New Casio projectors: LED/Laser, 720p, compact - Page 10

(Pls note I'm a newbie in projectors and this is only the second PJ. My first PJ was the LG LED HS201)

The first impression about the Casio is that it feels solid in hands, like an average 2kg plus laptop, with good build quality. The PSU is built-in, no hanging power brick or wall wart.

The remote is compact, holding it is not very comfortable but not slippery. The battery compartment cover is very flimsy and I don't think it will last long. The buttons are not backlit.

After powering it on I immediately know why this is not a home theater projector: the noise at high brightness is to loud and definitely can't be used at all, except may be for watching metal hard rock concert. But the high brightness comes to save: Eco 1 is still very bright, even Eco 2 is acceptable for a 100 plus inches image and noise is minimal.

It's strange that the Russian review mentions 2 modes of high brightness in addition to 2 eco modes as I can only see 2 eco modes and one normal mode (which is the bright mode).

About the colours, I agree with others' opinion about the problematic blue. However on my 240, the blue is not exactly weak but it looks very weird with a purplish tint which I can't seem to adjust in any way using the RGB mix and brightness. I'm not sure if my digital cameras can capture it but other way to explain is that this PJ, at this stage, can't realistically reproduce the blue sky. However the red is very saturated. But I hope with time the blue may improve like cfcmoon noticed. (Note about the blue: I followed cfcmoon recommended setting but it did nothing to help with the purplish tint. Changing blue from -50 to +50 did not really make much difference).

I notice that out of 7 reviews / opinions of the XJ Casio so far (including me and 2 users here, a German, a Russian, and 2 English reviews) 3 were disappointed about colours and 4 were satisfied and praised the good colour rendition (incl cfcmoon after his run-in period of 200 hrs). Would it be the inconsistency between batches? Or something else was missed in the settings?

I will post some pictures later about the colours.

Thanks NickBose for the update.

I wonder how the color is compared to the LG HS201...

After reading a couple of the reviews, I have not regreted about not ordering the xj-a240 when BestBuy has it for $849 anymore. ...

Yes, but with this setting, the laser changes a lot with time and you will see the difference after 180 hours, i have now 267 hours and the sky is blue, with nuances. This setting helps for the beginning, it's not perfect but it helps.
The color red is saturated it's true, you need to reduce it (-10) for me.
And don't forget theatre (cinema) mode.
For the beginning between -50 and +50 with blue it's almost the same but after... No.
I've done a picture with my phone (HD2):


In eco2 mode with 3 meters diagonal screen, excuse for the poor quality but it's a phone.

Left is Casio XJ-240 on Eco 2 (lowest), right is LG HS201 on highest brightness. Projected onto a wall (Dulux Whisper White paint). Photos are taken with a Samsung WB550.
Sorry for the crappy photo but it does show the different colour tints of the 2 PJ



Again left Casio at lowest brightness, right LG at highest brightness
showing primary colours red, green and blue



And a short clip on 2 PJ showing the same HD Youtube video. Casio contrast is in fact better (even though it is listed as 1800:1 versus 2000:1 of the LG). However, don't get me wrong here, the LG on its own is quite bright with vivid colours and really is an excellent PJ.

&fs=1&hd=1" width="858" height="508">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&fs=1&hd=1" />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">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Even though the blue is a bit weird at the moment, overall I'm pretty happy with it. When the blue improves after the run-in period it'll be an excellent PJ.

Good job NickBose
Yes, and the resolution is very different (it's very difficult to capture i know), casio 1280x720 (or more 800), and 800x600 (i don't remember if it is 1024x768...) for the LG.
The brightness allows to have really big screen size. I use 3 meters diagonal lol, it's really big and i'm still ok with eco2, just but ok.
You can see with my pic it's a little dark (because of the size with eco2).

NickBose >>> Were both pjs fully calibrated prior to the photos ? The pictures of the images displayed by the LG HS-201 look quite warm (red) as if the unit's white balance control had been set to "warm" instead of to "medium".
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Marcos

In the photos I used 2 Lenovo - an S10 netbook and an X61 laptop, both set at 1024 x 768. With the Casio Eco 1 is plenty bright and Eco 2 is still quite bright.


I'm not really sure how to properly calibrate a PJ, though I do have the DVE DVD (it's too lengthy to go through :-)). The LG image in reality is not so warm. Probably it's due to the white balance of the camera (I think it was "cloudy day") and the fact that the Casio is so bright (and cool in colours) it made the LG looked warm. Just my guess.

Also, can you give me some simple idiot-proof guide how to calibrate the PJ?

Are you feed Compoent or HDMI?

For HDMI I only had Contrast, Brightness and Color Temp (the RGB Values)

**What controls are avalible for Component Video?**

To really calibrate something, you need Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint, and Color Temp.

Brightness and Contrast you can set the black and whites, Color set color intensity, and tint to correct secondary colors.

Again, the RGB vaules adjust color temp across the greyscale, this is where you dial in 6500k. I perfer it little cooler at 7500 to 8000.

Using these 5 settings you can get a really good picture. And if you want to get deeper you need access to the factory menu to adjust RGB drives and cuts, gamma correction, CMS, and so on.

