[Loquitur]

Hi:


I've about decided that the Yamaha LPX-510 is the projector for me since the LCOS have too long a throw and the DLPs cause too much eye strain and fatigue. I'm hoping to impose on the good members of this board for the answers to a couple of questions that I haven't found any info on:


1) Does it have sealed optics or do you have to clean the filter? If you do need to clean it, where is it located? Do you have to remove it from the mount?


2) I see it has two component inputs of 5 RCA's. Can I just use the first three of them for Y,Pr,Pb and leave the other two empty?


3) Will I be able to choose a 4:3 aspect ratio from the DVI and component inputs or is this available only in the composite and S-video inputs?


Thanks so much for any info!


Susan

 

[Leg One]

AVS Forum > Display Devices > Digital Hi-End Projectors - $3500 USD MSRP and Up

>>> LPX-510 in a word...WOW!

 

[Orangelo]

Question number 2 I would dare yo answer "yes" without having seen the PJ. My - DLP - Yammy works that way (as well as every other PJ with RGBHV connections I have seen before)

 

[Furious]

I'm sampling one at the moment, so here's some answers based on last night's brief muck about:



1) You have to clean a filter, it is located on the underside of the projector, so yes, I imagine you'd have to remove it from some mounts to get at it.


2) You can use the three appropriate RCA's for component video. With the appropriate breakout cable the 5 are used for VGA input. A D4 (Japanese equivalent of component video) is also curiously present.


3) I'll have to check to confirm the component input answer. It has HDMI so I can't speak for DVI input options. I do recall that there is a 4:3 mode, which will display the input signal as 4:3, either in correct geometry for non-16x9 sources, or vertically stretched 4:3 for 16x9 sources. I do not recall any of the various aspect ratio modes being locked on component or svideo.



Quote:

Originally posted by Loquitur Hi: I've about decided that the Yamaha LPX-510 is the projector for me since the LCOS have too long a throw and the DLPs cause too much eye strain and fatigue. I'm hoping to impose on the good members of this board for the answers to a couple of questions that I haven't found any info on: 1) Does it have sealed optics or do you have to clean the filter? If you do need to clean it, where is it located? Do you have to remove it from the mount? 2) I see it has two component inputs of 5 RCA's. Can I just use the first three of them for Y,Pr,Pb and leave the other two empty? 3) Will I be able to choose a 4:3 aspect ratio from the DVI and component inputs or is this available only in the composite and S-video inputs? Thanks so much for any info! Susan

 

[Loquitur]

Thank you, gentlemen. I put in an order and hope it won't be a noisy one. I was under the impression that the Yamaha motorcycle division came up with some new muffler technology that makes these projectors especially quiet. We'll see.


Susan

 

[khoney]

Quote:

Originally posted by Loquitur Hi: I've about decided that the Yamaha LPX-510 is the projector for me since the LCOS have too long a throw and the DLPs cause too much eye strain and fatigue. I'm hoping to impose on the good members of this board for the answers to a couple of questions that I haven't found any info on: 1) Does it have sealed optics or do you have to clean the filter? If you do need to clean it, where is it located? Do you have to remove it from the mount? There is a cleanable filter that can be removed without taking the projector off the mount (assuming you purchase the Yamaha mount). I just climbed up and took a look, and there is no interference (I have the L51 low-profile ceiling mount). No tools required. It can be vacuumed without removal unless particularly dirty. For anyone upgrading from a 500, you will need a new mount, but the part that attaches to the ceiling is the same, so no worries about mounting holes. 2) I see it has two component inputs of 5 RCA's. Can I just use the first three of them for Y,Pr,Pb and leave the other two empty? That's what I'm doing. I am very pleased with component signal. 3) Will I be able to choose a 4:3 aspect ratio from the DVI and component inputs or is this available only in the composite and S-video inputs? Remember, this unit does not have a DVI input - it is HDMI. For both component video and HDMI, all SDTV signals can be displayed in 4:3 aspect in Normal mode and Through mode. Pixel resolution is 960x720 in Normal mode. For Through mode, it is 640x480 for 480i/p and 768x576 for 576i/p. Thanks so much for any info! Susan

 

[Loquitur]

Hi Khoney!


Wow - thanks for the great information. Do you find it noisy?


Susan

 

[Leg One]

I returned the Yamaha LPX-500 and picked up the LPX-510 last night (06/08/04) from my local Tweeter. Installation was relatively easy, involving drilling three new holes in my custom ceiling mount. Lense shift allowed fine tuning of the image position to fit my existing screen location.


Image size and focus (powered) were easy. I particularly like the focus adjustment (remote control) because I can get up at the screen to see if the pixels are sharp. Prior to this I used a small set of binoculars back at the projector.


I am projecting onto a 106" diagonal screen so my first impression is that the picture is bright. I'll look into "iris" and "light output" to ultimately lower brightness (bulb life can be lengthened if light output is lowered).


"Black" is rendered better than the LPX-500. The edge bands normally visible in 4:3 mode are nearly the same color (black) as the screen border with no image projected. The LPX-500 rendered these "gray". This gray was (is) representative of the quality of the black available in the primary image area. This limited contrast and the ability to see detail in dark scenes.


Like the LPX-500 and other LCD based projectors, flesh tones are spot on "lifelike". It is eerie to see peoples faces as large as this and see the detail.


Fan noise (low) is about the same as the LPX-500 (only audable during complete silence). My seating position is directly under the projector itself so fan noise goes ahead and behind me.


