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*Lamp Life

How long your lamp lasts depends on several factors including:-

• Keeping the fan filter cleaner Not moving the projector while it's turned on The number of times you turn the projector on and off in a day.

• How much time it's used in "Low Lamp Mode" (more the better)How long you normally use it for (over 4 hours the heat starts to build up).

• Lamp output falls dramatically towards the end of its life. You may want to replace a lamp after 2,000 hours even though it may run for another 1,000 hours.

• You would do this if unhappy with the the lower brightness level and/or don't have a light controlled room.

• Remember most lamps are warranted for 3 months or 500 hours, some like Sanyo may go to 12 months and have pro-rata options.

• If you buy a spare lamp, swap to it ASAP as you must report a Dead On Arrival lamp within 7 days.After your original lamp has done 500HR/ 90 days keep it as a spare and use the new lamp because warranty starts from the time you purchased it, not the date you installed it.

• All lamps have a unique serial number.

Progressive Scan (1080P) vs. Interlaced (1080i)

All PCs, most DVD players and Set Top Boxes now output a progressive signal, some older DVD players were Interlaced only so the signal had to be "De-Interlaced" to be displayed by a Projector or PC monitor.

A Progressive signal "Paints" all the lines in one pass, interlaced as the name implies, paints one pass with space between the lines then traces another pass to fill the spaces.

This happens so quickly that you only see the finished image with twice as much data.The signal on your TV is interlaced, 1080i HD is Interlaced 720p is Progressive etc.

Lighting.

If you look at the picture below you will see that the room is not dark. Direct sunlight is to be avoided but you can have a satisfying experience in a softly lit room.

You will notice that the blacks won't be black as black is the colour of your screen without any light shining on it. For movie time and the popcorn good light control adds to that "Movie" experience.

This is a new DNP "Daylight" screen. Makes what I just said redundant!

Pubs spend $100,000 on a 100 inch plasma when they could
have had this at a fraction of the cost.. Unlike a Plasma screen this one lasts forever.

With a "Daylight Screen" it's like being there, without the parking (Actual Image)

Color Temperature.

Colors are produced with differing temperatures the scale is called K or Kelvin.

The range used as the base setting for projectors is often 65,000 Kelvin.

Sunlight K averages:-

Warm

Cool Colours

6500 K, as you can see above is roughly the color of average daylight. For best color accuracy most projectors need to be calibrated to 6500K white point/white balance. (Also known as D65).

Note TV's can range from 3200 to 9300.. NTSC broadcast standard of 6500 (D65) and the motion picture display industry is about 5400. The lower the number, the warmer the Colours..

When we test the CR <Contrast Ratio> of a projector we don't first calibrate it to D65, the reason for this is we think it's fairer to see how the projector performs "out of the box" most people can't be bothered with calibration, many people prefer settings that are removed from the theoretically ideal.

It's what looks good to you that's the important thing!

HDMI Connection

HDMI is basically DVI with sound, for the purpose of projecting an image.

Theatre projectors don't require sound signals so either will give high quality digital images.HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the first industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface.

HDMI provides an interface between any audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, and A/V receiver and an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV).

Backed by some of the industry's biggest names, High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) enables true high-definition audio/video content for consumers.

HDMI combines high-definition video and multi-channel audio in a single digital interface to provide crystal-clear digital quality over a single cable. One cable for audio and video dramatically simplifies home theater system installation and eliminates the cable mess behind entertainment system components.

HDMI offers significant advantages over analog A/V connections, including the ability to transmit uncompressed digital video and audio content. Hollywood studios and cable and satellite operators support HDMI.HDMI is based on Silicon Image's TMDS® technology and is fully backward compatible with the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) standard.

HDMI systems will automatically configure to display content in the most effective format.

HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel digital audio, with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements. How do consumers benefit from HDMI?

The new HDMI digital interconnect provides:

Superior, uncompressed digital video and audio quality Simple, user-friendly connector that replaces the maze of cabling behind the entertainment center
Integrated remote control..

