Da-Lite HIGH POWER

[just-some-guy]

what do you guys think of this material ?

119" manual. that i may end up making a fixed out of.
12' veiwing distance.
my chair is dead center. wifes is right next. sometimes we have friends and they sit on either side.
lense about 2 1/2' above my head, and can be adjusted.
screen will be basicly centered on the 8' wall. the image on my screen looks darned good (no idea on its gain). even though the getto rigged added extra acreage and masking.

search seems to not be working now. i will try again.

thanx

 

[AVRat]

Well, that is Jostemeat's favorite material!

 

[just-some-guy]

yeah, ok, thanx. i hope he wonders in here.

i think it is what i want. but heck, i never seen one. and returning it is pretty much out of equasion.

 

[AVRat]

He doesn't seem to be around today, you could send a PM, jostenmeat.

Something to cosider: http://www.projectorcentral.com/da-lite_high_power_screen_review.htm
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=966057

 

[jostenmeat]

what do you guys think of this material ?

I think it's great. I honestly do not foresee any desire to change it out, except for the sole exception of trying AT, and even if I wanted to try, I wouldn't do that for a long time.

lense about 2 1/2' above my head, and can be adjusted.

If you did obtain the HP, I would see what was possible in obtaining the greatest flexibility in adjusting PJ height. Because as the bulb ages, you can then lower the PJ to increase retro reflective gain. When you put in a new bulb, put it up higher. Of course, just set it at the height were the gain works best for you.

screen will be basicly centered on the 8' wall. the image on my screen looks darned good (no idea on its gain). even though the getto rigged added extra acreage and masking.

If it already looks darned good, I don't really see why you are looking to change the screen.

Question about your screen: Your sig states 4'x8'. That is a 2.00 AR screen? How did you go about selecting that AR?

search seems to not be working now. i will try again.

thanx

One of the negatives of HP is that your absolute blacks will be raised, and of course this effect will be extremely dependent on your PJ's absolute blacks.

Some of the positives include a complete absence of hotspotting to you, of course the truly high gain, and the ability to shed offaxis ambient light.

It looks like you took excellent measures to control light in your room (ok, maybe outside of the components lights that you enjoy having in view, and I'd put a dark rug in front of screen perhaps). If it was a white wall, I would have told you that the most important wall to darken with HP is actually the back wall.

I once had someone over who stepped into the HT, and exclaimed, "What kind of TV is that?!". He was utterly confused, and didn't even realize it was a projector firing at the screen. It basically looks like the biggest plasma you've ever seen.


However, I'd just save your money since you love your pic as it is. Ok, except in the case that you sometimes watch with very high ambient light conditions, in which case maybe you can go with two screens (manual pull down HP in front of your DIY). Of course, if you got it and loved it, I wouldn't be surprised if you changed either. Hm.

 

[jostenmeat]

A note regarding the raised absolute blacks: You lose nothing in terms of contrast range, at all. The whole dynamic range is simply moved higher. Your eyes adjust for the rest. The size of your pupil changes depending on the light being received.

The screen surface is invisible. I could have told some people it was a huge piece of glass and they probably would believe me.

By far, the great majority of persons who try the HP never go back to anything else. There are one, maybe two, persons I remember that opted for a different screen material. I think one of them went with Studiotek, at a much higher the cost, because he did not want the variation in gain at the extremeties of his seating. He also implemented an auto masking system. ($$$$) (For me, I seriously cannot tell that there is any variation in brightness at my 8 seats, except for the outsides of the front row, but even that is only every once in a while, where the difference was clearest with a cartoon).

Then OTOH, out of the many involved consumers, there is one freak who has six screens up at his home. He has changed them all of them to HP. This includes the setup up for his reference dual-G90 (yes, stacked) system.

The first review that AVRat linked, they are comparing the JKP screen. Now, when this review came out, some HP owners started bashing the reviewer. I held my tongue, even if I was PO'd too. In the end, it doesn't matter, because to get that screen for the size I need would probably cost around $10,000. To go about finding the natural lumens to light up a unity gain (or negative gain like the Affinity) with my size of display would require $20,000, as my guess.

He can call me a noob all day, but there's not much I can do about coming up with an extra $30,000.

Funny thing is I bet my JVC + HP looks better than his Optoma with Affinity, if only due to the poor dynamic iris performance of that unit (mine doesn't need one). And my PJ is probably a lot quieter. And I get to pocket a LOT more money (his sample screen probably costs more than my JVC and HP screen combined, and that's after taxes and shipping).

 

[just-some-guy]

thanx

the mount. i plan to make a real mount, to replace my ghetto 2x4 rigjob.
and it will be fully adjustable.

i am replacing my 1:2 DIY, because it is not big enough. well, actually, it is big enough.
BUT I WANT BIGGER !!!! LOL
96" wide is nice. but i feel that 104" wide scope, in my space, will be just the ticket. any bigger than that will start causing issues.
how did i begin, my first ever screen, with 1:2 ratio ? simple, i went to home depot and gave them $14 for the board, and about $20 for the mix to paint it.
a couple 1x4"s and some glue. i had a usable screen that would give me a physical idea of what i was dealing with. if i had just bought my first screen, i would be replacing a $2/300 screen, instead of this $50 screen.

my room is plenty dark. the carpet and gear are not noticed unless i look for them.

today. i had my wife call again and get more shipping info from TFC, (i also have samples coming from da-lite). she took this to mean "order it". so, i will be a HP owner soon. hopefully by friday(wishfull thinking).

