Hello Afterdawn People, I need your advise on some issues. I am new to projector scene (In fact, I have never seen a projector in action) but I have recently acquired quite a good deal of information. Still not sufficient, so please bear with me. Here are some details first: I have a studio flat (30 m2). I don't have any equipment not related to computers. I don't play any games. I have this system: P4 3.2GHz Gigabyte GA-8ANXP-D Intel 925X Chipset LG 915FT Flatron 19" CRT monitor 2GB DDR2 533MHz Audigy 2 Gigaworks S750 7.1 Speakers 36GB 15K.3 U320 Cheetah Verax 350W PSU (FSP PSU equipped by me with a Verax fan) Aopen H700C case 2000 Advanced Server System working but not operational. I am waiting for an LGA processor waterblock to be available from Coolance. It is extremely loud as it is and can't keep it working like that. Once LGA waterblocks become available, I will move the watercooling system from the old computer to this one. I Will also get a PCIe Geforce 6800 or 5750, currently own an AGP Ti 4600. Here is what I want to do: 1. View stock data 8 hours a day on big screen (kind of trade room effect!) 2. Watch Divx movies (DVD and HDTV rips) 2-3 hours a day (quite many of them, 3TB hd space) . I live in a backwards country. So I have limited access to projector stuff. I will be getting a Panasonic AE500U (http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic-PT-L500U.htm). Now my questions: 1. PROJECTOR LIGHT The projector will be positioned right above my head (0.5 meters higher). Wall to wall is 3.5 meters in my flat. How is the light projecting the image to the wall? Is it visible? I mean, will I be having a yellow beam from wall (projector) to wall (screen)? I will mostly be using the system in dim light or at night. 2. FAN NOISE How is the fan noise? Since it will be right above my head, is it disturbing? I am very sensitive to sound (watercooling everywhere). Can the projector be watercooled somehow? 3. PROJECTOR BEAM I have a central a/c unit that will blow air parallel to the screen. It is positioned at 90 degrees to the screen so it blows parallel to the wall (screen) and is 0.5 meters away from it. Will this have any effect on anything? 4. DVI-I Nvidia cards have DVI-I outputs. Panasonic supports DVD-D. How does this work? Does DVI-I output on the Geforce automatically adjust output to DVD-D when connected to a DVI-D projector? I mean, is the connection digital? 5. COMPONENT VIDEO Nvidia cards do not have component video outputs. But panasonic does have component video input. Quality is supposed to be better with component video. So is there a way I can use component video connection for the system? 6. RESOLUTION Panasonic AE500U has native resolution of 1280x720. My present desktop is 1152x864 @100Hz refresh. I do occasionally use 1280x960 @100Hz as well. For the best quality, will I need to set my desktop to the native resolution of AE500U? If so, can I keep my existing desktop resolution and set the projector output seperate from Dualview (or something) so that the graphics card outputs at the native resolution of the projector? 7. MOVIES I don't have a seperate DVD player. I have an HP 200i internal DVD+RW writer (not being used though). How will the quality be if I play DVDs from my PC? How about Divx avi files? Will the output be progressive, interlaced, good, bad? What? 8. SCREEN I can't get any screen here. I am thinking of using Goo Systems wall paint to prepare my wall. Is this any good? My wall is straight but not smooth (it is a bloody wall!). When I use this Goo Systems basecoat, does it fill the holes and make the surface flat? How about maintenance and cleanining? A lot of dust accumulates here due to A/C. Is the paint cleanable? 9. CABLES Does distance degrade signal quality? My projector will be about 4-5 meters away from the computer. But I can even make this 2m if need be. What quality cable would you suggest (price does not matter)? Would panasonic distributor be selling them? 10. SHELF CLEARANCE How much shelf clearance will I need at the back of the unit for proper ventilation? The house is air conditioned so the ambient temp is about 20C (68F) almost all the time. 11. DISTANCE At about 3.5 meters (wall to wall), the projector will output 250cm (100") diagonal 16:9. Isn't this too big to watch from 3 meters from the screen? Would I experience any screendoor effect, pixelation, etc? 12. DEAD PIXELS What is Panasonic's warranty terms on this issue? Has anyone interacted with them? Well, It has been long. It has been boring. But I am compelled to ask these questions before I venture this area. Believe me, If I could get answers from a sales rep, I would not be boring you with these. Recently I wanted to get Zalman reserator. I went to the Zalman distributor here. I asked them if they have LGA 775 waterblocks. The guy told me they don't sell LGA, they only sell Zalman. Duh! Last year I went to purchase a 21" monitor for my relative. When I asked the sales rep, he told me: "21" monitor is no good. Why do you want it, 17" is better quality!". And he was trying to sell me the 17" he had in store. As for the dead pixels, when I inquired about the warranty terms, the Panasonic service rep asked me what dead pixel is! What answer can I possibly get from a person like this? That is how the scene is here. Sorry for the very long post. I do appreciate your time. Jimmy
