Which DLP pj?

Dak

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Hi

I have decided to replace the plasma I have on order with a pj and need some help please. I have had a good read of the threads and comments etc and had a few visits to various demo rooms.

What I have decided so far is:
- Must be DLP
- Must have component in and be as future proof as possible
- Must be as quiet as possible
- 7 foot screen is ideal as this matches the width of doors that it will drop down over
- Budget is about £6500 for pj and screen
- use with arcam DV89 or denon 2900 (not decided)
- use with cable (or sky+ when i change over)

The room length is 14 feet so throw of about 12 feet or so unless I go for coffee table which will be 6-7 feet throw.

I liked the Sony HS12 but all the other demo's I have seen have been of cheaper ones so no real comparison. A local dealer wants me to wait until the new sim2 domino range is out.

General help and reccs will be much very much appreciated - there is a lot of info on this site already, that I have reviewed.

My specific concerns are:
I cannot permanently mount the pj on the back wall or ceiling as window / central light are in the way. It will therefore need to be put into place each time so it needs to be easy to adjust etc. I may do this by way of a trolley or something. Does this rule out or in any makes?

It will need a run of about 18 foot of cable from the Denon 3803 to the pj. Is this a problem?

I cannot completely darken the room, even at night (victorian shutters stop 2 feet short of window top and street lamp right outside) Is this an issue?

The window the pj will sit in front of has a radiator under it. Is this a problem for the pj overheating in winter?

The settee is against the back wall (almost, just room for the shutters to swing open / closed) so the pj will be right above my head. Will the noise be a problem/what makes are actually quieter (I have seen a lot of the db figures but found that the frequency of the noise changes how intrusive it is)? (I do not have surround rears, standard 5.1 system).

As I said any general reccs welcome as well, esp if someone has seen the sim2 in action.

Thanks for reading this overlong ramble.....
Dak
 
Only one PJ for me...Projection Design F1, various lenses, various native formats..super bright and is by far the best single chip DLP I have ever worked with. Plus it has quite a high fixed lens shift so it can mount to a ceiling and be out of the way easy, and its only 34dB's!

Check it out and if you need a layout doing let me know.
 
NEC HT1000 is great value (£3000) and should suit you. Excellent pic not far short of a Sim2 and can produces images almost as good as CRT if set up correctly. It currently has one of the highest contrast ratios (if not the highest) of any lamp projector, and procduces good blacks. It comes with a 3 year warranty too.

It has vga, compont, s-vide, dvi and composite, so all connections are catered for. It's about 7lbs so easily moved about, and easily ceiling mounted too. Definately worth a demo if nothing else.

There'll be an HT1100 soon which will ne 16:9, so that may be worth waiting for.

HTH

Gary.
 
Thanks, 16:9 is also something I have decided upon....
 
The F1 comes in a 'Action' flavour which has the 16:9 native panel. Check the website and see what you think.
 
XGA is capable of 1024 x 576 which is full widescreen PAL resolution. Greater reolutions will not reveal any more detail unless the source is HD. The advantage of higher resolutions is reduced screendoor for closer viewing.

The HT1000 has a dediacted 16:9 mode and will only use 1024 x 576 of the 4:3 dlp. There are newer pjs coming out using the Matterhorn chip that are basically just using the 16:9 portion of the 4:3 XGA chip, and are being sold as 16:9 pjs.

The higher end Sim2 projectors have excellent on board processing and produce one of the nest images I have seen. They are 16:9 HD2 pjs and might be a look.

Try here for specs of various pjs:

www.projectorcentral.com

Not 100% accurate, but a pretty good guide.

Gary.
 
me thinks the man needs a demo of some DLP PJs. see if you can get some specific models infor your demo . I know some places can book demo units from maunfacturers.
 
I think I do - but seems very hard to arrange in London. Even those stockists that do have more than one make in seem to have them set up in less than ideal ways. It is very frustrating.

