Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD - Page 8

Sorry to ramble, but just one more thing that really bothered on the Epson:

When you bring up the Menu Screen, the underlying black background is really, truly black. Obviously the projector is capable of displaying the color...

But no matter how much I tried (I had it for about 10 days), I could never get it to display that level of black in the actual image.

Dear All,

I'm planning to purchase Epson 705hd or Optoma Hd65... i read the reviews a lot lot and lot, But couldn't able to decide on which one to go. Some say to go for DLP and some say for LCD. Still i'm unable to decide which one to purchase.
My room is little lit with a 10w CFL.What ever the conditions. I had preview for Optoma hd 65 and no preview for Epson 705 HD.

This is my first projector and my pocket doesn't burn with the prices(cudn't invest more than these mentioned prices and a max of $800).

I read the entire thread.It was helpful. My initial requirement is HD Movies/Gaming/Sports.

Please some one could help me out in this case, i can purchase immediately.Please send me the best deal links available in US.I'm waiting from a month in searching the reviews to find out the best in these two.

Awaiting all your replies. Please send them if you have any pictures taken recently from both the projectors(705hd and HD65).

Thanks,
Jags..

BestBuy finally shipped the projector today. An 109" Accuscreen is also on its way... I am actually getting excited . Total cost for both items (shipped), approx. $820 CDN (less than the $850 Optoma at Costco).

Review to follow.

My projector has arrived but I have to wait 8 days before I can set up. Here is my question. I plan to run HDMI from my Directv box to the projector. What is the simplest and cheapest sound system? I need one. I am not an audio nut, I just want something comparable to a regular TV.

For now I am going to run red/white audio cables to my Bose Wave radio's AUX input.

Any help appreciated. $150 is my budget.

Also, if I get a sound bar, can I run RCA cables from my box to the sound bar, or do I have to run the RCA cables from my Epson to the sound bar?

My 705 arrived yesterday, and I'm enjoying it so far. I have a long HDMI cable and mount on order from Monoprice. For now, I have the projector sitting on the back of my couch connected with component cables.

My only HD source is my Dish 722k receiver (installed today). I have it connected to my Pioneer VSX-23TXH with component cables and an optical audio cable. I have the Dish box set to output 720p. My Pioneer receiver is also set to output 720p. However, when I check the Info menu on the projector, it shows resolution of 480p. Is there anything I need to do to get the projector to do HD?

Also, I've put about 10 hours on the projector. Bulb usage shows 0 hours. Does it only show usage in increments greater than 10 hours?

Other than these two issues / questions, I like the projector. I'm currently using my off-white wall as a screen; a real screen will come soon. This projector really is bright! I can use it in a lightly lit room OK, though it does improve with darkness. For the price, I think it's a great deal. I could have spent about the same on a used SD projector and a new bulb. Thanks for any help on my questions.

I would double check the settings in the receiver and your dish 722. It should be displaying 720p if you are on a HD channel. I am not trying to insult your intelligence, but you are using the red, blue, green outputs on the dish box to the rgb adapter included right? (Have to ask...sorry.) Try bypassing the pioneer and go straight from the dish 722 and see if that changes anything. Mine also displayed hours below 10. Let us know what you figure out.

No insult taken; you don't know anything about me, so it's good to ask the basics.

I'm using the red, green, blue (component) outputs on the Dish box to the appropriate inputs on my receiver. I'm then using the component outputs to the adapter that came with the projector. I really cannot connect the projector directly to the Dish receiver, unfortunately, due to the way this is all installed. Next time I'll have a pull-out rack system instead of built-in shelves! I'll try it with my notebook using a VGA cable and see what resolutions I get. I'll have my HDMI cable soon, so I'll try that and post back. Do you mean that your projector did show hours below 10 or did not?

I'm not sure what you can get for $150 that would be any better than your Bose radio.

No offense, but that's not much for a soundbar. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion. I use ZVOX and you might find a small open-box one in that price range, the new ones are more. Some much more.

Yes, you can probably run the RCA cables from your box to the SB, not from the projector. Whatever is most convenient.

Yes, mine did display hours below 10. Check amazon. They seem to have some low price surround systems that may fit your needs.

Thanks. I plan to use the Bose for a short-term solution. Thinking of a Vizio or Sharp sound bar now. Seems simple enough.

I got the 480p / 720p thing figured out. It was a component input setting that needed to be changed on my receiver. Obviously, it's looking much better now!

I still don't know why I'm not showing any hours of lamp usage. That makes no sense. I suppose I'll need to contact Epson on that issue.

Mine only showed up after 10 hours.

All is well with mine; it now shows 13 hours. It's odd that it doesn't show less than 10, but it really doesn't matter.

Congrats on getting your hookup issue resolved. As for the bulb, I thought maybe you had the fabled "eternal lamp" but, alas, now I see not.

Enjoy your projector!

Any 705 owners notice a high pitch noise cycling on the unit? It is more than simple fan noise. Thanks in advance for your insights

Besides the fan and the auto iris, there is no noise from my 705.

