halo-effect/light spill normal? Does anybody else have this? Remedies? Thanks for the reply, you’ve all been a great help so far!

I think the oppo is supposed to be set to 480p. And yes that border is normal.

-W

I thought we were to set the oppo on 480P...and were are the Bob Williams’ values located...Thanks


The values are within the last 2-3 pages of this thread and on the FAQ.

-W

I think the oppo is supposed to be set to 480p. And yes that border is normal.

-W

Thanks Clams, do you think that "amibilight" problem could be eliminated with a proper screen?

If this is the case on DVI, might it be the same with VGA - which is what my DVD outputs? Is a VGA input on the 4805 recognized as a PC-type source? I know it calls the input "computer," but I thought that might just be the name of the input, rather than a reference to the type of signal.

VGA and DVI are both recognized as the computer source. Because of this, the default dvi levels are pc levels, which is why we need to change the gains/offsets in order to make it studio dvi levels. DVI is digital meaning those gains/offsets would work the same for all DVI users (assuming their dvi source is sending out the correct dvi levels). The gains/offsets will not work for vga, because vga is analog.

Great...my refurb 4805 was working fine for 12 hours...lamp starts up fine and a couple minutes later the lamp shuts down and I get red blinking lights...any suggestions?

Here seems to be the problem...when the projector is on with no source on it works fine...it will stay on, when I try to use a source like my Oppo or Sony DVD player it shuts down...red blinking light. Has this ever happened to anyone else...or is this a infocus support call. Thanks.

Manual should say what the blinking lights mean. It's possible that its getting too hot causing the projector to shut down.

Just played around more with some different movies, and have some more observations.
Ther is a big difference in a lot of the movies I have when it comes to brightness settings. Even the THX optimizer settings vary widely. The newer animateds like Incredibles, Nemo, Toy Story, etc. are giving brightness settings around 49/50 and contrast around 57. These settings also looked good on Fantastic Four, Fifth Element, Austin Powers.

Other movies look really dark with these settings. The THX optimizer in Terminator 2 had brightness jacked up around 60+ and contrast 65 or more, Once Upon A Time In Mexico was also just as dark, and so were a few others I threw in.

Whats up with this? Once Upon A time In Mexico was almost unwatchable without boosting brightness.

There should be no difference in the brightness settings - or at least that noticeable. Something is amuck.

You are watching Digital Video, which has a set of values for white and black level - specifically 235 for peak white and 16 for black.

When we calibrate our 4805 to our DVD players, we are simply matching up voltage levels to achieve the proper white and black levels. SO, it is best that you get a proper calibration disc (avia or dve) and then set it and forget it for each source.

There are some movies in my experience (Bourne Supremacy and Pelican Brief to name two) that appear darker than normal. Instead of messing with the contrast and brightness levels, simply choose the video gamma.

BTW, while it is normal to be off a click or two btw each calibration disc or THX optomizer, there should not be a huge amount of difference. Make sure your DVD player is at default (neutral) settings.

'm fairly picky.... but not OCD picky like some... And I'm VERY happy with my little "retired computer dedicated to HTPC" project. For those that bought the 4805 because of a tight budget, there is a way to do a "tight budget HTPC" too.
The ability to store and manipulate movies is well worth it.

That was an excellent post Clams. For more budget PC ideas, see this months copy of Maximum PC. They have built a farily decent new machine for $300.

Max PC (http://www.maximumpc.com/)

You will have to find the issue on the stands for the full details.

There should be no difference in the brightness settings - or at least that noticeable. Something is amuck.

.

Yeah, I'll wait until my component cables and new screen are ready before forming any more opinions. I now want an ND filter also. Previosly I though no way I would need one. Scenes with light skies and white clouds are really bright,and affecting percieved darker details. Maybe my dvd player is acting up also? Once upon A Time In Mexico is still really dark. It was shot in digtal video, so maybe this made a difference. I was just wondering if anyone else thought it was dark.

I have noticed my colorwheel, which looked brand new when I got it, has changed in apperance too, which is probably common with new PJ's. Bulb is still slowly crazing too.

That was an excellent post Clams. For more budget PC ideas, see this months copy of Maximum PC. They have built a farily decent new machine for $300.

Max PC (http://www.maximumpc.com/)

You will have to find the issue on the stands for the full details.


Thank you Brian. I thought about doing the "new build" route, but there are so many orphaned computers laying around that I thought giving an older machine a new lease on life was a kinder thing to do. I remember the trouble I had even giving away an old P-100 box and kept the rest of them on in some service or another, even as extra mass storage on the network.

So far I've even gotten my P2-400 to play without dropping frames etc. My next project is to see if I can teach my mothers old P1-266MMX a few new tricks. :)

-W

Thanks Clams, do you think that "amibilight" problem could be eliminated with a proper screen?

The best way to cure it is with flat black "gaffers tape" and / or a matte black curtain setup around the projected screen.

-W

I finally posted new photos of my4805 installed through my living room wall. The photos are in my members photo gallery. Sorry it took so long but I had to find some stick on feet for my upside down projector.


http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=49351 (4805 in wall)

Not sure if this link will work?

Enjoy

I thought we were to set the oppo on 480P...and were are the Bob Williams’ values located...Thanks

OPPO works best at 480p or 720p with the 4805. See which you like better. Mine's currently at 720p, looks great!

Wes

Anyone have any suggestions in regard to a cable sheath/track for a clean look? Looks like I'm gonna need 20-30 ft length and run M1, component, and s-vid cables the length of the track, so I guess it's gonna have to be pretty wide. Thanks in advance.

Scott the link doesn't work for me :(

Scott the link doesn't work for meCut and paste it into your browser or click on the member's name, scottwood2, on the left border and select 'gallery'.

The ability to store and manipulate movies is well worth it.

I thought about something like 2 or 3 of the Sony 300+ disk changers for Music/Concert DVDs but they are so slow to get from one song on a disk to another...I know cause a couple of my friends have daisy chained them on account of huge collections,,,, but I want SPEED.

Just how many DVDS can you store on an average HTPC and can you access them fast?

I'm very happy watching movies on my 4805 being fed from the OPPO, but I'd like something less physical (me getting off my A$$ to change disks) for the music side of me.

HH

Husker, the # of DVDs is a direct reflection of your hard drive space. I find that an uncompressed DVD generally averages about 4 or 5 gigs once menus, extras and all but 5.1 soundtrack are stripped out of it (many do get as big as 6gb).

As far as music, obviously you can fit a TON of music on a PC, either in MP3 format (which if you rip from your CD's in the highest bit rate sounds great) or as WAV files (much larger than MP3 but sound as good as the original).

Or for just the music part, jack an Archos (or the other, more popular, but with way less features thing) into your receiver.

Here seems to be the problem...when the projector is on with no source on it works fine...it will stay on, when I try to use a source like my Oppo or Sony DVD player it shuts down...red blinking light. Has this ever happened to anyone else...or is this a infocus support call. Thanks.Me again...Does anyone know the turn around time with Infocus service. Looks like this refurb will need to be refurbed again. :(

Very quick if part is in stock. Alexander was very helpful.

How do you guys calibrate your 4805 for video games?

I've just bought the Xbox 360, and I realized that I've never played video games on my 4805 before. I have DVE, but I guess that's more for DVD movies. I use the Movie Gamma for watching DVD's, but it seems like the PC Gamma gives colors an extra boost, which is better for gaming, in my opinion.

Advice and tips would be great. :)

Anyone?

Bookhouseboy

First of all, don't use PC gamma - it actually messes your colors rather than giving them a boost.

Second, not sure about the Xbox 360. We discovered that unless your Xbox was modded to play DVDs @ 480p, calibrating the Xbox was useless for games because it only plays dvds @ 480i.

So nobody has any ideas on the problem in post #522?

So nobody has any ideas on the problem in post #522?For those who don't remember what #522 was about ... here is a link: Anyone using either an ATI AIW 9800 Pro or the like? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6684461&&#post6684461)

;)

I thought about something like 2 or 3 of the Sony 300+ disk changers for Music/Concert DVDs but they are so slow to get from one song on a disk to another...I know cause a couple of my friends have daisy chained them on account of huge collections,,,, but I want SPEED.

Just how many DVDS can you store on an average HTPC and can you access them fast?

I'm very happy watching movies on my 4805 being fed from the OPPO, but I'd like something less physical (me getting off my A$$ to change disks) for the music side of me.

HH

If you must have absolute true DVD quality (and some people must) then yes about 3-6GB per movie is normal. From any decent HD on any decent PC they will access very quickly.

If you can handle slight loss of quality, using something like DVD Shrink or Rat DVD can shave off a few GB per movie and leave what is often regarded as a pretty darn close copy of the original.

Take it a bit further (and make sure the PC is a bit stronger but necessarily that much) and you can rip to Divx6 or Xvid. This process is time consuming, but can be well worth it. Ripping a 4GB movie down to about 1.5-2GB often leaves me with a great quality video and often you can leave menus, subs and special features intact.

For music MP3 is the most common but if you are ripping for yourself only then I suggest checking into http://www.vorbis.com to see some other options. Also the newest WMA codecs supposedly offer better results at lower file sizes. Even at high bit rates I can't imagine many music collections taking more than a few dozen GB.

Personally I put all my music on a network share and use my Xbox and XBMC to handle my media center stuff (building an HTPC but still like the simplicity of the xbox) and with only 60GB dedicated to movies and music I think my collection is still pretty decent. A good chunk of my favorite songs and a couple dozen movies that I keep rotating.

Hey guys, I just now got my DVI output from my Comcast HD/DVR box to my 4805. Wow, HD looks even better, I cannot believe its even better than component. Also SD material has improved quite a bit.

But what is up with the HD image not filing up the 16:9 panel on the 4805, HD is great but I am not digging the bars and smaller image I now have with HD material.

