Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD - Page 17

Its great to know that my posts have been helpful!
I feel that contrast and available details are slightly lower in Cable TV. So up the Contrast to 0 and lower Sharpness to +2. Rest of settings should remain same.
During daytime, I recommend that you use 'Living Room' mode.

Thinking of "downgrading" my HC4900 which just kicked it's second bulb for a 705HD. The wife wants to be able to watch TV with some ambient light on and the HC4900 is just too dim.

Problem is, I have a 1.8 gain panoview greywolf II screen that I bought with my HC4900. I'm planning on trying to throw as big an image from 9.5-10 feet as I can (~100-102").

Will the 705HD be too bright with a 1.8 gain screen at 102", even if I slap an ND4 filter on there?

You should look at the MG-850HD, the 705H is older. There was a deal on the 850 for 599 on newegg just a week or so ago. It's a better deal, brighter with the iDevice dock.

I used my 705HD as a TV, but mostly for Netflix viewing too. I would say the bulb may be 5000 hours but mine crapped out totally at 2750. Now that may be due to the number of on/off cycles but still, I refuse to spend $200 on another bulb so it just sits. Not sure if others have had similar experience or not.

Hard to say for sure but I think ND4 should tame it

hey guys, i was wondering if any of you play games on your projector. i recently purchased an epson 705hd and i cant seem to sync my xbox to the projector through an hdmi cable. if anyone can help, it would be very much appreciated.

After spending about 160 hrs, I have again changed my settings. Here is what I use now -

Mode - 'Living Room' with Eco setting
Brightness 0
Contrast -4
Sharpness +5
Red 0
Green 0
Blue 0
Auto Iris On
No ND2/ND4 filters

I am projecting on a Matt White 120" screen from a distance of 14 feet.
Earlier I was using 'Home Theater' mode but now I think that 'Living Room' mode puts out best contrast and sharpness. So now I use 'Living Room' mode both during day & night time. In night time, 'Living Room' mode is surprisingly not over-bright. If it seems too bright to you, please feel free to use ND2 filter at night.
Colors are a bit muted in 'Living Room' mode compared to 'Home Theater' but increased sharpness and contrast makes it worth it.
Brightness cannot go less than 0 due to black crush. Black levels don't really get better on going less than 0 anyway so its pointless. However leaving Auto-Iris On really does helps black levels.
As per calibration patterns, Contrast should be -5 but practically, while playing movies, all subtle details are visible even on -4 and there is drop in "pop" factor while going from -4 to -5. So I have set contrast as -4.
I did not alter RGB settings because I feel that skin tone looks quiet good and should not be tampered with.

In case anyone was curious about 3d a vip theater and epson 705hd are not a good combination. There is too much flicker, ghosting, and crosstalk. After adjusting and tweeking I could only get about half the image to sync into a good 3d effect, but the rest of the image was always blurry.
It's a shame, as the projector is certainly bright enough. Looks like I'll be picking up a 3d ready projector in the future.

Thanks for this information. Its seems to me that VIP 3D theater is pretty much inefficient/useless in all cases. 3D projector is the only way to go for 3D.

i got a question for you guys about mounts, what one do you guys use?? i have a short one hanging off some 2x4's but still need to go lower, about 17" total from ceiling to lens center, and i cant find one thats says it fits the 705. please help me find a mount.

I bought an customized mount from eBay, from a seller named "kokkoman". They are still available but I wouldn't specially recommend it. Though its all metal and tough, the center of gravity is way off from point of suspension. The same guy also sells extensions to his mounts.

Hello AVS Forum (first time poster, some time lurker).

I've been researching projectors for weeks now. I am darn near ready to take the plunge and get the Epson 705HD for only $500. I plan on using my off-white colored wall (~100") in a black box, no-light setting (tho some daylight usage) almost exclusively for blu-rays and computer (Netflix/Hulu/surfin some interent) via HDMI. The brightness and blacks are my biggest concern with the 705HD, even with an ND4 filter. So is there a better projector I could get for $550 or less? I can't spend more than that. Thanks!

