A question in either thread counts as an entry.

We consider them both critical. The CTA and CEDIA Home Theater Standard specifies both, as does the DCI standard. I serve on the Infocomm Contrast Committee, where the PISCR (Projected-Image System Contrast Ratio) specifies 80:1 ANSI contrast for full motion video with a clear explanation that this is not theatrical or movie based, but for corporate video. Expect a revision of that document shortly with the new term ISCR (Image System Contrast Ratio)

Excellent question!! - We are seeing major issues with long HDMI cables worldwide - we just tested a 100 meter fiber solution that was bulletproof - active copper and Active Optical Cable will be common solutions soon - we are very busy testing for HDMI products for the upcoming CEDIA show - and we are finally seeing good solutions.

In what settings would you recommend a projector over a flat screen display?


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Many people ask me if I prefer an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1.78:1) or 2.40:1? We face that exact question when developing the home-theater standard for CTA and CEDIA. The only proper answer is that the screen aspect ratio should match the content's aspect ratio. So the best answer is a motorized masking screen. This also improves perceived contrast ratio. Should the masking be vertical (top and bottom) or horizontal (sides). It depends on what the client mostly watches. If it's mostly sports, I recommend starting with a 16:9 screen and using vertical masking for movies. If it's mostly movies, I recommend a 2.40:1 screen with horizontal masking for 16:9 content.

If by "settings" you mean the room environment and size, since flat-screen TVs are limited in size, we need to go to projectors if the viewing distance and room demands a screen over 100". Also, we need reasonable if not perfect control of ambient light for a projector.

Being a total noob to home theater (yes, I still have my 8mm projector) I just wanted to say thanks for the opportunity to listen in.

Just now getting our living room "back", and reading 'Epson Home Cinema 2100 and 2150 HD Projectors Announced' has piqued my interest, again.

With a limited budget (read cheap) it's easy enough to just go buy a new flat screen, but having a home theater on a budget might be kinda fun to research.

Thanks again,
-Rick

Hi there I've been trying to follow 4k projection for a while now. But it still seems like some top end expensive stuff. For a 1080p projector you can get some pretty fantastic quality for like under a grand. But I'm really interested in finally making the jump to 4k, I have a 4k media player and access to content, but what is the best bang for the buck on a 4k projector? Is it worth it yet? Should I just wait?

I am totally with you on this. I love my Sony XBR65X930C and am perfectly okay with being stuck with it for a while. But after it needs replaced, I'm at a loss what to do. HDR/4K are nice and all, but 3D is where it's at for an immersive experience. I don't feel I really have room for a projector being able to only sit back about 8 feet or so. Grrr

Two questions:

1) Any chance for direct laser projectors (instead of laser/phosphor)? That should make it much easier to reach wide gamut without light loss. And it might also increase the overall brightness, I suppose.

2) Any chance for chaining 2 LCOS or DLP chips in a row to increase both on/off and ANSI contrast? Or maybe add one additional lower res LCOS panel into the light path to implement some sort of "local dimming" for front projectors?

Welcome back to home theater! Your timing is impeccable with the current advances in home-theater technology. The normal debate between a flat screen and a projector is bang for buck on a big screen. Given good light control, you can get a much larger picture for a given budget with a projector every time. If you're starting now, I recommend something that delivers 4K resolution and HDR.

Thanks Joel. The PISCR standard lists business screen rooms as one of the things the 80:1 is supposed to apply to, and the 80:1 was based on watching movie content. As we've talked about, I consider this one of the biggest mistakes I have ever seen in a standard. I know you were not on the original committee, which did not check their assumptions, like they would have done if they had been doing proper science, as they thought they were doing. They pointed lights at the screen, which ruined the system on/off CR and the low level detail with it, then blamed system ANSI CR, when system ANSI CR had little to do with the problems they saw with their eyes with the movie content they chose for that category.

Will the 80:1 claim for when details are too hard to make out to follow the story in a movie continue to be part of the updated PISCR standard?

Thanks,
Darin

Thanks.

