Not too many postings on this projector lately. What say ye (I just read Moby Dick), mateys? Are you still happy with the projector? Are the sealed optics working out? Bulbs lasting? Speak out and let the fence-sitters know!

We've all been too busy watching our PJs to comment. :D

I only have 112-ish hours on the bulb, so I can't really comment on bulb life.

Nor can I really give any input on the sealed optics, although I haven't had any problems. Vaccumed the other day, not much dust was on the fans. BTW, I really like the open side-vent design of the Sharp due to those sealed optics...with all the air these three (quiet) fans pull through, there should never really be any cooling issues.

Anyway, I'm still loving the image. HDTV, DVDs and Xbox 360 all continue to shine, especially after I spent time with calibration.

The projector is Great! Building up hours rather quick on the bulb :)

One thing I have discovered about the projector is SRGB mode using the HTPC. I used to use movie mode on the projector. It looks great. However, I tried SRGB and I think the picture is much improved over the movie mode, like a different gamma mode or something. Have any other Sharp XR10-X users tried SRGB mode with an HTPC? What did you think?

I haven't tried my PC on it yet, but with DVD, HDTV, SDTV, and Xbox1...this PJ is still a big WOW after about 300 hours on it.
Can't wait to watch the Superbowl in HD this weekend!
As destiny would have it, my hometown team made it to the Superbowl on the first one that I have a PJ to watch it on!

And as evilboy said, a nice quick vacuum on the sides to clear any bit of dust from those awesomely quiet fans is all the maintenance I have had to do.

Still watching it nightly and still liking it quite well. Too well probably from the way the hours a climbing.

Michael

Hi:
This is my post in the projector area of AVS. I used to hang out in the flat panel section of the site. However, I read a review about the Optoma H27 in the Oct 05 issue of Home Theater and that sparked my interest in projectors. I spent a couple of weeks reading threads in the under $3500 projector area of AVS until I stumble into a couple of threads that mentioned the Sharp XR-10X and I decided to take the plunge. The decision was made relatively easy as I am a Sam's Club member, which is where I got the projector. I have been tweaking it (bought the ND2 62mm filter) until it is finally at a point where I am very satisfied with it. I am currently projecting on a cut-out from a drywall sheet and the image is quite good. I get a 16:9 image about 70-inch diagonal.

DVDs are great and HD is just superb, better than my 42-inch Panny ED plasma. However, DVDs are better on the plasma, but by no means I am disastified with the DVD image from the projector. I just think they can look better if I get the right screen for the projector. I am concerned that I wil have to spend a lot to get noticeable improvements over the drywall (it is that good). I tried some dark gray and white cloth from a locall Wally and that was just no good. The drywall beat them both by a lot. Anyway, I just finished painting a side of the drywall cut-out silver and tomorrow will try it to see what it looks like.
This Sharp projectos is definitely high value. I cannot imagine anything looking better for close to its current selling price. I have completely scrapped my plans to get a 50-inch plasma. It just would not make any sense for me.

I am considering buying this projector, and am curious about your guys' experiences with ambient light.

This would be a replacement for my current 53" RPTV HDTV. The room isn't flooded with light or anything, but we eat in front of the tv every night, and need to be able to see our food. :)

So, will this be usable, in your opinions, in a medium ambient light situation?

Thanks.

I eat with one lamp on, each night, while watching.
It's plenty watchable with the lamp on.

Yeah, I'm sure it would be fine, Gooner. We eat in front of it every night too. The only lighting in the room is 4 sconses (sp) with low wattage bulbs that are controlled on a dimmer. They're always on but on a very low setting.

Many times when we're eating though the wife asks for a lil more light to see her food (for some reason I dont have that problem), so I'll turn them up some. I dont like doing that, but not because it really affects the picture at all as far as I'm concerned. I just like a darker setting. So I just turn them back down when shes done.

Thanks guys. Basically, I have the lights on in the adjacent dining room, though none of the light directly hits the screen. My wife as well likes a lamp on, but it throws all of its light at the ceiling, and can be dimmed.

But what about in the daytime? I never watch with blinds open as it washes out my RPTV as well. But even with blinds closed there is a little light. Enough to read a book by anyway. Could I watch it then too?

I just want to make sure that I can reliably replace my RPTV before I sell it, buy the projector, set it up, and then find out that it isn't great for my needs.

Please... continue to set my mind at ease please.

Installed our second in the bedroom today. With a 75 watt ceiling light on and projecting to the beige/yellow wall, it still looks beautiful. Im running it on econ mode so it is whisper quiet. (approx 92" 16:9).

Last time I checked I was passing 350 hours - in 2.5 months...don't want to check anymore since it tells me how many hours I've had my butt in the chair instead of doing something I'm supposed to be doing...like my wife's list...

This is my first projector and I think it is excellent. My only gripe is the minimal zoom (1.2) - although that is a normal number for business projectors. I want my 2.35 films to be 96" wide and 1.33 material to be about 72 " wide so I built a sliding ceiling mount to allow me to physically move the projectors distance to the wall (sortof a poor mans constant area set-up.)

I too leave the lights on and can watch most material..although something like Lord of the Rings would be tough to watch in it's darker scenes with a lamp throwing light directly on the screen.

I would recommend this approach over RPTV, LCD or plasma any day!

Last time I checked I was passing 350 hours - in 2.5 months...don't want to check anymore since it tells me how many hours I've had my butt in the chair instead of doing something I'm supposed to be doing...like my wife's list...



I hear ya there. I just looked today and have 409 hours since the first week of December.

One thing too I noticed is along with the hours it showed 89% "life left". That would equate to almost 4000 hours.

Or does it work like a fuel gauge in a car where the needle stays above half full longer than it does below it.. so when I get to like 2500 hours it'll only show 10% left. ;)

I love mine.I use a HTPC setup with Zoomplayer and FFSHOW and the picture is amazing. I also have it hooked up to my Dish HDTV reciever and I notice that 1080i looks alot better than 720p,the only reason I say that is because the projector I had before this one was an OPTOMA xga projector and 720p looked better than 1080i.I guess all projectors are different.The only thing I am worried about is the component out only doing half the rez for HD-DVD AND BR.

Yeah I'm closing in on an XR10 upgrade (from SVGA BenQ DLP) and all the noise about half res HD-DVD frightens me, too. But then I realized that 540p isn't much of a step down from the 576p or whatever the 16x9 XGA equals out to be.. but then it's only 60 lines (pixels) up from what DVD is right now.
This calls for math.
Ok down-rezed HD-DVD may be only 60 lines more than DVD, but it's 172,000 (rounded) more pixels than DVD, or a 50% increase.
On the negative side, it's a 12% pixel reduction from 576p (the 16x9 XGA resolution).

So I think even if BR/HD-DVD do only give half-res via component (and component only is the reason the Sharp is so cheap) it's still 50% higher res than DVD and pretty close to maxing out the possible resolution of an XGA. That about answers my coming question, 'Are we sure there's no comparable dvi-enabled XGA in at price point close to the Sharp?'

I wish there was some 540p material to compare.I really like my Sharp but I still have the option to return it at any time and try the OPTOMA 745 ,which Costco also sells as it has DVI out.

I too leave the lights on and can watch most material..although something like Lord of the Rings would be tough to watch in it's darker scenes with a lamp throwing light directly on the screen.

I highly recommend using a dimmer on your theater room lights. Being able to adjust the lights to match the video you're watching is great. I use a X10 brand pc remote to control a lamp.

Hello Everyone:

I have been playing with the XR-10X for the last two weeks and I can say that I am very satisfied with the unit's performance. However, I notice that using the VGA to component cable that came with the unit I am not able to output a 480p signal from my DVD player (Panny RP-82) to the Sharp (I have already enabled progressive out at the DVD player). The Sharp indicates the signal from the DVD player (Input 1) is 480i. I suspect that the 480p can be better as I know there is some room for improvement on the DVD image displayed. Does anyone know how to get the XR-10X to displayed a 480p signal (assuming the projector is capable of doing that)? I called Sharp's customer support, but they were not able to figure it out. Thanks in advance.

My XR-10x switches from 480i to 480p after the DVD starts. I'm using a ps2 set to progressive mode on component out. You positive the DVD player is actually outputting in progressive? Some have to have component enabled in addition to progressive. My other dvd player was that way, there was actually a toggle switch on the back for either component or svideo out, and while pg in the menu could be turned on or off regardless of what output was used it only acutally worked when that switch was in component position.

My XR-10x switches from 480i to 480p after the DVD starts. I'm using a ps2 set to progressive mode on component out. You positive the DVD player is actually outputting in progressive? Some have to have component enabled in addition to progressive. My other dvd player was that way, there was actually a toggle switch on the back for either component or svideo out, and while pg in the menu could be turned on or off regardless of what output was used it only acutally worked when that switch was in component position.
just got my 10 x took a gamble sience i only seen it on the 20 inch display screen at sams but it was the highest res dlp for a entry level price. ive seen a lot of projectors at local stores like the high dollar sharps, a sims machine ,sp 5000 ,epson homelite 50 ,and 200 and on pixel structure and on screen door effect this projector in my opinon is just as good as any ive seen the blacks probably arnt quite as good as the priceyer stuff but im blown away by this machine it doesent have digital in but when hooked up to my dvd player with composite ,s video or componet it looks about the same and the picture is awsome i can sit like 5 foot from a 106 inch image with a soft de- focus and hardly see screen door at all and much better than any lcd ive ever seen. im very sensitive to screen door and that is my number one issue and im completly happey in that department.hooked up to dish tv is not that great but thats the limitation of the sattalite signal hi def sattalite would definitly be in order for watching tv at a high quality.

bottom line if screendoor effect is your number one issue and you want to stay under a grand this is the projector to buy the only thing that would make this projector any better is digital input if you need it and maybe darker blacks but dont get me wrong for the average viewer they will never notice this.

Having owned a Panasonic player myself, I can indeed confirm that you need to set the player to progressive in TWO places. Not only do you have to enable "progressive out" in the video section of the main menu, but you also have to set the Video Output mode to "480p" in the Picture Menu.

Check your manual...I checked the one on Panasonic's website for the RP-82 and confirmed that this procedure is correct.

How fortutious that you guys are using the RP-82, as I have that one also.

So the picture looks great with the RP-82 and the Sharp?

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on this one.

Question... if I buy from Costco, and I decide I don't like the way it looks, can i bring it back just for that? Does there have to be something wrong with it?

See, I have some buyers on Craigslist interested in my RPTV, and i don't want to sell it until i know I am going to love the projector. So I need to be able to buy the projector, watch it for a couple of days, and then if I like it keep it and sell the RPTV, and if I don't, I can return it?

Talk to Costco about it. Personally, I talked with Sam's club about it and it sounded pretty no hassle to me.... One of the reason's why I bought it at Sam's club over other places... Wouldn't want to pay one of those "return fees".... I took it home to compare with my Infocus X1. No comparison, the Sharp XR-10X blows it away....

Bikerzero, if you want darker blacks, all you have to do is buy a "cheap" 62mm ND2 filter. It actually serves as a lens protector as well. When you accidentally touch the lens, you could scratch it. If you scratch the ND2 filter, all you have to do is buy another one....

Projector Central just put up a review of the Sharp XR-20X which is very, very similar to the Sharp XR-10X. The Sharp XR-20X is basically a brighter version of the Sharp XR-10X. For home use, I would stick with the Sharp XR-10X. It's too bad that Evan Powell (Projector Central Guru) didn't mention anything about using an ND2 filter on the projector to "darken the blacks" and improve the overall picture quality in movie mode.

It sounds like he really liked the idea that the projector is a 3x color wheel for improving the picture over other 2x color wheel projectors like the Infocus X1 and other "business type" projectors. Personally, I think he should have reviewed the Sharp XR-10X over the Sharp XR-20X. The Sharp XR10X can be easily purchased under a grand while the Sharp XR-20X is usually over a grand. A grand being a "Major cut-off point" for many purchasers of projectors.

After a 100 plus hours I’m totally happy. 72 x 96 screen with a light gray surface and the blacks in ecno-mode are awesome. “see my link below for some screen shots” Works great with a fair amount of light at the viewer end of the room. Input 1 or 2 is the way to go for sure improves the picture to perfection off DVD’s
One thing to think about if you buy from Sam’s and take the extended warranty for about $70 that will cover the bulb for the full length of the manufactures warranty and then 3 more years. Well worth the $70 IMO.

Sams Club warranty is nice but Costco is a lifetime return policy even if there is nothing wrong with it, no questions asked.

Thanks to ss69camaro350 and Evilboy for their responses on how to get the RP-82 to output a 480p signal. Their responses were very helpful. I was able to get the DVD player to output a 480p signal by pressing a button on the front of the unit which also enables progressive. I immediately noticed an improvement in the picture quality (about 15% better). While playing with the DVD player, I also tried the cinema modes (accessible through the Cinema button on the remote). I selected Cinema2 and that helped with detail in dark scenes as advertised in the RP-82 manual. I still think there is room for improvement. I suspect my "screen" is the limiting factor here. I first used a section of drywall and now I am using an old vinyl blind I had laying around as my screen. Tomorrow I am going to Home Depot and Lowe's to see if I find any of those Parkland or similar sheets other posters had liked so much. If I cannot get the Parkland-like material, I will order one of the portable Da-Lite High Power screens. Has anyone with an XR-10X tried any of the Da-Lite High Power screens? I will post again after I have changed my screen with my impressions of the changes.

I have a Da-lite matte white and it looks awesome.High power might be too much for the Sharp.

stratman50:
Do you have the ND2 filter? I put one on my Sharp and it cut down on glare and improved the contrast ratio quite a bit. Maybe the ND2 and Sharp together may be a good combination with the Da-Lite HP. It would be great if someone had already tried that combination.

These Projector Central reviews are starting to look more and more like spec sheets with very little new information.

" First, it raised the bar for business/classroom DLP projectors by moving to a 3x color wheel." Sharp has been selling XGA DLPs with 3x color wheels for 4 years now.

How about some real information? How does it compare to the older XGA DLP chips?

No I have not tried the filter yet but I have been meaning to get one.

Glad you got the 480p output to work. I figured it had to be the case that there was a 2nd place you needed to enable it. That seems quite common anymore...why they (mfgs) gotta make it hard I dunno. I need to get me an ND2 filter, as I can't stand the brightness anymore and the CP isn't gonna cut it, I guess its already been tried and while it kinda works it messes up other detail and an ND2 will be much better. I also need a good screen, right now I'm just shooting onto the bare ceiling, which is painted beige. FOr the most part its good, but after awhile the textured swirls in my ceiling get distracting and annoying in the image. Has anyone tried a simple vinyl window shade? I thought about that for a cheap DIY solution as I could barely afford (correction, I couldn't afford the PJ, had to borrow money off my parents after a lot of whining and persuasion) so I definitely cannot afford a "proper" screen at $89 being he cheapest. So I need somethin quick and easy, for now. I have blackout cloth, but thats so darn hard to get up on the cieling, plus I'd have to buy another lengh of it as I now have a larger image and have already cut my 1st length too small cuz I was using that w/ the other PJ in a diffrent config.

ss69camaro350:

I am currently using an old vinyl shade I had laying around. The picture with the shade is quite good, but I know it can still be better. However, I suspect it will take a significantly larger investment to effect more improvement. I tried drywall, some gray and white fabrics, and a leather-like fabric. None has given me the image I get from my 42-inch Panny ED plasma with DVDs. HD is excellent and not an area where improvement is needed, although improvement with DVDs should translate to a better HD picture. You can get the vinyl shade at Lowe's or Home Depot for about $15. The brand is Levolor. I would also suggest you get a white shade which is almost a light gray. Light gray to me has looked better than white and dark gray.

I think I am going to get a better VGA to RCA cable or adapter. I briefly tried the Sharp with an LG HD tuner/DVD player using the VGA (RGB) cable supplied with the Sharp and immediately noticed an improvement in the DVD playback. However, the copyright protection over RGB stopped the image transmission (the DVD player kept on playing the DVD, but there was not image on the screen.

Take care

thanks for the tip on a filter if the blacks are a little darker ill be as happy as if i had a 10,000$ dollar sharp to me every thing else is fine oh and anyone that wants a good solution to a screen my wall is painted ceiling white witch is a lot brighter than wall white i did this about 2 moths ago when i moved in to my house and it works great i have a screen on order cause the projector is going down stairs and i neet to be able to pull my screen down and put it away when i want to use the other tv othewise id be happy with a nice smooth wall painted celing white note ceiling white is the whitist white you can buy

The ceiling white is most likely the reason you are not as happy as you could be with the blacks on this projector. I started out bright white with my XR-10X and thru experimenting found a very light gray improved my picture immensely. It made the blacks darker colors richer and whites stayed very bright.
The link below has pictures that show the gray I used.

Hello, All, I am looking at this projector at Costco and think I might go for it. I am wondering how you chose this over the other projectors that are in the same price range. I was also looking at the 4805. I haven't been able to find any direct comparisons that would correlate to my particular setting, so forgive me if this is an area that has been covered previously.

My setting is a loft above the family room. There will be ambient light during the day with very little at night coming from below. I plan on using the wall, but am open to making up a DIY screen if needed.

