Z5 Tweak Thread - Page 7

I see it on my DVD player too, for example in fire, smoke and pans. Nobody else see VB or FPN? Maybe I´m very sensitive to it, it´s annoying .

i have an elite cinetension, and a z5. the elite screen that i got is actually skewed higher on the left side than on the right (manufacturing defect), perhaps you have the same problem?

Stickyman,


Read this above. He is right I adjusted it more to the left and made it perpendicular to the screen. It fixed the sqewed problem I was having.
I'm sure its the same issue you are seeing just in the opposite direction.

stickyman,

I guess I should add that this was the image not the screen that I was having the issue with. IF you screen is angled and you have it mounted level and true then yes maybe they didn't build it correctly.

msherer

Are you sure that the center of the lens is lined up with the center of the screen (or use horizontal lens shift to make it line up)? Also, if the horizontal lens shift has been moved, then you can get the same problem. If you can't get it "square" with horizontal lens shift (read your manual), then you have a defective Z5.

I have used mine a few times now and mine seems to work perfectly fine...

I spent a little time using my AVIA dvd to config the projector. Now after watching a couple of shows and a movie or 2 I notice more screen door and or vertical lines. ONly more so when bright colors or certain transitions. ITs not all the time but more so the when I first used it. Any ideas on why? DO I have a setting to hight that causes this. I think the colors, contrast, brightness ect.. Look real good. I'm setting around 13' away and the projector is roughly the same distance throwing on a 106" elite cinitension gray screen.
OR is this just me be new to the projector world and I just have to get used to it.

I sent it 1080p from the Pioneer Blu ray unit and the picture was stunning...

Yes!
My Z5 has an an high frequency sound that comes from the lamp side. I've send it to repair service, they changed me the lamp and the ballast circuit (it shold be the circuit that drive the lamp). Now it's back,it has only 2 hours but the problem still remain.
I wrote from Italy, I've posted the problem in a local forum and the result is: it seems that few Z5 has this noise and it disappear after warm up; but there are also some rare Z5 (like mine ) that has this problem that not disappear after warm up.

I must be lucky becuae mine has worked out perfectly... Not overly noisy, not lens issues, just a really nice picture. For the money this has to be one of the best pjs in its class out there!

Well, I'm super happy with my Z5 as well. I have no real issues either. There are just some minor things to ask about. Mostly it may be that I am new to the world of projectors. Also I may be to critical or picky as well.

Whats the avg est. cost to have a certified professional calibrate a projector?

Anyone

IIRC, I think I read it's around 300 $ to 400 $ US... Pretty hefty price, but then again, your proj is gonna be calibrated to its best possible image.

Yea def $$, maybe someday. Will check locally to see who does it maybe I can get a deal.

Thanks

? Terminated & moved to proper section.

FYI the HDA2 is now selling for $299 from reputable dealers. Google.

According to PJCs review (just posted: http://www.projectorcentral.com/hd_disc_players.htm) the A2 does a very good job of up-converting SD DVDs. The XA2, at least, uses the Silicon Optix REON processor chip, which is, reportedly, better than the Faroudja chip.

That , of course, doesn't tell us which is better, the A2 or the Oppo 981.

This is OT for a Z5 tweak thread .

Guys,
Can anyone tell me if the Z5 does the required vertical stretch for 2.35 material necessary to use with the Panamorph U85 lens? If so, what about the horizontal stretch that allows users to keep the lens in place for normal viewing. Its not something I expect at this price but it would be extremely nice if it did.

Thanks.

That's too bad, but I think there's a chance it could improve as you put more hours on it. My first bulb had a slight sound that got better over time. When I switched bulbs it seemed quiet at first but then started to whine and got worse over 18 hours! I switched back to the first bulb and it's now completely quiet (with about 100 hours on it). Maybe my other bulb would improve too if I kept using it.

I had mine whine a little once very early on. I lightly tapped the back of the case with my index finger and the whine went away. I haven't heard it since.

Dan

I hope it
Some users told me that noise get lower after some hours of use. My first lamp, after 80 hours does not sound better,maybe this one can (I really hope it)

So I've been slowly reading through the Z4 tweaks thread... A lot there, but the consensus seems to be that the "Living" mode was one of two good starting modes... anybody here have any thoughts on that?

