# Gaff needs a projector now



## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2008)

I am NOT a video guy. I've got a video guy on campus but he's more of a filming and editing guy I'm not sure how much of a hardware guru he is. So I would like to present him with some ideas. 

I finally found the key to the projection screen and lowered it to learn what size it is today (Yet another thing I was left in the dark on). So now I need a projector. Black Box theater, throw is about 37', screen is 14' wide by 8' high. I've got a budget of around $10k... I can probably go more if it's REALLY cool, no ambient light issues. I've got unistrut hanging under the catwalks to mount the projector. I've got BNC and ethernet all over the theater. We would like the projector to be able to project lecture notes with the houselights up as well as do film festivals with the lights out. We would like a rental presenter to be able to bring their laptop in and easily run their presentations on the screen... I don't know what kind of gear I need to do that. 

I know that Cristy and Barco are probably the best in the business but that's about it. My video guy suggested a Panasonic PT-DW5000UL when we first set budgets about 2 years ago... it's probably out of date by now. 

I want good quality. Reliable, easy on the long term lamp replacement budget if possible, It would be nice to have a really high def system with a Blue Ray/HD DVD player for film festival stuff. 

Help Me. Thanks!


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## derekleffew (Jan 19, 2008)

This Barco projector. This processor. Or whatever kwotipka tells you to do, do that.


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## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> This Barco projector. This processor. Or whatever kwotipka tells you to do, do that.



Well Derek, the list price is $85,000... I think it's out of my price range a bit. 

I did have someone tell me that the recommend a minimum of 30 lumens per square foot of screen... which works out to a minimum of 3,360 lumens. So I'm thinking something in the 4,000-5,000 lumen range is about right. (14,000 lumens is probably overkill.) I'll wait to see what kwotipka suggests.


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## soundlight (Jan 19, 2008)

I'd say that you should get a projector that's a bit higher powered than that, or at least has the option to be. So I'm gonna say a Christie DS+650 would fit your space pretty well. It's 6500 lumens with dual lamps, and accepts a large variety of input sources. But I'm not a true vidiot, I think that kwotipka will have a bit more to say here.


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## SerraAva (Jan 19, 2008)

Few things with buying a projector. First, you will find that the lens will cost almost as much as the projector itself. Might have changed since I last bought one, might not, been a few years since I was involved in a purchase of one. Second, do you plan on using it for shows at any point? Here are two shots of a 10K LCD Panasonic from about 20' till the cyc with a 1.2 lens:

First is stage wash at 75% and cyc lights at about 66%. Stage is all S4s lamped at 750w and cyc lights are 4 four cell Altman Ecno Cycs lamped 1000w.



Same show, stage at 75% and cyc lights off.


Sorry for the really bad shots, taken off of VLC player and the crappy dvd I have of the show . Point is, we were using a 10k and orginally were suppose to get a 7k. We found ourselves wishing for a brighter projector at times. Just food for thought.

Also, Christie and Barco are the top brands. Panasonic and Sanyo aren't bad, and Epson only makes up to a 5.5K if I remember correctly. After that, the brands get cheap. Something else, are you looking into LCD or DLP. DLP has a much better image quality but will cost more. For example, I can rent a 7K DLP for the same price as a 10K LCD. You should look into HD as well, since that is the way everything is headed, and if you want to future proof it, that would be your best bet.

I am by no means a video expert, but I deal with it more and more it seems. These are just things I hear from video guys that I work with and have been doing corporate AV for years and years, and my experiences.


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## Footer (Jan 19, 2008)

I am a big fan of Eiki projectors, they are very well made and affordable. The barcos do have DMX capability on some of them, which is a nice added feature. Be aware though, as stated before the lenses can cost just about as much as the projector, especially for a long throw. 4000-5000 lumens should do you well.


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## icewolf08 (Jan 19, 2008)

I also am not up on all my video stuff, but I would say that you want to make sure that whatever projector you get supports HD resolutions and possibly higher. I suppose it should also have HD inputs (DVI, HDMI, component...) By the end of this year I bet we will see an end to the HD format war, and you will probably want the ability to display HD content.


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## derekleffew (Jan 19, 2008)

And perhaps save some money for a City Theatrical Projector Dowser, to insure true blackouts.


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## soundlight (Jan 19, 2008)

I thought that Christies and Barcos had built in true dowsers? At least some of them do, I think.


