[bigjer]

is the z-2 bright enough for a 12' wide screen, 165" dia. using a 1.3 gain screen ? how will contrast be affected ? will the z-2 hot spot with 1.3 gain screen ? thanks

 

[jacksonian]

I don't have the Z2, but it's comparable to the Panny I own as far as brightness and I think that's way too big. You might get away with 120" but that's about max. The pj just isn't bright enough for that. Contrast will be poor, screen door and other artifacts magnified, etc... I think hotspotting will be the least of your problems.


You need a Sanyo PLV-70 with the 2200 lumen output for anything close to that size. And you realize the recommended viewing distance would be at least 18 feet away, right?

 

[Trepidati0n]

bigjer,


This question is beaten in every forum. Just remember this formula. If you have a 16:9 screen. Take the diagnol and multiply it by itself then divide by 337. This will give you the area of your screen in square feet. Then take the real lumen output and divide that by the square feet of your screen. If there is any gain on you screen, then multiply by that. The result is a measurment called foot lamberts. In your case


z2:

No Iris, High Lamp 615 lumens

 

[rlindo]

IMO it'll be too big.

 

[John Kotches]

It really will depend on screen gain. For the size screen being discussed, I would suggest going to a high gain screen, like a Vutec Silver or equivalent.


You'll need substantial gain for adequate brightness with the Z2 and this surface area.


Trep:


Is lbs an accepted abbreviation for lamberts? I thought lbs was pounds, and lamb was for lamberts. My old physics days read that as foot-poinds


Cheers,

 

[JPinTO]

Z2 won't hot spot on a 1.3x screen.

 

[Scott B]

A Sanyo PLV-70 will have sufficient light output and will have reduced pixelation due to its higher native resolution and MLA. A Sanyo PLV-60 would also be able to handle that size and gain of screen. My PLV-60 has sufficient light output for my 125" wide microperforated GrayHawk which has a gain of around 0.85. The PLV-70 puts out around 1800-2000 lumens with a fresh lamp, and the PLV-60 puts out 1000-1100 lumens with a fresh lamp. A used PLV-60 would probably be in the 2K price range, while PLV-70s are going for around 4K new.

 

[Mercer]

The Sony HS-20 should also be an ideal candidate for such a project. My setup is 128" on a grey (0.8 gain) screen, and I've got more light than I know what to do with on this setup. Shouldn't be a problem to do 160" with this projector, but it would require a seating distance of aprox 200"..


Regards,

Tore K.

 

[Scott B]

Mercer,


The HS-20 is a REALLY nice projector. I tested it in my home theater a few weeks ago, and while it outperformed my PLV-60 in pretty much every aspect, light output was not one of them. BTW, what is your viewing distance from your screen?

 

[rlindo]

yeah i wouldn't look to the hs20 as the pj to have this big screen size. tons of reports have said that it may not even be brighter than the z2...and if it is it isn't much brighter.


people need to really starting taking lumen specs with a grain of salt.

 

[Trepidati0n]

1. Going from 128" to 160" is a 60% increase in screen area and a 36% reduction in ft-l(am)bs compared to the 128".


2. What ever a PJ lists as specs are usually loaded. You need to measure with a light meter to get real values. The ones I posted for the Z2 are real measured values and should be taken with a good amount of confidence.


3. The people with the really big screens tend to also have the REALLY big budgets to buy a PJ.


-tReP

 

[Mercer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trepidati0n 1. Going from 128" to 160" is a 60% increase in screen area and a 36% reduction in ft-l(am)bs compared to the 128". 2. What ever a PJ lists as specs are usually loaded. You need to measure with a light meter to get real values. The ones I posted for the Z2 are real measured values and should be taken with a good amount of confidence. 3. The people with the really big screens tend to also have the REALLY big budgets to buy a PJ. -tReP

1. An increase in gain by 0.5 from 0.8 equals an increase by 60%. Shouldn't be a problem at all. I had the HS-10 in the same setup here, and I found the screen plenty bright enough for that one as well. (The HS-20 is about 50% brighter due to no need for filter, and MLA.)

