Home Theater Thread

[LT72884]

Yeah i know this is an odd thread for a food forum, but hey why not. Im just curious if any one has used the Viewsonic PJ558D projector. Apparently it can display up to 1080I BUT yet its max res is 1280x1024. Any way im just wondering if any one has used this and seen how well it displays 720P and 1080I. I have the earlier model PJ458D and when i set it to 720P or anything above its native, it goes all fuzzy on me. I dont like the fuzzy look. The reason i choose this one over the home theater models is becasue its 2500 lumen's vs 1500. If its good enough to be used in a business then its good enough to be used at home.

Any thoughts or ideas for projectors.

 

[keltin]

The native resolution of that projector is 1024x768, XGA. That means it’s designed for displaying PC images. It also accepts HD signals and can display 720p or 1080i.

If all you want is an HD projector, you’d be much better off choosing a projector with a native resolution of 1920x1080i that is specifically designed for HD. While the viewsonic may be able to display HD signals, that is not it’s primary purpose. The Sony VPL-VW50 is a good HD projector.

When picking a home theater component, try to pick pieces that are specifically designed for home theater applications and stay away from “jack of all trades” type devices like this ViewSonic projector. Also, always shoot for a native resolution of 1920x1080. Anytime you push a monitor, TV, projector, etc, outside of it’s native display resolution, you can suffer in picture quality.

 

[LT72884]

yeah i just noticed one other thing that home theater projectors have. higher contrast ratio. Its price im concerned about. i would like to find a HT projector for 800-1000$ that has a native of 1280x720,

Newegg.com - BenQ W500 1280 x 720 3LCD 720p Home Theater Projector With HDMI 1100 lumens 5000:1

I dont know much about benq since i have never used there products.
im just trying to buy a car, 360 and a projector all at once. i all ready have a killer sound system. 10 inch sub thats 585 wats and its all 5.1 THX certified and has the DTS codec.

 

[Jeekinz]

6.1 here, 10" sub, Sony components, and Klipsch speakers. 42 Sony HD plasma.

Thought about a proj. but like the mobility.....just in case.-lol

 

[LT72884]

so jeeks do you like the klipsch speakers. I like klipsch but i also like JBL's. So what model of sony amp do you have. Sony makes some good stuff.

my dream system is gonna cost me tons of money. There is a company here in Utah that makes and designs dang good sound equipment. They are Harmon/kardon. They make a excelelnt AV amp that i want. My friend has a 4000 wat sub with a dedicated amp, uses Harmon studio monitors for his speakers, Harmon/kardon amp for the speakers, sub harmonic synth which duplicates the low notes and drops them down an octave, Harmonic synth and a projector. he spent about $20,000 on it. yeah i dont have $20,000. So im sticking with my z-5500's and projector and xbox360 and my uber pc. I wouldnt mind having a better sound system becasue mine is 3 or 4 years old. but it still rocks the house. Plus i have some nice software that simulates tube amplification.

 

[Jeekinz]

Don't know the model #'s off the top of my head. I wanted to get the best bang for the buck putting this system together. I spent maybe $1000 on everything besides the TV. I used all Sony components so I wouldn't have compatability issues. Everything runs through the receiver (DVD, CD, Sat., Xbox, PS2). I got the levels dialed in, so the sound is great. Some middle of the line speakers handle it nicely. 2x8" front towers, 10" sub, rear in-wall 8" surround, 2x6 center and a rear center. (I'm not a fan of those surround packages with the small satellite speakers) The TV is used only as a monitor so it doesn't interfere with the output of the receiver. Speaker placement, leveling and cable usage on the video and audio is key.

 

[LT72884]

yeah i agree with you on pre packed theater in a box. But for 300$ for a THX certified system with optical and DTS codec and 1010 wats, i couldnt complain. Im glad i bought this set. its nice and neat and loud with no distortion for the bass. But at the same time if i had the money i would buy this
Newegg.com - Recertified: harman/kardon AVR635B 7.1CH Audio/Video Surround Receiver
and then some klipsch speakers or polk audio.

or even this for bang for the buck
Newegg.com - Pioneer VSX-817-K XM and SIRIUS Satellite Ready 7-Channel A/V Receiver

 

[GB]

Jeekinz which Sony HD do you have? I have the 40 inch XBR2 and am in love with it. I have not convinced my wife to let me hook up any sort of sound system to it yet though. I will fight that battle in another few years. I have some great old B+W speakers along with some Bose cubes. The Bose speakers are pretty good, but the B+W blow them away. I would probably end up with a Yamaha receiver, but I love Sony as well and they have never let me down so if price becomes an issue I might settle for a Sony when the time comes.

 

[Jeekinz]

Looks good. I hate silver components.....reminds me of the 80's. My DirecTV receiver came silver, I want to paint it black.

 

[Jeekinz]

GB, my bad...Sony KDL40S2010. 40 not 42.

It only has one HDMI port that I run the DVD through. There's supposed to be some sort of converter you can buy to add more HDMI ports, which would be nice for satellite.

Really plan out the new receiver. Make sure it can handle all of your components and their cabling.

 

[LT72884]

yeah planing is everything.

 

[GB]

Absolutely!

I went with the TV I have because it has 3 HDMI ports (among many other reasons). Right now I do not have any of them in use though. My DVD player does not have HDMI (it is a piece of junk) and I have been told that from cable box to TV it really does not make any noticeable difference.

 

[Jeekinz]

My DVD player has Upconversion to convert the video to 1080. Your set is coupla notches up from mine, so you should have a few more options on cables. There's a big difference with HD channels using the proper cables.

 

[GB]

OK I guess I will buy myself an HDMI c able then. I have seen a number of sites where the prices are very low. It blows my mind that the big box stores can get away with charging over $100 for an HDMI cable when they can be found online for $10 or less.

 

[Jeekinz]

Ahhhh, tell me about it. Best Buy charged me $60 for one!

 

[GB]

Circuit City wanted to charge me $110. I told the sales guy yes (to get him off my back) and then when I got to the register told them to put it back on the shelf.

 

[Jeekinz]

Now I can see all the pot marks on Joe Torre's face.

 

[GB]

We were watching Saving Private Ryan the other night and in the opening scene there is a very close closeup of a face. My wife got grossed out by all the black heads she could now see. I told her to just stare into the eyes. Don't look at the nose

 

[LT72884]

LOL yeah best buy wanted me to pay 85 for a monster component cable set so i said nope. monster cable makes you pay for name and nothing else. So i went to my local electrical whole sale place which carries everything you can think of in the electrical world. They have a box full of tubes for amps and what not. any way i bought me 20 feet of coax cable at .08$ a foot and then some RCA ends and built my own cables. spent 16 dollars and now i have 3 6 foot component cables. i tired making an s video cable and dvi one once but it did work to well. then they wanted to spend 50 on a coax digital sound cable so i took one of the antenna RG6 patch cables that cam with my surge protector and then went to radio shack and for 2$ bought me some F connector to RCA and it works just fine. I still get dolby digital and DTS with the cable.

 

[LT72884]

ok so here is a nice projector. tell me what ya think
Runco's $250,000 Signature Cinema SC-1 projector - Engadget