I'll be using the projector mainly for watching digital cable and DVDs. Currently, it is SDTV, but I am looking to change that to HDTV later. Occasionally, I would like to play my Xbox on the machine also.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jim

When I started researching projectors and ran into the XR-10X threads, I read a post by someone who had compared the 4805 and the Sharp. The poster preferred the XR-10X (although he acknowledged the 4805 was more HT oriented, as far as connectivity was concerned). You will have to search the XR-10X threads as I do not remember where it was. I am sure you will be happy if you get the Sharp. Costco's warranty is the icing on the cake (their model is the XR-11XC which comes with a carrying case but is otherwise identical to the XR-10X).

The more I use it the more I like it.This projector is awesome for the price.I had around 30 people over for the Superbowl in HDTV and they all were raving how awesome the picture was.

The way I found my way to the XR-10X was this. For quite a while I was reading up on what I wanted to get for my first projector. I have a friend that is running a DLP and I viewed his a few times and was sold on DLP. I had the chance to borrow a Optoma 745 for a few days to play with and I was very impressed with how well it worked on a tacked up bed sheet. For about a week I was planning on mail ordering one but didn’t get around to it. I was at my local “Box store” and I saw the Sharp. The sales guy had no clue as to even the simplest questions I had and they had no information to read about it. All he knew was the price and that they were selling pretty well with no returns. It was a Friday and I spent the weekend reading reviews and at $300 less than the Optoma, and a local 30 day return policy. And an extended warranty that covered the bulb for 5 years for $70 I thought why not. Personally I think in a lot of areas it’s better than the Optoma. And I believe the technology inside is of the newer generation. I thought the case looked better and the side placed fans was a good idea. It weighed a couple pounds more. as for the picture I couldn’t see any big differences and I didn’t have them side by side. And the few less lumens might be a good thing but they do both have eco-mode. Lumen wise the XR-20X matches up with the Optoma.

I really couldn’t be happier with the picture. I haven’t found anyone yet that hasn’t had the WOW factor when seeing it. True not many people that have watched it have had large exposures to highend home theaters. But a lot have been avid movie goers and I get lots of comments like “why cant the colors be so real and bright at Tinsel Town”. I haven’t heard any rainbow comments yet from anyone ether.

Two thumbs up here.

just to weigh in:

got one last weekend to try out.

currently have a 480p lcd so was interested to see the diff.

well, the resolution upgrade was really sweet.

contrast was better as well.

although, on my greywolf screen the brightness was completely out of hand. would definitely need an ND(x) filter to knock it back.

colors were pretty close according to dve.

and the kicker.......

rainbows galore for both me and my wife - bah.

3x wheel so i guess maybe we're both on the sensitive end of the rainbow scale.

thought about trying out a filter to reduce, but was seeing them everywhere - not just the occaisional torch in a cave shot - so didn't feel like it would be worth messing with it.

took it back next day.

refunded me almost a grand - in twenties, lol. felt like a pimp or something walking out of there with that huge bankroll.

Lunchblaze

Sorry to hear that. :( This whole rainbow thing is such a mystery to me never having seen one or knowing anyone in person that I can talk to about it. I know you can’t take a picture of the rainbow or at least I’m assuming you cant. And I don’t know if I want to find out what one looks like, but then again I do. I wish someone could take a screen shot of an image like the type they see rainbows on and then photo shop one in and post it for us non-rainbow folks.
In a couple hundred hours of viewing TV and DVD’s a couple times I saw some pixilation maybe a spot or two. But I have seen similar stuff on the digital cable from day one. So I just said that must be it. If I see anymore on DVD I’ll back up and replay to see if it’s a glitch in the DVD.
I wonder if it’s in part caused by the high lumens and your screen gain combination.

Sooner or later someone will be watching mine I guess and go what the heck was that. And I can have them draw me a picture.

Bud,

You really can't easily take a picture of, or draw, a DLP rainbow. It's more or less a motion artifact.

Think of a image that's made up of three of the same picture, but one is in green, one is in red, and one is in blue. Stacked together the colors blend together to form the finished image. Now think of moving the image rapidly in a direction, but instead of all three layers moving at the same time they move at different speeds, so the individual three colors seperate out and sort of quickly "trail" behind the image. That's one way of describing a rainbow. It's like a colored "flicker" at the corners of your vision, if you see them at all. In any event, that pixelation you see isn't it, you would know a rainbow if you saw it.

I rarely see a rainbow, and even then it's when viewing certain types of material...high contrast white on black test paterns, for instance. It certainly doesn't really bother me...by way of comparision, on my LCD I noticed the "screen door effect" to a greater extent, and that didn't bother me either. FWIW, nobody that's been over has seen RBE either.

Lunchblaze and his wife DO see them, however, so it's definitely a potential side effect. It could have been a too bright image, or they could just be sensitive to that sort of thing.

In any event, they saw then right away, so my point to all of this, Bud, is seriously...don't worry about trying to see them. You don't see them now, so you probally aren't going to see them ever. Could be your screen, your lighting, or just you. But me or anybody giving you tips on how to find RBE would do nothing but point out a weakness that you don't have now. ;)

This whole rainbow thing is such a mystery to me never having seen one or knowing anyone in person that I can talk to about it.


I see em some on this pj. Never like on video based content like ballgames, nature shows etc where theres not a lot of white on truly dark imagery etc.

On film based content though, "the torch in a cave" as he mentioned, I do. But I think I'm probably more prone to em than alot of people. It's not really that bad to me.. or maybe you can just block them out for the most part after awhile.

If you dont ever notice it now thats good because it's not something you ever want to notice.

If you could have a sceen image where it's more or less black or really dark.. and had some small white image present somewhere within the image, it's almost hard for me to believe that most everybody wouldnt notice it to at least some degree if they moved their eyes quickly back and forth.

But maybe some people just truly flat dont see it no matter what.

Well thanks for the replies to that.

What I’m going to envision them as then is like some web pages have a script that changes your curser when you are viewing the page to make it trail behind and drop of like pixie dust that quickly disappears behind it. I think everyone has seen a page like that.

What I do notice is how the image will blur when it’s rapidly changing back and forth but I don’t see any color trails just trails of the right color. I think that happens with any picture really. But when you get your first projector you tend to look at every detail more closely. Little things you would miss on a 32-inch stand out at 120-inch.

I have to get pretty close to see the screen door on this. I’m not sure if it’s my screen or the DLP dark chip thing. But compared to my friends DLP its way less noticeable. And even if I do see it on pure white background I have already got to the point of looking past it.

What I do love or don’t miss depending on how you look at it is the back reflections you get from almost all CRT’s or back projected screens off the shiny glass while viewing a dark image. For some reason I have never learned how to see past the reflection of a light in the background on a CRT. I guess that’s my rainbow. That’s what I like about this projector so much is it has enough lumens that the screen can be made very matte and gray and in my case even textured but still throw back a bright enough image.

I see rainbows once in awhile but I am not bothered by them at all.I am glad because I like DLP better than lcd.

I bought and had to return three XR-10x's due to bowing. Perhaps it was a run of incredibly bad luck; or perhaps Circuit City was giving me previously returned projectors. The problem I had on all three units was that the image isn't perfectly straight. It is bowed much like you would see on a cheap CRT. This bowing was still there even after I made sure the projector and image were level (even used my laser level to be sure).

I've never encountered this sort of bowed image problem with other projectors I've used, including an X1, X3, and PB6200.

Is this inherent to all XR-10x's? Do all of you have some bowing (or other geometry issues) but just put up with it? I myself considered putting up with it because otherwise the pj is such a great deal, but ultimately found it unacceptable.

Anyway I'd be willing to take a chance on another XR-10x if I could be sure they don't all suffer from this problem.

mbaxter:
I originally had the XR-10X, which I bought at a shopping club, and then replaced with a XR-11XC when I got a better deal at another shopping club. They are both the same projector although the model numbers and accessories differ slightly. I can tell you they both produce the same great image. No bowing of any kind with either one. I have had some slight keystoning as my crude DIY screen (an old off-white vinyl shade) is not leveled. Try to get a new XR-10X from some place other than CC. It is very likely you will find one that does not have the bowing issues you found with the ones from CC. Good luck.

I bought and had to return three XR-10x's due to bowing. .

Wow, have never seen a report of "bowing" on this forum. With CRTs, magnetic fields cause bowing. Is your projector mounted near a light fixture or something? Three projectors with the exact same (rare) problem sure seems like an environmental issue.

Montyhp

Bowing could be caused by having the projector mounted skewed to the screen I think its somewhat forgiving as it was intended to be used on a desk top and shot up to a roll down screen. But in a office if your power-point is a little cockeyed who cares. When you hang this from the ceiling and try and perfectly fit a rectangle screen its important the axis of the projector is perpendicular to the screen at least right and left. Up and down you have the keystone correction. I hung mine using a laser level and to the dimensions the Sharp download program gives you for drop. It was right on and my keystone sets at “0”

If you can tell us a bit more about how you had it mounted maybe we can figure it out. It could have been a bad lens line up in the machine but I’m thinking “outside the box” here.
:D

A bowing image means that the projector is not aligned correctly to the screen. When Aligning, make sure keystoning is set at zero, then move the projector around til you get no bowing. Bowing is not a defect. All projectors have a bowing image if not placed correctly to the screen. Try not to tilt the projector at all! If you do, you will get a bowing image.

I too have a problem with bowing on my XR-10X. I too returned my first unit to Sam's due to bowing but the second unit does the same thing. As far as I can tell, it is NOT an alignment issue. My PJ is ceiling mounted and square to the screen. I've moved it around and that does not solve the problem. This is not my first projector, and my old Infocus LP-350, which was mounted in the same location for years, did not have this problem, so I don't think it is an environmental issue. I don't see the bowing during video, but it is very noticable anytime there is a horizontal line accross the screen, such as when looking at the TV guide channel or anything with horizontal lines across the screen from side to side. The bowing is in the middle of the screen. It's not "wavy", just a bow upwards in the middle of the screen. Vertical lines are not skewed or bowed and are square to the vertical edges of the screen even when the horizontal lines are bowed. Keystone is set to zero and I've played with keystone and I don't think that is the issue either. Otherwise the PQ is excellent. I've spoken to Sharp and they claim they've never heard of the problem.

Chances are that having it in the same place as the Infocus LP350 probably won't work. I am guessing the throw ratios are different. When looking at my projector which does throw a straight image. My projector is ceiling mounted and is slightly tilted up towards the ceiling to get a completely square image. I am using a very flexible mount that has micro adjustments on it. Also my Sharp XR10-X is mounted at least a foot or more closer to the screen than my Infocus X1 is. I don't know if that helps or not.

Curious about whether you are using a Panamorph lens. The Sharp has a shorter throw ratio and has slight bowing with my Panamorph lens compared to no Panamorph lens.

I didn't mean that the XR-10x is mounted EXACTLY in the same spot where the LP-350 was mounted. It is indeed closer tot he screen due to different throw ratio. I simply meant that there is nothing in the general area that could be the source of any environmental issue as someone had previously suggested when the bowing issue was first raised here. I'm not using a panamorph lense. I've adjusted the position of the PJ every way I can think of and it does not resolve the issue.

Can you post a screen shot?

Here's a screen shot. I wasn't holding the cam level but I hope you can still see the bowing in the middle. It bows about .25/inch upwards. On my old LP-350, horizontal lines were perefctly straight and level.

It's interesting to learn that I am not the only one who is experiencing bowing on the XR-10x.

I see in your image what you are talking about... You need to do some diagnostic testing....

1) is it on all inputs? Input1, Input2, Input3, Input4? You must test at least two of the four...

2) is it on all sources? DVD, VCR, HTPC, DVR, analog cable? You must have at least two different sources with the "exact" same bowing to rule out cable box...

3) is your wall level? Please put a level on it and test that.......

Before we get any further please let us know what the answers are for these... Good Luck, hopefully we will solve your problem....

Thank you for your help. Yes it appears on all sources, DVD, cable, and computer. I doubt it's the cable box because I have replaced the non-HD cable box I had when I first installed the XR-10x with a new HD box and it still bows. In any event, it bows on DVD via s-video and computer RGB too, so probably not the cable box. The screen in the same DaLite perm wall screen I have had for years with my previous PJ so I also doubt its the wall/screen. I maade no changes to the screen when I installed the 10x. Given the previous posters experience with bowing on three xr-10x PJs I'm wondering if it is a defect in the PJ? Thanks again..............

My experience parrellels' nick's exactly. Like him, I too repositioned my ceiling mount to accomodate the XR-10x's shorter throw. My bowing problem is also present on all inputs, and not surprisingly is most noticable when watching a 2.35:1 movie. On my third XR-10x, by now paranoid I tested it with a table mount projecting straight onto a wall, taking extra care to ensure the pj was perfectly level.

Believe us guys, this has nothing to do with inputs or angles or any such thing. I'm no projector noob either, and have run an X1, X3, and PB6200 in my home theater, without getting a bowed image from any of them.

This is obviously some sort of lens\alignment problem that plagues this particular model. And I suspect many more of you suffer from it but perhaps just never noticed. Sadly I'm going to have to give up on the XR-10x (after going through no less than three of them) but it wasn't for lack of trying! Great projector otherwise..

I have it too...now that I see what your talking about. At first I thought you were referring to the edges being out of whack similar to pincushioning on a crt, but now I see you mean the middle of the image kind of on a "depth perception" kind of bowing. I noticed when reading text on mine it does appear to be "closer" to the front of the screen in the middle than on the 2 sides, where it "appears" farther back or slightly smaller. Kind of curves slightly from left to middle then back to right. I thought it was just my screen drooping a little but since it also is a window shade hung as taut as possible on the ceiling, but if others are having it on normal screens then I doubt its that. I was gonna try and get it tighter this week but maybe its not worth the effort. Could this effect be due to the high offset on this model? It doesn't really bother me much, but now that I know theres an issue the constant nag of "return it" is gonna be with me now. Only thing is if I don't go w/ this model I'm stuck going back to SVGA for now cuz I can't afford any other XGA's.

I just checked the drop distance for mine using the sharp lens selector tool you can download. It says for mine I’m projecting a 72x96 picture my thro distance is 13.71 to 15.86 ft and the centerline of the lens should be 7.63 inches below the top edge of the image. With those settings the projector should be sitting level.

If anyone wants to have me run the numbers that haven’t downloaded the selector tool let me know and I’ll run the numbers for your projector.

Just a guess here but I’m wondering if some people have them mounted to high.

I noticed some bowing myself when I had the Sharp sitting "right side up" i.e. table mounted, but it was a temp mount I made from some milk crates ( :p ) while I was getting the ceiling mount set up. I figured it was just the half-ass setup I had then.

Now, on the ceiling mount I don't see any noticible bowing, but I do know I have the PJ mounted too high...I went from the instruction manual and after setting everything up I have some slight keystoning. Nothing I can't live with, though. The horizontal lines are straight top and bottom.

Now...I am noticing that I have quite a bit of light spill coming from around the lens, shows on the ceiling immediately in front of the lens, and so that in a dark room with a dark/black scene there's a sort of "reflection artifact line" on the wall several inches below the screen. Again, nothing I am upset about, just makes me curious.

I still think the image is outstanding, and I am also aware that at this price point the optics aren't likely top-of-the-line. Luckily, though in my case it isn't bothering my enjoyment.

Quick question for all concerned with bowing...

Does zooming or not zooming reduce or eliminate the bowing?

I personally don't have the bowing as seen in the image, so it doesn't apply to all Sharp XR-10X. . I would have noticed bowing as seen in the pic like that immediately. I have seen bowing like that with all projectors from time to time, but not on this projector.

When I have seen similar bowing like that is on HTPC's that don't quite have the proper refresh rate; and or vertical or horizontal width arrows for adjusting the image to the screen. Usually adjusting with vertical and horizontal width arrows in Microsoft Windows video drivers tends to solve the problem... I haven't had that problem though with cable box or non PC sources.

I have noticed the light spill also right above the projector. I have a low ceiling height and a large screen. And the combination of the two lights up a crescent above the projector. Along with that my screen and image no mask is only 2 inches from the ceiling and I get some wash up off the screen on that end also. I plan on taking care of both somewhat with a coat of matte med gray on the ceiling. Both of these light reflections don’t bother me and I don’t see them degrading the picture very much but as long as I’m at it I’ll paint the ceiling.

For the guys with bowing check back in with these two dimensions. The distance from the ceiling to the center of your lens and the distance from the ceiling to the top edge of your projected image. The difference in the two should be your drop distance. Another thing we can check is where you are on the zoom setting. Throw distance vs screen size. I don’t know if the bowing could be caused by being to close to one of the extremes of the throw distance. My guess would be the shortest throw distance. But tell us where you are and we’ll see if we can figure it out.

Here is more information concerning a "bowing image in projectors"... This one is based on the Infocus 7205.... that I pulled when running a "google" search on bowing images....

"Copy information starts here:"
I post this NOT to scare you away from the 7205, just as some info. It is not bad enough for me to sell or replace. It is only thing wrong with my pj. The screenplay 72xx series pj's do more things right than wrong in my humble and inexperienced opinion.