I know that I can travel for a demo at some of the places that advertise on this website, but I want a full install job with speakers and new processor etc set up properly and would like to go locally therefor. It would feel wrong demo'ing somewhere I don't intent to purchase.

Is anyone able to comment on my specific queries?:
>>>>
I cannot permanently mount the pj on the back wall or ceiling as window / central light are in the way. It will therefore need to be put into place each time so it needs to be easy to adjust etc. I may do this by way of a trolley or something. Does this rule out or in any makes?

It will need a run of about 18 foot of cable from the Denon 3803 to the pj. Is this a problem?

I cannot completely darken the room, even at night (victorian shutters stop 2 feet short of window top and street lamp right outside) Is this an issue?

The window the pj will sit in front of has a radiator under it. Is this a problem for the pj overheating in winter?

The settee is against the back wall (almost, just room for the shutters to swing open / closed) so the pj will be right above my head. Will the noise be a problem/what makes are actually quieter (I have seen a lot of the db figures but found that the frequency of the noise changes how intrusive it is)? (I do not have surround rears, standard 5.1 system).

Cheers again
Dak
 
If you don't mind a ride down to Horsham, Jeff Paynter of www.projectorsareus.co.uk has great set-up and a plethora of projectors. You'll get a good demo, and he knows his stuff - he's been in the business (including films) for a good few years, and will be able to answer any questions. He's not a clueless salesman. Not sure if he does full installs though, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did - he has loads of AV kit including sound systems on dem too. Best to contact him and find out.

Jeff Paynter is a Sim specialist and knows the models well. He has calibrated some of his pjs using measuring devices, and as I mentioned before, the HT200 DMF produced the best image that I saw on my demo. The HT1000 was very close, and at the time around £1000 cheaper. It was also quieter, and had more options/higher res, so that's why I chose it.

Quick mounting for a ceiling mount look like your best option, if the projector will have to go above your head. I made a ceiling mount from a both a plastic and metal speaker bracket which are quick release - two types here:

http://www.g-lightfoot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ht1000.html?

I'm sure you can buy them like that (the second type in particular if it has to hang lower down).

18ft of cable souldn't be a problem - I'm running 25 to 30ft of various cables to my HT1000 with no problems (7.5m DVI too).

Complete light control can be an issue - less so with a grey screen, but if you can make up some blackout cloth to cover the window gap each time you need to fully darken the room, that will increase your range of projectors (not just high brightnes models). A few squares of velcro on both window and blackout cloth will do the trick.

Convected heat may be a problem, but only insomuch as the pj may go into high speed fan mode if it warms up. Mine has done that whilst playing recently due to the heat we've been having. Projectors have built in shutdown protection should they get too hot. I notice the speed up momentarily, but forget about it as I'm watching the film. It's very rare though.

29db or less is meant to be quiet, but it depends on how close you are to it.

The new Domino is 1024 x 576 and therefore no advantage resolution wise over the HT1000, so if you want the higher res, you may need to look at the other models in the range. Should produce a fantastic image though, and seems great value at just £3750. Jeff will probably have them both on dem, so you could do a back to back viewing if you wanted. I have a feeling the Sim will be more than marginaly better than the HT1000, but the only way to tell is to see for yourself. :)

HTH

Gary.
 
Thanks guys, much help indeed. A local outfit to me mentioned 2 models of Sim2 domino, one for £3750 and one for £4750.

Has anyone else heard of this?
Ta
D
 
To respond to my own post :nono: it has been confirmed to me that there are to be 2 models of Sim2 domino dlp. Does anyone know any more than this? ie what are the differences?
 
Jeff Paynter who I mentioned earlier has both the new Domino and Link models on demo right now. If you contact him, he should be able to tell you what you want to know. He says it's a stonking projector, and considering he has a 300+ to compare it with, I believe him. :)

I'll be going down to have a look at them myslef sometime in a couple of weeks hopefully.

HTH

Gary.
 

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