Lg hs201 - Page 6

tkchan007, you would not regret getting HS201 right the way.

With the quality of this PJ, you should not have an issue reselling it at a reasonable price when HX300 is available.

To prove my point, check out the latest eBay completed listing of the HS102 (used) - sold at $452 on 1/23.
http://cgi.ebay.com/LG-HS102-LED-Vid...item439ca94610

Can one of the current owner of this beauty give me your opinion as to how well the HS200/201 works with:

1. native resolution - 800x600
2. xga res - 1024x768
3. 720p res - 1280x720

What you think the output looks like (i.e. brightness, color sat, any motion issue, etc).

My primary use for this it to hook this up to my PC for computing/gaming, etc in a light controlled sitting and would also like to be able to connect this up with the 360/PS3/Wii.

Thanks.

It doesn't look like there is that much difference between the HS200 and HS102 to me. 1024x768 vs 800x600 would be considered a pretty major change by a lot of people and at least the lumens ratings show a higher percentage increase this time. I think resale for the 800x600 models depends a lot on how LG prices the HX300.

--Darin

In general, I have no issue with brightness, color sat and motion issue with this projector on a screen with 1.0 gain (80" Epson Duet in my case); some folks here mentioned about the rainbow effect, but I have never experienced it.

For the audio part, you might want to go through a reciever that support HDMI. The built-in speakers and analog passthrough is quite weak IMO.

If you want a space saving receiver/soundbar solution that will let you hookup PS3/PC/Cable box via HDMI and Wii via Component, Sony HT-CT500 does the job; if you don't need component input, Yamaha YHT-S400BL is another option.

Just thought this was funny being said 26 days into it.

Even though the new one coming out soon I went ahead and ordered this yest due to all the good things I have heard.

I was torn between this and a Vivitek for $100 less. Not having to replace bulb is one reason I got this and after reading everything I could find, I do believe I made a good decision getting this now.

It should be here Wednesday so I am pretty excited to see how it is. This will be my first projector and hopefully I will have a good experience with it.

If new one comes out in March and I hear its miles ahead of this and I enjoy this then I will prob resell this and just get the new one.

This being my first projector though I am just looking for a good enough picture for me to enjoy movies on and since no problem with bulb life, chances are I will be using it for TV/Games as well.(Something I prob would not do with the Vivitek)

Anyway Thanks all for the helpful info and hopefully I will enjoy my new pj.
It can't get here fast enough!

LOL Oops!


Yeah, you should be quite happy with it, unless your installation options are limited. Installing this projector could be very frustrating, I almost gave up.

I didn't buy the ceiling mount as I was not sure if it would work out. Figured I would get the thing and see how to mount it once I see how the placement works.

Other reason I liked this was the mounting prices. They seem reasonable and since its just a camera slot I figure I could prob find one around town if I have to.

I'm curious if the LG hs201 will turn off the LEDs when no signal or a full black frame is displayed. Would one of you guys be willing to test this out? If the projector is on, but nothing is plugged in, no light should be projected. You might need to change your background to black in the menu if this is an option. There is a dvd/blu-ray titled Eden Log that darinp2 recommended that is an absolute torture test for black levels. I don't remember exactly but within the first 5-10 minutes there are several full fade to blacks and a point source flashlight that glows brighter and darker until off. I think I remember seeing a dynamic contrast setting in the user manual for the LG that might have some effect here.

Sisyphus

A quick test that could be done is: jet black screen, walk in front of the projector and look at the lens, if you see rainbow the the LEDs are on.

Just a thought.

Brent

Anyone have a good idea when the HX300 will hit the market ?

If I was to buy a LS201 now and used it in a 100% light controled cave of a room with the PJ about 11 feet from the screen. Could I get a picture with good brightness for a screen that is 90" wide 67" high and 111" diag? Thats 4:3.

