[Ran]

It has been just over a week since I received this projector. This post, unlike my last one from the 23.10.01, will be primarily about things I don't like about this projector. Before I get to that I wish to underline the fact that this projector has an outstanding picture and none of the digital projectors I saw (Sim 200,200DM, 10HT, 400q) comes even close. I would also say that in regards to black level and contrast it even rivals many CRT's.


Anyway, after a week with this thing I realize that DLP makes me tired. It may sound funny, but it is very true. Surprisingly it seems to apply to some people, my wife does not understand my complaints, I on the other hand feel a difference from the viewing experience with the 10HT (LCD). This effect should be tested and can only be realized after a few hours.

Another issue, I now come to realize is sharpness, I find the Sharp's picture to be soft compared to the 10HT, there is quite a difference. Again this complaint was not noticed by any one who watched its picture with amazement, but still people moving from LCD to DLP should make a point of this. All the 400q owners out there that are thinking of upgrading to the Sharp, you will not notice any difference in this regard, you may even find the 9000 to be sharper. As a result I'm looking for an upgrade from my Toshiba 6200 to the RP-91 which supposedly has a sharper picture (any comments on how sharp it really is?).

One last issue and this is perhaps the most important one, there is a very serious problem with Pal ("U" model). At first, I did not pay it any attention, but once you start to view more and more material you come to notice that there is a problem with motion. Fast moving action makes this projector display some horrible artifacts. Switching between the 2 filters (2D;3D) did not make any change, the problem was still there. I did not check this with Pal DVD, just OTH broadcasts. This point should be of concern to people intending to view Pal material.

Another issue concerning Pal is lip sync, there is quite a delay in the picture relative to the audio, this only occurs when viewing Pal, it does not show on 480P. I managed to fix this through my receiver the Onkyo 989. I'm going to try to get my dealer to change my projector to the European model, which apparently has no problems with Pal.


I hope the above remarks did not make you think less of this projector, because if they did you are in for one big surprise when you'll have a chance to see its fantastic picture!!


On a side note I would appreciate it if RP-91 owners can verify that this player does in fact display a sharp picture.


Thanx

Ran

 

[Red Brian]

I've been wondering about the eye strain issue with DLP as well. I do computer work all day so the last thing I need is more eye strain at night .


Don't LCDs turn their colors on and off as well (just not as often)?


Is it a color wheel issue and are the newer color wheels better or worse for you (I suspect better since I stopped watching a Yamaha after ten minutes of rainbows)?


Dang, if plasma displays weren't so heavy and fragile they would be my ideal solution. I'm still waiting for the right projector to get made (that I can afford ...

 

[Knuck]

Ran:


I don't know if your eyestrain is a DLP or Sharp specific problem. I too suffered from eyestrain with the sharp. In my case I think my eyes wanted more brightness or sharpness. There was something missing, causing strain.


I ended up buying the Yamaha, a DLP, and couldn't be happier. I find it brighter and have not suffered from the strain caused by the Sharp. Before you give up on DLP try a different projector.


Red Brian:


Rainbows must be dependent on each individual because I see none and have watched over 150 hours on the Yamaha, mind you I don't look for them.

 

[Ran]

Knuck,


I have not given up on DLP and especially not on the Sharp this projector is a keeper. As many other things in life it's all a question of trade off's, fatigue is something I can accept. Of course when I described this problem I should have mentioned that this problem will show up (in my case) after aprox 3-4 hours, so it's not that bad. I guess a projector with 1000 Ansi , a contrast ratio >1000, no screen door, no rainbows, no need for hush box, no need for special tweaking, excellent colors and a razor sharp image would be better, but I have yet to find one (under 15k ). Further more I think one should estimate this problem after 6 months or so to get a good evaluation of the effect. Maybe in time my eyes will get used to it, maybe not..

Thanx

Ran

 

[JustMike]

What screen and lighting conditions are you using?


I experienced a little strain on the Sharp on a GrayHawk, but I watched it on a DaLite screen for several hours with no compaints. So, I wonder if it's a brightness thing? The salesperson didn't know if the projector was in theater mode or not on the GrayHawk viewing, so that may have entered into it as well.


I find it hard to imagine the Sharp being considered.... not sharp (no pun intended). I thought it was astonishingly good -- MUCH better than the Vidikron CRT in the next room. Maybe it's a source device or cabling issue that's causing high-frequency rolloff of some kind?

 

[jbryngelson]

I find the eye strain to be contrast ratio related. If you dial down the contrast when you are in an all black room, you will get more enjoyment from the projector. Dial it up when you have ambient light. This is my 2nd biggest complaint for Digital projectors.


Jeff in Detroit

 

[cam]

To minimize eye strain problem, a smaller screen should be used. Given a 14-15 feet viewing distance, I will not go over 100" diagonal.

Also I found the internal scaler's handling of colour is just so so, that may add to eye strain in longer viewing session.


Cam

 

[Ran]

Well, I'm still projecting on a Grey wall (100") and I find the brightness on par with my former projector the 10HT, so I don't think it's related to brightness. in fact, I tried projecting on a white wall and found that I like the overall picture better projecting on the Grey one. maybe it's work related


In regards to sharpness I'm not even talking bout Pal OTH, which has its own problems, but rather on DVD progressive (Toshiba 6200) which is in fact not as sharp as the Sony. Last night my friend came over with his calibrated 10HT and A/B comparison validated this point. The differences are not huge but the Sony is sharper. On the other hand the Sharp is leagues ahead from the Sony on all accounts, there is just no comparison. I'm going to get the RP-91, I assume I'll have a sharper picture.

