Hi Guys,

Have any of you heard of the following high def projector - The SVIC S700 Multimedia HDTV LCD Projector TV Series ?

Its selling for £600 and I was wondering whether that was a good deal - especially as its being badged as one of the fastest selling projectors in the UK?

The bulb is also stated as "lasting" 6000hrs!


The specs are as follows...

System
S700
PAL/NTSC/SECAM/PAL-MN (0~255,FS Tuner) WORLD WIDE TV

Display Technology
7” Polysilicon TFT LCD

Resolution: VGA 800 x 480, SVGA: 800 x 600 and XGA 1280 x 1024

Compatibility
Supports: 1080i/720P/576P/480P/576i/480i

Image enhance Technology
ACM (Adaptive Color Management) & ACC (Adaptive Contrast

& Color) & DCDI (Directional Correlational De-Interlace).

Safety features
Power off confirm/High temperature protect/Optical Keystone adjustment/

Error Warning.

Focus adjustments
Support Vertical Zoom/Image Zoom/Image Shrink.

Flip function
Horizontal/Vertical flip.

Environment Modes
Day/Night/Standard 3 environment modes.

Security Mode
Support ” Password for Power On” security mode.

Auto Power Off
Support Auto Power Off when No Signal.

Aspect ratio
Support 16:9/4:3 mode.

Speaker
2W *2 Audio output.

Languages
Support up to 9 national OSD languages.(customer optional)

Signal interface
CVBS *1/S-Video * 1/ YPbPr * 1/ D-SUB *1/TV *1.

Audible noise
Super quiet ventilating system: < 28dB.

Brightness

Contrast ratio
2200Lumens --- High Brightness Optical System

800:1

Lamp
6000 hours (HID) --- an extraordinary extended lamp life

Dimensions (LxWxH)
380x280x118mm

Weight
4.8Kg

Voltage
AC220V 50/60Hz



Thanks

Sorry for the title - accidentally pasted the link into the title

[thescoobydoc]

I would steer well clear if I were you, it's not even worth £200 in my opinion, XGA resolution is 1024x768, so they got that wrong, it doesn't even say what it's native resolution is! Keystone adjustment is apparently a 'safety feature'. For that money you can get a proper HD (720p) Projector from a reputable manufacturer.

[cyberheater]

Well, a couple of things about this.

For one, it's not a hidef projector. Native rez is 800 x 480 which puts it firmly into SD. Not HD.
Secondly, I wouldn't go near it with a barge pole. It's basically a manufactered version of the diy lcd panel projector.

There are much better 'true' projectors out there and can probably be bought a bit cheaper too. Stay clear.

Thanks to you both - I won't go near the thing.

[Zone]

Originally Posted by Not A Clue

Sorry for the title - accidentally pasted the link into the title

I've changed it for you

[AV Nik]

Obviously a problem with the eBay item or advertiser as the item has been removed by eBay.
Looking at the spec, a lot of it is incorrect so don't buy it. It's obviously a false/fake product.

If your budget it tight, call a few projector suppliers and see what's on special offer.

[prbaxter]

Hello, I'd like to clear a few things up as I ACTUALLY OWN ONE SO I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!

I have recently purchased an svic s720 (additional scart connection to the s700) projector and there really is a lack of reviews for this projector so I'd like to do my bit. Can I also point out that the native res for DVD's is 800x600, so its perfect for home cinema from dvd. If you want true HD quality, then I would purchase a well known branded model at a well known branded price.

Anyway, here is my review:
--------Opening the box-----------
well, the case looks pretty slick and sturdy. The unit is quite bulky and heavy and doesnt have a carrier handle. It isnt designed as a portable projector. It does look nice. In my box I got 2 lamps, scart cable, AV cable, remote control, power lead. 2 twist out feet at the front for elevation. This unit also came with a ceiling mount.

--------Technical stuff------------
Connections: The side of the projector allows for a number of connections, namely - Yr, Yb, and Yp (HD?), Audio out, Composite Video, SCART, S-Video, TV-coax and pc monitor cable connection. I have tried them all to much satisfaction.

Lamp: This projector uses Metal Halide tube lamps. They are very bright and very hot (hence the noticable fan hum). I've not figured out the lamp wattage yet, but it will be between 150w and 250w. Replacement lamps cost £30 each and MH lamps get dimmer with use. Compared to other projectors I've seen, I would rate the brightness at round about 2000 lumens. It is really bright and i'm projecting on to a egyptian-cotton colour painted wall, not a proper screen.