Same.

I noticed it the first or second night I had the unit. Maybe only the first night. I haven't heard it since. It was faint but high pitched and yes the noise did cycle. I was only about 2-3 feet from the unit though.

What is auto iris?

Auto Iris is an aperture that controls the overall brightness of the image being displayed. For bright scenes it is wide open, for dark ones it is narrower.

Alright, sorry it took so long, but I have some images of my setup for all to see.

I posted the photos on the following flickr link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4138185...7623682328912/
(sorry this is my second post so it wouldn't let me put up a link)

The first three photos are of the mount that I built. It cost me about 15 dollars, took about 30 minutes to make, and it works pretty well. It adjusts by bending the metal for the most part which works fine. How many times do you really need to adjust your projector? Once. The hardest part was figuring out the mounting screw sizes, which I don't remember off the top of my head, but will post when I find the hardware store bag. Just a piece of perferrated steel strapping, cut and bent into...well you can see in the pictures.

The other pictures are of the projection itself with the following settings:

Ceiling mounted
12' throw
eco mode
Dynamic picture mode
brightness 8
color temp med
auto iris on
everything else zero

The first 3 give you an idea of my room layout. Yes that is a giant west facing window. I have three lights which I turned on sequentially through the picture sequence. Each light is about 100 watts (fluorescent). I have the zoom as wide as it goes and from 12' it gives me about a 10' screen. I have 8' ceilings and for the most part you can move to the couch without walking through the picture which is nice. The video is supplied via the 24" iMac on the table, with HDMI video output on a 32.5' cable up to the projector. The sound goes through a 20' minijack to RCA cable into a bose surround sound system I picked up for about $100 (You don't have to lecture me about bose sound, for $100 it isn't bad). I use bluetooth keyboard and mouse (rocketfish combo ran me about $40) so I can work the computer anywhere in the room. I also use the airmouse app on my Iphone to control the computer when I am to lazy to get the keyboard or run out of batteries. I highly recommend this app.

I normally run the projector in theatre mode when it is dark in the room and dynamic when it is bright in the room or during the day. With the blinds drawn during the day the image is definately enjoyable to watch. It is pushing it to watch without the blinds drawn and sunlight pouring in, but I can't say I haven't done it.

The next set of pictures are all from DVD sources, so no they do not make full use of the 1200x800 resolution, but they give you a sense for color, contrast, and brightness. I guess I wasn't sure how to photograph them to really give an objective picture (in terms of image post processing). I shot them with a Canon 40D, 22mm lens, RAW, and made minor adjustments in Adobe bridges to make them representative of how I thought they looked in real life. Save some sort of giant calibration card, I am not sure what other standards there are out there for photographing your projection images.

I hope this helps. I will try and put up some more shots of full resolution images and a variety of settings. I am happy with the purchase so I guess that is all that matters.

Thanks andr0373 for your post and pictures, it does confirm everything that was said here about the 705-HD/EX-71.


To add more to this, I have received the projector yesterday (screen is still on its way, ETA probably today) so not to waste any time I went to my basement for a quick test drive.

I threw the picture against a light pinkish color wall (which will change soon BTW) from about 13 ft. The picture was a little red than it should be, however, not being "perfect", it was very good, and very big.

Here are my thoughts:

Build and quality - Very good, the unit is actually very light. The remote control isn't ideal for pitch black rooms but once you set up your settings properly, most likely you will not be changing them during a movie. If you really want, you can wait for bright shots, which will give you plenty of light to see, during which you can play with the remote control

The noise of the unit sounds like a small computer tower being in the room. Can you hear it during quiet movie scenes, yes, but again, this isn't a deal breaker. If any of you have a PS3-fat, this unit is just a bit louder. I think it has only 1, 60mm fan.

Auto iris - definitely noticeable, sounds like an old hard drive during operation, but it is okay to leave "on" when you have regular levels of sound in the room. For now, the only sound I had was coming from my laptop (75% loudness) and I could barely hear the iris at work. If you have a decent sound system, the sound will not be an issue. Further more, the auto iris does help with the black levels a bit, so mine is on all the time.

Black levels - "muddy water" is the best that I can describe them but that is only during dark, washed out scenes on SD picture (like a DVD). On a HD picture, they are a bit better and darker. On a vivid, busy picture (ex. video games), they are black as black gets. I have "tested" this in a pitch black room (only light source was the projector's lamp) so if you have a dim light on in, it will be fine.

I did match my black levels to the system's menu (it was a 90-95% match, brightness -8 or so), however, there is a significant lost to details when you do this and you have to have a vivid image on the screen. Again, to me, lost of details isn't an issue so I was quite happy with the results.

Color reproduction - again, this isn't as accurate as I would like to be (given my wall color) but the colors were great and if you don't have a reference display to compare it to, everything looks very natural. Definitely "dynamic" and "theater" modes are the best ones to use for gaming/tv or movies but you have to tweak those settings to your liking.