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I think you might be pushing the image size/ throw distance a little too far considering that the HS-201 is recommended for screens up to 80" diagonal.
However, there are many people who have set them up in light controlled rooms with screens sized as large as you mentioned; Perhaps you should consider getting a screen with a gain higher than 1 for such large size ?
I have mine projecting onto an older 76" diagonal high-gain semicurved screen (very high gain) and the picture has that characteristic "pop" look of plasma displays, no exaggeration; I am so "enamored" with this "plasma-like look" that i am now seriously considering purchasing a 92" diagonal high-gain screen, either the Da-Lite High Power or the Vutec Silverstar screen, which are relatively expensive.
As shown onscreen, the HS-201 colors cannot be fairly compared to colors displayed by pjs that use standard bulbs (you really have to see the effect in person to realize the purity, saturation and gradation of colors achieveable by LEDs), contrast was so intense that i had to lower the control from 100 to 75 and it's still a little too "bright", black level is pretty good, shadow detail is excellent (with a test dvd i found that a brightness level of 28 is perfect for displaying "blacker than black" test patterns), pixels are very/very sharp and so is the picture, lens has no major chromatic aberration problems, etc, etc, etc...
Three weeks after i purchased it and running this projector an average of 10 to 12 hours per day, it works flawlessly and hardly gets warm to the touch; I still walk by it sometimes and touch it to see how warm it is, while asking myself how it's possible that for $500 i got such performance out of something so small and so inconspicuous...
As i stated before, in my 40 years of buying every conceivable kind of consumer electronic equipment, the LG HS-201 mini projector is by far the most impressive piece of equipment i've ever purchased, considering its cost, performance and features... A truly AMAZING product !
As for the HX-300G mini projector, it is scheduled for release at the end of the second quarter, so i imagine that by late June i should be able to get a replacement for my much beloved HS-201.
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Marcos

Well, I don't recommend looking into the lens unless you are absolutely positive no light is being produced. If the room is dark and your eyes have adjusted you should be able to see a gray field on your projection screen if the LEDs are still on. If you place your hand in the light path it will cast a shadow on the screen. There are many ways of displaying a full black field, from the projector itself, film content, calibration software like DVE or AVIA, or, if you have a computer you can also go into paint and create say a 1920x1080 pixel black image with the fill tool. Then view the image in full screen and that should be 0% stimulus.

Would you be willing to give this a try?

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Sisyphus >>> Funny you mentioned but just last night i decided to use my Avia test dvd to re-check my settings for the HS-201 and i did use a full black pattern onscreen, the result being that the LEDs do not shut off : the onscreen black image was more like dark/dark grey due to the illumination being provided by the LEDs.
However, and as you so astutely pointed out, there is that "dynamic contrast" control that offers "OFF", "LOW" and "HIGH" options, and i found that by using the "LOW" setting it makes quite a difference with black levels by making them significantly darker without any noticeable brightness "pumping".
I am in no way complaining about the native brightness of the HS-201 and its black level, which i think are certainly comparable to projectors costing much/much more, but it certainly would be nice if it was capable of displaying darker "blacks"...
Regards >>> Marcos

As for the quality of the HS201. I used to have a Optoma EP721 Projector which has a native resolution of 800x600. Does anybody know how the HS201 compares to the EP721 in screen quality??

Awesome, that's exactly what I was wanting to know. Thank you.

Hopefully the HX300 will keep the DC setting as well as the CMS. I'm also looking forward to the (XGA and 1000 lumens) Samsung F10M. According to this article it will be using the PhlatLight PT-120 LEDs which are also used in the expensive Sim2 Mico50 and Vivitek H9080FD.

http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/7/1/8

Up to this point I believe the Samsung p400/p410 and Lg hs102/201s have used the same Phlatlight LEDs so this could give an edge to the Samsung. For me it will depend on rainbows and features like CMS or black levels.

Sisyphus >>> AFAIK, the current generation of LG/Samsung mini projectors are using the PhlatLight PT-54 chipsets and i imagine that, due to their published specs, both the LG HX-300G and the new Samsung XGA pj will be using the PhlatLight PT-121, which is native 4:3 and a variant of the PT-120 that is native 16:9.
According to the specs at Luminus Devices, the PT-121 puts out somewhat less lumens than the PT-120...
What i don't understand is how Samsung is claiming an output of 1.000 lumens for its upcoming XGA pj when all other manufacturers that use the PhlatLight PT-120 in their much/much more expensive pjs are rating them no higher than 600/650 lumens output, so i take that statement by Samsung with a very large grain of salt.
On the other hand, it would appear that LG is being, if anything, modest in its claim of only 300 lumens for the HX-300G when recent tests of projectors using the PhlatLight PT-120 chipset show them pumping out from 450 to 650 lumens !
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Marcos

Thanks for the reply about screen size.

