Woohoo, my Matinee 1HD is on it's way

[cofn]

Placed my order 15 mins ago, and it should be shipping by the end of the day. Hopefully it will be here by Thursday, as my current TV, 62" RCA, is being picked up for delivery to it's new home Wednesday night, so I may have nothing to watch for the a day or two. Fingers crossed it is here by Friday at the latest.

Just like to express my thanks to those here at HTGUIDE who have helped me down the path to FP bliss. And a huge thanx to Andrew, if it wasn't for your demo, I may have had a lot harder time selling Carey on the FP. I also may have ended up with a X1 and a severe headache.

These next 3 days will feel like an eternity.

[Trevor Schell]

Congrats on pulling the plug!

Let us know how it works out for you once you set it up.
Your fortunate to have been able to see the 1 HD in working action prior to making the purchase!

Did you order a screen to, or did you already have one.




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
Sonically Enhanced
C5

[Andrew Pratt]

Mission acomplished :twisted:

[Legairre]

Your right the next 3 days will be hell. Hang in there. What screen are you using, Dalite, Stewart, or DIY ? While I don't have a FP yet when I get mine I'll do a DIY screen. I think Andrew has a DIY as well. Give us an update after you get things setup. I'm curious how you like the FP vs the RPTV since I'll be going from a RPTV to a FP as well.

Congrats
Legairre


Andrew, another job well done 8)




"What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home Theater

[Andrew Pratt]

Yes I have a DIY screen and I'm positive Kris is painting his own as well (Wall?)

[cofn]

Yup, your right Andrew. Wall it is. At least for the next 2 months.

Here's the scoop. The setup I will be putting together is very temporary. We are moving in Jan/Feb, so I really don't want to commit to a screen til I move and see the new location. As it stands now, I will be projecting alot bigger screen than I hoped. The only place I can put my FP will be on my desk directly behind my couch. So it will be sitting at 14' 6" away. Seems the smallest image I can throw is 113" diag. A lot bigger than I wanted. So I figure there is no point making a 113" screen just now. Idealy I would like to go 100", but that is just an impossibility right now. So I will have to sacrifice a little picture quality for the next few months.

So as it stands I patched and painted the living room walls a nice light gray yesterday. Hopefully it works out. Regardless, I am sure it will be better than what we have now.

I think one of the things I am most looking forward too is gaming, I did the math and if we play 4 player split screen, everyone gets their own 55" TV to play on. Sweet.

[Sonnie Parker]

Congrats on the purchase!

There's a lot of talk about ME (Misty Evening) Gray by Glidden being used on drywalls and various hardboards. I've been following an extremely long thread over at avsforums on ME and supposedly it does wonders with larger images... especially with SDE. There are some other grays/silver grays that are being mentioned as well. These grays rolled onto a wall or other material are being compared to the Firehawks and such.

I plan on painting our sheetrock with a base white primer and several coats of ME just to get the image size figured out and if I like it then I'll frame around it and leave it as is and save a bunch on screen cost.

That's neat on the gaming quarters.

Looking forward to your impressions of the 1HD. I've got it and the 2HD on my list of potentials.






SONNIE

Cedar Creek Cinema

DVD Collection

BFD Comprehensive Setup Guide

[cofn]

Woohoo...

It arrived today at about 5pm. I have spent the last 4 hours or so playing with the setup, calibration, running component cables, and so forth. So far so good.

We ended up painting the wall a light greyish silver. It looks spectacular. Don't think we could have got a better color of paint to display on. Blacks are really dark, whites are bright, and colors very, very vibrant.

Setup was a breeze, for the most part just plug and play. Hell I had a harder time figuring out how to get a progressive signal from my RSP-1098.

Tried a whole bunch of different sources so far. Game Cube looks a little bland, but I attribute it to the lack of component cables (only regular compisite for now), but they are being ordered next week. Popped a few DVD's in, Matrix 1, AOTC, ect. AOTC looked fantastic. Even better now, after the calibration. Xbox for the most part looks great. Biggest issue is flaws are hugely exempified in games when you make them this huge. Minor jaggies on my 62" are now the size of stairs :LOL: Even ran a PC signal through to watch some TV. The S-vid from the PC was not the best, SDE was very evident when using the PC, but I will in the very near future be running a dedicated VGA signal which I suspect will clean things up, hopefully.

Screen size is bigger than I intended. I was hoping for about 100" but the best I can get with the player at 14'6 is 113". We do notice SDE on a fairly regular basis, but sadly I cannot put the player any closer, not until we move in January at least.

