Viewsonic Pro8100 1080p Projector - Page 15

I also wondered what those black block looking things were. But man oh man, those other pictures look so awesome... As soon as I get the money, and hoping somewhere will have at least 1 left (pretty sure that shouldn't be a problem) I am 99.9 percent sure I am getting this thing!

darth_majere -- You don't have to worry. The Pro 8100 has lots of vertical and horizontal lens shift, so you have lots of "wiggle" room. As a guide-line, you should mount your screen so that the lower 1/3 is below your seated eye-line (to the screen).

In my case, we sit semi-reclined so our screen bottom is actually at the same height (from the floor) as our eyes. This puts our eyes aimed at about 1/3 of the way up the screen. Our measurements are: eye-height = about 37", our 106" screen is 52" high, so that puts the top at 13" from our 8.5' ceiling. Remember all screen sizes are of the viewable area. Most screens have a 1.5" to 3" black border all around them (to block any stray light). The lens of the PJ is around 2" from the bottom of the PJ (the bottom is closest to the ceiling for a ceiling mount).

Then you can mount the Pro 8100 on a ceiling mount. Depending on how high your ceilings are, you may want to have a mount which puts the PJ about 6" to 8" from the ceiling (assuming an 8' ceiling height.

Remember the PJ gets mounted upside down (you flip the image in the PJ menu). You should try to mount the PJ so that the center of the lens lines up roughly with the center of the screen (left to right). The PJ has to be level (assuming the screen is perfectly vertical). You then use the lens shift to center the image on the screen.

As I mentioned earlier, you can find out that information around page 10 of the user manual: http://www.viewsonic.com/assets/005/5446.pdf. As for the distance of the Pro 8100 to the screen, see http://www.projectorcentral.com/View...ulator-pro.htm for the details. That is a completely interactive calculator, and each box can be adjusted for your setup. You enter the screen size and it will tell you the range of distances from the screen to the front of the lens (= projection distance). For instance, the PJ can be mounted anywere from 10' 10" to 17' 7" from a 106" screen (plus about 1/2 the depth of the PJ).

cpage -- You don't have to apologize, those are very good pictures (with the lights off), even without a "real" screen. Those "squares" look like your room light is reflecting off of something in your room that is lit by the light(s). Screen shots are best with no room light (as you found out).

I think those are screen samples. I've tried a lot of materials too...

I forgot about that possibility.

Lol.. I forgot to mention that those are some screen material samples from Stewart and Carada that I was evaluating.

This is my first projector and the pic that it throws is awesome. Do I wish I had deep, inky blacks like the Epson or JVC? Yeah, but they are pretty good, and at least as good as my 42" Philips LCD. The only thing that really detracts from my pic is the light reflections in my room. Need to find a screen (maybe a used Black Diamond?) that can help to minimize this effect.

All in all, I don't see how anyone could be unhappy with this projector at this price. I'll try to post some more pics tonight.

i was thinkin that too. but i am drinkin beers, so i had to ask.

so, which do you like? i'm thinkin the far right. of course screen shoots never tell the whole story.

Fabricator -- I agree with your assessment. The far right hand one looks like it has better black levels. Although the second from the left looks like it is providing a very balanced gray scale (but that's with a TV program and an uncalibrated PJ, I assume).

cpage -- Screen reflection is what gives you the image. What you need to do is to minimize the reflectivity off your walls and ceiling. Usually that means repainting with low-reflectance matte colors (gloss paint, of any color, is an absolute no-no).

A gray screen will give you the best blacks and will provide an apparent improvement in the contrast ratio. To get the best, you really need to calibrate your Pro 8100 (as I've mentioned in some of my earlier posts). The default settings are (almost) never correct for the best quality picture, and can always be improved.

Hey guys, if I get this projector.. will the Wilson Art Designer White be a good screen material?

agreed (acting like i know what i am talking about )

i would like to see those samples with that CARS movie, and dark room. but from what i see, the CARS imageS looks darned good on his wall. remember, as was said, taking pics of screens shots can be very difficult, and often does not tell the whle story.

cpage what size images are those ? got any good/detailed non animation BD's ? i feel that animation makes a display look better than it is (again, sounding like i know what i am talking about. ymmv)

idk, but the diy guys say its great. i think i am going with the grey Wilson. i don't want a huge white blob on my wall. a huge grey blob would be better, ymmv. i may try a curved screen. though idk if its worth the trouble for a 8' wide screen.

i am also thinkin, that a new piece of drywall would be a good "test" screen = for new guys like me, that don't have a good idea of what a pj image looks like.
and for around $7, well.

i was just googlin. and there are no vids of this thing in action.

someone gotta "man up"

After dialing it in a bit more and some us open tennis and football last night, I am very pleased with this projector. I've been using a sony hs51 for sports for a few years a really didn't need a new pj but with the features and inorganic panels I couldn't pass the deal up.

I use a dwin crt for movies and such but the pro8100 will be getting some use in this area also.

"I am experiencing an awful lot of 'noise' in my projected image. It is primarily noticeable in darker movie scenes. I have changed my DVD player and my cabling. What else could it be?"
A:

"Projectors sometimes pick up and magnify (due to large screen sizes) 'noise' in an image resulting from interference or grounding problems. Try disconnecting all inputs to the projector and connect just the projector to a different wall plug or circuit in your home/office. If you see 'noise' in just the startup screen on your projector, there could be a problem internally with the projector. If you do not, there is a problem somewhere in your theater setup.

Try reconnecting one piece at a time while the projector is on. There should be a point where you notice the 'image noise' returning. The last connected component will be the source. Spacing the cables being run to the projector, upgrading the power cord to a higher quality 'home theater grade' cable, installing Electromagnetic / Radio Frequency Suppressor sheets and installing PowerWraps on your power cords are all options to correct the problem."

