HD3k is in line with vp-30.

Hey FGM, the HD3000 has no option for 1280X720 48Hz, but does for 1280X720 72Hz. I will revisit that resolution/timing for sure as that is quite the deal breaker for me. What's the point of a projector if you can't watch DVD's? We should be able to eliminate 2:3 pulldown with our HD7100/HD3000 setups!

I also have a Bravo D1 and have been using it with my InFocus IN72, 854X480 48Hz is amazing. So, I guess you don't have the HD3000 as you would have no way of getting the D1's DVI to the projector with the scaler in the loop.

I wanted to point out an error in one of my earlier posts, there is a front panel up arrow button that allows you to cycle resolutions should you select one that is outside the parameters of your display. So, even without the HD3000's OSD, you could still change resolutions.

Steve, I will be firing up my system here shortly and I will post my firmware numbers and dates.

George

Hi, George,
I do not have the HD3000. I was ready to place the order for the HD7300 package but I decided not to go ahead with the purchase until I got a credible confirmation that the HD3000 would not be "restricted" in any way.
Now I am happy I didn't buy it.
My point is only that the pj IS capable of accepting 1280x720 at both 48 and 72 Hz in the native/pixel to pixel mode and there is no 2:3 pulldown required on this mode.
Fermin

Hi, George,
I do not have the HD3000. I was ready to place the order for the HD7300 package but I decided not to go ahead with the purchase until I got a credible confirmation that the HD3000 would not be "restricted" in any way.
Now I am happy I didn't buy it.
My point is only that the pj IS capable of accepting 1280x720 at both 48 and 72 Hz in the native/pixel to pixel mode and there is no 2:3 pulldown required on this mode.
Fermin

I'm really hoping that I can get 1280X720p 72Hz output working on the HD3000, that would be really great news.

It's weird but I was getting video, although wasn't stable at 1280X720p 72Hz, at first but now I can't get any video sent out of the HD3000 with the exception of 1280X720p 60Hz. All other resolution send blue screen only. I even had 1080p going to my LCD for a bit, although the image wasn't centered on the screen.

Optoma is having me return my HD3000 for further official 'screwing around with', oh boy.

George

George,

I don't think it is the HD3000, it is the projector that is messing up. It doesn't want to handle anything but 1280x720@60Hz, i.e. the consumer electronics 720p timings over DVI. I am supposed get my projector and scaler back either today or tomorrow. I shall keep you all posted.

Gireesh

George,

I don't think it is the HD3000, it is the projector that is messing up. It doesn't want to handle anything but 1280x720@60Hz, i.e. the consumer electronics 720p timings over DVI. I am supposed get my projector and scaler back either today or tomorrow. I shall keep you all posted.

Gireesh

Well, I am getting the same problems with my 1080p LCD so it would seem to likely be the scaler. Besides, the scaler will not turn on unless the plug is pulled first, and every time the service mode menu is active, nor will it pass audio through hdmi. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure it is the scaler.

George

Hi, George,

My point is only that the pj IS capable of accepting 1280x720 at both 48 and 72 Hz in the native/pixel to pixel mode and there is no 2:3 pulldown required on this mode.
Fermin

FGM
I'm wondering if the reason you are able to get the projector to operate at 1280X720 at 72Hz is because you are using DVI only? Because the HD3000 only has HDMI output, doesn't HDCP come into the picture then? Could that be causing interference in the 1280X720 72Hz image I'm seeing (well, I was for a little while) from the HD3000?

Don't get me wrong, I am really wanting to see any multiple of 24 out of the HD3000 that the HD7100 will accept, 1280X720 48Hz or 1280X720 72Hz. I guess by looking at the HD3000 resolution table, were they gearing this thing towards the PC end of things, you really only have 720p and 1080p, with the oddball 768p for plasmas?

George

George,

I don't think it is the HD3000, it is the projector that is messing up. It doesn't want to handle anything but 1280x720@60Hz, i.e. the consumer electronics 720p timings over DVI. I am supposed get my projector and scaler back either today or tomorrow. I shall keep you all posted.

Gireesh
How can it be then that I am still getting uninterrupted hours of enjoyment at 1280x720 at 48Hz from a dvd player through DVI connectors? My pj has always, flawlessly recognized and played 1280x720 at 48 and 72 Hz signals through DVI connection plus the regular 60 Hz 480p and 1080i signals through component connections and 1024x768 signal through VGA.
I have never noticed any indications that the projector was not capable of solidly and consistently playing all the resolutions/timings mentioned above.
I believe the pj's behaviour in this respect is sound based on my own observations of over 900 hours of use of the pj plus the fact that before the introduction of the HD3000 in this thread there were no reports of signal incompatibility other than a few through HDMI connections.
Fermin

How can it be then that I am still getting uninterrupted hours of enjoyment at 1280x720 at 48Hz from a dvd player through DVI connectors? My pj has always, flawlessly recognized and played 1280x720 at 48 and 72 Hz signals through DVI connection plus the regular 60 Hz 480p and 1080i signals through component connections and 1024x768 signal through VGA.
I have never noticed any indications that the projector was not capable of solidly and consistently playing all the resolutions/timings mentioned above.
I believe the pj's behaviour in this respect is sound based on my own observations of over 900 hours of use of the pj plus the fact that before the introduction of the HD3000 in this thread there were no reports of signal incompatibility other than a few through HDMI connections.
Fermin

Fermin, I think you answered your own question possibly. All outputs of the HD3000 are HDMI. If I am to get 1280X720 72Hz to my projector from either my Dish Network HD receiver or the Toshiba A2 HD DVD player, I will need to feed through the HD3000 and its HDMI ports. It is true that the HD7100 has a DVI input but all the HD devices that I'm aware of use HDMI as their interface.

George

I was hoping that somebody in this thread can help me out. I'm trying to tune the focus ring of the this projector properly. With my previous projector, a Mits HD1000u, when I first turned it on, it would have a blue screen, with a black box in the middle, and the words, "no signal". Anytime I wanted to dial in the focus for the 1000u, I would just concentrate on the letters in "no signal" and turn the focus ring until the letters were perfectly sharp and crisp. This was the only thing I needed to do, and I never had any SDE issues with it.

With the HD7300/7100, when I try to use this same method, I'm apparently doing things wrong, and making the background grid pattern jump out. This is giving me the appearance of SDE at viewing distances where it shouldn't be.

I have the AVIA dvd, and I'm trying to find out which video test pattern I should use to dial in the focus on this projector, and what to look for in the actual pattern, when I'm doing it. I really want to get the focus dialed in, and not have to see that background grid anymore. I tried playing around with the focus last nite, and I was able to get rid of the background grid, but at the expense of a serious lack of detail. Then when I dialed it back in to get all the detail, the grid came right back. To say that this is frustrating me, would be an understatement.

If anybody has the AVIA calibration DVD, in Chapter 7, they have tons of various test patterns to use to dial in your settings, but I'm not sure which one I should be using with this projector, to try to fix my problem. Can anybody help me on this?

The grid should never be as obvious unless looking close to the screen.
There is some thing else going on.

If anyone wants a backup HD3000, mine is now on the Bay. $1 start, no reserve.

:)

The grid should never be as obvious unless looking close to the screen.
There is some thing else going on.


So, is the grid the same thing as SDE? I'm just wondering why you use the term grid?



Oh, I also have one other question, that is completely off topic to the whole grid/SDE thing. If I get this "HDMI Female to DVI-D single link female adapter" from monoprice, I can just plug this into the DVI port on the back of the HD7100, and then use my 25 foot monoprice HDMI cable, right?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041902&p_id=2081&seq=1&format=2


This seems like the cheapest way to turn that DVI port into a HDMI plug.

Grid lines are what stand out as little rectangles containing the pixels.
I don't really know what you are seeing! As I said in my reply, either you are too sensitive to sde as this unit has been said has visible sde at moderatly close because of its sharp lens (bub says it is not a very sharp lens) or screen gain is too much. What kind of screen are you using? I am confused as you are.
Dark chip 3 has even higher fill factor than DC2 therefore it should have less sde.

Although DC3 has a higher fill than DC2, the gap between pixels is still there. Most DLP projectors have lenses that are not good enough to resolve this small gap but the 7100/7300 have an extremly high quality lens and it shows this issue. The quick and dirty way to resolve this is to "defocus" by only the distance between the pixels. This is such a slight defocus that you will not perceive any decrease in sharpness or detail but you won't see the lines.

In any case, this is clearly visible only because of the high quality lens. BTW, my setup is 120" 16:9 diagonal at 13' and I can see the lines. At 14' I can't see them.

Najeeb

The quick and dirty way to resolve this is to "defocus" by only the distance between the pixels. This is such a slight defocus that you will not perceive any decrease in sharpness or detail but you won't see the lines.


How exactly do I defocus by only the distance between the pixels? Sorry if this is a really dumb question.


CaspianM: My screen is actually a smooth wall painted with Behr Ultra Pure White. A number of coats of Behr Ultra Pure white interior flat. Surrounding the screen area is flat black interior paint from Glidden.

bub says it is not a very sharp lens

I'm pretty sure what I said was, 'I don't think my focus adjustment knob is working as it should'.

George

I also thought you mentioned soft focus and fuzzy SDE so I looked and found a couple of the posts that you discussed the issue in detail:


I use a grid put out by HDNET for focusing and setup for HDTV settings. I also use binoculars so that I can focus on a very small pixel area. With my IN72, once focus snapped into place, it was very obvious as the pixel structure just jumped out at you, white pixels and jet black in between, while using the binoculars. With the 7100, this never happens. The pixel structures are undefined and the area between them is greyish, not black.




The colors were flat as was the overall presentation of the image, low contrast and a soft image. I switched between numerous HDTV channels, ESPN, local networks, OTA HD (through the 622), Discovery HD etc... The image just was not very good, soft and flat.

I also thought you mentioned soft focus and fuzzy SDE so I looked and found a couple of the posts that you discussed the issue in detail:

All referencing what I believe is a faulty focus adjustment mechanism on my HD7100. I can't comment on the quality of the lens system, and I never have, if I can't focus correctly.

My 'soft picture' comments were regarding the difference between the HD DVD image and the image coming from my DN HD receiver. I did also mention that my HD DVD image was stunning with certain DVD's.

I apologize if my comments were misinterpreted as being derogatory towards the Optoma optics.

George

Do you still have issues with your focus mechanism or looks good now?
I don't care if it is Optoma or what have you as long as it is a well performing one.

Another question I have about the 7100, is for people that are using it with the PS3. Does everybody had the white lines at the top of the screen with 720p output from the PS3? With my 7300, there are a total of 4 white lines at the very top of the PS3 image whenever the PS3 is outputting a 720p signal. The longest white line is above the upper right corner of the screen, going parallel with the top of the screen. On the upper left corner, are 3 smaller lines. These lines are really pissing me off. The only way I can get them to go away, is to de-select 720p output from my PS3 menu. This works fine for Blu Ray movies, and PS3 games that are 1080i/1080p compatible, but for all the 720p only PS3 games, this is a major bummer.

Some will say, just use the masking of the HD3000 scaler, but I don't want to do that. I honestly don't really need the scaler for anything, and I was hoping to sell it individually. It boggles my mind that there hasn't been somekind of firmware update that would deal with this issue. I also can't believe the projector doesn't have it's own masking feature in it's menu. This is supposed to be a slightly higher end projector, at least when it first came out, that was the thought. Yet it doesn't even have a masking feature, and with the PS3 we got these damn white lines at the top of the screen. What is even more mind boggling about it, is that I'm not reading tons of posts in this thread with people complaining about it. Why aren't more 7100 owners complaining about this? Do you not play games like Heavenly Sword or Motorstorm or Resistance Fall of Man? (all 720p only).

Hi all,

this is the third HD3000 tha ti have in hand. Thie first one was faulty on component and s-video sources.
The second one didn't even Power On....

The third one, well, works 1 times out of 5...sometimes the power led lits and the 'no signal' indication on the upper left of my screen, when i power on my sat box : no synchronization.....no image, nothing.
Sometimes, the blue screen don't even shows the source on the upper left.
Sometimes, there isn't even the blue screen....
sometimes, the unit don't react to the remote....
sometimes : it works.

So i've tried to unplug the AC cable, replug, no change. When i do not use the unit for a couple fo hours, it SOMETIMES solve the problem but this is not a long terme acceptable solution. I don't understand why i'm so unlucky but maybe they have a series of HD3k units that are ******.
I'm looking for someone who maybe has the same issues...Anyway, i'll call Optoma France later on today.
I'm tired of this....

Take care
D

You have not turned the "auto power Off" off!
Are you using a very long cable?

Another question I have about the 7100, is for people that are using it with the PS3. Does everybody had the white lines at the top of the screen with 720p output from the PS3? With my 7300, there are a total of 4 white lines at the very top of the PS3 image whenever the PS3 is outputting a 720p signal. The longest white line is above the upper right corner of the screen, going parallel with the top of the screen. On the upper right left, are 3 smaller lines. These lines are really pissing me off. The only way I can get them to go away, is to de-select 720p output from my PS3 menu. This works fine for Blu Ray movies, and PS3 games that are 1080i/1080p compatible, but for all the 720p only PS3 games, this is a major bummer.

Some will say, just use the masking of the HD3000 scaler, but I don't want to do that. I honestly don't really need the scaler for anything, and I was hoping to sell it individually. It boggles my mind that there hasn't been somekind of firmware update that would deal with this issue. I also can't believe the projector doesn't have it's own masking feature in it's menu. This is supposed to be a slightly higher end projector, at least when it first came out, that was the thought. Yet it doesn't even have a masking feature, and with the PS3 we got these damn white lines at the top of the screen. What is even more mind boggling about it, is that I'm not reading tons of posts in this thread with people complaining about it. Why aren't more 7100 owners complaining about this? Do you not play games like Heavenly Sword or Motorstorm or Resistance Fall of Man? (all 720p only).

What tkind of connections are you using with the PS3? You may try to change the output/input connections such as DVI to component or to VGA if available. That may help.
Also, the pj has, under the layout menu, a horizontal and vertical position function that I think may be used to "mask" the lines that you see. I have never done it, though.
Good luck.
Fermin

Another question I have about the 7100, is for people that are using it with the PS3. Does everybody had the white lines at the top of the screen with 720p output from the PS3? With my 7300, there are a total of 4 white lines at the very top of the PS3 image whenever the PS3 is outputting a 720p signal. The longest white line is above the upper right corner of the screen, going parallel with the top of the screen. On the upper right left, are 3 smaller lines. These lines are really pissing me off. The only way I can get them to go away, is to de-select 720p output from my PS3 menu. This works fine for Blu Ray movies, and PS3 games that are 1080i/1080p compatible, but for all the 720p only PS3 games, this is a major bummer.

Some will say, just use the masking of the HD3000 scaler, but I don't want to do that. I honestly don't really need the scaler for anything, and I was hoping to sell it individually. It boggles my mind that there hasn't been somekind of firmware update that would deal with this issue. I also can't believe the projector doesn't have it's own masking feature in it's menu. This is supposed to be a slightly higher end projector, at least when it first came out, that was the thought. Yet it doesn't even have a masking feature, and with the PS3 we got these damn white lines at the top of the screen. What is even more mind boggling about it, is that I'm not reading tons of posts in this thread with people complaining about it. Why aren't more 7100 owners complaining about this? Do you not play games like Heavenly Sword or Motorstorm or Resistance Fall of Man? (all 720p only).

I have used my ps3 with it and no white line any where.
I do get that with some broadcasts though.
I cannot think of any solution other than using the edge masking as I said in my reply to your pm. I would be interested to find out if any one else has a known trick to hide the lines othar than edge masking.

It is interesting that you are writing about HD3000 showing too many lines :D

In my case, it chops of the top few lines and right few lines... what Optoma told me is that is what it is, and I have to live with it, as this is a 3 year old technology and they don't expect to have firmware updates... so much for "High End"...

Is Optoma like this when the buyer actually pays premium dollars for the projector/scaler that they sell? This thing was listed >$6K when it came out... poor souls that paid the premium price... at least some of us got the combo and a bulb for 16% of that price.