Some of the guys in that thread possibly made an honest innocent mistake: they sent the pj in for repair for the bowing. My understanding from reading earlier posts on the 7200 was that the bowing could not be fixed: it was a flaw in the optics design and not in its assembly. The zoom was limited on the 7205 as thought was that the more manual zoom you used, the worse the bowing. Limiting the zoom also made the 7205 more of a medium throw when compared to the 7200 (of course almost nothing compares to the short throw of the Benq 8700). So I ran my calcs at home, decided I could live with the screen size (and 75% zoom usage), and purchased the 7205 and a 100" 16:9 Firehawk. Now there is a thought that pj's should be run with as little zoom usage as possible (only for tweaking in screen installation), but I got differing opinions, plus the bowing was suppose to be solved on the 7205 because InFocus (as stated above) now wouldn't let you zoom out as much. Keep this in mind also: all this info came from researching posts on forums and product reviews on internet: I never read any 'official' statements regarding the bowing.

I believe the bowing (for me in the lower LH corner) was there since the beginning; I just didn't notice it because I was too happy with my initial purchase, plus the lack of much 2.35 movie material at the time.

Manually zooming slightly into the screen border on 16:9 (1.78)movies and HD cable feed removes it for me. I believe it may be still zoom (and possibly screen size?) dependent: when I shrink the image down by removing the 75% zoom (my estimate of how much I turn the lens dial), I get less bowing. Image (contrast?) didn't improve noticeably IMHO, but there was less bowing. "Copy information ends here"

This is why I am thinking that there could be a design flaw in the zooming of the image. I believe that I am barely zooming on my image..... Which could be why I don't see any bowing at all. I will zoom tonight and check for any bowing in my image if I max zoom and report back.....

Edwardr132

I had a suspicion in my last post that might be some of the problem. And now you found some information supporting that on another projector.

Being as these machines were designed and built to have a primary function as a business projector. Its possible the maker made some concisions in order to achieve the absolute shortest throw distance they could. And in doing so they may have thought for a power point show who will care if the slide is bowed a bit and would rather have it in focus even if slightly distorted. That’s purely speculation on my part. Like you I’m more in the middle of the zoom range but I did play with it a little zooming larger last night but I couldn’t tell if I saw any bowing with it throwing off the screen. Will be interested in hearing what you come up with tonight.

Bud, at 72' by 96', you are shooting a much larger picture than I am. How far back are you? How much are you zooming to get that picture?

I am shooting an 60' by 80' image at around 12'6" to around 13' back or so... This is compared to the X1 which I had at about 14' back or so....

I’m between 14 and 15 ft back I think I could have even went another 6 inches back but I wasn’t really considering any bowing type problems I just wanted to stay in the middle of the throw range and where I put it worked out good with the seating and with the low ceiling height kept the projector out of harms way. My best seating is the seats directly under the projector. For me and when viewing 4:3 I wouldn’t want to be too much closer but others viewing seem to want to get closer and have no problems. When viewing 16:9 and whatever this other format I seem to be seeing a lot 5:4 I think it is closer is not a problem at all. I also use the window mode for SD signal and if I have something going on that I have people way up front. I never use the stretch mode. It’s for me a really versatile setup.

The best thing to look at to see if this projector is bowing is the start up screen with the test pattern. Last night I fired mine up and left the test screen up. It is divided into 4 corners and has a horizontal and vertical reference line thru the middle of the image. The vertical line on mine was dead straight the two sides with keystone adjustment set to zero were perfectly straight and parallel to the centerline. The top edge was square and level and straight no bowing. The horizontal centerline was bowed over the 8 foot width of my screen about 1/8 inch in the center. And the bottom edge just a little bit more 3/16 maybe. For a 72x86 image my throw is 14 ft 6 inches and my drop is 6 inches. I think I was shooting for 7-inch drop but with hanging my screen and having to angle the projector upward a very slight amount I ended up at about 6. I was a bit shocked when I mounted it and began adjusting it because I had left plenty of down adjustment in my homemade mount but didn’t think I would have to angle it up at all but I did. It’s angled about 1/8 inch from back to front over the length of the projector.

Honestly I never noticed the bow and had to use a straight edge to see how much I was off. I don’t know anyone could ever pick up on it while viewing a movie they might with a test pattern or if the really looked close at the bottom edge of my homemade screen and compared it across the bottom edge of the image.

I wish I could easily move my mount back another foot to see what it would do. But that’s too much of a project for such a slight adjustment. I didn’t check to see what would happen if I pushed the bottom of the screen out just a little. I might try that tonight.

This effect could be true on lots of projectors and no one has thought to measure it, I don’t know. Anytime you project as far off axis as these things do you get into internal lens angling and some funny stuff with optics. Similar to the old view cameras you used to see taking pictures of tall buildings and twisting the lens around to make them look like they are not leaning towards each other.

I did watch a movie last night and never once thought about bowing after the opening credits.

After my wife and I finished watching the "Bachelor Show" with the projector, I started taking a "critical" look to see if I could see any bowing at all. I didn't even think about it until it was time to turn off the projector and go to bed. Bottom line, there is just the slightest of bowing... I never would have noticed it in the first place hadn't someone on this forum pointed it out. It's a no biggie for me and I am completely happy with the projector. I bet out of a hundred people visiting my setup, maybe, just maybe one person might notice it. I did zoom in and out, and it didn't seem to have any change in the "bowing" on my projector, at least in terms of "eye-balling" it.

I feel for most buyers, if they buy the projector at a "flexible return place", the Sharp XR10X is definitely worth a look at its price point. Watching some of the Olympics in HD on this projector is definitely a pleasure....

I'm coming from a CRT FP (low end Sony 1031Q). Overall I'm pretty pleased with this PJ. The pic is very sharp and I notice NO SDE at 1.5 viewing distance (SDE was my #1 complaint with other digital PJ's). NO bowing on my setup at all (confirmed with Avia crosshatch pattern). DVD's look VERY good. The only complaints I have so far are:

1. In a completely light controlled room, in Econo Movie mode, the picture is too bright (it lights the whole room up. I have an ND2 filter on the way that should help this.

2. SD TV looks pretty sorry on this PJ (especially anything other than Border Mode). Some Direct TV channels that looked fine on my CRT in full screen 4:3 are unwatchable in ANY mode on this PJ. I do not have HD yet, but I working on it (I would love to see HD on this thing).

3. Black level is no where near my CRT (this was expected) (hopefully the ND2 filter will help this also.

4. Lightspill out the front onto the ceiling (this is not a real concern for me, because I have a flat black ceiling). If you have a lighter ceiling, this could be fairly easily cured with a piece of velvet or felt mounted above the PJ.

5. No HDMI input. This could be a problem in the future. I would like to use an upconverting DVD player and the choices for "upconverting (copyrighted material) through Component" players are VERY limited.

These complaints are minor! For the price this PJ is a winner. BTW, I also looked at the 4805 an H31, and chose this unit.

Jawhn

Good post…

What size are you projecting? And what screen are you using?

The gray screen did wonders for my black level and contrast. The ND2 should do the same for you also I think. I’m still not sure what method is the best but I went the screen approach and would like to hear your remarks after you get your filter. The idea of masking the light spill out the front is a good one and I think I will try that.
I also watch most SDTV in Border mode but coming off my cable box there seems to be a large variety of signals from poor to good to very good. I don’t really understand why or how some channels are so much better than others. When I get a bad one and it’s something I really want to view for some reason just hit border and it’s not to bad.

I haven’t looked into a converter for the HDMI for input 1 or 2 because I don’t have a source yet to feed it.
Does anyone have a link to what kind of converter is required?

In terms of Analog TV; I am currently watching it in "border mode as well"... I have my SA8300 DVR set to wide-screen which automatically puts Analog TV in border mode. I have seen analog TV though on many 50" and 60" HD sets and analog looks pretty "crappy" on them as well.... If BestBuy and Circuit City showed analog signals on their HD tv's; nobody would buy them....

I'll do some more checking, but I have checked and double checked the alignment and level of my PJ, and moved it around alot, but it still bows.

Nick, I checked my screen, and it is a possibility that some of the the bowing I see actually comes from my screen. I am not sure that my screen is 100% straight.... My screen is an electric by the way and "should" be straighter than most pull downs. Anyway, When you look at your screen from the side, is it perfectly straight?

I am guessing in the end Nick that you will have to decide whether or not you can live with the "bowing" that you see.... Did you buy it at one of the Warehouse Clubs? If so, maybe you should try a different brand that they sell and "compare" it to the Sharp....

Edward, I doubt its my screen because it is a DaLite permwall that I hung years ago and I experienced no bowing at all with my previous PJ. As far as I know it is very straight. No waves at all in the screen.

Mine too bows a lil bit. A couple pixel rows up in the middle. Ceiling mount, 16x9 100" diag screen.

I'm also convinced it's not the environment, but the pj. It's something I never notice viewing programming or guides (nobody else that views would either). The only time I really notice it is when I project a solid light color image to purposely check for alignment all the way around... going back to when I first set it up and was tweaking it. Then I'll notice it's a tad high in the middle.

Obviously in my case it's not bad enough to where I care.

I'm curious about the Lamp Life/Usage indicators in the menu. Mine currently reads 521 hours and 86%. Depending on how soon it drops to 85% percent I continue to be on a pace that would allow for like 3700 to 4000 hours before the % would be down to zero.

Is that the same kind of pace other people are showing? Would seem kind of odd if the specs call for 2000/3000 hours of bulb life depending on eco-mode or not. Manual talks about replacing when it gets down to 5% (if it even makes it that far).

I understand those numbers dont truly mean anything.. the bulb could crash and burn tomorrow. But thats not the point.

I think the bowing varies from unit to unit. I went through three XR-10x's but the one with the worst bowing was the 2nd one. The other two had mild bowing, really only noticable on 2.35 movies and when viewing the windows desktop (because you could see how the taskbar was uneven along the bottom).

It's a testament to how much I liked this projector that I stuck with it through three different units before giving up. Truth be known, I might even risk buying a 4th one if it weren't for the fact that Circuit City charges a restocking fee for projectors. I've already bluffed my way around three attempts to charge me a 15% restocking fee on returned XR-10x's but I think my luck is running out. :)

Too bad there's not a Costco anywhere nearby...

If I may ask, what will be your stand-by option rather than the XR-10x? I'm feeling lucky and will pull the trigger in the next month or so, I'd love to see continued activity on this thread to coax my blind-buying apprehension. I didn't see it on costco.com, either. Weird how the stock is so disimilar between the warehouses and website.

Well I must correct myself. I guess when I looked at costco.com I only looked at the home theater projectors. The XR11X (I guess, never states the model name, but the 11x is the Costo version of the 10x - the 11 also includes a case I think) IS on the site
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11091558&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=

I am also interested by a couple other options on that site as well.. perhaps a new thread for that, but if you get the time check out the 'business projectors' options, all XGA units.

Hey I have a question for all the fellow XR10 owners here...

How is your light spill? Besides the spilliage from the lens I noted above, I also have some light from the top of the case and coming out the vents on the exit side of the projector. It doesn't bother me, and is only really visible in a dark room with a dark image on the screen, but I am just curious if the rest of you notice this.

The only reason it concerns me at all is that this is suposed to be a sealed light engine...I've never owned a PJ with this so I don't know exactly how sealed a "sealed" light path is supposed to be, but I just want to make sure I don't have something I need to have looked at. Dust blobs were something I was glad to be rid of.

as far as the bowing...all my AVIA tests show NO bowing at all

Has anyone besides me contacted Sharp regarding bowing? I was told that they had never heard of it and to send my PJ in for possible repair (which I have not yet done).

Nightfly13

Pull the trigger. I think you will be impressed I wouldn’t worry if I was you.
You might just want to wait a week or so until we get to the bottom of this bow issue though.

Evilboy

I would rather the light spill come out the sides and bottom, top when mounted up side down than the front I haven’t seen any on screen problems from the light and its not all that bright. One thing I did when I made my own mount was I cut away the area of the vents on the bottom of the projector to let air flow and also access to the service panel. Anyone making an inverted mount might want to do that. It can’t hurt with cooling.

Dreamcat

Can you post all your dimensions of your screen size throw distance and drop height, and also if your projector is at a slight up hill angle as mounted. The reason I ask you are one of the few that didn’t see any bowing at all and if your setup can be duplicated by me and I still get a measurable bow we will know that there is something in the projector.

Nick625

I haven’t contacted Sharp because I didn’t even consider the little bow I had until this thread. I’m still wondering if in my case it’s a slight alignment problem still. I would still like to learn a little more first but it is beginning to look like some of the XR10’s have something wrong to varied degrees. Mine is pretty slight but some seem to be much more for sure.

Bud,

I totally agree about your thoughts on the light spill, I would also agree that spillage out the sides/top of the PJ is much preferable to the lens. It doesn't bother me at all. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't just me noticing some of this light leakage. Thanks for the response.

Now, as for the cutting...you mean cutting away portions of the mount itself, right?:eek:

L O L On re read I could see where you might think I took the Sawsall to the base of the projector. But you are correct in assuming it was the mount I added a hole to in that area. I’ll have to get a couple pictures of the mount for anyone that wants a DIY project.

The light spill coming off the lens and shooting up on the ceiling I have been thinking about a little. I haven’t done anything about it yet but I might make a mask for it just in front of the lens.

Now if we could get NBC to get some better cameras for the Winter Olympics it would be nice. The picture is a mess and then the ad comes on and looks like HD almost.

I inch closer and closer to buying this projector each day. It seems like an awesome value these days for someone like me who needs big brightness and also wants good HT. Then all of a sudden we came into a little bit of money and of course my knee-jerk reaction is 'we should save!' Haha of course not it was 'hmm what's the logical step UP from the XR10X'. I've seen a refurb for 8 bills and I'd consider going up to 12 if it was something really superior..

Upgrades of interest would be brighter still (and ND filter for home use)
Higher Resolution (but 2000+lumen 720Ps are EXPENSIVE)
DVI/HDCP
Lighter weight (this is a distant consideration)

It might well be that there's nothing substantially better even at 50% greater cost, which only underscores the incredible value of the XR10X. I'd think about buying from Costco for $100 more but then it's really $180 more after tax for the warranty.

Hope this isn't off topic, but I figured you were the guys to ask.

Sorry, i don't want to hijack the thread. I want to get this projector, and it will be mostly for playing xbox 360. This seems to be a good value and i don't want to go much higher. My only worry is it's not natively 720P... Will the picture still look great? Anyone have any pics of 360 games?

Okay guys....here is my X10 story.

I have Panny 42" Pd50 ED Plasma. I have been ecstatic over the wonderful picture. HD material is incredibly sharp. This panel has mind blowing black levels and contrast. I did a lot of comparisons before buying ( I am anal about PQ) and had the cash to get a HD 42". I decided the PD50 beat even the HD 42's that I had seen. I've been very very happy even since. It sits in my living room.

For my family room...I decided I needed something bigger...and discussed getting a 50" inch Panny plasma when the price drops a bit. Perhaps in a year or so. I looked at rear Proj DLP's and LCD's...and none of them did anything for me. LCD's blurred with motion...the DLP's I saw had unimpressive pictures. I had decided to just wait until I get the cash for a 50" Plasma.

Last week I am in Sams club...when I see the Sharp X10, Hmmmm...looks interesting.
I do some research on AVS..and decide to give it a shot. I picked up a cheapie tripod screen that will give me a 65" 16:9 image...plenty in the room I'm using.

Well...the Sharp was a disaster. Soft, poor contrast, bad colors...and on top of it...the top horizontal line was severely skewed...and no amount of Keystone would fix it.

I took it back to Sams...and decided to take an exchange...perhaps I got a bum unit.

WOW! This X10 is simply amazing. Sharp, vivid colors, great contrast even without an ND2. Really bright....amazing! I have a great looking 65" picture! It is quiet in Econo mode...don't even know it is on after a while. The Plasma does beat it on black levels but yikes...the X10 is fabulous for $899 bucks! This thing is a steal. It destroys the 65" Sony Grand Vega a buddy of mine purchased....for over three times the money.

My advice....this is THE way to go if you don't have a lot of cash and want to get great HD PQ in a big screen. It isn't a Ruby...but dang it is quite nice.

Sorry, i don't want to hijack the thread. I want to get this projector, and it will be mostly for playing xbox 360. This seems to be a good value and i don't want to go much higher. My only worry is it's not natively 720P... Will the picture still look great? Anyone have any pics of 360 games?

ZeeAyKay,

Honestly, I finally pulled the trigger on this projector because of my 360.

I had been looking at it as a interm upgrade for my HT because of all the good buzz hereabouts about its outstanding quality for the price. I wasn't planning on jumping for it right away, though.

However, when my 360 arrived I realized that I wouldn't be truly happy with the projector I had (SVGA)...so I ordered the XR10 that very night. :D The improvement to the XB360's image was OUTSTANDING. Not only was the increase in resolution apparent, but the XR10's excellent contrast and color saturation really made the image "pop" in 720p (not to mention HDTV and DVDs). I really couldn't be happier.

