[proglife]

Yep, an old pair of 1988 Forte I's. I love them!!! One of the best sounding speakers Klipsch ever made IMO. They still sound great

nice. I have a pair of Heresy II's that' I'm trying to get sorted out. So far, I've replaced the mid diaphragm and the crossovers. Now I'm trying out different amps to see what works best. What are you running? (I'm guessing something home theater-ish)

on topic: I love my Panasonic plasma. Unfortunately, Fios HD doesn't look all that great. High Def Apple TV rentals look WAY better.

 

[IH8Rice]

when Apple TV HD looks better than FIOS, you know that "phone company" tv sucks.

ive seen other people's FIOS broadcast and it does suck...they do have a lot of HD channels though

 

[proglife]

to be fair, some channels look a lot better than others...and some programs look considerably better on the same channel than others

it's not real surprising that high def apple tv downloads look better. they should look like blu-ray, plus since they're being pulled off of a hard drive instead of a buffered optical drive, i would *think* that's a recipe for better performance

 

[IH8Rice]

from what ive heard, Apple TV HD doesnt look as good as some of the newer HD broadcast by both satellite companies. both of them have programs in 1080p, which no other broadcast service can do.
Cablevision in north Jersey where my parents live looks like crap compared to my Comcast broadcast, even on the same tv.

 

[LMC]

My new place has a horrible layout for a home theater. The room has too much light so my previous projector setup was a no-go. I ended up getting a 46" Aquos and mounted it underneath the kitchen counter with a Polk SoundBar. My old Energy Microstar 12.1 is in the corner.

The receiver, cable box and ps3 is behind the tv in the cabinet.

thats a shame, i run a projector now, you get used to watching a 100" screen and any smaller seems tiny and taxing on the eyes. there are downsides too though, the noise of the fans for one, and the light factor, i had to get blackout curtains and close them even in the day to watch anything..

overall i dont think id go back to a regular TV tho

 

[IH8Rice]

there are downsides too though, the noise of the fans for one, and the light factor, i had to get blackout curtains and close them even in the day to watch anything..

overall i dont think id go back to a regular TV tho

you can get a high gain screen...itll help with the high light wash from the windows....although it still wont be watching like a normal tv during the day.
i would say also another projector with a higher output, but thats crazy.
what kind of screen do you have and what is the gain on it? and which FPJ?

 

[Brian HCM#1]

nice. I have a pair of Heresy II's that' I'm trying to get sorted out. So far, I've replaced the mid diaphragm and the crossovers. Now I'm trying out different amps to see what works best. What are you running? (I'm guessing something home theater-ish)

on topic: I love my Panasonic plasma. Unfortunately, Fios HD doesn't look all that great. High Def Apple TV rentals look WAY better.

It's more on the home theater end, but right now a Lexicon DC-1 and a Sunfire Cinema Grand I believe it's 200w X 5. What nice about the Lexicon is I can run it in 2 channel mode for my tunes

 

[proglife]

that must scream! mine get really loud with less than 15 watts!

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I'm sure it was, but that's because you weren't using it. My guess is you could put a 150w sub in the same room and gotten a pretty similar response.

When we won IASCA Nationals 1000w+ unlimited class with a truck pushing barely 2000w, people were shocked. Some of the trucks in that class were pushing 8000w! Yet we hit 152db (before safe sound rules) with near flawless frequency response. Why? Because we knew how to apply power.

You don't need a 1500w sub to fill a room. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

My sub is rated at 2700 watts. No, you don't use much of it. But in the audio world, more wattage is usually better. Basically it gives you a lot of headroom on the volume side. It's great to barely move the volume control to get your ideal listening level without over working your amp.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

that must scream! mine get really loud with less than 15 watts!

That's the beauty about those old Klipsch speakers, very efficient and don't take a lot of power to drive them.

 

[LMC]

you can get a high gain screen...itll help with the high light wash from the windows....although it still wont be watching like a normal tv during the day.
i would say also another projector with a higher output, but thats crazy.
what kind of screen do you have and what is the gain on it? and which FPJ?

i project it onto my bedroom wall at the minute, as my house is a bit of an ongoing DIY project and the living room is not finished.

i have a 100" motorised drop down screen i bought off ebay, it was so long ago and i cant remember the exact gain of the screen, to be honest the colours are a little dull on the screen.. on my wall they are fine. Also im going to have to go for a bigger screen due to the length of the room the projector will be housed in. so what i will probably do is buy 150" worth of screen material, and get a more powerful projector.

looking online prople have made screens from curtain blackout cloth or seamless paper photographers use as backdrops... or i could spend megabucks and just buy one.
what would you reccomend?

as for the projector, ive had it 2 years and its developed a fault whereby it occasionally cuts off after approx 20 mins, id rather upgrade than repair. again it was a Ebay job.. made by walcom. but it was cheap and did the job

 

[jimmydean]

My sub is rated at 2700 watts. No, you don't use much of it. But in the audio world, more wattage is usually better. Basically it gives you a lot of headroom on the volume side. It's great to barely move the volume control to get your ideal listening level without over working your amp.