Focusing: The focus and vertical keystone mechanisms are manual mechanisms. Focus is achieved by twisting the lens and there is a small knob on the side for vertical keystone. Very easy to use.

Projection: I have placed my projector on my coffee table at a distance of 3m from the wall and projection is on the wall. The projection size is almost 3m wide (16:9). If you look very closely, you can see a little 'screen door effect' on the really bright projections. This can be reduced by moving the projector closer to the wall. You can hardly see this if you are sat at same distance as the throw. Plus it may be related to contrast and sharpness, which I havent mastered yet, like I say, it's only noticable on really bright scenes or images (like bright white). Not a problem just knit picking with this one.
The confusing thing about this projector is that the lens cover is transparrent. Took me a while to figure I needed to take it off!
The projection is constant brightness from corner to corner and very crisp and clean.

Settings: There are a number of settings. You can switch between RGB and Composite (as per your device). Contrast, sharpness, brightness, saturation, hue, etc... all the usual stuff. The remote control is loaded with buttons. You can switch between 4:3 and 16:9 and there is also various digital zoom options along with H and V flips and autocolour mode (what ever that is).

Overall opinion: Very nice piece of kit. Projectors should come with lots of connection options and this one does. I would rate the screen projection at 9 out of 10 as I havent quite sorted out the sharpness and contrast for films (although I had a perfect image from a games console at the above size). Ease of use: 10/10. This unit makes an ideal projector for home cinema beginners and gamers. Once you know your way around a projector, then I would move on to something a bit more suitable to your requirements (true HD, quiet running, etc...). The svic s700/s720 is ideal for beginners and multipurpose applications. Plug and play.

Yes you can buy a branded model for the price of this unit, but what about lamp prices? And dont forget the native resoltion of DVD's is only 800x600, projecting this through a bigger resolution means the device has to fill the gaps, which isnt good for quality. Think about it.

I hope this helps.
B@Xt

[gazbarber]

You don't happen to be seeling these do you?
What other projectors have you seen/used, as giving the unit a 9/10 is extremely generous, i'm not sure how many poeple here would give a HD1 that , not only that but you go on to mention that you haven't got the hang of the sharpness and contrat yet .

Sorry if your not some dodgy sales man but i'm too cynical of people trying to off load these 'game' projectors and other which are simply cheap diy jobs pacakged up to look like a proper product.

Originally Posted by prbaxter

Hello, I'd like to clear a few things up as I ACTUALLY OWN ONE SO I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!
[snip] Can I also point out that the native res for DVD's is 800x600, so its perfect for home cinema from dvd. If you want true HD quality, then I would purchase a well known branded model at a well known branded price.

Realy, native DVD is 800x600, and there was the standards body thinking it is either 720×480 (NTSC) or 720×576 (PAL), now you might think thats nit picking, but without a decent scaler those extra pixels on the pj will destroy the image compaired to what it could be. I doubt this unit has very good scaling if any. (ask somepeople with LCD tv's where the tv has an extra pixel or 2 to what their source has, it throws the picture all out of whack compaired to what it should be). They could just mask of the remaining pixels and show the DVD at the native res which removes the need for scaling, but it would mean a box within the (undoubably grey) projected image.

Originally Posted by prbaxter

Projection: I have placed my projector on my coffee table at a distance of 3m from the wall and projection is on the wall. The projection size is almost 3m wide (16:9). If you look very closely, you can see a little 'screen door effect' on the really bright projections.

Being 800x600 and LCD will mean chicken wire city unless you sit a great distance away, (I know my 800x600 DLP was a compromise between size and viewing distance), and the very reason most LCD projector went close to HD resolution years before HD was 'officialy' anounched. DLP wouldn't be such a problem, speaking of which you'd be better off with a BenQ w100 or a infocus in72.

Originally Posted by prbaxter

This unit makes an ideal projector for home cinema beginners and gamers. Once you know your way around a projector, then I would move on to something a bit more suitable to your requirements (true HD, quiet running, etc...). The svic s700/s720 is ideal for beginners and multipurpose applications. Plug and play.

No offence but thats a load of rubbish, its not like once you learn to drive you start with a 1960's larda and then upgrade once know you way arround a car. I can understand buying a cheap model to get a feel for the technology to see if its for you, but sometihng like this is more lilkey to put you off it, second hand branded or cheap new DLP as above will see you much better.