The advice above is from The Projector People website, very interesting. I was experiencing this "noise" with my Viewsonic, after re-routing my cables it has diminished substantially. I'm going to add a new power cord to replace the cheap Radio Shack extended cord I'm presently using, and I'm confident that with a little more cable cleanup the remaining noise will be gone. All in all I still think this PJ is a screaming deal, but it definitely takes more work to look it's best than my Epson did. Then again, the Viewsonic "best" is much better than the Epson!

The right looks like a good material to tame blacks. Of course, I love the High Power screen, and it makes blacks worse!

That's a nice setup but the receiver is only 5.1. Which receiver do you, yourself use? I want to get one that isn't gonna have issues like one of the other posters with the Pioneer that had issues with possibly HDCP handshake.

ZachHD iam useing pioneer elite vsx-01 i bought it from fotoconnection and its very powerfull recevier, pioneer always give you all option in one recevier unlike sony, the one they have right now at fotoconnection is vsx-03 which differ only from out side it got aluminum piano black and the vsx-01 plastic piano black, but the price is 499$ and was 750$.

http://www.fotoconnection.com/p94115...-receiver.html

so its very good deal but you need much power front speakers with that recevier

http://www.abt.com/product/40961/Sony-SSF7000.html

also i think due to the economic crises all electronics companies cut the cost of their products like the new replacement models which released cheaper and less weight than previous models like sony recevier starting price at 149$! and their current cammcorders that have sony shot lens instead of carlziess that were in their previous models, so its very good deal to get 2008 models which have better quailty at lower prices.

That is nice... I don't need that much power though... I live with other people and my current space is a small bedroom 10 x 12. I guess I will just wait till I get nearer the time of purchase and then look for something.

ZachHD i think your first choice is best for you, and the other bluyray combination are great if you want to purchase bluyray with buit in power.

good luck

ZachHD, you should start a new thread in the speakers forum, they will give you awesome suggestion regarding speakers and also which AVR to go with within your budget. Give it a shot.

We need more screenshots, a guy said that he would take some with a SLR camera, where are you?

Thanks to the guys that have this pj and posted the screens, looks very enjoyable. I have decided this will not be the pj for me, the image seems very film like and not as bright and poppy as I would prefer. I'll still hold out for CEDIA this week even if it kills me.

Thanks again, people like you make this place great. I cant wait till I get to help after I get my pj.

slarity thats right if you compare it to +7,000$ prrojectors thats equal about 6 pro8100,
i may but one in each room even in the bath room! imagin the entertainment.

I also have the lines in my picture as described on page 4 of this thread and it very clearly NOT source or cable related. They are visible for about 15-20 minutes after the PJ has been turned on and then they fade to the point where they cannot be seen. Has anyone else had this issue and remedied it apart from getting the unit RMA'd? Also I didnt notice this until the firmware upgrade though I didnt watch it very long prior to doing the upgrade. Any thoughts on this from anyone?

I haven't noticed but haven't been looking for them either. What were you watching?

I just ordered !!!! Tigerdirect though bing.com has it 1137 shipped after 15% cashback. Luckily Viewsonic packs the box well because I've seen the posted pictures shipped from tiger direct. The price was too good to pass up though. Hopefully I will have mine here before the kickoff of the NFL this weekend. Thanks to everyone on this thread who contributed with there knowledge, opinions and pictures.

That's a really good price. This is an incredible pj for the money, I still get that wow feeling from putting in a well mastered Blu ray. Do yourself a favour and put in the movie "Shooter" at 1080/24p, you're jaw will literally drop.

I got mine from Tiger Direct, nothing much wrong with the box...a little scuffed, no dents though. It had to come from the US to Canada too. The projector was untouched as was everything else inside. Mine is May 2008 production.

Oh yeah, first thing you should do is a firmware update, think it adds 24p support.

Can anyone provide measurements between the 3 mounting holes on the bottom of the projector? No details appear to be in the user manual I downloaded from their website other than it requires M6 bolts. Want to work on an adapter plate for my existing mount before the projector arrives!
Thanks

The hardest part now for me is going to be which blu ray or hd DVD to demo to my better half and my family. She seems totally unimpressed by the fact that I wanted a projector so badly. She uses them at work in business setting and seems completely underwhelmed at the prospect of watching movies on one. I wanna hit a home run on this one. I have shooter on hd DVD as novasol mentioned. I also have braveheart, baraka, planet earth, matrix monsters Inc, no country for old men, new world etc (lotsa high tiered stuff).
Decision decisions LOL

My vote for demo material would be Baraka. The "busy city" scenes which are followed by the scenes of the factories and chicken sorting. That's the best PQ I have seen from my collection of 74 blu-rays.

Not sure what you mean by the "bolt pattern for the mount." The projector itself does not come with a mount. I bought this one from Monoprice which has arms that reach the bolt holes on the Pro8100. You have to buy separate bolts to connect the mount to the projector. They were metric, but I don't remember which specific size (M5, M6, M7???). Maybe someone else here can help. The projector mount came with all the other hardware, including the hardware to attach it to the ceiling.

In the case of the lines, it does not really matter what I am watching. They become apparent on certain colour backgrounds (and the startup splash screen). It is pretty much a series of vertical lines that run through the picture. They dont move and there are pretty much 6 or 7 of them across the screen. Like I said though, they disappear after about 15 to 20 minutes of watching. I do note they seem to be less apparent now then they were a few days ago. I have only had the PJ a week and noticed them right after doing the firmware update to 2.51. Other than this I am totally impressed with this unit.