So, to answer your question, no the XR10 is not a native 720p, but I still think it's an excellent choice, and depending on your setup it can compare favorably to many 720p native PJs. You'll be happy with the images your 360 puts out, in any event...I can assure you.

Okay guys....here is my X10 story.




I’m glad you gave it a second try. And as impressed as you are I’ll bet you would be 30% more impressed on a silver gray screen. I have posted what I used for a screen color several times in the DIY screen forum so I wont again here. I haven’t went the ND2 way.

I had friends over the other night that are very critical of images true in color and contrast. And honestly they were totally blown away.

This projector is selling word of mouth because the places selling them are to stupid to set one up in a controlled lighting environment and have people take a look. When I bought mine at a huge shopping club there were 50 people looking at the back projection TV’s and the XR10X’s were just piled up on a skid rack. When I asked about them the sales people had no clue what they even were about.


Nice review ……

ZeeAyKay,

Honestly, I finally pulled the trigger on this projector because of my 360.

I had been looking at it as a interm upgrade for my HT because of all the good buzz hereabouts about its outstanding quality for the price. I wasn't planning on jumping for it right away, though.

However, when my 360 arrived I realized that I wouldn't be truly happy with the projector I had (SVGA)...so I ordered the XR10 that very night. :D The improvement to the XB360's image was OUTSTANDING. Not only was the increase in resolution apparent, but the XR10's excellent contrast and color saturation really made the image "pop" in 720p (not to mention HDTV and DVDs). I really couldn't be happier.

So, to answer your question, no the XR10 is not a native 720p, but I still think it's an excellent choice, and depending on your setup it can compare favorably to many 720p native PJs. You'll be happy with the images your 360 puts out, in any event...I can assure you.
Thanks a lot man, that was exactly the answer i was looking for! I think I may be able pick it up w/i the next week or two. Thanks again

i second that

Yesterday I bought a progressive scan DVD player recorder to add to the XR10-X as my old DVD player only output 480i and for the last month I have been wanting to see if I get much improvement jumping to 480p and I have also wanted a recorder for a while now. Viewing DVD I saw a slight improvement in 480p mostly during fast action shots there was no trailing and in 480i there was a slight amount. In both cases component is a real improvement over composite. The new DVD player was connected using the Sharp provided cable into input 1.

Now up to this point I was viewing my digital cable box as a composite video into input 4 on the XR10-X. But what I did was run this feed into the DVD player recorder and then select the new feed in that unit and passed it thru to the XR10-X on input 1 as a 480p signal, and WOW. The lower numbered channels that just come in as analog and pass thru the cable box are really improved a lot going this way. The big improvement comes during rapid image movements. There were lots of trailing artifacts and with this way none. Image edges also seem sharper.

Now for the question part.
I still don’t have this set up with a surround sound receiver with video switching yet. And I’m wondering what will be the best way to do this. If I leave it like this I will have to switch the surround sound to a setting for cable but then go into my DVD setup and change it to the pass thru each time I flip from DVD to cable.

What’s the best way? And is there a better way to upscale the cable signal?

I’ll start by asking the XR10 guys here while I’m learning more about all this reading.
Thanks

Depending on the receiver you get there will be different options. My receiver (Yamaha RXV-2500) upscales all video inputs (composite and S-video) to component. There is not much, if any picture improvement, but it make connections of older components (VCR) much easier. I have 6 video sources (DirecTivo, HD set top box, 2 DVD players, computer and a VCR) and audio\video switching is seamless (1 button push).

If your cable box has S-video output, you should give that a try. It should be quite an improvement over composite.

I just hooked up my XR10-X to OTA HD and it looks like a 92" Plasma, WOW!! And it only cost me a little over $100 to do it.

I have the Costco version 11X. I have tried to use my dvd with the vga/component cable but only get a green picture. What am I doing wrong???

I have the Costco version 11X. I have tried to use my dvd with the vga/component cable but only get a green picture. What am I doing wrong???

What DVD player are you using and what are the 3 plugs you are plugging into labeled?

When the projector detects the DVD player what lights up in the upper right corner of the picture?

My guess is you need to tell your DVD player (in the setup menu) that you want component output, not S-Video output. That's when I get a single-color output from the DVD.

When my Philips is set to S-Video I get a blue image on my projector (until I change it)

I have the Costco version 11X. I have tried to use my dvd with the vga/component cable but only get a green picture. What am I doing wrong???

check your component cables to make sure that they are tight. The blue cable could be loose.

The other idea I had is that you may need to select "Component" and not auto or SRGB in the Video Inputs. Go through the help menu. It will take you there....

Hey guys.

How come my XR won't recognize 480p out of my ps2 when I select progressive scan. The ps2 is set to progressive in the game, but the projector reads 480i in the upper right corner.

Now, when the game itself is set to interlaced, it looks MUCH worse than in prog., and th eprojector reads 480i. But when the game is set to progressive, it looks better, but the projector seems to think it is getting 480i still.

Sooooo.... I think the ps2 is outputting a good 480p signal, but the proj is 'downscaling' to interlaced. Is that possible?

Thanks.

Seems weird to me. I would guess it's only a glitch in the display of the 480i - if you can see an improvement then I'd just assume it's really a progressive signal that the PJ mis-labels. Tell yourself it's the best the PS2 can get ;)

Or watch some AV genius comes and makes me look stupid...

Hey guys - I just pulled the trigger on this projector from one of the "big box" stores because they are currently running a rebate special and because I've read such good reviews here at AVS. Thanks for the recommendation!

However, I do have a question about this store's extended warranty. Did I read correctly here that they will replace the bulbs for as long as the warranty is in effect? My warranty says "consumables" are not covered, but it only lists those as "toner, ribbons, drums, belts, printer heads, and batteries" (you can tell they consider this projector as a "computer accessory"). But, if the bulbs are covered too, this will be a fantastic deal as I know those can be expensive.

I'll be trying this out tonight and will be back soon to post my review. Thanks for the rec again everyone.

Hey guys.

How come my XR won't recognize 480p out of my ps2 when I select progressive scan. The ps2 is set to progressive in the game, but the projector reads 480i in the upper right corner.

Now, when the game itself is set to interlaced, it looks MUCH worse than in prog., and th eprojector reads 480i. But when the game is set to progressive, it looks better, but the projector seems to think it is getting 480i still.

Sooooo.... I think the ps2 is outputting a good 480p signal, but the proj is 'downscaling' to interlaced. Is that possible?

Thanks.

I don’t have a PS2 so I have no idea how it communicates with the XR10X. But on mine when I switch the DVD to 480p it picks right up on it and says input1 480p.
Does it say that when you play 480p in from a DVD.

If it looks improved I would say its getting the 480p like nightfly13 said.

Hey guys - I just pulled the trigger on this projector from one of the "big box" stores because they are currently running a rebate special and because I've read such good reviews here at AVS. Thanks for the recommendation!

However, I do have a question about this store's extended warranty. Did I read correctly here that they will replace the bulbs for as long as the warranty is in effect? My warranty says "consumables" are not covered, but it only lists those as "toner, ribbons, drums, belts, printer heads, and batteries" (you can tell they consider this projector as a "computer accessory"). But, if the bulbs are covered too, this will be a fantastic deal as I know those can be expensive.

I'll be trying this out tonight and will be back soon to post my review. Thanks for the rec again everyone.

I asked the question about 6 times at my big box store and the answer was always this.

The manufactures warranty runs first and then the extended warranty starts. The extended covers everything and if the manufactures don’t cover it the extended will in the beginning. When asked about bulbs I was told several times that yes they are covered. And I said “really” and the guy told me they cover them all the time on RPTV and this will be the same.

I read the fine print about the same way you did so I’m assuming I have bulb coverage for at least 4 years from the day I bought it for 70 bucks. I asked them what they did to fix it and they said you bring it in and we send you to a local shop to get it fixed once it’s out of the manufactures. Before that they said we might send it back or send you local. Actual that was a very big reason in me buying this projector along with the 30 day return no questions asked.

Cant wait to hear what you have to say tomorrow……don’t stay up to late it’s a work day….
:eek:

Thanks for the quick reply, Bud! I guess this is one of the few cases where the fine print of the warranty actually may work in our favor (since they consider this a computer accessory and don't list the bulbs as "consumables").

Btw, I tried looking at your photoalbum in your signature (you mentioned your gray screen in this thread) but it blocked me. Do I have to be a member of webshots to view?

Hey guys.

How come my XR won't recognize 480p out of my ps2 when I select progressive scan. The ps2 is set to progressive in the game, but the projector reads 480i in the upper right corner.

Now, when the game itself is set to interlaced, it looks MUCH worse than in prog., and th eprojector reads 480i. But when the game is set to progressive, it looks better, but the projector seems to think it is getting 480i still.

Sooooo.... I think the ps2 is outputting a good 480p signal, but the proj is 'downscaling' to interlaced. Is that possible?

Thanks.

This seems weird to me as well. I own a PS2, and have played some of the (woefully few) games that support prog scan. My XR10X always recognizes the sync change and shows a brief "480p" label in the upper right corner (and "480i" when I switch back, etc.).

Check this. When you select "progressive scan" in a given game, do you see a quick shaking/jumbling of the screen (this occurs when the sync hertz changes)? Most PS2 games also require you to acknowledge the change within a few seconds or it automatically goes back to the previous setting. Are you getting that? If not, then you may not be seeing the dialog box, which indicates that you can't see progressive scan. If this is true, my first guess would be to check your connection...remember that you CANNOT use progressive scan on anything but component cables...no s-video or composite (inputs 3 and 4).

If you're getting all that...you see the sync change and the dialog, and acknowledge it...then I don't know what to say. Sounds like a projector issue, unfortunately.

Thanks for the quick reply, Bud! I guess this is one of the few cases where the fine print of the warranty actually may work in our favor (since they consider this a computer accessory and don't list the bulbs as "consumables").

Btw, I tried looking at your photoalbum in your signature (you mentioned your gray screen in this thread) but it blocked me. Do I have to be a member of webshots to view?

Just cut and paste the line in the sig. It should take you there. It’s been getting 4000 views a week and it might be slow. But everyone should be able to view it. PM me if you cant and I’ll send you a email with a invite. For some reason the link didn’t work in my sig. Maybe I should try it again.
Or click here
http://community.webshots.com/album/546725411dBQqjb

Still no luck, bud...here's the message I'm getting:

"Finjan Vital Security notification:
URL is restricted !
URL http://community.webshots.com/album/546725411dBQqjb
is restricted according to the system administrator's policy."

Still no luck, bud...here's the message I'm getting:

"Finjan Vital Security notification:
URL is restricted !
URL http://community.webshots.com/album/546725411dBQqjb
is restricted according to the system administrator's policy."

Are you trying to access the site through work? This looks like a firewall/proxy block on your end.

I can get to the site just fine, by the way (and I'm not a member, AFAIK)...

Are you trying to access the site through work? This looks like a firewall/proxy block on your end.

I can get to the site just fine, by the way (and I'm not a member, AFAIK)...

That's what I thought as well, but that's not the normal message/screen I get when a site is blocked. Ah well, thanks, I'll give it a shot later this evening too.

Okay, I picked up this item last night and had a little time to tinker with it.

I didn't want to unhook my DVD players from their cabinet, so I just figured I'd check it out with a DVD in my PS2 instead. I connected it via an S-Video connection, not the best I know...but I don't have a component adaptor for the PS2 and S-Video is better than composite at least.

Where I'm placing this projector is in a still-unfinished walk-out basement that will house a home theater on one end and an entertainment area (bar, air-hockey table, etc) at the other. The Home Theater dimensions will be roughly 15' by 13'.

Since I don't have my ceiling mount yet, I just put the projector on a table at about 15' away from the "screen" (wall painted Sherwin Williams "Proper Gray").

I used SW-RotS as my Demo disc.

Wow!

I was really not expecting much from the S-Video connection, but I was blown away by the PQ nonetheless. The PS2 was outputing at 4:3, but the black bars at the top and bottom of the image blended nicely with the gray wall. They weren't even noticeable after a few minutes.

I'm a Toshiba 57" HDTV owner (3 years old now) so this isn't my first foray into bigger-than-average video experiences, but I was still very impressed with the colors, resolution, and overall lack of pixelization, even looking fairly close up. I know SW-RotS is a pretty good DVD transfer, but this was via S-Video! I can't wait to see what HD or even other DVDs look like connected via Component.

Now, I just need to get this basement finished so I can really enjoy this. Maybe this was the impetus that I needed. :D

P.S. One thing I did notice that I thought was odd, but I'm not sure. The top of the unit got really warm to the touch by the time I had turned it back off (15 minutes or so of viewing). Plus, there was a strange smell emanating from it too, almost smelled like a "burning" smell but not quite. Is that a normal break-in type of thing?

P.S. One thing I did notice that I thought was odd, but I'm not sure. The top of the unit got really warm to the touch by the time I had turned it back off (15 minutes or so of viewing). Plus, there was a strange smell emanating from it too, almost smelled like a "burning" smell but not quite. Is that a normal break-in type of thing?

I Hope so man cause i just bought mine and when i tested it out i had the same thing wife walked in was like "Whats that smell ewww..." and it was hot.

Evilfud

I kind of remember a little smell at first also. Kind of a new plastic getting warm smell. It should go away. Mine is upside down now but gets a tad warm on the top side. Keep in mind there is a good 300 watts going on in there. When you ceiling mount yours try and keep the vent area from being blocked if you can. I don’t think it vents to much but it’s the area of the access door.

I Hope so man cause i just bought mine and when i tested it out i had the same thing wife walked in was like "Whats that smell ewww..." and it was hot.

Evilfud

Well, at least I know I'm not the only one. Now, let's make sure we're not the only *two.* :)

Anybody else? Is this common?

It's the wonderful new projector smell, not as sweet smelling as that new car scent but a great smell nontheless.

I kind of remember a little smell at first also. Kind of a new plastic getting warm smell. It should go away. Mine is upside down now but gets a tad warm on the top side. Keep in mind there is a good 300 watts going on in there. When you ceiling mount yours try and keep the vent area from being blocked if you can. I don’t think it vents to much but it’s the area of the access door.

Bud, by "top side" do you mean the side where the controls are, regardless of whether it's inverted or not? That's where I noticed the warm/hot area on mine.

If you are running the unit in warm room I would switch to hi setting fan mode.

I personally havn't that issue but all digital pj's get kind of warm/hot.

Forgot to ask if anyone knows the service code for RGB tweak in component input mode!?

I think when you flip it over the side with the controls will be cooler. I was talking about the bottom side the top when flipped over.

I have had mine on eco mode with fan on high last few weeks…anyone else doing this.

I have had mine on eco mode with fan on high last few weeks…anyone else doing this.

Thats the mode I use because I'm at high altitude. And I sit forward enough from it to where the extra noise doesnt bother me.

Perhaps that explains why the Lamp Usage/Life calculator on mine is on a pace for 4000 hours before it hits 0% as opposed to 2000 or 3000 hours depending on normal fan speed and eco vs bright mode (as laid out in the manual).. Unless everybody is on that same pace regardless.

I just turned 600 hours on mine the other night and thats when it went from 14% to 15% of bulb usage.

Makes sense that the top side (whether inverted or not) would be the hot side (i.e. heat rises).

The room this projector was in wasn't particularly warm...it was prolly about 65 degrees when this demo was done. That's a little on the cool side to me actually.

I just read this thread.
Those who have problem with bowing may want to try a different zoom setting see if it still is there. The reason is that bowing (pincushion) is usually a function of lens and it appears mostly on the wide angle side and long side of the lens. My 10x has no bowing and my installation is on the shortest throw distance using max zoom. I believe we should get a better picture by using the middle range of the lens if possible.

Thats the mode I use because I'm at high altitude. And I sit forward enough from it to where the extra noise doesnt bother me.

Perhaps that explains why the Lamp Usage/Life calculator on mine is on a pace for 4000 hours before it hits 0% as opposed to 2000 or 3000 hours depending on normal fan speed and eco vs bright mode (as laid out in the manual).. Unless everybody is on that same pace regardless.

I just turned 600 hours on mine the other night and thats when it went from 14% to 15% of bulb usage.

I'm running mine in eco mode with the fan at low. My bulb has 251 hours on it now and is reading 94% life left...at that pace I would also be on track for 4000+ hours.

I'm pretty sure that won't be the case. :p

Last night I made my finished cable runs to the XR10X and I wanted to post what I did as it might help others. I needed about 20 ft of cable between the equipment and the projector and I had already ran the composite cable (homemade) by using a 25foot length of coaxial cable and using a gold plated adapter on each end to convert to a male and female RCA plug. This set up worked perfect for the composite leg and went into input 4.
When I priced a component cable 25 foot long I had sticker shock and thought I would try the same setup only running 3 coaxial cables with the RCA ends. I labeled them RGB and ran them to the back of the projector and then used the adapter cable that came with the projector and coiled it up on top of the projector. The 480p image is absolutely perfect coming from the DVD player. So if you are searching for a long RGB cable give it a try. IMO it works fine.

Now for this cheap DVD player/recorder I bought. I was wondering if anyone else is using one with the XR10X. I bought it on a whim at Wally world for 90 clams. It’s a brand I think that is just made for them called an “ILO” it plays and outputs 480p fine and writes to both R and RW discs.