Originally Posted by prbaxter

Yes you can buy a branded model for the price of this unit, but what about lamp prices? And dont forget the native resoltion of DVD's is only 800x600, projecting this through a bigger resolution means the device has to fill the gaps, which isnt good for quality. Think about it.

Read above.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for, but i'd rather get a second hand z3 or infoucs 4805 or similar.

Again no offence is intended if your review is genuine, but i wouldn't wish a product like this on anyone, especialy when for a little extra you can get a truely great unit.

[prbaxter]

I knew you AV experts would rip my comments to shreds, that is the point of the forum, isn't it?

I bought the projector for home cinema use and also gaming. For both purposes, it serves just as well as I had expected it to and most importantly of all, it fits my requirements. Nothing like chicken wire.

I dont have any HD equipment, so I cannot comment on it's HD capabilities - and for the money, I wouldnt expect much, but as an LCD projector goes, it really isnt that bad. I mean, I've used it so I know.

No i'm not a seller of said projectors and i've had exposure to loads of branded models as I work with them.

Oh, and i learned to drive in an old (very old) rusty Ford Escort, of which got knocked and banged and bumped. And now I have the hang of driving I have a nice motor. So, yes it is like starting out with a 1960's larda and then upgrading once you know what you're looking for.

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edited cos it wasnt nice....

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[gazbarber]

prbaxter calm down there, the idea of this forum is to give advice on av equipment and the simple truth of the matter is that some equipment is better than others.

Plenty of places have had spamer give 'reviews' of products so that they can sell their dodgy wears, so I appologies for my cinacism but it doesn't make what I have said any different.

Although you say you "had exposure to loads of branded models as I work with them", so if we can ask what sort of models you consider this projector equivalent to maybe we(I) have judged it too harshy. One of the main sources of critacism is the specs of 800:1 contrast 800x600 and Metal Halide tube lamps i.e. a halogen lamp don't realy stickout as a great product, especialy as those advertising it seem to either get the product description completely wrong or delibretly add in buzz words to make it sound better than it is. One other thing that makes the unit seem rather dodgy is that no one sells them appart from ebay, gumtree and forum sellers.

On the car analogy, would you not have preffered to learn and get to grips with a ford focus rather than rusty old fiesta if it was within your budget? That was the purpose of what i said and not a personal insult.

In what way has anything anyone including (or maybe excluseively) me said that hasn't been level headed, i don't agree with what you said and corrected you on several technical point and otherwise gave reasons to support what i said. If you can't accept a debate or critacism without flying off the handle and felling the need to throw insults at people than maybe this isn't a place for you to talk. If you don't like whats said, simply ignore it or debate.

[dun_buyin]

prbaxter, if you do decide to revisit this forum, do you know if your projector has a ce mark on it? If not, you may wish to consider a visit to your local trading standards office and ask for advice on having it tested. If it is not up to european standards there could be serious consequences from using unsafe electrical appliances. Only asking as it seems to be an imported chinese unit not originally designed for the European market

I am also sorry you have been offended as I imagine I would have been if told my new £400-£500 projector was worth only £200 at best. Still, as long as you are happy with it that is the main thing, enjoy your large screen viewing.

[prbaxter]

ok. sorry.

maybe i'm not in a debating mood today. i'll come back after i've watched the lord of the rings trilogy on the wall.

it's not bad though, that's what i'm saying.

anyway.... since i have one and i haven't been booted of the forum yet, i could open it up and take a look at the guts of the thing. take some photos maybe. that would probably be more valuable to the forum. what do you think?

oh, before i go, you wouldnt learn to drive in a ferrari, you'd learn in a mg metro, and then maybe get a focus later (was 'Focus' a projector pun by the way?)

b@xt

[prbaxter]

dun_buyin,

thanks for your comments. Yes it's a chinese import. I was going to purchase directly from the manufacturer, but decided to ebay one instead. Didnt pay too much more than £200 for it anyway and got loads of extras for it being late so i got it for a reasonable price - it is in fact a £200 projector i guess.

theres a label on the bottom of the unit that reads:

svic multimedia lcd projector
input : AC 90 - 240V, 250W
Logos: FCC CE UL(tick)RoHS CCC (S&E)
Mode: S720
Made in China
Svic technology company limited
CAUTION - RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOP - DO NOT OPEN

Of course, i may choose to air caution to the wind as i wanna see whats on the inside, see if there are any light leaks, whether its possible to replace the fans with super silent ones, etc...

