tsammyc Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 After thinking about getting a D7 LCD like the TW2000 from PriceJapan, I called KEC today and they offered HD80 at $4,750 incl GST, so its now sitting on my ceiling ;D. Its almost exactly the price that its sold in the U.S. (USD2,699) when you factor in Vpost plus has a 2-yr local warranty. I also thought that the HD80 would be brighter than the coming D7 LCDs at maximum zoom, which is something I need. Only getting about a 96" diag image on my 106" screen, so I have to move the screen back about a foot, which should not be a problem once a buddy comes over to help me. First impression was that it was waaaaaaaay to bright.... almost like LCD TV, but after setting the lamp to economy mode and shutting the iris down to almost the smallest its really good and a huge upgrade in contrast to my NEC HT-1100. Have only watched some CSI:NY Season 3 and some HD off Mio-TV. Have yet to buy Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player for it yet, but will move one or the other from my SXRD TV tomorrow. Was comparing it to a TW1000 recently and its only shortcoming is some shadow detail, but it beats the pants off the Epson on colours and depth of image and is perceptibly higher in contrast. Why didn't I wait for the Panny AE2000, Epson TW2000 and Sanyo Z2000 in the end? Basically, I'm (1) slightly biased against LCD even though projectorcentral says there is no diff anymore and (2) I have no faith that the dealers will price these new LCDs down to U.S. prices (3) There are limits to my projector room (study) as it not only has white walls and ceiling, but there is a floor to ceiling mirror across one entire side for my daughter's dance practice. Hence 50,000:1 contrast won't make much of a diff. and (4) The technology is moving so fast that I thought it would be best to buy the cheapest high performance 1080p. Sure I could pay 2-3x more for a Infocus Darkchip 3 or JVC Lycos, but the advancements are moving so fast that depreciation will be high. I paid $6,000 for my NEC, just a few years ago and its worth at most $1,000 now. Also observing the cost for Muscular and Doggie changing projectors over the past year led me to appreciate having *not* bought the Ruby two years ago, which I almost did.
dannyhgt Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 Nice! What kind of screen are you using? How is ambient light viewing condition? Looks like my situation too, white ceiling and white walls! In fact the whole house white!! Even kitchen cabinet WHITE! >:( (not that it will affect the PJ though...) ;D
tsammyc Posted November 1, 2007 Author Posted November 1, 2007 Its by far the brightest projector I ever had. When I first turned it on, I needed sunglasses ;D Now its set to low lamp mode with the iris at the minimum and its still very bright. I'm sure its as good as any in ambient light. I'm using a 106" Da-Lite High Contrast Matt White with 1.1 gain.
Jag Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 Its by far the brightest projector I ever had. When I first turned it on, I needed sunglasses ;D Now its set to low lamp mode with the iris at the minimum and its still very bright. I'm sure its as good as any in ambient light. I'm using a 106" Da-Lite High Contrast Matt White with 1.1 gain. I fully understand sammy's situation. Prices of electronics moved so much i even find to hard to spend $6k on a 1080p pj 1yr ago. Today, that $6k bracket has fallen to $5k. Great to hear you got a great price for the HD80. Looking forward to more comments about it after the honeymoon period is over.
Phil1624705739 Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 I fully understand sammy's situation. Prices of electronics moved so much i even find to hard to spend $6k on a 1080p pj 1yr ago. Today, that $6k bracket has fallen to $5k. Great to hear you got a great price for the HD80. Looking forward to more comments about it after the honeymoon period is over. Jag, you waiting for the TW2K? Phil
tsammyc Posted November 1, 2007 Author Posted November 1, 2007 Great to hear you got a great price for the HD80. Looking forward to more comments about it after the honeymoon period is over. Jag, you and I switched around the same time in late '03 from our AE100s to DLP, which we have been enjoying for the past few years. Having watched SD-DVD on the HD80 all afternoon, I can safely say that the improvements in contrast are huge and finally worth upgrading to even for SD-DVD. The black level and contrast on the cheapest 1080p DLP is simply so much better than our 2003-era DLP projectors! I'm sure over the next few months there will be a plethora of options in D7 LCDs which are as good as the HD80 in blacks/contrast and possibly for a lower price. The TW2000's amazing zoom range should make it perfect for your room. I thought hard over spending double for the JVC HD2, but in the end I decided that getting the best "affordably priced" projector wasn't worth the money, particularly as its replacement has already been announced and will be available soon.
Phil1624705739 Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 Yo Sam, the HD80 is a no-brainer for you since you have the required throw distance. It's another tradeoff altogether for the rest of us HDB dwellers. I'm kinda interested in your observation on the color performance between the TW1K and HD80. Having reviewed both projectors, I personally feel there is little difference among the two sets. Phil
tsammyc Posted November 1, 2007 Author Posted November 1, 2007 I know what the specs are, but I felt that the TW1000 had lower contrast and black level than the HD80. I viewed them one after the other. I think only the TW2000 has a chance of equalling the HD80. It was like there was a slight cast over the TW1000 image, while the HD80 was almost too contrasty and bright. The TW1000 colours seemed quite accurate, while the HD80 was oversaturated (I've sinced calibrated it). There was more depth to the HD80 image. The zoom on the TW1000 was fantastic. Both were equally sharp.
