My PT-L300U and Firehawk are up!

[Karl Englebright]

Well, finally finished my home theater upgrade (well, except for a couple of plants and pictures to hang). But the Projector is up, screen is up and everything has been recalibrated!

The details:

Room:

The family room. 13' x 14' area that opens up on one side to an eating nook and kitchen.

Eyes to screen distance is around 11' and the projector sits at about 10 1/2 ' from the screen.

The Projector is a Panasonic PT-L300U and the screen a Firehawk 96' diagonal 16x9 with the black velour border.

I'm happy to say that at 11' screendoor is not an issue, however scanline artifact bothers me a little bit. I've done the flicker tweak and slight-defocus but you can notice it for the first 1/2 hour or so. After that, it's not really an issue. I have to tell you that this projector and screen combination is awesome! Blacks aren't as good as my mits RPTV, but as far as I am concerned, it's pretty darn close! I was not expecting that. The other thing to note is the amount of ambient light rejection with the Firehawk. I can turn on the kitchen lights (4 recessed can lights) of the side of the family room and the picture does not get washed. That exceeded my expectations.

Anyway, here's a link to pictures I posted at AVS:

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php?thumb=1&stype=2&si=Karl%20Englebright&cat=500&sort=1&ppuser=4922

[George Bellefontaine]

Nice pictures, Karl. Glad you like the 300. I've heard good things about that PJ. I currently own a Sony VPL400Q lcd projector and an NEC HT1000 dlp projector, which I just added a couple of months ago.

Your room configuration sounded like a real challenge for speaker placement.

Here's to many hours of good viewing. Nothing like the BIG SCREEN front projector experience, is there, Karl.




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[Karl Englebright]

Thanks, George.

I am really enjoying movies more. The big screen really draws you into the movie.

My room was a challenge in every respect imagineable! Ambient light, decor, sound reflections, size, etc. Sheesh! I think that I have done the best I can with the room I had to work with.

My next house will definitely have a dedicated room!

[Andrew Pratt]

Nice screen...if I could afford it I'd buy the firehawk too:drool:

[Claude D D]

Andrew,do you know how much a Firehawk screen costs here in Canada ?

[Andrew Pratt]

Claude look here for a quote. You can also email AVS and get a quote from them.

[Karl Englebright]

Yeah, the Firehawk was kind of a splurge for me :LOL:

The way I figured it, I will have this screen probably through at least a couple of projector upgrades and in my next theater. The other thing that paid off was in ambient light rejection. I am still amazed how many lights I can have on with this 800 lumen projector and still have a decent picture. Side ambient light rejection on the Firehawk is amazing.

Even with the Firehawk, I ended up paying less for the projector and screen combo than I did with my Mits 55" RPTV three years ago!

[Andrew Pratt]

Good thinking Karl

[Dean McManis]

Yeah, I have the Stewart Grayhawk screen (perforated), and I've been very pleased with it for a while now.

Congratulations on the HT setup. It looks very nice. 8)

-Dean.

[Chris D]

Hi, Karl! Another Washingtonion on the Guide!

I agree with your thinking. My perspective with my current project and component purchase is very much future-thinking. A new pre/pro or receiver, DVD player, and projector needs to be able to last for a while and keep up with technology for at least a year. (maybe more, maybe less at the current pace) But I think a screen, seating, and amplifiers, if purchased correctly the first time, can last for years and years.

I very much take the perspective on purchases that for many things if you buy it right the first time, you buy it once and have a very nice item. If not, you end up buying it again or replacing it a little later.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Brandon B]

For Karl and any other Panny 300 users not following the Bravo D1 stuff at AVS, 300U owners have achieved success with Vinc's new firmware for the D1 which allows you to tweak resolution settings and sync and scan values. This means if you want near or equivalent picture quality to an HTPC over DVI, you can now get it with this $200 consumer DVD player. Values for the panny custom setting are at this link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2478088#post2478088

Worth looking into. PQ from this setup will be better than any component setup. Made a very very nice difference with my Sanyo PLV70 clone.

BB

[Karl Englebright]

Thanks for the comment guys!

I am looking very carefully at the Bravo as my next upgrade. Only problem is that I'm not sure if I want to go and fish another cable through my ceiling. Wire fishing turned out to be one of the more demanding aspects of installing the projector. Although if the improvement is substantial I might just bite the bullet and go for it.

[Brandon B]

It is substantial. Bite.

Although, you should also read up on the problems with the loader unit. These have been eliminated by at least 6 people at AVS by opening up the unit and replacing it with a $40 dvd ROM by several other mfrs. Reports are flawless, quicker loading and no more playback glitches thereafter. I will be swapping mine out some week soon, even though mine has been nearly glitch free.

Does void the warranty though.

BB

[SayersWeb]

I just ordered the Bravo D1 to go with my L300u. Was hesitant at first after reading about loader problems, but the people at V inc. assured me that only a very small percentage of units have had a problem and that they will replace the unit if I have any problems with it. The best news is that I bought it at the AVS Forum discount price of $179.

The darn DVI cables are very expensive.... I ended up buying a 20' one from CDW for $27. Fingers crossed it will work ok.




Sayer - Musical Creations and Home Page

[Chris D]

My Bravo D1 just got delivered yesterday. Nice picture on my 32" plasma, but I'm not seeing a HUGE jump in quality yet. Having a problem with picture jutter using DVI. I might start a new thread on this player.

Good price, though!




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Brandon B]

20' for $27? That's a pretty darn good price.

Chris, after thinking about your other thread, I've realized you are probably not going to see a huge improvement over a good analog component connection on a 32" display.

The improvement I saw is all the kind of noise and artifacts that are troublesome due to sitting 11' from a 120" screen. If I go to the back end of my room, or even 5-6' farther, the D1's picture does not look substantially different from my old player, other than I was able to come closer to my PJ's best contrast with the D1.

BB