[Randy D]

I got my LT150 last Tuesday and finally tested it out last night. I'd been waiting to finish a dedicated room in the basement before seriously shopping for a projector, but I couldn't pass up the Dell deal. I had to move furniture around in the living room, remove a wall hanging, and move the computer (HTPC) to the middle of the living room (after detaching monitor, phone lines, and printer). Then I hooked up the LT150 to my Elsa Gladiac GeForce video card, sat it on the coffee table about 11 feet from my off-white living room wall, and fired it up for about an 80" wide picture. I set the (HTPC) to 1024 x 768 and optimal refresh rate (would it be better to set it specifically at 60 Hz?) I turned off the white segment on the projector and used the natural 2 gamma setting. I left everything else the way it came out of the box. The blue background on the standard Windows ME desktop looked a little pale, but when I loaded up Powerdvd, the colors on the opening screen looked great. I watched Air Force I for awhile and thought the picture was pretty good without being "tweaked" (partly because I don't know how), but then I popped in Jurassic Park and was overwhelmed. The room was completely dark and the picture was plenty bright. I have a 50" Hitachi Ultravision calibrated with Video Essentials that yields a picture that I've been pretty happy with, but I couldn't get over the quality of the picture out of this projector at 4 times the size of the picture on the RPTV. I'm not saying picture was as good as the RPTV, but the size sure made it seem better and I paid less for the projector.


With a screen and proper masking, this thing should be awesome. There was a frame of light around the projected image (is this the Halo?). With this and the black bars masked out, it should really make the picture stand out. I guess I'm easily satisfied because I liked the picture on my bare wall and it isn't even white. I looked at the images on Video Essentials, but didn't attempt any calibrations. I'm not that good with computers and didn't know how to get into the control panel settings and still have VE running in Powerdvd. Anyway, I noticed that the yellow in the color bars looks better without calibration than the it does on my RPTV after calibration and the reds look about the same. The video montage looked pretty good, but there is one scene with vertical iron bars and as the picture panned across these, the bars broke up into segments.


This isn't much of a review as I'm not as knowledgeable as most of the guys here. I didn't see any crawlies or rainbows, but then I didn't watch that many movies. I don't have anywhere nearby where I can see projectors firsthand, so I have to rely on what I read here in the AVS forums. I really want to thank Grant and all the others who have provided so much information about this projector.


Unfortunately, I've got a lot of work ahead of me before I can get the LT150 set up in its own room. In the meantime, I'm tempted to put my living room furniture on casters so I don't have to wait so long to watch a movie on my new projector again. I was up pretty late last night putting everything back in place, but it was worth it.


Randy D

 

[mwan]



Randy, well spoken... I have been into HT since 86 but I also am a FP Virg*n. I am astounded by the quality of output from this little box.I am also using the wall as a temp screen until I can figure out what to buy... I think that as a value proposition the LT 150 is hard to beat. I have very little to go by as reference ( I was using a vintage 1991 34" toshiba tube)


Blacks look pretty good to me... colour looks pretty good to me to... ah you know what they say Ignorance is Bliss http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


I don't know what a rainbow is and please don't tell me http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/cool.gif


thanks

Milesf>


------------------

My System Config

 

[badgerfan]

I have to agree ignorance must be bliss, because I can't find anything to complain about when it comes to the LT 150. I have not shut off the white and hardly adjusted anything yet it works like a charm. I'm projecting on some blackout fabric on the wall, though i've ordered a Da-lite Hi Power screen I can not imagine the picture being much better. I have no idea what this rainbow problem is supposed to be, the colors are accurate and bright and blacks sure as hell look black to me. I must be living in a dream world. I project from about 11 feet back from the wall and have watched Toy Story, True Grit, Sound of Music,Armaggedon,Vertical Limit,Shane, The 6th Day, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dinosaur, and bits and pieces of 20 to 30 other films in the week since I got the projector I nor anyone in the audiance ever expressed anything but amazement at how good the picture is.