I haven't received my proj. yet, but I've been reading a bit. Can anybody clarify the R, G, and B settings? There's the basic settings, and then the advanced menu settings (gain, offset, gamma, and something else). When is it appropriate to adjust each? I will be using Avia to adjust... I read something that suggested that the RGB settings are for setting the proper proper greyscale/white balance. What is the recommended methodology for correcting the colour decoder problems (orangish reds) with the Z5?

The incorrect reds were my only reservation with ordering this machine. I've been doing some reading to try to figure out what people are doing about it, but I haven't read anything that appeared to be a clear answer.

Thanks,
Martin.

EDIT: Scratch this post: all is revealed here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post8783409

anyone using an oppo 981 with the z5? I'm getting my z5 in a week or so and was wondering if there's an optimal combination of settings to use...

I am on my second lamp hour, and have finished tweaking the Z5 until the bulb has some hours.

The room is 95% light controlled, and the screen is tensioned blackout cloth. 92" diagonal screen with 13.3' throw distance and an 11' viewing distance. The screen is mounted on the inside of a dormer (covering a window), and the adjacent walls and ceiling is painted flat black. The only colour in the room to influence the room is a gawd-awful, er, I don't want to say "pink", er, it's not brilliant or anything! carpet.

Here's what I did: started with the "Natural" mode. Turned on one of the auto iris modes, set the other iris to -45 Did black and white levels (brightness and contrast) with Avia. I then checked all three color patterns in Avia using the filters, and I'll be damned if it wasn't almost perfect as is. Honestly, it only took a notch or two of color and tint on the basic menu to get the bars as perfect as I've ever seen. I then re-did white and black level, and re-did the colour bars.

Finally, I looked at the secondaries on one of the colour charts, focusing on yellow, since I have a fair idea of what yellow should look like, and tried the 5 color temperature presets to find the one with the most "natural" looking yellow. I hesitate to say what it was for me, because it won't necessarily be the same for you, but for posterity, it was the warmest setting (low 2 or whatever it's called).

And for what it's worth, I killed that sharpness feature and lowered the sharpness to -7. The picture is plenty sharp, but doesn't suffer from that artificial ringing, which I just don't like.

Tried out Fifth Element Superbit, and everything looked great. I've been fuddling with the one manual iris setting, but I think the bulb is currently still to bright for it to be working right.

I suspect I'm somehow trading off contrast ratio and the absolute black of the picture, but honestly, the correct colours is well worth it.

Perhaps I'll try something based on Living or one of the Cinema modes later to see what can be done, but for now, what appears to be a true and accurate picture will suffice.

Martin.

I would concentrate on making certain there are no problems with panel alignment, deal pixels etc. Give the lamp around 100 hours before really getting into calibration.

Yar, so far, so good. First thing I checked was for dead white pixels. Thankfully, none to be seen. Not sure about panel alignment - nothing obvious anyway. Is there a a preferred AVIA pattern for checking?

Martin.

Anyhow, I would like to throw this question out there: what, if anything, am I giving up by starting with "natural" mode? Anything in particular with regard to the auto iris, for example? Anything else which is implicit in the starting mode and not directly controlled by the menu?

Thanks,
Martin.

Since these presets affect Color Temp values you might simply want to choose each one, in turn, and see what variables have changed. I've seen that the major changes are in the R/G/B values individually and overall Color, along with the Lens Iris and Lamp Iris. I've not ventured into the service menu, so I don't know how these are impacted. Assuming you have some tools to do more advanced calibration (Spyder or Eye-One probe) and good source material, you can pretty much start anywhere and work your way towards a solid result. The issues I have with all of the controls is the very lack of information on what they affect and how they all interact with another.

If anyone has info on the Color Lists and relationship between Color Temp and Gamma control I know I'd appreciate it.

@artinhawaii & Coderguy
I am very curious to know what the outcome of the whole sharpness issue through vga is, since the results on using pc sources are a bit confusing now. I plan to buy a Z5 and to use it with pc inputs only but got a bit concerned after reading about the VGA sharpness thing. Coderguy, did you use a shielded cable by any chance? was it a very long VGA cable?
Darn it, after some extensive research I had finally settled mind on the Z5 over the Epson 810 / TW700 (The low noise seems very appealing to me but now I'm once again not so sure anymore. I'll be grateful for anyone else willing to share his experiences with me on the Z5 and vga.

Do you turn off the main switch on the back each time or only the off button on top?

Wow, great thread. Thanks to all for the good tips...