I am so glad we ended up going FP instead of our original plans of picking up a 65" Toshiba. The FP just makes things feel so much more like the theater, and for soooo much less than the Toshiba. Thanx again to all involed in introducing me to FP. I will never go back.

[Chris D]

Screen size is bigger than I intended. I was hoping for about 100" but the best I can get with the player at 14'6 is 113".

:spit: :E Holy crap, dude! 113"? That's right up there with the largest screens you'll find in some of the higher-end home theaters. Congrats!




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

[Trevor Schell]

Glad you like your FPTV.
Do movies look as good as they would on the 65" in terms of quality and detail?




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
Sonically Enhanced
C5

[cofn]

Yes and no. At Andrews place movies do look better to me than the 65" we wanted, but in all fairness he is displaying on a lot more reasonable screen size than I can, 92" I think. I wish I could easily get it smaller becasue I know it can get better than it is now, but what counts I guess is that I know I can have a lot better picture once we move in January.

There is something about a 100"+ TV though that just seems so much cooler than a RPTV of any size. I find it truely makes the experience more theater like.

One small downside though is games like Fzero GX, or other fast racing games, are a little nausiating. BUt I am not complaining one bit.

[Dean McManis]

I loved my RPTV, butfront projection feels more like a small movie theater than like watching a very big TV.

I agree that some driving/flying games can get sickening blown up BIG. The games are fun and very immersive, but you can easily get dizzy and sick watching some games for too long. Lots of panning shots are the worst. ops: :x :P

[Energeezer]

Yes and no. At Andrews place movies do look better to me than the 65" we wanted, but in all fairness he is displaying on a lot more reasonable screen size than I can, 92" I think.

Kris
Yes. For sure at the resolution of that PJ you must keep the screen size down or the seating pos back. There could be another factor at play. I've noticed this on most HTs I've seen.
When you see another persons HT and assuming they have a decent setup such as Andrews, yours, mine etc etc there is a tendancy to prefer that setup over your own. At least that is how it works for me.
I think the reason is that when you visit a HT and are only there breifly you do not zero in on it's faults (unless they are glaring) and tend to see only the good points. This is what happens to me. It takes a little time with any system to really see its sortcommings assuming they are not major. The same goes for me with audio to some extent. When I upgrade my system I notice the improvement immediatley but it takes a while before I focus in on the faults.
Steve




The Future of HT lies in FP SPREAD THE WORD

[Claude D D]

cofn wrote:

I also may have ended up with a X1 and a severe headache.

REEEALLLY! I've had my X1 for over 3 months and 200+ hrs of viewing and neither my wife or myself have suffered from any headaches.

Also if you had purchased an X1 you would not have large stepsize jaggies when playing games on your gaming console(the Faroudja DCDi that the X1 incorparates in very good at minimizing theses types of problems)and you can always defocus :? to reduce the screen door effect.

I work at an A/V store that carries most brands of front projo's(set up in proper lighting controlled rooms) and can assure you that DLP's out sell LCD's by about 10 to 1.No matter what the price range.In one of our rooms we have a Toshiba TDP-MT100 (X1 rebranded) and a Panasonic 300U projecting on a 100" Da-Lite screen.We can switch between the 2 projo's in seconds.Lets just say we sell 2-3 of the Panny's a month compared to 4-5 TDP-MT100/X1's a week.The Piano HE3200 is also a great seller,2-3 a week.

Like I always say "show me don't tell me".When we show people DLP's and LCD's 9 out of 10 prefer the DLP's.

There are so many people that come in our store with a negative attitude towards DLP's from all the crap they've read on the net.But you'd be surprized at how many end up going home with a DLP and end up loving it.

And yes some people do get headaches(usually on displays 50" or larger and not only on DLP's) but they almost always subside once one adjusts to viewing a larger screen.

As long as you're satisfied with your purchase I'm sure you'll get several years of enjoyment.Welcome to the world of front projo's.Bigger is better.

[BleakShore]

REEEALLLY! I've had my X1 for over 3 months and 200+ hrs of viewing and neither my wife or myself have suffered from any headaches.
...
In one of our rooms we have a Toshiba TDP-MT100 (X1 rebranded) and a Panasonic 300U projecting on a 100" Da-Lite screen.We can switch between the 2 projo's in seconds.Lets just say we sell 2-3 of the Panny's a month compared to 4-5 TDP-MT100/X1's a week.

Claude,

I also just got the X1 (trying out whether I want to keep it).
I see no rainbows. I really like the image it throws. Amazing at the price it is selling for. I got mine for $900 USD from BB.

