*Official* Optoma HD20 Thread - Page 89

Now I can see ViewSonic Pro8100 for 920+tax. Is it better than HD180? Though I am very happy with HD180.

And I am begging you please don't ask me read over 300 pages on 8100 thread .

I have not seen the image from the Pro8100 in person. But it's over 2 years old and based on the review, the dynamic iris is worthless and annoying. So you would have to compare it's results without the auto iris. Even at $920+tax, I doubt it would look significantly better than the HD20 or HD180. If it even looks better at all. So if you already own the HD180, it seems like a waste of time to swap out for the Pro8100. Again, based purely on 2008 and 2010 updated reviews of the Pro8100.

And the size, is HUGE. The Pro8100 is almost 2 feet (FEET!) wide, over a foot deep (15+") and over 6" tall, at almost 20 Lbs! It's MASSIVE.

And as for LCD, it it's black level was put with the Panasonic AE2000, 2 models behind the current AE4000. Sure the 4000 has better blacks than the HD20. But not $1k more worth of black. So the Pro8100 is likely very similar to the HD180 and HD20.

So unless you really need the motorized lens shift and a massive sized projector. I think the HD20/HD180 is the way to go.

The dynamic iris on the 8100 was fixed a long time ago and blows away a lot of projectors 3 times their cost some have had banding problems mine has not and gives an excellent picture and very quite would I recommend one not sure some new coming out and getting closer to that price mark.

The reason I asked because of its price seems good. However, the thought of doing homework/reading like crazy before I bought HD180 makes me tired . I should rather enjoy what I have now. The image is stunning on HD Dish Network. Haven't tried on blu-ray yet. My first 4 blu-ray movies coming today. Can't wait to test them out.

Right now, I placed it on coffee table. Already ordered a ceiling mount from mono. The house is rented. Hopefully the owner will be ok with mounting .

About the noise people complaining, I sit 2 to 3 feet away from it and don't hear a thing. Very quite.

I have a question on the Fan in the 20. It does'nt seem to run long on power down, even on a sunday when I Watch Football all day, the fan might stay on 30 sec or so after power off, my old HD30 used to run for a lot longer is this normal?

Yes, thats normal.

Same here. My DH180/HD20's running about 10 sec after power of. Though only about 2hr watched.

The screws for ceiling mounting are M3. Does it mean 3mm? Where can I get them?

The screws for this unit were *impossible* to find. I checked every hardware store/manufacturer and nobody had them.

Pathetic for this unit to use such a non-standard screw. I just re-did the thread and used whatever was the closest match. It's from Costco anyways so I'll end up returning it after 60-90 days and getting the Epson.

Any computer store should carry them. I found them easily in Hicksville.

You could also make a suspended shelf depending on where it's getting mounted.

I found them at my local hardware store quite easily, right next to the M4's used by Epson.

Wen to Lowes but they closed today. Went to Ace got few. Installed. This would save time when I wanted to play.

Guess I got lucky. I bought a Peerless PRG-UNV mount and it came with all sorts of screws for different projectors.

The theory is it's easier on the lamp to let it cool down more slowly. So it runs the fan at high speed at first to get it out of the danger zone, and then lets it air-cool.

I too found them easily at Ace Hardware. First with the HD70 in Oregon and then with my HD20 in Arizona. They had M3 in a dozen lengths and sold per screw so I could buy just 3.

For ceiling mount, you guys keep the lid/cap's lens open or close when not projector not in use?

It would be too much trouble for me, and sometimes the focus-ring can be knocked out of focus when putting the cap back on. I think it was meant for people who use a coffee-table setup and store it away in a closet or something after use.

I have a camera lens cleaning cloth and I gently wipe the lens every couple of months.

Argh. It might just be a Canadian thing then - Definitely had an almost impossible time finding them in BC, Canada.

Just picked up my HD20 today via Newgg for $860. I must have read and read for what felt like months before the price became too good to pass on.

I plan on using the projector in my garage. Dimensions are 36x32x12. That's right, 12' tall as we had to raise the foundation.

I plan on using the 5x9 projector screen, maintaining the 16:9 ratio. I found this at w3carlofetdotcom. I don't want to go over 125 inches or so, as DrNegative pointed out in his cost/benefit ratio chart, and sacrifice quality.

