Optoma Themscene RD50 50 inch DLP

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Optoma Themscene RD50 50 inch DLP

The Optoma spec looks good and at £2,800 ( as at 18.10.04 ) is reasonable value.
On sale at HiFi Bitz ( Thanks to Helicopter for the link )
http://www.hifibitz.co.uk/product.asp?id=3623

Has anybody seen it in action ?
Does anybody know of any retailers where it can be viewed ?
Any reviews out yet ?

Jimmy
 
a quick look at the Optoma range of projectors and new rear projectors about to hit the streets would suggest the Sagem is a "made under licence" Optoma
:laugh:
 
It appears that so far, HiFiBitz is the only retailer (according to my searches on the web) of the Optoma RD50, in the UK.

I've downloaded the tech-specs, and it appears that the RD50 is not the same model that Sagem badge as the Axium.

The RD50 uses an HD2+ DMD - there is no mention of this in the Axium specs. The RD50 support HDMI too - The Axium doesn't.

I must say - I prefer the black livery of the RD50 over the silver of the Axium - but I'm something of a traditionalist in that respect, and have never taken to the trend to make all a/v systems silver over the last few years!

I've never really been taken with Plasma pictures until recently, as the new "imaging" software chips that most manufacturers are putting in their kit, is certainly improving the pictures greatly.

However, I saw the HD demo of the Axium in the local Comet store, and was blown away by the clarity of the picture from DLP.

If the RD50 uses the HD2+ DMD chip, the images produced on that unit should be vastly improved over the Axium!

The European specs are available from: http://www.themescene.tv/

The USA specs are available from: http://www.optomatv.com/

Just wish there was somewhere local I could go and check one out!!
 
The Sagem was a rebadge "europeanised" version of the first Optoma RD50 which was also silver and with the HD2 chip, but never distributed in Europe.

The new Optoma HD50 "themescene", has the HD2+ chip, same cabinet shape in black and does not seem to be rebadged by Sagem.

On the other hand the new Sagem HD45 also has the HD2+ chip, HDCP DVI, and appears to be a "real" Sagem development :


http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/files/sagem__axium_hd-d45_1_redimensionner.jpg
 
Not very happy with HiFi Bitz customer service - I have emailed them twice to see if the ThemeScene RD50 as advertised on their website, is priced with the stand, or if the stand is an optional extra (if so - how much?) - So far, no response from them!

From what I can see from the models - The Optoma ThemeScene RD50 as sold in the UK, is known as the Optoma RD50H in the USA - although with regional differences.

Have found the following French Press Release for the Sagem HD45 (although it is in French):

http://www.sagem.com/presse/axium/sagemaxium_info-d45.pdf

Just about understood it - as I don't exactly understand or speak French, but think I've got the basics. There's meant to be an English version of the document soon.

In the mean time, I've emailed Sagem and asked if/when that model will be available in the UK.

You can see though that they're definately going for the Plasma market with that model! It certainly is a nice looking piece of equipment.
 
I just phoned the company and was told that the price does include the stand. I think the Sagem's stand is around £300 in Comet. So, is it worth paying an extra £500 for the Optoma in order to get HD2+ and HDMI?
 
TonyA - apologies, it looks like we've got a problem with our email at the moment. Normal service will be resumed ASAP.
 
Thanks for the update on the "stand" - Yes, Comet are asking £300 for the Sagem Axium stand.

That's a good question - is it worth the extra?

HD2+ is meant to have superior performance over HD2. HD2+ eliminates the "rainbow" effect that some people see, improves contrast by removing the "dimple" on each mirror on the DMD, and gives vastly improved pictures, when used with a 7 segment colour wheel.

As for the HDMI - well that's the icing on the cake, as that is essentially future proofing the set to allow for all-digital connections.
 
seeing as I am genuinely interested in one of these to replace my old RPTV, a quick call around local HiFi dealers in my area has suggested a price of £2500.

my interest was swiftly enhanced when I took my Arcam DV79 along to a "friends" and hooked it up to his Sagem a few weeks ago :)

this might even facilitate a blind purchase when any dealers get them in stock locally
 
TonyA said:
HD2+ eliminates the "rainbow" effect that some people see
Whether a set uses HD2+ or HD2 has no impact on the visibility of rainbows. Using a 7-segment colour wheel (instead of 6) might have a slight effect on rainbow visibility for some people. The biggest differences would be between older data projectors using 3 or 4-segment colour wheels versus newer displays using 6, 7 or 8-segment wheels.
 