You might also look at the acer h5360 at newegg and amazon.


Fry's in store has 705hd for 399.99
http://www.frys.com/product/6630874

Thanks, brand2! It's hard finding non-nVidia info about the Acer H5360, but after researching a bit, it seems to do a very nice job. Hard to say, but YouTube vids of it look stronger than the 705HD. Maybe I've spent too much time on the Epson, because I'm somehow still leaning towards that. Big thanks for the tip about Fry's too. There aren't any near where I live. However, it's still cheaper for my brother in L.A. to mail me one at that price.

After nearly convincing myself to get the Epson, I think I'll be happier in the long-run if I just splurge a bit and get the Optoma HD66 (pq is stellar!). I've got a bonus coming up, so there's my excuse. There's a quite a few threads on that one. Can anyone point me to the master thread for that please?

What's the best/cheapest ceiling mount for these? I just ordered the projector and wanna get the stuff to set it up ASAP. Are the universals videosecu mounts on amazon ok? What about the 12-15 mounts on mono price?

Hello,

I was referred to this forum by a friend. I put a lot into my living room and I wanted to attempt to get more out of my viewing experience. As of right now, I have almost every channel that Charter cable has to offer in HD, have a X360(I barely play it), and play a lot of online games on my laptop in the same room. so I was thinking of replacing my current 50 plasma with the Epson model.

I am completely ignorant to a degree with projectors. So as of now, I know I will just need to buy a wall mount but I have a few questions.

1. Is this a decent projector? I'm fine with "ok" for now as long as it looks good with a large picture. I've seen mixed reviews but I've also noticed that for some reason people review based on looking at DVDs or any other non HD source. Which I find odd.

2. I'm in a town home that I rent, how much room should I need to maximize the screen size?

3. Should I get a screen for it? My walls are white but I'm not sure if that is enough or if a screen would really make a difference.

4. When people refer to the blacks, what does that mean?

5. I've noticed this thing says 2500 lumens. What does that mean?

Finally is this the best projector for the $500 price mark? Id love 3d but I've seen bad reviews on most of them.

Thanks.

1. Its a decent projector for its price. No doubt about that. But picture quality will look "washed out" to you since you are used to 50 inch plasma. Better audition before buying.

2. Use online projector calculator to compute that. Greater than 120 inches is possible from a distance of about 13 feet.

3. Screen will increase quality marginally but bare white walls are good too. Start with bare wall, buy screen later if you want.

4. Turn down contrast on your LCD monitor or Plasma till picture starts looking dull. You will notice that blacks are now a bit gray instead of inky black. This is what is meant by "poor black levels". A projector with "poor black levels" cannot have its contrast improved by settings to produce inky blacks.

5. Intensity of light outputted by projector. Greater lumens allow you to project bright pictures on a relatively larger area.

Its indeed the best $500 projector if you rule out DLP projectors. But if you can spend more, why compromise? Getting Epson 3010 makes more sense in this day & age.

^^^ Thank you for that information. Its a bit overwhelming but wow. I looked up that projector you mentioned and it looks nice. I'm just not willing to spend that much at the moment. I have few trips planed this year and this price point is the budge I have set for myself. You mentioned DLP, are those better?

Also when you say washed out, this video is what sold me and it doesn't look all that bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB8Iw...eature=related

I'm not knocking your expertise at all, just saying.

DLP black levels, contrast and sharpness would be better than this. However based on your sensitivity, the so-called Rainbow effects may bother you. Its said that people who are prone to motion sickness tend to get headaches after watching movies in DLP. I am one of those people, so I bought 705HD for myself :-)
Also, cheap $500 DLP projectors are generally of poor quality and I have seen people having numerous problems within an year or so. People find colors produced by cheap DLPs unnatural too.
"Washed-out" is a bit difficult to describe or experience through online video. The only way it can be properly demonstrated is when a side-by-side comparison is made with a TV or a better projector.
That said, I am find watching movies through my 705HD great fun and definitely more engrossing than my 50 inch LCD TV. I have now completely stopped going to theaters :-)
If you are mentally prepared for its possible shortcomings, then I say, go ahead and buy it. I think its the best value for money amongst projectors today.

