Horizontal keystone

[Fudge]

Hey all, first off, love the site. After two weeks, and 6 hours a night of reading through alot of the posts, I finally purchased my "budget" home theater system.
My problem is this, I seem to have a keystone effect, but horizontally. Has anyone ever seen this before, and if so, what was the cause? I assumed it was either the projector wasn't PERFECTLY straight on, or the screen wasn't. But I got the level out and everything, and it all looks good to me. Yet, when looking at the screen, I notice the left side has a slight overhang ...about 2 inches. NOW! Having said that, the top line is perfectly straight! I lined it up exactly, with the frame of my screen, and thats when I noticed the bottom left was slightly overscanned. For now, I've adjusted it so that the overscan is in the black frame of my screen, but I don't think I should have to do that. I just want to know if I should return it or not. Here are system specs (remember, I said BUDGET system!):

-Sanyo PLV-Z3
-Elite Screen 80" viewing area 16x9 (anything bigger in my basement would have looked too overbearing)
-Video fed from sat receiver, through Yamaha RX-V2500 Amp via S-Video.

Now, a couple of questions, since I'm going to play with it more today.
- I had a video cable, I made from coax, feeding the video input and swapped it with a new 25 foot S-Video cable, because I heard the picture was much better. However, after I did, I noticed almost like interference hum on the screen(wavy appearance in the background) and it's not near any AC cords or lights. I'm thinking the cable is too long, but I need the length. Is it dumb to go back to the Coaxial video cable? Or buy a better S-Video? My sat receiver only has video and s-video out, so no choice for Composite (rats). Gonna hook up the DVD player today and see if it improves with Composite input.

and

- Are the AVIA discs worth it, for the system I have? I'm pleased with the picture quality (especially in darker room conditions) but I can't help but think that I can do better. Can I expect the clarity of a LCD projection TV, or is that a pipe dream since it's front projected light onto a matte white screen?

Again, thanks for all the info. The more I read, the more picky I get....I think I'm falling into the home theater tweaking trap, where I swore I would never go!!

 

[Audioholics]

I definitely don't think you should return the projector... How did you do your measurements? Using the instructions with the projector or just with the center of the lens as the starting point?

AVIA is good for user calibration, but if you want your system to be as optimized as possible, at least have you DVD inputs (and the input for your cable TV if you use that) calibrated by an ISF-certified technician. They have tools you don't get with AVIA.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Make sure the projector is pointed straight at the wall and that any digital keystone effects are turned OFF or completely zeroed out.

The Z3 has horizontal and vertial optical lens shift. So, if the lens of the projector is not in the DEAD CENTER of the screen, then you point it straight at the wall until the image is perfectly square (use a tape measure!) and then adjust the lens shift to get the image centered on your screen.

Make sure you are hooking up your DVD player via component, not composite. It will make a difference.

Time to start looking at HD sources as well. How about HD cable or HD DirecTV? Your projector is native 720p and you don't have anything that outputs 720p at all.

 

[Fudge]

Thank for the infor fellas. My bad, I meant component, not composite (I always get the two screwed up. And as far as HD sources, I bought the system with the intention of getting an HD satellite receiver in the very near future. When I bought the machine, I wanted to have room to expand in the future, and with me going to Europe for a 4 year posting, I wanted to make sure I got a projector that did as much as possible, and will still be good when I get back. But HD was my primary concern, then DVD. Speaking of which, anyone know if they have HDTV in Europe? Specifically, Germany?
Over all, I'm happy with the projector, I just gotta shake this freakin tweakin feeling! lol! It's all relative...as I'm going from a 10 year old 28" Sony Trinitron with a 2 speaker stereo system, to a LCD3 Projector, 80" Screen, and a 7 Channel surround sound system. Overall, I'm pleased!

Thanks again for the responses...much appreciated.

 

[Fudge]

Incidently, Hawke, I tried both the manufacturers recommendtations for setup, as well as tried the projector calculator on projectorcentral. Both of which are pretty close, within 4 inches or so. Granted, in the projector world, it seems, 4 inches can make or break a picture!
I'm going to try a trick I read about involving a piece of string and a pencil, to mark the center point of mounting, with respects to the corners of the screen. My plan is to mount it on the ceiling (in it, actually, as it's drop ceiling with exposed floor joists), and try to reduce the shot angle downwards as much as possible. Is better to angle projector downwards a little, and use a bit of keystone correction, or mount straight, and use lens shift?
Now, for the purpose of mounting distance, and zoom, I'm a little confused as to whether a zoom is out, or in. By that, I mean, is the projector's natural state zoomed all the way in, or zoomed all the way out? I know it may seem like a dumb question, but my goal is to attain full screen coverage, in as natural a state as I can (IE: no zoom, little to no keystone adjustment, or lens shifting)
Thanks again for your responses. I really appreciate the help.

 

[BMXTRIX]

1. Your projector is light, as in it doesn't weigh that much, so the best way to get it dead center is to grab an extension cord, hook up the DVD player and turn it on and put the projector upside down on top of a ladder. It takes about 10 mintues for you to get it absolutely perfect left to right AND the distance. It does not have to be perfectly centered though as I believe you have left/right lens shift available on the projector. It just needs to be really close and then you point it straight towards the wall with the lens shift at zero.

2. DO NOT POINT YOUR PROJECTOR DOWN!!! Keystone correction is the single worse thing you can do to a projected image from a DLP/LCD projector. Use lens shift.

3. Zoom and lens shift both are neutral when they are in the middle. Zoom all the way out or in and you are at an extreme and may have slight focus issues. Not likely though with zoom and focus. Lens shift on the other hand most definitely has issues when it is at an extreme. But, those issues are still far better than what happens if you use digital keystone correction.

4. If you are putting your projector in any location that is 'tight', make darn sure you read your manual and know how air flows through the projector. There is no better way to kill electronics than by restricting airflow... But, projectors are far worse than amps, receivers, and components. Projectors have a 200 degree (or more) bulb inside them that will happily blow up, or heat up and fry everything else inside your projector. Be very careful with ventilation and projector placement.

 

[Fudge]

Again, thanks for the response!
I'm an electronics technician, so I know, all too well, about heat issues. My projector will be in an open area, not even close to any heater vents, and no air flow restriction at all.
I like the ladder idea, I'll give that a shot. I also appreciate the info on the zoom setting. I wasn't sure of the zoom was strictly a zoom out, or zoom in, but what you say about the middle makes sense.
And stay away from keystone correction (whenever possible)....got it! I highly doubt I'll need it, as I already roughed it in by hand, just to see what kind of incline I would need, and there was virtually none.
This site rocks...no question!