[dfp77]

Hi. I have a panamorph lense I bought back in 2001($600) and I was wondering if I can use this with the NEC HT1000 projector. I believe that at least for DVD'S, I could use the full 1024x768 resolution by telling the DVD player that I have a 16:9 display and use the component outputs of my Panasonic RP91 player.


But, I really would like to use the full display with HDTV signals from my Panasonic TU-HDS20 tuner. Is this possible?


Thanks.


David P.

 

[darinp]

David,


I should be getting my HT1000 and lens soon. While you can use a Panamorph and get everything setup right since the HT1000 does have controls that work with anamorphic lenses, the problem that you are likely to run into is that the heat comes out the front of the HT1000 and this can make the liquid filled lenses leak. This is one reason that the new special HT1000 lens for $1k (on special) is liquidless. You might be able to make something to block the air from hitting the lens, but then you might have trouble getting the signal from the remote control to the projector reliably.


--Darin

 

[dfp77]

Darin,


Thanks for the info. I have had this lense for over a year procrastinating about what projector to buy. Well, let me know how that projector and new lense work out for you.


David P.

 

[Don Black]

Is the $1000 panamorph investment really worth it though? I mean we're talking about a 25% cost inflator for a projector that will be out-of-date (as technology gets better) in a year. Don't get me wrong, I know that both the HT1000 and the Panamorph are great products. But wouldn't it make more sense to just sell the HT1000 in 12-24 months and buy a native 16:9 projector?

 

[darinp]

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Black Is the $1000 panamorph investment really worth it though? I mean we're talking about a 25% cost inflator for a projector that will be out-of-date (as technology gets better) in a year. Don't get me wrong, I know that both the HT1000 and the Panamorph are great products. But wouldn't it make more sense to just sell the HT1000 in 12-24 months and buy a native 16:9 projector?

I think it depends on whether it is worth it to you to make the image a little more clear. It is to me in my living room where the main seating is at 1.4x screen width. Also, it increases the brightness.


Your same arguments could be made about all the HD2 projectors from $6k to $12k. So, then it is just a matter of personal taste as to what things are worth to you.


I would say that the projector will become out of date before a universal anamorphic lens does (I haven't seen the special HT1000 version to see if it is likely to be usable on a different projector). Many people use anamorphic lenses on 16x9 projectors for 2.35:1 material. It can make things even more clear, get rid of the black bars, and some people use them for creating constant height setups.


--Darin

 

[sushi]

Quote:

While you can use a Panamorph and get everything setup right since the HT1000 does have controls that work with anamorphic lenses...

Darin, you piqued my curiosity there. What do you exactly mean by that? Do you mean, you will not need to attach/detach the anamorphic lens depending on the program material you watch, because HT1000's controls can somehow take care of it all? Please refer to the user's manual if you need -- I have it downloaded already (I was seriously interested in the HT1000 at one point).

 

[darinp]

Hi Sushi,


I haven't actually gotten my HT1000, yet. Long story, but it should arrive next week or the week after.


For people with a 16:9 screen they can just leave the anamorphic lens on at all times. Then they would watch 4:3 material in the center of that screen just like with a 16:9 projector. The downside to this is that it takes about 30 seconds of pressing buttons in the menu to use 3D reform to get the 4:3 to fit right. Since NEC seems to understand that the anamorphic lenses are helping them sell a lot of these we're hoping that they will change the software so that we can then save this setting and get back to it easily. Some people are just programming their own remote controls to do all this, which is probably what I will do.


BTW: The 3D reform sounds like a great feature, since I think you can change the picture to fit your screen very well. There is also a feature to just turn lines off one at a time, which can also helping with lining up with the masking. By "off" I mean the mirrors trying not to project anything, not that anything physically goes over than line. One of the things I really like about using TheaterTek from my HTPC on my M20 D-ILA is that I can stretch or squish the movie in any direction to get it to line up with the screen masking, so I'm looking forward to having something similar in the HT1000.


Basically, for 16:9 and 2.35:1 material I think it is pretty easy. It sounds like you either just put the projector in 4:3 mode or do one other simple thing - there might even be an anamorphic lens setting. Those who actually have their projectors in their hands have pretty much indicated that it is very easy.


I may end up taking the anamorphic lens off at times for 4:3 IMAX films, since it is nice to make those big. For viewing with some lights on, I also might take it off for some other 4:3 material and put the projector closer to the screen and on a table when I want to get the extra brightness that using the full panel for 4:3 would give.


I've read here that the 16:9 images are about 14% brighter with the lens than without it. The extra pixels add some, but there is also some loss through the lens.


Sorry, that I couldn't tell you the exact setting.


--Darin