now this thread feels more like avsforum...more screen shots please!

someday we should have a projector shootout session....

tim - curious a bit - the screen shots u taken, was that during daytime or nitetime?

yeah...black background is good....i use a really large black curtain stretched behind my pull-down draper screen to have that higher 'contrast' look...

with a black background and very low light, your screen will look like it's floating...damn impressive...

PJ is really a good deal if you can control your lighting ambience...heck i'm using a dell 2200mp (2000:1 contrast ratio) for nearly 3 years already and i'm still having fun with it.

Of course the contrast / colour will look a bit funny if u compare it to the newer DLPs - but hey, for the amount of money i paid those days when projector were still new i Msia...i think i made the right investment...

remember those days - even a Sanyo Z1 costs nearly RM7K....and i bought the Dell which i think is quite good - for only RM4K. And Dell is really really generous with cables i tell ya. And don't talk about the prices of plasma those days....

if anybody wanna start cheap with a projector...just get the current budget Dell for RM2K only, or those cheap Optomas...then once u have more $$$ upgrade...for casual DVD viewing, a cheap good SVGA projector is ok lah for starters...but of course the pic quality wont be on par with those HD 720p DLP...but it's better than none.

i dunno if cheap data LCD could give good video quality...but i think DLP will provide u a relatively better video quality for budget projecots

now...i guess one could get a really low budget simple HT projector set with this

projector 2500
HT setup 1000
screen 300 (DIY cheaper...)
misc (curtains etc) 1000
Total = +- RM5000 only...hehe...

cool huh?

But if you have loads of money - of course buy the proper HT ones lah which has 16:9 panels....i'm poor, so that's why i'm calculative...hehe

cheers!

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Added on January 31, 2007, 3:17 pmbulbs for normal HT projector will always be > RM1500...or is it higher?

that's why i chose the Dell...the bulb is only about RM600+...a lot lot lesser than the normal price of other models...But havent check the latest price.

not that Dell is that good...but for those who are on a budget...you'd see its benefits...

if u guys dont have the dough...just go and shop around all those cheaper projectors out there and do lotsa demo demo demo...

i think one fine day when i have loads of money...i'll get a proper 1080p projector...hehe...one fine day lah, when hd dvd titles are darn cheap too....we can always dream, can't we?




This post has been edited by silbii: Jan 31 2007, 03:17 PM

hear u man...but seriously, an svga dlp is not all that bad...i stress dlp...not lcd...i guess u probably had seen early model svga lcds from that Hitachi or whatever...the screen doo effect sucked.

That's why ppl always only talked about dlp in the early days when they talk about HT projector coz the lcd couldnt really bring good contrast or less pixel into the pics.

Reviews in projectorcentral and you'll see how dlp reigned those day. But then Pana and Sanyo upgraded their LCD technology, and voila - we got good looking videos from lcd now.

Heck, to this minute, i feel that my cheapo dlp dell has a better video quality than the Sanyo Z1 those days...and all for a fraction of a cost of the Z1.

Now we have Z3 already...i'm late! hehe

one of the good advice that ppl in avsforums thought me is that - if you wait for the next best projector - you'll never gonna buy any coz the technology changes so fast.

So maybe it could be better if ppl could buy the best technology there is today - and enjoy the technology as it is now. If ppl r gonna wait and wait - there's no end....hehe...and although patience is a virtue, too long a wait can make us go psycho as well. But that is whta i think. No harm waiting....but when u get a projector, do this - stop reading reviews! You're gonna have tha buyer's remorse and that is something which u do not want to go through...

Actually i got into this projector deal when ppl were raving about infocus x1 over at avsforums...like 3, 4 years ago...was constantly lurking in the forum every single day those days. Then came Benq 6100 into the scene and ppl were raving about it as well. I wanted to get the BenQ back then- but i guess a bit too late to Msia. No one even heard of BenQ that time...haha

And during that time, there were very very few ppl in Msia who are into projectors...so since i can't wait anymore and money wasn't really that much...i just jumped into the bandwagon...actually got the dell because it has some sort like a 14 day monye back guarantee...got it, tried it and had the wow factor - the wow factor was quite similar when i got when i tried infocus x1 those days (the xi was about RM5K+ i guess - the dell was just RM4K+..so why pay more?)...so the dell was a keeper...

if it sucked i think i would have had sent it back already...haha

and yes, if any of u are wondering - an svga dell can give a better pic than your regular tv if you know how to tweak it properly. And of course the large screen size will make u want to throw your tv too...but for cheap dlp svga, better to not go beyond 80"...heck, i'm only having a 70" - enough for me ler...

