My new home cinema - Z2

[jamiev]

Here are some pics of my new home cinema.
I recently bought the z2 and i am really pleased with the pq.
Set up is really easy and it gives a 6 foot image!


Let me know what u think!

the KIT:
Sanzo plv-Z2 lcd projector
Cambridge Audio 53 (non progressive scan) dvd player
Sherwood RVD-6095RDS dts/5.1 amp
Gale speakers (mini monitors on front/centre 10 )
Gale subwoofer (100w)
Gale speaker stands (front and rear)
DRH Lite screen (portable,6 foot width, 16:9 ratio)
Profigold 10m component cable
Cambridge audio scart to s-video
Goodmans 28 inch widescreen tv (50 Hz)
Gale speaker wire XL 189

and a home made wooden pj stand

[UrbanT]

Thats a great little set up, although I would shut the door when in use due the subfractional reflection of sound from the washing

[KraGorn]

Looks a cosy, comfy place to watch movies. ... I'd perhaps lose the vase (is that what it is) on the far rear speaker if you intend to crank up the volume though.

[jamiev]

L O L

[jamiev]

anyone know where and how much a bulb for z2 is????????


still love it too..................

[dekoded]

Nice setup, are you using component output from your DVD player to your Z2 ?

If so then IMHO you'll be amazed at how much better PQ you can get from a PC and a VGA/DVI connection especially if you're prepared to tinker with some software and upscale the dvd.

If you have a laptop you could use it for a 'demo' by connecting the external monitor output to the Z2, and once you've seen the images on your screen I don't think you'll be able to go back to component!!

I'm not trying to preach, but I thought my PQ was good from my pioneer 565 via an expensive 10mtr component cable until I used a PC. I've since sold my dvd player and have a 10mtr component cable going unused.

[ManThatYouFear]

very nice , but i would get a gun to the goodmans mate
specially with your new toy been there

[jamiev]

Originally Posted by ManThatYouFear

very nice , but i would get a gun to the goodmans mate
specially with your new toy been there

thanks but the goodmans is for the missus's soaps!
lol

[jamiev]

Originally Posted by Johnnie

Nice setup, are you using component output from your DVD player to your Z2 ?

If so then IMHO you'll be amazed at how much better PQ you can get from a PC and a VGA/DVI connection especially if you're prepared to tinker with some software and upscale the dvd.

If you have a laptop you could use it for a 'demo' by connecting the external monitor output to the Z2, and once you've seen the images on your screen I don't think you'll be able to go back to component!!

I'm not trying to preach, but I thought my PQ was good from my pioneer 565 via an expensive 10mtr component cable until I used a PC. I've since sold my dvd player and have a 10mtr component cable going unused.

yeh i am using component, my graphics card (ati radeon 9600 pro) does have dvi.
what software do i tinker with???
do i just plug in z2 to pc and turn on?
what settings need changing in graphics card?
how could i up scale the dvd???
what do i use to play the dvd's?

[Goof]

I've got that exact same TV, nothing wrong with it

[shahedz]

jamie

i'm thinking of upgrading my projector set up soon, i also have to have my projector very close to my seating position, i know i have to expect some noise. but do you find it excessively noisy?

[dekoded]

Hi again Jamie.

Well I'm not going to tell you that it's going to be easy, as I said you WILL need to spend some time tinkering with software.

"what software do i tinker with???"

Well that depends on how much time you want to spend in getting the best possible image, but I would suggest (starting with the simplest)

Power DVD
Sonic CinePlayer
TheaterTek
Zoomplayer
FFDshow

"do i just plug in z2 to pc and turn on?"
"what settings need changing in graphics card?"

Basically yes, however this will depend on how easy it is to set your output resolution to 1280x720, you may need to use a program called "Powerstrip". As far as I'm aware you'll want to set the refresh rate at 50 or 60hz.
(the whole idea of using a PC is to avoid any signal/resolution conversion being done by your PJ)

"how could i up scale the dvd???"

To do this you need to use FFDshow in conjunction with either TheaterTek or Zoomplayer, a good, and well used starting point is this article:http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_1

"what do i use to play the dvd's?"