BUT what I can’t get over is what it does for my cable box picture.

I know there is some de interlacing going on in the XR10X when I would run composite or S video in and the picture was really good off cable on the channels that came in digital. And fair to poor on the channels that come in analog. But just processing the signal thru this ILO player lets me output 480p and it cleaned all the poor pictures up to at least good I would say. It also did an amazing job cleaning up the VCR picture.

I’m really impressed that this DVD player could improve the view ability this much.

Is anyone else using anything to upscale cable TV signals to 480p like this?

Hey guys.

How come my XR won't recognize 480p out of my ps2 when I select progressive scan. The ps2 is set to progressive in the game, but the projector reads 480i in the upper right corner.

Now, when the game itself is set to interlaced, it looks MUCH worse than in prog., and th eprojector reads 480i. But when the game is set to progressive, it looks better, but the projector seems to think it is getting 480i still.

Sooooo.... I think the ps2 is outputting a good 480p signal, but the proj is 'downscaling' to interlaced. Is that possible?

Thanks.
Unfortunately, the PS2 only does progressive scan on DVDs and not on games. I found this out the same way you did. Put in a DVD and it'll change to prog scan. Perhapos there are some games (newer) that are written with 480p instructions, but I haven't found them yet.

I needed a new PJ for my work and went to Costco and found this PJ there. This was about a month ago. We have been using it for presentations ever since.

I have a Panasonic AE500 in my basement for movies and i love it. However, earlier this week I stumbled over this thread and decided to take the Sharp home and see how it works. I hooked it up last night and I can tell all of you that own this PJ that it is at least the equal of my Panny in every way (movies, HDTV, SD)and is MUCH brighter. Set to widescreen (stretch) mode, I am blown away by how good this unit is aftrer I used the Avia disc to calibrate it in movie mode. If I didn't have the Panny already, I wouldn't hesitate to use this unit as my home thater projector, and it might be even better for things like the Stupid Bowl Party I had recently as I really could have used more ambient light. It is really that good.

I thought all of you would be interested in the comparison.

One other note for owners of this PJ- search the DVD player forums for info on the "samsung component upconverting hack" for the Samsung DVD players and you'll be happy to have DVDs on this player in native mode. The Samsung will do 1024X768 over component. You leave the PJ in full screen mode and the player outputs the native res. Looks great. However, this is only applicable if you want to use the 4X3 mode. It may be better to set the player to stretch mode and have the player output 480p, 720P or 1080i.

Edit after more playing with the unit and the dvd player it outputs 1024X576 and the PJ needs to be set to widescreen (stretch) mode.

I needed a new PJ for my work and went to Costco and found this PJ there. This was about a month ago. We have been using it for presentations ever since.

I have a Panasonic AE500 in my basement for movies and i love it. However, earlier this week I stumbled over this thread and decided to take the Sharp home and see how it works. I hooked it up last night and I can tell all of you that own this PJ that it is at least the equal of my Panny in every way (movies, HDTV, SD)and is MUCH brighter. Set to widescreen (stretch) mode, I am blown away by how good this unit is aftrer I used the Avia disc to calibrate it in movie mode. If I didn't have the Panny already, I wouldn't hesitate to use this unit as my home thater projector, and it might be even better for things like the Stupid Bowl Party I had recently as I really could have used more ambient light. It is really that good.

I thought all of you would be interested in the comparison.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssss

Good post Larrimore…. But we don’t want anyone to know…lol….

Truly on my gray screen I watch it with so many room light on sometimes I think dang I wouldn’t watch my 32 inch Sony CRT with this much light on. Super-bowl rocked on this, this year.

Did the XR10 make it back to work ok?

SSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssss

Good post Larrimore…. But we don’t want anyone to know…lol….

Truly on my gray screen I watch it with so many room light on sometimes I think dang I wouldn’t watch my 32 inch Sony CRT with this much light on. Super-bowl rocked on this, this year.

Did the XR10 make it back to work ok?

It's staying at my house for the weekend. I am planning a family movie night tonight and we'll see what my family's thinks.

Great posts, folks...this is a very useful thread...

Bud - I'm particularly interested in your DIY cabling...I'm going to need to do the same thing myself, as my projector will be about 25' from its source when it's ceiling mounted too.

Btw, can anyone recommend a good reading source for explaining why HD-DVD (in whatever format) will be a problem for this projector when it comes out? I understand that HDMI will be needed to overcome copyright protection, but why is that not the case now? Are the new batch of HD-DVDs just going to be more secure, and HDMI/DVI are the only way around it?

It just means for you to use HDMI (DVI with HDCP via pin converter) 1080i output, you need HDMI/DVI input on PJ to show. Otherwise you have to resort to SD resolutions of 480i via Svideo or composite, or ED resolution of 480p via component. The HD-DVD player will play the tittle in down-sampled resolutions (480i and 480p) for those without HDMI.

Hoping that a 1080i component will be available with blu-ray. Is not written yet buy we will see. I have also a CRT FP that lacks digital input. For me that is more of a concern than the 10x cause I use the CRT for more serious movie watching. Having said that there are external DVI boxes available and AFAIK they are copywrite enabled. So there is solution.

It just means for you to use HDMI (DVI with HDCP via pin converter) 1080i output, you need HDMI/DVI input on PJ to show. Otherwise you have to resort to SD resolutions of 480i via Svideo or composite, or ED resolution of 480p via component. The HD-DVD player will play the tittle in down-sampled resolutions (480i and 480p) for those without HDMI.

Actually, my understanding is that the HD-DVD and Blue ray players will output 540P (960X540, commonly called 1/4 HD) via component out and IF AND ONLY IF the disc contains a flag making it do so. Otherwise, they will output the full HD resolution over component. Although this is down from 1080, it still represents a nearly 50% INCREASE in resolution over 480. As of now, most studios are not planning to use the flag at the beginning in order to keep from alienating their customers. Anyway, having had a projector with a 1/4 HD native resolution (downrezzed all of my HD to that just as the HD players will), most people cannot notice the difference, even on a 100" screen. So, for me and most cost conscious consumers considering this projector, it should be a non issue- for the forseeable future.

Hoping that a 1080i component will be available with blu-ray. Is not written yet buy we will see. I have also a CRT FP that lacks digital input. For me that is more of a concern than the 10x cause I use the CRT for more serious movie watching. Having said that there are external DVI boxes available and AFAIK they are copywrite enabled. So there is solution.

The same issues apply for BR and HDDVD players. The scheme was developed by the studios and not the companies developing the formats. All BR and HDDVD players will have to downrez the component outs if the studio who makes the disc puts the flag on the disc.

By the way, 1/4 HDis called this since it is 50% of the HDTV 1080i signal format in both horizontal and vertical dimensions.
This is important in that it makes it easy for the player to downrez the material since it is a direct factor of the original. It's a lot simpler for the chips to do than 480. Which ultimately may mean a better picture than downrezzing the original 1080 on the disc to 720P for use by most current projectors.

Understand but flagging might come later as there are tons of unit sold that either lack or incompatible. Time will tell. AFA 10x is concerned it is practically a 1024x540 resolution in 16x9 mode hence having a 1080p,i should not be a concern.

Understand but flagging might come later as there are tons of unit sold that either lack or incompatible. Time will tell. AFA 10x is concerned it is practically a 1024x540 resolution in 16x9 mode hence having a 1080p,i should not be a concern.

My thoughts exactly.

I just wanted to thank all of you in helping me (a projector newbie) come up to speed on the XR-10X. I've done a lot of research on the XR-10X, but I had about a half dozen questions, and they were all answered here. This forum is amazing ... thanks again!

I just wanted to thank all of you in helping me (a projector newbie) come up to speed on the XR-10X. I've done a lot of research on the XR-10X, but I had about a half dozen questions, and they were all answered here. This forum is amazing ... thanks again!

Ditto.

Appreciate all the discussion above regarding my HD-DVD question above in particular.

These boards helped me through my first home theater, first HDTV, first HD satellite purchase, first projector, etc. I am always pleasantly surprised at the wealth of knowledge that is around here.

I'm reading some very optomistic remarks about this PJ. My trip to Costco today revealed it sells for nine Bennies and even less on the bay (refurb). '
Now my question: Has anyone tried this unit with an anamorphic lens setup?
If so, could you share your experience?

I love counting pixels. 540P (1/4HD) is 518k pixels. That's the worst-case scenario on the XR10X. The best case scenario from any source is 576P (1024x576) in widescreen, which is 590k pixels, so even if they flag every disk you're only 'losing' 10% of your possible resolution with the PJ anyway. Not much of a downside.

I still have a lingering question on another thread that I'd love to direct people to if you know a lot about VGA-HDMI-DVI and the finer points of each.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=651460

Thanks guys.

Ok as CMRA (Commander Ra? Camera-guy? I'll go with Commander Ralph until I hear different) noted, these are showing up again on the Bay quite attractively. Refurbs have the same 90 day bulb warranty as new units, so to me (living in India and feeling confident I won't have any non-bulb problems) saving the $100-150 doesn't seem like a bad idea. Anybody want to share refurb horror stories to talk me out of it? The only bad experiences I've had with refurbs were cordless phones that came with half-dead batteries. Hope nothing like that would apply to bulbs. Guess my other concern is that the refurb units could have been returned due to bowing and not been idenitifed as such in the refurb process and still have the problem - but I don't think these are exceptionally more likely to have the bowing issue.. right? Nudge me to pull the trigger!

Ok as CMRA (Commander Ra? Camera-guy? I'll go with Commander Ralph until I hear different) noted, these are showing up again on the Bay quite attractively. Refurbs have the same 90 day bulb warranty as new units, so to me (living in India and feeling confident I won't have any non-bulb problems) saving the $100-150 doesn't seem like a bad idea. Anybody want to share refurb horror stories to talk me out of it? The only bad experiences I've had with refurbs were cordless phones that came with half-dead batteries. Hope nothing like that would apply to bulbs. Guess my other concern is that the refurb units could have been returned due to bowing and not been idenitifed as such in the refurb process and still have the problem - but I don't think these are exceptionally more likely to have the bowing issue.. right? Nudge me to pull the trigger!
I buy refurb all of the time since I had a realtive who worked for Sony and told me that 90%+ are actually returns within the 30 day period at Wally World or Best Buy or CCity. The CE manufacturers agreements with most of the big box retailers is that they will simply take the item back and repackage it. Since it has been used, it is checked out and then boxed as a refurb. In my experience most of those returns are buyer's remorse rather than something actually wrong.

As I metioned before, I am a proud owner of a Panasonic AE500. However, after last night with this projector and 3 movies, I can state again that those on a budget should run, not walk, to get this PJ. In fact, if I could sell my Panny and 106" (16X9) screen, this PJ would tempt me. I used it last night with an ND2 filter I had left from my days with the X-2 2 years ago and it gave a great picture and was noticably absent the vertical banding that I have grown accustomed to with my Panny. With the ND2, its contrast was at even a tick better than the Panny as well. For under 9 clams, this is a GREAT PJ that should be generating a lot more buzz than it is.

I also need to add that the rainbows that caused me to get rid of the x1 are greatly reduced with this PJ, I would have never thought that a 3x vs 2x wheel would make that much difference. I also found out about the sealed optics on the 10x- coming from LCD, this is a definite plus as well.

When I consider a refurb it has to make sense from cost stand point. Taking a refurb home is sorta gambling so the price has to be part of the equation as always. If you buy a refurb for 10% less than new, you are going to ask yourself if the trade off(s) are worth taking the risk. On the contrary, this unit has been out not long so a refurb can have so many hours (100's) in worst case situation. The bowing issue is not as serious as it sounds. All lenses have this issue more and less. I had one of this unit in the office. After bringing it home a few times I grabbed one for myself. It was a good deal from Staples turned out eight bennies plus a free laser printer. Please don't discus the price or we loose this thread. The deal I had is no longer available. As far as using anomorphic lens I am not sure if this unit allows a full panel resolution with 16x9 materials. I will look into it and report. Overall if one can live with somewhat elevated black level in low contrast scene w/o an ND filter it is a winner pj.

About anamorphic lenses...

This being my second 4:3 projector I have had an interest in a anamorphic lens to get as much resolution from DVDs as possible. However, the cost of one of these lenses is huge...near the cost of the XR10X itself last I checked. :(

Anyway. I would think one would work fine...as long as you can find a way to mount it...but keep in mind that 720p and 1080i resolutions are automatically put into "stretch" mode by the PJ and cannot be changed. You can change 480p signals, though, so you could display a widescreen DVD in full screen and have the anamorphic lens squeeze it down into the proper aspect ratio.

I havent tested this myself, of course, but it should work...

I currently own an Anamorphic lens and I would say that this projector doesn't need it. I did hook mine up and due to the shorter throw of the projector; less than 2.0-1, there is a slight bow to the image. Without the Anamorphic lens, there really is no "bow"persay, except maybe slight. I don't use my Anamorphic lens and am seriously thinking about selling it.

Sure if you want to, go ahead and use it.

About anamorphic lenses...

This being my second 4:3 projector I have had an interest in a anamorphic lens to get as much resolution from DVDs as possible. However, the cost of one of these lenses is huge...near the cost of the XR10X itself last I checked. :(

Anyway. I would think one would work fine...as long as you can find a way to mount it...but keep in mind that 720p and 1080i resolutions are automatically put into "stretch" mode by the PJ and cannot be changed. You can change 480p signals, though, so you could display a widescreen DVD in full screen and have the anamorphic lens squeeze it down into the proper aspect ratio.

I havent tested this myself, of course, but it should work...

An anamorphic adapter makes sense for HD, but in most cases makes no sense for DVD.

I been away from the forums for a few weeks and wow did this thread really take off. I too have this PJ and am intrigued by the post about the "ILO" dvd burner. I too saw this at wallmart and was thinking, damn what a steal for a burner at that price instead of the old vcr. Then I told myself no, since I still owe money to my parents for the PJ. However now I see it actually "improves" SDTV some?? How much? Noticible from a bare SDTV input tuned w/ a VCR inputted to the porjector w/ composite to being tuned w/ this and inputted w/ component?? Does this recorder have a tuner built in or would I still need the VCR to do the channel tuning? Could the owner of this ILO unit please elaborate on the above questions.

Also to those w/ bowing...is it bowing in the up/down direction as in top to bottom of screen, or bowing in the "depth" of the pic, as in left to right, but kind of from the "rear" of the pic out to the "front" in the middle and then back to the "rear" on the right? I know thats hard to follow, its almost as if you were to have a full sheet photo and you were to curl it slightly, as in "bow" it or "squeeze it" making the middle pop out a little. I seem ot have a lil bowing in this respect noticble w/ the PC image on screen, the middle looks a lil distorted and "closer" to me than the 2 sides. THe 2 sides are crystal clear, the middle just looks a lil weird, almost if the pixels themselves are a tad bigger or something.

Thanks!!

Probably the best way to find out if you have a bowing problem, and what kind of problem it is, is with a test pattern. Use Avia, DVE or a pattern from an HTPC. Use a pattern with lots of lines and text. The Resolution pattern should work well.

Having said this, I do NOT have ANY bowing problem with my XR10. And I wouldn't be looking for it if I couldn't see it easily with regular video. I don't spend a lot of time watching test patterns (the plots are really boring). With ANY projector (especially in this price range) you CAN find ISSUES if you look hard enough. I do understand we all want to make good buying decisions, but don't over analyze things.

My new motto is: Don't spend time LOOKING for problems. Spend time watching movies and enjoying what I've got. :D

Well, my XR-10X must not like the Oscars.
I was watching them, and just as the show was ending, the PJ just turned off.
No bulb exploding sound, no temp warning indicator prior to it.
Just up and shut off.
No cool down fans, nothing.
It won't turn back on, even with it having been unplugged for an hour and then plugged back in.

I guess I'll have to call the local service centers and hope it can be repaired in time for my Sopranos Sunday party...
:(

I been away from the forums for a few weeks and wow did this thread really take off. I too have this PJ and am intrigued by the post about the "ILO" dvd burner. I too saw this at wallmart and was thinking, damn what a steal for a burner at that price instead of the old vcr. Then I told myself no, since I still owe money to my parents for the PJ. However now I see it actually "improves" SDTV some?? How much? Noticible from a bare SDTV input tuned w/ a VCR inputted to the porjector w/ composite to being tuned w/ this and inputted w/ component?? Does this recorder have a tuner built in or would I still need the VCR to do the channel tuning? Could the owner of this ILO unit please elaborate on the above questions.

Also to those w/ bowing...is it bowing in the up/down direction as in top to bottom of screen, or bowing in the "depth" of the pic, as in left to right, but kind of from the "rear" of the pic out to the "front" in the middle and then back to the "rear" on the right? I know thats hard to follow, its almost as if you were to have a full sheet photo and you were to curl it slightly, as in "bow" it or "squeeze it" making the middle pop out a little. I seem ot have a lil bowing in this respect noticble w/ the PC image on screen, the middle looks a lil distorted and "closer" to me than the 2 sides. THe 2 sides are crystal clear, the middle just looks a lil weird, almost if the pixels themselves are a tad bigger or something.