So, my point here is just to tell the ppl here that u dont really need to have rm10K to start a hobby like this...ppl in the west started with only a Panasonic AE100 4, 5 years ago - and they still had the wow factor back then coz that was the best technology...now AE100 is considered jurassic already i think - bad screendoor this baby has..hehe

but Tim - nice setup - when i have some more money (dunno how?) - i'll surely upgrade

i'll try to post some screenshots of my el-cheapo theater soon...watching LOTR or The Matrix there still brings me the wow factor for the modest price i paid - so who say cheap is always bad?

karyeowl - nice setup...feeling like i'm reading avsforum. Didn't know that Msians have lotsa 'secret' cinemas in their houses...

You're using a Z2? Any plans to upgrade?

And do u still have your crt? Where do u place it?

My setup is purely temporary (although it's been there for nearly one year) coz i only use a smallish draper pull downscreen for now (it's hanging in front of a storeroom door which sometimes need access to). But the best part is that the setup can be taken on and off as and when necessary...

I think the setup is suitable for 1-2 person, but heck it's a lot better than watching a movie in a smallish 29" crt....with a widescreen dvd...pic will look very much smaller there...haha

Don't have proper space yet to put up a dedicated fixed screen. Surely DIY will be my way to go unless Stewart can produced some mass cheaper screens...or some good China made screen someday?

post more HT pics guys!

This post has been edited by silbii: Feb 6 2007, 03:24 PM

to save on bulb replacement, maybe can do this...get a tabung and put near the HT...everytime u watch put RM1 or whatever $ u have into the tabung...i'm sure after the bulb reaches it's peak...perhaps at 3000hrs...you would have rm3000 in the tabung....hehe...then can already upgrade the projector meh...isn't this a fun way of saving.

btw - i always that my HT centre speaker is not loud enough? if i increase the master volume, it feels like the other speaker will drown the centre volume...how come eh? or maybe it's just me with this problem...

so to avoid this, i tend to bring the centre nearer to my viewing area....

any good advice on rectifying this?

cheers

i believe the term of true HT projector was only invented like 3,4 years years ago...

Beofere that, the one that had the traits of both a good data projector and video porjector those days was the dlp infocus x1 - mainly because it has the popular Faroudja chip that could handle video efficiently...

if u wanna wait...tim's right - go for the more expensive HT projector that u can find when u have the money

but if u think u can't wait anymore.. and has only rm2500 to spare and think that u can only have RM6000 in 3 years time - that'a a long wait, ain't it? so maybe u can just take the plunge and go for the dell or those entry level dlp svga projectors which is < rm3000...

a dell is good enough (if i dont compare it to a RM6000 ht projectors ler)...seriously coz i own a dell...

back in the days when HT projector in msia there was only ht projectors like sanyo z1, pana ae200, benq pb100, infocus x1...and dell was kinda on par with those...trust me - i've seen them all those days...dell was not all that bad...

it's a dlp, so the blacks were acceptable and the contrast ratio at 2000:1 which was way better than those offered by the sanyo and pana which were lcs those days...(albeit they have proper ht 16:9 panels)

those early days = any reputable dlp projectos will normally triumph against any lcd 'claimed' ht projector...

so i tell u what - try getting a dell and make sure u get the 14 days money back guarantee that they should still be offering....use it and if u think you're find with it, keep it. if not...send it back lah...haha...nothing to lose right?

i did this too and i kept mine.