Am I pretty much stuck with the bars since I watch SD material as well as HD or is there a solution to this?

Hey, thanks cavu! Heh, could I possibly look like any more of a tourist? I am a LONG time lurker but have gleamed so much useful information from this board. I had tried to avoid registering as I would only spend even more time here! Thanks again! :)

I just now got my DVI output from my Comcast HD/DVR box to my 4805. Wow, HD looks even better, I cannot believe its even better than component.Cool, eh?!

But what is up with the HD image not filing up the 16:9 panel on the 4805, HD is great but I am not digging the bars and smaller image I now have with HD material. Assuming you are using the DVI or HDMI output of a Moto DCT6412 DVR, a 16:9 HD image does fill the entire display area (as defined by the 'blank' screen button).

Obviously, a full 4:3 HD image does not and has bars on the sides. You have different 4:3 options using the 4:3 override settings on the DVR - try them!

If your results differ, make sure the following settings are correct:

SP4805:
Aspect Ratio: Native
RGB Gains (3): 58
RGB Offsets (3): 28.5

DCT6412:
TV Type: 16:9
DVI/YPbPr Output: 1080i
4:3 Override: OFF

(The RGB settings set the projector BTB and WTW to the 'studio' levels output by the DVR.)

If you have ongoing problems, I suggest you post to the Official Comcast 6412 w/ iGuide Discussion forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=464986).

SP4805:
Aspect Ratio: Native
RGB Gains (3): 58
RGB Offsets (3): 28.5

DCT6412:
TV Type: 16:9
DVI/YPbPr Output: 1080i
4:3 Override: OFF
>>>>>>>

Done.


Ah perfect, geez..ive had this box for nearly a year and never used the DVI until just now. I forgot all about that set-up menu.

thanks CAVU, its working perfectly now

Just a remider to some of the newbies that if you wanna go the HTPC route to get that pixel-mapped 480p stuff going you don't need much. <snip>

I'm fairly picky.... but not OCD picky like some... :D And I'm VERY happy with my little "retired computer dedicated to HTPC" project. For those that bought the 4805 because of a tight budget, there is a way to do a "tight budget HTPC" too.
The ability to store and manipulate movies is well worth it. -W

To elaborate more on my Budget HTPC post from page 19:

The HTPC forum here on AVS has a sticky thread with links to all kinds of great freeware and utilities. Including DVDShrink 3.2 - check it out!

Start with a clean formatted hard disk. Partition it so that the C: drive is about 9gigs - that will handle your windows install and all software. Make the second partion your D: drive and use that to store all your movies. (one big advantage to doing this is that if something gets really hosed- like Windows -you can format the C: drive and re-install , without losing anything you stored. :) Ugrade the fresh install with DirectX9c and WMP 10 right off.

Disable the recycle bin on the D: drive, your average movie may not fit it anyway. If you add a second hard disk it's E: , format it as one big drive - no recycle bin.
Your average "main movie" on a DVD is 3.5-6.5 gigs. If you let DVDShrink rip the main movie and compress it (the long way) you can get all your single disk titles to 3.5 - 4.5 gig per movie with minimal quality loss on the bigger ones. I never compress a movie smaller than 4.5 gig. This means for every 100g of hard drive space you can store about 25 movies. Hard disk movies are fast access and easy to manipulate.

If you slam a pair of 250 gig drives in the machine, and subtract 10gig for the OS partition, and 10gig for your CD's ripped to MP3 music collection and you'll have 480 gigs left for movies. Allowing you to store about 120 4g movies on the HTPC.

If you have a good 10/100 network you can store movies (and music) on other boxes and play them right over the network. I have about .75 terrabyte of total network storage.

The Nvidia 77.77 XP drivers have an 848x480 setting built in. Easy place to start. More advanced users can use the free utility "Powerstrip" to change display settings on the fly. Low HP machines outta use the "single display" setting in the Nvidia drivers.... so it don't have to work to make 2 screens at once. I use the Nvidia 5700 card - and don't reccomend using much less of a card.

There are many "gamer" utilities that allow you to shut down unneeded services in Windows XP to allow more horsepower to be used for gaming demands. Weaker machines (<500mhz) benifit a bit from doing this for HTPC too.

The SB Audigy 2zs has direct digital out and a THX optimizer of it's own, I selected it for that reason. But even a cheap SB Live 5.0 will get you going.

For player software: Even WMP10 will play a DVD - or a DVD ripped to disk. If you buy a Sony DVD burner (check out how cheap the old DRU700 series drives are going!) they come with the Nero suite. Nero alows you to burn directly from within DVDshrink 3.2 and the suite has a decent little DVD player included. Other Sony drives come with Power DVD - another decent little player. If you wanna actually buy a player - most here use Theater Tek.

Ebay is a great source for slightly used drives, cards, and parts - as well as good liscenced software. I've never had a real problem in over 400 transactions. The budget HTPC builder is wise to get parts that were "last years big news".

I usually start my tests on the little monitor on the VGA port at 800x600 and then at 1024x768. If you can get the box to play OK there - it won't have any trouble when doing 848x480 over the DVI output for your SP4805.

Star Wars episode IV "A New Hope" has everyhting you need to set up a quick and dirty HTPC and get pretty darn close to spot-on. Use the THX optimiser (change the settings in your software player, not the 4805) and then play the 1st 5 minutes of the movie. During those 1st five minutes you get to see a very video demading scene when that Star Destroyer forces every pixel to move at once. You get great white scenes in the little ship, you get a great dark scene when Leia is feeding the message to R2, you can use Vader to see your blacks, and you can use the side lights and R2's lights to get a good feel for color saturation. If you hear Darth Vader say "You are a part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor - take her away!" you went TOO FAR and got sucked into watching the movie. Get back to work! :D

-W

I'll note that I've been building my own PC's for over 20 years and have become a bit of a "brand snob". I use only Intel CPU's and chipsets, Award Bios, Western Digital hard drives, Sony CD / DVD drives, Creative Sound Blaster audio cards, and Nvidia video cards. My networks are all Linksys (Cisco).

You can use other stuff... but I've never EVER had a problem with the above components and the drivers they come with - new or used. Ever.

-W

To elaborate more on my Budget HTPC post from page 19:

The HTPC forum here on AVS has a sticky thread with links to all kinds of great freeware and utilities. Including DVDShrink 3.2 - check it out!

Start with a clean formatted hard disk. Partition it so that the C: drive is about 9gigs - that will handle your windows install and all software. Make the second partion your D: drive and use that to store all your movies. (one big advantage to doing this is that if something gets really hosed- like Windows -you can format the C: drive and re-install , without losing anything you stored. :) Ugrade the fresh install with DirectX9c and WMP 10 right off.

Disable the recycle bin on the D: drive, your average movie may not fit it anyway. If you add a second hard disk it's E: , format it as one big drive - no recycle bin.
Your average "main movie" on a DVD is 3.5-6.5 gigs. If you let DVDShrink rip the main movie and compress it (the long way) you can get all your single disk titles to 3.5 - 4.5 gig per movie with minimal quality loss on the bigger ones. I never compress a movie smaller than 4.5 gig. This means for every 100g of hard drive space you can store about 25 movies. Hard disk movies are fast access and easy to manipulate.

If you slam a pair of 250 gig drives in the machine, and subtract 10gig for the OS partition, and 10gig for your CD's ripped to MP3 music collection and you'll have 480 gigs left for movies. Allowing you to store about 120 4g movies on the HTPC.

If you have a good 10/100 network you can store movies (and music) on other boxes and play them right over the network. I have about .75 terrabyte of total network storage.

The Nvidia 77.77 XP drivers have an 848x480 setting built in. Easy place to start. More advanced users can use the free utility "Powerstrip" to change display settings on the fly. Low HP machines outta use the "single display" setting in the Nvidia drivers.... so it don't have to work to make 2 screens at once. I use the Nvidia 5700 card - and don't reccomend using much less of a card.

There are many "gamer" utilities that allow you to shut down unneeded services in Windows XP to allow more horsepower to be used for gaming demands. Weaker machines (<500mhz) benifit a bit from doing this for HTPC too.

The SB Audigy 2zs has direct digital out and a THX optimizer of it's own, I selected it for that reason. But even a cheap SB Live 5.0 will get you going.

For player software: Even WMP10 will play a DVD - or a DVD ripped to disk. If you buy a Sony DVD burner (check out how cheap the old DRU700 series drives are going!) they come with the Nero suite. Nero alows you to burn directly from within DVDshrink 3.2 and the suite has a decent little DVD player included. Other Sony drives come with Power DVD - another decent little player. If you wanna actually buy a player - most here use Theater Tek.

Ebay is a great source for slightly used drives, cards, and parts - as well as good liscenced software. I've never had a real problem in over 400 transactions. The budget HTPC builder is wise to get parts that were "last years big news".

Star Wars episode IV "A New Hope" has everyhting you need to set up a quick and dirty HTPC and get pretty darn close to spot-on. Use the THX optimiser (change the settings in your software player, not the 4805) and then play the 1st 5 minutes of the movie. During those 1st five minutes you get to see a very video demading scene when that Star Destroyer forces every pixel to move at once. You get great white scenes in the little ship, you get a great dark scene when Leia is feeding the message to R2, you can use Vader to see your blacks, and you can use the side lights and R2's lights to get a good feel for color saturation. If you hear Darth Vader say "You are a part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor - take her away!" you went TOO FAR and got sucked into watching the movie. Get back to work! :D

-W

I will delve into this after the Holidays.

Like I said I want one for control of all my CONCERT DVDS and this sounds like the way to go...Thank-U for the info.

HH

I will delve into this after the Holidays.

Like I said I want one for control of all my CONCERT DVDS and this sounds like the way to go...Thank-U for the info.

