Sharp XV-Z20000 to support 1080/24p! - Page 2

I would go High Power with this projector, since it doesn't put out very much light in its High Contrast mode.

I haven't heard any more about it since TheLion made the original post. Hopefully, it will happen, but who knows?

I have the Da-Lite High Power 110" Cinema Contour screen. There's a whole thread over in the screen section on the High Power fabric, and you should take a look at it. The Sharp was too dim for my taste with my old Stewart Firehawk screen (about the same size). The High Power/Sharp 20k combo is wonderful! The only drawback is that you have to be able to fit yourself into the HP's rather narrow viewing cone to achieve the 2.8 gain the screen gives you. When I saw the brightness of the HP with the sample Da-Lite sent me, I decided to find a way to make the screen work in my room. You can make the Sharp work with other screens, but you'll have to open up the iris and/or go into high brightness mode, and give up some contrast, to do it.

Check out the High Power screen. If you can make it work, this is a killer combination.

A Da-Lite High Power Thread

That would be a great combination, though I wouldn't go any bigger than 110. I would also consider sticking with the Medium iris mode, unless you go for a smaller or higher gain screen, such as the Ultramatte 150.

I use the 20K with a 100" ST130 in the medium iris mode. At 400 hours I'm still getting 12FtL.

I'd also recommend a professional calibration so that you can enjoy the benefits of the CMS, which in my opinion is what really makes this PJ one of the very best currently available.

The reason I would go with the 110" screen, is because i have an electric masking screen of that size and If I go Stewart - I could just snap it on the frame. If I go with another company - it would require a little more work - but i would do it if the results were worth it. So I pose these two scenarios. If I ran in high lamp and medium or high contrast mode with the Stewart 130 - would I lose too much contrast or sacrifice my blacks. Likewise if I went high power - would I need to place the projector more central, rather than at the top edge of the screen. I really appreciate the help - I've been waiting a long time to step up my system and this projector sounds like what I've been waiting for.

Tawn

Even in the Low lamp mode, which I forgot to mention, I'm still getting good brightness after 400 hrs. using the Medium iris setting. At that setting, you are still getting about 4000:1 contrast. The only problem with the High lamp mode is fan noise.

The other disadvantage of high lamp mode is that you get only 2000 hours of lamp life instead of 3000. I was in the same boat with a Stewart screen. I now have a beautiful Stewart fixed frame in my basement with a Firehawk screen, almost the same size as the new High Power. I could have kept the Firehawk - in medium iris mode, the contrast was still really good and I could have kept the projector mounted where it was, on a very high shelf mount. With the High Power, I had to lower the pj on a telescoping arm to realize the HP's gain. A lot of people won't be able or willing to do what I did. You have to know what will work in your home theater.

All that said, I LOVE the Sharp/HP combination. I can run the pj in high contrast, low lamp and get the maximum contrast from it. Tom can tell you what he measured contrast at in high contrast mode (smallest iris setting), but Greg Rogers' review places the contrast at over 7900:1 in this mode (IIRC). No matter the screen you choose, I think you'll like the Sharp. It's a great pj.

Congrats on your purchase, TheLion!

So you bought a meter? Great!! How many lumens did you get when the lamp was brand new?

How bright was it in that mode (in lumens, please) when it was brand new and again after 160 hours?

I'm just trying to get a feel for the brightness consistency and brightness loss rate from unit to unit, as that is by far my biggest concern with that projector.

Any news with 1080p24 support? I just bought one and will like to know when Sharp will make this append.

Bruno

Great news! I was just about to post here to ask if you had any new info. Thanks for staying with this.

This begs the question (sorry to hi-jack the thread)... why? With what projector are you replacing the 20k?

You misunderstood. TheLion is not replacing his beloved 20k. He was saying that his only gripe with that projector is now gone.....the lack of displaying content at multiples of the 24 fps frame rate.

Although I think if he were being completely honest, he does have one other complaint: brightness (or lack thereof).

duh! d'oh! ... Okay, after re-reading the post your correct, my bad.

Da-Lite High Power - it's the answer to the 20k's brightness issue. If you can find a way to make that screen work in your space, get it.

Yep. Won't work for me unfortunately (ceiling mounted pj).

I know. With my old high mounting position the HP was dimmer than my Firehawk. Sometimes the HP just won't work.

I use a ceilling mount and use the high power. If you can put the projector far enough and your screen low enough you get most of the 2.8 gain. I get around 2.0 gain. Also the Sharp high contrast make it appear a lot brighter than it really is. I put a ND filter it front of mine to check what I wil get when my lamp will be 50% dimmer and it's still give me a decent picture. I have a small screen 45x80 that sure help a lot.

Bruno

Good point about the low screen, but I have to recline when I watch and my feet would get into the frame if I dropped it that far.

I currently have the Sharp 12k and I am thinking of upgrading to the 20K. It seems that the lens shift feature is different for the two projectors. I currently have my projector shelf-mounted at the top of screen (not-inverted). Can I do this with the 20K?

BTW, I use a 120" Silverstar screen, in HC, HP mode. I have recently noticed that I prefer the MContast setting as the bulb has certainly dimmed (~750hours).

Jeff

Any further word on when the firmware update will be available?

Can it be placed above the screen height?

Actually ... it can be placed above the screen height.

I replaced my shelf-mounted Sharp 9000 with the 20K, and I ordered a ceiling mounting bracket because I read that it couldn't be shelf-mounted above the top of the screen. This is wrong - the 20K *can* be mounted about the top of the screen in a shelf-mounted scenario. Mine is just a couple of inches over the top of the screen, but there is enough room to drop the screen a few more inches without a problem. Mine is inside a hushbox so I can't give you exact distances, but it's at least 4 inches (but if I actually think it's quite a bit more than that - maybe 12"). If you're outside of that "window", you can always flip it and use a ceiling mount (which is what I had planned but didn't have to use).

Does anyone have news on the 24p firmware update? I can't find it on the sharpusa site, but ... it's not readily apparent where I might find it, were it available.

- Pete

Anybody can help me with the RS232 control of the Sharp?

I found out today that my Iris is dead. It's not moving anymore. It's a bit misleading because when I pass from high contrast to high brightness the menu change it's grey intensity. Giving you the impression that something is different. But using a light meter we can easily see that nothing change regarding brightness with the different Iris settings. It also obvious now that I don't hear the Iris movement anymore. I will like to send RS232 codes to check if that would have an impact. If the RS232 code work it mean that a simple firmware update would solve my Iris problems. I know i'm too optimistic and a trip to Sharp seems most likely!

I just don't know how to send instruction from a computer to the pojector using the RS232 fonctions.

Thanks!

My Iris works now! Go figure!

Any update on 1080p24 support? It's taking for ever!

Where do we get it? I can't find it on Sharp's site.