Cine4home preliminary review of Planar PD8150 - Page 16

Greg do have any idea when that review is slated for? Jason indicates that there is a current backorder of 8150s from Planar I might wait for your review before making a final decision, although I have already read the excellent review from Kris Deering one more couldn't hurt.

Thanks Robert. I found those prior posts.
Mike W

Has cine4home posted any updates as to when he anticipates providing his review of the 8150?

I would expect it to be on the WSR subscriber's website in about 4 weeks.

We are working on the review right now. It will be next...



Regards,
Ekkehart

Great, thanks for the feedback. With GregR now planning to do one, and yours on track, we will have the best possible information about this very promising pj, and see how it compares to the competition. I--and all of us here--really appreciate your contributions, Ekkehart; keep them coming!

Do I recall correctly that in some of the reviews done so far the on/off CR measured out to like 6000:1? I could be mistaken here. Isn't the 8150 spec'ed at 15,000:1?

I'm definitely looking forward to these reviews and seeing (among other things) what the on/off and ANSI CR measures, how many lumens this puppy will put out, and hopefully we'll get some feedback on just how razor sharp this is compared to say the RS1 and Sharp 20K. Looking forward to it guys!

Yes, it has been very confusing, e.g. about whether the CR's reported are the 'native' value or with the DI, etc. We are really lucky that GRodgers and Ekkehart are going to be reviewing the Planar; we'll get the complete picture from them.

As said before, obviously the CR mismatch is quite "normal" for DI based DLPs. The Benq W5000 (DC2) was speced at 10K:1 and lowered to 8.5K:1, if I read some stuff on the net correctly. All tests measure it around "half of that". The Planar 8150 is speced at 15K:1 and tests I have seen so far rate it at "half of that".

The variable factors not always specified in those tests are :
=================================================
- long throw for higher CR
- IRIS steps of the first IRIS (most projectors have two IRIS build in)
- "DI" activated (second Iris, yes or no / aka Dynamic Black function)
- "BC" (Brilliant Color) activated for more light output or not
- color temp

So only the full combination might reveal what is speced ? We'll see....I do not expect any major news and would really wonder, if we break the "half of that" barrier in the new tests to come....."x" my finger though....

Saw a demo of the 8150 the other day and was really impressed. However, I told the sales rep that I was going to have a 130 inch AT scope screen and he said that the projector was not bright enough. Wondering if he just wants to sell me something more expensive or this is really true?

You can use our calculator to determine the FL. I assumed your screen is 130" diag and 1.0 gain. In default power mode (800 lumens), you will get 15.8 FL and 19.7 FL in high power mode (1000 lumens). The calculator lets you adjust the screen size and gain as well as the lumens.

Here is a link to the calculator:
http://www.planarhometheater.com/pro...tor%20v1.6.xls

Hope that helps.

Brian, the screen is 130 in wide. Downloaded the calculator and tried to open it in Microsoft works but said it was password protected. Not sure what the issue is. Thanks for your help.

Are you trying to fill in protected values? The only thing you can change is the screen width and the gain. The spreadsheet works just fine for me. The 130 screen is 113 inch width and with gain 1.0 gives 20 FL which should be more than enough light (12 recommended).

I have no idea what the salesman was talking about. This projector is bright!

Bear, would you load a 130inch wide AT screen into the calculator and let me know if that will work? My system just won't open the file.

Thanks,

Randy

If I am doing this right, 130 inch at gain 1.0 = 15 fL. Still plenty--at least when new. Check out the poll at

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...highlight=poll

Can't understand why the spreadsheet doesn't open for you. It opens using Excel or Numbers on a Mac.

PM me if you want me to save a copy and send it to you.

It should work if you have Excel as part of MS Works. What is the gain and I will work it out for you.

Brian any idea when the next firmware release for the white clipping issue that some reviewers are finding? I spoke with someone over at Planar and he said that he was going to see Bob williams later that day and he would ask. Well he was nice enough to call back and tell me that he spoke to Bob and that at that time there didnt seem to be any definate time line for the new firmware. In all fairness the clipping issue I believe was on measurements and not really in real world viewing so Im wondering if that being the case if its not a priority at this point, any info on that and if the 8150 are still on backorder or are the units flowing out to dealers?. Thanks in advance

We are working on a SW update, and the validation is being completed as we speak - so assuming all is well, it should be out this month. It will include many updates, including the 'clipping' issue. You are correct that this issue would not be seen in real world applications, but we want to make it perfect non-real-world applications also...

All SW updates will be posted on the Planar web site for you to download, so if you get your projector now, you will get the update faster than waiting for it to show up already loaded in production.

We get PD8150's and PD8130's in weekly and they are selling out as fast as we get them in, but we are cranking up production to try and get ahead.

Brian thanks for the response. I have found Planars respsonsive approach to customers and potential customers very reassuring and we hope it continues, it is what I am looking for in my next projector which im currently researching in order to make a purchase. One question I do have, as an owner of an Isco III anamorphic lens how close will I be able to mount the projector to the lens with the 8150 rightside up? from looking at the pictures of the 8150 it looks as though the top portion of the projector extends out which makes me wonder how close the two lenses will be able to be positioned. Have you tested the 8150 with a lens such as the Isco III?

Brian, I will probably be using an SMX Proline AT scope screen that is 130 X 55.3 with a diagonal of 141.3. The gain is 1.16. The room is also totally light controlled. Bear has given me his take on this but would also appreciate your view.

Thanks.

Randy Ta,

I calculated for a 16:9 screen because that's what the spreadsheet is set up for. You can only change width and gain--all other settings are locked. Your dimensions are 2.35:1 and therefore you have less total area than a 16:9 for that width. It may be that you will have more light per unit of area than the 15 fL their spreadsheet calculates. I assume you are using an anamorphic lens. Does that create additional loses?

It will be interesting to hear what Brian says.

The spreadsheet lets you change the screen width, gain and projector brightness. I will ask Bob Williams to modify this to allow for 2.35:1 screens. I put in 800 lumens as that is the default brightness - and I get 14.1 FL, but that is assuming a height of 73", so it will be a bit brighter with the shorter screen - but we are close enough here.

If a constant height anamorphic lens is used, then you will get back some brightness since the entire surface of the DMD is being used - not just 2.35:1.

There are ISF modes for Day and Night, so these can be used to store different brightness enhancements such as the high power lamp mode and BrilliantColor. This would get to around 18 FL.

Hope this helps

The lens extends beyond the top case by a small amount. It should not be an issue. I have not tested this lens, but it should be fine.

I have attached the projector dim's.

Enjoy

 

PD8150.doc 192k . file

Thanks Brian. I will be using an anamorphic lense. Not sure what it means to be getting 18FL but it sounds like you are saying that it will work. Does the spreadsheet tell you how far back to mount the projector? Would like to use an area between 17 and 20 feet back and not sure if that means I will need the short thro lense.

Randy

Thanks for the followup, if the lens extends beyond the top cover by any measureable degree then like you said it should be fine, I would find it more limiting if the front surface of the lens was mounted behind the edge of the top cover

Assuming a screen height of 55.3" (a 16:9 width of 98.3"), the throw for the standard lens (what ships with the projector) is 15.55' to 19.66' - so you are fine. BTW, the FL for the 16:9 image is 24.6 at defaut power mode.

Hope that helps

Brian has there been any "re-consideration" of the plan to offer the short-throw lens "in lieu of" instead of as an additional purchase?

The plan is still to offer a seperate 'SKU' with the short throw, but in the begining, the shorter throw lens is an adder.

Brian

Will your company be showing the 8150 at Cedia and if so, will it be in a light-controlled room?