Thanks!!

Ss69camaro350

I’ll answer your second question first. Picture a horizontal and a vertical line cutting your screen into 4 pieces. The bowing they are talking about is the horizontal line will be curved up slightly in the middle. On mine the top edge of the picture is dead straight the horizontal line down the middle is almost perfect and the bottom edge shows a tiny bit of bowing. I would never have seen it if not for this post and I haven’t tried any adjustments in drop height or throw distance to change it. if you want to check for it use the test screen that’s built into the projector. My right and left sides are dead on and keystone is set to zero.

As for the ILO it does have a tuner built in and I haven’t tried using it yet. My cable feed comes from a cable box and I’m just passing it thru the DVD. It has all the VCR bells and whistles with channel search and timers etc. you will think it’s a VCR when you set it up. It does output 480P and it does improve my SD image. Now there is the case of making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Its not going to make it into any thing that’s not there to start with. What I saw on SD with the interlaced composite signal coming in was the picture was blocky to the point that I couldn’t watch it full screen and kicked down to border mode to view. T he other problem was when the image was moving fast the edges of a object moving would get a little pixilated or there would be slight trailing artifacts. Here is what the up-scaling did. It took away the blocky part away and replaced it with kind of a soft focus look and it managed to improve the edge artifacts with movement a lot. To my eyes the picture got improved a good deal by doing this to the point I’m watching most of the SD at 72x96 at a distance of 12 feet. The digital channels were great on composite before and even better with the 480p. I also added back in a signal amp in the cable feeding my house and that gave me a little improvement also.

I have read reviews on the ILO DVD player / recorder and see mixed reviews. Some people seem to think it’s a joke and I’m assuming it’s based on the cost somewhat. I haven’t had time to really test it out completely. One review I read said he had made well over a 1000 DVD’s with it and had no problems. He also said he records everything to DVD-RW and then copies it to a DVD-R on his pc if he wants to keep it. they are getting 1000 re writes to the DVD-RW’s. that’s as many or more than I would think you could get to a VHS tape. ILO also makes one with an 80Gig drive in it along with the DVD burner.

Well, my XR-10X must not like the Oscars.
I was watching them, and just as the show was ending, the PJ just turned off.
No bulb exploding sound, no temp warning indicator prior to it.
Just up and shut off.
No cool down fans, nothing.
It won't turn back on, even with it having been unplugged for an hour and then plugged back in.

I guess I'll have to call the local service centers and hope it can be repaired in time for my Sopranos Sunday party...
:(

Sorry to hear about the problems. :( Keep us posted on what they find.

Also keep us posted on how the warranty works out.

Well I picked up the Ilo 2nite, I couldn't wait, lol, at that price it just seemed like a helluva deal, hell most decent dvd PLAYERS were $100 just a few months ago. To get a recorder for this price seemed too good to be true. Just finished hooking it up and I do seem to have a clearer pic. ANd I too noticed that artifact on fast moving objects, such as an animated character's mouth moving when they talked...that seems to be gone. My pic seems sharper too. And all of this is not to even begin to mention the benefits of being able to record to dvd now instead of tapes. Now maybe I'll actually start using all these DVD-rw's I bought with the intention of making movies on the computer and transferring vhs to dvd using the computer but never did cuz of all the work involved in getting the video into the computer.

Sorry to hear about your Xr-10X Dreamcat, almost sounds like the power supply failed. I hope this isn't an indication we're all gonna have problems as they start to age in a bit. Lset us know what he problem was.

Jeff

I purchased a ceiling mount from ebay (just like item # 5877546794 if you want to check it out) and I'm awaiting delivery now. I picked this one because I needed the extension pole since the home theatre has a suspended ceiling and I have about 6" above the ceiling where the assembly will be mounted to the joist.

I'll chime back in once I receive it and get it installed.

Right now, I'm thinking I'll be able to use some PVC piping to slide over the extension pole to "hide" the cabling from the projector. I can cut out a slot for the cables and paint the whole thing white... I think that will give a cleaner look than leaving the cables exposed. Has anyone tried anything similar to this?

I purchased a ceiling mount from ebay (just like item # 5877546794 if you want to check it out) and I'm awaiting delivery now. I picked this one because I needed the extension pole since the home theatre has a suspended ceiling and I have about 6" above the ceiling where the assembly will be mounted to the joist.

I'll chime back in once I receive it and get it installed.

Right now, I'm thinking I'll be able to use some PVC piping to slide over the extension pole to "hide" the cabling from the projector. I can cut out a slot for the cables and paint the whole thing white... I think that will give a cleaner look than leaving the cables exposed. Has anyone tried anything similar to this?

Nope but sounds like a good plan. I hope you can post a few pictures when you get it mounted. Does the mount come with the metric screws to attach to the projector. I think they were M4’s be careful when you mount it because they looked to be real close to a English number size screw.

So what kind of throw distance/image size are you guys using with your XR-10? i have mine at 15 feet with like 120-130" i downloaded the sharp lens selector thing but it didnt really tell me anything besides what you already know lol. like is there a recomended throw distance for it?

Evilfud

So what kind of throw distance/image size are you guys using with your XR-10? i have mine at 15 feet with like 120-130" i downloaded the sharp lens selector thing but it didnt really tell me anything besides what you already know lol. like is there a recomended throw distance for it?

Evilfud

14’6” 120”

The recommended throw distance depends on the image size. I forget the smallest image something like 50” but the largest they list is 300”

I made a post the other day about a idea I had on a special screen size that would use the zoom on the XR10X to give you a larger 16:9 image. My friend is going to build such a screen we’ll let you know how it works. See link below

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=649069

Nope but sounds like a good plan. I hope you can post a few pictures when you get it mounted. Does the mount come with the metric screws to attach to the projector. I think they were M4’s be careful when you mount it because they looked to be real close to a English number size screw.

Thanks for the tip. I definitely don't want to strip out the screw housing by forcing the wrong one. You'd think this ebay guy would know which ones to use since he's marketing it to the Sharp products specifically, but I guess I'll find out when I get it.

Yeah, I'll be sure to post pics when I get it mounted.

Irmo i bought the extension poled mount from the ebay guy the provided screws work perfectly. it does give the prjector a little more wiggles than a short mount but as long as u get everything out of the way it shouldnt move on ya after you tighter everything up how you want it.

Evilfud

Ah, the joys of having purchased from a "warehouse" style store.
I walk in, tell them it won't turn on, go get a new one off the shelf, walk out with a new PJ that turns on and with zero hours on the bulb.
They didn't even open the box to make sure the PJ was in there!
Hassle free!
:)

Irmo i bought the extension poled mount from the ebay guy the provided screws work perfectly. it does give the prjector a little more wiggles than a short mount but as long as u get everything out of the way it shouldnt move on ya after you tighter everything up how you want it.

Evilfud

Okay cool, glad to hear it. Thanks.

I hadn't thought of the wiggle factor though...my home theatre is in a basement so I'm hoping that I won't get a shake/wiggle in the screen everytime someone walks overhead.

Ah, the joys of having purchased from a "warehouse" style store.
I walk in, tell them it won't turn on, go get a new one off the shelf, walk out with a new PJ that turns on and with zero hours on the bulb.
They didn't even open the box to make sure the PJ was in there!
Hassle free!
:)

My guess is that the excitements of buying a new PJ has hit home again. Sweet :)

Gives me a reason to have fun calibrating again (did that this morning).
Still haven't bought the nd2 filter, but I'm gonna look for one locally this weekend.

Did you see any unit to unit variations in PQ?

Looks indentical. It's like I didn't even replace it, except for the lamp hours reading 0. :)

I bought one recently and felt it was kinda different from the one we had in the office.
Also I think the lamp clock is not true and runs faster than real by about 30%. I hope I am wrong but I will have an eye on that to see if it really is overestimating the lamp hour.

Hey guys - I got the ebay mount up this past weekend and overall I'm pleased with the product. I think I'd recommend it if anyone else is considering buying one too.

HOWEVER...

Beware that the kit, while packaged nicely and includes everything needed, comes completely disassembled and with no instructions whatsoever for assembly. It's pretty easy to figure out what goes where of course, but you'll spend some time trying to decide what screw/bolt goes in what housing. The kit apparently includes screws for several different models, as I had some leftover after putting it together (usually a scary proposition) and some are hard to decipher based on the picture on the box.

I suppose I could've emailed the seller for instructions, but it would have taken longer to do that than it would to figure out which screw/bolt went where in the kit. If you're considering buying this mount though, you may want to email for instructions ahead of time.

I'll get some pictures up once I trim out the mount with the PVC housing I mentioned above.

Irmo
Some pictures would be great. And if you could take some before and after you make your mod would be great also. I have mine mounted but my friend at work just bought a XR10X and was asking about mounts just today. IM me if you need a email addy to send them to or post them would even be better. I like the idea you had to hide the drop wires

That ebay mount from mountdirect.com has the instructions on their website. Very easy to assemble. Pain in the booty to adjust the projector. Very wiggly and frustrating, but works steady and fine once it is all adjusted.

I love this projector.

I have been reading a bunch of posts about other projectors and what preventive maintenance that is required cleaning filters etc.

I was just wondering what if any PM the XR10X guys are doing and how often?
Also is anyone using the lens cap other than me when not in use?
Do you see much dust on your lens? Clean it? With what and how?

On another note I took a black card the other night and lowered it down across the lens blocking the light spray upwards on the ceiling (ceiling mounted) I was able to cover close to half the lens before the card showed on the screen and it did mask all the light hitting the ceiling. Has anyone made anything to do this permanently?

Yes I have used two velcro adhered to the rim of the lens (front of the lens) covering the top and bottom of image. It is not perfect but helps. I might take the lens off and do something similar inside with something heat resistant if I can figure it out.

Caspian, I am actually thinking of maybe trying that with different ND2 lenses. If it works, I could end up with a WideScreen filter; and a SuperWidescreen filter :) I will go and buy a new ND2 lens at the local camera shop just to play around and see how it goes with blacking out part of the ND2 filter with a permanent marker.... Once I figure out exactly where to mark.....

Would the light reflection bouncing back to the projector hurt the projector at all?

I used velcro stuck to the lens not the glass. Problem is that the edge of the masking blurs out and partially block the light on the screen as well. If you move it away a bit it will gets too far off the screen as there is no clear line to mask the image due to blurring effect. I would be reluctant to go any further on this technic. Rather a masking that would be closest to the focal point (which is the panel) of the lens is ideal. Whatever i do it will be behind the lens rather than front of the lens. I guess I am up to some experiments. Fun stuff.

Bud: I use the lens cap occasionally, when I don't think I'll be using it for a few day(s).

I used to use the cap all the time w/my Epson, but that cap was attached by a string to the PJ (plus the PJ was easier to get at) so it was second nature to attach the cap after use. The way I have seating now it's more of a pain to get at the lens, plus the cap isn't attached, so I end up not using it much. This also means that I'm not having to refocus as much. ;)

The basement isn't too dusty, so I really don't have to clean the lens much, but I occasionally squirt a camera air bulb at it to blow the loose stuff clear.

Caspian: that sounds like a good idea to try an reduce light spill from the lens. How did you attach the velcro to the lens rim?

you have a thin rim to work with. But velcro is self adhesive. It sticks there nicely without touching the glass since the front element is recessed.
Edward-as far as reflection there is no reflection or barely anyway since I am blocking the low intensity gray bars only. But it actually should improve ansi cr in bright due to the fact that they block the light reflecting back from screen/room back into the lens.

This actually sounds like a good idea...thanks...I think I will try it tonight. Never thought of doing masking from the lens end, but I suppose I wasn't thinking hard enough. :D

Do you mask all sides, or just the top/bottom? I know from experience that the top will benefit from the masking at least (I tried the same thing Bud did).

Just top and bottom for 16x9 materials. No side masking.

Okay guys, I finished my PJ mount install over the weekend and took some pics. I'm linking the images from my online album, so I hope that's okay for this forum.

Here's a pic before my homemade PVC modification:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p1199292395d03a97071954c63e10dad2/efc6434b.jpg

Here's the same angle after:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/pb2f4f154487728b2b2a909f97834f582/efc6425b.jpg

Here's a couple of close up before and afters:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/pfcc151aed943b86d56b83daa6ba9da15/efc6427a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p2342828466a20273387ca2008de17666/efc641d1.jpg

And, here's an after-view from the floor (where it will be seen by most).

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p4fdb952ee16adf47883f9ec9b422a346/efc6426b.jpg

I'd still like to trim out where the PVC goes into the ceiling to dress it up a bit (I just caulked the area for now) and I still haven't decided if I want to extend the PVC out of the back to further hide the wires (I think this may be overdoing it a bit) or if I just want to tidy them up a bit with some velcro straps.

Even though this is a bit of a "redneck" mod (at around $3 in materials), I think the finished product is an improvement over the original's look and it was easily done. Let me know what you guys think.

Irmo

I like it. Looks much more finished than just wires zip tied to the drop pipe for sure.
Room looks very nice also, pretty ceiling.

Next time I’m in Timber Lake and I get DLP withdrawals I might have to give you a call.

Irmo

I like it. Looks much more finished than just wires zip tied to the drop pipe for sure.
Room looks very nice also, pretty ceiling.

Thanks, I did that myself actually. Thought it turned out pretty well. It's a suspended ceiling, btw...which makes all my wiring chores completely painless.


Next time I’m in Timber Lake and I get DLP withdrawals I might have to give you a call.

Yeah, I might have it all finished by then! :D

Looks like you have the power chord and the video going into the same pipe... Not a good thing.....

To test the theory; I would plug the projector temporarily to an outlet away from all your video cords; all your AV stuff etc.... Then compare the picture quality and decide.... Afterall YMMV...

Looks like you have the power chord and the video going into the same pipe... Not a good thing.....

To test the theory; I would plug the projector temporarily to an outlet away from all your video cords; all your AV stuff etc.... Then compare the picture quality and decide.... Afterall YMMV...

Yeah, I was worried about interference coming from the power cord too. This wasn't the final wiring, btw...I just threw those wires through there just for the picture.

How does everyone else run the power cord into the ceiling? Through a seperate hole/conduit?

Mine just run up into the ceiling tile without any pipe. I have a dedicated outlet above my ceiling tile just for the projector. My Sharp is against a wall so you don't really notice it like you do on yours being somewhat near the middle of the room...

I used to have to go through the same pipe as all my video and then have it plugged in the same powerstrip as my receiver. Then I bought a separate amplifier which made my signal fuzzy a little bit. I moved my power for the projector to above the ceiling and couldn't believe how much my picture improved.... I don't have one of those fancy Monster Outlet strips, but I am guessing that the Monster Outlet strips basically accomplish the same thing...

Mine just run up into the ceiling tile without any pipe. I have a dedicated outlet above my ceiling tile just for the projector. My Sharp is against a wall so you don't really notice it like you do on yours being somewhat near the middle of the room...


Yeah, I have a dedicated outlet above the ceiling tile as well, so I don't have to run extension cords. I'll run some tests and see how the PQ changes. Would hate to have to put another hole in the ceiling tile though.

Btw, I had my first extended viewing with this projector last night. I set it up with a Time Warner 8300HD DVR connected via the component cable provided with the projector.

Non-HD material (USC-FSU NIT basketball game) on a digital channel (ESPN-HD) was surprisingly not bad. Much better than my 57" Toshiba HDTV presents the same material.

HD material though, is absolutely AMAZING. We flipped back and forth last night between the above ballgame and American Idol on Fox-HD and I was stunned by the vibrant colors and level of detail presented. I also checked out some movie previews on INHD and was impressed there as well.

This is all projected on a 9' wide screen (the wall actually) and sitting either 12.5' or 9.25' away.

I feel better and better that I made a good decision going with this projector.

IrmoGamecoq,
Another way to "improve" your picture quality is to "paint" some of your ceiling tiles near where you are projecting black. It improves the picture by reducing the reflectivity some in the room and enhances the black level. I would paint at least the tiles on top of where you are shooting up to at least '5 back. Painting the tiles by using a foam brush works best..... It is just something to think about. I will post pictures of my ceiling upon request to show you the look. Choosing the right projector is just the first step in getting a really high quality picture.


Anyone using the Sharp XR-10X with a Logitech Harmony Remote? I tried setting up my 680 remote on the web with their setup software, but for some reason, the remote won't change the inputs on the projector....

I wonder if there is a way to somehow "improve" the response manually....

IrmoGamecoq,
Another way to "improve" your picture quality is to "paint" some of your ceiling tiles near where you are projecting black. It improves the picture by reducing the reflectivity some in the room and enhances the black level. I would paint at least the tiles on top of where you are shooting up to at least '5 back. Painting the tiles by using a foam brush works best..... It is just something to think about. I will post pictures of my ceiling upon request to show you the look. Choosing the right projector is just the first step in getting a really high quality picture.


Hmmm, hadn't thought of painting the ceiling tiles black in this area. I'll have to give that some consideration.

And, I'd definitely like to see pics of your theatre if you'd be willing to share. I'll prolly post mine once I'm all finished...which should hopefully be in a week or two when I get carpet put down.

