[kelvink]

TW-100 sounds more appealing to me due to :


(1) Higher Resolution. Enough to display windows desktop. Future-proof for HiDef.


(2) Cheaper than 1280x720 DLP.


(3) Supposedly less screen door than AE-100.


Now I've been reading a lot of in-depth reviews about AE-100 and I don't even know if the TW-100 is worth the extra 3k (Canadian) for the above benefits.


Could you guys point out what I should look for when deciding whether to go ahead with the TW-100?


Thanks in advance.

Kelvin

 

[JPinTO]

I'd recommend that you see both units in person and then make the decision whether the TW100's improved PQ is worth the extra money.


I personally saw the Toshiba MT7 which is also a 1280x720 LCD and I liked it a lot. I would have loved to get an MT7 but could not justify double the money over the AE100... to me it was not twice as good of a picture. It was better but not by enough to make me write the cheque for it.


If you have budgeted the money for a TW100 then you will be rewarded with better PQ, but only you can decide if the $3000 was well spent. In that price range you may want to demo other projectors, such as the Sanyo PLV60, XP21, Toshiba MT7, Infocus LS110, Sony 11HT.


Remember, reading here can only get you so far, then you need to invest some eyeball time seeing them.

 

[kelvink]

Thanks JP for your advice.


Now, when you say MT7 has a better picture did you compare it to AE100? Or it overall gives you a better picture in terms of color/contrast? Did you notice screen door?


I understand that doubling the price doesn't mean doubling the PQ. I guess this is something I have to judge myself in person as you suggested.

 

[Lefreck]

I've seen the TW100 next to a Toshiba MT7 and Sanyo PLV60 and have to say that IMHO the Epson did produce the best picture. I had the Panasonic AE100 for one (1!) day and immediately returned it, because I wasn't satisfied with PQ, especially with Pal material. I've owned 2 LCD projectors so far and want a real improvement this time. That's why I will probably order an Epson tomorrow

 

[kelvink]

Lefreck,


What turns you off on the AE100?

 

[Jkun]

Maybe because PAL requires 576 pixels vertically, rather than 480?


The TW-100 got tested in last Audiovision. They measured 1.3 lumen blacklevel, 500: contrast, over 250:1 on ansi checkerboard.


That's about what my DLS-8 dlp has, so I would think the TW-100 is quite good, especially considering its LCD... LCD sure has progressed in the past 2 years.


J-kun

 

[Li On]

Hi Kelvin,


Check my review in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=133122

http://mavis.telhope.com/~lion/temp/2-100.JPG


regards,


Li On

 

[kelvink]

Thanks Li On. As a matter of fact your thread got my first attention towards the TW-100, and I like your in-depth reviews together with Morpheus!


Now after I read your May 7 post about your opinions comparing AE100 and TW100 I think I've nailed down to the decision for now, TW100 it is!


I know that the price premium I have to pay won't be proportional to the added feature/performance I'll get. Yet, screen door and future-proofness sit pretty high on my list of features. Besides, I'll be spending the money Dec this year so I hope that the cost will be less by then.


So I spotted that Morpheus is located in HongKong. Are you located in HK too? Yeah, I'm from HK, that's where I'll be going Dec this year to spend the money.


Thanks again.

Kelvin

 

[Yorkie]

Hi Kelvink,

One more critical factor is the DCDi function. I have used a general video source from VCR to display the TV picture, that is great also. The DCDi save you $$ instead upgrade the DVDP w/ progressive or buy the line doubler.

 

[kelvink]

Hey Yorkie,


That I heard. Thanks for the info though. I'm gonna buy a 480p DVD player anyway to replace my 3yr old JVC, and I am gonna use an HTPC as well.


So do you own a TW100? Could you share you experience with it? Thanks.


kelvin

 

[kelvink]

Folks,


Fan noise is something that I'm very sensitive to. Epson boasts that tw100 produces only 31dB noise. I want to get your opinions on it.


Anyway, I think I'll build a hush box (with air in/out) to the ceiling. Yet, I'll still like a quiet projector.


Thanks,

Kelvin

 

[noah katz]

"I am gonna use an HTPC as well."


I'm curious why you'd wnat to go to the expense and hassle when you have Faroudja in the pj. IIRC, the Marantz VP12Si (with Far. also) picture is extremely close to what it is w/HTPC. Maybe games?

 

[kelvink]

I agree. To be honest I like using a DVD player rather than a PC for playing DVD, simply due to the fact that PC involves a lot more steps and takes longer to load a disk. My use of HTPC is not mainly for DVD, it'd be for internet and maybe games as well. Also, maybe in the near future 720p MPEG4 material will be available so IMO a PC is definitely more future-proof than a DVD player.

