The official Marantz VP-11S1 1080P DLP thread ! - Page 16

My only concern with the FH (I own one too-- a microperf) is the uniformity issue. The emulsion used is very high gain and if you put up the corsshatch and move to different seats, you can see different parts of the hatch get brighter and dimmer. This is alleviated somewhat in a long throw situation (mine again), but still exists. That, and being able to "see" the screen (those who do, know what I mean here; those who don't-- nevermind).

I guess Im one of the lucky ones. 8)

I didnt really notice the screen when an image was up, but as I recall the G1 firehawk that I had was noticeably "sparklie" from some angles, and up very close, when an image was not projected on it.

Its my understanding that the later generations (G2 and even more G3) are even less noticeable, although I dont believe I have seen one yet. The ones at some of the dealers I frequent are G1s, I think, which dont look bad to me at all.

I also recall that the Firehawk screen came with a minimum recommended throw ratio (dont remember what it was,) certainly for some of the reason that you describe, Dan.

Hello Dan I realize that you are in the business. I just wondered if you have had a chance to see the OPtoma HD80, and if so please tell me in what areas the Marantz would be better? I am curious as I thought the Optoma looked better than the Sim 3000 (brighter with better color saturation. It semms hard to justify a $18,000 price tag when this OPtoma is lurking around at an unthinkable price/performance. I wish I could do an a/b

Thanks Joey

I havent seen the HD80(, HD81-LV, or HD81,) but based on what I have read on its bigger brother, the HD81, I could think of a few. One HUGE one for certain would be brand/product reliability.

Optoma's recent (last several years) products havent been the best QCed, and I would wager most returned/exchanged on these forums. That could have changed with the HD80 and HD81-LV, however I believe that Jeff, or maybe it was Art, or both, had to have a 2nd unit already.

Personally, if I bought an Optoma projector (which at this point I would never do unless there were several months worth of problem free reports on the Optoma threads) it would be EXPECTING to have to deal with takedowns, returns and exchanges.

This is a little odd considering this press release sent out by Marantz in May:

MAHWAH, NJ, May 10, 2007 - Marantz America, a renowned manufacturer of advanced home entertainment solutions, today introduced an upgraded version of its groundbreaking VP-11S1 High-Definition DLP® front projector that features HDMI 1.3 inputs with Deep Color capability. With its HDMI 1.3 Deep Color capability and 12 bit color depth, the upgraded VP-11S1 is capable of displaying an astonishing 68 Billion colors! All VP-11S1 units now shipping to retailers will incorporate the upgrade, with no increase in the suggested retail price of $19,999. In addition, Marantz will be offering a service solution for units currently in the field which will allow all existing VP-11S1 owners to have their projectors upgraded to HDMI 1.3 with Deep Color (Pricing for the upgrade will be announced shortly.)

Yes, but Dan's answer was six months before the press release.

catdaddy I would venture over to the HD80 long and positive thread and ask a question of guitarman he seems to be the Dan Miller of Optoma. I have yet to hear of a problem with the unit and I have ran it at least 4 hours a day with absolulty no problems. If I would have known Optoma had many problems in the past maybe I would of also be en hesitant, but I didn't know of any . It just looked so good after viewing projectors at 5 times the price I had to jump on it. I mean this unit is under $3000.00 and has tremandous light output. a local dealer has this on a 200 inch grey screen and its looks bright enough. Good Luck on your adventure!
Joey

Hey Joey,

If they have turned it around, on QC/service issues, at $3k that looks like a light cannon for a great deal. I think if they hadnt had so many service issues on the 77/78/79 plus the 81 they definitely would have been one I would have looked at hard with their 81 or 81-LV.

And yes, I have followed Tom and the Optoma threads when I was considering the 81. Then, I ended up with an HD1 instead.

I had posted earlier that Kris Deering had said there was no dithering with 1080p DLP projectors. Dan replied that he disagreed and that a 6-segment color wheel had a lot to do with dithering.

Some research revealed there is no conflict between the two statements. All DLP 1080p DLP projs. to date, and thus, all the ones that Kris has seen, use a 7-segment color wheel (BenQ-8); hence, according to Dan, no dithering.

This, of course, highlights the difference between the 7-segment color wheel VP-11S1 and 6-segment color wheel VP-15S1.

The 11 has no dithering (and apparently more accurate colors). By going to a 6-segment wheel in the 15, you get increased brightness and contrast, but the potential for dithering (and apparenty less accurate colors.

Yes, thats exactly what I, and the Marantz guys, said that you seemed to be disagreeing with earlier. Thanks! 8)

Well, except for "no" dithering. A "little less dithering" would probably be better. Also, the dual iris along with the 6-segment color wheel add to the more contrast and brightness of the 15s1.

I hate to raise the dead but im looking to buy one of these. Does anyone know were the date of manufacture is on these units so i can tell the seller where to look? Also does anyone know the cut off date for the upgraded deep color hdmi in revision is?

PS: all revisions slow down the color wheel to 48hz for 24p input correct?

I'm not sure what you mean by the cutoff date, but the upgrades are firmware, hardware, or both.

You can tell if the hardware was done, because there will be deepcolor stuff in the menu.

The hardware mod can be done on any S1 that didn't receive it. It was always a "pay for" upgrade. It is also pretty meaningless, because there are no deepcolor sources.

Not all revisions will slow down the wheel though. And the first firmware update did it, but not correctly.

What you want is the latest firmware that was done at the same time as the deepcolor mod. It not only fixes the colorwheel properly, but applies Gennum interpolation to the repeated frame to smooth the judder even more.

the service manual is dated for (6/20/2006) and has the deep setting on page 17, but in the same breath they have hdmi listed as HDMI 1.1.

http://us.marantz.com/DFU_VP-11S1_Final_eng.pdf

I wonder if they just forgot to change the release date since the deep color fix was dated for (5/11/2007)

Im trying to find something i can tell the guy to look for to find out if it has the deep color mod.

Is it true that Marantz is getting out of HT business?...

Not anything I've heard...

Hello all,

I just picked one of these up and am looking for any tips/tricks on set up and calibration. I.e. which color temp is most accurate, what mode (standard, theater,etc) is best to use, advantages and disadvantages of economy vs. standard lamp mode, iris at 3 or 6, etc.

Room is darkened. Screen is studiotek 130, 1.78:1 and 97" diagonal, no perf. Walls are medium color palette with dark drapes in back and on back sides.

Any more info I'll happily supply to help.

Thanks!
Brian

PS When I received the projector the lamp was showing a problem and I found that the screw that secures it to the projector is missing (not the panel screw), but the one on the bottom corner. What size, threading is it so I can get a replacement.

But out of the DLP projector market as their have been no new releases?