Joined
·
168 Posts
I buried this shootout review at the end of an earlier thread, but another forum member suggested that I start a new one. So here goes.
*****************************************
Last night, the Minnesota Home Theater Users Group had a meeting. We evaluated the following projectors and equipment in Steve Benson’s dedicated HT room:
NEC LT155 LCD (w/Skyworth prog. scan DVD)
NEC LT150 DLP (w/JVC S65GD prog. scan DVD)
G11 DILA (w/Geforce-based HTPC)
Electrohome CRT (w/Geforce-based HTPC)
Da-lite Hi-power 2.8 gain Model B pull-down screen, 92†wide
Matte 1.0 painted wall, 90†wide
Gladiator (16x9), Titanic (non-anamorphic)
I had purchased the LT150 from Dell during the $1700 fiasco a few weeks back and was eager to see how its picture compared to more expensive projectors. Until I got my LT150, I had never seen a DLP projector. Until last night, I had never seen a DILA. I have had poor experiences in the past with CRT (too dim) and LCD (screendoor and contrast). The shootout was a revelation!
LCD
First, we viewed the NEC LT155. When it was first projected onto the highpower, I was very pleased with the image. However I thought it had limited contrast, and I could sense the screendoor from 12’ away. The LCD put out a solid image, but no one seemed particularly impressed.
DLP
When we turned the NEC LT150 on, the improvement in contrast was dramatic. It wasn’t even close – compared to the LCD, this unit had some impressive blacks. Contrast and color saturation was better. Screendoor wasn’t an issue from 12’ back, but the limited XGA resolution was apparent to me in scenes with small objects (i.e., people from a distance). Because of the limitations inherent in the pixel structure, small objects did not have a lot of detail. However, even on a large 92†wide screen, the LT150 had a terrific picture with solid colors.
Until this point, I had been feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse. The LT155 has a 200 more lumens, a zoom, and seems a lot quieter. My LT150 had to be placed on the floor and positioned precisely to fill the screen. However, A/B comparisons with the LCD made me feel much, much better. There did not seem to be a noticeable difference in brightness.
I noticed that pans were a bit jittery with the LT150 until a chap kindly pointed out that my JVC was not outputting a progressive scan picture. Yikes! I found the appropriate button on my remote, and the picture improved immediately and dramatically.
Of course, no discussion of the LT150 would be complete without a discussion of the rainbow effect. With a little effort, almost everyone was able to see rainbows in high contrast scenes (candle in darkness, panning through dark rooms with sunlit windows, etc.). It didn’t bother me at all – I rarely noticed it without some effort. A couple attendees seemed sensitive to it.
If you have a LT150 and have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a surefire way to see rainbows: Put the lens cap on the LT150 while it is still on. Lots of light will be spilling around the cap. Move your eyes around the light, and the motion will cause rainbows.
The LT150 looked great on the hi-power screen. However, the angle at which you viewed the screen definetly affected the brightness of the picture. The closer your head was to the projector, the brighter the picture. From off-axis positions, the screen was was comoparable to the painted wall. From the floor, the screen was much brighter than the wall. I felt the screen improved the picturea little, even from off-axis positions, but not as much as I had anticipated.
CRT: Electrohome
Next, we turned on the CRT. This was a religious experience for me. While the picture was not particularly bright, it was bright enough that it wasn’t an issue. The colors and contrast were perfect. Also, the resolution (1300 x 720 @ 72 hz, or something close to that) gave small objects a lot of detail. Steve’s CRT was the most perfect HT picture I had ever seen, and the 480p Gladiator DVD was on par with the HD I’ve seen at retail stores on small (61") RP tellies.
Scott, the owner of the LCD, now wants a CRT. If not for the sheer size of these projectors, I’d want one too.
DILA: JVC G11
Rick was never able to get his DILA properly tweaked during the shootout, and he emphasized that the image it produced was not representative of a proper DILA setup. We did not have much time to play with the settings, and as a result it had relatively poor black levels. However, the color was superb. In addition, the increased resolution eliminated the pixel structure that was evident on the LCD and implied on the DLP. This thing had detail comparable to the CRT. In fact, if the black level could have been tweaked, it would have given the CRT a run for its money.
Make no mistake. Even an improperly tweaked DILA will maul anything limited to XGA resolution, including the LT150 and LT155.
Something interesting happened when we put in Titanic, a non-anamorphic DVD. The DILA/HTPC exhibited a smooth, sharp, watchable picture. I never would have know from that image that Titanic was not 16x9 enhanced. In contrast, the LT150/prog. scan JVC spewed a fuzzy picture that looked nothing like anamorphic discs (like Gladiator). It looked so bad that I did a thorough check to make sure the prog. scan was still working and the aspect ratio controls were set correctly. I think I need a HTPC.