So it looks like it's CE compliant.

is it possible to attach photos to forum posts, does anyone know?

[gazbarber]

The focus wasn't a pun (well not intentianly!), lol.

Obviosuly opening it up would viod the warrantly, and i personlay wouldn't go poking arround once opened as stuff might fall out, as even the cheaper infocus' were build to a price and the construction inside had quite a bit to be desired (especialy with the light tunnels).

Usualy you have to use a site like photo bucket and link to it, i'm to lazy for that so haven't posted any phonos yet, i think there maybe info on the FAQ.

Remeber not to touch the bulb if you do decide to go inside, because touching those types of bulb can cause them to brake (sweet and oil from the hand leaves a residue and this can make the bulb crack).

[prbaxter]

ok - i'll be careful.

Oh, and i think the warning on the back warned against electric shock, not electric shop - bad typing on my part.

And i have 2 spare bulbs anways. they only cost £25 each and the seller threw them in for free for late delivery.

It would void the warranty, but i'm not going to post the thing back to china anyway if it breaks - cheaper to go and buy another one.

i'm gonna watch LoTR trilogy first before I go taking it apart incase I do break it.

Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the fans - say with them super quiet pc fans you can get? I guess the voltages would be the same (of course I will get the voltmeter on it when i'm in there). I may also try to get the dust off the inside of the lens (???).

Good weekend to all.
B@Xt

[punkemo]

Quick reply to this perticular thread. As it was written some time ago. I was very worried about purchasing one of these models. Since the S700 which my friend has, Svic have relased the S720 series which is a massive amount better. Thats all i really wanted to say after alot of people sent me this article who have seen my friends projector. They have now seen my new one and it is a tone better in picture quality, colour, saturation and contrast. Very happy. I am a newbie to posting so go easy on me people! lol

[prbaxter]

well... further to my previous posts...

It is a good entry level projector. By that, what I mean is, if you dont know what you are looking for, then it will probably do you.

I wanted mine for home cinema, but after watching a number of movies, I wasnt totally happy with it. Due to the distance I wanted to project - over 4 metres, I had slight screendoor effect on the projection. This got annoying on bright scenes. The brightness of the thing was very good, but contrast wasnt brilliant - I mean, I've seen better.

and it wasnt HD. It was all wired up to accept a digital signal, but it didnt have upscaling technology or anything. And going by the screen door thing above, it has a set number of pixels, and hence a set resolution.

It was ok for home movies at shorter projections. and was even ok with AV signal gaming.

Also it gets a bit funny if you dont shut it down properly, which was annoying.

I sold it shortly after for £20 less that I paid for it. SO, SORRY GUYS FOR NOT SENDING IN PICS OF ITS INSIDES!!!

I dont want a projector now as I dont really have the space for it.

If you're a kid who wants a cheap projector for his bedroom, then buy one of these. If you're an adult who wants to impress your friends with home cinema, then invest in a good projector unit built for that purpose and get a good sound system too. And even some old cinema seats from ebay.

[nicktrex]

I had one of these, i read this thread and another one and me and my dad decided to count all the pixels. Its a 800x480 projector so isnt HD, luckily we managed to get a full refund as it wasnt to description and bought the Optoma HD700X. MILES BETTER, the svic720h doesnt compare in anyway, use that extra £100 or so and invest it into either an Optoma HD700X or an Optoma HD65, both fantastic projectors.

[ianrt]

FWIW,

In Australia this model is rebranded and sold as a BOSE unit.
My daughter and son-in-law have been using it daily for over 12 months with no problems until recently, when it started cutting out.
I have been inside it and it is not shoddily put together, but the problem is not obvious.
I found this forum while searching for info about it, particularly a service manual.
Doesn't look like there is one readily available!!

[damoore1983]

Can i just point out that it is full hd
the res is 800 x 480 on tv input which is standard no analog ariel input

but with hdmi lead/componant input the res is 1024 x 768
making it hd ready

[gazbarber]

I thought to be HD ready you had to be at least 720p (1280 x 720) and have both a component and digital input capable of accepting atleast this resoution. Not that it matters, as resolution is one of the qualities least affecting image quality although at this low level a step up is happy accepted. I still wouldn't recomend anyone get one, your better to save up a bit more for the HD65 or a bit more again for the fantastic Planar 7010, although by this point it is a lot of money over the cheapo one it should give you literaly yeas of enjoyment.