My HD7300 package has arrived at my house... over the weekend, I will set it up and see what happens... I keep hoping against hope that things will be alright...

If not, eBay Australia, here I come :D

What tkind of connections are you using with the PS3? You may try to change the output/input connections such as DVI to component or to VGA if available. That may help.
Also, the pj has, under the layout menu, a horizontal and vertical position function that I think may be used to "mask" the lines that you see. I have never done it, though.
Good luck.
Fermin


I'm using component. I'll try HDMI when I get my DVI to HDMI adapter from Monoprice sometime next week.

It is interesting that you are writing about HD3000 showing too many lines :D

In my case, it chops of the top few lines and right few lines... what Optoma told me is that is what it is, and I have to live with it, as this is a 3 year old technology and they don't expect to have firmware updates... so much for "High End"...

Is Optoma like this when the buyer actually pays premium dollars for the projector/scaler that they sell? This thing was listed >$6K when it came out... poor souls that paid the premium price... at least some of us got the combo and a bulb for 16% of that price.



Are you talking about my PS3 situation with the white lines at the top of the image? If so, I'm not using the HD3000 at all. Just the projector itself. If I absolutely have to use the HD3000 to get rid of the white lines, then I guess that's what I'll have to do. I originally got the HD3000 to use with an anamorphic lens, and a entirely different projector, and then I discovered that a decent anamorphic lens costs as much as a used car. After that, I decided to try the zoom method for cinemascope.

My hope was that I could sell the HD3000, to lower my cost basis for getting the projector itself. But if there isn't any way to mask out those damn white lines, I think I'm going to be forced to keep the HD3000. Maybe I should try to contact Sony, and see if they have anything to say about the white lines.

All,

Please post what DVI to HDMI adapter you are using... it might help those of us who are having drop out issues.

Thanks
Gireesh

I've got a Monster adapter and no problems at all yet...it is a little steep at $30 though...

Hi, finally I bought a HD7300 without scaler, I am "lucky" becouse it was recognized from the pc via DVI and then no problems (but I can only do 60 or 61hz at 1280x720), it's ok also with a 10m cable hdmi-hdmi + adaptors, bought from ebay 24AWG cable, finally it's really fantastic for video quality is my first PJ then thanks you all for the advice;)

P.s Optoma is not so "observant" if you go to the properties of the original manual included in the package you can see:
" Chi-Lin_SIC726.book
created 26-09-2005, modified 21-03-2006"

Than we finally know who is the real manafctur of this PJ...(but that is not important for me, I am only interested in the real quality, and that is really good)

P.p.s the only little problems that I can see sometime is a little flickering that is noticeble only with the desktop, not in movies, but it's not a real problem:)

I've got a Monster adapter and no problems at all yet...it is a little steep at $30 though...


I have used various adapters, and none seem to fix the problem with this projector and HDMI output from the PC. Optoma claims DVI connection works at their labs... I am going to try with me son's PC which has a DVI out and see what happens... will keep you all posted.

I will be hooking up the scaler today to my 1366x768 plasma to see if when they upgraded the firmware to correct the handshake with the projector, they opened up the scaler.

I have used various adapters, and none seem to fix the problem with this projector and HDMI output from the PC. Optoma claims DVI connection works at their labs... I am going to try with me son's PC which has a DVI out and see what happens... will keep you all posted.

I will be hooking up the scaler today to my 1366x768 plasma to see if when they upgraded the firmware to correct the handshake with the projector, they opened up the scaler.

That's something I forgot to tell you a while ago was try another video card, which your doing now although with a different pc. If that works get a video card you can try in your pc even the 1 in your son's.

Does this picture look familiar to you guys...

http://www.chilintech.com.tw/products_detail.asp?le=english&fid=250&pid_x=249

Some of you who have been following the thread know that I have been having problems connecting the projector's DVI port to my HTPC, using either on board HDMI port or an HDMI port of NVidia 8500GT video card, both of which have HDCP.

Optoma issued an RMA to send the projector back to them. I shipped the projector and scaler back to them on Nov 13th, 2007. I received it back on Thursday, December 13th, a month later. I was informed by Jeff Davis, the person who issued the RMA that the following tests were done on the projector and it checked out:

(1) They connected it to two HTPCs and both of them recognized the projector, per Jeff Davis
(2) They upgraded the firmware on the scaler, so that there was better handshaking between the projector and the scaler. I was told that the firmware version mine was upgraded to was D07.

I was told that the unit was completely checked out by connecting various test equipment as well as a Sony BD player.


On receiving the projector, Here are the tests I ran:

I connected the projector to HTPC via the HDMI/DVI cable. The computer failed to detect the projector. The specifications for the projector, tells me that I should be able to this, based on the user manual that came with the projector.


I then connected the projector to a Dell desktop with ATI card, and DVI output, something that Optoma claimed that they had tested. Little did I know that I had been lied to. The projector was not detected by Dell workstation.

I then connected the projector to Toshiba HD-A30 HD-DVD player, and the DVD player does not recognize the projector either. Remember, A30 is a consumer device. The projector does not see the output of A30.

The only way I can use the projector is if the scaler is in the loop. In every other situation the projector cannot sync with digital device, whether it has a DVI output, and HDMI/HDCP output.


Oh, and to top it off, the firmware on my projector is C04, not what Jeff told me it will be, i.e. D07. It is locked at 720p.

I am not sure what else I can do other than contact my prepaid legal service to take action against Optoma.

What do you guys think?

I have a 7100 stand alone projector. I input an H20 Directv box and a Sony upconverting dvd player to it via a Monoprice HDX-201 remote control HDMI switcher. My first step is to turn the projector on (switcher is always on) and then power up both the dvd player and the H20 after the logo and searching message shows onscreen. For some reason the projector will not recognize either the dvd or the H20 off the bat. However, if I use the switcher remote and toggle between the 2 devices voila, the dvd player shows up. Then I can switch back to the H20 and it will be recognized. It does not seem to work in the opposite order. The switcher is connected to the pj by a HDMI/DVI cable. This is a cranky pj. I say sweet things to it and that seems to help.

Maybe the Optoma techs are using a switcher and you are not. I suppose I could try hooking direct to pj from each device as a test but since I have a setup that works, I'd rather not. You might invest in a Monoprice switcher at about $100 for one with a remote, a lot less for one without.

Some of you who have been following the thread know that I have been having problems connecting the projector's DVI port to my HTPC, using either on board HDMI port or an HDMI port of NVidia 8500GT video card, both of which have HDCP.

Optoma issued an RMA to send the projector back to them. I shipped the projector and scaler back to them on Nov 13th, 2007. I received it back on Thursday, December 13th, a month later. I was informed by Jeff Davis, the person who issued the RMA that the following tests were done on the projector and it checked out:

(1) They connected it to two HTPCs and both of them recognized the projector, per Jeff Davis
(2) They upgraded the firmware on the scaler, so that there was better handshaking between the projector and the scaler. I was told that the firmware version mine was upgraded to was D07.

I was told that the unit was completely checked out by connecting various test equipment as well as a Sony BD player.


On receiving the projector, Here are the tests I ran:

I connected the projector to HTPC via the HDMI/DVI cable. The computer failed to detect the projector. The specifications for the projector, tells me that I should be able to this, based on the user manual that came with the projector.


I then connected the projector to a Dell desktop with ATI card, and DVI output, something that Optoma claimed that they had tested. Little did I know that I had been lied to. The projector was not detected by Dell workstation.

I then connected the projector to Toshiba HD-A30 HD-DVD player, and the DVD player does not recognize the projector either. Remember, A30 is a consumer device. The projector does not see the output of A30.

The only way I can use the projector is if the scaler is in the loop. In every other situation the projector cannot sync with digital device, whether it has a DVI output, and HDMI/HDCP output.


Oh, and to top it off, the firmware on my projector is C04, not what Jeff told me it will be, i.e. D07. It is locked at 720p.

I am not sure what else I can do other than contact my prepaid legal service to take action against Optoma.

What do you guys think?

Wow! Where to begin? I would think that common sense dictates that the projector has some sort of problem with its DVI input if no source can feed it a signal. The part where the firmware is still C04, instead of the promised D07, is annoying to say the least. Are you certain the numbers you are looking at in your HD7100 menu are referring to the firmware? That's all I can think there. If accurate, the story you are getting from Jeff is similar to the story our 'Aussie friend' was getting from him, and we all know how that story ended. I'm especially interested as my HD3000 is in Jeff's hands come Monday next.

I have my HD7100 connected via HDMI/DVI over both the Toshiba A2 and the Dish Network VIP622 HD Receiver without incident. The HD7100 also received without fail, the same sources fed through the HD3000.

I just don't understand how your HD7100 fails so reliably yet the repair/service reps claim it passes all their tests!?! Something smells fishy to me. All I can think is to try different sources or different paths, say component or s-video just as a test?

George

Just thought of something, would it be possible to reset the HD7100 and then try the A30 BEFORE attempting sync with the HTPC? I'm wondering if the HTPC is somehow corrupting the DVI input memory/buffer or something? Anyways, just a thought...

George,

VGA works great, I am using the projector screen via VGA to enter this message. However, the whole reason I sold my Sony HS51 and bought this "high end" junk was to do 1:1 pixel mapping via DVI... so much for that.

I get sparkles when I go through the scaler... that never happened before the DVI port started misbehaving.

George,

VGA works great, I am using the projector screen via VGA to enter this message. However, the whole reason I sold my Sony HS51 and bought this "high end" junk was to do 1:1 pixel mapping via DVI... so much for that.

I get sparkles when I go through the scaler... that never happened before the DVI port started misbehaving.

Just curious, what content are you interested in 1:1 pixel mapping? I can't for the life of me figure out what has 1280X720 native resolution. Did you have the VInc Bravo D1 DVD Player? That will output in the resolution you want for the HD7100 with custom timings too, although you will have to convert from 854X480, standard DVD's.

George

Gireesh,

As you know I went through a similar process with my HD3000. It's taken a few weeks, but I think I know why.

I dropped my HD3000 off in person to Optoma in Milpitas, just to make sure it was done right. However, there are two parts to their operation. One is Optoma itself. Right next door is Technical Service Corporation. I was directed to give my unit to TSC as they are the ones who do the actual repairs. According to the gal at reception they are owned by the same people.

Fairly obviously the two parts don't talk to each other. Whilst Jeff was aware of what I wanted (he even PMed me about it when the issue first came up), I suspect the drones at TSC were given a work order 'upgrade firmware'.

In your case, the computer stuff is hard to put a finger on, but if an A30 can't shake hands then there is obviously an issue. It's not an unknown issue either. If you check the www.projectoreviews.com review it is mentioned.

I'd say the DVI on your PJ is faulty. I have the same HD-DVD player and haven't had a problem either with the PJ alone or via the scaler.

Jeff Davis refunded my money. I would send him and his boss a stern email and direct them to this thread. Lord knows how many people have been turned off buying Optoma products so far, but the 77,000 viewers can't be impressed.

I emailed Jeff on Tuesday and asked him about this problem with the upgrade's of the HD3k and the status of my HD3k; he anwser me Thursday saying that my HD3k was going to be upgraded today and will be one day in QC. I hope they do it right... but after all I read here a doubt it.
I never could sent the messages to Lilibie Curtis, the lady who send me the RMA with the"FIRMWARE UPGRADE" the message has been returned twice.

I hope I don't jinx yours, but my HD3000 came back with cute little notations on the invoice about how it had been checked for X hours, given a burn test for another X hours, rested for 24 hours, and then tested again for X hours.

Given they hadn't done anything to it, it naturally flew through these tests.

Even more interesting, should you be paranoid, is that they guaranteed the work they hadn't done for 90 days. One wonders if this supersedes the original 2 year warranty now the scaler has been 'modified'?

I wonder why they did accept to fix ours HD3K if the were not quite sure to fix the problem... if they don't fix mine well, I will not spend more money in shipping. I would ask for a refund, I e-mailed them before asking if my HD3K could be opened to all resolutions and I pasted the resolutions from the manual an put it in my email then got the email from Lillie Curtis...with the upgrade... I think my HD3k is not going to be a special one.. nobody got theirs back working properly.... like I already said I would be happy if at least I can have it opened to all HZ, I´m tired of this projector.. for a little more money now I could have a Mistsubishi 4900..or a Optoma HD 73 which seem to be better than this one.

Gireesh,
Fairly obviously the two parts don't talk to each other. Whilst Jeff was aware of what I wanted (he even PMed me about it when the issue first came up), I suspect the drones at TSC were given a work order 'upgrade firmware'.

There in lies the problem. Jeff upgraded mine D07, I think and the bozos at the other place put it back to C04, which is the newer firmware for the neutered scaler. This is just plain stupid.



In your case, the computer stuff is hard to put a finger on, but if an A30 can't shake hands then there is obviously an issue. It's not an unknown issue either. If you check the www.projectoreviews.com review it is mentioned.

I actually read that review... but that was with the first generation HDDVD player from Toshiba. The A30 is a third generation player. So, they shouldn't have any excuses.

I have sent an e-mail to Jeff, I will call him Monday and if I don't get an RMA for swapping out the projector, I will have contact my legal service provider and explore my options. There is enough people out here that Optoma has 'scammed' for lack of a better word :mad:

Jeff handed my case over to his boss this morning...

I think my hypothesis about someone resetting the firmware after it leaves Jeff is true... he was surprised that my firmware was C04 and not D07.

They have issued a shipping label for me to send the units back for a swap. I will be sending it on 12/31... as they are closed during the Christmas break.

Jeff handed my case over to his boss this morning...

I think my hypothesis about someone resetting the firmware after it leaves Jeff is true... he was surprised that my firmware was C04 and not D07.

They have issued a shipping label for me to send the units back for a swap. I will be sending it on 12/31... as they are closed during the Christmas break.

That is good news g, hopefully you will get functioning units now. You never did the 'fix' with your HD3000?

George

No... at this point I am so turned off by the whole experience that I don't want to think about the fix.

Has anyone received an unit with a successful fix? If so, what firmware was on it?

Update... they are trying to locate a new unit for the swap... they don't show having any in stock online. Jeff's boss has been polite and nice so far, like Jeff... at least I am encouraged at this point that they are working with me to come up with a solution.

I am sure they will get everything work out for you.

No... at this point I am so turned off by the whole experience that I don't want to think about the fix.

Has anyone received an unit with a successful fix? If so, what firmware was on it?

Well, certainly I am no poster boy for the HD3000 'fix'. My unit wouldn't even turn on after being turned off without unplugging the dang thing first. But, I think maybe my unit was as close as they've got so far, and that isn't saying much.

I initially didn't have any audio out of the HDMI with the exception of some loud cracking/popping noises. After a couple of permutations of plug in/plug out, I finally started getting sound but still had the cracking/popping as well. I initially was able to output 1080p and a few other resolutions but eventually everything but the 'normal locked resolution of 1280X720 60Hz' stopped working with only a blues screen being displayed.

Back it went, they (I say 'they' with an ominous timbre to my voice) have it now and I'm really hoping that they can get it shipped back to me before they all leave on vacation.

Wish me luck (I feel somewhat guilty because at least I can use my projector, I'm not completely dead in the water),
George

Guys, I'm really struggling trying to get brightness and contrast dialed in on this projector so that all my blacks don't look like ink with no shadow detail.

I'm using HD DVE Pluge pattern to set brightness and the gray steps for contrast. I hear I'm supposed to be able to see three vertical bars on either side of the center bars but I only see two. I turn down brightness until the outermost bar just blends into the background. Then I look at the other pattern to set contrast.

It seems like almost every scene is like I'm looking through sunglasses. Even my wife notices and she never notices anything when it comes to movies on our projectors (she claims they have all looked the same to her). If anybody else has the HD DVE calibration disk, do you see all three vertical bars on either side of the middle bars on the Pluge pattern?

I have gamma set at the default '2' (I remember someone suggesting 2.35 or something but that is way too dark, I wouldn't be able to see anything using that gamma. If I increase gamma (for some reason, Optoma chose to use smaller numbers to show an increase in gamma instead of the usual, smaller numbers equals a decrease in gamma), everything seems washed out.

