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Thread: Projector Process...

  1. #1
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    Default Projector Process...

    I've decided against going for a 480p 42" plasma in favor of a 720p 72" projected image.

    72" image at an 8' viewing distance is above the 1.3 distance recommendation for 720p.

    While I'm a couple/few months away from purchasing a projector (have to get one more sub first), I've started doing my research. Pretty soon I'll be finding some places to audition as well. I'm also purchasing knowing that HD-DVD and 1080p will hopefully be mainstream within 2 years, so I'm keeping my spending capped at around $2500 for the PJ.

    I want 720p resolution, but haven't decided on a technology yet. Both DLP and LCD PJs both have their issues. Obviously LCDs have poor blacks, darker images, larger SDE, and a rumored blue-chip degradation. DLPs have the rainbow effect, dithering (a lagging/smearing during fast pans), and relative higher cost.

    For LCD projectors I'm considering...
    Sanyo PLV-Z3 ~$1800
    Panasonic AE700U ~$1900 w/Rebate
    InFocus SP5000 ~$1800


    On the short DLP list are...
    Toshiba TDP-MT700 ~$2500
    BenQ PE7700 ~$2800


    (Note: BenQ produces both of these HD2+ 720p DLP PJs, but the Toshiba ironically has Faroudja processing at a lesser price)

    I currently plan on purchasing a 72" Carada screen.
    Here is a mock-up of what a 72" screen will look like made to scale out of posterboard (minus the black border). I'll have another SVS 16-46 PC+ next to my FL speaker, the mini-TV will be going, and my stack of equipment will also be relocated. The photo is kind of skewed as I'm standing slightly to the side at the rooms entrance.



    Just for reference, my room layout again...



    I read the whole Toshiba TDP-MT700 thread at AVS last night. First off, here are a couple screenshots I stole showing a comparison between the Toshiba and the older Sanyo Z2. The difference in black levels between the HD2+ equipped Toshiba and 3xLCD setup of the Sanyo is quite obvious.




    I'm definetly going to have to check out how singlechip DLP affects me though. Anyhoo, thats my progress in this endeavor thus far.
    Last edited by Nicholas Mosher; 04-24-2005 at 09:34 PM.

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    That is going to be an awesome setup! I agree, if you can pull it off, the projector is the way to go. I am envious!

    A good friend of mine(some of you remember, the audiologist and one of the Ascend Genies), just got the Panasonic AE700U. I have not had a chance to sample it yet...but I will soon. She tells me it is fabulous.

    One question though, with your sub so close to the speaker, do you notice any imaging/dispursion issues? That is a very close reflection/absorbtion point.
    -curtis

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    I was also worried about my sub interfering with the FR speaker while setting it up, but I didn't notice any detrimental effects after moving it a few times so that was a relief!

    On another note, the new sub purchase has been delayed a couple/few weeks. For 7 or 8 years now I've wanted to learn how to play the guitar (acoustic). My local music shop had their yearly mega sale this week so I bought a guitar package centered around an Ibanez Dreadnought. My fingers hurt so bad... I practiced for about 8hrs over the past few days (three days ago I couldn't even read music). I can play twinkle twinkle little star, mary had a little lamb, and the intro to dueling banjos. Look out Madison Square Garden!

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    That is great! There are at least a couple of other Ascend owners/forum members that are guitarists.

    Guitars like Ascends!
    -curtis

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nicholas Mosher
    On another note, the new sub purchase has been delayed a couple/few weeks. For 7 or 8 years now I've wanted to learn how to play the guitar (acoustic). My local music shop had their yearly mega sale this week so I bought a guitar package centered around an Ibanez Dreadnought. My fingers hurt so bad... I practiced for about 8hrs over the past few days (three days ago I couldn't even read music). I can play twinkle twinkle little star, mary had a little lamb, and the intro to dueling banjos. Look out Madison Square Garden!
    I've read the newer five string bass guitars can go down to 30hz. Should we start a pool to guess how long before Nicholas owns one?

    David

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nicholas Mosher
    I was also worried about my sub interfering with the FR speaker while setting it up, but I didn't notice any detrimental effects after moving it a few times so that was a relief!