[simon sterry]

Hi I unfortunately bought a svic 720 in Jan it worked well for 4 months but now the picture has gone really bright i had a spare bulb with it but its the same with that(although both bulbs are not perfectly clear is this norm?) can anyone give me some advice ? thanks simon

[andy9841]

Hi

I too have an S700, think I bought it in the same time as you prbaxter, as mine was late being delivered as well, though I didnt get any freebie extra bulbs or anything, I think cos I complained at the time with a snotty email

Anyway, I have been using this projector for over a year now and am very happy with it. I paid £250 for it and yes im sure there are lots of better ones out there, but im sure the new bulbs cos just as much as my projector.

As for the HD feature, well using componant and vga connection on this projector allows you to select 1080i resolutions and I can confirm it plays thw wmvhd videos I downloaded perfectly fine. Now im no expert, and I wouldn't say its as clear as a proper HD tv but it is definately noticeably better than dvd.

I wouldn't recommend this projector for text presentations as it does seem a bit blurry on my wall, but that could be any combination of things, I project onto a wall as opposed to a proper screen (by the way, is it worth buying a screen?) I only us it in 1080i resolution, and it could be me not focusing it correctly, or the distance I am trying to project.

All in all, i'm pretty happy with the product, the only comparisons I have is with the projectors at work which cost 3x as much and arn't used for the same purpose as mine, but for games and video projection, i'm more than happy for £250!!

I'll try and post a pic when I find somewhere to host.

hi everyone,
i ordered a S720H model, and it should arive in a few days, does anyone know if this is a good projector? its my first projector that im getting, it says its HD and comes with a 84" screen and 2 bulbs, and for £400 i think it was a bargain, considering the screens are £200 something on their own,

so does anyone have any comments on this?
i will also post of what i think of it when i start using it.

[punkemo]

Originally Posted by Briareos

hi everyone,
i ordered a S720H model, and it should arive in a few days, does anyone know if this is a good projector? its my first projector that im getting, it says its HD and comes with a 84" screen and 2 bulbs, and for £400 i think it was a bargain, considering the screens are £200 something on their own,

so does anyone have any comments on this?
i will also post of what i think of it when i start using it.

I bought this same deal from Hixley electronics on there website ( http://www.hixley.co.uk or http://www.hixley.com) as they had some over stock on the screens. Did you get yours from there? It does say on the package section if you ask us about a package you want then we can customise it for you. But i'd like to add the S720H model is pretty good for what it does. I know alot of people on this kind of site will rip it to shreds but for a home cinema projector you want it to connect to the relevant things e.g. DVD, SKY, XBOX (what ever console your rocking) and it has awsome connectivity with 2 HD inputs. Ok the resolution and contrast ratio's are not amazing but thats why the cost is low. So for anyone interested in an above average piece of kit and doesnt wanna go all out for the 1080p 3000 lumens with HDMI that'll set them back around £4000 then this models great!

cheers

[nicktrex]

I'm surprised anyone is buying it considering it isnt actually HD. The native resolution is 800x480 and thats not even 1280x720 (720p). It has different native resolutions advertised but I am not right in thinking that the native resolution is physically how many pixels it has? So it can't magically physically add pixels as the poor quality LCD panel inside it only has 800x480.

If you're happy with it then thats good and I dont blame you for it, but seeing as you're paying for a really loud machine, with poor image quality, that isnt actually HD it seems like abit of a waste, certainly considering the Optoma HD700X is not much more money, or the HD65...

[binbag]

As someone who has never bought a PJ from a shop and got most of the 7 PJs I have owned from ebay I have to say you can do much better than this for the money. Set yourself a price and wait until something decent with a good name and a reputation for reliability (read the reviews at AV sites) comes along with either low bulb hours or a spare bulb. Read the blurb and look at what is not being said. Ask direct questions. If its close enough ask for a demo. Be patient and wait until the right one comes up.

A few months ago I picked up a 720p DC3 pj with a spare bulb for £400 (under 10% of its original RRP and less than the list price of the spare bulb). I chose it because I'd always liked the PQ of this brand at the AV shows I had seen it at. It can be outdone by the latest kit but that won't fall into my budget for a few years yet.

I also put back by selling good used PJs on ebay.