[Gus]

After about 3 months on a shelf, I finally picked up my multimeter and my detector and got to work on my SMART calibration.


First off, 3 things:


1. It is very easy to do. Once you get to doing it, you won't be intimidated.


2. Steve Smallcombe is a gentleman. He will respond to questions promptly and curtiously.


3. It works.


Here is how it went for me:


I had a day off a couple of weeks ago and decided to spend some quality time with my HT .


I did the calibration run on "low" and typed my results into my SMART spreadsheet.


Unfortunately, I made a couple of fatal typos when entering the data and wound up with a totally screwey curve. This confused the software and caused it to give me incorrect advice. Because I got off on the wrong foot, it got more complicated than it should have. I emailed my work to Steve and he immediately saw the error.


So I started over. The second time, it only took me about one hour to complete the process from beginning to end.


My initial contrast ratio was 334:1


My last "run" reported a contrast ratio of 418:1 (CC40R filter)


This was all with the cinema black off.


After my last "run" I proceeded to adjust my contrast in accordance with the SMART instructions. I don't know what the final contrast ratio is since I didn't take any measurements after the contrast adjustment.


Conclusions:


Before the tweak, I tended to stay away from dark movies. I watched "From Hell" and then watched it again on my 60" RPTV. No contest. MUCH better on the 11HT.


Yes folks, it IS worth it. Now I'm kicking my self in the ass for waiting so long.


Gus

 

[chrisreeves]

Congrats Gus on getting it done; I'm sure your HT will be more enjoyable now. =)


One thing - could do a contrast measurement now that you adjusted your contrast after your last "run". I'm dying to know what the final value is. =)

 

[baipai]

Cheer! Gus


Do you have the company phone number or e-mail? And how much it's cost? Thank you.

 

[LoFi]

baipai,


Pls. go here:

http://www.smartavtweaks.com/


(Steve Smallcombe's web site).


Everything is ordered via the internet.


I've tried SMART II on my Sony 10HT (before I changed to Epson TW100) and I agree with Gus' posts above.

 

[greggz]

Thanks for the update Gus. I've got the SMART kit sitting here on my desk ready to go but the completion date for my room has slipped again. I had hoped to have my projector set up in its new home and SMART'ed by now, but it looks like its going to be June.

 

[dart22]

Gus,


- How many hours did you have on your 11HT when you started this process?


Talal

 

[Gus]

Quote:

Originally posted by dart22 Gus, - How many hours did you have on your 11HT when you started this process? Talal

234 hours.


Gus

 

[Gus]

Can anybody tell me how to measure the contrast ratio without doing a complete "run"?


Is there a quick way using the detector and multimeter?


Gus

 

[DanHouck]

Now if this was just available for the Sanyo XP21N. . . .


HINT, HINT!


Dan

 

[3090]

Quote:

Now if this was just available for the Sanyo XP21N. . . .

Maybe the package for the PLV-60 can be applied to the XP21N. BTW, has anyone tried this with the PLV-60?

 

[Gus]

Quote:

Originally posted by 3090 Maybe the package for the PLV-60 can be applied to the XP21N. BTW, has anyone tried this with the PLV-60?

Lots of people have tried this on the Sanyo PLV-60. It works perfectly with the Sanyo.



Gus

 

[3090]

What exactly is being corrected in the PLV60/13HD? Mine seems to have a +25%red, -20%green and perfect blue. How would a cc filter help me?


Gus,

How different are your settings from a basic Avia calibration? Besides the numbers what are some of the improvements that stand out? Thanks.

 

[Scott B]

I have tried calibrating my PLV-60 using SMART and found that it offered no meaningful improvement. My projector actually runs out of green before red. When I tried a CC30R filter I had to reduce the green and blue gains so that the filter ended up acting like a neutral density filter. The result was no improvement in measured contrast. Do keep in mind, however, that other individuals have had positive results calibrating their PLV-60 using SMART with or without a CCR filter.

