Who Is Now Using The JVC RS-1/HD-1 For CIH? - Page 3

It depends on your projector placement. I am using about 40% vertical lens shift. and 3 % h shift. When I zoom, I have to re-center on my screen. The shift controls are a little loose but it still takes less than a 30 seconds to do.
If you use zero V and H lens shift you probably wouldnt have to much if any correction.

Hope this helps.

Tony

For a home theater with about a 15' wide screen wall, 23' length, and 9' ceilings I was thinking of a 128" diagonal (~118 x 50") Carada with BW material and a Prismasonic 1500 lens.

Do you think the RS-1 would be able to power this sized screen with relative ease given the bulb dimming factor (and calibrated lumens)?

I don't think I'd want to have the screen much larger than this if I want some breathing room from the side walls on either side for audiophile tower speakers... unless you think I can go somewhat bigger (the next size up in the Carada line is 136" diagonal) and still meet my needs and keep the RS-1 bright enough over time. I will probably have the front row at about 11.5' to 12' back with about 15.5' to 16' for the second row given recliners.

Well I am currently using my RS1 on a 122"x52" DIY Blackout Cloth screen, with the zoom method until I get my Prismasonic, and it is plenty bright. I really don't think you would have any difficulty at all with what you want to do with the 128" screen.

Well, I am using a 136" BW( 2.35x1 zoom method for now). With 120hrs, brightness is still ok (in low lamp) in a dark room. I figure I will have to go to high lamp after I have another couple of hundred hours. I will let you know.
For what its worth I am still very happy I went this size. I am sure I would have wished that I had gone bigger if didn't. I Ebayed my old screen, The guy who bought it, was worried it would be too big for his room. I assured him that nobody I know was ever remorseful of going larger, if they could fit it in their theater.
Well, he bought it, and Emailed me back to thank me for the tip. he was very happy with the size.(after repositioning his speakers).

Tony

Nice. Whats your pq like with SD DVD material?

With a good DVD the pq is still very nice. Of course I mostly watch either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray now, but when I do watch the occasional SD DVD it is still a very satisfying experience.

could someone quickly explain how to do the "zoom method" with this FP?...

so you don't need a scaler or lense for this?

thanks!

The zoom method just means that you use the projector's zoom and lens shift functions to "zoom in" on 2.35 material and shift the image until it fills a 2.35 ratio screen. No scaler or lens is needed. The black bars that are normally on the top and bottom of the image will be projected off-screen. This actually yields excellent results with the RS1 but it is an inconvienient method of achieving CIH, especially if your projector is ceiling mounted like mine.

what's involved with a ceiling mounted option?...

sure seems like it would be nice to save the $3500 cost for a scaler and lense if i could...

or at least see how it looks before i pony up for them?...

Well with the ceiling mounted option, you just have to be sure that your projector is low enough that you can easily reach it without having to climb a ladder or chair to reach it. Mine is just barely within in reach, but then again I'm only 5'-8" so a taller person wouldn't have as much trouble. The other downside is that the lens shift controls on the RS1 are very loose and I don't know how well they would hold up against constant readjustment. I definately don't think being dissastisfied with the look given by the zoom method would be a problem for anyone, it is just the inconvience that makes it undesireable for me. Hopefully the Prismasonic lenses will come back in stock pretty soon and I'll be able to stop doing it this way.

What is up with the lens shift controls with the RS1? Definitely feels cheap and flimsy. 8(

Yep, for a projector that puts out such a high quality image, its a shame that they didn't put a little more engineering dollars into developing a more solid lens shift function. Of course they probably figured that most people wouldn't need to use it very often anyway, which is true. We CIH users are a very small breed.

Just readjust the zoom, the focus (probably), and the offset each time you watch an anamorphic movie. I have done this with my Sammy DLP and it works fine. HOWEVER, the Sammy has one of the most smooth and solid adjustments of any PJ out there. From what I have heard, this is the one big nasty for the RS1 (which I have on order). Apparently these controls are really chintzy.

For that reason, I have elected not to use zoom method, not only is it a pain, but a mechanism that cheap will likely break sooner or later if operated all the time. I have ordered the manual version of the new Prismasonic lens and play the movies and scale with the new HP HTPC and combo HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive.

BTW, so far both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD play very smoothly on this PC (although right now the output is set to 720, as that is what the Sammy is)

Galaxy Theater

They most certainly are. That is what is going to end up pushing me over the edge on getting a lens and scaler. I actually don't mind doing it. Weekends its on 2.35 (movies) and weekdays it usually stays on 16:9 (Xbox, TV). So I really only move it a couple of times a week - but those controls are bound to fail. A real shame on a PJ of this quality (and price).

