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Russell Brett - Nov 21, 2000
| Application: |
"HOME THEATER" and DATA PROJECTION |
| What I Like: |
Many versatile features(particulary attractive for "Home Theater" use) on top of it's already outstanding specifications. |
| Suggestions: |
PLUS should also market to the "HOME THEATER" crowd. Their projectors are more than qualified for it and beat out most projectors that are heavily advertized as "HOME THEATER" based. They should also advertise some of the "unknown goodies" that their units have that make it attractive for "HOME THEATER" use. |
| Comments: |
I bought this projector over a year ago and still appreciate my purchase. First off, I have owned and seen several LCD and DLP projectors in the past and I can honestly say that unless it's an SXGA class machine, DLP always looks better than LCD.
The one and ONLY minor fault I found with this machine is the distance range on the remote(I changed the batteries)I don't know if the infared signal is weak but you really have to point the remote at the unit to get a response. I didn't have any of the startup problems that Mr. Wiggles had(mine was a brand new non-refurbished unit) so I think it's save to assume that his was a power supply problem.
There are more than enough adjustment controls(Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint, Sharpness, ect..) on this for even the most discriminating videophile to tweak and the adjustment incriment range on each control is very specific, unlike the over-broad range on many projectors. Picture is really bright at 1,000 ANSI lums and CONTRAST is the best that I've seen on any DLP projector in this class at a 500:1 rating(400:1 ANSI). Black levels are great and there is a WHITE BALANCE ADJUSTMENT where you can adjust it's color and hue. There is also a GAMMA SETTING in which you can select from Normal, Natural 1 and Natural 2 as well as as a WHITE PICTURE adjustment in which you can select from Normal or Quiet modes. So, In a nutshell, If White levels and adjustments of those levels are important to you, look no further. There is also an ALIGNMENT adjustment in which you can adjust the Horizontal and Vertical position of the image as well as PICTURE(clock frequency) and FINE PICTURE(clock phase) adjustments to eliminate vertical banding, video noise, dot interference or cross talk. There is also an ASPECT RATIO ADJUSTMENT where you can chose between Normal(4:3) or WIDE(16:9) without sacrificing resolution in 4:3 mode. BEST OF ALL IS IT'S ABILITY TO ACCEPT COMPONENT VIDEO(Y, Cr, CB) THROUGH THE RGB INPUT. I highly recommend adding the DVDO ISCAN to this unit as it benifits drastically from it. PLUS did a good job designing the casing for it as well. I had no "light leaks" from the front grill inherant in some projectors. Since it uses a 280 watt Metal Halide lamp, Fan noise is a little bit more audible than projectors using the quieter UHP lamps but is well worth the extra noise givin that the Metal Halide lamps produce better colors and whiter whites than UHP lamps which give off a slightly blue/green hue to the whites. I hope I covered all the bases. I can't recommend this unit enough. My only curiosity is if PLUS's new U2-1130 stands up to this one. If so, I'm definitely sticking with them for the upgrade. I completely agree with Mr. Wiggles that if PLUS had a stronger marketing presence in the "HOME THEATER" market, more of us would know about it. Hope this is helpful. |
Mr Wiggles - Jun 27, 2000
| Application: |
Home Theater and Data Projection |
| What I Like: |
(Note: I actually own a Proxima DX1, but after demoing a UP-1100 I can say for sure that these are exactly the same units)
This projector has a few remarkable unadvertised characteristics.
1. It can take component (Y,Cr,Cb) inputs at any of its supported resolutions
2. It can squeeze ANY input anamorphically, thus making a letterboxed 16:9 field on the 4:3 DLP chip
3. It has complete white balance adjustments for component and RGB inputs
4. It has three user selectable gamma settings
and 5. It is rumured to have complete HDTV compatibility. (Knoll Systems takes the Plus logo off of the unit and sells it as a HDTV projector for more than $8,000!)
These features are on top off its published:
1. Unexaggerated 500:1 peak contrast ratio (I don't think the ANSI is quite 400:1 however)
2. 1000 ANSI lumens
3. Magnificent natural looking colors!
and 4. Fairly light weight and durable chassis
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| Suggestions: |
The projector does have a few minor shortcomings:
The video scaler input isn't perfect. But it does let you choose between text and moving image settings. Choose wisely and you will receive a pretty nice image or use a external scaler like a DVDO iscan. But if you can get your data scaled into a perfect XGA signal the picture will be unbeatable!
Uniformity is good but one of my corners is a little dark. My guess is it is about 50% off of the peak white level generated at the center of the image. I have seen 3 off these projectors now and each one had a minor uniformity problem.
The 280 Watt metal halide bulb might produce better colors than cooler running UHP bulbs, but that does come at a price of increased fan noise and only 1000 hours of life (1/2 half starting intensity).
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| Comments: |
You can't beat this projector for its price - you should be able to haggle your way down into the sub $5K range. I used to have a Sony VPL-VW10HT (see review) and I am very glad I traded it in for this one. If the Plus-America had a stronger marketing presence here in the States, I think more people would know about it.
It is a true "diamond in the rough."
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