The Official Acer H9500BD Thread - Page 70

Originally Posted by InCali

I can't answer all of your questions, but here's what I have.....

I've tested the 2D to 3D conversion and it's pretty good for some movies and not so good for others. If you search back over some of my old posts, you'll see some more details.

I don't use a PC to play games on it, so I'm not able to help you there. Others can.

I think there is a higher failure rate out of the box than there is with some other electronic devices. I had to go through the return process a couple of times before I got a projector which worked perfectly and then I put it through a rigorous burn in process. So far, everything is working exactly as advertised. I suspect most won't have to go through that though.

As far as picture quality goes, I'm blown away by the picture. I don't even bother with 3D on my 73" Mitsubishi anymore. According to the reports I've heard, the Optoma also has a really nice picture (some say a little better and some say not quite as good....I suspect this depends on what you like and don't like or what's important and not so important to you).

I decided on the Acer because it has a lens shift. The shift is not exactly robust, but it works for my purposes (about 15% horizontal). All I can tell you is that I love the picture.

Hope that helps....

Originally Posted by Mikes2cents

I don't even think mine runs for ten seconds on shut down. My Epson 8350 is not much different either though it runs a bit longer, certainly no longer than 15 to 20 seconds. I am not so sure this is an issue and may actually be good if you think about it. Get the heat out of the case and allow the lamp to cool on its own. Fast temp changes are not good for any metals for sure. I believe turning the unit on is harder than powering it off but I have no idea what these lamps are made of.

This round of input testing is over. Found no new magic cure no matter what I tried and my HTPC can try some chit. While there is a clear difference between VGA and any HDMI/DVI input when it comes to PC text and 1:1 pixel mapping, I am not sure this impacts any of my viewing. Now I will be in contact with Acer as they have some explaining to do.

I fooled around with the 2D to 3D conversion again. The unit really does a pretty good job here and has tweaking options but just like 3D movies that are conversions, nothing can touch native shot 3D films. Those are the best.

I was not able to find the Nvidia 3D vision option in the menu tonight and I suspect that it is because I do not have the software/program which will enable that on the PJ. I will not be able to proceed further here because I have no need for Nvidia's solution and will not be buying into that. I really wanted to see if the DLP Link flash would be disabled under this mode and if so, there are smart people who could spoof that and probably figure out how to use a standalone IR emmiter for IR glasses. Again, I am fine with the DLP glasses 3D.

That is about it for tonight. Going to watch some HD on the 9500 now. I have to say that so far my unit is a good one. Just about 115 hours on it. I believe I am going to move into some calibration experimentation next both using the PJ and my AVR. Of course the AVR is more capable here.

Originally Posted by InCali

I called about whether or not they were really shipping the glasses today. Will post when/if I hear more.

Off to see "The Hunger Games".....11:50 showing for $6 at AMC.....

Originally Posted by rokanije

Found this on http://www.ccisolutions.com/StoreFro...nning-smoothly

Allow your projector to warm up and cool down
When starting up your projector let it warm up all the way prior to shutting it down. If you shutdown right away after turning it on, you'll most likely blow your lamp. The cool down process is also very important to the life of your lamp. Steve Long recommends, "When turning off your projector, let it go through the cool down cycle before moving or disconnecting it." Not allowing the projector to go through cool down could cause the unit to overheat and the lamp lifecycle to lessen.

Let your projector rest
If at all possible give your projector a break. Lamps have rare gasses inside and need to cool down. Giving the projector time to rest can extend the lifecycle of your lamp. So don't leave your projector running constantly or for hours on end, it will result in buying new lamps frequently.

By following the above tips, you can save money in repairs, lamp replacements, or even projector replacement. Take care of your projector, so you won't be left without a picture

Originally Posted by InCali

OK. Sure. First off, I've been in the electronics industry for about 30 years. I started off in hardware engineering and gradually moved into troubleshooting a wide array of problems and (now) computer networking . I'm not an expert in video, but have looked into some of the details and, think, I'm getting up to speed.

I also have a background in statistical analysis and, therefore, know that what I'm about to say may be wrong with regard to the Acer's reliability.