But make sure u have a proper HT setup already in placed to do the test...meaning good screen, area, sound system, lighting etc etc...then u can really know if u can live with a multimedia projector or not

then when u strike lottery - of course buy those expensive ones...

actually by getting the cheap dell - i managed to fulfill my hobby with my limited money those days - i got my budgetl HT setup, and still have ample dough to get myself 4 electric guitars + multieffects, and attend most of the expensive mega rave parties that were orgnanized back then - without having to suffer too much...

imagine if i had to save all those other expenses for just the projector...i would have to stay at home with my exisitng 14 inch for years and having only to play my kapok - simply becoz i need to save...and i guess life would be a bit boring, would it? hehe

but hey, this is just a poor man's advice...i've tried waiting those days for funds t come...heck, waiting sucked! haha...coz having to wait and having to save from doing a lot of things that u'd want to do sucked even more when u wait...and remember we're not getting any younger...that sucked a lot lot more!

live life with a projector...but don't let a projector live your life....

oh...i'm not making sense maybe...sorry

haha...nice seeing another 'musician' into HT too here...cool man! Damn, don't you sometimes wish we have cheaper hobbies that don't require us to upgrade stuff constantly from time to time? haha

yeah...agree with u. Some data projector , esp dlp ones are not all that bad coz u can always calibrate them our own satisfaction...coz not everybody has RM6000 to spend for this specific hobbies.

i know Optomo can do good video too...the best thing is to demo them out to your satisfaction. Used to read good reviews on this brand's video quality....

so bro - just get the Optoma for rm2.5K...and for the rest of the money, save a bit and get yourself a plasma...then u have all there! The plasma for daily usage, the projector for those special moments which require some gigantic pics. Actually this setup is kinda normal for other parts of the world...and quite practical as well.

I'm an advocate of 'pilihan praktical dan bijak'...mainly coz i'm poor and have to work my ass off to really have more money for my hobbies...but if you guys have rich dads to 'pow', of course get them to buy ler...haha

i remember those days in England where some frens had to starve to save money in order to buy those hi-end hi-fi stuff...and they got it lah...but sadly they had no extra money for other things, like travelling etc. So they ended up living in their apartment and going nowhere, literally.

I got my hi-fi stuff too...got myself a HK, Mission, some other dodgy brand which i can't remember..all from Richer Sound's cheap sale catalogue...but since i didn't spend that much on these, I still had some money to spare too for my travellings across Europe etc...

Back to projectors, actually nowadays coz of me being busy and all...i rarely have the chance to actually have some free time for movie-watching...

Coz i think if u have a splendid HT system with those hi-end LCOS projector which costs a bomb but have no time to watch, won't that be a waste?

Still...if you have the money...go and buy true HT projectors...now I have some extra cash...but i'm contemplating whether to use this to get a HT projector or upgrade my car...decisions decisions decisions...

hmm...am i making sense again here?



This post has been edited by silbii: Feb 15 2007, 12:02 PM

dell can't replace any proper HT projector...but for RM2k it does provide ok video value lah...and yes, i heard some Dell models has some major light leakage issues...that's why it's freakin cheap! haha...but if u can 'customise' your viewing area to minimise these nuisance, it's not too bad...

yesterday i just saw Malena and Jarhead with my cheapo Dell...hate the dvd video quality of Malena but i was impressed by Jarhead - so i guess the video quality of the source play a really important role as well...and i used the portable Philips dvd player prog scan function for this - i just realisd that the Philips dvd player internal scaler is not that great....

anyone know any good cap ayam dvd player that can give good prog scan...or thise medium range ones? or should i just try HTPC for a change? hmm...

still, Malena, despite its video flaws...the lead role look 'awesome' anytime! hehe...

carpathia - if u have rm5K, by all means go for a proper HT 16:9 panel projector...coz upgrading later would not be cost-effective as well...dunno how much u have now but if u can save a bit more - go for the better ones if u can...

This post has been edited by silbii: Feb 21 2007, 09:16 AM

hope to have something like this in my new apt...he puts both the big screen and normal tv in one room...something which i've always thought of having...

http://davcorn.byu.edu/HomeTheater/

the setup in the pic is hd65, 124" screen...not bad eh?

hd65 looks really cool...so htkaki, got any good discounts? hehe...might upgrade if i could sell my 4805

hehe...anything good and cheap...i'm up for it if i have the $$$...

now i'm watching lotsa captain hook's blu-ray/hd dvd's titles but converted to normal dvd version upscaled to 720p via component to my 4805....looks damn good already...dunno if i use real native 720p it'd make any big difference

coz i think 4805's color and video projection makes dvd a lot more film-like than some 1080p projectors too....sometimes too sharp ppl look too digitzed...esp on fair skintones...