I have Just one question about the screen Rez. this PJ can scale from a computer output not a Blu-ray or HD cable box output.
If you have this PJ hooked up to a computer that is running a game or some other App. that can't be set to run at 800*600 or 1024*768 can this PJ scale down a Rez. higher than 1024*768 ? What if a game went no lower than 1280*1024 or 1920 *1080 or some other odd Rez. could this PJ down scale it and still display it ? Has anyone checked to see the different Rez. setting this PJ can accept from a computer output ?

I am projecting a 110" (100" for 16:9) image from around 11 feet. It's fine in a room with quite a bit of ambient light during the day (Middle Eastern desert sun and all that). No projector can beat sunlight unless it's a light cannon extraordinaire. The colors are vibrant in a darker room. I just watched all three Extended Editions of LOTR (upconverted to 1080p by my Sony DVD player) on this and it was truly amazing. However, 50% of my usage is with my media PC so I spend a lot of time at the Windows desktop. It allows me to go up to 1680x1050 with my VGA output so the text is hella blurry. I stay with the native resolution unless it's absolutely needed and it's fine for most usage though the extra pixels would be nice.

By the way, I pushed the exact same image with my HS102, this one is just a tad bit brighter. That's all.

No.

I am able to project 1440 X 900 and 1280 X 720 directly from my Gateway laptop (Nvidia 9800GTS 1GB DDR3 via HDMI) without any major issue. Native 800X600 Res is the best for displaying text.

As far as optimal projected screen size, 80" from 8.5 ft yield the best overall image (on a 1.0 gain screen).

Anyone here use a portable screen (Tripod, pull-up)? which one do you use?

I have the Epson Duet Ultra Portable (setup in 16:9 80"), the image is good, but not as good as it looks like plasma screen with high gain ones.

Could anyone please tell me if the projector has an offset when ceiling mounting.

Thanks

kenshin2b,
Can you see the whole screen when in 1280*720 mode without the right and left edges of the screen being clipped off a little bit ?

I ask because I have used a native 1024*768 projector that would cut off the right and left sides of the screen just a little bit when run at 1280*720 and was wondering if this PJ does this sort of thing at this or any other non-native Rez. when being fed from a computer?

Big picture, that's correct, the picture does have a little cutoff on the sides, and it can be corrected by adjusting the screen setting with Nvidia display utility (in my case).

To save myself replying to multiple PMs regarding my video and audio feed setup with the projector, here is a diagram on how I connect my Wii/PS3/Laptop/Cable Box to the Sony HT-CT500.



If you are looking for an all-in-one reciever/soundbar with hdmi/component connectivity solution to pair with the projector for under $400, Sony HT-CT500 is a great option.

what is hdcp, and does this projector have it?

HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdcp for more detail).

Yes this unit does support HDCP.

My Cable Tv HD Box only has a component output no HDMI. Is there a low cost adapter to go from a component output on the cable box to the HDMI input on the LG hs201 projector ?

Component is an analog signal, hdmi is digital - a single adaptor is not existing afaik. The only way would be an AV Receiver with Component Input and HDMI Output.
Why not using the RGB to component cable that comes with the unit?

I wouldn't bother explaining,the user has all the hallmarks of a bot.

The fan is quite, you wont even notice it. But if you want HD, I would opt for a Optoma HD60 or better, or a benq w500 or better. You will not be happy if you want a HD image with this PJ.

Other then that I liked my hs201, I bought it for the kids to play on a big screen in the basement. With this PJ, you need almost a dark room to get a good image and my kids needed all the lights on to stay in the basement. So it was not a good choice for us. I have mine up on EBAY right now for sale $470 buy it now, only used 10-12 hours. Ended up getting a benq w500 for a couple hundred bucks more. Much much brighter picture and a hell of a lot better HD picture with that.

But if you don't mind something not being the perfect HD screen and plan on having a dark room mostly, this PJ is for you. I'm posting a couple pics from one of our game screens. Hope this might help anyone else out. : )


Tim