Phil1624705739 Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 One possibility is the settings for both PJs. Anyway, all it matters is you are satisfied with your new toy. Phil
zapp1624705742 Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 hey Sam, what is the throw distance for an 80 inch screen for the HD80?
tsammyc Posted November 1, 2007 Author Posted November 1, 2007 hey Sam, what is the throw distance for an 80 inch screen for the HD80? Its 10ft 9inches and you would have 34fl so it will look OK in a pretty bright room. If you can wait a little, I think the Epson TW2000 should be equal and have much more flexible layout, plus at this point, it looks like about $3.3K excl GST from PriceJapan.
dannyhgt Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 Its 10ft 9inches and you would have 34fl so it will look OK in a pretty bright room. Do you think it is ok with Studiotek 130 in a bright room?
tsammyc Posted November 1, 2007 Author Posted November 1, 2007 Probably depending on what you mean by bright. All screens will wash out if there is bright ceiling lights above, but I imagine this projector will be good watching football with some ambient lighting. When I first turned it on in a dark room, my eyes hurt.
dannyhgt Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 Probably depending on what you mean by bright. All screens will wash out if there is bright ceiling lights above, but I imagine this projector will be good watching football with some ambient lighting. When I first turned it on in a dark room, my eyes hurt. Hmmm.. No wonder you said you need sunglasses.
desray Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 Try applying these settings I have derived (which in my opinion seems to bring the best out of this Prokjector) User Mode Settings (Settings modified as on 26th Aug 07) Contrast 42 Brightness 50 Color 50 Tint 50 Advanced Settings (Settings modified as on 26th Aug 07) Degamma 'Film' Gamma 0 Color Temp Settings (Settings modified as on 26th Aug 07) Red Gain 117 Blue Gain 100 Green Gain 96 Red Bias 127 Blue Bias 127 Green Bias 128 Tell me how you find it...:) Hey take a few clips in HD using your HDV Cam lehz...so that everyone can appreciate this Projector's underlying image beauty.
tsammyc Posted November 2, 2007 Author Posted November 2, 2007 Des, I tried out your settings liao two days ago along with guitarman and the Swedish guy on AVS. Your settings have the flesh tones a little strong, but are pretty good overall. I'm not super picky over the calibration and generally find the ISF calibrations tone down the colours too much. Currently I am set on guitarman's settings. I like the swedish guy's least. Am enjoying the HD80 tremendously, particularly in the day (with curtains drawn), the image has so much pop compared to my HT-1100 because of the brightness. The only downside I see is that on A/B comparison with my Sony SXRD TV, there are some shadow details missing in CSI:NY, which has a lot of indoor scenes where only half the person's face is lit. Its OK on dark movies where the whole scene is dark. All-in its quite enlightening to have both LCOS and DLP to compare.
blackburn Posted November 2, 2007 Posted November 2, 2007 the hd80 is an excellent choice for the price and performance. typically most of us would want to screen at least a 100" (49x87) picture. take this into account and the 37% throw angle, the projector would need to be mounted at least 49"+(49"x0.37)=67.12" or 6 ft from the ground :o so that rules almost all hdb owners out, considering that at this mounted height the picture would laterally be on the floor ;D
tsammyc Posted November 2, 2007 Author Posted November 2, 2007 You can just tilt the projector up a little. Either correct it with keystone (not recommended) or change the zoom to mask off some of the sides. Alternatively, if you can tilt the screen, that would also correct the keystone
Phil1624705739 Posted November 2, 2007 Posted November 2, 2007 You can just tilt the projector up a little. Either correct it with keystone (not recommended) or change the zoom to mask off some of the sides. Alternatively, if you can tilt the screen, that would also correct the keystone WOW!! Keystone is a no no man... Phil
hoon33 Posted November 2, 2007 Posted November 2, 2007 Its 10ft 9inches and you would have 34fl so it will look OK in a pretty bright room. If you can wait a little, I think the Epson TW2000 should be equal and have much more flexible layout, plus at this point, it looks like about $3.3K excl GST from PriceJapan. Hello, i check price japan, the price is JY352,436-00 = S$4,578-00. where is the lobang you get for S$3.3K ? can share. thanks hoon33
desray Posted November 2, 2007 Posted November 2, 2007 Des, I tried out your settings liao two days ago along with guitarman and the Swedish guy on AVS. Your settings have the flesh tones a little strong, but are pretty good overall. I'm not super picky over the calibration and generally find the ISF calibrations tone down the colours too much. Currently I am set on guitarman's settings. I like the swedish guy's least. Am enjoying the HD80 tremendously, particularly in the day (with curtains drawn), the image has so much pop compared to my HT-1100 because of the brightness. The only downside I see is that on A/B comparison with my Sony SXRD TV, there are some shadow details missing in CSI:NY, which has a lot of indoor scenes where only half the person's face is lit. Its OK on dark movies where the whole scene is dark. All-in its quite enlightening to have both LCOS and DLP to compare. Hahaha...it doesn't matter who's settings you've chosen. The most important thing is pleasing to your eyes :) Cheers!~ :)
tsammyc Posted November 2, 2007 Author Posted November 2, 2007 Hello, i check price japan, the price is JY352,436-00 = S$4,578-00. where is the lobang you get for S$3.3K ? can share. thanks hoon33 Sorry the S$3.3K was for the TW1000
tsammyc Posted November 15, 2007 Author Posted November 15, 2007 The Optoma in TV mode works as a pretty good 1920x1080 computer monitor. The Windows desktop is dead sharp and I can surf 12ft away from the screen with everything perfectly legible. Its a new experience surfing on a comfy couch...
tsammyc Posted November 27, 2007 Author Posted November 27, 2007 Managed to get 1080p/24 from my HTPC to the HD80. However, it required me to install Powerstrip with my Radeon HD 2400XT as the EDID from the HD80 doesn't say that it has the resolution. Seems a little sharper in playing Spiderman 3 (not sure why) while the Windows desktop remains about as sharp.
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