Toshiba TDPMT700 - Page 8

This is just when using component, right?

Yes and with 480i you can have it set to "USA".

I'm just wondering what would be a good choice for a screen with this projector.

I posted a message about this in the Screens Section. Please, let me know what you think.

So if component needs to be used, the way to go is 480i (less dithering in blacks and no black crush)?

I prefer a matte white, but a DaLite HCCV would be a good choice as well. Pretty much the same as the InFocus 4805.

Yes, for DVDs. Same as with the 4805. The Faroudja deinterlacing is as good or better than any.

MickB - I think MikeSRC has used the Bravo D2 at 720p with no problems. For what it's worth I have no color problems with my "upconverting player", an 1:1 HTPC w/ Nvidia filters, ffdshow, and a Nvidia 6800. The result is identical with my calibrated MT700 to my eyes with what I get with my 4805.

GCG - Screen choice really depends on your penchant for black levels or need for gain. One approach is to get the pj and a Do-able white board. Then get tons of samples from manufacterers and see what you like. I've gone this route and am going with a Da-lite HCMW 1.1 gray screen. Blacks are much improved and whites/colors still look good to me. Of course I'm only using a 70" side screen. YMMV on a larger screen. I'd guess with much more than 80" wide a gray screen might not be the way to go, unless you run on high lamp.

Yes if you've only got a 480i source, then you can just set it to USA. The problem comes in if you have both 480i and 720p, etc. It appears that the pj has only one setting for USA/Japan, which is used for all input formats. To get around this you need a a dvd player with configurable black setup so that you can set the pj to Japan. A lot of DVD players have this. Look for something related to black level. On my RP-56 I think it is called something like "Darker Blacks" (been a long time since I even powered it on).

Gimp:

Have you tried the BNC input? I seem to recall from the BenQ 8700 that the RCA component input had a black level problem with anything other than 480i, but that the BNC component input works properly with higher resolutions. (My memory might be wrong though.)

You can find RCA/BNC converter plugs at Radio Shack.

Pip

Pip - I plan to try the BNC component for kicks at some point. If I remember correctly the 8700's RCA component input only worked at 480i. >=480p would sync only on the BNC component input.

I think I'm going to follow your advice. It makes tons of sense. Did you have a hard time getting samples from the manufacturers? What was the average size of the samples you received?

You just answered a question I posted on the Screens Section about Da-Lite's HCMW and HCCV. So HCMW is a grey screen even though its name says "matte white", right? Is the HCCV grey also? How did they compared between them and what made you go for the HCMW?

I'm planning to go 96" wide. In your opinion, will a HCMW or HCCV be appropriate for that size using the MT700?

Thanks for your help.

I have a sample of the HCCV as well as HCMW that I compared to my Goo grey screen with my MT700.

For my tastes, even the 700 needs help in the black levels - but I really am a black level freak.

The HCCV has a black level close to my Goo SYstems grey, but not quite as nice- I'd say we are talking about about 1/2 stop or less. The color on the HCCV is better and truer than the Goo. However, in bright areas I do see sparklies with the HCCV, which I find distracting. - I'm using the bulb on high power, and am projecting an 80" diagonal, watching from 10 feet in a decently light control environment.

I also had samples up of HCDM, Glass Beaded, Video Spectra

Any white screen for me simply has too high a black level, but that is my bias.

The more I look at screen materials I'm realizing there is simply no free lunch. Every material has plusses and tradeoffs.

Yes HCMW is a gray screen. It and HCCV look just about identical to me. The reason I'm going with HCMW is because the Model B Square screens are dirt cheap. I highly recommend Avsforum .com they sell them for the best price on the web and you're supporting the forum to boot. I believe they have square screens up into to 90+" range. You can rip the fabric off and mount it to a board if you end up having waves.

Because of the reviews and price range on HCMW, I just got Da-Lite samples. I just emailed info@da-lite.com and asked for 2'x2' samples. No problems whatsoever. I'm sure you can email other manufacturers as well. Matte White looked identical to my Do-Able board so it was out.

I honestly don't know whether a 96" wide gray is too much for the MT700. My gut feel is you'd be pushing it. You have to estimate how it will look with the lamp at half brightness later in life. The easiest way to do this is get a pj and Do-Able board together and slap on an Hoya ND2 HMC filter, which slices light output in half. You can also try to an estimate of the light output using projectorcentral's calculator (though you have to guess at what the MT700's true 6500k calibrated lumens are - I'd guess 500-600 on low lamp) and see if you are still bright enough with the lamp halfway down on that wide of a screen.

emailists - have you seen any noisy horizontal pans on your unit? I'm trying to figure out whether what I see is standard MT700 behavior.

Thanks in advance.