Per the HD20 manual, the throw distance for 120" is about 13.07-15.69ft. Offset is about 9.4.

I guess my first question is in regards to height. I don't want anybody to feel like they are in the front row of a movie theater (I know the suggested seating is 12-19'). What is a comfortable viewing height for the HD20? Will a 4" ceiling mount be ideal? 4" + the offset is over a foot. Or should I drop it down a foot or two?

Second question I see is in regards to HDMI cable length will be about 25ft or so. If I understand correctly, a quality cable will make the difference. Or should I be safe and get an HDMI repeater/booster to be safe. I already have flex tubing run, so pulling an HDMI cable shouldn't be all that difficult, but less work equates to more movie time.

Use at this time will primarily consist of sports and PS3 games.

Any other suggestions or tips, please share. This forum has been very informative, and I look forward to sharing my experiences.

Are you running things direct from source to hd20 or are you going through an A/V receiver.

I had no issues with my monoprice cable but I did with the hdmi switch. Once I hooked everything back to my pioneer receiver all was good again.

My intention is to have a receiver...that I'm still researching as well.

Don't go too crazy wasting cash on cables. Digital signal either means it works, or it doesn't. You might get sparkle effects if there is interference at the high end of bandwidth, but if you test it out fully maxing the 10.2Gbps (1080P, 60Hz, Deep color, and whatever else you want to try throwing at it), you should be fine. Go for a thicker wire though (I think 24awg or 22awg, don't quote me on which one it was exactly).

I'm running an Optoma HD20 in a 14x17ft room, 120" screen, with a Denon 3311CI amp, and it runs beautifully. I got front row seats but I like it this way

@jagzjagz
What's your throw distance? Is your screen also 5x9?

Not sure what you mean by 5x9, it's a 16x9 aspect ratio running at 1080p. Throw distance is around 13ft. I don't quite fill up the entire 120" screen, which is why I'll probably switch over to the Epson 8100 or Epson 8350.

I don't see rainbow's with DLP unless I dart my eyes like a madman, but I think the Epson will be better overall in the long run.

General rule of thumb, the front row shouldn't have more than 15-20 degrees of arc to the top of your planned screen. THX recommends 35 degrees maximum, but that number would be hard to pass in a typical home-theater. I believe that is what you are asking.

Clicky

The Pioneer VSX-1020-K is only $365 on amazon if you still need an a/v receiver.

My screen is 5x8 and I sit 13.5' away and my projector is 13.2' away.

I am going to be picking up the HD20 in the next couple days and I was wondering if it'd be wise to try the projector before purchasing a screen? After using the calculator and doing some measurements, I figure my room is 13 feet, 4 inches, but the screen will stick out an inch or two because of a light switch, so knock off an inch. The unit is about 9.5 inches thick, then the HDMI cord is going to add 3 inches or so. So, that's about 12 feet 2-3 inches for throw, which (according to the calculator) will give me a 103 inch screen. I was going to buy a 100 inch screen (I like a huge screen, but not front row huge), so will I easily be able to knock off three inches by adjusting the lens to make it fit inside the black on the screen? I'm new to projectors and it seems like these DLPs are finnicky from what I've read on this forum.

Just got mine in the mail. Already did xmas shopping and had some money left for a change.

I set mine up in the basement with 2 tight white sheets poorly sewn together, got it set to toss a 138" screen up. Still looks nice. Got rather lucky in placement ability, considering how crazy my ceiling layout is with ducts, etc.

I set it up and played the wifes favorite movie when she came home..(I didn't tell her I got or was even thinking about it until this point)

Instead of going through the roof she started talking about painting the screen area of the room flat black instead of the current gloss white and getting some red velvety theater curtains. She also ordered me a 150" screen (budget type, Elite Screens I think was the name) from Amazon. Then she insisted we get some recliners to sit on!

I guess shes always wanted a movie room LoL! Plus we haven't been using the basement for much, now its all nice and clean and useful.

Course I don't know if the screens gona fit... The casing of the roller might be two wide to fit behind a duct that only has 2 1/2 clearance.

But a 150 inch screen...should be able to cut that off the roller housing and frame it.

Well if you didn't get you ass beat for getting the projector then she probably won't be too mad when you cut up the new screen.