HH

If you become an "advanced user" of DVDShrink 3.2 , you can even pull parts out of a DVD and re-author your own mixes. I'm not quite there yet.... :D The best I can do is add trailers to a movie, or combine a 2 disk movie into 1.

-W

If you become an "advanced user" of DVDShrink 3.2 , you can even pull parts out of a DVD and re-author your own mixes. I'm not quite there yet.... :D The best I can do is add trailers to a movie, or combine a 2 disk movie into 1.

-W

I made a DEMO DVD from scenes from movies to show off my system using Shrink...It was`a`lot of work because I know I did it the long way but it is nice to have something to show to your friends

HH

I made a DEMO DVD from scenes from movies to show off my system using Shrink...It was`a`lot of work because I know I did it the long way but it is nice to have something to show to your friends

HH
Where's my copy? :D

To elaborate more on my Budget HTPC post from page 19:

The HTPC forum here on AVS has a sticky thread with links to all kinds of great freeware and utilities. Including DVDShrink 3.2 - check it out!

Start with a clean formatted hard disk. Partition it so that the C: drive is about 9gigs - that will handle your windows install and all software. Make the second partion your D: drive and use that to store all your movies. (one big advantage to doing this is that if something gets really hosed- like Windows -you can format the C: drive and re-install , without losing anything you stored. :) Ugrade the fresh install with DirectX9c and WMP 10 right off.

Disable the recycle bin on the D: drive, your average movie may not fit it anyway. If you add a second hard disk it's E: , format it as one big drive - no recycle bin.
Your average "main movie" on a DVD is 3.5-6.5 gigs. If you let DVDShrink rip the main movie and compress it (the long way) you can get all your single disk titles to 3.5 - 4.5 gig per movie with minimal quality loss on the bigger ones. I never compress a movie smaller than 4.5 gig. This means for every 100g of hard drive space you can store about 25 movies. Hard disk movies are fast access and easy to manipulate.

If you slam a pair of 250 gig drives in the machine, and subtract 10gig for the OS partition, and 10gig for your CD's ripped to MP3 music collection and you'll have 480 gigs left for movies. Allowing you to store about 120 4g movies on the HTPC.

If you have a good 10/100 network you can store movies (and music) on other boxes and play them right over the network. I have about .75 terrabyte of total network storage.

The Nvidia 77.77 XP drivers have an 848x480 setting built in. Easy place to start. More advanced users can use the free utility "Powerstrip" to change display settings on the fly. Low HP machines outta use the "single display" setting in the Nvidia drivers.... so it don't have to work to make 2 screens at once. I use the Nvidia 5700 card - and don't reccomend using much less of a card.

There are many "gamer" utilities that allow you to shut down unneeded services in Windows XP to allow more horsepower to be used for gaming demands. Weaker machines (<500mhz) benifit a bit from doing this for HTPC too.

The SB Audigy 2zs has direct digital out and a THX optimizer of it's own, I selected it for that reason. But even a cheap SB Live 5.0 will get you going.

For player software: Even WMP10 will play a DVD - or a DVD ripped to disk. If you buy a Sony DVD burner (check out how cheap the old DRU700 series drives are going!) they come with the Nero suite. Nero alows you to burn directly from within DVDshrink 3.2 and the suite has a decent little DVD player included. Other Sony drives come with Power DVD - another decent little player. If you wanna actually buy a player - most here use Theater Tek.

Ebay is a great source for slightly used drives, cards, and parts - as well as good liscenced software. I've never had a real problem in over 400 transactions. The budget HTPC builder is wise to get parts that were "last years big news".

I usually start my tests on the little monitor on the VGA port at 800x600 and then at 1024x768. If you can get the box to play OK there - it won't have any trouble when doing 848x480 over the DVI output for your SP4805.

Star Wars episode IV "A New Hope" has everyhting you need to set up a quick and dirty HTPC and get pretty darn close to spot-on. Use the THX optimiser (change the settings in your software player, not the 4805) and then play the 1st 5 minutes of the movie. During those 1st five minutes you get to see a very video demading scene when that Star Destroyer forces every pixel to move at once. You get great white scenes in the little ship, you get a great dark scene when Leia is feeding the message to R2, you can use Vader to see your blacks, and you can use the side lights and R2's lights to get a good feel for color saturation. If you hear Darth Vader say "You are a part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor - take her away!" you went TOO FAR and got sucked into watching the movie. Get back to work! :D

-W

Really nice post. Thx.

I am thinking of doing this as well. Debating between the Oppo DVD or getting a HTPC.

Bookhouseboy

First of all, don't use PC gamma - it actually messes your colors rather than giving them a boost.

Second, not sure about the Xbox 360. We discovered that unless your Xbox was modded to play DVDs @ 480p, calibrating the Xbox was useless for games because it only plays dvds @ 480i.

Thanks.

So, should I just use Movie Gamma?

I recommend using whatever looks best to your own eyes. That IS the ultimate picture.

Where's my copy? :D

Go to this THREAD (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=470529&page=1&pp=60) for links and info for a copy of what they have going on.

HH

While it is hard to argue against "whatever looks best to your own eyes is the ultimate picture" it should be noted that many people are acclimated to TVs from stores that haven't been calibrated, have the contrast set too high as well as brightness and "sharpness", and are no where near color correct. There is much to be said for using the proper gamma and calibrating the pj and giving yourself a couple weeks to "retrain" your eye as it were. Of course that means you'll be calibrating every TV set in the house or just not watching them ;-)

Peace,

Geo

I recommend using whatever looks best to your own eyes. That IS the ultimate picture.

There is a real reason NOT to use PC gamma - it messes up the greyscale. Check it out next time - the colors get messed up.

But as far as CRT to BR2, you pick. I think Film looks best to me, and for that occasional poorly mastered DVD that appears too dark, notching it up to video gamma really helps.

The SB Audigy 2zs has direct digital out and a THX optimizer of it's own, I selected it for that reason. But even a cheap SB Live 5.0 will get you going.

Great post clams. I'm going through the HTPC creation process right now for my 4805 and wanted to point out one thing regarding audio cards to people who, like me:

1) have an A/V receiver that does not have individual analog RCA inputs for 5.1 DD

AND

2) want to get DD 5.1 sound on PC games as well through the same system you use for DVDs.

If you match that above criteria, Creative Labs can't help you because their cards do not support Dolby Digital Live. If you hook up your PC to your A/V receiver via a single digital TOSLink optical or RCA cable using a SB card you will only get stereo for PC game sound. There are (as far as I know) only three cards that will turn PC game EAX surround into DD 5.1 that you can output directly into the digital connection of your existing HT DD A/V receiver:

Bluegears X-Mystique 7.1 Sound Card
TurtleBeach Montego 7.1 Dolby Digital Live Surround Sound Card

and another one from Terratec whose name escapes me.

Hope this makes sense,

Dan

I got my 4805 a few days back and have been spending all available time playing with it and setting it up and reading the 4805 threads. I've had a Samsung DLP HLP5063W for over a year, so it ends up being sort of a "reference".

I'd like to know if there's anyone in the San Jose area (I live in Fremont, work in Sunnyvale) who has a "good" setup with the 4805, and would be willing to do a small demo of their setup. Could you PM me? I'd like to get an idea of what's possible with the 4805.

Right now, I have the 4805 ceiling mounted, about 14 ft from the screen. I'm testing out the 92" Graywolf right now. I'm quite happy with the detail and contrast. I've used AVIA for contrast and brightness adjustment(don't have the blue filter now to do color adjustments), which end up exactly at the factory settings!

I hope there's more improvement/variations possible in color saturation and "pop" from this with proper setup and choice of screen. The colors are closer(but not quite) to the "cinema" setting of my DLP and so is quite good with detail in dark scenes etc. But the colors seem a bit dull. HD is fed over componet, and DVDs from HTPC over VGA. I've fed my RPTV similarly.

The Graywolf is retro-reflective, so I expect some gain loss with ceiling mount, but it's not supposed to not change the image in any other way, right? I do notice that if I stand up and view it from near the projector the colors seem more vibrant (is it just the brightness?)

I haven't seen any other installations with other setups, so I hope if I look at some other "good" setups I know what to shoot for.

Others who have actually had/compared this with DLP RPTVs, how should I set my expectations? I've read people here talk of 4805 as a 92" plasma, is that the right realistic standard?

Samsung DLP HLP5063W ... Others who have actually had/compared this with DLP RPTVAs it happens, I took my Moto 6412 DVR over to my buddy's last night to see how good my HDTV recordings looked on his Samsung 5063 compared to my 480p projector!

Using the DVI port, in "Cinema" mode on the Samsung:colours were significantly oversaturatedthe contrast was too high causing a lot of white flareSharpness was set too high, andI could not get the blacks fully black.

Reducing many of the settings on the Samsung to "50" improved things a lot. For instance, we had to reduce the "colour" a lot so that we could distinguish facial pores and wrinkles.

It appeared to me that the 5063 doesn't have "real" colour temperature or gamma controls - it just alters the colour, tint, brightness and contrast to create an "effect".

The "standard" and other settings were waaayyy too blue!

I was impressed that there was NO SDE on the Samsung (I don't know how they accomplish that).

I brought the DVR home and immediately hooked it up to the SP4805 again and was very pleased with the PQ compared to the Samsung.

PS. I don't know why but the Samsung also suffered from significant pincushion.

could someone suggest a good budget dvd player that does a good 480i signal through component? i'd like to spend $75 or less. i know of the old panny rp91, rp82 etc. but i cannot find them online much. i'd like to get something now, and i can always sell it if i find a rp91 or whatever for a reasonable price. i'm considering the sony DVPNS50P/S. btw: i also NEED coaxial digital 5.1 output, as my onkyo reciever has only toslink and coaxial, and my xbox360 shall occupy the toslink.

If you match that above criteria, Creative Labs can't help you because their cards do not support Dolby Digital Live.

