[Rooney]

To all the vx 1000 owners,


What screens are you using with this pj? I have a light controlled dedicated room and am very interested in this projector. I'm getting conflicting opinions from the dealer regarding screen choice (for a 100"diag., 16:9). One of the salesmen stated that the pj is so bright that a Greyhawk would be the screen of choice, while another states that nothing but a firehawk will do. I know the firehawk supposedly is backordered for months.


Thanks,


Rooney

 

[xris2o0o]

I personally dont have this projector but I saw a demo of it on a GreyHawk and was very impressed.. When I purchase this projector, I will be going with a GreyHawk..


Chris

 

[Lee Ferguson]

I have this projector with a 110" (diagonal) Firehawk and the picture is stunning.

 

[Ron AZ]

Rooney... I have the Runco VX1000C and have a total light controlled dedicated theater and have the Stewart Studio-Tek 110" (diag) screen. I recently upgraded to the Runco VX1000C and had had this screen in my HT. The picture is AWESOME. The HT store where I original bought my HT gear offered to upgrade to the FIREHAWK for $750 from my current screen, but they said since I had a very dark HT room and they felt it would be fine with my current screen. If I did not already have a Stewart screen, I believe I would have bought the FIREHAWK, just because it is the newest screen technology. However, I have only seen the Grayhawk and Firehawk demoed when I was at CES this past January in Las Vegas.


Rooney is your HT totally light controlled? If not...go FIREHAWK from all I have read. Ron AZ

 

[Robster1958]

Ron....

did you mean you have the StudioTek 130 (1.3 gain?). if so, i would reconsider switching to a Firehawk. i beta-tested the Firehawk against my studiotek130, and the improvement was not subtle: blacks were perfected and colors deepened. also, whites were more uniform with less shimmering. also the reflected light was diminished. oh did i say i love the firehawk??


i am using a Runco vx-1c with anamorphic lens....overall spec are close to the vx1000.


i have yet to see a dlp pj that did not benefit from the firehawk, at least with a larger size 96" x 54" and up). maybe its personal preference, but the grayhawk seems to lack punch, no matter the rated lumens of the pj.


oh...and the upgrade offer from your dealer for the firehawk material sounds reasonable (i assume you have the snap on fixed screen frame).

 

[PF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Robster1958 Ron.... i am using a Runco vx-1c with anamorphic lens....overall spec are close to the vx1000. i have yet to see a dlp pj that did not benefit from the firehawk, at least with a larger size 96" x 54" and up). maybe its personal preference, but the grayhawk seems to lack punch, no matter the rated lumens of the pj.

I have viewed this projector extensively (and ordered one) on GrayHawks and Studiotek 130s and it looked absolutely sensational every time -- there was certainly no lack of punch on a GrayHawk, although in general I agree with you that GrayHawk sometimes cuts picture "dynamics" on other DLP projectors, making everything darker, not just blacks.


But the VX1000C is not like the VX1C, unfortunately; it's much brighter than the VX1C, yet blacks are CRT like. (Don't get e wrong, the VX1C is still a pretty good projector -- about as good as it gets for a non-HD1 projector.) Even with a StudioTek 130 screen, blacks from the VX1000C are beyond anything that was previously possible from any type of digital projector, imo.


I would consider going to a FireHawk if I had a very, very large screen. But if not, I wouldn't hesitate to use a GrayHawk or StudioTek 130 until a consensus develops about whether or not this very bright projector benefits from the FireHawk. Hopefully, Don Stewart of Stewart Film can kick in at some later date with a definitive answer.

 

[Lee Ferguson]

Before I bought my screen I telephoned Don Stewart, since I was confused as to which screen to use with the VX1000C. I was moving up from a VX1C with a Studio tek 130 screen.


Don reccomended the Firehawk over both the Studio tek and the Grayhawk.

 

[Ron AZ]

Lee.. I can understand that STEWART would recommend their most current screen version. Have you viewed your VX1000C on both your Studio-Tek screen and the Firehawk to see if YOU can see the difference? This way you would see for yourself if it is worth the extra dollars to upgrade. Good luck with your new projector, it would be interesting to hear your opinion on the differences between the VX1C and the VX1000C. I had the VX101C before upgrading to the VX1000C, so there was a major improvement. GOOD VIEWING... Ron AZ

 

[Rooney]

Thanks for your input guys! Do you guys have any type of masking (2 vs. 4 way) with this pj?


Regards,


Rooney

 

[Lee Ferguson]

Ron


I started out with the StudioTek and the VX1C. When the Grawhawk was introduced as a screen for DLP I checked into it. I was told by the folks at Stewart that the brightness of my VX1C was not enough to work with the Grayhawk screen.


