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The View From Here - Post Infocomm 1999 Edition - Jun 18, 1999
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Brian C. - Dec 7, 2000
| Application: |
Home Theatre |
| What I Like: |
Almost everything about the projector. Blacks are superior to anything you'll find on an LCD. Colour is good on DVD, passable on Satellite. |
| Suggestions: |
Definitely get a doubler or scaler. Without one the motion artifacts render it unwatchable. The DVDO works fine but for best results get the Focus Enhancements Quadscan Pro. Not only will it boost resolution to 800 x 600 but it will allow you to adjust brightness, contrast, hue and saturation. The saturation adjustment alone makes this a valuable addition. It also does an amazing job with motion artifacts and allows you to take advantage of a 16:9 screen using 4:3 material. Its resizing ability is amazing. You can display a sattelite channel on the full 16:9 screen without excessive loss of information and excellent resolution. No longer do you have to suffer from the vertical black bars. Although the Quadscan is pricy, half the cost of the projector, in my opinion it is a clearly worthwhile addition. |
| Comments: |
There are some serious problems with this projector. The first is NOISE. It is loud and whiny. Of course if it is properly enclosed then this will not be a problem. Second, dust gets in. Again a proper enclosure should fix this problem. Third, on non DVD sources, ie satellite, colour saturation may be a problem. This can be solved with a scaler, such as the Focus Enhancements mentioned above. Finally positioning. With a 4:3 frame it is difficult to properly utilize a 16:9 screen. This problem can also be solved with the Focus Enhancement Unit. For the price this projector is an excellent value. |
simon evans - Jul 22, 2000
| Application: |
home cinema |
| What I Like: |
Just about everything. I wish that the "case against Davis" would stop. This wonderful DLP projector has served me well for 12 months now. Compared to LCD projectors, which constantly suffer from loss of pixels and poor blacks, the Davis is a winner. I take my cinema viewing seriously with a carefully put together home cinema. I find the black level on the 450 absolutely fine.I have connected a DVDO IScan line doubler to my projector which has improved the picture quality and copes automatically with the aspect ratio. My screen size is set at approx 8feet across. The detail is very good. Anyone visting my cinema room is always blown away by what they see and comment that "..it is as good as the movies". Reviewers out there..take heed..the Davis 450 is a good solid projector, producing results evry inch the equal of top priced projectors. At about £2,500, this unit is a steal. Forget LCD with its' pixel problems and poor black levels and expensive replacement bulbs, which incidentally do not last anywhere near the 2,000 hours plus on nthe Davis. We won't even mention the awful chicken wire effect that shows up on most LCD projectors. DLP rules the roost. |
| Suggestions: |
I have two suggestions for two problems with the Davis 450. The lack of keystone correction can be solved with a careful positioning of the projector. Mine is ceiling mounted at a height whereby the vertical screen positioning is not a problem. If you install the projector too low or too high, you will have keystone problems.
The fan noise is a somewhat whiny. I have encased my projector allowing for free air flow with two holes at the rear of the unit. This now gives me virtual silence. Do not put a fan in the enclosure as this may blow dust particles onto the main projector encoding chip. I did this and although not a disaster, I had to send the unit into my Davis UK dealer for cleaning (£50).
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| Comments: |
Some of the reviews have been good and others not so good. Having auditioned at least 10 other projectors, I made my choice on good picture quality only. The Davis had a natural cinema like quality. No chicken wire lines to be seen, thanks to the wonderful technology called DLP. I recommend highly. Well done Davis.W |
Jon S - May 30, 2000
| Application: |
Home Theater |
| What I Like: |
Great Picture... especially when connected to a scaler or a HT PC using a software DVD decoder, such as WinDVD2000, PowerDVD or Cinemaster. Make sure you use a resolution output of SVGA (800x600) for best performance. |
| Suggestions: |
For best results, use in a room painted in neutral dark greys or blacks for the best image. You must use an external scaler or PC for the best image. The internal scaler is terrible, not even worth using. |
| Comments: |
Could use brighter lamp for better colors and output. Light output is a bit on the low side, best used in a dark room with no ambient light. Blacks could be better, but it's not bad, better than LCD projectors. |
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