I have used it a little with HDTV and it works great! I just can not understand people complaining about this projector.

Badgerfan

 

[Jones_Rush]

badgerfan,

Can you compare the image quality with your LT150 to the image quality of a real theater ?, do you see a difference ?

 

[Mark Hunter]

I just think that it's great that the LT150 is allowing more people to experience front projection at all. This thread really brings that point home.


Congratulations and enjoy!

 

[Randall Morton]

Badgerfan,

You have to keep in mind who is complaining about the picture. Many of these guys have worked around video for quite a few years and are experts(Not me). They notice the smallest imperfections most people would never see. It is saying a lot that these guys even bother to compare the LT150 to their setups. Also it seems to me that they are comparing to calibrated and tweaked DILA's and CRT's displayed on a screen that works best for their projectors.

I'm not saying the LT150 is as good as the DILA's & CRT's but it is a lot closer than some like. Some of these people make their living installing and setting up these more expensive projectors and screens.


I used a blackout screen for about a month before I got my Highpower and thought it couldn't get any better. It did. It also gets better when you mask the screen. The less light reflected back to the screen the better for contrast.

 

[ckolchak]

i'm a fp virgin also, and your post expressed my feelings exactly!

i still have a blockout screen, but one of the first things i did was to make a frame around the screen and set black velvet about 2' around the active area. It really makes a commanding difference when the picture is properly set off with a deep black border. and of all the fabrics i tried, velvet works the best (and alos looks great when the pj is off and the lights are up)

i still only have a crappy s-video connection, but so far i'm very, very happy!

welcome to the club!

 

[hardwired]

Randy D,


Thanks for the helpful review. I'm also an FP newbie wannabe.


I was a little unnerved though that you mentioned that you had a 50" Hitachi Ultravision RPTV (so do I) and the PQ of the LT150 is not as good. What model is your Hitachi (UX, or SBX or some newer HD capable set. I guess I am expecting an FP like the LT150 to BLOW AWAY away my Hitachi RPTV (480i capable only via s-video) in terms of PQ using my HTPC which is just waiting around for an FP http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif


Also, is it possible to get some sort of screen that I can pull down in front of my current RPTV and speakers that is transparent to the sound. The screen would only be temporary until I get the dedicated room finished. And since it is only tempororary I would not want to spend a ton.


Thanks.

 

[chacruz0210]

I am also a newbie thanks to the lt150 and the truth is that the first time I turned it on and project against a beige wall I was totally shocked about its picture. Perfect!!.

Only after being addicted to this forum I kind of "forced" myself to be able to see a rainbow or a halo or an artifact.

You can't imagine how excited and happy I was the first time I saw a rainbow. It was great!!, "I'm one of them", I thought. From then on, I see rainbows in almost every picture and, of course, It is not that thrilling anymore.

Im starting to think that there is some kind of voodoo in all this.

Saludos,

Santiago

From Colombia, South America

 

[Jones_Rush]

Quote:

I see rainbows in almost every picture

It seems like many of you severely underestimated the enormous power of a rainbow to really annoy a person.

I've learned my lesson and my conclusions are firm (subject to change if Dell hasn't learned their's)


[This message has been edited by Jones_Rush (edited 08-15-2001).]

 

[RobertWood]

Hardwired,


Yes, acoustically transparent perforated screens (sometimes called "microperf") are available as retractable pull downs.

Post a message to the screen forum and you should get some info on the different ones which are available and suggested sources.


Bob



------------------

~ The Sultan of Cheap ~

 

[noah katz]

hardwired,


"I was a little unnerved though that you mentioned that you had a 50" Hitachi Ultravision RPTV (so do I) and the PQ of the LT150 is not as good"


I saw Les' LT150 the other night. I have a Toshiba 61" ISF'd HD-ready RPTV, so I think we have a similar basis of comparison.


Watching DVD through Radeon/HTPC, the picture was quite a bit clearer and sharper tahn my RPTV, on twice the screen size. Through proggressive DVD, it was about equal. Through the S-vid input, quite a bit worse.


