- Feb 14, 2004
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I wish plasma was still in the game. I wouldn't mind an 80" 4K HDR plasma set.
Seriously. I bet most people would even be willing to live with the brightness degradation over time in return for the PQ.
I wish plasma was still in the game. I wouldn't mind an 80" 4K HDR plasma set.
Out of curiosity who here gets their TVs calibrated properly after purchase? Because spending $3-5K and then not calibrating is a complete and utter waste of money.
The price on the 940D dropped after the release of the Sony Z9D which is their top of the line TV. The 75" model is a mind blowing $9000 though.
LG's 77" G6 OLED is out now (OLED77G6P). $20,000:
https://www.wired.com/2016/09/lgs-biggest-best-oled-tv-sale-20000/
In another news, Sony's mindblowing (to me) 77" HDR set dropped by a grand down to $5k shipped:
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-XBR75X940D-75-Inch-Ultra-Smart/dp/B01A5LU71A/
I am anxious to get some eyes-on time with the 77" G6. However, given OLED's limitations in normally-lit rooms...the X940D for 1/4 the cost may be the way go to. Although, Epson's hybrid 1080p/4K HDR projector just started shipping for $3k & has good reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Home-Cinema-5040UB-Enhancement/dp/B01IO0QWJA/
My requirements are much more modest. I just want a 55" 4K HDR OLED that I can buy for under 2K. I sit close enough to my TV that 4K makes sense at that size. When that happens, my Kuro is coming off the wall. I'll shed a tear, but the day will come.
Can I be first in line for your Kuro? I don't need it, but I want it.
Optoma is showing off a 4K laser projector that does 100" screen 2" from the wall. Would probably be at least the price of the 77" OLED though.
http://www.optomausa.com/viewPR.aspx?id=858
Optoma is showing off a 4K laser projector that does 100" screen 2" from the wall. Would probably be at least the price of the 77" OLED though.
http://www.optomausa.com/viewPR.aspx?id=858
I am curious about these. I setup an LG PF1000u UST recently & hated it. I saw the Sony one (I believe it was a laser 4K) a few months ago on Youtube & while the picture did look awesome ($50k tho, ouch!), what about if you have kids or pets? (plus dust! because of the lens)
Any idea if there are any mixed format projects? I think there could be some really interesting stuff combining AR with projection setups. Or what about combining projection with say an OLED or maybe just active emissive screen that can boost the light output, but could go fully black to boost contrast. Properly setup it could work well for 3D and HDR where the OLED would handle the darker parts of the scene, while the projector could boost the brighter output. I wonder if they could make an active display that could improve black levels of projectors by going black for darker parts, but offer higher reflectivity for brighter parts).
What did you hate about it? I picked one up from Amazon for a decent price and struggled to decide on to keep it or not. I had an Epson LCD typical bulb type (2045) as well. The Epson can get brighter, but I preferred the colors (and like having the quicker start time, better blacks, and less heat of the LG). I was going to make a thread about it actually since I didn't know it existed until I'd looked up short throw for some reason, and surprised there wasn't more about it, considering the popularity of the 1500 (can't recall the exact model name, but the LG LED that was getting a lot of interest), I was a bit surprised, since it seemed to be that with short throw and a bit better input lag. Getting good focus can be a pit of an issue and the wall I've been projecting on is not optimal (has a texture), but I think its pretty decent (obviously not spectacular or anything, but it should be plenty fine until 4K projectors and OLED gets more reasonable; actually I might move to a VR headset and there's also another projection headset that could be interesting once they improve the resolution; oh and as it improves and drops in price Hololens will become very interesting for PC use).
Short throw definitely is dependent on your setup. So far dust hasn't been an issue for image quality (even with the relatively cheap method the LG uses, I think the mirror is just a finish on plastic, although it does make using it portably more of a concern as you want to keep from scratching the mirror or the lens/bulb area, surprised they didn't make a cover of some sort). Definitely would have to be careful if you have kids.
I bought a pull down screen for cheap off Craigslist but haven't been able to mount it (can't wall mount it so am going to get some shelves or maybe might have to make a frame to hold it up), but sadly its only 100" although that seems to be a sweetspot for output and its still plenty big enough. I had bought a couple of outdoor screens (both 120", one curved one flat, both with high contrast gray) but they wouldn't really work out. I actually prefer white screens myself, but I do quite a lot of PC and mixed use where I need whites to be more white.
My review after setting it up on an HTPC with a light gray wall:
1. imo this projector is crap. I'll get that out of the way first.
2. Noisy in a different way than most projectors. Turn your speakers up!
3. Mirror & lens both get dusty. Hasn't shown up on the picture yet, tho.
4. Black levels are terrible. Last time I saw black levels this bad was on an ultra-cheap 50" Coby HDTV. Muddy.
5. 1080p is useless for computer usage (Office etc.) for a variety of reasons that I'll get to, including:
6. Focus is garbage. You cannot get it sharp, period.
7. One side or the other will be out of focus, can't get the whole picture in focus.
8. Focusing is like an anamorphic lens, does a horizontal egg effect.
9. Any kind of tilt or side angle creates a curve on one side, like the top left will curve down.
10. Colors do not pop; picture is not very bright. My 500-lumen Viewsonic PLED-W500 from 2011 is WAY brighter and has WAY better color, which isn't saying much since I only find the W500's picture acceptable in complete darkness.