If anybody has any ideas, I would be grateful. With my IN72, I never felt like shadow details were lacking. I used the SD version of AVIA for calibration then and my Bravo D1 had DVI out which matched the IN72's DVI in.

George

George, my DVE will arrive Friday... I shall check it over the weekend and let you know.

I don't think my A2 passes BTB.

Btb?

I think I've gotten it figured out with a little help. I am not seeing blacker than black (btb) passed either through my A2.

Anyways, I was misinterpreting the technique for adjusting brightness using the Pluge pattern from the HD DVE calibration disk. I was mistakenly lowering brightness until the +4% vertical bar just disappeared into the background. I was confused because I wasn't seeing any BTB vertical bars (-4%). I should have, and subsequently did, focused on the +2% vertical bar and adjusted brightness until this bar was just barely visible. Of course, this made the +4% vertical bar very visible as opposed to it being totally invisible before when I wasn't adjusting correctly, thus completely crushing any black detail.

Everything is good now. Thanks to Larry (I think) who helped me via PM. I was really struggling trying to understand the Pluge pattern and its relationship to the brightness adjustment. Now, I just need to figure out how to adjust the contrast correctly as the contrast pattern and the instructions aren't easy for me to decipher.

Luck all,
George

I am surprised that no one has posted a contrast set up method.
Come on guys.

I used to use the method on DVE using the gray scales, but now I simply use the contrast section on the THX Optimizer discs. It's very easy to use and seems pretty accurate.

I have used the optimizer for black level but not the contrast.

The newer ones with the 8 boxes are very easy and work with digital displays.

Bub,

IMHO the 7100 doesn't have especially good shadow details at the best of times. I tried a lower gamma to help (2.0) but it's just not that great in that area.

Steve,

Looks like your scaler is beyond chump change already.

The newer ones with the 8 boxes are very easy and work with digital displays.

Bub,

IMHO the 7100 doesn't have especially good shadow details at the best of times. I tried a lower gamma to help (2.0) but it's just not that great in that area.

I found that using gamma 2.0 opens up the shadow detail nicely. Be sure to knock a couple ticks off the contrast setting though or else you will crush whites at the other end.

Moe

I've had a couple of reasonable offers for it too. So for those who don't need it, or can't be bothered dealing with Optoma, it seems you can just flog it off to make the projector even cheaper.

My shadow detail is fine with patterns. With some HD-DVD's I found it to be a hit and miss actually leaving me to believe if your display doesn't have elevated black you are going to tweak the pj software to software cause none are identical and some truely crush black level even with well calibed pj without shadow detail issue. Ironically My Nec XG1352LC behaves exactly the same way.
Also blacklevel in mixed scenes is a highly related to the ansi CR which we know this pj is very hi. You would get a better range shadoew detail with another pj with lower ansi cause it can hide those software that are poorly encoded for detail in low APL scene.

Setting up a contrast with digital pj somewhat different fron CRT fp. Most behave highly unlinearly in shades of gray throughout the range. So you need to find the contrast setting at which that gray scale is most linear without clipping the white in video 255 or 235 (100 ire pttern) depending on your set up. Lamps has a limited red so you will run out if contrast is set too high.
I found my calibrated HD7300 contrast is around +10~+20 with my first lamp and 0 with the second one. I think +10 is a safe setting if you have set up your grayscale or at least eyeballed it.

Whilst I don't think the 7100 has bad shadow detail, it is definitely not its strength. Even when I set my Marantz to Medium iris to match the Optomas higher black level and brightness, the Optoma still crushed blacks in comparison.

The lower gamma helps, but affects other things.

Fiddling with the Hd3000 seemed to make no difference. Mind you, all the settings on the HD3000 seem to have a lesser affect than those on the projector.

Mostly hd3k offers fine tune not total calibration. That is why it has less effect. All adjustments on the pj are coarse but hd3k are fine with limited range. Both work together.
I cannot see how hd7300 crushes black with fine gamma tweak in the 3k!!
I looks awesome with PC line input selected on 3k. I have no complain.
Like I said it is all the hi ansi cr that affects some poorly encoded material.

Hi all,

I just purchased this projector from Costco Canada and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I am a little worried about the lamp strike and bulb issues but am willing to give it a shot since I have read so much great stuff about this PJ. This will be my first PJ and should be quite a change for me as I do all my gaming and movie watching on my Dell 2407 LCD. The included screen is a 92'' panoview matte white with 1.0 gain. My apartment is naturally quite dark, however I do have light colored walls. I will be sitting 14 feet back and and mounting the PJ on my roof. Can anyone comment on whether the GrayWolf II screen would be better suited for this environment?

I have filtered through the majority of the posts about strike failures and sync issues and just wanted to make sure I have the facts straight. 1) Disable the auto-power off feature. 2)Turn PJ on for 20 seconds and then turn on devices 3) Turn off devices and wait 20 seconds to turn off PJ

Should I be doing anything else?

Thanks for all the great info that has been posted so far and sorry to hear about the problems some have been having dealing with Optoma.

I used a Graywolf with mine and the combo produces a very vibrant, striking image. I'm a big believer in grey screens so that's the way I'd go.

Steve, what is the firmware version on your HD-A30?


johnboy250, none of us seem to have lamp strike issues with the recent batch of these projectors, I bought a HD7100, sold it and bought an HD7300. Neither of them had any lamp strike issues. You need to disable the "Auto Power Off" feature. Other steps have had no impact on my setup.

Steve, what is the firmware version on your HD-A30?


johnboy250, none of us seem to have lamp strike issues with the recent batch of these projectors, I bought a HD7100, sold it and bought an HD7300. Neither of them had any lamp strike issues. You need to disable the "Auto Power Off" feature. Other steps have had no impact on my setup.

I, for one, definitely had a lamp strike failure within 40 hours of use with my HD7100 out of the HD7300 package deal. I haven't had another one and a bit over 100 hours now, but I still hold my breath whenever I fire it up.

George

I, for one, definitely had a lamp strike failure within 40 hours of use with my HD7100 out of the HD7300 package deal. I haven't had another one and a bit over 100 hours now, but I still hold my breath whenever I fire it up.

George

Do you recall whether "auto power off" was on or off in the options menu.

Do you recall whether "auto power off" was on or off in the options menu.

Auto power off was 'off', one of the very first things I adjusted.

George

Thanks for the replies everybody. I will make sure to disable auto power off when I get the PJ. I wish they still bundled the grey screen in this package deal but I will give the matte white a try and see how it works. Is anyone using 25' monoprice HDMI cables? I'm thinking to grab one and a DVI adapter so I can re-use the cable in the future.

Jon

A couple of nights ago I had a similar situation as "no strike". But it turned out to be a sync issue. I hate DVI. I have a DVI board in my XG CRT that does have such issues as well.
I don't recall the sequence I turned the units but I had no picture from 7300.
No picture not even DVI search and fans remained on hi side. I have had the auto power off on off already.
Sitting on my chair saying great here we go now I have got it too.
So I grabbed the remote and pressed menu. After three secs menu showed up somewhat scrambled in the center but it pulled itself together and snaped in perfectly fine. So it was not the dreaded no strike.
Before opting for the remote I put my hand in front of the lens I realized there was light coming out of the lens but barely then I knew it is not a strike issue.
Perhaps next time you have a similar situation look into lens or put something in front of it. I am sure if my Auto power off was on the pj would have powered down.

Thanks for the replies everybody. I will make sure to disable auto power off when I get the PJ. I wish they still bundled the grey screen in this package deal but I will give the matte white a try and see how it works. Is anyone using 25' monoprice HDMI cables? I'm thinking to grab one and a DVI adapter so I can re-use the cable in the future.

Jon
I'm 100% Monoprice......2 HDMI 6' cables to the Monoprice switcher to the 30' HDMI/DVI to the 7100. Inexpensive and they work flawlessly.

He's an update on my cable situation. About a year back I purchased a 35' monoprice 24AWG. It's a very heavy cable and it worked great with my HTPC and my Panny L300u (540p). When I upgraded to the HD7300 I started getting quite a few HDMI dropouts. The Projector would loose sync completely for about 2 seconds. That happened quite often while watching the TivoHD (every 5 minutes) and 2-3 per hour when using my HD-A2. The problem only occurred when the HD3000 was feeding the projector. I didn't have any problems with the source component connected directly to the projector. I would even get an occasional dropout without any sources connected to the HD3000. My HD3000 is apparently having difficulty driving a 35' cable. It do great when connected to my LCD TV via a 6' cable.

Based on recommendations from others, I picked up a series2 35' HDMI cable from Bluejeans. The series2 is their 2nd best cable. I have a set of bluejean component cables that are great. The HDMI cables have a 30 day return policy, so I decided to try the series2 first. The situation improved with the series2, but it was far from perfect. I wasn't getting HDMI dropouts any longer, but I would get sparklies about every minute while watching HD. By sparklies I mean complete horizontal white lines that appear at various positions on the screen. They only last for about a frame, but they are still annoying. I returned the cable and swallowed the shipping charges.

My next decision was between buying an amplified HDMI cable or the Series1 cable from bluejeans. The series1 is HDMI 1.3a certified and according to bluejeans works at 1080p/60hz up to 120ft. I decided to buy the series1. It works better than the series2 but it's still not perfect for me. I'm getting quite a few sparklies while watching the TivoHD. Not nearly as many, but definitely 4-5 per hour. While watching the HD-A2 I see maybe 1 per hour. As you can imagine I'm pretty annoyed at this point.

Last night I ordered an HDMI extender from RixLabs. It's amplified and about 1/3 the price of the Gefen HDMI extender. I could find very little info about this company on the web. They seem to sell their equipment\cables mostly through amazon and an ebay store. My order was based on ebay customer feedback which was all very positive. I'm hoping that the extra boost will be enough to eliminate the sparklies. If not I'm not sure what I'll do.

I have not doubt that the HD3000 is the weak link in the chain. If it's struggling to push a 720p/60hz signal I can't imagine how bad the sparklies would be with 1080p.

I have 26hrs on the projector and probably 40 on the HD3000. So far everything has worked perfectly for me. I have it calibrated nicely based on my AVIA DVD and the picture is stunning. If only I could get rid of those damn sparklies.

I am using a 10m (32') BetterCables HDMI-HDMI cable from the HD3000 to the pj. BetterCables HDMI-DVI adapter on the pj side. Model is Silver Serpent. These are seriously heavy cables and contruction is as good as anything from the big companies - Audioquest, Cardas, etc. Price is on the high side but not as much as these big companies. My experience is that the picture is perfect; no sparklies, dropouts, etc. And this is without an amplified cable.

As for the pitcure quality, my heart races everytime I put an an HD-DVD! The image is astounding. I've seen 1080p pj's and IMHO the HD7300 is at least equally as impressive. Obviously, the quality of the optics is at least as important as the resolution (1080p). I was planning on upgrading my HD3000 to 1080p but at this point I see no point. I couldn't be more impressed.

And BTW, my Scaler/pj has been working flawlessly. No bulb strike issues or anything else for that matter. Another reason not to mess with the HD3000.

chrobins, well you are correct in that HD3000 is the weakest link... it has trouble pushing 720p for 5 meters, 15'+, that my PC has no trouble doing. Same for the HD71(3)00 projector, weak in receiving... the VPL-HS50 that I had in the same spot worked great, without a single sparkle ever.

As we have come to know, Optoma is very weak when it comes to digital inputs... I get an awesome image on VGA... but that beats the whole point of having a digital projector.

chrobins, well you are correct in that HD3000 is the weakest link... it has trouble pushing 720p for 5 meters, 15'+, that my PC has no trouble doing. Same for the HD71(3)00 projector, weak in receiving... the VPL-HS50 that I had in the same spot worked great, without a single sparkle ever.

As we have come to know, Optoma is very weak when it comes to digital inputs... I get an awesome image on VGA... but that beats the whole point of having a digital projector.

I come from an analog backround and occasionally cross boundaries into the digital. While digital solves some problems often what comes with it are new ones to be resolved. Where analog can solve problems simply and elegantly
digital gives repeatability with the added cost of complexity in comparison.

I come from an analog backround and occasionally cross boundaries into the digital. While digital solves some problems often what comes with it are new ones to be resolved. Where analog can solve problems simply and elegantly
digital gives repeatability with the added cost of complexity in comparison.

:D

Did you check your firmware version yet?

:D

Did you check your firmware version yet?

I moved my screen and the wife asked if I got a new PJ? Being courageous
I said No. I will definitely be firing it up this weekend and hope to enjoy it a little before I'm completely emasculated for buying it. If I'm still alive I will let you know.

I always buy first, face the wrath later. ;)

Actually, my wife will get slightly annoyed for a time but she gets over it very quickly. She gets me back by buying something for herself that she's been holding back on. :) Her 'toys' don't cost nearly as much as mine so I can't complain.

Wayne

Oh well, after decades of knowing each other, my wife and I still have a cold war when it comes to this hobby. Well, she tells me that she won't pray for me unless I stop this, I guess I am going to hell... then again from the pictures and depictions I have seen the contrast is better there :D

I wonder what she would say if I was spending significant percentages of my earnings like some who buy the high end gear.

Giresh,

What model of UPS do you have? Does it put out sine or square wave if you loose the line? As long as I know the model I can look it up.

CyberPower CP1500AVRT UPS - 1500VA 900W

Specs says it output simulated sine wave.

Here is the link to the UPS I use... they also carry long power cords...

http://www.provantage.com/cyberpower-systems-cp1500avrt~7CYPR032.htm

http://www.provantage.com/belkin-f3a104-20~7BELC082.htm

Prices seem to have gone up considerably since I bought... the two items shipped to me was <$135!! Falling dollar is probably to blame.

[QUOTE=gireesh;12558723]CyberPower CP1500AVRT UPS - 1500VA 900W

Specs says it outputs simulated sine wave.

I have 1 I can use by APC. It's definitely square wave. I looked up the definition of simulated sine wave. It can vary from square to trapezoidal.
yours is relatively low cost therefore simulated sine wave. More expensive units would put out sine wave. I don't think the PJ has anything that requires pure sine wave but I will need to research it.

Use of these battery powered back ups are not recommended for projectors of this caliber. What is the use?

Use of these battery powered back ups are not recommended for projectors of this caliber. What is the use?

When the line is normal it's passed through. Only when there's a brownout or loss it comes on line. Having no cooling for the bulb may well be the worst of the choices. Having a sine wave input is desireable verses square wave. But since
most pj's have switching power supplies that part would not be affected.

I disagree that that no cooling fan after shut down is a bad thing.
It is only bad if you want to use the pj shortly after shut down.
This things put out dirty power as well as clipping voltage. Both bad for the lamp and electronic even for a short time. They only are intended to be used against loss of data when power is intrupted.
All you need is a guality surge protection or line conditioner.

CaspianM, are you saying that any computer on an UPS is going to be 'hurt' by the output of the UPS?

I disagree that that no cooling fan after shut down is a bad thing.
It is only bad if you want to use the pj shortly after shut down.
This things put out dirty power as well as clipping voltage. Both bad for the lamp and electronic even for a short time. They only are intended to be used against loss of data when power is intrupted.
All you need is a guality surge protection or line conditioner.

I won't disagree with the need for surge and line conditioning, however having
a good sine wave UPS would be best. By the way except for input rectification
of the sine wave input, all power processed internally by the projector is by
switching power supplies including the ballast. Loss of the fan could be detrimental to the bulb and shortens their life. Why do you think there is a cool down cycle prior to cutting power. But a good sine wave UPS may well be more expensive than the bulb. As I said before I need to research the cheaper units more before using it.

One thing that comes to mind are these bulb misfires where people pull the plug on their units when the ballast malfunctions. Many loose their bulbs shortly thereafter. This is a loss of power while the bulb is hot and loss of cooling fan seriously degrading the bulb or loosing it outright.

I won't disagree with the need for surge and line conditioning, however having
a good sine wave UPS would be best. By the way except for input rectification
of the sine wave input, all power processed internally by the projector is by
switching power supplies including the ballast. Loss of the fan could be detrimental to the bulb and shortens their life. Why do you think there is a cool down cycle prior to cutting power. But a good sine wave UPS may well be more expensive than the bulb. As I said before I need to research the cheaper units more before using it.