Just had some great news from Optoma - the Themescene RD50 is due in the first week in November and it will be..........£1995!
 
Hi Peter,

Is that with/without the stand?
 
That's without the stand - which will be £175. The stand MAY drop in price, Optoma haven't finalised the price yet but it wont be any more than £175. As far as we are concerned if you order and the price comes down before we ship it then we would charge the lower price.
 
HiFiBitZ said:
Just had some great news from Optoma - the Themescene RD50 is due in the first week in November and it will be..........£1995!

;)


The original ad ( 18.10.04 ) quoted the price as £2,800. Mega price drop in such a short space of time. Perhaps the original quote was wrong.

If Optoma is the Daddy of Sagem and has the HDMI / HDCP plus superior chip with ( possibly ) a 7 segment wheel then I’d love to see one in action.
 
Just thought I'd add my two-penneth worth :)

I'd swap my LG which I've only had for a couple of months for one of these at the drop of a hat if I had the cash. I'm told it's not just the chip, but that the really important thing with DLP is the algorithm they use to cancel out the rainbow effect - this is the first dlp I've seen that mentions it - the Faroudja deinterlacing. My wife and I have always noticed the rainbows on the LG - I'd bet my mortgage that this TV doesn't suffer from it at all. :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Blasthand.
 
Fascinating that the market price for UK DLPs is dropping so fast.At £1995 the Optoma is a real bargain.
I love my Sagem and the chance to enjoy the HD test progamming but am now suffering the price of being an early adopter!
Am in the USA next week and will look out for the equivalent Optoma whilst there.

Alan
 
The bad news - The RD50 stand is going to be £254

The Good news - The RD65 is not going to be £3995, its going to be £3400!!
 
Having been burned :mad: by the poor quality of the Sagem Axium, do you know if the new RD50 suffers from the same issues with the set locking up, randomly a 3+ inch black bar appearing on the left of the screen when on AV2 as well as SKY switching the set from standby?
 
Both models are due out at the beginning of November, which is when we are hoping to get our demo model so it's early days yet
 
jonwhiten said:
Having been burned :mad: by the poor quality of the Sagem Axium, do you know if the new RD50 suffers from the same issues with the set locking up, randomly a 3+ inch black bar appearing on the left of the screen when on AV2 as well as SKY switching the set from standby?

Hi Jon - I read your post with some interest... Although the HD50 is a higher-spec model than the "Axium", it's bound to share quite a few common component parts.

Some of the reports about the Axium's strange behaviour have been reported in the "Axium Questions" thread on here. The left-hand black bar on AV2, and the set suddenly turning itself on at very peculiar times have been reported.

Does the set only switch on when in "standby" mode, or if the set is fully powered off (which would be the more worrying to me, as it would indicate issues with the power supply unit).

You've also reported that the set "locks up" - how does this manifest itself?

I am hoping that these "features" have been ironed out of the HD50. I may sit tighter now to see what people have to say about this, before making the jump to buy one.
 
TonyA said:
Hi Jon - I read your post with some interest... Although the HD50 is a higher-spec model than the "Axium", it's bound to share quite a few common component parts.
<SNIP> Does the set only switch on when in "standby" mode, or if the set is fully powered off (which would be the more worrying to me, as it would indicate issues with the power supply unit).

You've also reported that the set "locks up" - how does this manifest itself?
<SNIP>

Only when in standby. The switch on the side of the set (right round the side and hard to get at as we kind of built the unit into some cabinets) does seem to kill the power completely.

The lock-up problem is just that. The set stops responding to the remote or the buttons on the front of the set. In one case the OSD froze displaying the selected source. In a number of other cases the screen also went black although the sound continued.

Fortunately, and by sheer fluke, I managed to repeat this problem within 5 mins of the Comet engineer arriving. He agreed on the spot to authorise the set's return.
 
Hi all. :)

A few questions, if you don't mind:
- How noisy is a RPTV DLP (specifically the Themescene RD50, if anyone has had a chance to test it in a quiet environment).
- Does anyone know if there a smaller size model in the pipeline (Themescene RD42?)?
- How flexible is the PIP option, in terms of image positioning/sizing (see next question :blush: )?
- Is it at all possible to change the scale of the projected video-stream to actually make it smaller (as shown in the picture below)? :D

rd50.gif


Being seated 8 feet from the screen, 50" should be great for movies, but I'm concerned it might be much too big for "normal" TV watching.

TIA. ;)
 
HiFiBitZ, Have you gt your demo model yet. I read another thread on here sayhin they were due out 15/11
 

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