Hi all,

I bought a TW2000 on the 24th. First impressions were great, nice colors, bright, good punch... Quite happy I got it instead of the Panasonic PT-AE2000 or the Sony VW60 which were the contenders.

Lst night I had a chance to watch the projector in silent conditions, to discover the iris makes a constant, irregular noise similar to a hard drive :-(
I now read about it being a design defect typical of Epsons, so can anyone that already found a solution help me and tell me what to do?

Will a high shelf mount with an acoustic rubber base help?
Putting the PJ inside a box seems a bit extreme, and not easy since the unit needs ventilation...
Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

If a hard drive is loud to you then you will need to build a separete room for any projector. What is your expectation. Is that a projector should be as silent as a dead mouse?
Lets hope that the noise goes away or that the unit is defective and can be replaced.

albhum,

Please give us your impression of what it sounds like during normal watching and listening conditions. Put in a movie for instance at your normal level of listening and report back about the sound of the iris then and that should give you a better idea as to the noise that you're hearing.

Also, would you mind please elaborating on your first thoughts pertaining to the performance of the pj aside from the iris noise. Maybe even a screen shot or two? :)

Wayne

If a hard drive is loud to you then you will need to build a separete room for any projector. What is your expectation. Is that a projector should be as silent as a dead mouse?
Lets hope that the noise goes away or that the unit is defective and can be replaced.


Nope, I'd be happy if it would make the same noise that the Panasonic PT-AE2000 I saw (or the Sony for what I read). In the manual it says:

* An operation sound of Auto Iris function may
be emitted while projecting some images. This
is not a failure of the projector.

So, I guess I'm not the first complaining about this...

I have no chance to make a separate room since the wall behing the projector is one of the house sides :-(

albhum,

Please give us your impression of what it sounds like during normal watching and listening conditions. Put in a movie for instance at your normal level of listening and report back about the sound of the iris then and that should give you a better idea as to the noise that you're hearing.

Also, would you mind please elaborating on your first thoughts pertaining to the performance of the pj aside from the iris noise. Maybe even a screen shot or two? :)

Wayne


If you can read Spanish here I wrote a review/comparison.
See next post for the URL

Sorry I don't translate but it took me a while to write and would be very long to translate. If you can kind of understand and have any specific doubts I'll be happy to answer them.

cheers,

http://www.mundodvd.com/showthread.php?t=45372&page=4

Here they are my first impressions (in Spanish)

The Auto Iris of the TW2000 is barely audible. In normal use while watching a movie with normal audio level is suspect anyone will hear it.

Some peaople allready reported that the iris noise can be amplified when standing on a shelf or rack. So try to put a soft material beneath it an compare the noise levels.

Great... My shelf I plan on using the PJ for is no more than 2' above my head. We will see when it gets here how bad it really is.

Can the iris be shut off?

Can the iris be shut off?

Yes. It can be turned off with any setting, anytime. Contrast/black levels are still very good IMHO. I only hear the auto-iris when there´s no other sounds, e.g. during Xbox 360/PS3/HD-DVD Player Menu. As soon as there´s any sound, i can´t make out the auto-iris anymore. Projector´s mounted on a wooden shelf, approx. 1m above my head.

Can the iris be shut off?


Yes, it can, but that is saying good bye to the announced 50.000:1 CR.
Anyway, I'm gonna try the modes without the iris in dark scenes to check how much I'm missing.

The Auto Iris of the TW2000 is barely audible. In normal use while watching a movie with normal audio level is suspect anyone will hear it.

Some peaople allready reported that the iris noise can be amplified when standing on a shelf or rack. So try to put a soft material beneath it an compare the noise levels.

Thanks for the advice, tried with a towel beneath and didn't change, unfortunately. :-(
You say that the noise is barely audible, but to me a noise that you can hear at 5m. while the fan is on is very audible. It is true that when there is music and sound coming from the speakers you cannot hear it, but that also applies to any noise caming from any projector. Problem is when there is a silent scene and instead of concentrating in the movie you are hearing to a noise that, to make things worse is irregular (unlike fan noise) which makes it imposible to avoid.
It's not my intention to argue with your perception, but I think people considering to nuy this PJ should know that this exists, and I've seen very few post mentioning this "spec" of Epson PJs.
I just would like to know how many projector brands alert in the manual that you shouldn't take your projector to the tech service for hearing a noise when using the DI... I guess I'm not alone considering this an abnormal noise.