I guess it's all about what you're used to. The controls do have a little bit of play, but I've had zero problems adjusting the lens shift for different aspect ratios. It's way easier than my previous projectors. My Z3 would stick every time and make it a total guessing game and the Panny 900's single "joystick" was a pain to deal with. Of course it helps that I'm shelf mounted and I'm only needing to adjust vertical lens shift.

does a VC lens also lower ANSI or is it only the HE lens

Both have some effect on the ANSI but I couldn't say if one type was more prone to it than the other. You may find a cheaper uncoated lens will have more effect regardless of type than a more expensive one purely down to the optical properties of the glass or plastic used.

Gary

Will an FE-1500R work well with this projector?

I'll be projecting onto a 127"x54" BOC screen, will this be able to yield good results. The room is light controlled, but I'd like to open up the back sconces sometimes.

I'd like to hear the response to this as I am thinking of buying the same product for my 132x56 screen.

You're not going to get big light gains with the lens... wasn't the case that you lose as much light from scattering/reflection through the glass as you pick up from using more panel?

But if it equals out then it probably isn't too bad - and should be better than the light loss from ghetto zooming, no?

yourlilbro,

I just spent the last few days playing with a HD1 + H-FE1400R projected onto a 130" 2.35 screen and the results where most impressive (the JVC was feed a 1080p signal from a Vantage HD for 1080 Vertical Stretch)

So long as you have a decent throw ratio (and something to apply 1080 VS) you'll be in business with mating the JVC with the top-line prismasonic

Matt.G

Wow thanks.

I'll be using the Anthem D2

Well I just got my Prismasonic HE1500R lens installed tonight. I had gotten the key digital HDMI switcher/scaler device a few weeks ago and was temporarily doing the zoom method for my CIH setup. I am extremely happy with the results that I'm getting using the Prismasonic lens and Key Digital unit. I can't detect any negative impacts on my picture quality when using the lens. The Key digital unit performs the required vertical stretch perfectly and the lens is correcting the image perfectly with no picture distortion at all. My throw distance is about 1.8. Setting up the lens to show a correct image was super easy, although it took me a few trips to Home Depot to get all of the right parts for my DIY lens support setup. I am thrilled that I don't have to do the manual zoom and shift excercise anymore. Being able to go back and forth between 1.85 and 2.35 mode by pressing a button is a million times better.

Acegamer, can you describe your DIY support unit?

I've ordered the same lens and am looking forward to using it, but am wondering about how I'll support it (projector is on a shelf, right at the front of it).

Also, when you ordered, how long did it take to get an order confirmation from Prismasonic? I ordered yesterday morning and have not heard anything back from them yet.

How long ago did you order?

Thx.

Ian, My projector is ceiling mounted so what I did was buy some 1/2" plumbing pipe with two matching floor flanges from Lowes. I put together a wood support system made from scrap 1x4 material that I had left over at my house. I attached one of the flanges to the wood support and attached the other flange to my ceiling. I then connected everything with the pipe. It wasn't very complicated. I have attached a picture to show you what I mean. (This is my first time trying to attach a picture so it may not work)

I ordered the lens through the AVS power buy, so I didn't deal directly with Prismasonic. I do know that the lenses were out of stock until late last week though, but I guess thay have them back in know since mine finally came. I had placed an order with AVS about 3 weeks ago.

You are going to love this lens. The picture quality is excellent and the remote control functions are very smooth.

Can you comment on the sharpness differences if any, zooming vs lense/stretch?
I know the HE1500 is suppose to improve on the earlier models in this respect but it would be nice to hear it from a RS1 owner. Also, what were the most obvious improvements, other than the ease of use, that you noticed.
Thanks, Rick

that's the thing that impressed me most. There is no sharpness difference that I can see. The image looks just as good going throught the lens as it did doing the zoom method. The only difference is that the image is a little brighter with the lens than it was by zooming. Not a lot brighter, just a little. I see no abnormal picture effects using the lens at all. To be perfectly honest the only obvious improvement for me is the ease of use. The image looked great doing the zoom method and it looks great with the lens. If zooming hadn't been such a big hassle then I would have been perfectly content doing it that way, but with my ceiling mounted setup, zooming was just a PITA, especially since the RS1's zoom and shift controls feel so cheaply made.

The key digital unit was $499 when I bought it. I just went to their website and it is now at $599.

key digital unit

It does have the limitation of not being able to accept a 1080p signal. However, this "limitation" is really irrelevant to me because I can't tell the difference between a 1080i signal and a 1080p one anyway and I bet that noone else can either when looking at a movie. I really believe that the whole 1080p thing is more of marketing buzzword than a real world improvement. Before I got the key digital unit I was feeding my RS1 a 1080p feed from my PS3 and a 1080i feed from my HD-DVD player. I could see no difference between the two at all. I now feed the Key digital unit a 1080i signal from my PS3 and there is no difference in how it looks.

The only other "possible" drawback to the Key Digital unit is that it does not have as robust a feature list as the other more expensive video processors. I say "possible" because I personally have no need for any video processing, other than the vertical stretch, so I haven't bothered to see what kind of processing it can do. If you are looking for a full featured video processor though, then the Key digital unit may not fit the bill. If however, all you need is something to do a vertical stretch then it is the perfect solution IMO.