I think you answered yourself.
I don't mind what you do but this has been beaten to death that a non-sinsoidal power generator is bad for delicate electronics. Computers are different beast and the power supply in them are not any better.
Post shut off cooling is to make the pj ready for another strike within minutes not to preserve the bulb life.
In fact an engineer (Bob from INFocus) confirmed repeatedlty that a free convection is better for the bulb than forced convection cooling where bulb life is concerned but you cannot turn the pj back on for sometime since it is too hot for a restrike..I am done. It seems every fact needs to be challenged in this one. Been around for a long time but this thread has been very different. Good luck guys.

A switching power supply in a computer is no different than a switching power supply in a projector just different requirements. From where I come from heat destroys if not properly
handled. Enough said on this topic.

You need to get your facts straight. You do not know more than InFocus engineer who set this straight. Using a low quality computer UPS is more harmful than beneficial. But if that makes feel good use it. Who's to say not to. Those bulbs are running much hotter in operation. Do a search in archive and you will find your answer. Newbies like to argue..so it seems.

I've had a couple of reasonable offers for it too. So for those who don't need it, or can't be bothered dealing with Optoma, it seems you can just flog it off to make the projector even cheaper.

Its gone. Ended early. Would you mind letting us know what you got for it? Thanks! And congrats on the sale.:D

I use a APC Smart UPS 1000 with true sine wave output. Picked it up on the Bay very cheap. The power here in Hawaii is just too iffy to not have one. Cheers.

I didn't advocate using a low quality UPS. I maybe a newbie on the forum but have many years of dealing with electronic hardware. There's only one way to prove this through experimentation. We will set up 2 projectors. One with a UPS and another without
one and pull the plug repeatedly while running and see which 1 last longer. Maybe we can get a projector company to do this.

Scope the output. Hum, clipping voltage (square), dismal s/n ratio you name it.
Unless u are in area with consistent brownout even then you need to invest on power factory or equivalent if you believe it saves bulb but there is no reason for it unless you need stable power voltage.
Search under Bob William in archive.

I use a APC Smart UPS 1000 with true sine wave output. Picked it up on the Bay very cheap. The power here in Hawaii is just too iffy to not have one. Cheers.

Much better UPS. While power loss doesn't happen to often in the Northeast one never knows. To often though for my liking.

I need some advice on adjusting my image properly. I'm currently getting a trapezoid image that's approximately 1/2-1" wider on the top than on the bottom. As best as I can tell I have the projector level and pointing perpendicular to the screen. It's difficult to tell for sure since the thing is shaped like a UFO and you can't really throw a level on it. I wish they would have included leveling bubbles on the case. I'm pretty much maxing out the vertical lens shift, and I need to use a bit of horizontal as well. I had it very close to perfect the first time that I mounted it, but since taking it down I can't seem to get it right. I'm guessing that I must have it pointed too low, but I don't have any extra play in my mount in the up direction. I can point it down, but not up. Keystoning is turned off, so I don't think that's messing me up. Have any of you found a reliable way to make sure the projector is actually level?.

There is one part of the projector, on its bottom, that is perfectly flat. I put bubble level on that section and level the projector horizontally. That region is about 2"x2". It took me a while to figure this out :D, now it seems to work.

I need some advice on adjusting my image properly. I'm currently getting a trapezoid image that's approximately 1/2-1" wider on the top than on the bottom. As best as I can tell I have the projector level and pointing perpendicular to the screen. It's difficult to tell for sure since the thing is shaped like a UFO and you can't really throw a level on it. I wish they would have included leveling bubbles on the case. I'm pretty much maxing out the vertical lens shift, and I need to use a bit of horizontal as well. I had it very close to perfect the first time that I mounted it, but since taking it down I can't seem to get it right. I'm guessing that I must have it pointed too low, but I don't have any extra play in my mount in the up direction. I can point it down, but not up. Keystoning is turned off, so I don't think that's messing me up. Have any of you found a reliable way to make sure the projector is actually level?.

No need for bubble level.
If it is vertical KStone then point the pj up or down until it is squared to your screen. If it is horizontal just point the pj left or righ until the image is line up with your screen. I use bubble with the screen installation.
Horizontally if you get it line up by changing the H throw angle but off centered then u need to move your mount.

Mine is ceiling mounted so I can't get a level on the 'flat spot' that you are referring too. The best that I found is to use the seam in the case to try to level it from front to back. That doesn't work very well either because the case is curved so it's difficult to keep the level lined up with the seam.

Much better UPS. While power loss doesn't happen to often in the Northeast one never knows. To often though for my liking.

I live in Hawaii. In my area if a mosquito farts, the power goes out.:eek:

Mine is ceiling mounted so I can't get a level on the 'flat spot' that you are referring too. The best that I found is to use the seam in the case to try to level it from front to back. That doesn't work very well either because the case is curved so it's difficult to keep the level lined up with the seam.

A level isn't going to work anyways, way too much tolerance to ensure your projector is mounted level. The only way that I know of to be 100% certain is to make sure all keystoning is off and all vertical lens shift is centered or default. Now, get out your measuring tape, point your projector at your screen or wall, measure top to bottom (left AND right side of screen), left to right (top AND bottom of screen) and diagonally (from BOTH opposing corners).

Your measurements are going to tell you all you need to know...

If you have a 'top to bottom' measurement discrepancy between left and right sides, you know that the projector is pointing left or right of being perpendicular to the wall/screen. Pan/swivel the projector AWAY from the larger measurement. Be very careful when mounting your projector as the lens is not centered. Place your mount so that it is centered with your lens, not the projector case (trust me on this and save yourself a ton of aggravation).

If you have a 'left to right' measurement discrepancy between your top and bottom measurements, you will need to tilt the projector AWAY from the larger measurement.

If you have mounted your projector so that the mount is centered with the lens, you shouldn't have any problem with diagonal measurements being different.

Some things to be aware of... Sometimes, your walls are not exactly perpendicular to the ceiling, the bottom of the wall may angle either away from the projector or towards it. Sometimes, the left most portion of your wall is further from your mounting location than the right most portion of your wall. And, sometimes how you mount your screen to your wall could introduce a situation, that while your wall may be aligned, the screen is not.

Luck all,
George

Great advice. Thanks George!

Place your mount so that it is centered with your lens, not the projector case (trust me on this and save yourself a ton of aggravation).[/I][/B]



A mount can be any where. Why does it need to be centered with the lens?

In fact most mounts are fixed as where you want to attach it to the pj's case and even if you can vary its position is best to center it with the pj's center of gravity not the lens. You can't even center it to the lens if pj's lens is sided.

All he needs to do is to tilt his pj down a bit BUT he CANNOT do that cause his screen is too hi for this projector.

just mounted mine today. had a tough time gettin it straight. that flat spot on the bottom worked for levelling here, after levelling a bit of twistin im within 1/4" @ 11ft throw distance. ill tweak it later. painted a screen w behr silver screen, amazing, even w the paint still damp.

wanted to say thx! for all the great info in this thread!

lear

A mount can be any where. Why does it need to be centered with the lens?

In fact most mounts are fixed as where you want to attach it to the pj's case and even if you can vary its position is best to center it with the pj's center of gravity not the lens. You can't even center it to the lens if pj's lens is sided.

All he needs to do is to tilt his pj down a bit BUT he CANNOT do that cause his screen is too hi for this projector.

Not true, while the holes on the projector are fixed, most universal mounts let you move the "arms" around so that the lens can be positioned along the CL of the screen to compensate for offset of lens from the projector's centerline.

That has nothing to do with what he wrote and what I said.
What I said is correct you just did not read it.
Why a mount needs to be cenetered to the lens?

Most mounts let you compensate just in case if it is not positioned exactly where it should be.

That has nothing to do with what he wrote and what I said.
What I said is correct you just did not read it.
Why a mount needs to be cenetered to the lens?

Most mounts let you compensate just in case if it is not positioned exactly where it should be.

Wow! I don't understand why you are so antagonistic towards everybody, it isn't necessary.

The reason you center the mount to the lens and not the chassis is because when you swivel/pan the projector to align with the screen, you keep the lens axis in line with the center of the screen and the center of the mount. If you center the mount with the chassis of the projector that has the lens off center, when you swivel/pan the projector, you are also moving the lens either farther away or closer to the screen instead of just side to side.

If you take a moment to think it through, it makes perfect sense.

George

I'm now shooting a nicely aligned image. I needed to tilt the projector down quite a bit correct the trapezoid problem.

As far as the mount goes, my lens is approximately 2" to the right of center on the screen. I use a projector lift which is centered in the middle of the screen. The mount has to be centered on the chassis to keep the weight evenly distributed across both sets of scissors on the lift. The horizontal lens shift is a life saver for me.

Wow! I don't understand why you are so antagonistic towards everybody, it isn't necessary.



Well that stattement speaks for itseslf as who is antagonistic. In fact you have been such from day one if disagreed with. The negative posts have been staggering in this thread by you and him. From focus issue to lens shift, color, strikeing issue, optoma, 1;1 mapping and so forth.

About mount that is only true for a projector with no lens shift. Even then you mount it correctly from the get go so you do need to move the pj with respect the mount. For most part that feature is there for situations where you need the mount it to the studs and need a bit offset to set it up.

@mkoss, is there a way to check what my UPS outputs, without attaching it to a scope? I wish I could device a contraption that reduces the ac voltage to -5V to +5V so that I can use the line in of the sound card to capture the wave form.

Oh, by the way, did you find out what version of the firmware your scaler is?

@George, last night, my HTPC stopped recognizing the scaler too... I think some electronic component in Optoma's DVI/HDMI circuit worsens with time. I am to send the combo back for them to fix it... on the 31st as they are closed for the holidays.

I'm now shooting a nicely aligned image. I needed to tilt the projector down quite a bit correct the trapezoid problem.

Interesting... I will check how far off the bubble is in my case when I get up there next time... if I remember, my bubble level was quite centered. I used a long bubble level to mount my screen. So, I know that the screen is horizontal with very little error if any. Is everything else vertical and horizontal as they should be?

gireesh,

if you get a filament transformer from radio shack that might work to reduce the voltage.
It might not like that it's square if it is non sinusoidal and be distorted, but that will do 2 things. Reduce the voltage to 12 or 6 vac depending on the type and will give you isolation since you don't know if there's isolation in your UPS. YOU NEED ISOLATION so
you don't cause other problems for your computer card like smoking it.

Interesting... I will check how far off the bubble is in my case when I get up there next time... if I remember, my bubble level was quite centered. I used a long bubble level to mount my screen. So, I know that the screen is horizontal with very little error if any. Is everything else vertical and horizontal as they should be?

It's pretty much dead on level in the horizontal direction. After I got it adjusted correctly vertically I didn't put the level back on to check. Just eyeballing it it sure looks like it's pointing down down to me. I'm using a drop down tensioned screen, so the distance to the top and bottom of the screen should be the same. I'm not sure if he has anything to do with the fact that I'm using 90% of the available vertical lens shift. I wouldn't think so, but I guess it wouldn't surprise me.

It took me a little over a month, me sending my HD3000 to Optoma twice and a bunch of emails with multiple screenshots (Optoma did not believe me - and insisted on providing me with information that did not match their manual or the final corrected product) but yes! I finally have firmware 07! (And a changed mainboard to boot)

My HD3000 now accepts 1080p input and outputs multiple resolutions including 1080p. Sound good? Alas no, things cannot be that easy with this awful hardware. Firmware 07 seems less stable than the previous 720p locked firmware in a few ways:

1) The H and V zoom feature now flickers when adjusting interlaced video (This did not happen pre-version 07) However, this is easily fixed by using only progressive scan video - either way does not impact performance once the H and V zoom is set)

2) The unit sometimes will not turn on - even though the blue light is on - will take a few power cycles

3) This is the big one - Any 1080p input occasionally shows video noise in dark scenes when downconverting to 720p to show on the projector. This is in the form of red and green shimmering pixels and happens consistently in the same scenes. (I have tried two different 1080p inputs and 480p, 720p, and 1080i inputs do not show this behavior) I have yet to test 1080p in to 1080p out but will do so in the next day or so on a flat panel LCD and report back. Anyone else see this issue? Is this the DLP rainbow effect? If so, why does it only happen on 1080p in?


4) Not firmware related but after receiving my HD3000 back the second time the flip door will no longer shut - thanks Optoma! :mad:


I really do not want to send this back for a third time. I regret wasting the $300 extra and overall, my Optoma purchase.


No... at this point I am so turned off by the whole experience that I don't want to think about the fix.

Has anyone received an unit with a successful fix? If so, what firmware was on it?

I don't think what you're seeing is the rainbow effect. Here is an excellent example of what you'd see:

http://www.dietforum.net/balagee/projected/rainbow.html

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. It's too bad because this is a killer projector when it works. Sounds like the video processor isn't very good with the 1080p firmware. Maybe not very good with the 720p firmware either? :eek: Try to console yourself with the fact that this projector alone was selling for over $3000.00 a year ago. The HD7300 package was MSRP'd at $8000.00 so perhaps you've taken a $300.00 hit but it could have been worse. ;)

Wayne

Thanks for the link, that multicolored blur is definitely not what I am seeing. Instead, my screen displays something closer to red and green snow that remains even during freeze frame. You make good points regarding the projector as it does have a decent picture - I see the $300 as a waste though because in the end the 1080p feature is not usable anyway.

I don't think what you're seeing is the rainbow effect. Here is an excellent example of what you'd see:

http://www.dietforum.net/balagee/projected/rainbow.html

Wayne

3) This is the big one - Any 1080p input occasionally shows video noise in dark scenes when downconverting to 720p to show on the projector. This is in the form of red and green shimmering pixels and happens consistently in the same scenes. (I have tried two different 1080p inputs and 480p, 720p, and 1080i inputs do not show this behavior) I have yet to test 1080p in to 1080p out but will do so in the next day or so on a flat panel LCD and report back. Anyone else see this issue? Is this the DLP rainbow effect? If so, why does it only happen on 1080p in?


I don't think this is an artifact of D07 firmware, I have C04 on mine. On Friday, I watched Hurricane, a lot of dark scenes, flesh tones etc. I was feeding 720p from A30, and I did not see any artifacts. Then Saturday evening, after I had changed some setting on HDMI1 to shift the image, feeding 1080p from HD-A30, I started to see the annoying artifacts you mentioned above in Next... first I thought I had screwed up something with the cable, then I noticed that the black bars on top and bottom were pristine, no sparkles, saw those red (in my case) vertical twinkling streaks, in the dark scenes, peoples black suits, hair etc. The previous week, I had watched Meet Joe Black and remember the image being stellar, and that had a lot of black suits, so I put it back in, and there it was the annoying artifacts. So, I decided to do "Factory Reset" from the System menu, and that took care of the artifacts.

The manual says that the HD3000 firmware is user upgradeable, I wish they release corrected firmware for these and let us upgrade without having to send them in.

Yes, it's so much more convenient when they allow you to do so. My first projector the X1 from Infocus was easily upgraded via firmware by plugging it into my computer via USB cable.

This shipping it back to the manufacturer business is a big hassle.

Wayne

Steve,
If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get for your HD3000 on ebay? It looks like you must have ended the auction early?

I sold it locally for $600. It reached $400 on eBay with a day to go before I pulled it, with 40 watchers, many of them probably from this thread.

:)

I sold it locally for $600. It reached $400 on eBay with a day to go before I pulled it, with 40 watchers, many of them probably from this thread.

:)

Thanks. I'm considering selling mine as well and applying the cash toward a new HDMI receiver. I'm very happy with the picture of the HD7300, so I personally don't think it's worth upgrading to 1080p at this point. I'd love to use this projector for 2 more years.

Hi, someone knows if the optical path is sealed, and / or if I may have with time troubles for dust (even to the color wheel) in the case of ceiling mounted?

Thanks:)

Got my 7100 2 weeks ago and love the picture. But the starting procedure is unacceptable. By pressing the on button you hear the projector starting, you see on the left bottom corner "DVI searching", you see a bit of light on the screen but no Optoma sign. It remains that way until I turn it off and on again (sometimes 2-3 times) until it finally starts. The "auto power off" is off and clean electricity is provided. Tried the cycle with the dvd player (on dvi) on and off. Will send it back unless someone here has any other solution. But when the picture is finally on the performance is extraordinary. Any input is welcome - thanks.