Yes I have used two velcro adhered to the rim of the lens (front of the lens) covering the top and bottom of image. It is not perfect but helps. I might take the lens off and do something similar inside with something heat resistant if I can figure it out.


Caspian, I took your great idea and modified it a little bit... I went to the camera store where they were selling old camera lens masks for $1.50/so... I bought two sizes; 62mm and 67mm to try them out... I inversed them so the mask hangs backwards instead of how they would mounted over a camera lens. They slide over, but don't touch the ND2 filter so no worries about scratching the lens with it. I taped black electrical tape on the top to test and after a little tweaking trying to get the tape in the right position; I can now top mask for the 2:22/1 movies now with ease... All I do is just put it over the lens and remove it without any velcro or anything... It just stays there until I remove it for full-screen viewing! I am going to buy a few more for 1:87/movies next..... Even my wife was impressed... I will try to take some digital pics soon of what it looks like including my setup with the Sharp XR10X....

Yes, please post some pictures!

I haven't gotten around to experimenting with masking myself, but I would love to see what works for other people.

I knew this projector had been gaining popularity in the HT crowd, but never really paid much attention to it until today. I must say, after reading this whole thread, I'm pretty impressed.

Unfortunately, my room has some serious limitations with regard to the room geometry (namely a chair rail that limits how low the image can go, and a ceiling fan that limits how high it can go). Originally, the fixed offset of just about every 16x9 DLP (in my budget) combined with my wife's "no ceiling mounting" rule eliminated all but a few PJs from consideration (basically only the AE700, AE900, and Z4 remained). Thankfully, she removed that constraint a couple weeks ago, but I was finding the fixed offset was causing just as many problems. My hope is that the 4x3 nature of this projector helps.

So my question is, in a general sense, how exactly is 16x9 material handled in the 10x's 4x3 environment? More specifically, is it possible to send the incoming 1024x576 signal (I'd be using an HTPC) to any location in the 4x3 window? Can I have the picture at the bottom with one thick black bar on top, or vice versa, or am I restricted to simply two equal black bars on the top and bottom? Alternatively (but equally effective I think), am I able to shift the image up or down (with a loss of pixels) within the 4x3 framework?

I'm hoping that this unit provides just enough flexibility for me to add it to my list of candidates. Thanks in advance for any help.

So my question is, in a general sense, how exactly is 16x9 material handled in the 10x's 4x3 environment? More specifically, is it possible to send the incoming 1024x576 signal (I'd be using an HTPC) to any location in the 4x3 window? Can I have the picture at the bottom with one thick black bar on top, or vice versa, or am I restricted to simply two equal black bars on the top and bottom? Alternatively (but equally effective I think), am I able to shift the image up or down (with a loss of pixels) within the 4x3 framework?


I'm far from an expert on this PJ, but I think I can answer your question with a "yes."

I've tinkered around with the image-shift feature, and was able to shift the 16x9 image to the upper and lower edges of the overall 4:3 box it's housed in. So it sounds like it'll do exactly what you're looking for.

There are two ways with "picture shift"... One is using the HTPC itself using software like ZoomPlayer and TheaterTek which hae picture shift in the software.. The other is the Projector which has picture shift.... Depending on how you go, either one should work fine... I personally am not sending a 1024x576 signal using my HTPC, but 1024x768 using TheaterTek... It ends up working just fine for me......

There are two ways with "picture shift"... One is using the HTPC itself using software like ZoomPlayer and TheaterTek which hae picture shift in the software..

I never thought of this before, but of course you're absolutely right: this way would certainly work too. I'll check tonight to see whether MediaPortal (which is what I'll eventually be using as my HD PVR, and quite possibly my DVD player) supports this. I'd imagine it does.

On an unrelated note, has anyone done a side by side comparison with the 4805, H31, or H27? I know someone mentioned earlier they had looked at these prior to settling on the 10x, but I was a bit unclear as to whether this was "looked at" in the first person sense or "looked at" via, say, AVS Forum. I'm just curious as to how this compares with those (aside from the obvious increase in resolution).

Thanks again for all the help.

Caspian, I took your great idea and modified it a little bit... I went to the camera store where they were selling old camera lens masks for $1.50/so... I bought two sizes; 62mm and 67mm to try them out... I inversed them so the mask hangs backwards instead of how they would mounted over a camera lens. They slide over, but don't touch the ND2 filter so no worries about scratching the lens with it. I taped black electrical tape on the top to test and after a little tweaking trying to get the tape in the right position; I can now top mask for the 2:22/1 movies now with ease... All I do is just put it over the lens and remove it without any velcro or anything... It just stays there until I remove it for full-screen viewing! I am going to buy a few more for 1:87/movies next..... Even my wife was impressed... I will try to take some digital pics soon of what it looks like including my setup with the Sharp XR10X....

I am glad it worked for you. I might just buy a cheap UV 62mm filter and mask its glass permanently and put on. I watch only 16x9 on this PJ and movies are all watched on my CRT in my dedicated room. HAving said that I like your idea and if get the time might follow your trick.

I never thought of this before, but of course you're absolutely right: this way would certainly work too. I'll check tonight to see whether MediaPortal (which is what I'll eventually be using as my HD PVR, and quite possibly my DVD player) supports this. I'd imagine it does.

On an unrelated note, has anyone done a side by side comparison with the 4805, H31, or H27? I know someone mentioned earlier they had looked at these prior to settling on the 10x, but I was a bit unclear as to whether this was "looked at" in the first person sense or "looked at" via, say, AVS Forum. I'm just curious as to how this compares with those (aside from the obvious increase in resolution).

Thanks again for all the help.
I owned a 4805 and sold it. Sharp is ways better IMO. The on/off (dark clips) were a tad better with IF but I like everything else Sharp has to offer. Pics are more dtailed, color are cleaner and infact Ansi Contrast is better with Sharp. More than anything the SDE is much improved with Sharp.

Orphd

Moving the picture up and down should be no problem. The border mode is also handy to sometimes view SD in. I still have times I like to view a VHS tape or some other low-resolution signal and in border it looks clean. That image can be shifted also.

With the lumens this projector provides and matching it to the proper screen IMO it will blow away anything close in price. A lot of the guys here advocate a ND2 filter as a way to tame the lumens. I personally am in the camp of if you have them why not use them. going with a different screen (gray) and projecting the higher lumens I believe has some effect in nullifying ambient light issues while maintaining the ft-L you prefer on the screen.

I love my ceiling mount and this projector shoots a pretty steep angle its amazing to me just how close to the screen something has to be to cast a shadow. But the ceiling fan could be a problem. A free hanging screen could solve the chair rail problem. There is a throw distance program you can down load from the Sharp site and it will answer all those questions and even print you out a blueprint showing just what drop distance and throw for the size screen you want to use.

Below in my signature are links to 3 good reads on what I did as far as a screen design and some screen shots showing you the 16:9 mode. Hopeful new pictures will be posted shortly.

Last night while watching Lost, I noticed a very faint (VERY faint) white line gliding up the screen from top to bottom. This is electrical interference, right?

If so, looks like I need to take this PJ's ceiling outlet off the room's circuit and give it a dedicated circuit all its own. That is, if this line continues to bother me...my wife thought I was crazy and couldn't see it (happens alot). :D

Yes, that is electrical interference... There are many ways to examine the problem...

#1)Does it only happen with cable? Maybe you can Isolate the cable box away from all other electric equipment.

#2) Did you send the electrical along a different pipe completely away from the video?

#3) The expensive solution; try a Monster type electrical separation powerstrip...

Yes, that is electrical interference... There are many ways to examine the problem...

#1)Does it only happen with cable? Maybe you can Isolate the cable box away from all other electric equipment.

Can't tell yet, I only have a cable box running into the projector right now.

#2) Did you send the electrical along a different pipe completely away from the video?

Yes, right now, my component cable is temporarily just running underneath the projector, across the room, and into my AV rack. The PJ's power cable is running up and through the PVC pipe that's in my pic above.

So, it must be picking up interference via the circuit, right? The Audio Receiver and the DVR are plugged into the same 20A circuit as the PJ. I could test this by plugging them into a different circuit to see if the line goes away.

#3) The expensive solution; try a Monster type electrical separation powerstrip...

It would prolly be cheaper for me to just run another electrical circuit directly to this PJ (I have a suspended ceiling so this would be EZ).

Try it both ways; run an extension chord to another outlet for 1st the projector; then use an extension chord for just the cable box to another outlet....

Are you running Composite, Svideo or Component from the cable box into the projector and how long is the run? Another test to try is temporarily put the cable box only like 6 feet away from the projector with a much shorter cable and see what that does to the picture...

Try it both ways; run an extension chord to another outlet for 1st the projector; then use an extension chord for just the cable box to another outlet....

Good idea...

Are you running Composite, Svideo or Component from the cable box into the projector and how long is the run? Another test to try is temporarily put the cable box only like 6 feet away from the projector with a much shorter cable and see what that does to the picture...

Component.

It's a fairly long run (15'+), with two sets of component cables joined with a coupler in the middle. Wouldn't think that would be a problem though.

I also suggest that you check for proper grounding of the power circuit in use. This could be very well a humming video noise. Check also no parralel runing of the power & signal lines. Measure the V between ground and neutral not be exceeded .1V. You should run a ONE piece component as those connectors might have different impedence. My component cable is 25' long without any adverse effect on the video.

I made my own component cables. OK call me crazy. But I had a 30 foot run so I made up 3 separate coax cables with F connectors on the ends and then used screw on F to RCA adapters male one end female other. No losses to report from just using the 10-foot cable that’s included with the projector to the 30’s with the 10-footer plugged into them.

ps check all your grounds also.

I really think you have ground loop problem. Disconnect all the cable/sattlite receivers from the power line in the house and check your PJ with a DVD player. If scrolling noise bar is gone then you know you have ground loop issue.

You should run a ONE piece component as those connectors might have different impedence. My component cable is 25' long without any adverse effect on the video.

This isn't really a possibility since I'm using the converter cable supplied with the XR-10X and it's not long enough to reach my component rack. I had to extend it with the coupler.

I'll give all the other suggestions a try and see what eliminates the problem though (it's tough to see though...as I said, the white line is very very very faint).

Really appreciate all the advice.

I really think you have ground loop problem. Disconnect all the cable/sattlite receivers from the power line in the house and check your PJ with a DVD player. If scrolling noise bar is gone then you know you have ground loop issue.

From the entire house? A cable box in the bedroom two flights up and on a different circuit could affect the PJ in the basement? (not that it matters, but the basement circuits are powered by a 100A subpanel coming from the main elec panel)

I should've said "if possible".
Short term that is OK but long term it is better to buy a long run component-VGA quality cable. They are not really expensive.

Radio Shack has a device to fix GL. The problem might be isolated to this circuit or whole house. who knows! It also is a good practice to use one circuit for all your gears to make sure that all of them are on the same phase (or using the same leg). Well "if possible".

Check out this website... They talk about and show links about how to fix different types of ground loop. Doesn't it really s*ck that nothing is ever really just plug and play....

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/

Radio Shack has a device to fix GL. The problem might be isolated to this circuit or whole house. who knows! It also is a good practice to use one circuit for all your gears to make sure that all of them are on the same phase (or using the same leg). Well "if possible".

Huh, somewhere along the way, I got the impression it was better to have the PJ on a difference circuit than the rest of the gear because of interference on the line. Now, this sounds like just the opposite.

Looks like a trip to Radio Shack is in order though...

Check out this website... They talk about and show links about how to fix different types of ground loop. Doesn't it really s*ck that nothing is ever really just plug and play....

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/

I came up with the same website using a Google search. Very informative for this strange phenomenon...

Thanks for the info/help guys!

I am awaiting the arrival of my XR-X10 and I am thinking seriously about starting my DIY screen. My problem is this....I was almost positive I was going to buy a 4805 and so the screen was a gimme (16:9). Now I end up buying a 4:3 PJ and I must admit I am a little confused.
Most of my material is Widescreen DVD with a smattering of 4:3 stuff. My wife likes the classics though, so I will probably be watching a fair amount of the 4:3.
I have a room that allows for up to 18" throw and it has 8' ceilings. It is not a total light controlled room, that is why I decided on the Sharp over the 4805, it's brightness.
Ther was a post in here about making a screen that was 74x110 which would allow for a 60x106 picture in 16:9 and a 72x96 picture in 4:3. Any ideas??? What are you using and are you happy with it??
Thanks,
Dan

I am using a full-screen 60x80inch 4:3 screen, but you could go either way if you want to... The projector lets a 4:3 image easily fits within the wide-screen area if you so choose.... If I were you, I would wait til the projector arrives and then worry about the screen. You will have a better idea then just what you want to do....

The problem with 4x3 is the hight of the screen.
A 100" wide screen in 4x3 format requires 76" space hight. In a room with 8' ceiling you only have about 20" space to allocate on top and bottom of the screen. That makes it difficult for center channel and offset. That is why I went with 16x9. The compromise with going 16x9 is unused pixel and reduced resolution. Going 4x3 also creates more desire to mask the screen for 16x9 materials. If you are going to watch a lot of 4x3 and want to watch them big then 4x3 is the choice.

I am awaiting the arrival of my XR-X10 and I am thinking seriously about starting my DIY screen. My problem is this....I was almost positive I was going to buy a 4805 and so the screen was a gimme (16:9). Now I end up buying a 4:3 PJ and I must admit I am a little confused.
Most of my material is Widescreen DVD with a smattering of 4:3 stuff. My wife likes the classics though, so I will probably be watching a fair amount of the 4:3.
I have a room that allows for up to 18" throw and it has 8' ceilings. It is not a total light controlled room, that is why I decided on the Sharp over the 4805, it's brightness.
Ther was a post in here about making a screen that was 74x110 which would allow for a 60x106 picture in 16:9 and a 72x96 picture in 4:3. Any ideas??? What are you using and are you happy with it??
Thanks,
Dan

I wrote the post about the odd size screen a while back and didn’t get much response. The idea was to take advantage of the zoom feature and set the projector throw so you could maximize both aspect ratios. My friend is planning that setup for his XR10X soon so we’ll see how that works. If you go with the 16:9 screen you will still have a great picture despite loosing some pixels when you watch 4:3 you can just use the border mode and it will max your height on the 16:9 screen.
IMO people are too worried about a center channel unless your room is very wide and you have a wide right to left speaker placement when you change your surround to not have the center you will swear you here the sound coming from the center of the screen anyway when it blends. My screen is 72x96 and only 3 inches off the floor and 2 inches from the ceiling and WOW. Don’t be afraid to try it. Just owning a XR10X says you are a little wild to start with. :D

IMO people are too worried about a center channel unless your room is very wide and you have a wide right to left speaker placement when you change your surround to not have the center you will swear you here the sound coming from the center of the screen anyway when it blends.

Ack! I couldn't disagree about the center channel more! Are you running straight 2.0 stereo, Bud? With Dolby Digital and DTS, the intended mix is vocals/on-screen fx in the center channel, sound track and other broader sound effects in the front left and right. When I advise people on HT (and indeed when I used to sell components) I always tell people don't skimp on a center channel, you want discreet, clear, popping dialog/vocals amid an immersive soundtrack and other surround effects.

Due to the necessity of portability in my situation, I have a fairly low-end sound system in my HT, but I made sure it wasn't one of those with 5 identical satellites, but a 'better' (a little beefier and higher wattage) center channel because it's so important.

IMHO the best solution with a 4:3 pj is a fixed 16:9 screen, including center channel, then 'border mode' for 4:3 content - bearing in mind that 4:3 is almost exclusively SD tv and old DVDs (ie. classics) that aren't special effect spectaculars - ie. you can cope with a lowly 70" screen instead of 90" like your widescreen movies/HD content.

Yeah, I've been waiting for a projector since I bought my first Laser Disc Player in the 1980's. The screen door on the images then looked like a fishnet and they ran 6 G's up...lol. :eek:
So after all that time I make an impulse buy, go figure!!

Well what the heck, I wanted a projector for a reason. Go Big Or Go Home eh?

I think I will take your advice and wait for the projector since I've waited this long already. I really don't know what it can do and I don't want to over power the room or everyone in it....

Nightfly
I actual sat in on a test to see if a bunch of us could discern the missing center channel when the RL speakers were placed just outside the width of the screen and the RL were of high-end custom designed to handle the full job. With a quality surround receiver blending the center out to the RL it was very hard to tell the difference to the group of us that tried it. And many swore they could hear sound from the dead center. That being said we may agree to disagree and I am actually still planning a center channel here even though my mini Imax goes to the floor. I'm having a center channel speaker built to be a low wedge design that will sit in front of the screen. With 16:9 it won't be any issue and at 4:3 it will be out from the screen just a few feet in an area that is not used anyway. The wedge should perform well and will be angled up to the viewing area just as the front faces of the mains will be angled in along with the two front subs.

This digressed some from XR10X but it is interesting to see what the 10X guys are doing for sound.