Does your DVE dics have 10% grey bars?

NickBose, how is the noise level of the xj-a240 (eco2 mode) compare to LG HS201 (normal mode)?

NickBose >>> i own a HS-201 and after using two test dvds the best calibration i found was set as follows:
Contrast : 78
Brightness : 50
Color : 57
Tint : G3
Dynamic Contrast : Low
Gamma : Medium
Black level : Low
White Balance : Medium

Thanks for that


I think so, but I never had enough patience to watch through the whole disc

I used the computer VGA cable (is that what you mean component?) for PC and HDMI for Bluray. It is strange that in the manual Sharpness, Saturation, Tint are listed but I never see it in the real menu of my 240






It's a bout the same and to me they're not noticeable during normal movie watching, maybe except dead silent scenes.

+1 me too.
Image adjustment 2 is possible in VGA (i think all analog signals).
I called casio to have access to service menu but, obviously they don't give it to customers... Grrrr.

I bet Sharpness, Saturation, and Tint will show up with component video. Component video can be feed thru the VGA port.

Bestbuy is sending me a replacement projector, hopfully I just had a really bad one.

I think it will be the same, blue needs 180/200 hours to be better.

SLATYE said in this topic earlier:
"We use lasers at work, and the power output tends to increase as they age. If they're calibrated so that with the laser at full power (after it's been used a bit) the colours are right, they probably won't be very good when it's brand new."

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1214089&page=6

I think it's no harm to ask for a replacement. Remember he said his blue looked almost like gray? That's definitely not the case with my unit.


In my 240, the blue is not exactly weak as you can see in the photo, but it has a strange purplish tint (can't be captured with digital camera) which becomes more obvious if I push the blue too high, making the whole picture too cool with a bluish shade. In fact I find that reducing the blue and pushing up the red make my image looks better overall.

Again I believe there's some inconsistency between units, maybe in the level of "maturity" of the laser diodes.

Yes, perhaps, it's true grey for blue... It's not the case for me too.

if you find a good result like this, why not
For me it's the contrary lol more blue and less red.

I guess Avatar (the movie) can be used to benchmark the blue color from new and after 200+ hours of use on this projector...

I've tried with red+10 green 0 blue -10 and it's definately worse than red-10 green 0 blue 10.
It's too warm and not realistic for me, I keep my settings (i have 272hours run in).

http://www.jd-bbs.com/thread-2163373-32-1.html

some screen shot for x-a140, much better than expected

It's better in real life ^^.
And the screen size is very small here (for me).
The colors seem artificial here, he doesn't use my settings (lol).

Wow the pictures look great. I sure hope that 1080p led/laser projectors in this price range are out by the time my Epson 83+ and Dell x1609wx bulbs go.

If ever Casio comes out with a HT version of this led/laser tech, they need to do a pre burn-in of their phosphor blue module.......

Hey guys, I received a replacement projector late last week and it is much better. Probably this weekend I will use my color eyes to make some readings on this thing.

Ah good news !
It was a bad one.

Please post some photos too and give a bit details (e.g about the blue - is it weak or too strong or purplish at all, the white - does it look bluish, ...)

Not enough lumens for 3d...



Don't count on it.

Hey guys, I am thinking of buying the XJ-A245U model or the one without usb/wifi for use in a bar. I know this isn't a home theater projector, but I'm leaning towards this because of the light source.
Here are my needs:

Decent lumen output
720p or higher
under $1200 or so
A light source that won't be killed by cigarette smoke.

I figured this is a good option because I assume this light source would hold up much better than a traditional mercury bulb, but I'm not even sure about that. If this can really last 20k hours and look at least decent with some ambient lighting I think I would prefer it to a mercury bulb based projector. The noise this puts out isn't really an issue because it'll be in a bar, I mostly just need decent picture with some ambient light, and the mounting options with this are great for me too. No one viewing this will be a videophile, just drunk sports fans, so I'm not even that concerned about color reproduction imperfections, I mostly just want a workhorse that looks decent that I don't have to replace the bulb on every 1k hours due to the smoke conditions.
I had been looking at something simple and cheap before like an HD65/66 or even the HD20 (which I own), but when I saw this thing I figured it would be a perfect match for the bar environment. Plus, the cost of ownership is great, if I really got 20k hours out of it, I would be on my 6th or 7th bulb by the time it dies on me. And can anyone tell me the exact warranty on the bulb? if it's 6000 hours, that will probably sell it for me.

The big unknown for which no answer has come out is "What does it cost to replace the laser module?"

One reply was "20,000 hours is long enough, why worry about it?"

But maybe it's just another throw-away product, which might be ok if it really does last 20,000 hours but we don't know that either.

Yea, frankly 15k is enough for a throwaway for me, I intend on it being used a lot, I'm just wondering how the laser module will hold up in a smoky bar, I already know tv bulbs don't do well so I'm assuming projector bulbs aren't any different.

You should buy, we need more early adopters. As for smoke, you could put into an enclosure.
But the laser module looks sealed so it's okay but the other parts maybe not.
That tar and nicotine can really gum things up. The color wheel might need to be replaced.