Thanx

Ran

 

[jblpro]

Ran:

I compared 11HT with Z9000 last night. The video source is 1080i Hivision(Japan BS digital) movie "ARMAGEDDON". I could not agree with your opinion about " Sharp's picture to be soft compared to the 10HT". On the contrary, the image of Z9000 was transparent and 11HT was dirty due to LCD matrix when viewing bright scene. The color of 11 HT is mixed-up with characteristic green-yellow tint of SONY, the color of Z9000 was vivid and dynamic. I would like to go with Z9000.

 

[David600]

well, 3DLP or CRT then ? we have to admit that LCD and mono DLP are "compromises" when we talk of images.


when we'll we get a $10,000 1280*720 3DLP with 1100:1 contrast ratio and 3000ANSI with 3000hours $400 lamps and full RGBHV/S on BNC and SDI inputs ? gggggggg

 

[JPinTO]

after a couple of hours watching the NEC LT150. It was incredible. I look at a TFT computer monitor 10+hours per day and don't need extra eye fatigue.


I wasn't willing to write-off DLP's entirely.


I did a 5-projector shoot out this week and the first projector was a 2000 lumen Infocus 530 DLP. After 5 minutes of watching, I could feel the eye strain already. This was mid-day, so I couldn't blame a full day of monitor watching. After half an hour of watching I had to start shutting my eyes for 15-20 seconds at a time to try to calm my head/eyes.


That was the only DLP of the 5. After watching a Toshbia MT7 (LCD) for 15-20 minutes I could feel my eyes calming down and the eyestrain subsiding. I subsequently watched a Sony CX10, Toshiba TLP680 and NEC VT540 for another hour. By the end of the session, the DLP fatigue was gone completely. I found myself actually enjoying the movie.


This was under the same lighting conditions so I can't blame it on lighting. My projector choice will definitely be a LCD.

 

[JustMike]

Greetings,


Just got back from the local dealer (I was looking at the Lexicon MC-12... sweeeeeet).


I spent a little time checking out the Sharp again, and I found a couple of interesting things.


1) When I walked in, they were showing HDNet, and the lights were up about medium. I found it a bit fatiguing.


2) Later, I returned to the room for a more formal demo, with Toy Story 2 from the DVD player. The lights were all the way down. This was very enjoyable and completely comfortable.


What do I take away from this?


Well, I think that there are two possibilities. With the low-gain GrayHawk, the projector may simply not be bright enough on a 106" screen with the lights up. So, you may strain a bit trying to view a dim image. Or, maybe it's the reduced contrast ratio from the ambient light reflecting on the screen.


Or, maybe it was something about the specific source on HDNet? I noticed a fair amount of jitter in the image -- like the excessively-sharp image you get with very high shutter speed progresive scan cameras. So, that may have been fatiguing.


Anyway, on a good DVD in a dark room, the projector was completely watchable and comfortable. So, I think whatever this fatigue problem is, it can be addressed.


I'm really tempted to ask Don Stewart.

 

[Spizz]

Mike even though the lip sync problems occur on PAL material only on the U version did you notice any lip sync problems with NTSC via interlaced DVD?


Thanks,

Spero D.

 

[David600]

some screenshots guys ?

 

[Spizz]

Here ya go-

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...t=sharp+screen


Spero D

 

[brotherthx]

Hey forum!

I truly believe that the eye strain/tiredness is strictly a DLP issue, and NOT an issue of contrast/brightness problems. I could watch a dim lcd all day without problems...It's the DLP phenomenon....I could be wrong, but I sense that the tired people out there are also seeing the rainbows from time to time....It's the way our brains process the info that gets us all tired. More sensitive eyes transmit more info to our brains!

I wish DLP didn't affect me like it does; I really like this hobby and, although I love my 10HT, I just love the idea of achieving the ultimate goal in our homes...bringing the film to our OWN screens. Of course, the Sharp is only the 1st, just the 1st, projector like this, and they are only getting better and better....I will hold on to my 10ht until this DLP issue is resolved, hopefully before "The Lord of the Rings" comes home to DVD, the next epic triligy to surpass the "new" starwars

 

[Norde]

Surely everyone here is getting eyestrain from trying to find the tiniest defect in their setup. I suffer from this myself.


Let's sit back and enjoy the movie.

 

[jackmay]

I wonder if the reported eye strain by some might be due to the rapid turning on and off of the light to modulate the intensity of each color. Could the light be triggering the output pulses more often of the rods, cones, neurons in the eye/brain since there is no image persistence with DLP.


The eye/brain pulses are probably too slow to follow the movement of the mirrors, but additional pulses due to inherent lack of persistence could increase the number of eye/brain pulses. This would give less recovery time between pulses which would lead to fatigue.


Just a theory, but does anyone know how the eye/brain might be responding to the rapid pulse of light from DLP?

 

[thebland]

Would D'ILA cause a similar sort of eye strain / fatigue?


JEff

 

[JustMike]

Hey Spero,


The DVD was a progressive player, so I didn't notice any sync problems.


I'll definitely check it out when I get the projector, and let the forum know.