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## SerraAva (Jan 19, 2008)

Couple more things since everyone is talking about HD. Be aware that most HD signals will not go down HD cable very far, 50', 100' max is pushing it. I think I read somewhere that HDMI is only good for about 20' or so, DVI about 50'. You will need a signal booster to get full 1080 or even 720 over long lengths of cable. It also must be a digital cable to pass HD signal, meaning CAT 5 or 6, DVI, DVI-D, HDMI, component, or fiber optic. You could just turn the signal around to fiber optic and back again at the projector, not needing a DA at all then, but fiber optic cable is very expensive.


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## icewolf08 (Jan 19, 2008)

SerraAva said:


> Couple more things since everyone is talking about HD. Be aware that most HD signals will not go down HD cable very far, 50', 100' max is pushing it. I think I read somewhere that HDMI is only good for about 20' or so, DVI about 50'. You will need a signal booster to get full 1080 or even 720 over long lengths of cable. It also must be a digital cable to pass HD signal, meaning CAT 5 or 6, DVI, DVI-D, HDMI, *component*, or fiber optic. You could just turn the signal around to fiber optic and back again at the projector, not needing a DA at all then, but fiber optic cable is very expensive.



Component is not a digital signal. It can carry full 1080p, and cable runs can be significantly longer than DVI and HDMI. For an HD source like a Blu-ray player component would be fine.

Having a signal booster in line with the DVI/HDMI line is not a bad idea.

Gaff, do you have dry conduit run from say the booth to the deck so that you can pull input cables for the projector to the deck for presenters and such? I assume that any DVD/Blu-Ray players and such would be located in the booth, so that is not an issue, but you will want an easy access location for profs and presenters to plug in.

Another thing to think of: will there always be one of your techs at any events that require the system? If not, you probably want to have some kind of universal control system like a Crestron. This will allow non-tech people to easily and quickly access the features of the system without poking around your booth.


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## SerraAva (Jan 19, 2008)

There is digital component cable. It is harder to find, but it does exist. Also, analog component is not capable of 1080p on some devices. You would also have a lose of quality with an analog component cable. Reason being is that more and more devices are going digital and not analog any more. When you translate digital to analog back to digital again, you lose something. How much this will effect your image, it varies. Sometimes you will be fine, sometimes you will notice issues, like blurs, sync issues, and/or artifacts. Over a distance however, I would feel much safer with a digital cable that I know will not have any issues.

There is something else to think about analog verses digital cable. In a few years, lovely DRM will step in and say, "Anything not fully digital gets sub HD only." Meaning, no 1080i or p for anything that isn't fully digital in your track, just 720p if I remember correctly. It must be digital playback, digital cable, and digital receiver. It is for this reason that I said digital. 

So, digital component would be a better bet for longevity and quality. However, you would still need a DA over distance because instead of a series of varying voltages, aka analog, you have a bit stream, aka digital, which loses quality over distance.


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## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2008)

SerraAva said:


> It also must be a digital cable to pass HD signal, meaning CAT 5 or 6, DVI, DVI-D, HDMI, component, or fiber optic. You could just turn the signal around to fiber optic and back again at the projector, not needing a DA at all then, but fiber optic cable is very expensive.



Dumb question time... So does this mean I can use cat5 to carry a signal from the floor to the projector with the right setup ? Cause I've got something like 80 ethernet ports in space. That would be perfect for the user coming in and wants to hook up their laptop to the projector. 

Let me guess, is there a $5000 converter box needed to do it?


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## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2008)

Dumb question about lumen output. 

I would love to have something that can do scenic projection in a show, lecture notes with the houselights at 1/2 and show a moving in the dark with no ambient light. However it sounds like that's three different projectors with different lumen outputs. Is there any sort of dimmer option that could get me something bright enough to do scenic work but able to dim down so it doesn't blind the audience on movie night. 

Let me guess... it'll cost another $5k?


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## SerraAva (Jan 19, 2008)

Believe it or not, there is a way to do it. I would have to ask a friend of mine who is an installer the specifics, but I am pretty sure there is no expensive converter box involved. When I speak with him on Monday, I'll be sure to let you know.

Your second question, You can block the hot spot of your projector and it would still do an image with less intensity. As far as an actually dimmer, not to my knowledge. Something to look into thought is lamps that work at different voltages, like in the Mac 700, 700w or 400w, or the VL3500 Wash, 1200w or 1500w. Wouldn't be surprised if they have something like that.