 

[Steve13]

Scott-

Steve Smallcombe and I work together on SMART stuff, he develops the software and I manufacture and sell the hardware (filters, detectors, etc)



We continue to improve the products based on response from customers, so input like yours is import. Based on feedback, the filter that works best most often is a combo CC20R/ND.03 filter.


If you bought your CC30R filter from us ( www.enhancedht.com ), we'd be happy to exchange it for a 20/ND combo. Please send me a PM or an email to [email protected] .


3090-

I'll make sure that Steve Smallcombe (the other Steve!) checks this thread soon. He's better able to offer a technical explanation of what setting SMART corrects on the Sanyo.

 

[dart22]

Gus, Steve13


My 11HT had 50 hours on it when i did my first Cal. it felt and it still does feel a little over bright i use to had a 10HT before i sold it at 400 hours and i dont recall feeling that way about it.

I ve heard that the UHP lamp lose a considerable amount of their output the first 100 hours or so, I just want to know your take on that!


Talal

 

[Steve13]

Talal-

The lampsdo dim, but very gradually.


Perhaps your factory LOW was a little off. Your pre-calibrated detector is on the way, so that may solve your problem.


S

 

[Steve Smallcombe]

Lots of answers needed here, but as I am on the road right now and about to catch a 14 hour flight, home at least, I'll have to be brief.



SMART and CC filters work very well with the SONY projectors as the controls are well behaved, the bulb is short on red and so they all dependably respond well to CC Red filters.


Many have used SMART with the Sanyo, and with mixed results. That is because the controls are not very well behaved, and thus tweaking is not necessarily straight forward. Each projector behaves a bit differently. SMART will tell you what is happening, that is not the problem. It is just not always obvious what to do next. Since the Sanyos are fairly well color balanced internally, red filters may not always be the right answer. It seems that more often than not, a slight red filter is of some benefit, but not if you run out of green first. Some have been able to improve contrast ratio, others the low level color balance, others gamma tracking. Again, the Sanyo is not as easy to tweak as the SONYs, so it is not for the faint of heart, but if you are going to tweak a Sanyo, then SMART will certainly tell you whether you are making progress or not.


Steve

 

[Bob McKenny]

Steve or Steve,

Quote:

Perhaps your factory LOW was a little off. Your pre-calibrated detector is on the way, so that may solve your problem.

I recently had to send in my 10HT to Sony to get a new prism block. The gray scale has seemed a little too green ever since it was returned. When you say that your detector is pre-calibrated, does this mean that it is set to 6500 K? If so, I am assuming that this will allow me to set my gray scale properly?


Also, what type of a CC filter would you recommend? I am using a 110" diagonal Stewart Grayhawk and my default low settings are Gain R 148, G 95, B 116 and Bias R 71, G 63, B 55. I don't want the image to be too dark so I am concerned about going with too strong of a filter.


Thanks!


Bob

 

[Darrel Johansen]

For a report on my experience with SMART with the SE-13HD, you can go to my report .


Since I wrote this, I've done some tweaks by eye to get the grayscale a little more even and upgraded my HTPC. All in all, I'd recommend SMART just to find out what your PJ is capable of. I think that improvement can probably be gotten from any PLV-60/HD-13HD right out of the box, but it takes time. The best contrast ratio is not necessarily going to give the best grayscale tracking. That, in my opinion, is the bottom line with this PJ: find a way to avoid the greens in the mid-IREs, and try to even out the gamma.


In the end, I had to tweak the gamma of my video card to get a good balance after I adjusted for the best black levels. If you don't have an HTPC, you might need a DVD player with adjustable gamma.

 

[DanHouck]

3090:


Unfortunately, the XP21N is a different animal than the PLV60, using Epson MLA panels versus Sony and having sigificantly different settings. Fortunately, HKSteve is working on the problem.


Dan