I'm not totally following that Dan. Does this new card not meet your critiria? I'm putting one in my system just for some fun and some RnD tommorow....

X Fi Extreme (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=14066)

Cavu,

thanks for your reply. I hope others respond to my original mail and help me get a better idea of the differences.

I and most HLP5063 owners have sharpness turned down to below 10. Also, with almost any high contrast setting, the AVIA needle pulses are clearly visible, and there don't seem to be any blurring of the gray blocks in the pattern (I'm not a real calibration junkie, so pardon any imprecise terminology..) so is there no white flare??

It's clear that you noticed differences. Now, lets say if we want to have a similar "oversaturation" of colors (make reality more vibrant??:-)). Do you think we can get similar picture from the 4805 with tweaking? How can we do it? I'd be very interested . What I know is, the Samsung DLP seems to be capable of making real saturated colors, to very accurate color representation (based on the avsforum 5063 folks who had ISF calibrations done) similar to what you and others have in mind. How can I get the 4805 to (over?)saturate colors if I sometimes want it to..?

I'd like others to read and respond to my original mail and not take this down this 1 track only..

It's clear that you noticed differences. Now, lets say if we want to have a similar "oversaturation" of colors (make reality more vibrant??). Do you think we can get similar picture from the 4805 with tweaking?Frankly, I don't know.

I am using DVI digital sources and the SP4805 defeats the colour and tint controls for that input. My RGB Gains and Offsets are preset to calibrated studio digital levels and I don't mess with them.

I take that to mean that the SP4805 is displaying the colour tone and saturation present in the source signal, no more, no less.

I imagine that, if you wish to create artificially saturated colour, you will have to use an analog input.

Edit: I hooked up an S-Video cable and was able to produce the oversaturated colours I saw on the Samsung by running the SP4805 colour control up to about 90.

foobart

Are you using 6500K color temp? What DVD player are you using - that HTPC in your sig? If so, what software DVD player are you using?

Is color weak for DVDs only, or HD as well? And you say you have tweaked sat/hue via Avia or DVE?

FWIW, especially on HD, when people come over, the first thing they mention is the color, then they can't believe how clear and sharp the picture is, especially on a 92" screen!

Fellas, finally!! I have before me a BFG 6600 GT OC, courtesy of the WAF and a brand new motherboard on its way in the mail, again courtesy of the WAF (early Christmas presents).

All I need now is to buy a new case, probably this one. (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1567078&CatId=0)

All right gang, I'm about to clean my filters for the first time. After I pull out the lamp housing do I hvae to use one of those portable vaccuum cleaners to suck the dust out? I don't have one - I only have a regular old vaccuum cleaner (but it has some connectors on it). Would those work?

therealgeno,

I use media player classic on my htpc. I'm talking of both HD and DVD/HTPC ,mainly in comparison with my DLP RPTV. Which is why I'm particularly interested in how people who've compared/own RPTV/ plasma feel. Sometimes people's opinion needs to be considered in context because anyone who's coming from an experience with old SD displays would find any HD/ED displays mind-blowing. Now we're talking about comparisons among good displays... This is what I'm trying to figure out.

The golden standard would be how your neighborhood movie theater picture looks. then there are all these PJs, RPs etc.. How do these compare?

To my not so trained eye, the 4805 picture(my current setup) seems to look like an unbleached fabric, compared to the 5063 which looks like a bleached, saturated fabric. Maybe the bleached look is the "wrong" look, but more vibrant?

Edit: I'm using 6500 temp, tried the others, but werent better obviously. Used video/film gamma

Geno I have another version of that case and I think you will be happy with it. Only pain is the cover mounting screws are on the bottom, and not the back like most cases. It's so so on the quite scale because of the two small fans, but if you go with a quite cpu cooler you will be good.

Foobart, what resoultion is the 4805 reporting using that player? I could never get anything but 800x600 out of the Windows players no matter what resoulution I set the video cards to.

mainly in comparison with my DLP RPTV. Which is why I'm particularly interested in how people who've compared/own RPTV/ plasma feel. Sometimes people's opinion needs to be considered in context because anyone who's coming from an experience with old SD displays would find any HD/ED displays mind-blowing.

Foobart I have a plasma at work (and at home for awhile until I bored with the small size) and RPTV CRT HD upstairs and the 4805 in HD is amazing. Period. I have never had anyone with a HD display at home not walk in and see the image and have their jaw drop. I dont have any friends with Runcos, but even if I did, when you consider the set up is 1/10th or less the price...its money well spent.

Now that I think about it, I don't have any friends. Period. I need to get out more.

Cavu,

thanks for your reply. I hope others respond to my original mail and help me get a better idea of the differences.

I and most HLP5063 owners have sharpness turned down to below 10. Also, with almost any high contrast setting, the AVIA needle pulses are clearly visible, and there don't seem to be any blurring of the gray blocks in the pattern (I'm not a real calibration junkie, so pardon any imprecise terminology..) so is there no white flare??

It's clear that you noticed differences. Now, lets say if we want to have a similar "oversaturation" of colors (make reality more vibrant??:-)). Do you think we can get similar picture from the 4805 with tweaking? How can we do it? I'd be very interested . What I know is, the Samsung DLP seems to be capable of making real saturated colors, to very accurate color representation (based on the avsforum 5063 folks who had ISF calibrations done) similar to what you and others have in mind. How can I get the 4805 to (over?)saturate colors if I sometimes want it to..?

I'd like others to read and respond to my original mail and not take this down this 1 track only..


The Samsung is one of the few DLP that use colors more intense than the HD standards allow. While at first this is attractive - you soon realize what unreality it causes - because pink becomes red and so on. Those who get their sets ISFd have the controls to dial it to perfect SD/HD standard and the picture looks much more realistic - which does mean less cartoony and vivid. Samsung gets the award for the worst out of the box but the best after ISF. Generally colors are defined by the color wheel - only Sharp and NEC come to mind as those that allowed editing of the primary colors. So you are stuck with your Infocus colors - but if you have not had your Samsung ISF'd - the Infocus is more accurate. In fact the SP4805 is even more accurate than the SP7205 - as it has a more intense red that is not accurate. You would be happier with the H31 - as it leans to more vivid colors at the expense of accuracy....

Hey Kras...if it was your money...what hamburger would buy today?

My money goes to the wife which means we eat free range grass eating cows - they generally leave out the part about how they got turned into hamburglers....but at least the cow got to chew their curd before we eat them! That was a compromise when she declared we were going to go organic vegetarian. I swore off McD's do not ever watch that documentary on them if you are a fan....

Hi,

I just got my new 4805 on the wall, and we are so happy with the picture quality. We have tried several dvd's and they look amazing even with s-video. I'm waiting to get my component video cables which should get here soon. Can't wait!!

Here's the issue now. I built my own wall mount which gives the 4805 3.5 - 4 inches of space from the back wall and also from the ceiling. Meanwhile, the top of the picture is about 19.5 inches from the ceiling.

Is there anything that I can do to raise the picture a couple of inches? I know that when I had the sanyo z1 for a few hours, they had a knob that i could actually shift the picture up, down, left, and right. Does the 4805 have something to do that also?

I'm thinking that any closer to the ceiling would be juust too close, but is raising it higher or closer the only answer?

Please let me know,
Thanks,
Steve

Is there anything that I can do to raise the picture a couple of inches?If it's just a couple of inches, I would raise the platform to avoid keystone correction, so long as you still have a couple of inches of clearance.

OTOH, you could first try angling the projector up a bit and using the keystone adjustment; it might only require a "notch or two" to square up the image. You be the judge, after you get your new cables, as to any negative consequences.

Nothing special but here are a few screen shots from my 4805, I am just loving the HDTV,


http://www.bentvalve.info/ht.htm

If it's just a couple of inches, I would raise the platform to avoid keystone correction, so long as you still have a couple of inches of clearance.

OTOH, you could first try angling the projector up a bit and using the keystone adjustment; it might only require a "notch or two" to square up the image. You be the judge, after you get your new cables, as to any negative consequences.


OR you could do what I did, and angle the PJ up a bit and then do a mechanical keystone correction by shimming the top of the screen an extra inch out from the wall. Worked perfectly for me. You can't see that the screen top is out, and there's no measurable keystone.

-W

do a mechanical keystone correction by shimming the top of the screen an extra inch out from the wall.Great idea!

Just wondering... Does anyone ever hear a cracking like sound come from their projector.... I have mine ceiling mounted and in low lamp....I tried high lamp mode and I thought it was going to take off from the mount:) I don't think it runs hot. It just makes a cracking sound and I didn't know why it does that. Any others like this?

Hi, folks. I've had my 4805 for a few months and throw its image on the 76' screen that came with it. The sources are a Harman Kardon DVD player over component and DirecTV over S-video. I like the picture sharpness and color but have never felt that it has good depth, a quality I truly miss. Are any of you getting good picture depth (3-D like image), and what setups are you using? I was inspired to post this question when I noticed better picture depth on my PC's Samsung 213T monitor (rated at 500:1 contrast ratio) than from the 4805 which we know has a much higher contrast ratio.

I'm not totally following that Dan. Does this new card not meet your critiria? I'm putting one in my system just for some fun and some RnD tommorow....

X Fi Extreme (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=14066)

2) want to get DD 5.1 sound on PC games as well through the same system you use for DVDs.

DD Live is a technology for encoding a new DD stream in real time. Creative does not license the technology for any of their sound cards AFAIK. The first big implementation of this was the soundstorm audio on nForce motherboards a while back. It was too expensive then to gain much popularity, but just now it is starting to appear in soundcards. The advantage is being able to play a game and take it's 3D sound, change it into a DD signal, and send it over a digital link to your reciever. I think there may also be some games that have DD encoding built into them, but DD Live is supposed to work for EAX and most other 3D sound technologies. Not sure as to whether or not this new batch of cards actually does the encoding on the chip or uses the CPU to do it.

