Viewsonic Pro8200 -- it exists. - Page 24

Just recently purchased this as my first projector and am very impressed. I don't have a dedicated room for it so as of now it is setup in my pretty well lite living room projecting onto a wall. I am very impressed with it and cannot wait to watch some college football on it in the coming months. I purchased the 120" Camp Chef Portable Projector screen to go with it since i plan to use it outdoors during the summer as much as possible. Might have to come up with something better inside beside my wall.

Hello room!

I just want to thank all of the contributors of this forum thread for all of the immense amount of high quality information! I've been a fan of projectors as replacements for the run-of-the-mill living room entertainment setups since 2004 when I bought my first projector (BenQ PB6200). It was a great value at the time! Eventually, I upgraded to the BenQ W1000 back in 2009. It served me well for the past 3 years until a sensor on the main board failed and BenQ gave me a $350 repair estimate. Those turn of events led me to this thread. I was in search of a sub $1000 projector that was still considered an improvement over my W1000. I initially considered the W1200 (since I had been a loyal BenQ fan for 8 years), but their 1 year warranty is simply unacceptable.

So my Viewsonic arrives in the mail tomorrow and, considering I've gone about 10 days without access to my home theater, I'm more than psyched to have it arriving just in time for the weekend! Special thanks to Coderguy for his projector calculator and rgtaa, bse53, reebok, and all the other informative participants...your wise input has been infinitely helpful in my decision making process!!!

Hey guys,

I've been reading through this thread, and I really hope I didn't overlook something, but I haven't found an answer to my particular problem. Before I get into that, Viewsonic has been awesome on the customer support side. They sent me an RMA for my projector, looked it over and sent it back. When I said the problem wasn't fixed they sent me a new projector. Unfortunately this problem has something to do with this model and not the actual projector I had, unless I somehow received two lemons.

So, my problem is this: movies like Harry Potter 7.2 are basically unwatchable because the projector cannot display ANY degree of difference between black and grey. I'll include some shots to show you what I mean:
Bad Experience highlighted.png 2465k .png file
Battle no detail.JPG 229k .JPG file

The only way to even see what is going on in scenes like the ones I've taken screenshots and attached to this post is by turning the Gamma to setting 6, which looks awful. I could take some pictures of Blade Runner too as I have big issues with how that movie looks in a number of scenes.

My projector is currently connected to my receiver via a 20ft HDMI cable and projecting onto a DIY blackout curtain made screen (about 100"). I've tried a number of things to figure out of the problem lies outside my projector, so far with no luck:

• Hooking my BluRay directly to my 8200
• Using different HDMI cables
• Running the BluRay on other devices to make sure it isn't the movie itself (it's not; looks fine on my 32" LCD)
• Projecting onto different surfaces (very reflective ones)
• Setting HDMI cable length to LONG (did nothing)
• Trying different HDMI inputs (1 vs 2)
• Praying to closed eared projector gods to no avail

I'm feeling pretty defeated about all this. I've tried and tried to get this thing to working so I can watch some movies with the wife and kid, but I'm about to sell this damn thing and get a different model if I can't get this fixed. On light movies it looks amazing, but man, these dark movies, it just looks broken.

Edit: I just started going through the AVS Calibration DVD up on these forums, and I can get the flashing black reference bars in the basic section set up just fine. However, when trying the same configuration using the white flashing bars the image is just plain all white no matter where I set the contrast (0 to 100 it all looks the same).
Edited by PUNKSLC - 9/1/12 at 10:17pm

I mean a "homemade blackout curtain" as SCREEN didn't RING any BELLS in your head. NONE. Or showing on very REFLECTIVE surfaces.

Get a Screen, bro.

I appreciate the feedback, and I'll borrow a friend's screen to eliminate this as a possible reason. However, I have to wonder if you looked at the pictures I provided, specifically the second one. I have a very hard time believing any and every material I put in front of the projector results in a nearly completely black image in dark scenes. This feels more like a configuration issue with the projector and my BluRay than a problem with my cheap DIY screen (the plans for which I actually found here on AVS forum).