2. Agreed. I'm going by personal experience with the HS-10 and HS-20, and I would love to have a bigger room so that I could try with an even bigger screen. I did a measurement from my seating distance with the AEMC Model CA811 Lightmeter, and got 114 lux. I am not sure how to use this number yet. But I did compare with my friends CRT setup, he got 70 lux with his Barco Graphics 808s, 104" white screen(1.0 gain), and same seating distance. Opening the iris and turning on the lamp to max I get about 200 lux depending on which color temperature I use.

3. Disagree. You can have just as much fun with a small budget as well. (If you call the Sony HS-20 a small budget.) Either way, the HS-20 is a better choice than the Sanyo PLV-70 IMHO. Especially if you've got good lightcontrol in the room.


My seating distance is a bit over 4 meter from a 2.85 meter wide screen.


Regards,

Tore K.

 

[Scott B]

Mercer,


There is no question in my mind that the HS20 is a superior projector to the PLV-70 in most ways, but the PLV-70 will be at least twice as bright as the HS20 with the lamp on high and the iris open. Different projectors for different needs. If you are happy with the brightness that you are getting on 128" 0.8 gain screen with the lamp on low and the iris closed, then that is all that matters. From my experience testing a HS20 on my 144" diagonal microperforated GrayHawk (0.85 gain), I would say that the HS20 would offer adequate brightness on a 12' wide 1.3 gain white screen with the lamp on high, the iris open, and a fresh lamp. Figure on losing roughly half of the light output throughout a lamps usable life.

 

[Mercer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Scott B Mercer, There is no question in my mind that the HS20 is a superior projector to the PLV-70 in most ways, but the PLV-70 will be at least twice as bright as the HS20 with the lamp on high and the iris open. Different projectors for different needs. If you are happy with the brightness that you are getting on 128" 0.8 gain screen with the lamp on low and the iris closed, then that is all that matters. From my experience testing a HS20 on my 144" diagonal microperforated GrayHawk (0.85 gain), I would say that the HS20 would offer adequate brightness on a 12' wide 1.3 gain white screen with the lamp on high, the iris open, and a fresh lamp. Figure on losing roughly half of the light output throughout a lamps usable life.

Well, I'd love to see a setup with a 160" screen, I do not think the HS-20 would have any problem with lighting up such a screen. Even in low mode and iris closed should pose no problem as long as you use the correct sceen. Sure it would depend on how bright an image you want, for me low black level is more important than ultra bright. Hence increasing the image size is actually a cool way to get both a big picture and a better black level. (Up to a level were the image starts to lack the required punch.) I'd have to agree that the lamp will degrade, and might pose a problem after 1500 hours, but then you can allways change it then and have a reserve bulb lying around.


In the CRT forum I was even reading about a maniac over in Australia who threw an 5 meter wide image with a 1000 peak ANSI lumen CRT projector.. So if they can do it, why can't we in the digital crowd? (Lumen output is supposed to be the "good" thing about digital projectors..)


Regards,

Tore K.

 

[doubleJ]

Partially on/off topic, but...

Here's a link ( http://www.smarthomesbook.com/outdoor.shtml ) to a guy using his x1 (1000 lumen svga) on a 20'x10' screen. I don't know how it's possible, but I think it's a pretty good looking picture. I will be trying something like this, myself, when the weather gets warmer.

bigjer...

If you have the pj, just try it. Don't not do it just because someone tells you it won't work. Let your own eyes be the judge.

If you don't have the pj, I think it's a worthy buy and if you can't do the size you want, you would still have a nice picture, albeit smaller.

If you "require" that size, then it would be a good idea to get something spec'd for that size, though (like a plv-70 or hs20).

JJ

 

[pgervais]

I have the 2HD and am in the process of finishing my theater. For testing I'm throwing on a couple sheets 11 feet wide. Total light control, seating at 13 and 18 feet. I think the picture looks outstanding. And it give me the total immersion in the film that I was looking for. 4:3 movies are still nice and big, and 2:35 movies are a blast. Now a bad dvd will look real bad, but there are plenty of great transfers out there. Recently watched Alien, Underworld, Raiders, AOTC, and they all looked phenominal. Pirates of the Caribbean looked good but on some distance shots it had some issues. So much depends on the rest of your environment (light conrol, etc..) but for me 11 feet wide works great!