I just got a Sharp DT-400 projector from Best Buy. Is the Gray Wolf II a good match for this projector? I bought the 106" from Best Buy for $309. Also does Best Buy's extended warranty cover the lamp?
I love the picture by the way. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray look incredible via this projector. DVD looks horrible at 106"s, well compared to HD-DVD and BD

Its a personal pref what screen works best with what projector IMO. Sharp DT-400 is on the brighter side of HT projectors but not a light cannon. You can always return the screen it if its not up to your standards. Not sure if they charge restocking fee for screens though.

hey man i dont know if the dates on this post are correct, but didnt best buy stop selling the dt400?? i bought mine about a year ago, and the new model they are selling now is the dt500, but i love the projector in general man and i also got a gray wolf, i dont know if i got the gray wolf II, but dont go cheap on a screen, but the gray wolf i have (which retailed about 300 bucks) is very good, i also have the 106".....i worked for best buy at the time, but anyways, just things i would point out, and i wished someone else had pointed these out to me...first best buy will put a restocking fee on that projector, but not the screen, so try it out and see if you like it, you have 30 days to return it....i live in an apartment, which means that i dont really have the liberty to drill holes in the ceiling and mount it up there, so watch out for the throw distance....i have mine back as far as it can go, which is like 15 feet i think and it barely stays in the 106 inch screen, i have it behind the couch i sit on, and serisouly this is really close to being too close to the screen, i love it, but friends say it is a bit overwhelming......ok if you are using a computer to hook up to this projector and it is a long way away, your best bet is to do what i did and buy a very long (like 30 ft DVI) cable off ebay.....i got one for like 40 bucks and best buy would have charged god knows what for this...if you are running component (which i dont see a huge loss of quality over the digital method) .....we kinda looked at the difference in text on the xbox 360 with the text on the computer...(xbox was component and computer dvi)......ok but anwyays i could say a ton about this because i have a lot of experience with this projector in general, but i really hate to say this especially since i dislike best buy, but seriously buy the service plan, i remember it running along the lines of 400 bucks for 3-4 years or soemthing like that, but this projector is great, but i think they really screwed up with the cooling of the lamp or something ebcuase both me and my friend purchased this same projector, neither of us got the service plan, but both of our bulbs blew out in the 60% lamp life remaining....you can check how much you have left in the menu.... but, check out the prices for a new lamp, i was extremely upset becuase sharp only ensures the lamp for 90 days, and mine blew out in around like 180 days, but they ensure the rest of the projector for 1 year.....anwyays, i just paid 454 dollars to get a new lamp and then i paid an extra 115 for a 2 year lamp warranty through some company and i dont even know how sketchy it is (like if they are really going to get me a new lamp when it blows out again).....so man i hate it so much, but i strongly suggest getting the warranty, it would have saved me a lot of money, i really say get the warranty and just used the machine the death, i mean just keep that thing running all you want and dont worry about when it goes out, and hoenstly i think the warranty was 4 years and in 4 years, maybe there will be a good sharp 1080p projector out for around this price, i dont know im just hopeing for blueray and stuff, but anyways man i seriously suggest getting the warranty, my lamp is already flickering again and im kinda expecting it to go out in a month or two, i purchased an "xbox mini fan" and im hoping blowing a little more cool air on the projector may help it keep cool or something beucase that thing can get hot....anwyays, i jsut strongly recommend the extra warranty, please get it, and just dont worry about it blowing out, they also say that most bulbs fail within 180 days, and if you didnt get the warranty and then got a new bulb, and it blew again thats seriously 1000$ bucks, and the service plan convers other things that could go wrong, and who knows best buy is actually good about these things of getting you a comparable model to what you had if it goes bad.....like say in 4 years your projector goes bad....you take it back to them and it cant be fixed...they have to get you one that is comparable...but technology changes....there are new models out, they might say hey, this one is good and suggest to you a kinda cheap one, but say no i bought a sharp and thats what i want replaced....seriously man after working there, at least my store will give you a sharp, and i think best buy only carries 1 sharp home theater projector....so man your going to get something new and good (ebcuase they dont keep old pro

sorry that was so long and sorry im typing fast, i should be studying, but anyways, i hope i could help, and i wish i had known what i do now, but anyways, just trying to help, and yes i agree high def looks amazing on this projector... and something i dont think i finished was dont go cheap on the screen, the gray wolf does a good job on, well say its not 16:9 widescreen and it still cuts the top and bottom off, the gray wolf does a very good job on keeping the screen not used black......i purchased a cheaper optoma before this and a cheaper screen and it was just aweful....if you have any questions at all, just email me, and ill get back to you