Hi Jimmy, im on my way out now, but just on a quick point. I have that projector and have had it for sometime. Its amazing - really is. Light - not much visible light in the projection stream, not noticeable anyway to me. It should be clear though u are probably aware of it when watchin that. Fan noise - Run it in economy mode - better contrast - Have a look at my thread on setting up projectors. Projector Beam with A/C - I cant see any problem with this, but i wouldnt knof for sure. Component Video - Again i use my Projector connected to a Progressive Scanning DVD player with component connections for the best quality - i recommend you do this. Resoultion - I belive u need ur resolution to be set no higher than that of the Panasonic, again this i something i dont deal with so im not familiar Movies - You will notice massive quality problems with DivX and Xvid. Also, you really should try and get a progressive scan image to the projector as interlaced is very different for quality Cables - its a funny thing - some say important, some not. However, i am a firm believer in high quality components. I recommend the Cambridge Audio Component Video cables at about $200. You can get other cables such as Q.E.D Silver ones at higher prices, but i dont think thats worth it. That price was for 5metres, converted from British Punds sterling that i paid for mine. 5 metres is fine for quality - the cable mentioned is extremely good at keeping out unwanted noise etc... Shelf Clearance. If you can keep atleast 5 inches from the wall it would be ideal. However, it can operate slightly closer than that, considering your house is air-condition. The heat generated is quait a lot, but it has good fans to remove it. Sometimes by placing plastic channels at the back so that the heat is directed of these and out the side fo the shelf will help. DIY them yourself - very easy Screen - if you are DIY'ing it - i would tend to use a fabric stretched super tight over 4 pieces of wood arounf the border. You can use the custom paint over this to get a better effect. Screens are important. Have a look at the different materials you can get. With a screen you can really make a difference to the contrast with levels of gain. Get it as you would like it. Size - I watch movies from only 2 metres from the screen on a 70" screen (between 60-80, depending on my mood). Sometimes this can be a bit close. However, at 3 metres, using Component cables and a high quality progressive scanning dvd player (Pioner DVD565 or something) i think you will be very pleased with the quality and lack of screen door effect evident. Finally, Dead pixels have not been a problem with me. They are not covered by the warranty and are accepted as something that can happen. More likely though are dust blobs, which can be cleaned, though quite technical to do. I have had my Panasonic for around 400 hours of use and not a single problem yet A really recommend getting a calibration disc though to set it up perfectly. I was disappointed when i first saw my picture, it was horrible on all of the pre-set modes. With the calibration disc i got it set up so it is perfect. now i hardly bother going to the cinema, with my 7.1 Surround system it is amazing. Best of luck
The above is a good description. If you want more info. try here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/foru...r=&sortfield=lastpost&perpage=30&pagenumber=1
Hello Oriphus, Many thanks for your valuable comments. I have purchased the projector. This part is the most important: "Movies - You will notice massive quality problems with DivX and Xvid" YESSSSSSSS. I AM ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED WITH THE QUALITY OF DIVX MOVIES. I DID NOT THINK IT CAN BE THIS BAD. THERE IS NO WAY ON EARTH I WOULD WATCH SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I TRIED USING FFDSHOW FILTERS BUT SAME OUTCOME. I WISH SOMEONE TOLD ME THIS PRIOR TO PURCHASING IT. So this projector (or any projector) is useless to me for watching movies (since my collection is all divx). I will keep it for projecting my stock trade program. For DVDs, the quality is very good. I have few DVDs copied to my hard drive and tested them. Right now, I am projecting to a plain wall, about 86" diagonal using an average 2m DVD-I cable. I don't have a screen or special paint. But I am impressed with the quality. I am sure it will be much better once I arrange a proper screen. I am having major placement problems though. I don't know where I can place the projector in my studio with Megaworks 7.1 speakers. I wish I had gone with a plasma. Thanks again! J
Hi, not a problem for the help. On your last point about going with Plasma, it is a much easier option, but, a projection system should nearly always give you a far better quality image at the larger sizes. Ok, Plasma has its brightness and good contrast ratios (on better models) but compare a £6000 Panasonic 50" WXGA Plasma with 1500:1 contrast and a brightness eqivalent to 1500 Lumens Max, to my £1200 Panasonic WXGA Projector with 1300:1 contrast and 800 Lumens, and i think you will agree the projector is the far greater value system. Yeah DivX and Xvid are not suitable for projectors, or indeed for Plasma. Using Progressive scanning and line doublers, the images can be improved, and re-coding the Xvid and DivX to Mpeg2 might also help. You will notice a big difference in quality when you step up to a decent quality $100-$200 screen with gain levels to suit your needs, mainly boost contrast ratio. When choosing a screen, remember that the grey/silver screens tend to give a better contrast ratio than the white matt ones, but tend not to be as bright - good for Home Cinema Glad to Help Chris
