[baddceo]

Here are some pretty amazing shots of what this HS20 can do. All of these shots are through Time Warner HD loop which is recorded and transmitted in 1080i. There is one shot of SwordFish that is coming from my HDMi feed off the pioneer dv-59avi.


The clarity is just as a mazing in the room. I have not doctored the shots at all only downsized them so they wouldn't take so long to load. This image is comnig from a 30 foot DVI cable on the cable side and a 30 foot hdmi cable on the dvd side. HS20 Screen Shots

 

[Bgluigi]

baddceo---


Impressive home theater setup and screen shots baddceo and thanks for sharing them with us. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger and buy the hs 20 but don't have a clue as to type of screen to go with it. Your pics have alot of "snap" to them---what type and size screen are you using?

 

[Kamus]

what kind of screen are you using, and what brand?

 

[baddceo]

My apologies, I meant to add that into the orginal post. I guess since it was almost 1AM it slipped my mind. I am using a Stewart GreyHawk 92".


GreggPenn was here last night and we tweaked some of the settings, he can probably offer a more technical report on how he thinks that HS20 works on with the GreyHawk. I do have controlled lighting but we both noticed that the screen was still plenty viewable with the wall lights completely on and that is a nice feature to have. I think that was directly related to the screen.

 

[GreggPenn]

I thought Adam had indicated that his screen was a Firehawk (vs. the Greyhawk). I called him and asked for clarification.

 

[JDLIVE]

Nice looking room!

 

[WoodwardN]

Adam,


Beautiful job!!!


How did you make the mount? How far down from ceiling?


Is the Grayhawk 92" wide or diagonal? How far from projector?


What settings did George dial-in?


Whose DVI and HDMI cables are you using?

 

[baddceo]

Ok for clarification it's not called the Gray Hawk anymore. They call them both Fire Hawk and just change the gain. Mine is the Firehawk and the gain is .82 which is the older Gray Hawk gain. Hope that makes sense.


The mount is made from plexiglass, 2" pipe and 2 floor flanges. I can send you the details if you want, just PM me. The pipe itself is 12" with the flanges, the spacers and plexiglass mount the center of my lens is exactly 15.75" from the top of the trey ceiling it hangs from. The main ceiling is 9 foot the trey is 12 inches so the wall the screen hangs appears to be 8 foot. The 92" is the diagonal it is 87 wide by 45 tall, add about 8 inches to L and W for the black matt surround. The projector lens is exactly 13.2 feet from the wall which is just about where you head lands on teh couch right below the projector.


On a side note, the fan noise in my situation was a big concern because of where the projector is. It is not noticeable during normal conversation and certianly not with movie watching. That was extremely imporant with my purchase .


The DVI cable is from Cobalt Cable and worth the purchase as it can easily pass a HD signal 30 feet with no sparkle or picture quality degradation. The HDMI - DVI cables come from Better Cables. there are two 15 foot lengths spliced together with a DVI Gear Female to Female splicer.

 

[jacksonian]

If you ever had the time and will, it would be very enlightening to see a comparison of a shot with HDMI/DVI vs. Component from either source. Everyone keeps saying it's a huge improvement, but if a picture could show any of it, that would help.

 

[softengr]

Nice looking room. But it is far from ideal for home theater as the walls, ceiling and floors reflect way to much light.

Turn off the lights in the room completely and seal the room from external light. Then watch some bright scenes. How bright do the surrounding surfaces get? If you can clearly see the walls, ceiling and floors then performance is being compromised. Especially the contrast and picture purity. These are my findings.

 

[GreggPenn]

Quote:

Originally posted by baddceo Ok for clarification it's not called the Gray Hawk anymore. They call them both Fire Hawk and just change the gain. Mine is the Firehawk and the gain is .82 which is the older Gray Hawk gain. Hope that makes sense.

Yes and no. I had read conflicting reports on the gain of the Greyhawk in the screen forum. Some posts said 0.8. Others stated 0.95. After contacting Silver Screen (listed under marketplace of this forum), they indicated that the gain was .95.


I posted some observations on your screen -- thinking it was the Firehawk (1.35). I'll need to amend that post in the screen forum. I have also seen the Firehawk. (And, I think the Greyhawk has a better viewing cone -- now that I know what I was looking at).


Adam:

What made you choose the Greyhawk over the Firehawk?


Softengr:

We did watch bright scenes with the lights off. Adam's walls are painted very dark (dark taupe). His ceiling is also raised in the center and is several feet above the screen. There is very little ambient light generated by his room as it stands. I think the styling and elegance of his dedicated theatre room would be much more compromised by going totally black than the improvements in PQ would provide. (But this is a good tip for everyone).


And, Adam's screen does such a good job at reflecting ambient light, that soft lights can even be turned on without compromising the experience.


btw:

The screen shots which show his room are much lighter than in person. Just like when you watch a sporting event at dusk, the camera lets you see more than in person.

 

[TYoung]

Room looks great. What are the room dimensions (length and width.) From your post I'm guessing around 14' by 12'? I have a similar room and was wondering if it was large enough for a dedicated theater.


Is this a bedroom or converted dining room?