One thing I can say is the Acer has a very high quality picture. I can't compare it to the Optoma, Panasonic, or BenQ because I haven't seen them. I do have a Sanyo PLV Z2000 and the Acer is brighter, sharper, and the colors are better. I LIKE my Sanyo and could watch it without any reservations. That's the way electronics works. We generally make incremental, positive changes and devices tend to come down in price. I don't regret buying the Acer for a second, but my perspective may be different than others.

Some people may like certain technologies better than others. I found I like the DLP technology and was surprised that some others don't (My Sanyo is an LCD projector).

With any electronic device, I look at the quality of service I get as well as reliability. I further break reliability down into initial and longer term reliability. Just because an electronic device may not be reliable at the beginning of it's lifetime, doesn't mean it won't be reliable long term (once the early failures are weeded out....it also doesn't mean it WILL be reliable long term). My anecdotal (and this is where my background in statistical analysis comes in) take on the Acer is that there is a high infant mortality rate (this is a term commonly used in electronics and doesn't refer to people). I've put it through a pretty rigorous burn in (stress test) process. Specifically, I left it on for anywhere from 9 to 16 hours at a time. The thinking behind this is that there is what is known as a bathtub effect (think of a bathtub being viewed from the side as a failure rate graph....high early and late in life failure and lower failure rate during mid-life).

No one can ever be "sure" that any device won't fail. The best we can do is raise the probability that we'll have reliable service. That's why I stressed the projector. By and large, devices tend to fail early on. If I have a device that's going to die on me, I prefer to know about it sooner rather than later.

You can look over some of my earlier posts where I've gone over this. Others are probably bored with the repetition. If you want to PM me, feel free to do so. We can even talk on the phone if you think that will be helpful.

In case you are wondering, I have no affiliation whatsoever with any manufacturing firm and work for a public university.

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

Thanks... But honestly I thought you would say I did 1,2,3... (Of course one of which you said you kept it on for 9-16 hrs)..
But this became much philosophical..
Anyways. I too have a Sanyo PLV-z2000 which is running fantastic since more than 4 years. I was looking for an alternative and upgrade. I started with Infocus SP4805.
I have reached page 50 of the thread and this ACER seem promising.
There is no rush as z2000 is still strong, so this research is good..
Thank you once again...

Originally Posted by InCali

The 9-16 hours was the stress test. Do it over a period of days and you will more likely see problems appear if they are on the horizon. Another (really good) idea expressed on this thread is to not power down and up in a short period of time. At least this is what I've surmised.

1, 2, 3 are fine, but the details behind the process are often more important than the procedures themselves. Sorry I don't do "yes" or "no" very well. A friend of mine once told me that when he told someone to ask me a question, the reply he got was "I don't want to talk to him. You ask him what time it is and he tells you how the clock works". I fear this is all too true.....

Originally Posted by pixel67

I've decided to redo my painted behr silver screen projection screen and have ordered the materials for MaxxMudd v2. Should take a few weeks to receive and get in place. What is everyone else using? Anyone else using a DIY screen?

Originally Posted by Mikes2cents

Just got off the phone with level 2 support at Acer about the blurring/shadow issue with PC input single pixel text and lines.

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

I am just curious. If you look at the "compatibility mode" section the manaul, it has section B.1 that lists the resolutions when PC is connected via HDMI and the highest resolution possible there is UXGA (1600 x 1200).
I am not sure if this has any contribution to blurring (may due to some upscaling done by PJ).

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

I am not sure if anyone is using the DVI input of the Acer for 3D.
My current setup is below

PS3 ->HDMI -> Denon 1909 ->HDMI-DVI Adapter -> DVI-D 25' ->DVI-HDMI adapter - Sanyo PLv-z2000

I do not have the HDMI running from AVR to PJ and would like to use existing DVI Dual link like below

PS3 ->HDMI-DVI Adapter -> DVI-D 25' -> DVI input of 9500BD
(Denon 1909 is knocked off as it does not support 3D pass thru)


Do you think this will pose some issue?

Originally Posted by Mikes2cents

Well I am not going to step into anything here. Believe it or not but I have already heard back from Acer about some of my questions. Not all are satisfactory or fully explained but among the ones that I feel are is the shut down one which mirrors my thoughts. Here it is: the shut down cycle will run the cooling fan as long as necessary based on a thermal sensor so there is no set time for this. Put another way, there is a thermal sensor that determines the the fan run time based on temperature. I am a firm believer that cooling lamp filaments too fast is a bad thing. Let that metal cool slowly so as not to stress it. I am also a firm believer in LED lit DLP but we are still waiting for cost effective solutions for that.