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## Footer (Jan 19, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> Dumb question about lumen output.
> I would love to have something that can do scenic projection in a show, lecture notes with the houselights at 1/2 and show a moving in the dark with no ambient light. However it sounds like that's three different projectors with different lumen outputs. Is there any sort of dimmer option that could get me something bright enough to do scenic work but able to dim down so it doesn't blind the audience on movie night.
> Let me guess... it'll cost another $5k?



Neutral density.... nearly all projectors have a brightness setting just like any other display. Color wise, it might not be perfect at a lower brightness but that setting is there.


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## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2008)

soundlight said:


> I'm gonna say a Christie DS+650 would fit your space pretty well.



Hey that's actually sort of in my price range... without the lens.


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## SHARYNF (Jan 19, 2008)

I made some comments on the other thread, but some addition points
The Christie mentioned is NOT a true HD projector, it supports 1080p BUT it is not true wide screen (1920) and widescreen is the way forward
It is true that you can run componant HD BUT more and more of the players and the studios are preventing you from running full HD resolution over componant (reason is that it is pretty easy to take HD componant and capture it so the ability to make high quality copies which makes the studios nervous is a factor.
So the way forward is 1920x1080p and HDMI Anything else is potentially going to be obsolete pretty quick

SO I would suggest something cheap for day to day use, and then rent for high end use for a while
Sharyn


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## derekleffew (Jan 20, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> Well Derek, the list price is $85,000... I think it's out of my price range a bit...


I suppose it's good I just use the things, I don't pay for them. My venue just bought four, along with new 21'x16' RP screens and 12" truss.


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## gafftaper (Jan 20, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> I suppose it's good I just use the things, I don't pay for them. My venue just bought four, along with new 21'x16' RP screens and 12" truss.



If you find anything in the trash would you mind sending it my way?


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## gafftaper (Jan 20, 2008)

SHARYNF said:


> I made some comments on the other thread, but some addition points
> The Christie mentioned is NOT a true HD projector, it supports 1080p BUT it is not true wide screen (1920) and widescreen is the way forward
> It is true that you can run componant HD BUT more and more of the players and the studios are preventing you from running full HD resolution over componant (reason is that it is pretty easy to take HD componant and capture it so the ability to make high quality copies which makes the studios nervous is a factor.
> So the way forward is 1920x1080p and HDMI Anything else is potentially going to be obsolete pretty quick
> ...



Interesting. So I take it to get 1920x1080p and HDMI is outrageously expensive at this point. Sounds like a very forward thinking plan. Get something from the 4k lumen Panasonic range for now and then think about upgrading down the road as the bigger stuff drops.


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## kwotipka (Jan 20, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> This Barco projector. This processor. Or whatever kwotipka tells you to do, do that.


Wow! Pressure's on. first let me say typing this on my treo sucks so forgive me if it looks weird. second I am out in Vegas TDn a show. I will try to post tomorrow.
Christy, Eiki and Sanyo are basically the same unit. The Eikis have really dissapointed me lately. Faded colors, flashes to blue screen, "bubbles" appearing in the image, etc. The company I do a lot of work for has about a dozen X6(6.5K) and six or so LX3 (10K). VER just dropped off 4 Panasonics that I can post more about tomorrow.

It always impresses me about the quality of responses here. they all cover various issues. I will try to post more tomorrow but here are a few things:
the bigger projs. have mechanical shutters (dowsers). the pain is how to control them. try to get something networkable. serial control is so last year. try to go DLP. colors seem to hold up much better. make sure you can mount it the way you want to before you buy. There is no native cage for Eikis. this is a huge pain. there is an article on the net about "sizing for correct screen lumens". I have a copy that I will try to upload.

that's all my phone will allow for now.

kw


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## gafftaper (Jan 21, 2008)

kwotipka said:


> Wow! Pressure's on. first let me say typing this on my treo sucks so forgive me if it looks weird. second I am out in Vegas TDn a show. I will try to post tomorrow.
> Christy, Eiki and Sanyo are basically the same unit. The Eikis have really dissapointed me lately. Faded colors, flashes to blue screen, "bubbles" appearing in the image, etc. The company I do a lot of work for has about a dozen X6(6.5K) and six or so LX3 (10K). VER just dropped off 4 Panasonics that I can post more about tomorrow.
> It always impresses me about the quality of responses here. they all cover various issues. I will try to post more tomorrow but here are a few things:
> the bigger projs. have mechanical shutters (dowsers). the pain is how to control them. try to get something networkable. serial control is so last year. try to go DLP. colors seem to hold up much better. make sure you can mount it the way you want to before you buy. There is no native cage for Eikis. this is a huge pain. there is an article on the net about "sizing for correct screen lumens". I have a copy that I will try to upload.
> ...