I know one year Barco at Cedia was quoting that 80 to 1 in room contrast was all that was needed for a home theater. There was considerable discussion here on this topic. What do you consider the minimum ANSI and on/off cr ratios for a good home theater experience?

Currently using a Epson 8350 on a shelf right above our couch. Looks good for Bluray but when we have guest for football games and add a little more lightning I'd rather watch my 64" Plasma. If I were to upgrade what type of versatile light cannon could perform better in light and dark room settings?

Unfortunately, there are no 4K projectors with HDR for under $1000, and I don't expect to see any in the near future. However, I would wait until CEDIA before buying anything, since there are usually amazing announcements at that show.

With production monitors performance exceeding consumer TV performance Tone Mapping is quite controversial at this time - following the PQ curve precisely is not the goal of some superb looking processing this year - with multiple EOTFs come multiple needs for Tone Mapping - I am impressed with the images we are seeing so early in the game - this is an active topic for us now and will be for years to come - when consumer TVs catch up to production monitor performance this will be an easier topic.

1) For those with unlimited funds, there are already direct RGB laser projector on the market, but they cost well into six figures and are very large. I doubt that will trickle down into the realm of consumer projectors any time soon.

2) This is being explored experimentally, but I don't see it entering the home market any time soon.

I'm on the committee, but I can't comment other than to say it is being revised, and your comments were not ignored.

I have the utmost respect for the DCI standard, and we aspire to comply with its minimum standard for home-theater design.

I'd rather you consider an ambient light-rejecting screen instead of a light cannon. A light cannon will help the whites but not the blacks.

One additional question (sorry):

I'm annoyed by constantly having to upgrade all my devices because there's yet another new HDMI version. Once we have HDMI 2.1 with ultra high bandwidth, are there any plans to make HDMI more capable of "software updates", so we don't have to re-buy all devices all the time? I understand that CE companies might like the way HDMI currently works, but we consumers sure don't.

Thanks!

The HDMI Forum is always looking at the future, and it provides guidance to chipset and TV manufacturers for what we can expect in the future. But when you're talking about much faster speeds, that requires faster hardware. It makes no sense to build hardware that can handle 120 fps 8K when we won't see such signals for many years, and the cost would be prohibitive.

If you look at the 2020 spec for green compared to the DCI/P3 spec you will see it also does not go all the way to the limit of our vision - however the work of the ITU is just superb on this - if you search for "Pointer's Gamut" you will find that the color scientists based the color points on surface colors that a camera will see - as opposed to wavelengths that our eyes can see - I was also skeptical until I understood what logic was behind the work.

The Oppo players have superb video adjustments in their menus - if your projector is properly calibrated when you change players you can compensate for any differences in the players with the internal adjustments.

I do you think 1080p projection would benefit from HdR

Is Dolby Vision an option anyone is discussing for home theater projectors? We would benefit greatly due to our current nit limitations (compared to TVs).

Absolutely, we consider HDR more important than resolution.

Hi, probably a stupid question--but you're the expert and I'm not--so here we go. I've got a dedicated room with a 10-year old Mitsubishi 1080p projector in need of lamp #3. There's nowhere near my to go view a 4K unit, and I'm not unhappy with the 1080p. Would an 'entry-level' 4K unit be THAT much improvement? (obviously new 4K player, etc).
thanks,
Matt

Wow, the time has flown by! We have a winner of the Sony UBP-X1000ES UHD Blu-ray player: tonyjspr9. Congratulations!

I'd like to thank everyone who posted a question; there were many superb ones, some of which we didn't get to answer. AVS Forum Editor Scott Wilkinson will post answers to some of the questions we didn't get to over the next couple of days, so stay tuned for those. I've worked with Scott for decades, and I'm completely confident in his ability to provide knowledgeable answers.

Also, thanks to our friends at Sony for supporting this AMA. It's been fun!

What opinions (if any) do you have on the more affordable direct-laser projectors like the Sony MPCL1a and Celluon PicoBit?

They are much more affordable around $350-$400, but currently suffer their own caveats mostly stemming from their highly portable small size (similar to a chubby cellphone).