I'm new to projectors - have questions

[PaulDF]

I've been doing a lot of research on PJs in the last while and I'm almost ready to take the plunge. I pretty much had it narrowed down to the Panasonic model, but had yet to even see a high def pj in person.

Yesterday my wife and I went to see some demo models and they happened to have the Panny set up! I am no expert in video but I'll tell you what we thought.

The picture looked quite good, no pixel structure visible unless I got within 12-18 inches or so. No screen door effect that I could see. And the picture looked good from any angle (very cool).

But we did notice that the colors were not very vivid/vibrant. This could very well just be a setup/calibration problem. Perhaps this is what is meant by a "soft" picture?? This is the main reason why I am posting this thread... I want to know just how vibrant the colors really should be with a (or this) front projector...

The salesman suggested the problem might be with the DVD player (Bose) or the movie itself (Incredibles).

I also had a look at the HitachiPJ-TX100. It seemed to have quite bright and lively color (watching Star Wars) but I also immediately saw the so-called screen door effect (which I had never seen before but managed to recognize!)

Unfortunately, the store did not have any high def sources hooked up to either pj, so I am really curious about just how the Panasonic would look with a high def source.

I have also read a lot about vertical banding with the Panny. I didn't see anything like this in my short (approx. 20 min.) viewing time.

Also, later in the day I walked through a lineup of RPTVs and the pictures all looked terrible... (not high def) Made me think if a pj had even close to the same vibrant color I've seen on some high def sets, I know I would never regret buying one.

[Paul H]

I don't know about the specific panasonic you looked at, but digital home theater projectors are capable of extremely vivid colours. I have a sanyo Z2, and myself and everyone who's come to watch it have commented on the great colour.

I suspect the pj was improperly set up. Was the room dark?

Paul

[PaulDF]

The room was moderately dark. It was still easy to navigate and probably even to read. The whites seemed quite bright...

[Evil Twin]

"Moderately dark" is not suitable for watching movies, especially if it's remotely possible to read.

Color purity and snap, as well as contrast ratio, are dependent on both the projector and the ambient light. Black can be no darker than the screen with ambient illumination. Similarly, color will appear washed out with ambient levels of light that turn the screen gray.

Front projection requires near total light control for optimum results, but once achieved, the results are worth it.

In my HT area, you have to adjust your eyes for a few minutes or you can't even walk around.

Another point is controlling stray light from the screen- for best results, you should not have light colored walls and ceiling adjacent to the screen, as the first light bounce from the screen onto the wall can be reflected back. Dark neutral D6500 gray should be used.

This may seem demanding, but we are talking about achieving superlative performance, not merely pretty fair...

[Chris D]

Hi, Paul, and welcome to the Guide! :banana:

- What the other guys said for a dark room.
- Current digital projectors don't have the color saturation and vibrancy of a CRT screen, so yes, it will look a bit more "washed out", depending on the PJ type.
- Bose makes DVD players? Do they explode when you push the power button?
- I guarantee any color deficiency is NOT due to the Incredibles movie. That's one of the best out there for color and picture.