Is it terribly loud? no
Can anyone with a normal hearing capacity hear it? yes
Is it a distracting type of noise?yes

I sit <5m from mine and I have not noticed this noise. The only time I can hear anything besides the fan is when I switch between low def and high def television channels. Then it's only during the switch. I watch all my sources in dynamic mode with auto iris on.

http://www.mundodvd.com/showthread.php?t=45372&page=4

Here they are my first impressions (in Spanish)

Excellent review!! Despite the iris noise, you are enthusiastic about the Epson's black level and brightness on a white unity gain screen in a light colored room. What is the screen size? I am considering several choices for a projector bright enough to work with a 2.35 anamorphic setup. Desired screen size is 127" wide x 54" tall (about 3 m wide by 1.5 m tall). Room has dark blue drapes almost all around. Black velvet all around screen and on most of ceiling. Dark rug.

I am almost ready to (reluctantly) rule out the SIM2 HT380. Superb picture, but looks like I would be seeing too many rainbows. Will have another look next week as I only saw about a half hour of Spiderman 3.

http://www.mundodvd.com/showthread.php?t=45372&page=4

Here they are my first impressions (in Spanish)

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mundodvd.com%2Fshowthread.php%3 Ft%3D45372%26page%3D4&langpair=es%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Excellent review!! Despite the iris noise, you are enthusiastic about the Epson's black level and brightness on a white unity gain screen in a light colored room. What is the screen size? I am considering several choices for a projector bright enough to work with a 2.35 anamorphic setup. Desired screen size is 127" wide x 54" tall (about 3 m wide by 1.5 m tall). Room has dark blue drapes almost all around. Black velvet all around screen and on most of ceiling. Dark rug.

I am almost ready to (reluctantly) rule out the SIM2 HT380. Superb picture, but looks like I would be seeing too many rainbows. Will have another look next week as I only saw about a half hour of Spiderman 3.

I have a Epson 1080 UB coming next Monday. My set up is a panamorph 380 lens with a 1.0 white gain 120" diag. screen. So not quite as big, but would be in the ballpark. My room is completely light controlled with dark grey walls, black ceiling and screen wall. Also, black carpet.

I'll be spending at least 4 hours with it...if it lives up to the specs etc, I may end up keeping it.

Ron

I had an Epson 810 for a while. It was a good pj except for the very loud iris. From what i could find out that was normal on the Epsons. I recently got a panny 2000 and it is almost silent. By the way my pj is about 3 feet over my head. I woulod have thought these new epsons would have a quiter iris.

Excellent review!! Despite the iris noise, you are enthusiastic about the Epson's black level and brightness on a white unity gain screen in a light colored room. What is the screen size? I am considering several choices for a projector bright enough to work with a 2.35 anamorphic setup. Desired screen size is 127" wide x 54" tall (about 3 m wide by 1.5 m tall). Room has dark blue drapes almost all around. Black velvet all around screen and on most of ceiling. Dark rug.

I am almost ready to (reluctantly) rule out the SIM2 HT380. Superb picture, but looks like I would be seeing too many rainbows. Will have another look next week as I only saw about a half hour of Spiderman 3.

Thanks for the comment on the review!

My screen is 2.60 wide, so I think your better room should compensate for the size difference. Take into account that my PJ is in its first hours of use, therefore the lamp is brighter than usual. Anyway your screen is 3.22m wide. That's plenty of real state...
If you are willing to spend SIM2 kind of money I think you should try to see the tw2000 for yourself before buying, and I would also consider the JVC RS2. Check projectorreviews, the reviewer tried it in a 128" screen.
http://www.projectorreviews.com/jvc/dla-rs2/index.php

Muchas gracias for the review,

so you actually could compare the PJ to 2 blended Marquees? I envie you ;)

Un saludo:cool:

Thanks for the comment on the review!
If you are willing to spend SIM2 kind of money I think you should try to see the tw2000 for yourself before buying, and I would also consider the JVC RS2. Check projectorreviews, the reviewer tried it in a 128" screen.
http://www.projectorreviews.com/jvc/dla-rs2/index.php

Thanks for the link! The reviewer's screen is actually 1 square foot bigger than my target screen, so his impressions on the RS2 sound encouraging.