When I bought the VX1000C it was my intention to change to either the Grayhawk or the Firehawk,which was then in Beta testing. Don Stewart was very clear in his recommendation for the Firehawk. ( I just picked up the phone and called him. We spoke for about 30 minutes)


The Runco arrived several weeks before the Firehawk did, so I was able to watch the new projector on the Studio Tek. Compared to the VX1C the image was amazing. The color fidelity and overall image brightness were greatly improved and the blacks looked better as well. There was no light spray.


The addition of the Firehawk several weeks later provided even more improvement particularly in black level. The colors look even better. The picture on the Firehawk is absolutely stunning!


My screen is 110" diagonal. It is a fixed frame so the new snap on Firehawk material was only about $700.

 

[Ron AZ]

Lee.. thanks for the review.. my local HT dealer said the cost was $750 for the upgraded screen.


Rooney.. I have no masking.. I do have the 4" VELUX covered frame, which is about a $400 option that I believe is well worth the cost. The VX1000C with the HD1 chip (16/9) doesn't have the over-spray issue as did my VX101C or as Lee states his VX1C.


PS. FYI... as you might have read in another thread, the issue of DEAD PIXELS. I called RUNCO and they told me that their policy is ZERO DEAD PIXEL for the first 2 years on the VX1000C and that they would fix any DLP even if it had one dead pixel. Ron AZ

 

[Lee Ferguson]

Ron


My VX1C Had a three pixels that would stick intermittently. Runco sent me a new unit no questions asked!

 

[Ron AZ]

Rooney & Lee.. I just received my June 2002 copy of Stereo Guide to HT. They reviewed the Sim2 HT300 and in the CALIBRATION section (page 58) Thomas Norton said that he would not recommend the FIREHAWK for screens over 7 ft wide. just FYI... Ron AZ

 

[cinergi]

VX1000c owners


How loud is it compared to say the Sharp or Marantz?


Lamp life on Runco's website says 2000 hours yet the manual says only 1000 hours. Which is it?


Regarding ceiling mounting the vx1000c. Can the top of the screen image be below the lens without having to use keystone correction and if so how much lower can it be?

 

[Ron AZ]

cinergi... you can hear the fan on the Runco when you have NO sound on, as you can with the Sharp and Marantz. But, once you turn your surround sound on, I cannot hear it... probably couldn't hear a truck that pulled up outside my house either.... I like to play it loud. Don't know how many hours the lamp will last since I have only had the VX1000C for a month. My screen is located lower than the projector lens by about 1 foot. Ron AZ

 

[cinergi]

Ron,


In your opinion, would you say the fan noise of the Runco is about the same as the Sharp and Marantz or noticeably louder?


Given that your screen is about 1 foot below the lens are you using keystone correction?

 

[PF]

I can't comment on the offset since I don't have my unit yet. But every dealer I've seen had it set up pretty much exactly in line with the top of the screen. As Ron AZ says, there is a bit of down-the-wall offset, though.


As for noise, it's pretty quiet but not quite as quiet as the Sharp and Marantz. But it's better than the SIM2 and some others. I don't think the vast majority of people would find it objectionable unless they insist on dead silence (go fo a Dwin HD700 CRT in that case). If you can live with the Sharp, I'm sure the Runco will not bother you either. They're fairly comparable.

 

[Don Stewart]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ron AZ Rooney & Lee.. I just received my June 2002 copy of Stereo Guide to HT. They reviewed the Sim2 HT300 and in the CALIBRATION section (page 58) Thomas Norton said that he would not recommend the FIREHAWK for screens over 7 ft wide. just FYI... Ron AZ

I have not read the article yet, but I would speculate that the writer has the Firehawk and GrayHawk confused with each other.

The reason that Stewart developed the Firehawk was to address the lower light output of the single chip DLP. I will have our people

investigate and request SGHT to make the correction in a future issue.

Regards,

Don

 

[Ron AZ]

cinergi... I actually went and measured...the top of the Runco lense is about 6" from the ceiling and the top of the actual screen material is 18".


The noise is a bit louder with the VX1000C , from my former VX101C (500 watt lamp) but I have never heard it once the sound is turned on. I know lots of people talk about fan noise, my recommendation is to go to a HT store and listen to the 'fan noise' with the sound off then listen to it with the sound ON.... if you can hear it or it bothers you ... don't buy it..if you can't hear it, then it is a non-issue. Trust your own hearing. Make sure you read all the issues I have seen posted here in AVS about the Sharp and Marantz issues and I would definately look at the SIM2 HT300. I have always liked the Seleco/SIM produces. Good Luck...


PS...Don Stewart...really like my STEWART SCREEN, I honestly believe you make the best screens. Ron AZ