Just to be safe, I'll check.

yeah, I would at least get a normal screen , especially if you are examining really dark scenes in films that are known for dark scenes. Harry Potter, Batman, Dark City, Blade Runner are all known for having very dark scenes.
Now another option is use different devices. Computer, WDTV, 360 , ps3, etc. It could be setting on your blueray, I don't know. You might want to give it's name and the name of your receiver.
Is this your first PJ? Is the room like batcave or is their some lights on in room. I don't think it's the pro8200 , only because you tried 3 of them 2 new ones and 1 replacement and ALL 3 had the same image.
Screen makes sense to troubleshoot, then settings on blue ray, and then hooking it up to PC/laptop/360 to see how dark games look. I love the look of forza motorsport xbox game, the color and blacks look awesome. The difference between off color wall and good screen is pretty big for me, and between batcave and room during daytime too. Try TV football game today, usually high dif sports look awesome on pro8200. Or kids animation stuff or any high def movie/tv show, with good quality source, it should look awesome. Maybe look through blueray menu and see if you find any settings you can play with.

I just got my XBOX360 to display correctly, mostly. I set the 8200 and my Xbox to RGB format in the signal type and everything looks great. I'm still having the problem where I can't get the white on white bars to display on the AVS test videos. So, it looks like I've got a problem with the Bluray, which I still can't get to display correctly, and there is no setting to force it to use RGB vs the ycbcr or whatever it's using. I'm going to pick up a PS3 and see if that can correct the issue.

the xbox will look even better in hdmi.
Well now you are getting somewhere. It could be the blue ray settings. Maybe a good screen and the right settings will make the difference for you. Maybe tell us your blue ray player, and what settings you have it set on. Some of the other guys might be able to suggest something.

We are just trying to make sure you can get a awesome picture on one of your devices, then narrow it down.
Also, do you have a plain white, non-reflective wall in your house somewhere. Just to test.
Maybe You tube, high def videos on your 360 might be good as test too, some stuff sucks on youtube, see if you can find high quality 720p stuff or 1080p stuff.
Also, pc with hdmi and going to a site like vimeo.com , you might find some good quality hd.
p.s. I wonder if there are settings on blue ray player that controls white balance or other settings, brightness, or other things like that. It could be set all wrong for the pro8200 but set up for your hdtv, if that is what you were using before. I don't know. I know I have to change my graphic settings on my pc graphics card when I go from hdtv to pro8200.
Edited by rgtaa - 9/2/12 at 10:33am

With a 92" screen, the manual suggests about a 15" vertical offset when ceiling mounting which gets the screen pretty low with my 7' ceilings. But, the PJ allows for slight keystone adjustments, and with my mount I can angle the PJ up or down ever-so-slightly. So, I'm wondering if there are any negatives to angling the PJ up just a bit so the top of the screen is higher, and then using the keystone adjustment so the screen is perfectly squared. Is a slight angling of the PJ going to have any major effect here? I mean, do they really expect you to mount the PJ then measure exactly 16" down from the top of the lens to the top of the screen to make sure it's perfectly horizontal? I'd imagine they only give you enough keystone correction to ensure you don't tilt it too much where it's going to harm the PJ, and anything within the range they give you is acceptable to them, but I wanted to double check with the experts...
Edited by patrcarl - 9/2/12 at 1:34pm

with screen I think it's gonna be trial and error, you got plenty of options. You could put it 10-12 feet back or so and put on book shelf 4-5 feet high, right side up, or a foot or so from ceiling with ceiling mount, upside down. Higher or Lower or closer to screen with less zoom or further away with more zoom. Usually when I go into room, I stay flexible until I find the right spot, then for that room, I always put it in that spot.

In the room I"m in now, it's on book shelf about 10-12 feet in front of screen, maybe 4-5 feet from ground, right above my head when I'm seated , behind me. Perfect place for me, my head is not in the way, and I can pack it up in 10 seconds and unhook the cables and move to another room or house.
maybe get step ladder and move it around until you find right place, then install ceiling mount to lock it in place. Maybe others can offer how they do it.