Now, you say your store has the Toshiba X1 (clone) and the Panny L300U. Do you think X1 is outselling because it is cheaper? Afterall, the 300U is almost double the price. Cheapest I've seen it here is $1800, or thereabout. BTW, do you think $1480 for 300U is a good price? At that price, would you buy the 300U over X1?

How do you like the X1 image over 300U? Do you feel that sharpness, resolution, etc., are comparable? Better? Hmm?

I am most likely going to keep the X1 I have. It is wonderful.

Regards,

Jong

[Claude D D]

Do you think X1 is outselling because it is cheaper? Afterall, the 300U is almost double the price

Price is not the only issuse.We sell way more Piano 3200 and Nec HT1000's,which both have higher price tags than the 300U.Don't get me wrong,the 300U is a very nice machine.

I'll start a new thread with some comparisons when I have a little more time.

[cofn]

Claude D D,

You must have missed my post in another thread here about the X1. I was all poised to buy a X1 blind after all the positive feedback on the forums. Then I got into talking with a few people here and was invited out to demo the 1HD at Andrew's place. I also found out that a local retailer had the X1 setup. We stopped in to check it out, and lo and behold I have major problems with rainbows. Within 10 minutes of viewing I had a searing headache that lasted for the rest of the night. My wife was absolutely fine and didn't see a single rainbow. I guess I am in the minority that have severe issue with DLP players. I have yet to see any of the new 5x colorwheel players, but as it stands, I am not going to spen 1500 on a FP that gives me a migrane. I don't care if I may get used to it or not, it is not worth the pain, I get enough headaches without and X1.

As for the Jaggies as big as steps. I chalk some of it u to just bad game design. I don't care what FP it is played through, if a game has jaggies on a 62" screen, it is going to have them on any size screen, they will just be more prevalent. Some games I have look wonderful, others, not so much. Just depends on the design studio and the quality of the game design, not the make or model of the FP.

Lastly, the screen door. I know I can unfocus the lense to soften the image, but why? Why add visible distortion to an image to take away a minor problem. We have logged about 20 hours since friday and we are mostly used to the SDE already. My wife and I rarely see it anymore. I guess I was just looking for flaws the first weekend, now I know they exist, and can tune them out, a luxury I did not have with rainbows.

Believe me I would have love to get a X1, it was about 500 less than my 1 HD and the cash would have come in handy.

[BleakShore]

cofn,

Other than the rainbow, how was the image quality of the X1 compared to 1HD? Or was your migrane so bad that you were in a comatose, and couldn't tell?

I'm trying to see if I should stick with X1 or get either the 1HD or L300 while my wife is soft. Besides, I need to return the X1 in shortly so I gotta make a decision.

Thanks,

[Energeezer]

Gents
I have seen the X1 and Andrew's 1HD as well. I know for a fact that I saw the same setup X1 as Chris since I am the one that sent him to the retailer to see it.
It is not easy to make a fair comparisson between the two for a number of reasons.
1) Andrew's setup is optimized and he uses a small screen. (sorry Andrew I can't rem the dimensions.) He spent some quality time getting the best gain screen (home made for his PJ). When I was at his place he demonstrated the diff gains by hanging sample sheets in front of his screen and I think he has just about the best.
The retailer on the other hand is using a 16/9 131" diag screen (I think but it is LARGE) He has a stewrt firehawk or greyhawk which may or may not be a good match for the X1 but the size is way beyond proper for an X1 or 1 HD.
Andrew has spent some time in getting his setup nice as far as screen, light control, sound etc whereas the retailer has poor light control and I'd be surprissed if much effort went int fine tuning. You see this particular retailer (real nice guy BTW) is more into the high end of things both Audio and Video. The room is literd with Krell monoblocks, Ariel speakers and high end cabling. His other pJ on demo is the Infocus 7200 which fares much better with the larger screen but I think that screen is too big for all but the very best.

So it's not easy. In fact I'd say it's impossible to compare the two PJs in this case. On the other hand it is good enough to determine if you are one of the unlucky ones whom has "rainbow sensitivity."
I personally think the rainbow problem is overated in the media but I KNOW it exists just not for me and indeed the majority of people




The Future of HT lies in FP SPREAD THE WORD

[BleakShore]

Mission acomplished :twisted:

Andrew,

Have you seen L300 before you got your 1HD? If so, obviously you did not think L300 was worth the price differential?

Thanks,

[George Bellefontaine]

cofn: glad you are into Front Projection finally. I'm sure you will work out the issues and really get to love the BIG PICTURE.




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[Andrew Pratt]

Bleak no I didn't get chance to see the 300 before I bought my 1HD. There's very few places locally to view projectors and the 300 was too expensive anyway which made my choice pretty easy.