Hmm, not sure I see any issues with Pans besides typical 24 frame strobe. The Cinematographers handbook even has recommended panning speeds, to avoid strobbing. I'm very sensitive to artifacts and havent seen any (besides the greenworms) that have troubled me at all.

emailists - glad to hear it. Hopefully what I've seen is limited to a few scenes or can be calibrated away once someone finds a service manual.

GCG - another point to remember is that black level will go down as screen size increases. Fewer photons per square inch. The Do-Able board will let you go 96" wide, at least for 2.35:1 films, so you should be able to get an idea if you need lower blacks. As I think emailists mentioned you can also get multiple screens - high power/matte white for daylight and gray for nighttime. The Da-lite screens are cheap enough that you can consider it.

BTW, another contender should be the Sony Black Screen depending on your budget. $2K MSRP, but hopefully lower street prices once dealers start selling it. This screen rejects light that doesn't come from the pj and may not require masking (at least for 16:9 since it appears black, it may still need 2.35:1 masking).

Hmm, when is this Sony screen suppoed to be coming out?

Black screen on or about 3/31/05 .

Click pre-order to see the 3/31 date. I might be in the market since it's 70" wide. I could see replacing my HD CRT RPTV with a 4805 or 4810 if they had a 50" wide version. Of course that's assuming user reviews tout this as being the miracle screen Sony says it will be.

That screen was impressive at both CEDIA and CES, but I like to see it with my own setup. It could be just the thing for my family room, which is impossible to light control.

BTW, I got the MT500 service menu procedure and it doesn't work with the MT700.

Thanks for the link. But....


'eh? No 110" black screen?

MikeSRC
I have a 4805 and moving to a dedicated HT 12x20x9h room. 100% light control. Have 92in diagonal 0.8 Grey screen. Using component w/Sony 575 DVD.
First row about 11-13 ft. Could go larger screen. Use is 80% DVD.

Is the MT700 a step up. Will it work with a DVD player you sell over HDMI or ?

How is contrast vs 4805 and 7205?

Yeah as of now it's definitely not for most projector nuts with decent sized rooms. I'd have trouble spending $2K just on a 70" wide screen.

But it's good to bring up in screen discussions. *If* it's as good as folks say (praise, I think, has been universal), it's good to know Sony has brought it to market. It might save someone dropping 1.5-2K on a Stewart/Silverstar and making do with a Da-Lite until the wider, though perhaps seamed, Black Screens are released.

Since I run a 70" wide screen right now (in these small manhattan apartments I sit only 10' away) some people comments it almost too big-

I'd be a perfect candidate for the SOny Blackscreen. We'll see what the street prices are- but it may be too pricy for me however.

would it make more sense to start a MT700 thread in 'screens' forum for this screen talk?

or a new MT700 official thread? seems like this pj is a winner and should have a dedicated forum.

corba,

There is a MT700 thread in the screens forum already.

What would the difference be between this thread and an "official" thread?

less screen talk, more MT700 talk

I don't get what's so hard about hitting page down if you're not interested in hearing what screen goes with the MT700. Every other dedicated projector thread has screen discussions. I'm an owner of the MT700 and want to hear what others have seen with their MT700/screen pairing, and I also want to help others by saying what I've seen. It seems absolutely cogent to talk about it since it has so much to do with what you get out of the MT700. Other threads go off on wild tangents unrelated to HT at all. At least we're talking about projection.

There are apparently three people who have the MT700. We're not going to have shocking new revelations every day.

Now I'm wasting my time justifying why I should be able to post about something relevant to the MT700. Honestly this is why I never posted much here before. There's always someone you'll piss off if you don't post exactly what they want to hear.

Is it so bad to scroll through a little banter on the MT700 w/ screens to also get reviews against other pjs, a solution for horrible looking 480p/720p/1080i component for *free*, etc.? I can guarantee you Toshiba couldn't help you after my sojourn to try to get service menu access from them.

sorry if i appeared anal retendo, but my MT700 gets delivered today, and every time a post hits this forum i get an email, whilch causes me to come visit, only to see an off topic post, esp. when there IS a screen/MT700 thread....

no big deal, i was really glad to hear about the black crush fix yesterday!!!
(which did force me to buy a 25ft HDMI cable btw!) and keep hoping to see more great news about this PJ, but only see screen chat....

so it's not just hitting pagedown

Gimp

Keep contributing ALL info you have for us that are on the fence re buying an MT700.

I do glaze over with some of the computer talk but the screen info is valuable.

Corba - Welcome to the MT700 club. I'm sure you'll be able to bring us back to talk on the pj itself. I look forward to hearing what you see, especially on horizontal pans. I've got to watch some more movies in a normal fashion, no A/Bing against the 4805, to see if I even notice the pan dither noise.