So I finally got this thing set up properly. Xbox settings are retarded IMO (need to be far more descriptive). In case anyone else runs into a similar situation as I did I'll post exactly what I did to get everything working. Again, my issue was that the image was showing up WAY too dark, and movies with dark scenes were unwatchable.

On the Pro8200:
1. Set the input to HDMI
2. Set color space to RGB

On the Xbox 360:
1. Set the output to HDMI
2. Set the color space to RGB
3. Set the Reference Level to intermediate (this may need to be expanded, but I haven't had a chance to use a calibration tool to check, and under expanded I couldn't get the contrast to display properly)

On the PS3:
1. Set the output to HDMI
2. Set the color space to RGB
3. Set the reference level to full

I still need to have my friend over with his calibration tool to make sure this thing is set up properly in terms of color and all that, but overall I'm much happier with the projector since getting this all sorted out. I had everything (source, color space, etc.) set to auto and for some reason the components wouldn't communicate properly. If anyone is interested here's a quick worklog of building my theater: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1037955723&postcount=1490

Thanks for the help.

HT looks nice. What's the yellow insulation? Guessing some kind of sound proofing mat'l.

Nice IKEA table in the office shot.

Also, check out the settings on your A/V Receiver, you never mentioned what you changed or played with on the receiver. You listed 360, Ps3, pro8200 settings.

Glad you like it. I think it turned out pretty well. With the sound boards up (and the yellow insulation is just standard insulation) things sound great, and there isn't too much light reflection with the dark paint we used.

I'll check on it tonight and update that post with the receiver settings. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll bet that bad boy is BRIGHT in that "man cave" !!!!

Just got my 8200 and have it set up. Signal is fine except it shows resolution 1080i @ 29hz ??? It has a great picture and is really bright but I have a couple of issues. Any settings that will help the black levels ?? It lights up the room and I guess that is what is considered light spillage ?? Maybe that is what's washing out the blacks ?? I had a Mits HD1000 and I really miss those black levels. A regular scene looks outstanding but the darker scenes ... I don't know. Also I seem to notice a slight blur on a fast moving play during a football game ... like a long pass. My resolution is showing 1080i @29hz ??? could that cause this ??? I'm using everything I had set up for the HD1000 .. HDMI thru my cable box (Comcast). Got it from Amazon and I'm thinking about contacting them to see if I can switch for a HC4000.
But don't want to jump too quickly ... I really need to calibrate it properly but the bulb is brand new and I know it will dim slightly and as I mentioned, the colors and clarity are great. Only the washed out darks and slight motion blur are my real issues and I'm not sure calibration will actually do a lot for those issues ????

Just to be clear, you are going from the back of the comcast into the back of the pro8200, right? That is what you just wrote. Now you are not using any a/v receiver at this point? right? And sound is coming from speakers of the pro8200 or the out jack on pro8200 to your speakers? right?

Did you read the pro8200 calibration thread, and did that help?

Look at BSE53's posts on filter to buy, or the hood option.

I'm thinking can you record the sports program and then watch it on hdtv and hc1000 and see if you get the same blur effect on the panning scene. It could be the tv camera or the pro8200, don't know. But if same blur is found on hdtv, and hc1000, then you know it's not the pro8000. You are trouble shooting , so maybe try different hdmi cables, just to make sure it's not the cables.

Maybe others can offer advice too. Now on sports , I notice that some companies use different high def camera's for the games, I can flip channels on different games (basketball, football, hockey), and some panning looks good and other games the panning is not that good. Fox network games are usually good, but I notice same thing if I watch on hdtv too. Not sure about the 29 frame thing. Maybe others can comment on that. It helps if you can view the exact same scene on hdtv, hc1000, and pro8200, so you see the differences.

Correct ... I'm running my HDMI from the back of the Comcast receiver to the back of the PJ (I'm running audio thru my Yamaha AV receiver). And you are correct that some networks (ESPN) are not as good as others (NFL network). It might be me ..... sports are really not that bad. I'm being picky and I noticed the 1080i@29hz when I was expecting 1080p. The biggest issue is the washed out blacks and I want to give the filter/hood a try if you folks actually think it will help !!! Thanks for all the help.