Does HDMI provide a secure interface?

HDMI, when used in combination with HDCP, provides a secure audio/video interface that meets the security requirements of content providers and systems operators.

What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog interfaces such as composite, S-Video and component video?

Quality:

HDMI transfers uncompressed digital audio and video for the highest, crispest image quality.

HDMI ensures an all-digital rendering of video without the losses associated with analog interfaces and their unnecessary digital-to-analog conversions.

Low-cost:

HDMI provides the quality and functionality of a digital interface while also supporting uncompressed video formats in a simple, cost-effective manner. Audio: HDMI supports multiple audio formats, from standard stereo to multi-channel surround-sound.

Ease-of-use:

HDMI combines video and multi-channel audio into a single cable, eliminating the cost, complexity, and confusion of multiple cables currently used in A/V systems.

Intelligence:

HDMI supports communication between the video source (such as a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality. Includes YUV color space support.

HDMI FAQ

Is HDMI backward-compatible with DVI (Digital Visual Interface)?

Yes, HDMI is fully backward-compatible with DVI using the CEA-861 profile for DTVs.

HDMI DTVs will display video received from existing DVI-equipped products, and DVI-equipped TVs will display video from HDMI sources including DVI-based PCs so you can display PC gaming or entertainment content on your HDTV.

HDMI has the capacity to support existing high-definition video formats (720p, 1080i, and even 1080p).

It also has the flexibility to support enhanced definition formats such as 480p, as well as standard definition formats such as NTSC or PAL.

HDMI 1.3

• Higher speed: HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.

• Deep Color: HDMI 1.3 supports 10-bit, 12-bit and 16-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 8-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification, for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail.

• Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 adds support for “x.v.Color™” (which is the consumer name describing the IEC 61966-2-4 xvYCC color standard), which removes current color space limitations and enables the display of any color viewable by the human eye.

• New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.

• Lip Sync: Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments.

HDMI 1.3 incorporates automatic audio syncing capabilities that allows devices to perform this synchronization automatically with total accuracy.

• New HD loss less audio formats: In addition to HDMI’s current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby® Digital and DTS®), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new loss less compressed digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™.

The latest version of the HDMI standard establishes critical infrastructure for implementing 3D video in the home, defining input/output protocols that will allow 3D displays and source devices to communicate through an HDMI link. It’s a major milestone on the path to bringing true 3D gaming and 3D home theater to the mass market, supporting resolutions up to 1080p in 3D.

HDMI 1.4 3D

3D technology is evolving rapidly, with several competing approaches under development, so the HDMI 1.4 specification establishes protocols for a number of popular 3D display methods, including:

• Frame, line, or field alternative methods
• Side by side methods (full and half)
• 2D plus depth methods

For more information see http://www.hdmi.org/index.aspx

LCD or DLP projectors?

Unless you're going with a 3 Chip DLP we'd say LCD any day but you make up your own mind after reading this.

If DLP was better why are all the top selling projectors LCD?

Buying on the web.

Smart Move - Buy from people that have real stock.

Every month we have to turn over demo stock (A4, A3 printers and Projectors) purchased during the previous 90 days. They come with full warranty and most are hardly used. Digital products including the latest in HD Home Cinema projectors & theatre projection screens.

This is a warning to heed, if you buy "Grey Market" the chances are your not covered by an Australian warranty, people often wonder why things cost more here, apart from the exchange rate, GST and duties and import costs someone has to pay for the support and service centers, so if you import something yourself via eBay or an international supplier your on your own if you have problems.

The first question we ask is "What is your invoice number".

Many web-only box movers could let you down, often they don't hold stock, (it just looks like they do) many do a daily or weekly update of their data base from major trade suppliers, during the time between updates you could have paid thinking the goods were on the way to you, only to find out later the next shipment is sometimes weeks away, worse still no refund!

We don't bill your card if we can't supply.