11. In regular mode, it has noticeable mouse lag. Very annoying.
12. Going back to 1080p for desktop use, I had to change it to 720p to be readable. Then increase the DPI under Windows 7 up to 150%. But since you can't 100% focus it & since one side is always unfocused, it looks like crap. This is NOT a good projector for Powerpoints or other text-based stuff.
I recently picked up a bulb-based 1080p projector, the BenQ HT2050, and it blows this out of the water a million percent. The focus is amazing, the brightness is great, it's just not a UST. It does come in a short-throw configuration (BenQ HT1085ST), but that's not as convenient as an ultra-short-throw model.
If you have low expectations for picture quality & a need for putting it a foot and a half away from the wall, this is pretty much the only game in town right now if you want a 1080p LED UST. Philips has a 720p model out, and there are a couple non-LED models available from BenQ & Optoma as well. I don't know if any of them would fare better or not. I've seen ceiling-mounted UST non-LED projectors that look way better (smartboards), so I don't think the crappy picture is the case for all of them, but definitely this one in particular is not one I would personally buy.
My recommendation, having been hands-on with it 3 times so far, is to skip this model. Sounds like my buddy is going to be returning it.
My biggest complaints with LED projectors have been:
1. Low lumens
2. Focus creep
3. Lack of razor focus
4. No native 1080p models available (until recently)
With the introduction of the Viewsonic PLED-W800, I feel like 800 lumens is a good minimum number for LED projectors. I was excited to play with my buddy's PF1000u, which is 1000 lumens, but really, it looks more like 350 lumens - not as bad as the LG PH300 (300 lumens), but not as good as the Aaxa P300 (400 lumens). I've also used the Optoma ML750, which is 700 lumens, and that's not quite enough either. So either LG is outputting far less than advertised, or the mirror really kills the brightness.
I was messing around with the PF1000u too much to notice if it had focus creep (pretty much every LED projector I've ever used goes slightly & annoyingly out of focus when it warms up after a few minutes), but the focusing ability itself was just the worst ever. There was no "ahh perfect, nailed it!" moment, ever, period. That made text look absolutely terrible in 1080p. Plus it would go out of focus on one side or the other, so your Computer & Recycle bin icons would be a blur or else your taskbar icons by the clock would be completely fuzzy.
Any idea if there are any mixed format projects? I think there could be some really interesting stuff combining AR with projection setups. Or what about combining projection with say an OLED or maybe just active emissive screen that can boost the light output, but could go fully black to boost contrast. Properly setup it could work well for 3D and HDR where the OLED would handle the darker parts of the scene, while the projector could boost the brighter output. I wonder if they could make an active display that could improve black levels of projectors by going black for darker parts, but offer higher reflectivity for brighter parts).
What did you hate about it? I picked one up from Amazon for a decent price and struggled to decide on to keep it or not. I had an Epson LCD typical bulb type (2045) as well. The Epson can get brighter, but I preferred the colors (and like having the quicker start time, better blacks, and less heat of the LG). I was going to make a thread about it actually since I didn't know it existed until I'd looked up short throw for some reason, and surprised there wasn't more about it, considering the popularity of the 1500 (can't recall the exact model name, but the LG LED that was getting a lot of interest), I was a bit surprised, since it seemed to be that with short throw and a bit better input lag. Getting good focus can be a pit of an issue and the wall I've been projecting on is not optimal (has a texture), but I think its pretty decent (obviously not spectacular or anything, but it should be plenty fine until 4K projectors and OLED gets more reasonable; actually I might move to a VR headset and there's also another projection headset that could be interesting once they improve the resolution; oh and as it improves and drops in price Hololens will become very interesting for PC use).
Short throw definitely is dependent on your setup. So far dust hasn't been an issue for image quality (even with the relatively cheap method the LG uses, I think the mirror is just a finish on plastic, although it does make using it portably more of a concern as you want to keep from scratching the mirror or the lens/bulb area, surprised they didn't make a cover of some sort). Definitely would have to be careful if you have kids.
I bought a pull down screen for cheap off Craigslist but haven't been able to mount it (can't wall mount it so am going to get some shelves or maybe might have to make a frame to hold it up), but sadly its only 100" although that seems to be a sweetspot for output and its still plenty big enough. I had bought a couple of outdoor screens (both 120", one curved one flat, both with high contrast gray) but they wouldn't really work out. I actually prefer white screens myself, but I do quite a lot of PC and mixed use where I need whites to be more white.
Right now VR is still gen 1 and pretty impressive despite the obvious screen door. But when these hit 8k/eye and are light and wireless I see regular TV/displays taking a serious hit. Until holographic TV that is. People still prefer not wearing anything if possible. Speakers over headphones for me personally.
But right now I would think of using a current VR headset to replace any display. The resolution isn't there yet. Reading text is not fun. If they had replacement lenses that reduce the FOV it might work for 2D content.
Yeah. On my GearVR, I watched some old NASA footage on a virtual IMAX screen while sitting in space above the earth. Awesome sense of scale. There's also some virtual movie theaters you can use (real movie theater, ant theater, moon theater, etc.) that are really cool. Once they hit VR "Retina" quality (presumably via 8K screens), that will be a real gamechanger because then yeah, it's a viable display alternative. As it is now, I don't even like watching Netflix in VR because of the pixelization. But it gives you a glimpse of how good it can be in the future...why spend $4,000 on an 80" LCD when you can have a 100-foot screen in your VR goggles?