Turn the Optoma on first then the source.
If still searching turn the source off and on.
If still problems check your cable length and gauge.

thanks - will try it tonight - cable length is only 3 feet dvi with a monster cable. It is a table top set up and power is unplugged after viewing.

heiwi, you are not experiencing any bulb strike issues... the Optoma (red) logo comes on before the projector starts searching for signals. If you blink, you will miss the logo. Seeing "DVI Searching" means you are successfully powered on and lit properly... you will see only very limited light output as 99% of the screen is black, but for the "DVI Searching" phrase on the screen... hit the menu button, and you will see that the projector is fine... it has not detected a DVI source, that is all.

What DVD player are you using? HD7100 has known issues syncing with certain devices, for example, my projector does not sync with my Toshiba HD-A30 or my HTPC over the DVI connection.

Also, turning the projector on and off three times will kill your lamp... your issue is with source device not outputting signal, probably due to HDMI handshake failure. Try powering on the projector, and then the source device. If that does not fix the problem, you may need to get an HDCP compliant DVI-Detective or something like that from Spatz or return the projector.

Hello all,
Same question? How to clean the dust out of this projector? Or is it a non issue? sealed light path? etc.
On a side note, i've had several strike issues....all seem to occur when the source was not turned on or in a stand by mode.
As long as everything is turned on and properly sourced it (the projector) has fired up correctly every time!
When it doesn't sync up, I can still see light inside the projector as if the bulb is indeed on???
The picture quality is indeed fantastic!!!!!!!Still a Bargain!

Hello all,
Same question? How to clean the dust out of this projector? Or is it a non issue? sealed light path? etc.
On a side note, i've had several strike issues....all seem to occur when the source was not turned on or in a stand by mode.
As long as everything is turned on and properly sourced it (the projector) has fired up correctly every time!
When it doesn't sync up, I can still see light inside the projector as if the bulb is indeed on???
The picture quality is indeed fantastic!!!!!!!Still a Bargain!

If there is light then the lamp is on. It has happened to me and looked thru the lens the lamp was on. It is DVI handshake at least it was in my case. The optical path is sealed. That is the reason there is no filter built in.

I don't have my HD7100 anymore (needed the money) but I may re-purchase it after we move in the next few months.

However, I did have great success in making sure that all of my sources were turned on FIRST. When I tried to put the pj on first and then the sources, it would continually search for the HDMI connected source and almost always failed.

So, I learned to turn on the Toshiba HD A2 DVD and the Samsung BD-P1000
players FIRST, as well as my Scientific Atlanta PVR and then immediately I would fire up the HD7100. The misfires were very rare and I found great consistency in this manner.

I also found that sometimes it would take a while for the pj to show an image but if I did nothing but wait it would eventually work. At other times I'd have to do a hard shutdown during those rare occasions when it wouldn't fire up and I could hear the fan whirring in a rhythmic fashion over and over again. On the second try it always managed to work properly.

It's a funky projector but man, when it works it's incredible!

Wayne

Fortunately I am no longer an Optoma owner, but I sympathize.

I had a couple of slow starts with my 7300 (but not when the scaler was connected) but there was no rhyme, reason or pattern to them. They didn't get any worse either.

I found the best way to force a start was to take the projector out of standby by removing the power plug completely, waiting for a bit and then replugging it.

Extrapolating, if your PJ is prone to hesitation try turning it off fully when not in use. With the power cord attached it is never actually off.

This helps with HDMI-DVI chicanery too.

Thanks for all the advice and thoughts concerning the inconsistent start up procedure. Last night I followed caspia suggestion to turn on and off the dvd player (Oppo 971H) after the pj was running. The pj showed finally a picture after about 4 1/2 minutes and after I turned on and off the source. During those start up minutes I heard the fan slowing down and accelerating. I also noticed a flash on the screen shortly before I finally saw the picture with the Optoma logo. So it might be the handshake from the oppo to the pj because the monster dvi cable is only 3 feet short. I should also mention that the electricity is unplugged after viewing a movie.
Thanks so much for this great forum and their members.

Thanks,
To all the members for their opinions and input. You have all helped me to purchase one heck of a projector....quirks aside. hd7300 rocks!

I have a white DA-lite 1.3 gain screen 16:9.....45x80.....92" diag and tweak as follows.
I set the projector to custom1, norm sharpness, gamma 2.2, 6500k. I chose custom1 because if I don't it defaults back to 8000k. All other tweaks are then performed from the scaler. Just a tip, at least from what i've observed, the pedestal setting on the scaler gives much better shadow detail when set to pc-dvi not video-dvi? At least when selecting the hdmi 1 input on the scaler to receive the 1080i from my charter motorola cable box. Any tweaking suggestions are welcomed, lets max out the performance of this combo!
Thanks again!

p.s. Screen shots?

Just started getting horrible flickering in low lamp mode. When I switch to high, it stops. When I switch back to low, it is ok for a few minutes then starts flickering again.

I ran it on high lamp for about 4 hours, never noticed any flickering. But, whenever I switch it to low lamp, the flickering returns.

Optoma is closed down for the holidays, but will be calling once they open back up.

George

I never received any response to my letter to Optoma CEO, nor have I heard anything regarding my HD3000, which they have had since the 18th.

Did you try to remove and reinstall the bulb?

Did you try to remove and reinstall the bulb?

No, I haven't taken my projector apart and messed with the lamp. Is that standard procedure for lamp flickering?

George

Also, just got a response from Optoma regarding my HD3000. They claim they are working on it between phone calls, if you can believe that. I guess the fact that I paid for a neutered scaler, paid to have it de-neutered, waited for it to be sent to me not working, waited for it to be sent back and now I'm given priority somewhere below Joe Blow who might be calling Optoma for the first time, great! I'm really loving my Optoma experience so far!

George,
Their repair center is closed... Jeff's boss encouraged me to send the projector/scaler in after the holidays because the shop is closed between Christmas and New Year. I plan to ship mine on 12/31 so that they will have it on 1/2/08... hopefully this time around they will return it to me a lot quicker... last time it took a month!

I noticed flickering around 30+ Hrs on low mode, I had read somewhere to run the bulb in high mode for a few hours for the electrodes to burn out uniformly... did that and the flickering seems to have gone away.

George,
Their repair center is closed... Jeff's boss encouraged me to send the projector/scaler in after the holidays because the shop is closed between Christmas and New Year. I plan to ship mine on 12/31 so that they will have it on 1/2/08... hopefully this time around they will return it to me a lot quicker... last time it took a month!

I noticed flickering around 30+ Hrs on low mode, I had read somewhere to run the bulb in high mode for a few hours for the electrodes to burn out uniformly... did that and the flickering seems to have gone away.

Well, I got a call from the repair center so they are not closed. He said there was a 'skeleton crew' working at the moment. Besides, they had my scaler the morning of the 18th so had 4 entire days to work on it before the end of the week before the holidays. I was hoping that because I had already had it in once AND the fact that I had paid $300, my HD3000 might be given some sort of priority, obviously not.

I did run my lamp on high for 4 hours but it still flickers very badly on low lamp mode.

George

It was just a suggestion so that you don't have to send your projector in for service. possible intermittent connection. etc.
Just trying to help.

It was just a suggestion so that you don't have to send your projector in for service. possible intermittent connection. etc.
Just trying to help.

I appreciate it. Do you think they would ask to have the entire projector sent in for lamp flicker? Man, I sure hope not.

George

I had a similar lamp flicker with my last projector, but it was very slight compared to this, and they replaced the lamp. They did ask me to run it on high lamp for a few hours and that did seem to 'fix' it for awhile but shortly it started flickering again. They shipped a replacement lamp with little resistance. That was InFocus.

To help with flicker..
I have had a minor flicker on upper left and lower right a few times.
Once it showed up I brought the menu up and it disappeared.
Total of five times so far and has not come back for about 50 hours or so.
I am not sure it is actually the bulb but not sure either way.
If menu thing don't work the hi lamp is another option.
You just need to do something and it will stop. That is my 2c.

Could it be a problem with the iris? Disappearing when the menu is brought up points toward an iris issue... does this thing have a dynamic iris?

If the entire image flickers then we can say it could be the lamp but that is not what I got a few times. It was parts of the picture that flickerd very slowly like some one was rocking the pj. The iris in this projector is a fixed non-user accessible. You can see it with the pj off looking inside the lend with a flash light. It could be the color wheel but hard to say. Good thing is it is gone now.

Finally got the scaler up and running. using with my hitachi pjx-100. Version D07 software.
With this PJ I didn't remember the signal being this sharp before. I want to run with this a while before switching to the 7300. No problem starting with no signal. Using Samsung dtbf-h260f HD tuner

It is the entire image that is flickering. Again, initial startup and switch to low power lamp, flickering started right away. Switched to high power for 2 hours, no flickering, then back to low power and started flickering within a few minutes.

It is definitely the entire image and quite severe, almost like a strobe. If they want the projector back to check it out, I probably won't complain. Considering the vertical lens shift adjustment mechanism also activates the horizontal lens shift and the strange fluctuating noise it makes, I guess I can have them mess with everything at once. I just have to be prepared to be without my projector for a month or so, and more than likely (if experience is any indicator) will have to send it in multiple times before they address and repair all the issues.

George

Mine was a slight, slow flicker near the left top border and right bottom edge.
Spend sometime with it before repair consideration.

bub, do you have the spare lamp? If you do try replacing it with the new 1 and see if the problem goes away. Then put the old 1 back in again and check.

I remember noticing this from time to time with mine. It was alarming for sure but it was slight and didn't stick around for longer than a moment. It seemed to be prevalent in bright scenes and I decided to try to ignore it in the hopes that it would either go away or I was seeing things. :)

I think it happened when the bulb was pretty new and under 100 hours if that's any help. It eventually disappeared completely. I'm hopeful that will be everyone's experience who happens to notice it.

Wayne

There is a thread on lamp life in this forum. Check it out, there is a lot of information on lamps.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=885095

Screen shots anybody?

Ran with Samsung set top box last night for about 4 hours. Also had philips 5960 hooked up but viewed mostly from samsung. Had 1 incident where scaler turned off around 2+ hours although may have bumped since it was resting near a pillow I was leaning on. It powers up into the service menu I noticed. Checked resolution menues where none were grayed out.

I'm curious as to what penalty is paid in running in high lamp vs eco mode since I believe
lamp life is listed as the same for the 7100(I couldn't find anything in the specifications that differentiates eco from high lamp). In eco mode your consumming less power but
what are the other benifits?

Ran with Samsung set top box last night for about 4 hours. Also had philips 5960 hooked up but viewed mostly from samsung. Had 1 incident where scaler turned off around 2+ hours although may have bumped since it was resting near a pillow I was leaning on. It powers up into the service menu I noticed. Checked resolution menues where none were grayed out.

I'm curious as to what penalty is paid in running in high lamp vs eco mode since I believe
lamp life is listed as the same for the 7100(I couldn't find anything in the specifications that differentiates eco from high lamp). In eco mode your consumming less power but
what are the other benifits?

Your HD3000 boots up into the service menu? Mine did that as well. It also would not turn on without first unplugging it. Mine also did not have any output resolutions grayed out, but it still would not send a video signal when selecting those other resolutions, only a blue screen.

My biggest issues with using high power vs. low power is the noise of this projector (Already on low power, it is objectionable to me mainly due to the fluctuation of the noise. If it were a steady noise, it would be much easier to get used to but because it constantly fluctuates in both loudness and quality, it is very distracting.) and lamp life. I don't know how Optoma rates their lamps but other manufacturers clearly differentiate life expectancies between low power and high power.

I'm starting to realize that Optoma technicians do not know what they are doing when it comes to 'fixing' our neutered HD3000's. People getting theirs back without any work being done after waiting multiple weeks, people (at least mkoss and myself) getting theirs back that boot into the service menu every time they are turned on, me getting mine back where it will not even turn on nor will it output video after selecting any option besides the default, calling in to find out that your unit is being worked on, for the second time, between phone calls and that after a promise to try to get it fixed and sent back in 4 days (it has now been 12, noting it is the holidays).

I'm definitely regretting my purchase without a doubt.

George

bub, when you tried other resolutions did you have a display with a different native resolution? It should hopefully seek whatever the value is I think. I forgot what you said in that previous post.

I have a plasma capable of receiving 1366x768 and 1080p... but hey, I got mine back, was supposed to have D07, but have locked C04... so I can't test anything.

I'm going to take it to a willing store to try it out this week. Incidently i noticed i was getting 720p at 72 hz not 60hz when using my samsung STB, whether that means anything.

But the projector cannot accept 720p @ 72Hz... am I missing something?

That was what was displaying in the service menu & the display setting in the resolution selection menu. i noticed that because I was going to try 720P 60hz but backed off since
I didn't want to take a chance and get a blank screen since the pj-tx100 was only set up
to accept dvi and not component. I will try to get a little more experimental when i'm near the end of my viewing next time in case I need to cycle power to recover.

Does anyone know about the elite screen. Has gain of 1.0/1.1 silver gray 92" . Good price.

forgot to give model ESI M92UCH

This is what I use... Elite SILVERFRAME100WH1 from provantage.com. I checked the one you stated above... awesome price.

bub, when you tried other resolutions did you have a display with a different native resolution? It should hopefully seek whatever the value is I think. I forgot what you said in that previous post.

Yes, I have the HD7100 and a Westinghouse 1080p LCD. I tried to send the Westy a 1080p signal, the very first try I did get half the video on half the Westy screen but subsequent attempts were only blue screens. I tried to send the HD7100 a couple of different resolution/timings, I believe 720p 72Hz was one of them, and initially it too accepted them (although 720p 72Hz had a horizontal line of crap running through it) but subsequent attempts were only blue screens as well. I believe on both displays, the attempted resolution/timing information was being sent but no video, only the blue screen.

But the projector cannot accept 720p @ 72Hz... am I missing something?

I'm fairly certain that someone here on the forum with the HD7100 did claim that their projector was accepting 720p 72Hz for months without issue. I believe though that this person was feeding their HD7100 through a direct DVI path, with no HDMI. They had a Bravo D1 DVD player that outputs 720p 72Hz over DVI. I'm not sure if the HD7100 would accept a 720p 72Hz signal from an HDMI, then converted to DVI, source. I'm certainly hoping as I would really like the scaler to take the 1080i 60Hz from my Toshiba A2 HD DVD player over HDMI and feed it to the HD7100 over HDMI at 720p 72Hz.

George

I'm fairly certain that someone here on the forum with the HD7100 did claim that their projector was accepting 720p 72Hz for months without issue. I believe though that this person was feeding their HD7100 through a direct DVI path, with no HDMI. They had a Bravo D1 DVD player that outputs 720p 72Hz over DVI. I'm not sure if the HD7100 would accept a 720p 72Hz signal from an HDMI, then converted to DVI, source. I'm certainly hoping as I would really like the scaler to take the 1080i 60Hz from my Toshiba A2 HD DVD player over HDMI and feed it to the HD7100 over HDMI at 720p 72Hz.

George[/QUOTE]

That explains a lot. I was feeding via component since I didn't have an HDMI
cable long enough. However My Philips 5982 had a hdmi link which 1 time i looked I thought was outputing 1080? but couldn't be sure. I will go back and check this next time.

http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_Connector_Digital_Visual_Interface_DVI_Bus.html
http://www.interfacebus.com/HDMI_Pinout_Bus.html

I included these links to show the difference between the interfaces and what are common when going from hdmi to dvi if this helps any in understanding. For me going from dvi to hdmi is a step backwards from a positive connector vs's a crowded connector termination. Someone told me one of the reasons is that the dvi connector posed problems in getting connectors through walls because of its size.

Both HDMI and DVI-D use TMDS signaling developed by the same DWGI organization. There is no conversion of signal, just the pin outs are different on the connector. So, if something could be done over the DVI-D DVI-D link, it can be done over DVI-D HDMI link.