 

[baddceo]

Quote:

Originally posted by softengr Nice looking room. But it is far from ideal for home theater as the walls, ceiling and floors reflect way to much light. Turn off the lights in the room completely and seal the room from external light. Then watch some bright scenes. How bright do the surrounding surfaces get? If you can clearly see the walls, ceiling and floors then performance is being compromised. Especially the contrast and picture purity. These are my findings.

I'll have to disagree with you on that one. It is a controlled lighting room and I see no real reflection from anything while watching movies. You can see the walls and the ceiling and the carpet, but you'd still be able to see them if they were all black and I don't think making anything darker would enhance my viewing experience.


The camera and all the lights on didn't help that picture, the paint on the walls is almost a chocolate brown and the carpet is much darker than it appears.


Far from ideal is an opinion i'll leave it at that.


As a newbie to the forum and the idea, I went with Silver Screens recommendation, that is where I got the screen. Their recommendation came from Stewart who used my projector model and room setup as a basis for the screen gain.

 

[baddceo]

Quote:

Originally posted by TYoung Room looks great. What are the room dimensions (length and width.) From your post I'm guessing around 14' by 12'? I have a similar room and was wondering if it was large enough for a dedicated theater. Is this a bedroom or converted dining room?

The room is about 14' W x 15' long to the back where a wall would be but its open. There is another 4 feet of hall from where the projector ends and the very back wall starts.


This is a room off the basement that i built into a HT while I finished the basement.


If anything isn't ideal it's the room size, almost square is bad for sound. I currently have a tin like echo because I am not finished and there is nothing on the walls.

 

[Milt99]

Adam,

what's the source for the HD signal.

You mentioned Warner, is that cable?


I need to get HD and am looking for a STB that

works well via DVI/HDMI with my HS20.


BTW, your room is killer.

While black may be the ideal to some people, my

HT room serves other functionality, i.e., music, bar,etc.

And black is just a bit too depressing.


We haven't introduced S&M and whips just yet

 

[baddceo]

Quote:

Originally posted by Milt99 Adam, what's the source for the HD signal. You mentioned Warner, is that cable? I need to get HD and am looking for a STB that works well via DVI/HDMI with my HS20. BTW, your room is killer. While black may be the ideal to some people, my HT room serves other functionality, i.e., music, bar,etc. And black is just a bit too depressing. We haven't introduced S&M and whips just yet

Thank you for the compliment. The HD signal is from Time Warner and their box does have DVI out. That particular loop is recorded with 1080i cameras so it's just about as good as it can get.

 

[rlindo]

Quote:

Originally posted by softengr Nice looking room. But it is far from ideal for home theater as the walls, ceiling and floors reflect way to much light. Turn off the lights in the room completely and seal the room from external light. Then watch some bright scenes. How bright do the surrounding surfaces get? If you can clearly see the walls, ceiling and floors then performance is being compromised. Especially the contrast and picture purity. These are my findings.

Huh? I have dark (I'm talking DARK) grey walls and ceiling and dark green carpet and total light control meaning if the pj isn't running then you can't see ANYTHING in the room. During bright scenes I can clearly see my walls and ceiling. even if the damn room was black I'd still see my walls and ceiling when a bright scene was playing. That is what light does....it makes stuff visible regardless of how dark objects may be. I thought everyone knew what light does but I guess not!

 

[Sean Max]

I guess he's saying that if the walls and floor aren't covered in Duvetyne then the performance is being compromised. He should head over to the CRT forum or the Over $3500 forum where they'll tell him that using an LCD projector at all means the performance is compromised...





Not that I agree. I've seen the HS20 in person.

 

[baddceo]

i'll take some pictures tonight of the room in viewing mode so you can see what happens during viewing mode.

 

[softengr]

Quote:

Originally posted by baddceo I'll have to disagree with you on that one. It is a controlled lighting room and I see no real reflection from anything while watching movies. You can see the walls and the ceiling and the carpet, but you'd still be able to see them if they were all black and I don't think making anything darker would enhance my viewing experience. The camera and all the lights on didn't help that picture, the paint on the walls is almost a chocolate brown and the carpet is much darker than it appears. Far from ideal is an opinion i'll leave it at that. As a newbie to the forum and the idea, I went with Silver Screens recommendation, that is where I got the screen. Their recommendation came from Stewart who used my projector model and room setup as a basis for the screen gain.

I own the HS20. I started out with light cream colored walls and blue carpeting. I've gone from that to a room which is 98% black. I went incrementally noticing a large improvement in proportion to the percentage of the room which was covered or painted.

I started out using almost black flat and eggshell paint. Each still had a sheen. Very low sheen material in addition to paint is ideal.


Experiment with a yard of inexpensive no-sheen black fabric. Or try using black felt ($48 for 6' by 30 yrds) or Lowe's black marine carpet (12*6 for $51). The best materials absorb almost all of the light.


Get a black bath towel for $4 and tack it to the side wall where the side reflections are the greatest from your normal viewing position. Then look at the contrast difference between it and the surrounding wall especially during bright scenes.


Untreated surfaces/wall act as a highly distorted secondary reflecting screen. From your picture notice how much light is reflected off the walls from the room lighting. In a word a LOT! We are to conditioned from this effect to realize that reflecting surfaces are the enemy for front projector home theater rooms. Larger screens, small room and high lumen output projectors are the hardest to treat effectively.


The contrast reducing light scatter effect causes viewing fatigue as the eye only responds naturally to light entering from the front. Education is the key.