Anyone using either an ATI AIW 9800 Pro or the like? The older AIWs with a single monitor output? I am racking my brain trying to get the dvi-m1 cable working. I am using the very long (50 foot) cable from Monoprice...anyone using one from them? I assume the extreme cable length is the issue and have ordered shorter ones to test further. However, they won't be here until next week and I'm a lil' impatient! Basically, I get no output...either if I set the 4805 input to computer or just let it search continuously. My video card only has one DVI output (well, and then obviously s-video and component with all the breakout stuff) which I currently use the dvi-vga adapter with as I'm using a CRT.

One thing I do notice is that in the ATI displays tab I can't activate/enable FPD as a display...so is perhaps like the digital DVI not enabled? I mean, I can enable like TV even though one is not connected. I figured I could just plug in the cable and it'd work correctly. I doubt this is the problem as I would think even while the computer is booting I'd see something, right? Well, any help would be welcome. I guess I'll know for sure once I get a shorter cable as I have neither a different DVI device to try on the 4805 or a Digital Flat Panel monitor. Thanks!
i have an older ATI7500aiw card....(same PQ for Movies)
assuming U are using Newer Drivers just plugging in the 4805 should activate FPD
BUT....50ft is really pushing it (originally DVI was only supposed to go 5m=16ft)
so U will know 4sure when U get the shorter DVI cable

ps...try setting resolution to 800x600 w/CRT prior to connecting the 4805
then 848x480 with 4805 which needs to be in NATIVE aspect ratio
since the ATI puts out PC DVI levels and 4805 is calibrated for same
U will be on the Money or Close with Default settings from the 4805
i only have BRIGHTNESS=51 after calibrating w/AVIA
i use WinDVD6 which has it's own controls Cont/Brightness/Color/Hue/Gamma
so i can Tweak a little if need be -- (not all DVDs are created EQUAL)

Arwe

Unless your room is blacked out (lights and walls) you will never achieve the potential of your front projector. Also with the smaller screen your black levels are likely too high unless you are a grey screen and have a ND2 filter.

Your PC monitor has better contrast because it is not impacted by the room. See the contrast at ambient thread in my .sig.

BrianIam, I set the ATI 9250 to 1280x720 and the 4805 recognizes it as "720p" over VGA. Of course I tried 848x480 and it doesn't work..

Another question for those who have the 4805 calibrated properly, and hooked up to a computer.. How do the colors look compared to a computer monitor, a LCD panel, or a laptop screen? Are they different?

Krasmuzik, If the Samsung DLP can display a super vibrant (unreal?) picture but can be tweaked to proper/real color fidelity can the 4805 be made to go the otherway too and get to get more vibrant but unreal colors? not tweakable like that?? Why?? Actually there were times when I display our digital photos on the Samsung we feel, "hey we look better and brighter than in reality", kind of like a studio photo, maybe even fixed up in photoshop etc.. ! But there's rarely anyone who said the picture looks worse than the person in reality :)

I think I need to see someone's setup with the proper calibration to "calibrate" my eyes and make sure my setup gets the same results.. This "whatever looks good to you" standard doesn't seem to be working right now..

DD Live is a technology for encoding a new DD stream in real time. Creative does not license the technology for any of their sound cards AFAIK. The first big implementation of this was the soundstorm audio on nForce motherboards a while back. It was too expensive then to gain much popularity, but just now it is starting to appear in soundcards. The advantage is being able to play a game and take it's 3D sound, change it into a DD signal, and send it over a digital link to your reciever. I think there may also be some games that have DD encoding built into them, but DD Live is supposed to work for EAX and most other 3D sound technologies. Not sure as to whether or not this new batch of cards actually does the encoding on the chip or uses the CPU to do it.Exactly - thanks for clarifying. The encoding is done on the chip level on the new cards.

All this means is that you should not expect to get PC game surround sound by plugging one cable (either optical or RCA) from your PC to your A/V receiver unless you have a sound card that supports DD Live. You will get stereo. This is a non-issue if you have a surround sound system that accepts separate analog inputs for each channel-- the SoundBlaster has mini-jack outputs that can be made to work with the separate analog DD inputs many DD receivers have using Y cables.

I didn't know this and ended up having to return my first soundcard (M-Audio Revolution 5.1) in favor of the X-Mystique 7.1 (which should arrive any day). The additional advantage to this card is that it will take any stereo source on your PC (like MP3s) and convert it to DD 5.1. I'm curious to hear how that sounds.

Dan

I didn't know this and ended up having to return my first soundcard (M-Audio Revolution 5.1) in favor of the X-Mystique 7.1 (which should arrive any day). The additional advantage to this card is that it will take any stereo source on your PC (like MP3s) and convert it to DD 5.1. I'm curious to hear how that sounds.

Wouldn't this be the same as sending a stereo source to your audio receiver and applying Dolby Pro Logic II?

Wouldn't this be the same as sending a stereo source to your audio receiver and applying Dolby Pro Logic II?Perhaps... I can't tell as my old HK A/V receiver doesn't offer Pro Logic II. :rolleyes:

Hi,
I just got my new 4805 on the wall, and we are so happy with the picture quality. We have tried several dvd's and they look amazing even with s-video.


ARe you glad you took back that other one and got the 4805 instead, hubba? :D

I am reconfiguring my basement theater, and the 4805 is now ceiling mounted behind a wall, projecting thru a 10x16" hole in the drywall. The water heater and furnace are in the area behind the wall, and noise coming in from that opening is going to be an issue.

Would glass about 2ft from the lens cause distorsion in the image? This would solve all my problems if it works, don't have a piece lying around right now to try out.

thanks in advance for all input.

Hi,

Thanks to you spyder, and a few others, I got the 4805 and am very happy with it. Of course, there may be better models but I can't tell the difference. And once prices drop I may look into something else. But what I do appreciate is the reliability that the 4805 seems to possess, since we will be using it alot.

The only thing is that I hope the price doesn't drop too much in the near future, because I will feel terrible. But we'll enjoy it until then.

I built a wall mount which cost a total of $7 or so, and for now it is doing a nice job. The only thing that I do wish is that I could get the picture higher without distorting the picture in any way.

I am planning to build a screen for it and then some shelving and cabinetry around it. This should be fun for the next few months.

How do you post pictures here? If people are interested, I can post a picture of my inexpenive mount.

Thanks!!

BobbyK just try it.... glass is cheap. :)

-W

Hi,

The only thing is that I hope the price doesn't drop too much in the near future, because I will feel terrible. But we'll enjoy it until then.



That's silly thinking, destined to dissapoint. Whatever you paid, it was a bargain for one of the collest toys to ever hit the free market. Enjoy it regardless if the price falls to $1. Who gives a crap?

See what I've posted about manual keystone correction. If you're building a screen anyway, that's the way to get it up a little.

-W

BobbyK just try it.... glass is cheap. :)

-W


i'll give it a go and post some results. could be usefull info for others as well. If it doesn't work, I'm really not looking forward to building a hush box around it...

Edmunds sells "optical glass" but nothing in their largest size comes close to what I need. I'm gonna call around some local glass shops and ask for something "non-refracting?" i guess?

Hi Clams,

Could you please explain to me what you mean your manual keystone correction, especially the shimming part. I'm not understanding.

Thanks for the help!

Hi Clams,

Could you please explain to me what you mean your manual keystone correction, especially the shimming part. I'm not understanding.

Thanks for the help!

I built my screen out of 1x2 with a single brace verticaly in the middle, using metal T and L brackets from Home Depot. So I had 2 long and 3 short pieces of wood, 4 L's and 2 T's all screwed together to make the rectangle screen.

Then when I mounted it on the wall (after stretching and staple-gunning the screen material), I used an additional long piece of 1x2 behind the top rail of the screen to angle (shim) the top out 1". I used 3 anchor screws on top, and three on the bottom to hold it to the wall. The screws for the top 3 are an inch longer.

The net result is that the screen sits on the wall slightly angled down facing the room. But it sits a few inches higher than it would have had to sit if flat to the wall, the fact that the top is an inch closer to the PJ than the bottom "corrects" for the keystoning resulting from raising the picture slightly above the "true shot" on the wall. Get it now?

-W

I finally posted new photos of my4805 installed through my living room wall. The photos are in my members photo gallery.



Thanks scottwood2. Similiar to what I have planned but my theater room will open to the attic. A very HOT Texas attic so I won't be leaving it open in the back. I'll have to close it off and insulate.

I'm also planning on using my ceiling mount in the recess rather than simply setting the projector in the opening. I think it will give me more flexibility, you know, some yaw-pitch-roll in case I ever need to move the picture around a bit to try and square it up.

Looks good. Something I can show to help increase the WAF.

-Redbird

i'll give it a go and post some results. could be usefull info for others as well. If it doesn't work, I'm really not looking forward to building a hush box around it...

Edmunds sells "optical glass" but nothing in their largest size comes close to what I need. I'm gonna call around some local glass shops and ask for something "non-refracting?" i guess?

You might actually be better off with some acrylic. When polished, it should be clearer than glass. At least that's how it worked when I was into fish tanks.

Maybe optical glass is better than that even, but acrylic is really cheap.

You might actually be better off with some acrylic. When polished, it should be clearer than glass. At least that's how it worked when I was into fish tanks.

Maybe optical glass is better than that even, but acrylic is really cheap.

this looks like a good solution! found this site and for the price its worth a gamble.

http://www.estreetplastics.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=48

there is "non-glare" and standard. hard to figure if the non glare would work for or against my purposes. any thoughts?

Hubba, you shouldn't see the prices fall too much, considering the cost of the lamp, they can't go less then double that anytime soon. Think of it in terms of CoO. (Cost of Ownership) If you replace one bulb per year, which is doubtful, you're only spending less than $1 per day for an awesome setup. Plus you can upgrade PJs at any time for very little cost out of pocket. Remember, like I said before, if you're always waiting for something better, then you're always just waiting. You definitely did the right thing. Enjoy it!