    On another note, the new sub purchase has been delayed a couple/few weeks. For 7 or 8 years now I've wanted to learn how to play the guitar (acoustic). My local music shop had their yearly mega sale this week so I bought a guitar package centered around an Ibanez Dreadnought. My fingers hurt so bad... I practiced for about 8hrs over the past few days (three days ago I couldn't even read music). I can play twinkle twinkle little star, mary had a little lamb, and the intro to dueling banjos. Look out Madison Square Garden!
    hehehe. i can remember those days! and, to be honest, i still play those songs! i can't encourage you enough to learn nursery rhymes, show tunes, christmas songs, etc. as cheesy as that sounds, it's exactly what i did when i started. there's so much good material in there. ah, memories. i can remember when i bought my first marshall amp, distortion, and wah pedal my senior year of high school. i chunked out ride of the valkyrie so much that my sister was ready to kill me! there's nothing quite like the electric experiences, but acoustic guitar is the real beauty of this instrument. excellent choice. you're on your way to a lifetime of enjoyment.

    there are so many cool resources on the internet for guitar now. online lessons, etc. it's great stuff. here's a new thing i stumbled upon just a few weeks ago ... http://www.guitarport.com/ it's pretty neat.
    www.harmony-central.com is also a good site that i like to visit pretty often (you can probably write a review for your equipment there too).
    i'm just grabbing sites as they pop into memory ... check out a program called http://www.power-tab.net/downloads.php and the accompanying sheet music site is http://www.powertabs.net/.

    let me know if you want any tips, or just want to chat. rock on!
    Last edited by metalaaron; 04-25-2005 at 04:39 PM.

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    I'll definetly check those links out metalaaron... thanks!
    I'll probably PM you with questions as they come up too...

    I had a false start at learning the guitar (electric) while in 10th grade. I had a knockoff Stratocaster made by Peavey called a "Raptor" along with a little amp. At the time I could play one song... Smells Like Teen Spirit. Of course I had no idea at the time what effect pedals were, so to get the distortion sound I cranked my little amp up to lift-off volume and ran it into the ground...

    The setup has since been passed down to other family members. Now I really want to learn how to play, read/write music, and get to where I can play without thinking about the technical aspects of it. I figured acoustic would be a good approach as a basic platform. Then I can get my flying V, distortion & wah pedals, bajillion gigawatt amp to blow the skirts of passerbys up, and a skull tattoo...

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    haha, skull tattoo!

    there are so many different styles. i have noticed over the few years i've played that you really can not learn or know everything about the instrument. there are so many different approaches to producing music with a guitar. it's an instrument without limitations. for example, i live in what you'd probably call bluegrass country (the hills of tennessee). i took some lessons for the first time 2.5 years ago by someone who is a known bluegrass celebrity around here. it was COMPLETELY different from ANYTHING i've ever done before. the lessons were so weird because he didn't show you ANY sheet music, or let you have any material to take home other than a cheap mono tape recording of the lesson. he started a bluegrass run and you had to try to keep up. he was pretty relentless if you didn't hit the right note. he laid out some ground rules and then he threw a complete curveball at me. he started singing bluegrass. i messed up as soon as he started singing because it was so unexpected, and just down right hilarious. so there i was, a fairly preppy guy sitting in a guitar shop that looked like a log cabin, pickin' out bluegrass songs with an ol' country man, and his dog staring from a nearby space heater. i stopped the lessons because his teaching style as well as bluegrass was not for me. i still listen to the tapes from time to time because they're so funny. it's fun to play some of the songs because they bring back some funny memories.

    my pride and joy is my acoustic. you really made a great choice. whenever someone tells me they want to try guitar, i always tell them to start on an acoustic. acoustic sounds wonderful, and it is the best platform to begin on because it will build your strength and dexterity much faster than an electric. it also develops a better ear for the music, IMHO.

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    Not to take the discussion in an inadvertently on-topic direction but I would love to hear from Nicholas if he gets a chance to demo any of the projectors he listed. I hope to do FP as well someday but will have to live vicariously through others until I can amass sufficient funds.

    -Smokey.

    PS: I bought my first electric guitar about a year ago, and started taking lessons, but got interrupted when my daughter arrived 7 months (!) ago. Now I'm thinking of waiting until we can take lessons together.

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