You might have to talk to comcast about 1080p. I know they will eventually be in 1080p, not sure if you have to pay more, or wait until it rolls out.

The mits hd1000 is 1,500 lumens.
the mits hd4000 is 1,300 lumens.
the pro8200 is 2,000 lumens.
So I'm thinking the mits 4000 will give you better blacks than hd1000 or pro8200, because it has the lest lumens of all of them, but you miss out on the brightness and are limited to smaller screen sizes and dark room. So it is toss up, brighter picture that could be used in multiple light situations and bigger screen sizes, or darker picture with smaller screen sizes in darker room.

Filter and hood should work to give blacker/blacks on the pro8200, but not sure if it would be good enough for you. Don't know.

Tuckster,

In that dark room, I think you will definitely benefit from a ND filter. I was amazed at the light reflecting on your black ceiling!

My Pro8200 took about 400-500 hours before the bulb dimmed a little bit. I think you will find the ND filter still useful even after 500 hours, unless you watching sports, and want to leave a few lights on ...

When my bulb was really bright, it seemed that the graphics on the sports programs had a lot of macro blocking. Now I don't notice it as much, I'm not sure if it is because I switch providers (Comcast > DirectTV) or because the bulb is dimmer ... but it looks better now.

Could you guys give link to nd filter you got. I might help out Tuckster , so he gets the right one at best price, and the method of attachment you used with it. Thanks

I remember a thread where someone built there own hood which I think will help because of the huge amount of light that leaks out and I have a white ceiling !!!! The filter link is appreciated as well. I will probably make the hood and see how that helps and go to the filter if necessary.

Thanks guys. I'm starting to believe I made the right choice but may need to put a little effort into it to get the best pic. My wife really likes the brightness of the pro8200 and we all know how important it is to have a happy wife !!!

No truer words were ever spoken: "If she ain't happy, no one's happy."

I have SureWest in Kansas City and its best HD broadcast is 1080i.

If I were to be switching from an Acer h5360 3D 720p projector to the Viewsonic Pro8200, would I see much of a difference? I am going to upgrade to a 1080p projector, not going for 3D this time as I have an Asus 27inch monitor with Nvidia 3D vision 2. I am trying to decide between the Pro8200 or the Panasonic PT-AR100U. I have already done a lot of research and reading, crossed off the Epson 8350 from my list, and now just trying to figure if I will wait a bit longer and get the Panny, or just settle for the Viewsonic Pro and pay much less lol. PS-Hello everyone!

I saw the Acer H5350 in comparison to the Optoma HD33. The Optoma was sharper, but the difference was not huge. Black levels seemed not to be improved.

Hmnm, thank you! Appreciate it. Sharpness is nice. I really hadn't thought of the HD33 actually. I will do a little bit of research on it.

I know people get tired of hearing it, but if you want a slight step up projector, the Mits hc4000 instead of the hd20 would be a better choice. There are a lot of advantages the Mits hc4000 has over the hd20, and despite that the default lumen spec shows the hd20 to be brighter, it's not really according to the lumens measured by reviewers. The HD20 is however not as expensive.

The Pro8200 vs. the HD20 is a harder decision if you don't need the extra brightness of the Pro8200, but the Viewsonic has LESS RBE than the HD20 and the VS is brighter and black levels are almost the same (close enough). As far as sharpnes, the Mits hc4000 is a tiny bit sharper than the Hd20 if that is the attribute you are after.

It's not performance related, but I believe the offset on the HD20 is quite a bit less than the HC4000. So if you're in a situation, such as a basement with a low ceiling, the lower offset of the Optoma would make it easier to mount.

The offset of the HC4000 and pro8200 is about the same, I believe.

True, the offset is less if you want less offset. I was actually going to buy the Optoma hd33 (for a 3D DLP), but the ZOOM wasn't enough to fit in my room (less Offset was nice especially since I have an HP screen).

The cool thing about the Optoma hd33 is it has a 6x color wheel instead of the HD20's 4x color wheel. The Viewsonic although also only a 4x color wheel, but at least it has 7 segments instead of 6 which tricks it into acting more like a 5x color wheel for how much RBE you see.