There is a wider HDMI connector that supports DVI-D dual link for higher resolutions. All consumer electronics that I know of uses the narrower connector and does DVI-D single link. That is why some of the converter plugs will be missing four pins on the DVI-D side. There is also a DVI-I connector, that has four additional pins for analog video. Those will be missing from the DVI-D connector on your projector.

[QUOTE=gireesh;12630524]Both HDMI and DVI-D use TMDS signaling developed by the same DWGI organization. There is no conversion of signal, just the pin outs are different on the connector. So, if something could be done over the DVI-D DVI-D link, it can be done over DVI-D HDMI link.

Agreed, but what I was making reference to is that the DVI connector in my opinion is more robust and less likely to have reliability problems from a connectivity standpoint.It also has captive screw terminations for a secure fit.

Here's an interesting link for historic summary info on the links

http://www.audioholics.com/education/display-formats-technology/understanding-hdmi-ver-1.3

Agreed, but what I was making reference to is that the DVI connector in my opinion is more robust and less likely to have reliability problems from a connectivity standpoint.It also has captive screw terminations for a secure fit.

True, DVI is a much better, uncrowded micro-cross design that support digital video, audio, and analog video. And yes the secure connection is handy... I actually like the DVI-HDMI cable, because I can anchor the cable at the computer end with DVI and thread the HDMI plug through the wall and studs without splitting the stud into two :D

I was answering bub's comment about DVI to DVI connection possibly facilitating 72Hz. Sorry for the confusion.

Come to think of it, one might be able to do 720p at 72Hz via VGA, but why would one do that?

True, DVI is a much better, uncrowded micro-cross design that support digital video, audio, and analog video. And yes the secure connection is handy... I actually like the DVI-HDMI cable, because I can anchor the cable at the computer end with DVI and thread the HDMI plug through the wall and studs without splitting the stud into two :D

I was answering bub's comment about DVI to DVI connection possibly facilitating 72Hz. Sorry for the confusion.

Come to think of it, one might be able to do 720p at 72Hz via VGA, but why would one do that?

Are you sure DVI does audio? I thought that it just passed video.

Wish me luck, calling Optoma today regarding my horrible lamp flicker on low power. Can't even watch it anymore on low power, flickers within a couple of minutes no matter what I do.

George

Guess not, Optoma tech support is closed until 1/2/08.

Are you sure DVI does audio? I thought that it just passed video.

Wish me luck, calling Optoma today regarding my horrible lamp flicker on low power. Can't even watch it anymore on low power, flickers within a couple of minutes no matter what I do.

George

Guess not, Optoma tech support is closed until 1/2/08.

It's to bad you don't have another bulb. That would help you isolate the problem
by replacing the original to see if that solves the problem and then putting back the original to see if the flicker returns. That would isolate it to bulb,contact, or ballast issue most likely. Ask them when you contact them to explain what the difference is between eco and full power mode.

I received my HD3k yesterday; it came with the front door broken; the power botton was out of its place and one of the top screw was not even tight. also I know why my projector was not detecting the DVI; Optoma checked the scaler before the did the firmware upgrade and they found my scaler was not working properly. they changed the PCBA MAIN BOARD HD3000 FOR HD7 and they did the firmware updgrade. when I hooked it up it was not decteting the HDMI properly, it was at 720P 60Hz (default)but I pushed the "UP KEY" and it change to 720p 50HZ, then I could used the menu and do all the setting I wanted to do. I can choose all the resolutions even 1080P 48HZ. I have hooked up my DVD player with component cable and the PSP3 with HDMI; so far it works fine. the picture is much better now and the image on the PSP3 is incredible.. the firmware is form January 07 and the firmware is the D7. sometimes my projector doesn´t detect any signal but has the light on and I can even show the menu and i is reversed, then it come back to normal position; I just wait a little bit and it recicle; come back to the Optoma logo and then it detect the signal. Maybe now that I am going to use the HDMI cable instead of component it stops doing this.

How should I keep the input of the projector in auto or DVI.

Happy new year.

Jose.

I finally ran with the hd3k and 7100 last night. I set it up to have dvi and 1 component input directly to pj. Unlike my previous experience with the hitachi it did not lock onto the dvi so I went to manual search and selected component so it wouldn't shutdown. Placed
auto off to off in options menu. went to search dvi would not lock on cycled h3dk still a problem. Went back to comp. to adjust level of pj to align image. Was adjusting front feet
when lost power intermittently. Red light came on. Checked power chord and was secure.
Don't know if putting pressure on sides somehow caused intermittency. Thought Oh S**t
bulb problem from getgo? Let it cool for a while. Restarted unit would not detect dvi until I manually changed resolution to 720P 60hz. Also locked on to 768P 60hz. Didn't touch
the pj again for fear of a problem re-occurring except did some calibrations. Watched
for about 3+ hours of hd broadcast,blue ray spiderman, and upconverted Hitch in my
5982. Was more pleased as time went on and after tweeks. The h & v image alignment and focus were much more tedious than my hitachi which to me is more user friendly.

The h3k shutdown again after about 2 hours. Need to see if there's an auto off feature
in the menu somewhere. This time I know I didn't do anything except watch to cause it.
It could be that if I'm using the remote there's no problem but if the unit is just passing
video it will shutdown. Just a guess.

I received my HD3k yesterday; it came with the front door broken; the power botton was out of its place and one of the top screw was not even tight.

Happy New Year to you too...

Yet another professional job by Optoma tech support... so to recap...

Steve Dodd sells his... after paying for the upgrade, he gets his unit back without any changes

Bub gets his back after the "FIX", stuck in service menu, had to ship it back to Optoma

Poli gets his back, resolutions work, but the unit has been mishandled, but seems to work well

mkoss gets it back with D07 firmware, stuck in service menu, unit has been mishandled or not packed carefully... the unit quits on him if he doesn't use the remote for a while... may D07 was never ready for prime time.

bdbaba, I can't remember how his turned out

As for me, I get mine back after a month, nothing has been really done to it, now I have to send it back again for them fix it.

I am hesitant to send it back... but my options are limited :mad:

I were in your situation I would get the $300 refund then sell the unit and move on. That is your best option IMO.

How should I keep the input of the projector in auto or DVI.

Happy new year.

Jose.

Hi, Jose,
Happy New Year to you!
Glad to hear your processor can handle PAL signals and other resolutions/timings now.
Where did you send it for repair, EU or US?
I don't have a v. processor but I have the HD7100 set on manual for input signal selection and I change the signal with the remote depending on the selected source connected to the pj: component (YPbPr1 or 2), DVI, VGA etc. This has worked very well for me and I am past 900 hrs of enjoyment. I guess that with a v.processor connected permanently I would set the pj on manual and let it on DVI.
By the way, although opinions diverge on this thread as to what is the correct star-up procedure for the pj, based on my experience/good luck, I would suggest turning on sources/v. processor first and then the pj. I turn them off in the reverse way. Since I do it this way I never had a bulb strike failure.
Good luck.
Fermin

Hi, Jos
By the way, although opinions diverge on this thread as to what is the correct star-up procedure for the pj, based on my experience/good luck, I would suggest turning on sources/v. processor first and then the pj. I turn them off in the reverse way. Since I do it this way I never had a bulb strike failure.
Good luck.
Fermin

I forgot to say Happy New Year to All.

In your sequence is power totally off on the PJ on startup or is it in standby?

Hi, Jose,
Happy New Year to you!
Glad to hear your processor can handle PAL signals and other resolutions/timings now.
Where did you send it for repair, EU or US?
I don't have a v. processor but I have the HD7100 set on manual for input signal selection and I change the signal with the remote depending on the selected source connected to the pj: component (YPbPr1 or 2), DVI, VGA etc. This has worked very well for me and I am past 900 hrs of enjoyment. I guess that with a v.processor connected permanently I would set the pj on manual and let it on DVI.
By the way, although opinions diverge on this thread as to what is the correct star-up procedure for the pj, based on my experience/good luck, I would suggest turning on sources/v. processor first and then the pj. I turn them off in the reverse way. Since I do it this way I never had a bulb strike failure.
Good luck.
Fermin
If that works then it must be it but mine works with the pj first then the source. But I have tried the other way around and it is a hit and miss.

Happy New Year to you too...

Yet another professional job by Optoma tech support... so to recap...

Steve Dodd sells his... after paying for the upgrade, he gets his unit back without any changes

Bub gets his back after the "FIX", stuck in service menu, had to ship it back to Optoma

Poli gets his back, resolutions work, but the unit has been mishandled, but seems to work well

mkoss gets it back with D07 firmware, stuck in service menu, unit has been mishandled or not packed carefully... the unit quits on him if he doesn't use the remote for a while... may D07 was never ready for prime time.

bdbaba, I can't remember how his turned out

As for me, I get mine back after a month, nothing has been really done to it, now I have to send it back again for them fix it.

I am hesitant to send it back... but my options are limited :mad:

Hey Gireesh--

Happy New Year All!!!

I never sent mine in--too many horror stories so far. I just kept it the way it was--neutered.:(

Have a great night.

I forgot to say Happy New Year to All.

In your sequence is power totally off on the PJ on startup or is it in standby?

Happy New Year to all.

mkoss, I have a common power source to all my components (except the sub-woofer) which is normally off. Therefore, when I turn the power on, the sources, audio receiver and pj all get connected (stand by) and then I proceed with the start-up procedure.
However, the few times I have not turned the main power off I have not noticed any change.

My scaler was fixed in the US; Jeff Davis took care of it; by his side; he did a very good job. I think I was lucky; I did what everybody else did, I wrote one email to let him know I was worried about the problems with the scaler´s upgrade.

I have been turning on my sources first than the projector and it usually works, but sometimes is goes straight to DVI even if I selected Manual INPUT. But I just had to change to COMPONENT 2 manually and it works.

I have not used much the projector yet but yesterday when I used; I turned the projector on and the rest of the components; the projector was not recognizing well the scaler, I turned off the scaler and turned it on; it was detected; but the DVI was giving me problems if I used COMPONENT 1 with the scaler(not locking well); I changed to HDMI 1 in the scaler(PSP3) and the it locked well; after this I changed to COMPONENT 1(SCALER) and it works fine. after one hour or so I could change to any INPUTS with the projector and it did not detect any signal but every time I select DVI it recognized my scaler which is the only source hooked up to the projector.

I will not have the PSP3 anymore after tomorrow, let’s see what happen if can not do that change if does not lock.

The firmware of my scaler is 22 January 07 HD3000 U (not P like before) D7.

Any suggestions how to configure the HD3K?

If that works then it must be it but mine works with the pj first then the source. But I have tried the other way around and it is a hit and miss.

I can't explain that; however, if it works for you it surely makes another way to try for those having start-up problems. For all I see here, the start up procedure may not make any difference whatsoever and it all depends on the individual pj.
I have tried the procedure with DVI, component and VGA signals and it works equally well. Do you use a HDMI to DVI adapter from your sources?

Happy new year!!!

Just a thought - my pj has worked flawlessly for a few months now. Consequently, I've refrained from having Optoma touch my hd3000 given the reports here. But a couple days ago, I had my first glitch. The pj would not sych to the 3000. The reason was clear: my HDMI cable (32'/10m) had shifted in back of my rack and was now laying on my other cables. Prior, I had the cable running running far away from all other cables. I put the cable back on its track and no more problems.

To verify, I put the cable back on top of the other cables and I successfully re-created the glitch. Moved the cable away and again, no problems.

We hear that the DVI connection on the 7100 can be tempermental. Seems in my case that interference from power/speaker cables does seem to make a difference. Minimize interference and minimize problems.

Start up sequence has been irrelevent, I've tried both ways. I do have my pj on a separate power line, maybe that has something to do with it.

Well, finally got a call into Optoma tech regarding my lamp flicker on eco/low power. Only was on hold for a few minutes and then reached the tech that was able to resolve the issue.

I explained that for the last few days, I was unable to run my projector on low lamp power because of severe flicker. The tech immediately said the projector would have to be sent in for repair. He adamantly insisted that the lamp flicker had nothing to do with the lamp. He had asked if the flicker happened on high power and I said I had never seen it happen on high power but had only ran the projector for maybe a dozen hours or so on high. He said if it was the lamp, it would flicker on both low and high power.

He asked how long I owned the projector and when I told him less than two months, he offered to replace with a new unit rather than repair. I could either send back this one, then they would send me the replacement or I could pay a substantial portion of what I paid for the current projector and he would send the replacement out today and issue a full credit after they received my current projector. I opted for the latter.

I also asked him about my vertical lens shift knob/mechanism also activating the horizontal lens shift mechanism and he said that shouldn't happen. The vertical lens shift knob should only activate the vertical lens shift mechanism and the horizontal lens shift knob should only activate the horizontal lens shift mechanism. There was quite a bit of discussion regarding this earlier in this thread.

I also asked him about the stand alone HD7100's having issues with lamp strike failures but customers reporting the Hd7300 'systems' weren't having the same issues. He claimed that Optoma was aware that there were issues with lamp strikes initially but that issue had been resolved. He assured me that the HD7100 he would be sending me was both brand new and wouldn't have issues with lamp strike failure. (As an aside, didn't I read somewhere here on these forums that Optoma didn't have anymore HD7100 projectors, that these were discontinued and they didn't stock them??? I sure hope that the tech wasn't mistaken and that I will be receiving a replacement projector that someone else had returned)

Also, since I have been running my projector on high lamp mode these last few days, I have to report that even though the noise level is considerably higher on high vs. low power, I have found the noise less objectionable simply because, at least it is constant. My projector has always had a fluctuating sound on low lamp power that had a whirring/grinding/howling sort of sound, that although louder than I had hoped initially, was especially annoying because of the fluctuation of the sound.

Hopefully, the replacement projector will be brand new, have no lamp strike issues, have a constant noise on low lamp power, have a 100% functioning vertical lens shift knob/mechanism, and possibly a more accurate (for lack of a better word) focus mechanism (I had always wondered if my projector was focused as well as it could/should be because there was quite a bit of 'play' in the focus knob where no focusing occurred right at the point of focus, the knob racked back and forth a good half inch or so without changing focus at all, at least as it appeared to me.)

I will keep reporting back as things progress. I've still had no word on my scaler which they have had since 12/18.

Happy and prosperous new year to all!
George

While interference can cause drop outs and sparkles, I am not sure that the handshake issues we are experiencing is due to interference. Handshakes are typically not high bandwidth high speed communications.

Once a device and HD7100 fails to sync, even using a short 4' to 6' cable without anything near it does not seem to fix the handshake issue.

I were in your situation I would get the $300 refund then sell the unit and move on. That is your best option IMO.

I never paid the $300 for the 'fix'. My issues are around handshakes with the HTPC and Toshiba HD-A30, a third generation HD-DVD player.

That is a good news. Least likely that you will have issue with two pj's.
Sounds like power supply issue but you get a brand new one anyway.

While interference can cause drop outs and sparkles, I am not sure that the handshake issues we are experiencing is due to interference. Handshakes are typically not high bandwidth high speed communications.

Once a device and HD7100 fails to sync, even using a short 4' to 6' cable without anything near it does not seem to fix the handshake issue.



I never paid the $300 for the 'fix'. My issues are around handshakes with the HTPC and Toshiba HD-A30, a third generation HD-DVD player.

That is good that you did not pay that money for nothing. I though you did pay them with no upgrade.
Basically if I have so many issues as some of you with any pj it will be gone in no time. There is no reason to keep a device if it is NOT doing what it is supposed to do.

[QUOTE=bub;12655199]

I also asked him about my vertical lens shift knob/mechanism also activating the horizontal lens shift mechanism and he said that shouldn't happen. The vertical lens shift knob should only activate the vertical lens shift mechanism and the horizontal lens shift knob should only activate the horizontal lens shift mechanism. There was quite a bit of discussion regarding this earlier in this thread.

I found also on mine that they are inter-dependent which was annoying.