As mentioned above,this depends on what you want to achieve, I personally recommend Theatertek as it easy to use with a remote control due to it's large on screen icons and it can be configured to be used with ffdshow to upscale your DVD's

As you can probably tell, a HTPC is not the simplest solution, however in my opinion it is equivalant to spending ALOT of money on a high end DVD player and Scaler BUT with the advantage of being very configurable and easy to upgrade and can be used as a total media centre for all your movies and music

I wrote this post earlier this year and could be helpful to you,

Need to make your shuttle quiet? (here's a guide)

the only change I have made to this setup is a CPU upgrade to an athlon 3200 which cost about £100 and enables me to use ffdshow and not having 100% CPU usage! still, for around £450 I think it's pretty good value

[jamiev]

Originally Posted by shahedz

jamie

i'm thinking of upgrading my projector set up soon, i also have to have my projector very close to my seating position, i know i have to expect some noise. but do you find it excessively noisy?

overall, no not realy, the lamp mode is on the lowest setting, this keeps it quiet. i only hear the fan when the film is very quiet now and again, thats it.

[jamiev]

Originally Posted by Johnnie

Hi again Jamie.

Well I'm not going to tell you that it's going to be easy, as I said you WILL need to spend some time tinkering with software.

"what software do i tinker with???"

Well that depends on how much time you want to spend in getting the best possible image, but I would suggest (starting with the simplest)

Power DVD
Sonic CinePlayer
TheaterTek
Zoomplayer
FFDshow

"do i just plug in z2 to pc and turn on?"
"what settings need changing in graphics card?"

Basically yes, however this will depend on how easy it is to set your output resolution to 1280x720, you may need to use a program called "Powerstrip". As far as I'm aware you'll want to set the refresh rate at 50 or 60hz.
(the whole idea of using a PC is to avoid any signal/resolution conversion being done by your PJ)

"how could i up scale the dvd???"

To do this you need to use FFDshow in conjunction with either TheaterTek or Zoomplayer, a good, and well used starting point is this article:http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_1

"what do i use to play the dvd's?"

As mentioned above,this depends on what you want to achieve, I personally recommend Theatertek as it easy to use with a remote control due to it's large on screen icons and it can be configured to be used with ffdshow to upscale your DVD's

As you can probably tell, a HTPC is not the simplest solution, however in my opinion it is equivalant to spending ALOT of money on a high end DVD player and Scaler BUT with the advantage of being very configurable and easy to upgrade and can be used as a total media centre for all your movies and music

I wrote this post earlier this year and could be helpful to you,

Need to make your shuttle quiet? (here's a guide)

the only change I have made to this setup is a CPU upgrade to an athlon 3200 which cost about £100 and enables me to use ffdshow and not having 100% CPU usage! still, for around £450 I think it's pretty good value

oh, ok, what about sound though???

[dekoded]

Well as for sound, this is a completely seperate setup.

I simply use the 'on-board' sound of my shuttle PC, which I find is more than adequate.
There is a spdif optical (toslink) output at the back of my PC which I connect to my surround sound setup, which in my case is an 'Acoustic Energy Aego P5' system which was originally £600 but was reduced to £300 when I got it a couple of years ago.

I'm very happy with the sound quality of this system and it has tiny wall mounted speakers (the centre speaker can just be seen above my screen in this post: http://www.avforums.com/forums/showp...2&postcount=10

If I had the cash and with 'wife approval' I would get a full size speaker package and a good quality amp/processor, I'm not saying your setup needs improving as I know very little about your amp/speakers. I think the ones with auto calibration are a very good idea as no matter how much you spend on a speaker system the benefits will be completely lost if it isn't setup correctly

The trouble is you'll end up with a brilliant setup and will be left waiting for the high def media to appear like most people on these forums

Also, I was amazed at the difference in quality of DVD's, it's very frustrating to buy a brand new DVD only to find that it's a crappy transfer and there are loads of artefacts visible, which I find very distracting!

To show off what your setup can achieve stick to aimation films like shrek and the incredibles as these are fully digital and don't suffer from transfer problems like 'ordinary' films.

You may also have a similar problem as myself in that I need a 10mtr cable between my HTPC and my PJ which means I currently use VGA, which while not as good a connection as DVI (as it needs to be converted from digital to analogue and then back to digital by the PJ) means that I don'tsuffer any problems due to cable length.