 

[Li On]

Hi Kelvin,


Don't worry, as far as I can hear, the TW100 is silent. Well, unless you ear is 1" besides it...


Btw, if you read my TW100 comment, you already knew it.


regards,


Li On

 

[Yorkie]

Hi Kelvink,

My king seat is just next to the TW100 placement, I don't feel any noise near by. So that is good.

I am very happy w/ the picture quality and specially like the DCDi that I don't require to upgrade the DVDp ^^. Save the $$ to upgrade the AV amp and speakers(5.1->7.1).

 

[kelvink]

Hey Yorkie,


How much did you pay for the TW-100? I assume that you bought it in Hong Kong. The lowest price in Japan (info from *************** and kakaku.com) is somewhere around 469000 yen.


Kelvin

 

[kelvink]

Now back to the DCDi chip. I didn't do a lot of research on it but my impression is that deinterlacing is best to be performed in the source, that is, the DVD player. Is it true? Like the source can pickup frame-to-frame information and do the interpolation quickly.


But I guess we're talking about scaling the 60Hz 480i information to fill the 720p screen, so that's something the DVD player can't do, well it can but no DVD player will do it unless everyone owns a 720p compatible TV.


Kelvin

 

[MorpheusSzeto]

I don't think the deinterlacing is best to be performed in DVD player, IMO. In terms of deinterlacing, Faroudja chipset performs great; nomatter in a DVD player or a standalone line-doubler. But the most important point is that, for a DVD source, if full film data is encoded in the disc, there is no need to do "deinterlace". That's exactly what a software DVD player will do in a HTPC, just decode the MpegII data and show it. I am still wonder why most of the Progressive DVD players still read half of the DVD data, and perform deinterlacing to make it "progressive". That's part of the reasons why I am still stick to HTPC. Of course, for Video source, we still need a good line-doubler.


Correct me if I am wrong.


Regards,

Morpheus

 

[kelvink]

I maybe wrong too but this is what I've been taught:


(1) The data on a DVD does not have proegressive information. I think the format was designed to support NTSC and PAL standards but not HiDef. A few years ago I had the same impression that DVD disk had progressive information to start with but apparently I was wrong.


(2) According to www.dcdi-video.com the DCDi is best to be performed at source in the digital domain, that is, in DVD player or HTPC. It can still do the job in the analog domain, but it has to combat noise.


(3) I agree that HTPC can do something similar to DCDi, but I don't like the idea of having it so software/hardware dependent. Maybe the cheapest to get best result is to pay $40 for a nice S/W DVD player, and then getting a $100 AGP card. This costs $140, ain't bad but it then depends on stability of OS, drivers, S/W settings, tweaking, etc. To be honest I never succeeded in getting a robust HTPC setup for DVD. Considering that the Panny rp59 (DCDi equipped) is only USD$200. That's why my use of the HTPC with the projector won't be JUST for DVD.


(4) I also agree that HTPC seems to be the only way to generate DCDi-quality 720p signal "at-source". Maybe this is the reason why Morpheus still like to stick with HTPC. I'm not sure if the DCDi chip on TW-1000 will do 720p up-scaling for 480p signal. If not, then I agree that there is no need to get a 480p DVD player. Maybe even my 3-yr old JVC can still produce stunning picture. Again I need you guys to verify this for me.


Morpheus, how much did you pay for the TW-100 in HKD?


Regards,

Kelvin

 

[MorpheusSzeto]

Dear Kelvink,


For (1), I am quite sure data IS progressive on DVD (good DVD of course). Please see http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...e-10-2000.html


For (2), I agree. I miss that point.


For (3), since software DVD decoder doesn't have to do deinterlacing, there is no comparison. I can say all deinterlacer now done by a HTPC is not that good, including hardware display card deinterlacer, software deintelace like WinDVD, PowerDVD, Ravisent, or others. The best I have experience in using is the DScaler, although it still can't match with the DCDi built-in my TW-100. Now I am using HTPC to watch "correctly flaged" film source DVD (in Li On's term); and standalone DVD player to watch video source DVD. I also use standalone TV receiver directly connected to my TW-100 to watch TV, instead of PCTV pro + DScaler.


For (4), the TW-100 sure will do upscale of 480p signal, but not using the DCDi I think; and the result is not watchable IMO. That's why a fairly good 480i signal to the TW-100 is much better than a outstanding 480p signal. If I am going to bypass the built-in DCDi of the TW-100, I must use a good progressive DVD player + a good scaler, or a good non-progressive DVD player + a very good line-doubler.


I got it below HK$30K, but that is not street price.


Regards,

Morpheus