Thanks KW. So are you suggesting that going Sanyo might be a good way to get Christy quality at a lower price?


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## kwotipka (Jan 21, 2008)

Well, not really. I am starting to loose faith in those series. Now, I am lucky that I never really have to consider cost. I got tired of looking at the Eikis and rented some Panasonic DLP (7K) locally. Of the 4, 2 had bad RGBHV BNC and one was DOA. Once we got them running though they looked MUCH better. Even the client noticed as soon as they entered the room with colorbars up.

It sounds like this may be on for long periods and that just tends to cook / fade the LCDs. If you have the money, try to go for the DLP. look at the operational expenses as well. That and web interface.

kw


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## museav (Jan 21, 2008)

I think that all the responses simply point out one thing, you need to define and focus on the requirements and goals before you get lost in the details.

It sounds like the throw (37') and screen size (14'x8') are already determined. And the application is more classroom, lecture and 'movie night' use than than theatrical effects or digital cinema. The lighting is controlled, but they would like to be able to use the projector with some general room lighting. Finally, and most important, there is a general budget defined. Since these are defined criteria or goals, they should probably be the primary considerations.

The screen size indicates a 16:9 native format. You could use some other format (4:3, 5:4, 15:9, 16:10) projector but you would then also have to consider that you wouldn't be using the entire image area of the projector for the screen image and thus would likely require a higher output projector. For example, a 4:3 native projector would actually be creating a 14'x10.5' image to fill the 14'x8' screen and thus would require about 130% the output of a native 16:9 projector in order to provide the same image brightness. A 1920x1080 native projector would be great, but this is not a home theatre and that is probably nowhere close to being in the budget. Think more along the lines of 1366x768 (WXGA). With a 16:9 projector, the 14'x8' screen and the comments regarding lighting, you're looking at wanting probably a minimum 4,000 to 5,000 lumens output.

The Panasonic PT-DW7000U is one of my favorites for this type of application and I have used it in exactly these types of situations but that and other comparable 3-chip DLP projectors are around $25,000 to $30,000 for the projector and lens, about two or more times the budget defined here. With that in mind, something more like the Sanyo PLV-WF10 with a LNS-S01A or LNS-W04 lens would seem to fit the application and budget.

Some general comments...For lecture/classroom use, LCD projectors are quite common. Serial control is still the standard in installed/integrated environments and many network control schemes only work with the manufacturer's software or provide limited control. Some Christie's are modified Sanyo's but it should be noted that this does not apply to all Christie projectors. Many DVD players, etc. do limit the analog component output to 720p but that is still HD and chances are that unless you have very large budget and a significant number of 1080p sources, then there is often little reason to worry about 1080p.

A couple of years ago DVI was the next great thing, now it's HDMI and pretty soon it will be something else. Meanwhile, analog RGBHV has no specific bandwidth limitation and can theoretically support any resolution. Most systems like this employ a switcher/scaler or seamless switcher to switch between the various sources and I would suggest that you run whatever you want into such a device and then run analog RGBHV out to the projector. You can even use CAT5 for that run if you want for a reasonable price (although in general I would still stay away from the cheap baluns).


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## gafftaper (Jan 22, 2008)

Thanks Kw and Museav. Museav you did a nice job of nailing down my specific situation. Thanks. 

I've got both BNC and Ethernet just about everywhere in the theater with a nice patch bay. The video guy has plans for a full video system that we may not be able to afford yet and I'm sure a switcher is part of that setup. 

If we can't afford the whole video recording package right away, What do I need so that a renter can bring in a lap top, plug it in to something nearby, I patch the correct jack in the booth, turn on the projector and it's working. AGAIN thanks so much.


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## museav (Jan 22, 2008)

To address the earlier comment about variable brightness, just about every projector has a brightness control and there is really no such things as a projector being too bright, you can always turn it down when needed. Many projectors offer a selectable, lower output 'eco' mode that reduces output, extends lamp life, lowers the operating costs and reduces the noise levels.