I'll watch some HD content tonight and see how that looks. I'll look for a baseball game (oh boy!).


Martin

 

[khoney]

Quote:

Originally posted by Loquitur Hi Khoney! Wow - thanks for the great information. Do you find it noisy? Susan

You're quite welcome, Susan. With respect to the fan, It seems noisy during warmup, but afterwards it is fairly quiet. I haven't tried lowering the fan speed yet by changing the lamp output, so it is on the highest speed. I currently have a fairly 'live' media room, about 11x15ft (I know, it's small), and I don't find the sound distracting. Things should improve even more when I add curtains on the rear window (currently cardboard!).

 

[RPNYC]

Hi,


The fan speed seems to have 3 levels that correspond to the lamp output. They've also been tuned to the standard picture modes. If you lower the lamp output to 75-80% (or change to Cinema or Cinema Black picture modes) you'll be at the lowest fan setting and it's very quiet. As you increase light output to 85-90 it will kick the fan up a bit and it finally reaches it's loudest position at 95-100%. It's very quiet indeed.

 

[Leg One]

I agree with the above posts regarding the LPX-510. For anything but the largest screen sizes and bright rooms we (I) will use lower output light settings ("standard or cinema" mode). This will result in quieter operation. Unless your watching "silent movies" your never going to hear the cooling fan.


Running the projector "wide open" is too bright for my 106" screen in a completely dark room. Last night I dialed it down and the picture was "more satisfying". HD pictures (Leno) are "3D like" due to better black clarity.


Martin

 

[BousquetP]

How have you folks positioned the 510 with respect to your screen? Could you tell me how far away from the screen the PJ is and what the distance is between the top of the screen and the lens center is? I assume the PJ is mounted above the screen.

 

[Hotalot]

WideScreen Review posted Bill Cushman's review of the LPX-510 on the subscriber website.

Cushman says it's the best LCD pj he has ever seen and it DOESN'T need calibration at all. It was virtually perfectly calibrated to D65 out of the box.

 

[Leg One]

Quote:

Originally posted by BousquetP How have you folks positioned the 510 with respect to your screen? Could you tell me how far away from the screen the PJ is and what the distance is between the top of the screen and the lens center is? I assume the PJ is mounted above the screen.

The LPX-510 is mounted in the same location as the LPX-500. My walls are 7' 3" tall, projector location is ceiling, center of the screen (R/L) about ten inches above the screen. Distance back is ~14 feet while seating position is directly under the projector. Screen size is 106" diagonal (16:9) with the screen center ~ 50" off the floor. Room lighting is fully controlled to complete darkness. In this position, the projector can be zoomed much larger and a little smaller (~96").


I'm using a custom mount (3" tall) suspended from the ceiling grid. Grid is USG "Fineline DXF" which has the channel between the tiles. This accepts a carriage bolt slid in from the end. The mount attaches to four of these.


All wiring comes in from above and snakes across the plenum space to the equipment.


I am considering replacing the ceiling tile in the immediate screen area w/black (currently white) to cut down on reflected light but...more work.


Martin

 

[BousquetP]

Thanks Martin. One followup, in your current setup did you have to use the lens shift to the extreme or was it a somewhat minor tweek? I assume that the lens shift does not effect picture quality as keystone correction might.

 

[Leg One]

Quote:

Originally posted by BousquetP Thanks Martin. One followup, in your current setup did you have to use the lens shift to the extreme or was it a somewhat minor tweek? I assume that the lens shift does not effect picture quality as keystone correction might.

Hi BousquetP,


The location I chose for the LPX-500 was "optimal". Optimal meaning the picture hit the screen dead square (no keystone adjustment) +- 1/8" diagonal picture measurement.


The LPX-510 has a wider chassis so the equipment centerline is different. This resulted in an offset (~1") on my custom mount to match up the LPX-510 lens on the previous lens centerline.


In my installation no keystone adjustment is necessary (square picture). The lens shift left/right is on the detent (centered). The lens shift up and down (no detent ?) is well... within its range. I don't see that the lens shift has any effect on picture quality.


Other adjustments (mainly black level) make a bigger difference to me.


The variation in sources is problematic (hence so many "picture presets"). Digital/film/video sources (color, tint and sharpeness) are different as well as progressive vs. non-progressive scan. Digital television (ATSC) has an entirely different color drive than does satellite.


Martin

 

[BousquetP]

Martin,


I guess what I would like to know is with your current setup, is the "shift up and down" towards the middle or to one of the extremes. Since your PJ is approximately 10" above the top edge of the screen, I was wondering if this was the default offset, similar to what other projectors without a lens shift have.

 

[khoney]

Martin's install sounds very similar to mine, and I had to adjust the vertical lens shift considerably to place the image where the LPX-500 had it by default. There actually is a detent in the vertical lens shift (I had to scroll the image way up to find it), and for me it hits it when the image is centered near the top of the screen. Not sure why this projector is so different from the 500 - I assumed the top of the image would be close to the top of the screen, since I was set up exactly as spec'ed for the 500. But Martin is correct, I don't see any adverse effects from using the lense shift, and I am a good bit off of the detent.

 

[John Tuohy]

How is the Screen Door effect on this ?


Thanks

 

[khoney]

I posted some screendoor images for the 510 in a recent thread, Pictures of Epson Cinema 500 Images. I have a screendoor-unfriendly (i.e. small) media room, and I'm very happy with the 510's screendoor improvement over the 500.