Again, I have some other info that needs to be clarified but I am told that the 9500 has a 6 segment wheel that spins at 7200 rpms at 2x. Sound like a hard drive motor to anyone? It also spins at 9000rpms for 3x and that is at PAL 50hz. Not sure what that means or even if I believe the wheel is 2x during normal ops but it is a DC2 chip. Some of this makes sense since when activating 3D it sounds like a hard drive spinning up. As for the wheel, I got no solid answer except it was a 6 segment one which leads me to believe it is RGBRGB. I have a few more answers that were sent back for clarification so no need to talk about them now.

So they are answering all of my questions or forwarding the ones they cannot answer. I am happy with that as they are responsive. Let's see where it goes. Again, most of this is fluff for me but I am tired of hearing about complaints of this unit where they are simply returned instead of trying the support channel. None of this will be fixed that way and yes I told them about the 3D 720 gaming tearing issue and asked about the glasses. The glasses issue was not an issue for me though they offered a PN and vendor. I figured others beating them up had this covered.

Originally Posted by InCali

I called about whether or not they were really shipping the glasses today. Will post when/if I hear more.

Off to see "The Hunger Games".....11:50 showing for $6 at AMC.....

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

I currently have the screen made of the famous PLASTEX panel (from Lowes). I have no complaints. My theater room has no windows and is painted dark.
So far no issues with the screen. Just wondering for the 3D do I have to go the upgrade route for screen.
My screen size is 90" and throw distance is about 14 feet.
Appreciate your inputs..

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

Any inputs please. I am trying to keep the upgrade cost minimum and hence this question. (If not I will need to spend at least $200 more to get the Jamestown screen )
But I would avoid this as the current screen works perfectly for 2D. If it works for 3D as well then that would be good.

Originally Posted by Mikes2cents

I was not trying to direct my post about calling for support to anyone in particular. I was simply trying to urge folks to try and resolve issues that remain by notifying support about the unit. That was more aimed at happy owners who do not care about the desktop blur/shadow. When I started to tell level one support about the issue they were all but ready to have me send it in until I explained that all of the units exhibit this. I finally got hold of someone who understood I did not want to return the unit but wanted answers or a fix. That is what I am waiting for. The more owners who tell them about this the better off all of us will be in the event they fix it or at least rid this from the next model. I am still very happy with mine for my purposes. For what it is worth, my DLP TV does the same blur/shadow thing with PC desktop text and single pixel lines.

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

Any inputs please. I am trying to keep the upgrade cost minimum and hence this question. (If not I will need to spend at least $200 more to get the Jamestown screen )
But I would avoid this as the current screen works perfectly for 2D. If it works for 3D as well then that would be good.

Originally Posted by InCali

It's difficult to answer this question, but if you feel like there's plenty of brightness for you in 2D (are you in eco mode??), it will probably work okay for 3D. If you can move your PJ closer (I have a 120" screen at 14' and have plenty of brightness), that will help in case your picture seems too dim.

I don't know what the gain of the material you're using is, but, hey, if it doesn't work out, then buy the new screen. it won't hurt to give it a spin....All that being said......get as LARGE a screen as you can.....you won't regret it (Spoil yourself). At 14', you can go 120" (Just make sure you have enough shift). I have an old Elite screen (16:9) with a 1.0 or 1.1 gain and it looks awesome. I just wish everything was done in 16:9 instead of widescreen.....

Originally Posted by ack_bk

I would think that you would be fine for 3D. It is not an overly large screen and with the dark room your should have plenty of lumens.

How far away do you sit from the screen? The only thing that stands out to me is your screen size. I am sitting about 14' or so from a 125" screen.

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

I sit at 14' (happens to be under the PJ)

Originally Posted by aaranddeeman

Till this afternoon Tigerdirect price was $1499 (for new) and $1349 for refurb..
Now it shows $1699 and $1499 resp.

I see that they have Acer glasses. I am not sure if this is the model everyone is looking for.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...415&CatId=5481

Originally Posted by ack_bk

You might want to consider a larger screen. I would go at least 120" if possible (not knowing your room).