Dan
I know how you feel I think many of us daydreamed about projectors for a good many years. And to a lot of people they are still out of reach. That's why perhaps I advocate this projector as much as I do along with the DIY screen solution. Because I may have been able to spend a lot more money on this I don't think I could really have much better results that what I now have. This whole project minus sound is under 1000 bucks.
You wont be sorry you made this pick. Just make sure you get a good screen match and enjoy. I have had 2 other members PM me so far that used my paint mix with the 10X and were totally elated with the results. If you want to read the info its in my signature link. More screenshots will be posted later in the weekend.

I know a lot of audio guys actually prefer 2-CH over multi-CH.
A few times I ran my set up in 2-CH and I honestly felt that multi is better in imaging with pin point accuracy relative to what was going on the screen. Unless the set up is only for sweet spot (usually for the center seatings), there is going to be some discrepancies in imaging with multi-ch programs unless the seating position is far away from the screen. But you can try and find out which works for you. I just prefer multi-CH and would like my eyes be level in lower 1/3 of screen which makes the 4x3 in 100" wide not an option for me with 7' ceiling.

Another observation- Have you guys tried this PJ on a screen with all black shadow box. I tell you, the difference is day and night. It may not be a feasible solution for everyone but the black level and detail in dark will beef-up tremendously. Not kidding, it will put this pj in a differen level. By shadowbox I mean put dark materials around the screen (at least 1-foot including and most importantly ceiling. You will love this pj even more.

Thanks Bud and the rest of you too! It's funny how after spending $350.00 on a center speaker to compliment my existing surround sound setup, I would completely forget about speaker placement...DOH! :eek:
The existing system is on a different wall in the same room where my Proscan TV is setup. That means I will have to move all my speakers except for my sub woofer.
Time to scale down my ambitions for bigger is better and make room for practical instead...

One last question...has anyone experimented with portable shadow boxing ie snap-on or some other temporary attachment? The reason I ask is my room is white :(

Hey Bud - I have a question about the Ilo DVD recorder you posted about earlier. Does it support DTS? I'm looking at the same one (actually this one is packaged under a different name at Target - but it's exactly the same), and I see where it shows "Dolby Digital" on the packaging but no DTS. This may be just a dumb question and it may not matter what the DVD player decodes (if it just passes it along to the receiver via cable), but I thought I'd check anyway.

Also, does it come packaged with Component Cables?

Appreciate the info...

Hey Bud - I have a question about the Ilo DVD recorder you posted about earlier. Does it support DTS? I'm looking at the same one (actually this one is packaged under a different name at Target - but it's exactly the same), and I see where it shows "Dolby Digital" on the packaging but no DTS. This may be just a dumb question and it may not matter what the DVD player decodes (if it just passes it along to the receiver via cable), but I thought I'd check anyway.

Also, does it come packaged with Component Cables?

Appreciate the info...

Irmo
I honestly don’t know about the DTS I just looked thru the guide and didn’t see anything about it on the front it has the Dolby Digital DVD JPG MP3 and a windows label. I’m also playing my old Toshiba DVD player thru this thing and running it into the front inputs on the ILO the old Toshiba shows it has DTS. So I’m not sure what to tell you. It upscales the Toshiba to 480p also and the picture looks great. So pretty much the ILO is a hub for every thing I’m putting to the screen and also all the audio. It has a nice menu that shows all the inputs and outputs like you are looking at the projector itself and as you jog along it shows the wire as they are connected. Its working out good so far even if I never play a DVD or burn one just for doing the upscale and the switching it’s worth it to me. Also it has the camcorder plug on the front that’s the only thing I haven’t tried yet. Give me time.
And no component cables a coax and a std 3 wire video R&L and the power cord is all I think I got.

Irmo
I honestly don’t know about the DTS I just looked thru the guide and didn’t see anything about it on the front it has the Dolby Digital DVD JPG MP3 and a windows label. I’m also playing my old Toshiba DVD player thru this thing and running it into the front inputs on the ILO the old Toshiba shows it has DTS. So I’m not sure what to tell you. It upscales the Toshiba to 480p also and the picture looks great. So pretty much the ILO is a hub for every thing I’m putting to the screen and also all the audio. It has a nice menu that shows all the inputs and outputs like you are looking at the projector itself and as you jog along it shows the wire as they are connected. Its working out good so far even if I never play a DVD or burn one just for doing the upscale and the switching it’s worth it to me. Also it has the camcorder plug on the front that’s the only thing I haven’t tried yet. Give me time.
And no component cables a coax and a std 3 wire video R&L and the power cord is all I think I got.

Thanks, Bud. That's what I needed to know. I was thinking of using this as my temporary DVD player, but I may just want wait or look for something else if I want DTS.

Just curious, why are you running your Tosh DVD through the Ilo?

Now, I'll try to put something here that's topical to the thread so we're not veering too far off course.

Question for the group:

Does the Sharp PJ exclude screen resizing options when getting a 1080 source (like through an HD Cable box)? Is there any way around that? I have some SD material that I'd like to see full screen, but now the only option is picture-framing. Thanks.

Thanks, Bud. That's what I needed to know. I was thinking of using this as my temporary DVD player, but I may just want wait or look for something else if I want DTS.

Just curious, why are you running your Tosh DVD through the Ilo?

Now, I'll try to put something here that's topical to the thread so we're not veering too far off course.

Question for the group:

Does the Sharp PJ exclude screen resizing options when getting a 1080 source (like through an HD Cable box)? Is there any way around that? I have some SD material that I'd like to see full screen, but now the only option is picture-framing. Thanks.

Irmo
No real reason I’m running the old DVD player thru the new one. I was using it to copy some non protected stuff and playing around. Plus I know where the buttons are on the old one in the dark. As long as I had two in the rack I though why wear out the burner when I can run the old one. don’t know if that is much of a reason . “But like Everest I did it because it was there.”

I don’t know the answer to your 1080 question as I don’t have a high def cable provider yet. I know at 480p everything come in full screen and if I want smaller I have to select border mode.

Irmo
No real reason I’m running the old DVD player thru the new one. I was using it to copy some non protected stuff and playing around. Plus I know where the buttons are on the old one in the dark. As long as I had two in the rack I though why wear out the burner when I can run the old one. don’t know if that is much of a reason . “But like Everest I did it because it was there.”



Actually, it didn't even occur to me that you might want to copy something from DVD to DVD. Duh, my bad.

Question for the group:

Does the Sharp PJ exclude screen resizing options when getting a 1080 source (like through an HD Cable box)? Is there any way around that? I have some SD material that I'd like to see full screen, but now the only option is picture-framing. Thanks.

It is the HD cable box that is preventing you from going full-screen for SD while keeping Wide-Screen native... I have the same problem with the SA 8300DVR. Apparently, on the SA 8300DVR you have to set it to either 4:3 or widescreen in some kind of boot mode by pressing some button combination, then either HD or SD is affected from then on depending on your choice.... What I do is simply zoom the SD images making them larger than they would be otherwise, while keeping the HD native for widescreen.... Otherwise the HD comes in 4:3 which su*ks......

Actually, according to the manual..."STRETCH mode is fixed with 540p, 720p and 1080i resolutions" So it sounds more like the projector won't allow the material to be expanded to full screen.

This doesn't apply to widescreen PC resolutions, however...I have found that resolutions like 1280x768 (which is a widescreen resolution) can be full-screened...even if this means the picture gets stretched vertically.

It is the HD cable box that is preventing you from going full-screen for SD while keeping Wide-Screen native... I have the same problem with the SA 8300DVR. Apparently, on the SA 8300DVR you have to set it to either 4:3 or widescreen in some kind of boot mode by pressing some button combination, then either HD or SD is affected from then on depending on your choice.... What I do is simply zoom the SD images making them larger than they would be otherwise, while keeping the HD native for widescreen.... Otherwise the HD comes in 4:3 which su*ks......

I have the same cable box, so your post is a big help. Sounds like it's not something easy to fix though. I was hoping to just be able to change the HD setting each time I was watching SD, but doesn't sound like that's an option. Ah well.

What happened was when the cable guy first installed the box, All my HD and SD was in 4:3... Then when I unplugged it for a while... at boot-up I think it defaulted to widescreen and now all my HD is in widescreen (perfect); and my SD is letterboxed... (kind of a bummer; but partially solved by zooming on the lens...)

Did you change your gray letterbox borders to black? I didn't know you could do that until I asked the guys on the forum here....

Yeah, I've had an HD DVR for awhile now with my HDTV so I knew those little tricks like changing the borders. It's just that the projector opens up another set of questions altogether.

I do love the fact that I don't have to worry about stretching the screen to avoid burn-in though. Plus, since I'm projecting directly on the wall, I can keep the OAR of everything (SDTV 4:3, HDTV 16:9, 1.85:1 DVD, 2.35:1 DVD, etc) and it all looks perfect everytime. :)

Irmo and others

The ILO is history. I think I jinxed myself with that last ILO post. Last night I went to demo the system to a friend and all I could get was a no disc found error. Messed around this morning and reset all the factory settings and still a no go. Wally mart does have a great return policy. Didn’t even want to know what was wrong. Said go get a new one.
So I upgraded to a Panasonic DMR-ES20 this one does have DTS by the way. Just about to fire it up now so I’ll report back on how it does at the upscaling and also as acting as a hub for switching everything. First thing I noticed is I like the remote much better. More of a feel in the dark thing.

I saw my first “Rainbow”

I have up until this point looked at the rainbow issue with some disbelief. Now I knew it had to be true because this many people cant be all working for the competition of TI but I did think they were fringe die hard LCD owners blowing something way out of proportion and as hard as I tried I couldn’t see squat. I even sat thru 30 minutes of sin city hoping to get one. I went as far on one of the rainbow posts to ask someone to draw one in photo shop so I would know what to look for and then I figured it had to be the XR10X it was designed in such a way rainbows are imposable. Well I have still never seen one in a movie or regular TV but today I was going to watch “The Village” on my new Panasonic DVD recorder and I saw in the start up menu they had the calibration tool. So I thought I would check it out. So in the process of going thru the steps there is one tool that tells you if your 4:3 or 16:9 image is true and what it is, is a circle inside a 4:3 frame the circle is kind of gray and the background is a dark gray almost black. That thing popped up and holy smokes I was trying to follow around the circle to see if it was round but I couldn’t do it. In this case because it was a big circle the rainbows looked like rainbows. Still watched the whole movie no rainbows but I at least know what one looks like now.

OK, I know it's already been determined that the XR-10X and XR-11C are the same unit (with the 11C simply coming with a bag). The XR-20X is similar too (with the 20X carrying an additional feature that I'm forgetting at the moment, but one that was deemed not worth the cost). What about the XR-11XC? Is this the same as the 11C? I know it comes with a bag, so I'm guessing they are the same, but does anyone know for sure?

-dave

if you want to see rainbows just wave your hand infront of the p.j. about 5 inches or so away from the lense........

Irmo and others

The ILO is history. I think I jinxed myself with that last ILO post. Last night I went to demo the system to a friend and all I could get was a no disc found error. Messed around this morning and reset all the factory settings and still a no go. Wally mart does have a great return policy. Didn’t even want to know what was wrong. Said go get a new one.
So I upgraded to a Panasonic DMR-ES20 this one does have DTS by the way. Just about to fire it up now so I’ll report back on how it does at the upscaling and also as acting as a hub for switching everything. First thing I noticed is I like the remote much better. More of a feel in the dark thing.

Sorry to hear that, but thanks for the heads-up. I actually decided to pass on the Ilo and this weekend picked up the DVD Recorder VCR combo that Circuit City had on sale. I like the idea of easily copying over VHS (I have some old home movies that I want to put on DVD) and having the VCR built-in saves me one more slot on my component rack. I figure I'll try it out and see how I like it.

Still haven't seen any rainbows here, I figure I just don't have the trained eye for it (ignorance is bliss and all that). We watched the Corpse Bride last night and there were a lot of dark scenes in that one too.

Still love this PJ...my only complaint is some eye strain after watching a 9' screen from 15' back. :D

I have that problem solved. Viewing 10 foot at 13 feet I get a sore neck before my eyes get strained. And don’t even try and watch tennis. I have yet to see a rainbow on any normal viewing and I think I’m glad I actually saw it on the test screen that kind of tells me I can see them but while viewing normally I don’t see them so I’m taking that as the projector is doing its job.
As for the new burner so far so good. Was a bit surprised the ILO had more features and I liked the menu a bit better. But the remote is much easier to use on the new one. one thing the ILO had was a volume control. Using it as a hub I balanced all my levels coming in and was just using that. Not a biggie though.

The Ilo must've been very popular...as I mentioned, it was sold out at 4 of the local Wal-marts here in Columbia, SC. Target has the exact same DVD burner under a different name though.

Did I mention I picked up a Cyberhome DVD burner at Wally world for $78? It was apparently a return "from around christmas" according to the sales-guy. He said everthing was included, so I figured I'd give it a try since they were out of the Ilo's. Opening up the box though, there was no remote. :( Returned it and got my $$ back.

My only problem was that I bought some DVD+R discs for the Cyberhome, and my new DVD burner only works with DVD-R. Good thing it was only a 3 pack of the DVD+R's...

Hey guys - I've noticed my XR10 has choked on its input a couple of times over the past few days. For example:

On the Top Gun DVD, during the menu and once during playback, it blacked out and then brought the screen back up again, with the "Input" icon at the top right of the screen indicating that it found an input source.

While watching a DVRed episode of "In Theaters" in HD, it did the same thing, blacking out for a split-second and then coming back with the same "Input1-1080i" icon at the top right of the screen.

Is this common? Is it an input problem and not the XR10's? I've only noticed this since I began switching my component cables using a surround sound receiver, so that might be the culprit.

My guess is it’s loosing a signal from the source for a split second. I forget exactly what I was doing but once or twice I have had something similar happen but it was always while I was flipping a source device or something. I ran both component and composite from the same source both to the XR10 one in input 1 and one in 4. No real reason just so I could flip between 480i and p and see what looked different. And when I was doing that it locked for a second also. always came right back though and hasn’t done it now that I don’t mess around with it.

I wish I had some 1080i to try and find out though.

Those of you running HD into yours how big of an improvement do you see between that and say a good DVD.

I haven’t seen it so I’m just wondering.

Bud - I'm running 1080i into my XR10 and until this weekend did not have a DVD player hooked up to see the difference. Since I had gotten used to HD for the several weeks I've owned the PJ, I was expecting DVD to look crappy (and it did, for awhile, until I enabled the "progressive" output from the DVD player - big difference), but I was surprised it looked as good as it did. HD is still better, particularly *good* HD (not the garbage on TNT-HD and the like), but 480p was much better than I figured it would be. Definitely tolerable on a 9' screen from 13' away, even closer for those uninitiated to look for SDE.

I think it's losing the signal for a split second too, but I think it must be the receiver that's switching my component inputs that's causing it. I'll have to set aside some more time in sitting down in front of the big screen for further research. :)

Irmo
That’s just the HD review I wanted to hear. 480p kicks 480i big time. As good as I see my DVD’s I cant wait to see what can be better. Hard to believe a year ago I was going “Who needs HD anyway?” hopefully the wait wont be too long.

So for all the people reading out their wondering why anyone would buy a 4:3 business projector XGA and then view 16:9 on it in HD. You’re telling us you are not missing them extra pixels to much sitting back 13 feet.

One question I don’t think we ever asked here too much is what guys are using for screens on the XR10? My DIY has been pretty well documented. What’s everyone else running?

Don't get me wrong, one of our AVS experts could very well be reading this and pooh-poohing my opinion as the amateur at this that I am. I certainly make no claims of being an expert, but I have been on HD for about a 3.5 years, the first 3.25+ on a 57" HD RPTV, so I have some experience with the technology, and I know what looks good to me, and what doesn't.

And, my 9' image still blows me away every time I see it. In fact, I have to resist the urge to turn it on when I'm working elsewhere down in my basement because I'll be sucked into sitting down and enjoying it. That happened last night with "Blue Lagoon" on one of the HDNet channels. Even though it was a poor HD transfer of the film, I was still transfixed. :D

I'm shooting onto a white wall with no special preparation and Barbados is still amazing.

Got sucked into watching a DVRed copy of "Sarah Mclachlin - Afterglow" last night and didn't get much work done. AGAIN.

I need to get the wife to padlock the comonent closet. :D

Irmo
That’s just the HD review I wanted to hear. 480p kicks 480i big time. As good as I see my DVD’s I cant wait to see what can be better. Hard to believe a year ago I was going “Who needs HD anyway?” hopefully the wait wont be too long.


Well when you're using HD as the source material the picture is going to be a lot better compared to the same show in SD no matter how many pixels less than true HD a display device can resolve. Especially video based HD programming like nature shows and ballgames.

Generally, theres only 2 ways to watch that kind of stuff. In HD or some crappy overcompressed SD 4x3 feed from a cable co or DBS co. Over-the-air too I suppose but it's hard to get a pristine analog signal that way also. Film based content isnt always such an in your face diff since we have middle ground there.. some great DVD transfers.

Anyway, whats your source material at the moment for watching TV shows? Cable? DBS? If it's cable, does your local cable co not yet offer HD, since with cable it doesnt usally cost anything upfront to get into HD.. just swap out boxes.

Just trying to figure out why you're not feeding the unit HD yet.