I also asked him about the stand alone HD7100's having issues with lamp strike failures but customers reporting the Hd7300 'systems' weren't having the same issues. He claimed that Optoma was aware that there were issues with lamp strikes initially but that issue had been resolved. He assured me that the HD7100 he would be sending me was both brand new and wouldn't have issues with lamp strike failure. (As an aside, didn't I read somewhere here on these forums that Optoma didn't have anymore HD7100 projectors, that these were discontinued and they didn't stock them??? I sure hope that the tech wasn't mistaken and that I will be receiving a replacement projector that someone else had returned)

I didn't have a strike problem(using hd3k) but when I tried to level the image by holding the sides of the projector and dropping the feet I had a momentary drop of power with the red indicator coming on. Almost scared the crap out of me. PJ was on seperate circuit and power chord was solidly
attached.

Also, since I have been running my projector on high lamp mode these last few days, I have to report that even though the noise level is considerably higher on high vs. low power, I have found the noise less objectionable simply because, at least it is constant. My projector has always had a fluctuating sound on low lamp power that had a whirring/grinding/howling sort of sound, that although louder than I had hoped initially, was especially annoying because of the fluctuation of the sound.

Could be beat frequency caused by fan/ color wheel rotation.

Hopefully, the replacement projector will be brand new, have no lamp strike issues, have a constant noise on low lamp power, have a 100% functioning vertical lens shift knob/mechanism, and possibly a more accurate (for lack of a better word) focus mechanism (I had always wondered if my projector was focused as well as it could/should be because there was quite a bit of 'play' in the focus knob where no focusing occurred right at the point of focus, the knob racked back and forth a good half inch or so without changing focus at all, at least as it appeared to me.)

My focus adjustment was also tedious at best. Also had sync issue on start up. Used short cables. PJ mounted on table in front of me. The night before I ran with the Hitachi PJ-TX100 and didn't experience any of these problems.

I found also on mine that they are inter-dependent which was annoying.


I didn't have a strike problem(using hd3k) but when I tried to level the image by holding the sides of the projector and dropping the feet I had a momentary drop of power with the red indicator coming on. Almost scared the crap out of me. PJ was on seperate circuit and power chord was solidly
attached.

Could be beat frequency caused by fan/ color wheel rotation.

My focus adjustment was also tedious at best. Also had sync issue on start up. Used short cables. PJ mounted on table in front of me. The night before I ran with the Hitachi PJ-TX100 and didn't experience any of these problems.

I had one lamp strike failure in probably 30-35 strikes. Since my scaler has been at the Optoma repair facilities for much longer than it has ever been connected to my projector, I can't remember if that strike failure included the scaler in the 'chain' or not.

My projector is hooked up, along with all my other audio/video equipment, to a Monster HTS2000. I always power up the projector, then the source (one of my HD sources, the Dish Network VIP622 receiver always outputs at least a screen saver, so technically it is always on), then the audio receiver. I've never had a sync issue. I use a Monoprice 15 foot HDMI cable with the Monoprice HDMI/DVI adapter.

I'm not sure what was causing the fluctuating sound from the HD7100 on low lamp mode but it has been very refreshing not to be hearing it these last few days while running on high lamp to avoid my lamp flicker. So, in the end, I learned something... I prefer a louder noise, as long as it is consistent, to a quieter noise that fluctuates.

It is interesting to know that you also had issues with the lens shift mechanisms, I thought I was the only one.

As well, you didn't like how your projector focuses either. I never claimed that my projector wasn't in focus or that it lacked good focus, I simply stated that I never knew for sure if I were in the best focus possible as my focus knob/adjustment had a good half inch of play where, even though it felt like the mechanism was still being activated by the focus knob, I could see no discernible difference in focus. My last projector, it was very obvious when you achieved absolute focus as it just snapped into focus and moving the adjustment knob one way or the other immediately de-focused.

George

I'm happy to report that my HD3000 made me smile yesterday. I have a Draper electric screen that I had to special order because I needed 30" of drop instead of the standard drop. I ordered the screen at the same time that I was building my house, so I wasn't able to test the screen until ~3 months after it arrived. I ordered a 106" diagonal 16:9 screen. Unfortunately, someone at Draper can't read a tape measure, because the white portion of the screen is 1" taller than it should be. While watching an HD broadcast, the image fills the screen horizontally, but there's a 1/2 inch of white at the top and bottom of the screen. By the time I noticed the problem several months had passed. I ordered the screen through Jason at AVS, and I figured it was probably too late to do anything about it so I didn't report the issue to Draper. Idiot.

Anyway, last night I decided to try out the edge masking feature of the HD3000. It's awesome. When I zoom the projector to fill the screen vertically, I get about 1/2 inch of image spilling over onto the black border on the sides of the screen. The HD3000 allowed me to mask off 1/2" on both sides to completely eliminate the overspill. Now the image perfectly fills the screen. It's a huge improvement.

The masking feature alone may be enough of an incentive for me to pay $300 to have my HD3000 upgraded. I'd really like to take it with me if I ever get a 1080p projector.

Edge masking is standard on 720 HD3000. You need no upgrade for that.
If I were you I would still contact Jason and have the screen replaced.
Going thru zoom is rescaling the signal and degrading the picture IMO.

Edge masking is standard on 720 HD3000. You need no upgrade for that.
If I were you I would still contact Jason and have the screen replaced.
Going thru zoom is rescaling the signal and degrading the picture IMO.

I know edge masking is standard on the 720p HD3000. My point was that I won't be able to use my HD3000 with a 1080p projector unless I pay $300 to upgrade it. If I don't pay the $300 then I loose the edge making with my next 1080p projector.

I'm using the optical zoom to make the image larger, so there isn't any scaling involved.

I know edge masking is standard on the 720p HD3000. My point was that I won't be able to use my HD3000 with a 1080p projector unless I pay $300 to upgrade it. If I don't pay the $300 then I loose the edge making with my next 1080p projector.

I'm using the optical zoom to make the image larger, so there isn't any scaling involved.

I see! If you are happy with cropped picture then keep the screen.

I've had the screen for 3 years now. I'm not sure how sympathetic Draper will be to my situation at this point. 1/2" of cropping horizontally on each side isn't all that bad. It's much better than cropping it vertically. I'll contact Jason and see what he thinks.

Well, I shipped my unit back to Optoma... we will see how quickly it is turned around!

Happy new year!!!

But a couple days ago, I had my first glitch. The pj would not sych to the 3000. The reason was clear: my HDMI cable (32'/10m) had shifted in back of my rack and was now laying on my other cables. Prior, I had the cable running running far away from all other cables. I put the cable back on its track and no more problems.

To verify, I put the cable back on top of the other cables and I successfully re-created the glitch. Moved the cable away and again, no problems.

We hear that the DVI connection on the 7100 can be tempermental. Seems in my case that interference from power/speaker cables does seem to make a difference. Minimize interference and minimize problems.



You're onto something here. I upgraded my 35' HDMI cable because I was having numerous HDMI sync issues. The higher quality cable completely eliminated the sync problems, but I was still getting sparklies. The severity of the sparklies would vary from day to day. Since the HD3000 only has 1 HDMI output, I do a lot of manual switching between my LCD TV and the projector. Each time I swap the output the cables get jostled around a bit.

Tonight I checked the routing of my 35' HDMI cable. Guesss what, it was touching a PC power supply connector that I use to supply the voltage for the fans in my cabinet. The fans turn on and off all the time to control the temperature. I haven't verified it yet, but I'd be willing to bet that the sparklies occur when the fans kick on. I moved the HDMI cable away from the connector and I haven't seen a single sparkle all evening (~3hrs of viewing).

If this theory hold up then I can send back the HDMI extender that I've been fighting with.

For my HDMI cably ONLY, I bought one of the "Cable Trak" things from Lowes. Everywhere I have cables, I also have a Cable Trak to keep the HDMI separate. It is very effective for keeping the cable on the wall and away from everything else. Painted flat black, it disappears in the dark and is hardly noticable in the light.

Based on my experience, I would bet that getting your HDMI cable away from power would help, if not solve, your problem. Let's see if the experiment holds up.

You're onto something here. I upgraded my 35' HDMI cable because I was having numerous HDMI sync issues. The higher quality cable completely eliminated the sync problems, but I was still getting sparklies. The severity of the sparklies would vary from day to day. Since the HD3000 only has 1 HDMI output, I do a lot of manual switching between my LCD TV and the projector. Each time I swap the output the cables get jostled around a bit.

Tonight I checked the routing of my 35' HDMI cable. Guesss what, it was touching a PC power supply connector that I use to supply the voltage for the fans in my cabinet. The fans turn on and off all the time to control the temperature. I haven't verified it yet, but I'd be willing to bet that the sparklies occur when the fans kick on. I moved the HDMI cable away from the connector and I haven't seen a single sparkle all evening (~3hrs of viewing).

If this theory hold up then I can send back the HDMI extender that I've been fighting with.

So did your extender do anything to eliminate the sparklies? I just got the drywall and painting done in my media room. The inwall HDMI and power cables come pretty close if not touching. My mount won't be in until next week to test :(

Or get HDMI cables with excellent shielding... looks like this is 60Hz sensitivity issue.

However, I have to say, the same cable in the same setup when connected to a Sony VPL-HS51 never gave me any sparkles or drop outs. My contention is that the HD3000/HD7300 have a weak HDMI transceiver.

So did your extender do anything to eliminate the sparklies? I just got the drywall and painting done in my media room. The inwall HDMI and power cables come pretty close if not touching. My mount won't be in until next week to test :(

So far the extender has made the problem worse. The extender sits between a 6' cable and the 35' footer. With the extender in the loop I get sync problems. I was given the name of an engineer at RixLabs to help me troubleshoot the problem. I may have a defective unit or it could be that it won't play nicely with the projector. In either case, I'll be sending it back for a refund.

Is anyone currently splitting their HDMI output between 2 displays? I'd like to have the ability to switch the output out the HD300 between the projector and my LCD TV. I currently do it by hand which isn't going to cut it. Monoprices sells an amplified HDMI splitter, but I don't really need\want to run both displays at the same time. Ideally, I want something than can be controlled via IR that will only drive one device at a time.

[QUOTE=gireesh;12667616]Or get HDMI cables with excellent shielding... looks like this is 60Hz sensitivity issue.
QUOTE]

In my case I don't believe 60Hz noise is the problem. The power supply connector that was rubbing against the HDMI cable was supplying 5v, 12, and -12VDC. I assume that there's a brief DC noise spike when the fans turn on. I'm using two 60mm PC fans to cools my cabinet. The HDMI output of the HD3000 is also located very close to the fans and the connector in question (~5"). I guess it's possible that the noise is being coupled directly into the HDMI connector and the cable doesn't have anything to do with it. I'm using the best BlueJeans HDMI cable that blue jeans sells, so I assume the shielding is adequate.

At the projector side I have the HDMI cable routed with the power cord for the projector. I tried routing them separately a month ago and it didn't matter. The noise is definitely on the HD3000 end. I'll do some more testing this weeked.

On the audio side, Cardas has been making caps for RCA plugs for several years on the premise that empty RCA plugs are noise highways into your pre-amp/receiver. The caps are designed to block noise (EMI, RFI) picked up by the RCA plugs. It makes sense that the HDMI connector could pick up noise from the fan/power supply. It is unshielded, electrically conductive material after all. If this is where noise is entering the system, the cable shielding would be irrelevent.

That's just another reason why I need to expand my media equipment cabinet:) If I have room I'll move the power supply away from the HD3000. What really sucks is that I have a perfectly good Middle Atlantic rack sitting in the basement collecting dust. I planned on using it when I finish my basement, but I might have to figure out a way to incorporate it into the family room first.

Just noticed something, not sure if it is something new although I can't imagine I could have missed this before...

At the bottom right hand side of the projected image, I am seeing a ton of wash out. This is light that is coming from the lens of the projector, not light spill. I have about a 100 inch diagonal 16:9 screen and this light is about 8 inches below the bottom of the screen across about half the width and arcs upwards towards the top right, just like it is following the curvature of the lens, about 1/3 the height of the screen, maybe covering 15% of the total screen area.

I started noticing light below the bottom of my screen a couple of days ago but assumed it was some sort of reflected light bouncing off either the window of my door or the glass doors of my media center, but noticed tonight just how bright this light is and that it covers the entire bottom right portion of the screen.

Does anybody else see this with their setup? The light below the screen is noticeable all the time, but the light on the screen is more easily noticed on darker scenes. This isn't slight washout, this is a significant amount of light.

George

I guess the replacement projector didn't get shipped yesterday but was promised again that it would ship today. I've been using a projector for over two years now and I find it very hard to believe that I wouldn't have noticed this before, it must be something that just started with this projector.

With 160 hrs on my Optoma, I experienced a full no image at start up last night for the first time.
I stayed on for a minute or so and then restarted and synced fine.
When it did the lamp was on but no image then it shut off the lamp went to hi speed fan and followed by restart which was successfull.
The only thing I did different was that I always trurn the pj on/off first then source but last time I turned the pj off last. I donno if it was this sequence but it faild to illuminate the screen at first try for whatever the reason(s).
Ironically I have the auto power off hence it restarted rather than turning itself off. It never showed the Optoma Logo.

Another item.. I reinstalled my originall lamp after trying the second one and it started flickering again. So there you have it.
If these issues continue on regular basis I will buy something else very soon.
I checked the bottom of the screen and there was no light outside the screen area and inside was very uniform with no issues.

These are exactly the symptoms I am having from day one and it did not matter what was turned on first (I tried several sequences with the same delayed start up of the pj). I will send this unit back for a new one on Monday.

any wife friendly remote recomendations for the 7300 w scaler? im using my scaler to switch HDMI since my reciever wont, and im afraid to plunk down cash if the remote cant operate the scaler as a switcher. i plan on usin the factory remotes for changing settings etc, just need something the wife and kids can use for basic operation

got a comcast cablebox w dvr
toshiba hda2 dvd
onkyo reciever/ssound
and the 7300/3000 combo

considering a harmony 880, but afriad it may not switch the 3000s hdmi inputs

ty for any info or advise

lear

All you people having startup problems, is the only input your using DVI? What I decided to
do is always have at least 1 analog input it can detect besides the DVI. The reason is to cycle through inputs manually for a signal so it would not shutdown until I disabled auto power off and also if the handshake is not there to get any input to display video. This was very important especially the 1st time on until I checked for auto power off. It also will allow you to cycle through input search routine. Just a thought.

I doubt it is even handshake issue. I never had a handshake issue before.

You don't even get the optoma logo which appears when pj is booted (like Bios). If it doesn't get there it never looks for a signal. And it is not a lamp or stike issue either since your lamp powers up. The flaw is in the main board.

the scaler has been talked to death about firmware. there are undoubtedly firmware/hardware issues that need resolving for the projector as well.

I have got the same problem; when it does not show the Optoma logo; sometimes it will not recognize any signal and it will recycle itself, when it show the optoma logo it works fine. It has done it to me like five or six times, yesterday was the last one. I think it is the projector; when it does not detect any signal if you press the menu key, the projector will show the menu upside down and you see after a minute or so how it come back to regular position and recycle itself, then it detect the signal.

It did it to me also when I had my DVD player hooked up with component cable.

Sell now while you still can.

I have got the same problem; when it does not show the Optoma logo; sometimes it will not recognize any signal and it will recycle itself, when it show the optoma logo it works fine. It has done it to me like five or six times, yesterday was the last one. I think it is the projector; when it does not detect any signal if you press the menu key, the projector will show the menu upside down and you see after a minute or so how it come back to regular position and recycle itself, then it detect the signal.

It did it to me also when I had my DVD player hooked up with component cable.

When you say it recycles itself do you mean the projector cycles power and you get another restart or do you need to recycle power?

I want to keep the scaler, it has increased the picture of my DVD player a lot, it only has 85 hours and the quality of the picture is very good and just the cost of the scaler is around $2000.

How much do you think I can get for the projector without the scaler.

mkoss; the projector cycles power and I get another restart. I don’t have to turn the projector off. my bulb is always on: as I said if your press the menu key you will see the menu on the screen upside down; wait and you see how it recycle: the menu will come back to normal position and then it will recycle and show the Optoma logo, yesterday I did a projector reset after this happened and it handshake with my HD3k at the first try, I may use a composite cable to the projector so I can recycle the projector from a different source than HDMI, it usually works like this

I want to keep the scaler, it has increased the picture of my DVD player a lot, it only has 85 hours and the quality of the picture is very good and just the cost of the scaler is around $2000.