Anyway, I'll try to see as many demos as possible before committing. I went back to the Sim2 dealer with several of my BluRay discs and after an extended session was very happy to discover that my sensitivity to the rainbow effect was much less of a problem than what my initial impression (based on 15 minutes of Spider Man 3) had led me to believe. So the SIM2 380 is still one big possibility but I will make an effort to see the RS2/Epson/Sony/IN82 in action as well.

The dealer's inability (and/or unwillingness) to demo the SIM2 on a screen larger than his 7' wide Firehawk is a drawback. I offered to bring in a roll of white photo background paper which we could just tape on the wall in order to get some idea of brightness at 110" diagonal and he flatly refused saying that he would not go for that kind of "monkey business" -quote- and proceeded to lecture me on his screen being the only size/material combination recommended by Stewart for the 380 adding that if I claimed to know better, I was entitled to my opinion!

So I will have to take my business -monkey, frog or whatever- to more helpful dealers!

¡Buena suerte y muchas horas de buen cine con el EPSON en el nuevo año!

(easy now, folks... that only means good luck and happy EPSON viewing in the New Year!)

Tell the dealer that some monkeys have money and you're taking your business to another tree! :)

Wayne

Hi,everyone. Just a quick message for albhum.

I read your posts regarding Epson tw2000UB noisy iris problem.
I have been in contact with Art Feierman from projectorreviews. He is currently reviewing the epson and I mentioned your concern. He did a test watching a movie with the audio off and says the he had to get as close as 18 inches from the projector to be able to hear the iris.
I think maybe your particular unit might be defective. Might be worth returning it for an exchange. Hope this helps.

I owned the previous version of the Epson and the Iris noise (clearly audible within 3-4 feet during quiet passages) was the only reason I did not use this feature.

In comparison, the Iris on my New Panasonic 2000 is virtually inaudible.

The good news about the Epson is that while you may be able to HEAR it working under some conditions, you cannot SEE it working.

You say that the noise is barely audible, but to me a noise that you can hear at 5m. while the fan is on is very audible.


I'm sorry to hear about this problem and I don't dispute your claim, I had an Epson in the past and it was loud, but I couldn't hear it at over 2m unless I was intentionally listening for it. I'd wager your projector got damaged in shipping or was defective from Espon.

I have the home 1080 UB and in normal operation I find the iris very quiet. The only time I can ever hear it is when I am fast forwarding through scenes and even then it's not overly loud...

I hesitate commenting on this projector since I only had it on for about 2 hours....

I did not hear the iris when in use...but I did feel the heat and smell some sort of plastic smell coming from the front vents. Once I turned it on, I knew this projector was not for me. Softer image than what I was used to with my BenQ PE8720. I didn't spend much time tweaking it because I knew the softness vs the benq was a deal breaker for me. I did not notice any convergence issues that may explain the softer image. I was once an owner of the Panny 900...I'm not saying it's at that level (who has the kind of memory to say it's better or worse), so I'll just say it's not as sharp as my current PJ.

Hi,everyone. Just a quick message for albhum.

I read your posts regarding Epson tw2000UB noisy iris problem.
I have been in contact with Art Feierman from projectorreviews. He is currently reviewing the epson and I mentioned your concern. He did a test watching a movie with the audio off and says the he had to get as close as 18 inches from the projector to be able to hear the iris.
I think maybe your particular unit might be defective. Might be worth returning it for an exchange. Hope this helps.


Thanks Sharkane (and others thant pointed this possibility out)
I'll try to return it and get a new unit. I think I'm keeping with
the tw2000 since overall I think it is a good buy.

Cheers.

I hesitate commenting on this projector since I only had it on for about 2 hours....

I did not hear the iris when in use...but I did feel the heat and smell some sort of plastic smell coming from the front vents. Once I turned it on, I knew this projector was not for me. Softer image than what I was used to with my BenQ PE8720. I didn't spend much time tweaking it because I knew the softness vs the benq was a deal breaker for me. I did not notice any convergence issues that may explain the softer image. I was once an owner of the Panny 900...I'm not saying it's at that level (who has the kind of memory to say it's better or worse), so I'll just say it's not as sharp as my current PJ.

My god...how "soft" was it? Have you seen a ae2000u with smoothscreen?