Closing comments - My wife said holy s*** when she saw a movie on the wall so I guess the projector is staying in the house . For the $600 that I have paid (plus taxes) I think it is a fun toy to have, worth every penny. Another thing that appeals to me is the life of the lamp and its replacement costs. With this unit, you don't have to time yourself to go easy on the bulb. Just use the projector to the max and if the bulb goes, it is only $200 or so to replace. For me this is a big bonus to have an inexpensive projector that produces a very nice (and very large) picture with inexpensive replacement parts.

Yes, the black levels are a downer but they are also crappy on a LCD TV in a dark room. It seems like DLP and LCD in the projector world are similar to Plasma and LCD in the TV world. Plasma is way better in dark scenes and in dark rooms but not as bright in rooms with windows. Again, it is a trade of that you have to make.

This unit is definitely staying. I can only assume that the picture color will become almost "perfect" with a proper projection screen. Also, I will have to tweak the picture more to get the results that I want (I have only spent an hour last night). Also, I will get an ND filter to see if it does anything to the black levels.

Overall, you can't get a plasma or LCD TV with a screen size of 100" or more for $600. Yes, this projector isn't perfect, but the price is!

I will try to post some pictures once I have the screen.

PS: are there more options to adjust the picture (hue, saturation, etc.) because I have, brightness, sharpness, contrast and that's it... I think (maybe they are hidden somewhere or I didn't notice them). Could the 705HD have a bit different menu from the EX-71?

It depends on what signal you are feeding it. If you have it hooked to a computer and hit the info button on the projector, it will give you an actual resolution like xxxx by xxx. This gives you a limited picture adjustment menu. If you have a bluray, dvd, or cable box hooked up, it will display 480p, 720p, 1080p, etc. and give you the full range of adjustments. It keeps each individual setting saved. You can adjust the settings for dynamic on a bluray and it will keep one set. You can hook up a computer and change the settings on dynamic, and it will keep those. It basically depends on the source device whether it is output as RGB (computer) or a video device.

Thanks cjsiv. I was wondering why I was missing all the other options but I did only plug in my computer to the projector.

It is very cool that the projector will remember your setting for each set-up for each connection. I have the same feature on my LCD TV and it's awesome. One extra bonus.

If I'm running this as a projector in my dark bedroom, will the picture be overly bright in Theater/Eco mode?

This thing is bright. So, yes, it probably will be overly bright.

If it is, using an ND (Neutral Density) filter might be an easy solution.

Yesterday I just finished watching Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship...) and I was quite impressed with the projector. The black levels aren't great but they are comparable to watching an LCD TV in pitch black (maybe tiny bit worst).

I had some screen tearing but that is due to WMP 11.

I will try to pick up an ND2 or ND4 filter today although I don't know how I will attach it to the projector (maybe I will just position it in front of it for now). Would you guys think ND4 would be too dark for a dark basement?


Question... when I throw the picture up against the wall, the vertical screen lines are straight, the bottom line is straight HOWEVER the top line (from left to right), 2/3 of the way goes up. I don't know how to explain it but the line is good and then just goes up towards the top-right corner! I displayed the picture on a different wall from a smaller distance, about 30-40" dia. picture, (I thought that maybe my wall was warped) but this 'fault' was more visible! If this the projector or just a setting?

I can't get to my projector at the moment, so I can't verify. I have the EX-70 which might be different, anyway, but for your 705HD, check the lens and see if it's threaded to accept filters. Hopefully it is. If so, the ND filter will just screw on. If not, you might have to use tape. But, hopefully it's threaded.

Of course, you need to get one that's the right size, i.e. 62mm or whatever. Should be in the projector's specks or you can ask Epson. I had a spec type question and submitted an email via their site and got an answer within a day or so.

Not sure about your other issue, maybe someone else here will know.

Good luck and thanks for the feedback on this unit!

I just got mine set up. I love it. Running it 16:9 with DirecTV HD. Not too bright for me, not too noisy, and the PQ is great. I am not a bit a/v nut, so I am sure I don't notice some of the things that are wrong with this PJ that others have mentioned.

He are my issues:

1) It looks the the bulb is cracked on the inside - is that normal? I have noticed this when I look at my camera lens too, so maybe it is lens technology that I am not aware of.

2) The book said that I'd have 7" of downward throw if I ceiling mounted. I mounted to the ceiling 127" from the Da-Lite screen to get a 110" diagonal image. I wanted to get as close to the ceiling as I could, but when I did that it had a pyramid effect on the picture (top narrower than bottom because I had to aim it down). So I have to lover it. It is about a foot lower than I wanted or thought it'd be. Is there any way to fix this?

You can use the keystone adjustment in either the menu or the buttons on the projector. Purists will tell you this messes with the image quality, but I have a slight amount to make mine straight and it doesn't bother me at all. If putting it closer to the ceiling makes you happier, just do it and use the keystone.