Summary
If I had to rank the projectors, it would be (1) CRT, (2) DILA, (3) DLP, and (4) LCD. The CRT and DILA were a close 1-2, with DLP a solid third and LCD a distant fourth.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the picture from my $1700 LT150, and I now have no buyers remorse whatsoever. If I had an additional $6k lying under a matress, I’d probably sell the LT150 and buy the 16x9 Sharp 9000 DLP unit when it comes out.
The CRT and DILA both produce superb images but are complicated to install. For a non-techie, a CRT installation will require a heavy crane, building permits, and professional installers that bill by the hour. The DILA, while DILA much smaller than a CRT, still requires an auxiliary cooling system, a hush box, and lots of tweaking. (During the shootout, the DILA was like a space heater.) Being a rather lazy fellow who moves around a lot, I'd better stick to small digital projectors.
Despite the generally favorable opinions of everyone at the shootout, I am returning the hi-power screen. UPS dented the casing a bit during transit, and it will have to be replaced anyway. But instead of replacing it with another hi-power, I’m upgrading to a “Fast-fold†screen that uses the 1.3 gain Cinema Vision fabric. As I intend to ceiling mount the LT150, the most dramatic benefits of the hi-power will be wasted on me. The fast-fold has a foldable aluminum screen and is designed to be portable. I hope this will make moving the screen around a bit easier. Also, the hi-power pull-down had some noticable waviness that distorted the picture around the edges. The fast-fold system comes with a screen that snaps onto a rigid frame. I hope this will eliminate the waves.
My HT Plans
I am close to having a HT setup that I like. But first I need to return the crappy JVC player and buy a HTPC. While anamorphic discs looked fine, non-anamorphic was horrible. And too much of my collection is non-anamorphic. Also, I am very interested in the panamorph, which I hope will reduce the LT150’s pixel structure a bit and punch up the brightness a little. Most importantly, I need a house! My real estate nightmares are another story entirely…
It was great to meet everyone. As soon as I move, I’d love to host a meeting to test out a Dish HDTV setup. Thanks again to Steve Benson for hosting this shootout!
Linwood Smith
aka Lurker #25
[This message has been edited by Lurker #25 (edited 08-15-2001).]
*****************************************
Last night, the Minnesota Home Theater Users Group had a meeting. We evaluated the following projectors and equipment in Steve Benson’s dedicated HT room:
NEC LT155 LCD (w/Skyworth prog. scan DVD)
NEC LT150 DLP (w/JVC S65GD prog. scan DVD)
G11 DILA (w/Geforce-based HTPC)
Electrohome CRT (w/Geforce-based HTPC)
Da-lite Hi-power 2.8 gain Model B pull-down screen, 92†wide
Matte 1.0 painted wall, 90†wide
Gladiator (16x9), Titanic (non-anamorphic)
I had purchased the LT150 from Dell during the $1700 fiasco a few weeks back and was eager to see how its picture compared to more expensive projectors. Until I got my LT150, I had never seen a DLP projector. Until last night, I had never seen a DILA. I have had poor experiences in the past with CRT (too dim) and LCD (screendoor and contrast). The shootout was a revelation!
LCD
First, we viewed the NEC LT155. When it was first projected onto the highpower, I was very pleased with the image. However I thought it had limited contrast, and I could sense the screendoor from 12’ away. The LCD put out a solid image, but no one seemed particularly impressed.
DLP
When we turned the NEC LT150 on, the improvement in contrast was dramatic. It wasn’t even close – compared to the LCD, this unit had some impressive blacks. Contrast and color saturation was better. Screendoor wasn’t an issue from 12’ back, but the limited XGA resolution was apparent to me in scenes with small objects (i.e., people from a distance). Because of the limitations inherent in the pixel structure, small objects did not have a lot of detail. However, even on a large 92†wide screen, the LT150 had a terrific picture with solid colors.
Until this point, I had been feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse. The LT155 has a 200 more lumens, a zoom, and seems a lot quieter. My LT150 had to be placed on the floor and positioned precisely to fill the screen. However, A/B comparisons with the LCD made me feel much, much better. There did not seem to be a noticeable difference in brightness.
I noticed that pans were a bit jittery with the LT150 until a chap kindly pointed out that my JVC was not outputting a progressive scan picture. Yikes! I found the appropriate button on my remote, and the picture improved immediately and dramatically.