If I were you, I'd try and keep the RPTV for TV watching, and save the projector for movies, keeping it "special" and preserving the impact of the big-screen experience (my RPTV's picture size was awesome for a couple of weeks after I got it, but now it's just normal). Saves on the bulb costs, too.


------------------

Noah

 

[mkirk]

I ditto the second viewing source. I am keeping a direct view Sony for daytime (mostly weekend sports) viewing and will be saving my bulb for years of movie enjoyment.


[This message has been edited by mkirk (edited 08-15-2001).]

 

[hardwired]

Thanks Rob. I'll poke around the screens forum.


The main reason for an FP is for a dedicated HT when I get the room done in 6 months or so. But if I get one now I'd like to use it of course http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif


This "rainbow" thing has me scared. I'm afraid that I will have the same experience as Jones_Rush and be really annoyed. Can anyone tell me if it's that bad on the LT150. Should I just spend a little more and get an LCD unit like the LT155 or 154? Is the PQ just as good as the LT150?


Are there dealers out there that don't hit you with a restock fee if you do an exchange/upgrade. If the LT150 didn't agree with me/us I could then switch to the LCD units. A 30-90day upgrade period would be nice. Even if I had to go open-box or refurb or something.


Thanks for the input.

 

[Lurker #25]

If the LT150 doesn't work out, I think you'll find a healthy secondary market in the AVS forum classifieds and ebay.


Last night I attended a shootout with my LT150 and a hi-power screen. About 25 people attended. Everyone was able to see the rainbow at some point, but only one person seemed to think of it as a deal killer. And even he wanted to experiment with a smaller screen. For me, I notice it on occasion, but it doesn't distract me from the movie.


I think it's like finding a stuck pixel -- once you know it's there, you can't help but look for it all the time.


[This message has been edited by Lurker #25 (edited 08-15-2001).]

 

[Jones_Rush]

Quote:

And even he wanted to experiment with a smaller screen.

Since you were 25 people, you were probably at different distances from the screen, so you probably won't be able to give me an exact number for my next question, but here it is anyway:

What was the size of the projected image, and how far of it were you located ? (to make it more simple, where was the guy who couldn't stand the rainbows standing ?)

 

[David Klem]

I am very sensitive to rainbows, seeing them on all the DLPs I've seen (Sharp M10S, LT150, Runco VX-1c, etc.) Since I got an LT150 at the Dell price, I figured I might as well try it out for a while. If I didn't like it, I could easily make my $$ back selling it here, or on ebay or something.


Well, after a few weeks with this projector, much to my surprise, I hardly notice the rainbows anymore. Sure, there are certain scenes where I see them, including credits or white titles on a black background, but it is no longer a deal-killer. I tried to forget about them, and just focus on watching the movie.


So, my advice to those who are experiencing "rainbows", is to just sit back and watch the movie. Try this for a few weeks and see if it becomes tolerable. (Don't forget the HTPC!)


Dave

 

[hardwired]

OK. Very dumb question here: So what does a rainbow look like? And was the person that was complaining wearing ruby slippers.


I guess a stuck pixel or two could get pretty annoying too.

 

[ckolchak]

Good advice, David.

they really bugged me the first day i had the projector, when i was looking for every single flaw i could find.

after a few days, the realization of just what i had ( a great front projector at an even better price, with just a few drawbacks) helped massage my attitude.

then, not wanting to have to sell it or send it back, i tried seeing if i could just accept them & live with it, and to my surprise it wasn't that hard to do.

just try not to let your eyes go out of the way and look for them.

sometimes its harder than others ( i just got the Fifth Element last night, and found the rainbows were pretty frequent...Die Hard was also pretty extreme for me) but i think i can deal with them now. for all the great things about this unit, it would be a shame to let that one aspect kill the deal.

 

[Jim Ferguson]

The rainbows don't look anything like rainbows, really. I mainly see it as red and green ghost images on the edges of bright objects in motion. I suppose there is also a blue image, but it's harder for me to see.