Hi,

Thanks for the good advice, I definitely feel better.

And for Clams, I understand what you mean with the manual keystone now. I'll think about that when I build the screen.

I've read some other posts of what people recommend. Since I will be leaving our 42" tv in the living room, I have to share a few connections.
Can you guys recommend a good way to share/split connections?

Thanks so much!

Thanks scottwood2. Similiar to what I have planned but my theater room will open to the attic. A very HOT Texas attic so I won't be leaving it open in the back. I'll have to close it off and insulate.

I'm also planning on using my ceiling mount in the recess rather than simply setting the projector in the opening. I think it will give me more flexibility, you know, some yaw-pitch-roll in case I ever need to move the picture around a bit to try and square it up.

Looks good. Something I can show to help increase the WAF.

-Redbird


What I did was to use 3 feet, 1 under the front and 2 under the rear. These are about 1/2 tall. To adjust to the screen I just placed small post-it note stacks under the rear feet. The shelf is tall so you don't see the post-it notes. Crude but it works great.

Quote removed.
Kyser

"Who is Kysersose?"

This post is about to find out.

Projector forum rules do not allow posting of street or retail store pricing. Only suggested retail from the manufacturer.

Just an FYI.

Yep, thought so. Anyway, hope the other questions can be answered. Thanks for ###.

What I did was to use 3 feet, 1 under the front and 2 under the rear. These are about 1/2 tall. To adjust to the screen I just placed small post-it note stacks under the rear feet. The shelf is tall so you don't see the post-it notes. Crude but it works great.

Mine is ceiling mounted. But as I recall from initial testing on a table, the little critter has a couple adjustable feet built in, one up front for pitch and one of the rear ones for roll.

Also.... I'll admit it. I reset the bulb timer so that it was at zero after the unit was all mounted and calibrated. All that testing stuff don't count. :p

-W

BrianIam, I set the ATI 9250 to 1280x720 and the 4805 recognizes it as "720p" over VGA. Of course I tried 848x480 and it doesn't work..

Another question for those who have the 4805 calibrated properly, and hooked up to a computer.. How do the colors look compared to a computer monitor, a LCD panel, or a laptop screen? Are they different?

Krasmuzik, If the Samsung DLP can display a super vibrant (unreal?) picture but can be tweaked to proper/real color fidelity can the 4805 be made to go the otherway too and get to get more vibrant but unreal colors? not tweakable like that?? Why?? Actually there were times when I display our digital photos on the Samsung we feel, "hey we look better and brighter than in reality", kind of like a studio photo, maybe even fixed up in photoshop etc.. ! But there's rarely anyone who said the picture looks worse than the person in reality :)

I think I need to see someone's setup with the proper calibration to "calibrate" my eyes and make sure my setup gets the same results.. This "whatever looks good to you" standard doesn't seem to be working right now..

Nope what you got is what you got (aside from presuming you did color/tint basic adjustments). In DLP the colors are defined by the color wheel, in LCD they are defined by color polarizers. What you get is what you get. Some manufacturers do indeed make color more vivid - as you noted it makes things look "realer" than real. But it ain't right. Best reference would be to have an ISF guy that can tweak your Samsung as it can be made dead accurate on everything - colors and greyscale. It has all the controls to bring it back to reality.

I am reconfiguring my basement theater, and the 4805 is now ceiling mounted behind a wall, projecting thru a 10x16" hole in the drywall. The water heater and furnace are in the area behind the wall, and noise coming in from that opening is going to be an issue.

Would glass about 2ft from the lens cause distorsion in the image? This would solve all my problems if it works, don't have a piece lying around right now to try out.

thanks in advance for all input.


Distortion free museum or scientific glass from Edmuds optics is not cheap. But that would solve your problems.

Hi,

One question regarding the DVI connection is the "auto adjust" feature lacking in 4805. I have used several LCD monitors. The first time you plug in the DVI (or VGA) cable, some pixels won't be as sharp as you expected, you have to choose "auto adjust" to make every pixel looks sharp. But with 4805, I cannot do that. So I can see that some pixels are not as sharp as others, is there anyway I can adjust that?

My other observation is that, VGA connection could be very good.

Right now I am using a M1-DVI to connect my laptop to 4805, before that I used VGA cable and feed 4805 with 1280x720 resulotion. The source is some downloaded piece of 1080i TS files.

VGA with 848X480 looks not good as expected, 720P through VGA improves a lot that when I plug in DVI cable later on I could hardly tell the difference. I know it might be not fair as VGA cable is 6 ft and DVI cable is 25 ft, but I just mean VGA connection could be very good.

Thanks.

A wierd thing happened last night.... I have my 4805 connected via component to my DVD player and DVI to my Comcast HD/DVR box.

So I was watching a movie , finished it and about an hour later I went to switch it to computer/DVI and it found the source but there was no picture..just a blank screen. I tried just about everything and finally I gave up, shut down the projector waited a few minutes then turned it on again, this time the image came right on.

What happened here? It was not locked in 'searching' or anything..it would lock into the computer/DVI input but no picture.

thanks

Hey also a few other kinks:

Adjusting Keystone in DVI mode is a mess...each stepping the screen goes nuts then comes back up.

In DVI mode I can change from 16:9 to Native etc very fast...in Component mode the switch is much slower.


Are these 2 items normal?

BrianIam, I set the ATI 9250 to 1280x720 and the 4805 recognizes it as "720p" over VGA.

If you are going the HTPC route, then you really need to pixel-map via DVI with proper studio levels.

Anything else is just not good enough.

If you do go DVI, which I highly recommend, you ought to try a free 7 day trial from TheaterTek.

Hey also a few other kinks:

Adjusting Keystone in DVI mode is a mess...each stepping the screen goes nuts then comes back up.

In DVI mode I can change from 16:9 to Native etc very fast...in Component mode the switch is much slower.


Are these 2 items normal?

I don't touch keystoning so I can't help you there. Switching aspect ratios are quick over dvi (and component at 480p/720p/1080i) because the faroudja is not doing any deinterlacing. At 480i (component, svideo, composite) it takes a second for the deinterlacing to adjust to the format change. At 480p, 720p, 1080i component it should also be instantaneous.

Well, I got a shorter DVI-m1 cable and still nothing. My unit was a remanufactured one. Is it possible for the DVI on the projector to be dead? I can use the vga-m1 cable that came with the projector with no problems. This is so frustrating. I was hoping it was just the original cable length I tried as doing something like RMA the 4805 will be a huge hassle. Plus, I was holding off on watching a lot of stuff until I was all pixel-mapped.

Anyone use their 4805 with a 106" graywolf?

I've got mine rear shelf mounted about 3.5 feet above my head. I think it's too bright. It looks like it's at "tv brightness" not "movie theater brightness." I would like to get an ND2 filter.

THe problem is, my wife wants me to ceiling mount it. I know this will reduce brightness (retro-reflective screen). Using the infocus calculator, if the screen gain is reduced to about 1.3, the ND2 filter should be perfect. But if it's down to 1.1 or 1.0, the ND2 filter will make it too dark (around 10 ftl).

Any ideas on 1) what the gain will be on the gray wolf from a ceiling mount position? or 2) what to do when your at 20 ftl?...it's like the three little bears.

Thanks,

Bud

Is it possible for the DVI on the projector to be dead?It's certainly possible, but I would be far more suspicious of your ATI card. Borrow another DVI/HDMI source, ie. a DVD player, or call ATI tech support and make sure your DVI port is active.

Wow, a new thread... Guess I should not take vacations from the 4805 thread. I have thought many times in over 800 hours of viewing of switching to a htpc. But, I spent the first month of ownership getting the sources I have looking the way that I want. And as of now am not ready to put that kind of time back into the tune my set up. It is still football season and that rules over my powerful urge to tinker. I must be off... Component tuned is wonderful, I love it... And so does my family and friends, some I forgot were friends until they watched a game in hd on 100' screen...

Anyone use their 4805 with a 106" graywolf?

I've got mine rear shelf mounted about 3.5 feet above my head. I think it's too bright. It looks like it's at "tv brightness" not "movie theater brightness." I would like to get an ND2 filter.

THe problem is, my wife wants me to ceiling mount it. I know this will reduce brightness (retro-reflective screen). Using the infocus calculator, if the screen gain is reduced to about 1.3, the ND2 filter should be perfect. But if it's down to 1.1 or 1.0, the ND2 filter will make it too dark (around 10 ftl).

Any ideas on 1) what the gain will be on the gray wolf from a ceiling mount position? or 2) what to do when your at 20 ftl?...it's like the three little bears.

Thanks,

Bud

Most movie theaters have anywhere from 5ftl to 12 ftl and they don't seem to get many complaints. I'm passed 1000 hours on my 4805 and it still looks great with the nd2 filter on and I imagine I'm somewhere below 10ftl.

I'm passed 1000 hours on my 4805 and it still looks great with the nd2 filter on and I imagine I'm somewhere below 10ftl.I'm at 2,081 hrs and just took my ND2 off. It's still too bright so it's going back on!

It's certainly possible, but I would be far more suspicious of your ATI card. Borrow another DVI/HDMI source, ie. a DVD player, or call ATI tech support and make sure your DVI port is active.

Well, I am trying to get ahold of a different DVI source. That was a solution I had heard..."enable DVI port" but I can't figure how to do that. In the displays tab of the older style ATI control panel...I'm using drivers from like Sept...it won't let me enable the DFP monitor tab...it is greyed out.

Well, I got a shorter DVI-m1 cable and still nothing. My unit was a remanufactured one. Is it possible for the DVI on the projector to be dead? I can use the vga-m1 cable that came with the projector with no problems. This is so frustrating. I was hoping it was just the original cable length I tried as doing something like RMA the 4805 will be a huge hassle. Plus, I was holding off on watching a lot of stuff until I was all pixel-mapped.

