I just finished watching two movies with my new Z1, and I have played around with it for off and on for the past two days. Over all, it gives a fantastic image, and I am very pleased. I have only used it with my laptop, WinDVD and a 72†wide screen made of “ThermoSuede†blackout cloth. I sit 11 feet from the screen. I do not have experience using it with a stand alone DVD player yet. I do have some “issues†with the unit, but they are minor.
Screendoor: It is present, but doesn’t intrude unless I make a conscious choice to think about it.
Fan noise I: The fan is strange. In “cinema†mode, it is nearly silent. However, every thirty minutes or so, it will spring to life and sound like a 747 taking off. Thirty seconds later, it’s silent again. Obtrusive, but tolerable.
Fan noise II: Watching a movie in “bright mode†or Computer monitor mode is not practical because the fan noise is too loud. It is fine for use as an external display for computer work. The blacks are washed out in bright mode as well. This is fine for computer work, but not for movies. I would only watch movies in “Cinema†mode anyway.
High Pitched Noise. I hesitate to mention this because it is such a small thing to the majority of users. My disclaimer is that I am hyper-sensitive to high pitched sounds. When the unit is off, but plugged in, if you get within a few feet of it, there is a very noticeable high pitched sound that is similar to the sound of a CRT monitor when it is on. This is a constant beaming of high pitched sound around 15,000 Hz. If CRT computer monitors don’t bother you, this won’t. It is a problem for me, though. I leave it unplugged.
Digital Zoom and Non Anamorphic DVD’s:
There are three screen settings: “Normal†is 4:3, “Full†stretches anamorphic DVD’s, and the results are amazing. Non anamorphic letterbox DVDs are a problem. They are stretched and make everything too wide on “Fullâ€. The “Normal†setting places a letterbox of the film within a 4:3 letterbox. This makes for a very small display in the center that doesn’t touch the edge of the screen on any of the four sides. Digital Zoom makes this image bigger…almost the entire width of the screen. With additional lens zooming, the entire width can easily be filled. The problem is that the menu constantly displays the words “Digital Zoom†in the upper left corner of the screen when this feature is active. The menu display of “Full†and “Normal†disappear after ten seconds. This almost makes Digital Zoom unusable for non anamorphic letterbox movies. It really is distracting. Does anyone know how to turn this constant menu display off??
AutoSync: When using the computer VGA input, “AutoSync†is a feature that works incredibly well. I use the digital test pattern by Mark Rejhon. After hitting AutoSync, the image is rock stable with no moiré. I made a first stab setting up a custom resolution with PowerStrip, but could not get it as good as the computer could with AutoSync. I am a PowerStrip novice, so I am not the best to judge this.
Color Temp: The color temperature choices are High, Mid, Low, Very Low. I use Low, but do not know which is 6500K. Does anyone know the answer to this??
External light. I have a room with poor light control. This is an “after 6 p.m.†projector for movies. Low lighting from a lamp is fine. The sun is another matter.
I am highlighting the negatives, but believe me; I am not sending this unit back. I am very pleased, and can’t wait to try an HDTV signal on it. I hope this helps.
Tom
Screendoor: It is present, but doesn’t intrude unless I make a conscious choice to think about it.
Fan noise I: The fan is strange. In “cinema†mode, it is nearly silent. However, every thirty minutes or so, it will spring to life and sound like a 747 taking off. Thirty seconds later, it’s silent again. Obtrusive, but tolerable.
Fan noise II: Watching a movie in “bright mode†or Computer monitor mode is not practical because the fan noise is too loud. It is fine for use as an external display for computer work. The blacks are washed out in bright mode as well. This is fine for computer work, but not for movies. I would only watch movies in “Cinema†mode anyway.
High Pitched Noise. I hesitate to mention this because it is such a small thing to the majority of users. My disclaimer is that I am hyper-sensitive to high pitched sounds. When the unit is off, but plugged in, if you get within a few feet of it, there is a very noticeable high pitched sound that is similar to the sound of a CRT monitor when it is on. This is a constant beaming of high pitched sound around 15,000 Hz. If CRT computer monitors don’t bother you, this won’t. It is a problem for me, though. I leave it unplugged.
Digital Zoom and Non Anamorphic DVD’s:
There are three screen settings: “Normal†is 4:3, “Full†stretches anamorphic DVD’s, and the results are amazing. Non anamorphic letterbox DVDs are a problem. They are stretched and make everything too wide on “Fullâ€. The “Normal†setting places a letterbox of the film within a 4:3 letterbox. This makes for a very small display in the center that doesn’t touch the edge of the screen on any of the four sides. Digital Zoom makes this image bigger…almost the entire width of the screen. With additional lens zooming, the entire width can easily be filled. The problem is that the menu constantly displays the words “Digital Zoom†in the upper left corner of the screen when this feature is active. The menu display of “Full†and “Normal†disappear after ten seconds. This almost makes Digital Zoom unusable for non anamorphic letterbox movies. It really is distracting. Does anyone know how to turn this constant menu display off??
AutoSync: When using the computer VGA input, “AutoSync†is a feature that works incredibly well. I use the digital test pattern by Mark Rejhon. After hitting AutoSync, the image is rock stable with no moiré. I made a first stab setting up a custom resolution with PowerStrip, but could not get it as good as the computer could with AutoSync. I am a PowerStrip novice, so I am not the best to judge this.
Color Temp: The color temperature choices are High, Mid, Low, Very Low. I use Low, but do not know which is 6500K. Does anyone know the answer to this??
External light. I have a room with poor light control. This is an “after 6 p.m.†projector for movies. Low lighting from a lamp is fine. The sun is another matter.
I am highlighting the negatives, but believe me; I am not sending this unit back. I am very pleased, and can’t wait to try an HDTV signal on it. I hope this helps.
Tom