Another approach to this is to look at projectors with dual or quad lamp systems. Most of these can run on different combinations of lamps which addresses different brightness levels. Selecting the projector based on the single lamp output also allows for a tremendously longer effective lamp life as you can switch between lamps and when the brightness of both lamps alone decreases noticeably, use both lamps. However, perhaps the biggest advantage of multiple lamp projectors is redundancy, you can lose a lamp and maybe the brightness drops, but you can still continue. Thus a much reduced chance of having no projector during the middle of a guest lecturer or presentation.

While just about any image format can be displayed on any display resolution, it is most effective to match the display and source formats if not resolutions. This avoids using only part of a display's or projector's full image area (both resolution and brightness) for the actual image. The image and screen format for multipurpose facilities is getting interesting with there being an increasing rather than decreasing number of common formats. The standard 4:3 NTSC video format is still common while 16:9 widescreen has gained tremendously in popularity to support HD formats. However, the computer industry is off on their own with 5:4 SXGA and now 15:9 and 16:10 formats becoming common, especially for newer laptop displays. Some projection screen manufacturers are even starting to offer 16:10 format screens as standard sizes. Even terms like "WXGA" are no longer definitive as that could actually be defining a 15:9, 16:9 or 16:10 format resolution. The logic behind some of these formats is not completely clear or obvious, but it is greatly forcing a decision between whether video or computer is the primary source and is leading to an array of native projector resolutions. The point is that the 'best' format and resolution decision for projectors are apparently far from settled, especially for those used for applications involving both video and computer sources.


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## gafftaper (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks again Museav. So what about the process of easily hooking up a laptop to the system? Like I said I've got Ethernet, BNC, and XLR all over the place with a nice patchbay. What's my best option for a renter being able to quickly plug into the system from any location?


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## museav (Jan 24, 2008)

Well, "from any location" is a little open ended! If you have analog RGBHV cabling in place, then a computer interface, either installed or portable, may make sense. If all you have are a single video, audio and CAT5/5e/6 connections then you may have to look at UTP/CAT solutions. You need to be careful here as audio and video over CAT is not Ethernet or networked AV, it is point to point wiring. Network routers, switchers, PoE (Power over Ethernet), etc. are generally not compatible, you want a simple point-to-point cable path.

If you have a UTP patchbay so that you can create such a point-to-point connection, then you could have one patch point going to a dedicated AV over CAT5 receiver that feeds the projector or AV switcher, then use a matching transmitter in a portable fashion and patch the relevant termination to the receiver patch point. That may be the easiest method if you do not already have any dedicated AV provisions integrated in the room. On audio and video over CAT5, I tend to stick with reliable, active devices from manufacturers like Extron, FSR and Magenta Research. They're not the cheapest, but there is a reason these are leaders in the industry. Also, remember that some CAT5 systems have adjustments for peaking or gain and perhaps even skew, as if you patch from one point to another there may be some minor tweaking required to get the best image.

When I design auditorium or multipurpose theatre type systems, I usually try to incorporate somewhat dedicated AV floor boxes at typical downstage left, center and/or right locations that include computer, AV and control connections as well as mic connections that go to (or are split to) an automixer rather than the main console. The idea is to provide a 'presentation/lecture' setup that does not necessarily even require an operator. This is nice for new facilities, but can be difficult to add to an existing facility where it was not planned.


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## gafftaper (Jan 24, 2008)

Hmmm I'll have to check on exactly what that ethernet system is. There's a patch rack located with the BNC patch bay. So it seems to have been designed with that in mind but I don't know for sure. I know data ports to the outside world are separate, as is the lighting network. Interesting.


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## Hughesie (Jan 24, 2008)

a hdmi run would be very expensive, down here it cost 100 dollars for 2 meters of it i can't imagine a full run, and besides your not running audio to the projector, use component


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## mixmaster (Jan 24, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> Thanks again Museav. So what about the process of easily hooking up a laptop to the system? Like I said I've got Ethernet, BNC, and XLR all over the place with a nice patchbay. What's my best option for a renter being able to quickly plug into the system from any location?



I'm not an A/V guy but have found projection duties getting dropped in my lap more and more often recently. I'll put in my two cents worth.

Audio: All of our A/V classrooms (and most larger venues) use projectors with multiple inputs. Usually a couple of VGA, a couple RCA video, S-video, whatever. They also have AUDIO inputs for each video input. They also have one audio output. When you select a particular video source, the audio switches automatically. This is nice because I only have to have one channel on my mixer in that venue for all the A/V stuff. Whatever the client has gets plugged in at the panel on the wall, they use the projector remote to select the source and control the volume. I don't even need to be there. None of my equipment gets touched. It requires some more cable to get all the audio wired up there, but what it saves in time later on makes it a worthwhile trade off in my mind.