How much do you think I can get for the projector without the scaler.

In the US, about $1100 for the combo. $900ish for the projector alone on eBay and $500ish for the scaler sold separately as is.

If you get in early.

Add another $400 or so to the scaler if it has been deneutered successfully to 1080P.

I got a tad more because I am overseas where no-one could get the 'bargain' we got, and where fewer people read these kind of threads.

If you sell the PJ, do it as an Optoma 7100. A member here sold his as a 7300 without mentioning the scaler and had to refund the buyer's money when he complained about no scaler.

Wow, that has to be hard on the bulb to go through a restart I would believe. Does the bulb sufficiently go through a cool down cycle before doing this? An immediate restart can't
be a good thing. If this were just hardware it should be consistent but looks like a firmware
problem as well. I agree the only good thing is the scaler, it made the image from my hitachi better. I haven't run long enough with the optoma to make a comparison.

Poli, don't feel bad I have 2 units to make a decision about. Fortunately I got bulb warranties for both and a spare bulb which makes for a little comfort but not much.

Steve, i have a screen question. Is your gray screen high or low gain. I got a deal on a gray screen with a gain of 1.0 to 1.1(92 in). I haven't taken it out of the box yet and may return it. Do you think this is to low of gain for the optoma?

The unit restarts if logo doesn't show up meaning it turns the bulb off and goes thru the cooling cycle and then powers up again. Yes it does power recycle the bulb.
I did it agin last night.

If you feed the pj directly bypassing the HD3000 you will see there are differences in color in comparison with hd3000 feed. The color are better with the HD3k in the chain and overall the picture is smoother as well. Looks like HD3000 does a good job with HD decoding color gamut and deineterlacing the 1080i and downscaling but not the pj alone. If you have the HD7300 then HD3k is a must have IMO.

The unit restarts if logo doesn't show up meaning it turns the bulb off and goes thru the cooling cycle and then powers up again. Yes it does power recycle the bulb.
I did it agin last night.

Did you go back to your original startup/shutdown sequence from before this occurred?

There could be two different issues here. One not syncing and one not powering up properly with logo confirmation.

Did you go back to your original startup/shutdown sequence from before this occurred?
I am not sure what you are asking me!
The pj cycles itself and yes it goes thru startup/shutdown/startup. In fact in went thru a pair of them last night.
It is crazy that never had issues befor but now it is A full scale problem.

I am not sure what you are asking me!
The pj cycles itself and yes it goes thru startup/shutdown/startup. In fact in went thru a pair of them last night.
It is crazy that never had issues befor but now it is A full scale problem.

In an earlier post you mentioned about this first occurring after you deviated from your power up/down sequence,I believe power up/down pj first. That's what I was referring to.

There could be two different issues here. One not syncing and one not powering up properly with logo confirmation.

your right, just don't try adjusting the front feet while it's running, you will get a third.

Hey, I have 186 hours on my lamp, I started noticing that it flickers very slighty every now and then... and also i had the bulb fail twice in a row trying to start up... is this a bad sign of things to come??? what can i do? how do i check what firmware i have ?

Right now its not on a surge protector but i have one that my computer is on i just have to get a long enough power cord to reach to it, would this help at all with the flickering?

Also i wanted to know if it hurts the lamp when switching between sources? i do a lot of switching becuase i have my computer on dvi and my HD cable box on component and i am also switching between them.

In an earlier post you mentioned about this first occurring after you deviated from your power up/down sequence,I believe power up/down pj first. That's what I was referring to.

Yup I followed the same routine this time and it did not power up properly.

Trisdog, the only way to know if the lamp doen't not power up is by looking into lens or just side louver. If there is light lamp is on.
This seems maistakenly labled as "strike" issue. It is not that.

1- SYNC ISSUE is when you get the "DVI Searching"
2- POWER UP ISSUE is when you get no OPTOMA logo but lamp powers up.

One can argue that OPTOMA logo appears on the screen when pj already have seen the signal (right befor hand shake) in which it could be actually a sync issue but it is certainly a differen stage of the process.

I will experiment some more and post any thing I find out.
All I know is that Optoma engineers buggy projectors and if you read the hd80 it is all the same but different issues. My last dealing with this company for sure.

the scaler has been talked to death about firmware. there are undoubtedly firmware/hardware issues that need resolving for the projector as well.
Amen to that... guys, the real issue is that the DVI/HDCP implementation on HD7300, whether it is 7100 or 3000 is very finiky. Since Optoma is not the OEM, they have no way of correcting the firmware issue... may be their contract with ChiLin went south...



By the way, I cut the power to the projector every time I turn it off, after the lamp cools down. I have not had a start up issue you guys mention... have you tried that?

Actually I did last night and that is where it started having muliple start up.
I am thinking how you turn it off is what it is going to look for when it is back on.
If you tunn it off while recieving a signal then you must have the signal on before power up. That is assuming it is all DVI handshake but ut may not be the case.
I will experiment a bit tonight.

Goodmorning,
I think I may have done something wrong. I cleaned the lense of my projector with a damp white cotton t-shirt before I realized the coating on the lens was coming off.....oops. Question, what is this coating on our projector lenses and does it affect picture quality? Also, is a replacement available somewhere? Can I recoat the lens or should I consiser a new one? ................Concerned hd7300 owner. Any help appreciated!
Thanks in advance everyone!

The lens has to go. Call Optoma.

How much would a new lens cost.

Eric770,

From what I have seen, lens will probably cost you more than a projector.

So, as it would be dry by now, turn it on, and see how the image looks... if you can't tell the difference, it does not matter that the coating came off :D

This is what I found at another site on lens cleaning, however, posts like this can be deceptive... and may not apply to all projectors.

Do NOT do what is recommended below:


Projection Lens Cleaning a white paper Keeping your projection lens clean is one of the most important steps you can take to maintain your lens? highest level of performance. Dirt, dust, or grease on the front or rear surface of a lens can reduce the brightness and contrast of the image it reproduces. Regular lens cleaning is a cheap and effective way to maximize screen presentation quality.While cleaning any projection lens is a simple matter, there are some guidelines that need to be followed. Improper cleaning can damage the lens surface, resulting in permanently reduced contrast and sharpness. First, use a soft camels hair brush or air to remove any solid particles from the lens surface. This will prevent scratching during subsequent cleaning steps. Next, you need to select a cleaning solution, and tissue. Use Kemwipes, Kodak lens tissues, or a clean soft lintless cloth (there are some made for the purpose). Never use Kleenex, or paper towels, as they can contain abrasives. It is always best to start with the most benign cleaning fluid and progress to stronger solvents if necessary. Glass cleaner, such as Windex or Kodak lens fluid, is a good starting point. If it is ineffective, try denatured alcohol. For tougher jobs move on to Trek III (Trichloroethelene) or, if all else fails, Acetone. Make sure that Acetone is only used as a last resort, because it can remove black paint . Depending on what part of the lens is being cleaned, there may be some black paint used. Paint is often used over the black anodize to produce a flat black matte finish. It is important to remember to apply the lens cleaner to the lens cleaning tissue before use. Never wipe a lens with a dry cloth! It will scratch the lens. Never pour, or drip, a solution directly onto a lens element! It can seep into the lens and cause a great number of problems. And always make sure to use a new tissue each time you wipe the element.Take your moist cleaning tissue and, starting at the center, wipe in a circular motion around the lens. Do this in one direction only. Do not back up. Discard the lens tissue frequently, usually after each wipe of the lens. You want to discard any dust or grit that the tissue has picked up, rather than scratching the lens with it on your next wipe. Cleaning should be done gently and quickly. It should take no more than 30 seconds to clean one lens surface. If it takes you longer than this, you are probably working too hard, and may be damaging your lens in the long-run. After the cleaning of the lens, when you are sure all grit has been removed, you may wish to lightly polish it with a soft micro pore cleaning cloth, such as the Schneider Photo Clear cloths. Polishing will remove any small streaks or smears left by the cleaning fluid. Again, it is wise to do this quickly and gently. This should be the extent of your lens cleaning activities. Do not attempt any further disassembly of the lens. This should only be attempted by a skilled technician. With this easy-to-follow process, your lens will continue to give you the same high-quality presentation that it did the day you bought.




On page 54 of our manual, Optoma recommends the following:



Cleaning the lens
Use a commercially available blower or lens cleaning paper (for glasses and camera lenses) for cleaning the lens. Do not use any liquid cleaning agents, as they may wear off the coating film on the surface of the lens.

The image seems ok. Maybe I shouldn't have been as worried as I thought. Do you have any details of what is actually on our high quality hd7300 lenses. I was only so worried I had ruined something because the optics are of such a high caliber. What does the coating actually do? At least the picture still looks good. Will the picture look better or worse with the coating removed and how would I know if it is actually gone....the coating that is.
Thanks Gireesh and other members.

Exactly. How do you know if you did anything wrong? Did you see something come off on your cloth? Maybe it was only dust or dirt. I think as long as you didn't use a harsh chemical you may be alright.

Wayne

Exactly. How do you know if you did anything wrong? Did you see something come off on your cloth? Maybe it was only dust or dirt. I think as long as you didn't use a harsh chemical you may be alright.

Wayne
Wet cotton fabric shouldn't pose any problem unless cleaned out the lens hard.
Get a cheap lens or glass cloth or any lint free cotton cloth and wipe it very gently.
Look close with a flash ligh with pj off see if the surface of the lens looks clean and smooth. If so it is all right.

I posted this on another forum, but I thought I'd put it here since you guys really know the HD7100. I had bought an HD DVD player, and used it through DVI. but the color saturation was way too high, and I thought I could bring it down using White Balance adjustments (WRONG, I now know). But in the process of monkeying with the RGB gains and offsets, I turned them all the way up, all the way down, and everything in between. Of course it didn't reduce saturation--but I thought I could just reset them to 0 and I'd be back where I started--didn't think I could do permanent damage.

But now my gray scale is messed up. I put all the values back to 0, I pushed Factory Reset--but still 6500 color temp is wrong (too green, with definite yellow color in the bright whites), and using Avia I found I now had to push contrast up to +14 (that's when I saw the yellow cast to the white). All this is new--never seen until I monkeyed.

My question is: did I do permanent damage to the DLP chip? Or would an ISF calibration fix this? (I don't want to waste money on a calibration if the chip is damaged and the color will shift again!)

Any wisdom???

--John

No you are OK.
If you put everything back to zero, I wonder why gray scale has gone bad.
Where did you access the RGB? Did you get into service menu or just under color temp?

I used the White Balance controls in the regular control menu--I don't even know how to get into the Service Menu.

I've reset it all again, brought Contrast and Brightness back to factory settings, and it actually looks fine. I think Avia had led me astray!

So for now all is well!

--John

Select either the "native" or "7000" color temp. They are close to D65. I mean very close. 7100 shows over saturation with green(green also is slightly yellow) and red but using hd3k in line will take care of that. And there is nothing you can do about unless let the hd3k do the color decoding. Having said that it is not like a huge error it is just about a few clicks over staurated.

Amen to that... guys, the real issue is that the DVI/HDCP implementation on HD7300, whether it is 7100 or 3000 is very finiky. Since Optoma is not the OEM, they have no way of correcting the firmware issue... may be their contract with ChiLin went south...



By the way, I cut the power to the projector every time I turn it off, after the lamp cools down. I have not had a start up issue you guys mention... have you tried that?

I send my 7100 back to the seller and they will send me a new one. Let's see if it shows the same irregular start up problems - I will report back here. Who made this pj if not Optoma and how do I see what kind of firmware is inside?

heiwi... this is the OEM...

http://www.chilintech.com.tw/products_detail.asp?le=english&fid=250&pid_x=249

The lens does look a little different... several European forums refers to this manufacturer as the OEM for HD71000.

thanks - I heard also Liesegang sold a very similar projector (Emotion 4100 I think) - but how do you know which firmware is inside the projector?

Ok, received the replacement 7100 on Friday, was able to mount it today. Here are my initial observations after being able to, very briefly, evaluate two different units...

The replacement also has the problem of the vertical lens shift knob activates both the vertical AND the horizontal lens shift mechanism.

The replacement also has a fluctuating noise on low/eco lamp mode, although not as loud as the first projector and doesn't fluctuate as much (although I could be crazy).

The replacement focus adjustment has no play in it what-so-ever. The original and a good 1/2 - 1 inch of play in the adjustment knob where focus didn't adjust at all (and that was right at the point of focus). This projector focused like I expected, the focus snapped/popped when you got it right.

The replacement had 9 hours on the lamp, was supposed to be a brand new unit. The rep said he had the tech run it through its paces to ensure it was functioning 100%. I am ok with that as long as it keeps functioning 100%, although the lens shift mechanism's don't function as I think they should. Also, the 'case seal' was broken signifying that the case had been opened. I let them know about this just in case I have a warranty issue down the road. I don't want them thinking I opened this thing up or anything.

The S/N tag on the replacement was a sticker over the original S/N tag. I didn't want to take it off to see what was underneath. This one was noted as a HD7100 vs. the original projector had the S/N tag of HD7300. Interestingly enough, the two serial numbers were only off by a few numbers, ...063 vs. ...074 (there was also one number difference earlier in the S/N). Seems very strange as the original was purchased from a vendor 2 months ago and the replacement was sent to me 3 days ago, hmmmmm....

Weird, the digital keystoning was all out of whack with one axis at 'zero' and the other at 'full/50?' Maybe a result of their testing?

Anyways, pretty happy so far, although just hung the thing and watched one HD DVD.

Will report back as I get more time with it. Still no word on my scaler... It's now been 3 full weeks since they've had it in their hands.

George

bub says,The replacement also has a fluctuating noise on low/eco lamp mode, although not as loud as the first projector and doesn't fluctuate as much (although I could be crazy).

The fan and color wheel are not synchronized which results in a beat frequency. Mine does it also.

The fan and color wheel are not synchronized which results in a beat frequency. Mine does it also.

I had an InFocus IN72 for two years and I never heard any fluctuating noise with that projector. It was 480p with a 5X color wheel (I could be mistaken on the speed of the wheel though).

This noise of this replacement projector does fluctuate like the other one but it isn't as extreme, and I think it a bit quieter as well.

George

Pertaining to my email inquiry regarding my HD3000 that is at Optoma for the second time for the 'fix', a perfect example of perception...

Their email response, "...it was going to take some time..."

My recollection of the phone conversation right before the HD3000 was shipped back to Optoma for the second time when I asked them when I could expect it back.
Me, "When can I expect this back?"
Them, "We will do our honest best to have this shipped back to you in 4 days."

That phone conversation was over 3 weeks ago.

I guess I'm just beating a dead horse here but man, this is getting frustrating. I have absolutely no faith that Optoma is competent enough on this issue, upgrading the neutered HD3000's to perform as the stand alone HD3000's, that these 'fixed' HD3000's will ever function correctly without issue. I'm thinking that even if, and that is a big if in my opinion, Optoma is able to provide me with a working fully functional HD3000, will it be stable and be able to perform reliably over the coming years? I've got a feeling I will be fighting with Optoma during the entire warranty period and then where will I be? They have already spent more time with my HD3000 than I have, way more time. I purchased this thing on November 2nd, it is now January 8th and I've yet to be able to use it AND my warranty (is it 3 years on the scaler?) is 1/6 gone AND I'm out another +$300 for the 'fix'.

Rant over...
George

HD7100 + Samsung UP-5000 ?
I'm having difficulties in getting a picture with this combination.
I sending HDMI from samsung's dual format player @ 720P to my hd7100 via a
DVI adapter. I'm also running component from the player to the projector (which
works). The hd7100 keeps searching for DVI then flikers and repeats the search.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

HD7100 + Samsung UP-5000 ?
I'm having difficulties in getting a picture with this combination.
I sending HDMI from samsung's dual format player @ 720P to my hd7100 via a
DVI adapter. I'm also running component from the player to the projector (which
works). The hd7100 keeps searching for DVI then flikers and repeats the search.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

How long is your HDMI\DVI cable? It sounds like the HDMI handshake if failing. I've had tons of issues with my HD7300 and a 35' cable. Anything over 25' and you are asking for trouble with this projector.