Joined
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407 Posts
First of all, this is my first projector, so take my comments (as with many others) with a grain of salt.
Construction: This thing is huge! Having only seen business type desk top projectors, this thing looks like it is on steroids. It's about the size and depth of a high end AV receiver. Keep this in mind when shelf mounting. I found a 36" x 16" deep white MDF shelf from Lowes for mounting and it just barely gives enough clearance for the power and video cables. Ideally, I'd like to get a little more clearance for cooling. Also, it's heavy. I needed another person to hold the PJ while adjusted the shelf to the proper height. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth of projector!
Despite the size, the projectors minimalist design does seem to make it disappear into the room.
Noise: Mounted about 16' back with a 12' viewing distance, it's very hard for me to pick up the sound of this unit. But if I listen for it specifically, in the absolute quietest of scenes, I can hear it.
Image: Here's where I'm amazed what can be purchased for less than $1K. Keep in mind, I'm currently in process of purchasing a High Power screen, so I'm projecting 16' onto a dark beige wall! I have done no calibration of the unit out of the box, as I am awaiting the screen (but do have HD-DVD DVE when it arrives). HD-DVD (Xbox 360) looks fantastic in 720p. Extremely sharp. There is some SDE perceivable at 12' from a 106" screen with scenes heavy in whites etc. However, this is really only perceptible if you are actively looking for it. The brightness (my biggest concern before/after purchase) is seemingly more than adequate. Even with some ambient light in the room, "Standard" mode gives me more than enough brightness, even for my wife, who seems to prefer LCD/Plasma type sets. There are 3 standard modes (Theater, Standard, and Dynamic), and two Bright modes (Low Bright and High Bright). In my less than ideal setup (though most light is blocked), I haven't had to venture past standard mode.
Quote of the night: My wife: "I can't believe this is in our Basement."
And for those concerned about buying a refurb: Mine came with a listed 3 hours on the lamp. There were some smudges on the aluminum case, but a little windex took that right off, and mine was missing the lens cap. Other than that, the machine seemed new. Also, I love the remote! All the buttons are backlit and there are individual buttons for each input, as well as one to scroll through them. Although, I haven't had to use them, because the PJ detects active inputs!
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I'm planning much more extended viewing during the week, and will update my impressions. Keeping in mind my setup, I will try and answer any questions on this non-mainstream (read: not much online info) PJ as time allows. Thanks to all who recommended this PJ, I'm certainly one happy camper currently!
Construction: This thing is huge! Having only seen business type desk top projectors, this thing looks like it is on steroids. It's about the size and depth of a high end AV receiver. Keep this in mind when shelf mounting. I found a 36" x 16" deep white MDF shelf from Lowes for mounting and it just barely gives enough clearance for the power and video cables. Ideally, I'd like to get a little more clearance for cooling. Also, it's heavy. I needed another person to hold the PJ while adjusted the shelf to the proper height. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth of projector!
Despite the size, the projectors minimalist design does seem to make it disappear into the room.
Noise: Mounted about 16' back with a 12' viewing distance, it's very hard for me to pick up the sound of this unit. But if I listen for it specifically, in the absolute quietest of scenes, I can hear it.
Image: Here's where I'm amazed what can be purchased for less than $1K. Keep in mind, I'm currently in process of purchasing a High Power screen, so I'm projecting 16' onto a dark beige wall! I have done no calibration of the unit out of the box, as I am awaiting the screen (but do have HD-DVD DVE when it arrives). HD-DVD (Xbox 360) looks fantastic in 720p. Extremely sharp. There is some SDE perceivable at 12' from a 106" screen with scenes heavy in whites etc. However, this is really only perceptible if you are actively looking for it. The brightness (my biggest concern before/after purchase) is seemingly more than adequate. Even with some ambient light in the room, "Standard" mode gives me more than enough brightness, even for my wife, who seems to prefer LCD/Plasma type sets. There are 3 standard modes (Theater, Standard, and Dynamic), and two Bright modes (Low Bright and High Bright). In my less than ideal setup (though most light is blocked), I haven't had to venture past standard mode.
Quote of the night: My wife: "I can't believe this is in our Basement."
And for those concerned about buying a refurb: Mine came with a listed 3 hours on the lamp. There were some smudges on the aluminum case, but a little windex took that right off, and mine was missing the lens cap. Other than that, the machine seemed new. Also, I love the remote! All the buttons are backlit and there are individual buttons for each input, as well as one to scroll through them. Although, I haven't had to use them, because the PJ detects active inputs!
-----------------------
I'm planning much more extended viewing during the week, and will update my impressions. Keeping in mind my setup, I will try and answer any questions on this non-mainstream (read: not much online info) PJ as time allows. Thanks to all who recommended this PJ, I'm certainly one happy camper currently!