eyogi82atyahoocom

and i also see you are in NC, i worked at the BB in greenville SC, kinda close

Sorry to hear of your bulb problems. I have had my DT-400 for 11 months now. Great picture and so far I have been fortunate. I have not even noticed a flicker and it is still real bright, but I run mine in a basement HT so maybe a little cooler environment is helping a little. I never had a problem with my old Sharp xv-z200 either. Love the Sharp line. I want to buy the newer DT-500 but the DT-400 is so good I just cannot justify it.

I'm the OP. Well after thinking it over I went back and added the warranty. I got the DT-400 for $500 open item no remote no manual (which is fine 'cause I downloaded the PDF and downloaded the remote to one of my JP1 remotes). The extended warranty was $199 for 4 years and covers one bulb, so no brainer. I'm not sure what BB would do if this thing dies, but they might give me some money towards a 1080P unit at a later date. They told me they'd give me something similar spec wise in exchange.
I haven't hooked up this unit via DVI yet, but I was told that 1080i is converted to 540P via DVI (even says it in the manual). Most of my content is 1080i. I recorded the resolution pattern off of HDnet and ran it through this projector at 1080i. I wanted to make sure the component in doesn't convert 1080i to 540P. From my tests the sharp is taking the 1080i and converting it to 1280X720. Not 540 which was my fear. So I can see a little past the 720 signal vertically and 710 horizontally (710X1.78=1280).
Absolutely love the picture of this unit by the way, we sit about 11.5 feet from the 106" GWII. In my room I've got a 65" RPTV for normal TV viewing. I've got the GWII mounted slightly in front of the TV hung from the ceiling. This weekend I ran the component cables under the house and behind the couch. Presently the projector is on a side table and I move it with the table in front of the couch and pull down the screen when we want to watch the projector. Don't want to mount the projector. Don't want the living room to look too technical. It's already got a 65" RPTV two stands full of equipment on each side of the TV, 5 Klipsch Ref speakers. I might change my mind later.

Wow, I remember being in a HT store about 1.5 years ago watching the long throw sibling of the DT-400, the XV-Z2000 and costing about 4 grand. I thought I got a smoking deal last april at 1300.00 but 500?? thats just ridiculous

Have any of you DT-400 owners tried upconverting dvd players with the projector? I've had a lot of issues with HDMI (hooking it up with a hdmi to DVI cable)...I'm pretty sure the DT-400 doesn't understand HDCP.

Is that ringing any bells for anyone?

I solved the issue by purchasing an OPPO upconverting dvd player from Amazon that doesn't encode in HDCP (it's no longer in production, but still for sale) and has a DVI video output. (a great place for inexpensive, but good quality DVI cable is riteav

Also, with these HDCP issues, I'm assuming I won't be able to view HD DVD's or Blu-ray...am I wrong?


Eric

Good to see some DT-400 action here!

I have had no trouble with my Samsung upconverting DVD player over HDMI to DVI.

The DT-400 and the XV-Z2000 have the exact same lens throw according to the documentation.

Has anyone had a problem where a motor screams on startup? Sounds like a fan motor or gearbox? It stops after a few minutes. I got my unit on ebay for a very low price, so my expectations were not great.

If anyone needs the service manual, I can e-mail it to them. It's very technical.

-Brian

I hope you bought after the $500 rebate went into effect. The grey wolf II is a retroreflective screen which means it will be much brighter if the projector is on a rear shelf than if ceiling mounted. Some people think it adds grain to the image but that is a personal preference.

Greg T or anyone with a DT-400,

Can you tell me if you can hook the DT-400 to a laptop? There is no VGA input, but the DT-400 manual on ProjectorCentral shows a laptop connected to the DVI port. I'm unaware of any laptop outputting a DVI signal.

The Best Buy near me has an open box DT-400. I'm wondering how the DT-400 stacks up against the Acer PH530 or the Optoma HD70. I need to be able to use a laptop with it.

Thanks in advance.

I have a DT 400 and Loved it, The color wheel exploded and I need to fix it, or maybe buy a dead DT-400 for parts, I found a Sharp XV-Z2000 for $500 used its the same thing, the DT-400 was on its 2nd lamp also. Mounted in the basement with a 120" screen.