I own this projector(a black variant) of it, and agree with everything that xplorar has said.It's a great projector but it has a few limitations.Those were mentioned. If you can get past those,it's good fun!!I bought mine for a basement setup and for backyard theater setup.(Haven't done that yet)I currently use it in the basement and the kids xbox and ps3 on a 126" diagonal screen. Picture in this situation, is just absolutely stunning!! For movies due to the whole black level issue, I tend to gravitate towards my ol school 65" crt tv or plasma.. Animated movies of course are stunning.

You could try the use of ND filters to improve black level. I used one for awhile,but just decided it wasn't enough of an improvement to use it. You'd have to try that for yourself.

If your budget is $500 nothing wrong with sticking to it,and giving this projector a try...Actually was on sell recently I believe for $399 I THINK.If you want an image to beat your plasma keep saving.In that $1K-$1.5K range you MOST definitely could do that.

brickie

Much thanks to all who shared such great info about this projector. I've pretty much decided to buy it.

One question though. I'm currently in Hong Kong and this model isn't available here so a friend will bring it out to me. I was deciding between the Optoma Hd66 and the Epson 705HD. Basing my decision on the reported white dot Optoma problem combined with the ND4 filter solution to the Epson's extreme brightness as I will use it mostly for indoor movies in darkness and the odd outdoor rooftop movie!

My question- Is the 705HD compatible with a 220 volt outlet? I have some electronics that need a separate transformer, and some that just need an adapter as they have a switch between 110 and 220 volts. I learned this the wrong way when I first moved here, frying a pair of powered monitor speakers. Anybody help me out? I'm ready to buy this baby!!

Thanks again to all who shared their experiences with the 705HD. So glad to have found this site!

D.

I am using 705HD on 220v outlet with no transformer/adapter. No problems.

Hey,

Can you guys tell which low cost mount from ebay would work for this projector? I'm thinking about this one.
Thanks!
Edited by BioL - 6/7/12 at 3:35am

I confess I had a friend help me, but I built my own wall mount for my 705HD with a piece of plywood and a pair of shelf brackets. Perhaps a little DIY and certainly less professional looking, but I could take a pic for you if you wanted. It's looking even jankier now because I had to drill new holes for the BenQ W1200 that replaced the Epson, but it's up near the ceiling so you can't see it.

Alternately, just measure the triangle created by the screw holes on the 705HD. Those three arms on the mount look like they swivel around quite a bit. I bought something like that for my old Optoma but the build quality was so crappy I never bothered using it.

i am debating between the new version of the 705HD(710HD) and the benQ w710st. the w710st is short throw which i like and it's contrast ratio is 10,000:1. this does look like a good model. might get one for the living room and the w710st for the media room

I was considering doing one my self but it would probably br more expensive that this one and probably not worth it. But thanks for the sugestion anyway

I've searched this thread extensively for the following but nobody seems to touch on it...

"What is the minimum or recommended distance I can mount this projector from the ceiling."

Our ceiling height is low in the basement so the image will be right up to the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling. Projector Central shows a mount distance, from the floor or ceiling, to be 11.5", which seems high.

Faced the same problem. Using a mount extension solved it for me.

I'm interested in the 705HD but they have the Epson PowerLite 1220 with a 2 year warranty for 329 on the Epson store. There's no videos on the 1220, but it seems to be the same projector besides the 1024 x 768 native, 4:3 aspect ratio, and 2000:1 ratio instead of 3000:1.

Hi all I just bought this projector a few days ago and received it in the mail. The picture is superb outside of the box. My only question is how can I extend the power cord? Do I just need to buy a longer one? If so what should the power cord rating be? The one that comes with the projector is 10A 125V 18AWG. Looking to extend at least 15-20 ft.

I just used a normal thick self-made power cord extension of 15ft. You need not worry about rating etc. Required electricity will propagate through it, no matter what. There is no electronics involved there.