Yes its possible and unfortunately likely. I and several others have had this issue. Here is the BIG problem. Infocus will test it with a signal generator. The signal generator will show the port working just fine. They will return it to you. You will have the same issue because as of this date, Infocus is not checking this problem with an actual computer source and attempting to find a fix.

Hope that it is the card or that Infocus has changed their testing technique....

[QUOTE=Brian I Am]Yes its possible and unfortunately likely. I and several others have had this issue. QUOTE]

What issue? You just lost the DVI input? Just like that or did it gradually go out? What is the common problem , is it the video board or?

Well, I got a shorter DVI-m1 cable and still nothing. My unit was a remanufactured one. Is it possible for the DVI on the projector to be dead? I can use the vga-m1 cable that came with the projector with no problems. This is so frustrating. I was hoping it was just the original cable length I tried as doing something like RMA the 4805 will be a huge hassle. Plus, I was holding off on watching a lot of stuff until I was all pixel-mapped.



What happens when you connect the DVI-m1 cable? What is your source?

Does it just sit there and say searching then choose another input or does it say the resolution and hz then just sit at a blank screen?

i'll give it a go and post some results. could be usefull info for others as well. If it doesn't work, I'm really not looking forward to building a hush box around it...

Edmunds sells "optical glass" but nothing in their largest size comes close to what I need. I'm gonna call around some local glass shops and ask for something "non-refracting?" i guess?

Bobby_K,

A small word of caution. You mentioned in your earlier post that the furnace and water heater is behind the theater room. How clean is that area? If not it should be your bigger concern.

Just my 2c.

Does anybody know where I can buy the 76" Infocus screen (model HW-HTSCREEN76)? I googled for it but all are out till Dec 27/05.

What happens when you connect the DVI-m1 cable? What is your source?

Does it just sit there and say searching then choose another input or does it say the resolution and hz then just sit at a blank screen?

I just got back from a friend's house and tried it on his Nvidia based computer and it still didn't work. I have tried auto source/autoimage and manually selecting computer as the source and still nothing. All I get is a blank screen with searching... even if you set computer input, after a few seconds it shows "searching..." I guess I'll have to RMA it.

All I get is a blank screen with searchingI assume you have enabled the DVI input on the projector. Call Infocus tech support and trouble-shoot it with them before asking for an RMA.

I know I promised earlier that I'd post some screen shots of the
Xbox 360, but it took me alot longer to get used to using my new
camera than I thought it would.

Anyway, this shot is from the Kameo demo that I downloaded onto
the Xbox 360 and is an actual gameplay shot. It's far from perfect,
but I'm starting to get close to taking some pretty good screen shots
with the camera.

It's actually pretty difficult to do because I can't pause the game without
an info box blocking almost the entire screen, so there is a lot of
movement going on in the background and Kameo herself is constantly
fidgeting.

This image is smaller than the actual size. Photobucketresizes anything
over 512KB, so this photo is cropped.


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/smithfarmer/2005_1211Kameo0015.jpg

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/8238/kameo12pr.jpg


I'll be taking some more shots of this game and PGR3
during the week and should have them posted over the weekend.

I googled for it Did you FROOGLE (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?btnG=Search+Froogle&q=HW-HTSCREEN76&lmode=online&scoring=p) it?

I assume you have enabled the DVI input on the projector. Call Infocus tech support and trouble-shoot it with them before asking for an RMA.

Wait, enable it on the projector? How? I just enable "computer" source, right? It's using fw 1.13...I might try changing the firmware just to exhaust all options.

Nope what you got is what you got (aside from presuming you did color/tint basic adjustments). In DLP the colors are defined by the color wheel, in LCD they are defined by color polarizers. What you get is what you get. Some manufacturers do indeed make color more vivid - as you noted it makes things look "realer" than real. But it ain't right. Best reference would be to have an ISF guy that can tweak your Samsung as it can be made dead accurate on everything - colors and greyscale. It has all the controls to bring it back to reality.

Krasmuzik, thanks.

I'm beginning to get the "color wheel is destiny" thing..

I'm watching "Pianist" as I type now, and the skin tones and the people and details on the PJ look really good. This Adrian Brody guy's big nose looks like it'll poke me if I'm not careful :)

Now, how is it that with the colorwheel that Samsung has it's able to produce "vivid" and "real" colors with appropriate tweaking, but the 4805 only produces "real" colors? Why does the Samsung implementation make multiple destinies possible while the 4805 accomodates only 1 destiny ? :) Like you guessed, I tried messing with all the gains and contrast and gamma and any change from the defaults only make things worse! There seems be very little to tweak in the 4805..

If possible, I'd have liked two presets, 1 "real" like the 4805 for all movies etc., and 1 "vivid" like the Samsung for watching things like Discovery HD with its super bright butterflies and what not. I might train myself to dislike the "vivid" look in due course of time, but I think to most untrained eyes (everyone outside this forum!) the "vivid" look might be preferable..

Here are a few more shots. They aren't that good, but I figured I'd post em anyway. My apologies to those with a 56k connection.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/smithfarmer/2005_1211Kameo0010.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/smithfarmer/2005_1211Kameo0009.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/smithfarmer/2005_1211Kameo0001.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/smithfarmer/2005_1211Kameo0014.jpg

[QUOTE]What issue? You just lost the DVI input? Just like that or did it gradually go out? What is the common problem , is it the video board or?[QUOTE]

The issue is the DVI portion of the M1 ceases to funtion. Instantly. It is a known issue in that other owners, including technicans, have been through entire process with IF which is how the signal generator issue was discovered. From IF's standpoint, if the signal generator produces a working DVI signal, then the unit is good. Unfortunatly, none of us wanted to watch sine waves, we wanted to watch movies, from our PC's. I would HIGHLY suggeest a detailed explanation be included in the box when you return the unit, begging someone there test it with a PC before sending it back out the door.

My apologies to those with a 56k connection.One pix ... OK. But this is MUCH overkill. Put your images in your gallery like everyone else! And then edit out all but one in this thread. IMHO.

I think to most untrained eyes (everyone outside this forum!) the "vivid" look might be preferable.That's the reason Samsung does that ... it impresses the impressionable (the "unwashed") in the showroom and moves more boxes!

Here are a few more shots. They aren't that good, but I figured I'd post em anyway. My apologies to those with a 56k connection.


Apology accepted.... Captian Needar

cavu, I would have put them in my gallery but then they would have been too small to see the detail. Quite a few people are curious to see what the Xbox 360 looks like on the 4805 and the gallery just doesn't cut it for some images.

I'll post links to the shots next time in order to avoid inconveniencing the 56K folks such as yourself.

Apology accepted.... Captian Needar

Thank you sir ! ;)


I do realize that screen shots can be a burden for the 56k folks.

To some of them though, the trouble is well worth it.

they would have been too small to see the detailThere are lots of better places to put hires images than in this thread. Here is one example of a 2288x1712 image (http://www.frappr.com/under3500msrpdigitalprojectorowners/photo/597925) of a SP4805 display on a 4805-related site. Try it.

BTW, you can find that same image in my gallery. I used a second, cropped copy to display the "detail".

IAC, I am on an 7Mb connection. The issue is one of netiquette.

If you do go DVI, which I highly recommend, you ought to try a free 7 day trial from TheaterTek.

What happens after the 7 days is up? Does it just stop working? How much do they want?

Also, does it (TT) have a way to handle non-anamorphic titles. I have a few non-anamorphic widescreen titles that work fine on the little monitor, but pixel mapped over DVI they are letterboxed on all 4 sides. WTF causes that anyway?


-W

I just got back from a friend's house and tried it on his Nvidia based computer and it still didn't work. I have tried auto source/autoimage and manually selecting computer as the source and still nothing. All I get is a blank screen with searching... even if you set computer input, after a few seconds it shows "searching..." I guess I'll have to RMA it.


Sounds like you could have a bad cable...id change that first and change input sources as well.

Well, I got my refurb.

What a beaut! I love it.

I'm projecting from 15 feet back, displaying a 100" image on a DIY Do-able board.

The projector is mounted on top of a shelf behind my couch inside of a custom box type frame so the projector is upside down.

I will post pictures of that later.

The camera is a Kodak Easyshare with 3.1 megapixels so some of the images are a bit darker than reality and don't show all the detail.

The camera is set back with the projector and zoomed in to get the full screen.

So, without further ado, here they are.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d54/phantomrahl/


Posted this one because it is my favorite.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/phantomrahl/100_1095.jpg

I figured while I do some moving and upgrading to my new sound system I would just use the plugin sound from the projector... thing is horrible! Why did they even put that in? Leave it out in favor of more inputs or something... Gah!

I figured while I do some moving and upgrading to my new sound system I would just use the plugin sound from the projector... thing is horrible! Why did they even put that in? Leave it out in favor of more inputs or something... Gah!

I think it's just so the think can claim to "stand alone".
Ya it sucks. But I used it during my initial testing with just a DVD player and the PJ, was better than silent pictures.

-W

Does anybody else feel the ND2 filter darkens the picture a little too much. I only have 15 hours on my new 4805 projector...so its at the brightest at this point.

Does anybody else feel the ND2 filter darkens the picture a little too much. I only have 15 hours on my new 4805 projector...so its at the brightest at this point.

It just feels that way when you ist put it on. If you give it a couple weeks fair trial, you'll learn to love it. If you're <100" diagonal, it's not too dim. Make sure you use the THX calibrator to get it dialed in close to home.

-W

Does anybody else feel the ND2 filter darkens the picture a little too much. I only have 15 hours on my new 4805 projector...so its at the brightest at this point.