 

[just-some-guy]

btw. can i get a good pic of its mounting points ? thanx

 

[jostenmeat]

thanx

Welcome.

i am replacing my 1:2 DIY, because it is not big enough. well, actually, it is big enough.
BUT I WANT BIGGER !!!! LOL
96" wide is nice. but i feel that 104" wide scope, in my space, will be just the ticket. any bigger than that will start causing issues.

You are preaching to the preacher of the choir.

I don't know how this will make you feel, but by my quick calculations, you are actually getting a slightly smaller screen, in terms of total surface area. 4658 sq inches for your present screen, and 4608 sq inches for a 104" wide 2.35:1 screen. However, your scope movies will be slightly larger, and your 1.77 movies will be slightly smaller (44.5 inches available height).

today. i had my wife call again and get more shipping info from TFC, (i also have samples coming from da-lite). she took this to mean "order it". so, i will be a HP owner soon. hopefully by friday(wishfull thinking).

I would see if you can halt the order. Sure, it's one thing to have it a bit earlier, but it's another thing to get exactly what you want.

btw. can i get a good pic of its mounting points ? thanx

Sorry, can't help you, but IIRC the holes are on these tabs that are at the ends of the casing. They protrude upward from the casing. The tabs go flush to the wall. There are other mounting brackets/methods that are available to you from Dalite. Mine was really freaking heavy, more than I bargained for, and had to opt for hooks that allowed double screws. It took three people to mount it.

 

[just-some-guy]

current screen is 48"x96"(not including the ghetto rig). the HP is 58"x104". not smaller at all. man, this thing is going to kick everyone in the face

it is the one i want/ed. i just wanted her to get more shipping info first. they said UPS, i was like "what". all other places say a regular trucking co. mine is actually UPS freight, delivered inside my home. anyway, i wanted to verify all that before the order. but it all seems to be working out, we will see.
tracking says this friday.


btw. did you see the new HP thread at avs ? seems da-lite has changed/another HP surface = bigger cone, 2.4 gain. interesting read.

 

[jostenmeat]

current screen is 48"x96"(not including the ghetto rig). the HP is 58"x104". not smaller at all. man, this thing is going to kick everyone in the face

I thought you said you were going with a scope screen. Ok, I looked, you did say you were going scope. The measurements I quoted from you in this post here are pretty much at 16:9, or to be more specific, 1.79:1. I guess I did all those calculations for nothing!

btw. did you see the new HP thread at avs ? seems da-lite has changed/another HP surface = bigger cone, 2.4 gain. interesting read.

Yeah, I noticed it, didn't read much though. I'm sure even at 2.4 it's still the closest thing to the previous version. And from the consumer shootouts I've read, this high gain is truly a high gain, where other manufacturers with 1.8, 1.4, or whatever, look very pale next to it.

 

[just-some-guy]

welp, sorry bout dat. i meant, watching a scope movie on a 104" wide 16:9 screen. of cource with masking. a 16:9 movie, even on a 48" tall screen is not enough for my wants.

yeah. i am thinking i would be better off with the new 2.4 HP. but i have never seen a HP, so wth do i know.

supposted to be here the 8th.

 

[just-some-guy]

get it yesterday, and installed it. review coming soon.

 

[just-some-guy]

not enough room for all the pics here. so look at this :
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=773065&page=75

 

[just-some-guy]

It looks like you took excellent measures to control light in your room
(ok, maybe outside of the components lights that you enjoy having in view,

ok, you guys got me on this one. i didn't think those lights were all that noticeable. but, just to see, i covered them up. wow, made a very noticeable difference.

now. without getting ghetto, how can i make those lights at least a lot dimmer ?
and still have the remotes work.

thanx

 

[jostenmeat]

Assuming you cannot move them anywhere else, nor put them in a rack with a closed door, etc, and you don't want to completely tape over the lights or something . . .

You want window tint. Of course, go to all of your menu settings, and turn dimmer to be on dimmest setting too.

You will also bust out the manuals to look at the diagrams for where the IR sensor is located. Cover the majority of the display with tint, except the small area where the IR sensor is.

The tint will block IR, or at the very least make it unlikely that a command will be received. You won't be able to put two layers on, just one from my experience. It will also only stick to the display-plastic, and not metal.

You know, I TOTALLY FORGOT, until just right now (it's been years), but I have a neatly cut piece of thick electrical tape covering up this bank of ultra bright lights on one of power centers.

I used to have stuff in front, then on the side, now totally in the rear. I took all my tint off. I tried to get free pieces by calling auto tint stores, no luck, so bought a big roll of overkill at Home Depot (guessing $15?), have tons left, if you need some, PM your address, and I will send you two regular envelope sized patches of it, but not cut too neatly, I'll let you take care of that.

 

[just-some-guy]

i had a feeling you were going to say that. moving the gear would bring major wiring issues, i don't want that. plus i like to see the volume, adjust levels on the fly and see the meters on the 2496. so up front it all stays.

i found my dimmers and set em low. blacked out the xpa-3, all but the meters on the 2496, and a few things on the 01txh. electrical tape quicky. its much better now, and i will redo a nice job with the tape later on.


i don't have a lot of experience with screens. but with what i do know, i can't see anyone getting anything else. with a outer space clip, in 16:9, it really did look like a poor mans imax.