Rear projection: I would recomend getting a projector capable of inverting the image for rear projection. Having the ability to rear project would have saved us a lot of trouble on several shows. Our projectors are capable but we don't have the translucent screens. Oh well..... It's a nice feature to have. 
Best of luck


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## kwotipka (Jan 25, 2008)

Just wanted to follow up on a previous post. I had the opportunity to speak with the company setting up in the next ballroom here in Vegas. They are using the Sanyo 10K projectior (same basic type as the Eiki I was commenting about on an earlier post).

They report none of the issues I have seen with the Eikis over the past year. Their projectors looked bright and clear with fairly good color. Not as good as the 7K DLPs we were using but still better then the 10K Eikis I normally use.

I will be on another show in a couple of weeks. I am TDing and another company is providing the video package. I think that they will either be using fiber or a new long distance DVI cable analogway.com

I'll post more info as I find it.

kw


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## SerraAva (Jan 25, 2008)

Thanks for the info on that long length DVI kris. Will make my life easier on gigs in the future, mainly installs.


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## kwotipka (Jan 25, 2008)

I know one of the reps there really well. They seem to be a good company. I am using the Diventix line of gear more and more as well as the UltraVio scan converter. If you have any more questions we can take it offline. Don't want to sound like a product endorsement.

kw


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## ruinexplorer (Apr 26, 2008)

Wow, a heck of a lot of good information. I'm glad museav addressed the specific issue at hand. One point I'd like to add is since I assume that you are making a long term investment, my suggestion is to only consider DLP. With an LCD projector, your colors will shift over the life of the projector (roughly after 1500 hours of use). This is due to the fact that the filters are having to absorb some of the light while the DLP reflects the light. However, that being said, I would shoot for a three-chip vs a single-chip since the latter uses a color wheel that can also fade. LCOS is kind of a hybrid of DLP and LCD so I don't know if it suffers the same fate of LCDs. Canon makes a nice LCOS projector, but I don't think that you can choose the lens. I agree that the Panasonic PT-7000U is a nice projector, I had 40 or so in my inventory with few problems (all of them were rental projectors, not in house). 

Since your screen is in a wide screen format, I would definitely choose a wide screen projector. If you choose a projector that has a standard 4:3 format, you should have a zoom lens to accomodate switching formats. If you want to fill the screen for a wide screen film, your projector will be overshooting the screen top and bottom but once you wanted to do a standard presentation, you would need it to in to be able to see the entire image. With a wide screen projector you would be able to eliminate this step (fixed focus lenses are cheaper than zoom lenses).

The choice of converting signal and using the Cat-5 (if possible) is your best option. Since you are doing a permanent installation, the long runs of copper for DVI may not be bad, but I found that in the rental world, the only long term way to send a long run of DVI is over fiber. Copper has too much of a tendency for some form of signal loss (even when using a DA) plus there is a high probablility of some interference.

If possible, I would recommend installing a scaler like the Presentation Pro by Barco. It will allow you to control what is going to the projector no matter what the presenter is feeding you.


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## gafftaper (Apr 26, 2008)

We finally decided on a Panasonic PT-DW5100U... just arrived today didn't have a chance to open the box. 

As for the Powerpoint hook up. I got an Extron balum transmitter and receiver. It has a VGA plug in, converts to ethernet which I can patch directly to the catwalk. Then from there the receiver turns it into component video out. Really easy!


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## avkid (Apr 26, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> We finally decided on a Panasonic PT-DW5100U... just arrived today didn't have a chance to open the box.


I'm ashamed of you.
What kind of techno-geek leaves a carton sealed?


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## cutlunch (Apr 26, 2008)

I had a quick look at the brochure, it looks impressive.

There's one feature that could be of interest to theatre types.

It shows a "daylight mode" where it changes the colours to brighten them when the screen is being washed by daylight.

Gaff I was wondering how this feature would work when the screen is washed with stage light reflection. It would be interesting to see if it can punch through to give a sharp image.

Gaff if you get a chance to try this out could you let us know how it looks.

Thanks


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## gafftaper (Apr 27, 2008)

Will do. I'm really curious how that actually works myself. That's one of the more interesting bits about it.


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