Do you have a new pj or referb? I do not think the bulbs on the referbs are new so that could be it, but to answer the question, it does not darken the picture.

It just feels that way when you ist put it on. If you give it a couple weeks fair trial, you'll learn to love it.
I'd second that. Most people find it dim in a quick comparison, give it a while a see if you don't prefer it.

Does anybody else feel the ND2 filter darkens the picture a little too much?Asking the question that way is like:

If I reduce the speed of my car, am I going too slow?

-or-

If I cut my rope in half, is it too short?

To review the purpose of the ND2 filter in the first place:

"Hollywood" (SMPTE) standards state that the brightness of a cinema screen should be 16 foot-lamberts with no film in the gate. With the film in the gate, the brightness can be considerably less. 12 foot-lamberts is a good target brightness.

The Infocus SP4805 is a very bright projector. In low-power, in "film/D65" mode, it puts out about 600 lumens. Using a nominal 92" screen with 1.0 gain, the image brightness is 24 foot-lamberts or about twice the desired level. Using an ND2 filter will reduce the brightness by half to 12 foot-lamberts - the target brightness.

Now to your situation:

If you are using a larger screen, say 106" with 1.0 gain, the unfiltered brightness will only be 18 foot-lamberts. Using the ND2 filter will reduce that to 9 foot-lamberts, or about 3/4 of the desired brightness level. That might be considered too low, particularily if you have high ambient light levels. If your screen gain is only 0.8 your brightness would be down to 7 foot-lamberts.

Whether "ND2 filter darkens the picture a little too much", is entirely dependent on your setup, your screen size, the gain of your screen and your personal expectations.

If you are trying to reproduce the bright, bluish appearance of a typical TV, you will be disappointed. You have to judge for yourself.

Well I have had my 4805 a little over a year and still love it but will be looking to upgrade sooner then later.

But before I do I would like to see how my PC games look on it.

I am using the DVI connection for my satellite, and will therefore have to use the component input. To accomplish this I am looking to purchase a DVI to component adapter.

Has anyone played any PC games on their 4805?

Cheers!

I haven't really messed with it much as I am still not 100% sure exactly what effect it is supposed to have or to counter. I am of the belief if is to help with ambient light setups...

Sounds like you could have a bad cable...id change that first and change input sources as well.

Well, this is my second cable. I am using Monoprice cables. Wait, I am trying their DVI-D to M1-D(P&D) 28AWG cable which I assume is what I want, right?

They also sell DVI-I to M1-I(P&D) 28AWG cable but that's not digital, right? That's NOT the one I should want?

DVI-D or DVI-IYou can use either. Get the least expensive.

DVI-D is "digital only"
DVI-I is "digital and analog"

You can use either. Get the least expensive.

DVI-D is "digital only"
DVI-I is "digital and analog"


Ahh, yeah now I remember that. But the DVI-D ones I tried should have worked though. I am going to contact Infocus with regards to this. Heh, if I have to RMA it, I doubt I'll see it again until 2006.

Been mostly a lurker & don't want to violate any posting rules, so I'll simply ask has anyone seen the 4805 on one of the big box store websites? The one with the double rebate that expires 12/17 & is this a big deal? I picked one up & just wanted to pass this along in case it helps (at the risk of a protocol breech.)

First post here at AVS but the 4805 thread is a masterpiece, learned everything I needed to know about setting up my new 4805 here.

I'm interested in using an XB360 to play DVDs, I'm wondering if you've had a chance to compare the 720P feed from the 360 to a 480i feed from a regular DVD player with the 4805 handling de-interlacing?

I just bought a Yamaha DV-S5750 player (replaced a JVC XV-FA900) which puts out the best picture I've seen from an affordable DVD player, but I'm thinking hard about the 360 (would be nice to consolidate my music library).

Mark

I use my 4805 with my 360. I run it at 720p. I am new to the world of projectors, this is my first , just got it about 4 weeks ago. I know im not at true 720p res, but i can tell a difference over 480i/p for sure....I myself, am trying to find an article about how good the 4805 and 360 really are together....anyways, here are a few real bad pictures of the 4805 running Perfect Dark Zero on the 360.

blah since I am new, first post i cant post urls...i need 5 posts GRRRRR

First post here at AVS but the 4805 thread is a masterpiece, learned everything I needed to know about setting up my new 4805 here.

I'm interested in using an XB360 to play DVDs, I'm wondering if you've had a chance to compare the 720P feed from the 360 to a 480i feed from a regular DVD player with the 4805 handling de-interlacing?

I just bought a Yamaha DV-S5750 player (replaced a JVC XV-FA900) which puts out the best picture I've seen from an affordable DVD player, but I'm thinking hard about the 360 (would be nice to consolidate my music library).

Mark

The xbox360 will play movie dvds in 480p, not 720p.

I noticed one of the big box stores had the 4805 in their weekly ad. Does that mean these units are still being made? I was under the impression that Infocus was letting existing stock clear out before the replacement is out this spring.

Speaking of which, I am really on the fence as to whether I should grab a 4805 now or wait for the replacement. Any thoughts?

First off, since there is no mention that they are referbs, it appears that they are still being produced. I also heard, but cannot confirm that the later ones may have quieter fans and who knows what else enhancements (still cannot confirm this).

There is no guarantee that a newer ones will show better than the 4805 for home use. I say grab one now and then wait for all the reviews, opinions and bugs of the newer one to come out.

I believe the XB360 can upsample to 720p or 1080i, with 4X antialiasing. I'm interested in feeding the 4805 720P or 1080i output (from 480p source material) using the 360. I'm also wondering how the 360 does in terms of de-interlacing versus the Faroudja. I'd probably go for a 1080i feed from the 360 having seen what it looks like through the 4805.

I do some HDV video shooting/editing as well as digital photography for a living. I do alot of digital imaging work in Photoshop, and I've observed that it is better to upsample an image, then apply sharpening, and finally downsample it to output resolution - as opposed to simply applying sharpening at the original resolution. The same goes for creating web video - better to apply sharpening/effects before downsampling.

So long as the interpolation algorythms are good, this is the best workflow to enhance edges without halo artifacts or increasing noise.

Since the 4805 has a good scaler -- I watched footage from my Sony HDV camcorder (1080i component output) and I'm very impressed -- I think using a 360 to upsample would work. Surely the 360 does a better job of upsampling video than lower-end DVD players.

Anyhow that's the route I'm going to explore, just wanted to know if anybody has already done a comparison. The original post I quoted noted that the 720p feed from the 360 looked superior to the 480p feed, that's what got me thinking.

Mark



The xbox360 will play movie dvds in 480p, not 720p.

Krasmuzik, thanks.

I'm beginning to get the "color wheel is destiny" thing..

I'm watching "Pianist" as I type now, and the skin tones and the people and details on the PJ look really good. This Adrian Brody guy's big nose looks like it'll poke me if I'm not careful :)

Now, how is it that with the colorwheel that Samsung has it's able to produce "vivid" and "real" colors with appropriate tweaking, but the 4805 only produces "real" colors? Why does the Samsung implementation make multiple destinies possible while the 4805 accomodates only 1 destiny ? :) Like you guessed, I tried messing with all the gains and contrast and gamma and any change from the defaults only make things worse! There seems be very little to tweak in the 4805..

If possible, I'd have liked two presets, 1 "real" like the 4805 for all movies etc., and 1 "vivid" like the Samsung for watching things like Discovery HD with its super bright butterflies and what not. I might train myself to dislike the "vivid" look in due course of time, but I think to most untrained eyes (everyone outside this forum!) the "vivid" look might be preferable..

I am currently working on getting qualified on the Samsungs with SethS A/VPRO http://www.avconsulting.us/ network of calibrators - it is not easy! I don't think it has memories for the color - it is a global adjustment. They just use a deeper color in the colorwheel - for FP this usually is not good because it makes things really dim - but works OK for RPTV. Samsung hires video consultants who make sure it has all the controls to be perfectly dialed back in - but like every other TV it has to look "realer" than real on the showroom floor - if anyone put a calibrated TV on the floor nobody would buy it. HT Mag gave their front projector a lukewarm review because it compromised brightness/contrast for perfect video standards - but it is so perfect it gets used in hollywood screening rooms. Color is complicated on calibration because HD color is more vivid than SD color - but exactly which should you use to watch DVD on your HD set - and what about Discovery HD?

Smudge marks perhaps?. i just noticed what appears to be white "smudge" looking mark on the top right of my viewing area. Shows up as a white light especially during dark scenes. I cleaned the lens ( non-abrasive cleaner and cloth) and blew the dust out of the lamp housing grills, as well as the lamp itself etc but it has made no change. Im thinking it might be dust on the mirror inside but i called the Oregon office and they said I cant get at it without tools...any suggestions? if its a simple enough task then i'll take it apart myself vs shipping from BC Canada to Kentucky which is where they said it had to go for service....

i'll take it apart myself vs shipping from BC Canada to Kentucky which is where they said it had to go for service....There is a warranty service depot in the Vancouver area. Canadian units do not have to go to Kentucky. PM me if you need the address.

There are numerous posts about cleaning the mirror on this forum including a visual guide by "supergoop" - I have a dust blob as well on my new 4805. I don't think I'm going to fix it though, it really doesn't interfere with much except for credits & fade-to-black transitions. Do a search for dust blob cleaning & you should find out if you want to tackle it yourself.

Smudge marks perhaps?. i just noticed what appears to be white "smudge" looking mark on the top right of my viewing area. Shows up as a white light especially during dark scenes. I cleaned the lens ( non-abrasive cleaner and cloth) and blew the dust out of the lamp housing grills, as well as the lamp itself etc but it has made no change. Im thinking it might be dust on the mirror inside but i called the Oregon office and they said I cant get at it without tools...any suggestions? if its a simple enough task then i'll take it apart myself vs shipping from BC Canada to Kentucky which is where they said it had to go for service....