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Topic: Seeking video projection recommendation

Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 02-24-2002 10:55 PM

Not film so a bit off topic but I'd like to draw on the expertise here.

I'm looking to add a basic video projector to my screening room. Not E-Cinema or anything fancy. Just the basics so that video can be shown without bringing gear in. Does anyone have any recommendations?
For one thing I'm not sure what the rule of thumb is for # of lumens. Let's say I want to do an approx. 8 ft. height picture on a matte perf screen. I would expect different requirements if we're talking about dimming the lights for a movie vs. lights on for a business Powerpoint presentation.

It would be nice to project from 30' back without sacrificing pixels for resizing so lenses in this range would be a plus. That would also give me a very straight shot so again, no pixels loss to keystone correction. I'm guessing 1024 x 768 would be a good native rez to start at. I'm not looking for anything too fancy; let's say in the $6K area for starters. I think my options are limited to 3 LCD or spinning filter wheel 1-DLP.

Any models I should check out?

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 02-24-2002 11:29 PM

Steve, Check out Dukane, http://www.dukane.com/AudioVisual/default.htm

All their projectors have 5 year warranties. We had a ceiling-mounted Dukane 9000D in our company demo room. Excellent D-ILA unit, made by JVC/Hughes. The list price was $15000, street price $10000. That was almost 3 years ago, prices have dropped and performance is way up since then. They have a "projector calculator" on the web site for figuring out things like throw distances, etc. for given models of projectors.

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 02-25-2002 12:41 AM

Barco 6300 DLC - LCD projector XGA 2400 lumen........Sony VPLPX31 XGA 2800 lumen.....EIKI LC-XNB3 XGA 2000 lumen. Also many models are retired almost yearly, so if you shop around, the $6000 target is reachable....plan to spend more for decent DLP or DLIA.
Richard Fowler
TVP-Theatre & Video Products Inc. www.tvpmiami.com

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-25-2002 02:24 AM

NEC makes a very nice projector. They use them at the Studio Movie Grill theaters. I'm sure Ethan knows the model number.

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Dave Bird
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 777
From: Perth, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 02-25-2002 07:41 AM

We spoke of LCD's and lumens a while back, can't find it right now. But Paul was using it for on-screen ads and getting a nice picture I recall on a 20-25 ft. screen. What were you running again Paul?

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 02-25-2002 08:28 AM

We have sold the Sony VPL-PX31 with great success to theatres...only compliments, no complaints. It does have a range of lenses to choose from. Also the lens can be situated to project Up/down or straight. Most projectors presume you are pointing up or down (like from a ceiling or table).

Steve

------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 02-25-2002 05:15 PM

For lumens to foot Lamberts, on a matte screen it's pretty much one-to-one. If you want 16fL from the screen you'll need 16 ANSI lumens per sq. ft. So for a (assuming 4:3 AR) 10'8" x 8' unity gain perf screen one would want a minimum of:

[(10.66x8)x16]/1.0 = 1365.33 ANSI lumens

Of course all the usual disclaimers apply...

Capt. Vidiot
SMPTE Hollywood Section
Mercenary film/video projectionist/engineer
"Otaku wa tsurai yo" <-- Yeah I know, bad pun. Sue me.
It's tough being a fan!

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 02-25-2002 06:09 PM

We use a NEC XT-5000 is our screening room. We are currently
working with Jonathan Demme on "Truth About Charlie", Scott
Rudin Productions, Imagine Ent. and Miramax Films. on different
Film projects. We have a lot of independent film maker that use
us for screenings. The NEC units hit the mark. I had a 5 minute
set-up for a test on "Truth About Charlie" for the booking. For
the last 5 months we have done the video workprint screening.
Those screenings were from Beta-SP (Avid). We have had Digi-Beta,
D-5, DV-Cam HD, DV-Cam, Beta-SP (NTSC &Pal), DVD, VHS play for screenings.

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Tom Sauter
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 163
From: Buffalo, NY, USA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 02-25-2002 06:27 PM

http://www.projectorcentral.com

Everything you ever wanted to know about virtually any video projector ever made. New and used "street" prices listed, as well as links to many distributors. I personally find that their online projection distance calculator to be an invaluable tool.

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 02-25-2002 07:46 PM

Paul, are you sure that the number 16 fL applies to video?

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 02-25-2002 08:16 PM

I'll defer to Mr. Pytlak on that one. AFAIK there is no SMPTE standard for video projection screen luminance. 30i or 60p video can probably get by with less than 16fL due to lower flicker perception with those formats. 24p may indeed need to be at 16fL.

FWIW SMPTE specifies 20fL luminance at 100IRE for CRTs used in critical evaluation of video images. But most video guys I've worked with use a lower level then that.

Let's see what John has to say...

Paul
Roll 'em! Speed! Marker! Action! Cut! Print that! Next setup!
Repeat until dead.
-23

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-25-2002 09:58 PM

In general, digital projection has used a 12 footlambert "white" to match film projected to the SMPTE aim of 16 footlamberts (Standard SMPTE 196M). This is because the white areas on the print do absorb some light. The SMPTE DC28 Working Group on Projection (DC28.08) is developing the standard for digital cinema.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 585-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 02-26-2002 04:34 AM

I'm happy with Eiki LC-SVGA860U projectors I got about two years ago.

That model is obsolete now, replaced by an even better, brighter series.

Their product line is on the website (http://www.eiki.com).

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And, hey! Let's be careful out there.

~Manny.

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