Of course, no discussion of the LT150 would be complete without a discussion of the rainbow effect. With a little effort, almost everyone was able to see rainbows in high contrast scenes (candle in darkness, panning through dark rooms with sunlit windows, etc.). It didn’t bother me at all – I rarely noticed it without some effort. A couple attendees seemed sensitive to it.
If you have a LT150 and have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a surefire way to see rainbows: Put the lens cap on the LT150 while it is still on. Lots of light will be spilling around the cap. Move your eyes around the light, and the motion will cause rainbows.
The LT150 looked great on the hi-power screen. However, the angle at which you viewed the screen definetly affected the brightness of the picture. The closer your head was to the projector, the brighter the picture. From off-axis positions, the screen was was comoparable to the painted wall. From the floor, the screen was much brighter than the wall. I felt the screen improved the picturea little, even from off-axis positions, but not as much as I had anticipated.
CRT: Electrohome
Next, we turned on the CRT. This was a religious experience for me. While the picture was not particularly bright, it was bright enough that it wasn’t an issue. The colors and contrast were perfect. Also, the resolution (1300 x 720 @ 72 hz, or something close to that) gave small objects a lot of detail. Steve’s CRT was the most perfect HT picture I had ever seen, and the 480p Gladiator DVD was on par with the HD I’ve seen at retail stores on small (61") RP tellies.
Scott, the owner of the LCD, now wants a CRT. If not for the sheer size of these projectors, I’d want one too.
DILA: JVC G11
Rick was never able to get his DILA properly tweaked during the shootout, and he emphasized that the image it produced was not representative of a proper DILA setup. We did not have much time to play with the settings, and as a result it had relatively poor black levels. However, the color was superb. In addition, the increased resolution eliminated the pixel structure that was evident on the LCD and implied on the DLP. This thing had detail comparable to the CRT. In fact, if the black level could have been tweaked, it would have given the CRT a run for its money.
Make no mistake. Even an improperly tweaked DILA will maul anything limited to XGA resolution, including the LT150 and LT155.
Something interesting happened when we put in Titanic, a non-anamorphic DVD. The DILA/HTPC exhibited a smooth, sharp, watchable picture. I never would have know from that image that Titanic was not 16x9 enhanced. In contrast, the LT150/prog. scan JVC spewed a fuzzy picture that looked nothing like anamorphic discs (like Gladiator). It looked so bad that I did a thorough check to make sure the prog. scan was still working and the aspect ratio controls were set correctly. I think I need a HTPC.
Summary
If I had to rank the projectors, it would be (1) CRT, (2) DILA, (3) DLP, and (4) LCD. The CRT and DILA were a close 1-2, with DLP a solid third and LCD a distant fourth.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the picture from my $1700 LT150, and I now have no buyers remorse whatsoever. If I had an additional $6k lying under a matress, I’d probably sell the LT150 and buy the 16x9 Sharp 9000 DLP unit when it comes out.
The CRT and DILA both produce superb images but are complicated to install. For a non-techie, a CRT installation will require a heavy crane, building permits, and professional installers that bill by the hour. The DILA, while DILA much smaller than a CRT, still requires an auxiliary cooling system, a hush box, and lots of tweaking. (During the shootout, the DILA was like a space heater.) Being a rather lazy fellow who moves around a lot, I'd better stick to small digital projectors.
Despite the generally favorable opinions of everyone at the shootout, I am returning the hi-power screen. UPS dented the casing a bit during transit, and it will have to be replaced anyway. But instead of replacing it with another hi-power, I’m upgrading to a “Fast-fold†screen that uses the 1.3 gain Cinema Vision fabric. As I intend to ceiling mount the LT150, the most dramatic benefits of the hi-power will be wasted on me. The fast-fold has a foldable aluminum screen and is designed to be portable. I hope this will make moving the screen around a bit easier. Also, the hi-power pull-down had some noticable waviness that distorted the picture around the edges. The fast-fold system comes with a screen that snaps onto a rigid frame. I hope this will eliminate the waves.
My HT Plans
I am close to having a HT setup that I like. But first I need to return the crappy JVC player and buy a HTPC. While anamorphic discs looked fine, non-anamorphic was horrible. And too much of my collection is non-anamorphic. Also, I am very interested in the panamorph, which I hope will reduce the LT150’s pixel structure a bit and punch up the brightness a little. Most importantly, I need a house! My real estate nightmares are another story entirely…
It was great to meet everyone. As soon as I move, I’d love to host a meeting to test out a Dish HDTV setup. Thanks again to Steve Benson for hosting this shootout!
Linwood Smith
aka Lurker #25
[This message has been edited by Lurker #25 (edited 08-15-2001).]