I learned that most amps (at least in car audio) do well at 70%. Good power, good sound, limited distortion. I have yet to turn my Onkyo up past 60 and that was rocking out to tunes.

I can understand about having headroom, but I prefer to not lose any more hearing (too many 150+db car audio systems).

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I learned that most amps (at least in car audio) do well at 70%. Good power, good sound, limited distortion. I have yet to turn my Onkyo up past 60 and that was rocking out to tunes.

I can understand about having headroom, but I prefer to not lose any more hearing (too many 150+db car audio systems).

I know where you're comming from. I used to be into car audio about 20 years ago, that's when Alpine, HiFonics, Orion, Audio Control & Morel made great stuff.

 

[IH8Rice]

Also im going to have to go for a bigger screen due to the length of the room the projector will be housed in. so what i will probably do is buy 150" worth of screen material, and get a more powerful projector.

looking online prople have made screens from curtain blackout cloth or seamless paper photographers use as backdrops... or i could spend megabucks and just buy one.
what would you reccomend?

how far is the FPJ going to be away from the wall you are projecting it on? you dont need to go to a bigger screen size if you dont want to. the 100" screen you have is okay for what you are doing.
im sure you know, most projectors can zoom in and out to compensate for room length and screen size.
as for making a screen, i would stay away from going that route.
a decent screen can make up for a okay projector. screens do make a big difference in either absorbing or dispersing light. you can even get a screen that will allow you to put the center channel behind it, although they cost a lot more.)
when you know which projector you are going to buy next, you should decide on the screen at that point. also take into consideration the amount of ambient light in the room, the wall colors, and obviously price.
they range from $800-$20,000.

hope that helped.

 

[G-Cracker]

I'm not much of a technogeek but finally decided to get a flat-panel LCD. I ended up getting a factory refurbished Vizio 42" 1080 with extended 2.5-year warranty for about $860 through Ebay. It arrived last night and I sat there on the couch with my jaw on the floor. I couldn't believe how awesome it looked, without scratching the surface on adjusting colors, etc. For an entry-level flat-panel for someone who won't spend hours tweaking every little setting, I'm totally happy with it.

 

[LMC]

how far is the FPJ going to be away from the wall you are projecting it on? you dont need to go to a bigger screen size if you dont want to. the 100" screen you have is okay for what you are doing.
im sure you know, most projectors can zoom in and out to compensate for room length and screen size.
as for making a screen, i would stay away from going that route.
a decent screen can make up for a okay projector. screens do make a big difference in either absorbing or dispersing light. you can even get a screen that will allow you to put the center channel behind it, although they cost a lot more.)
when you know which projector you are going to buy next, you should decide on the screen at that point. also take into consideration the amount of ambient light in the room, the wall colors, and obviously price.
they range from $800-$20,000.

hope that helped.

the distance from the screen to the projector is the problem, unless i want it either ceiling mounted (which i dont due to the wiring and other reasons) or have it sitting on its own in the middle of the room, then ill have to locate it about 9-10ft from the screen, its a fairly long room.. even at the limits of the zoom its not going to work with the screen i have, the image is just way too big.

im looking at a 2000+ ANSI lumens unit.. the one i have at the minute i think is 1400 so not that powerful. hopefully that should cure the dull colours.

ambient light will be minimal once i get my curtains hung in there, and the walls are a light grey plaster finish.. ill do as you say and get the projector first, see how it works with the screen material i have and take it from there

thanks for the advice

 

[IH8Rice]

how much you wanna spend on the fpj?

 

[LMC]

how much you wanna spend on the fpj?

£300 or the equivelent in $ anyway, maybe a bit more if im tempted. not much i know but im not after a pro setup really.. i only use it for dvds so couldnt justify huge expenditure.. not at the minute anyway

thats what the last one cost me and now ive been looking at better models than my own at the same price. one caught my eye for £180, its a refurbished 2000 ANSI model. only downside is the resolution, 640 x 480. i was hoping for a little better but i wouldnt lose sleep over it, more important to me is the brightness.

alot of models i see boast "HD ready" and 1080dp etc, does that generally mean they can accept a HD signal but still have a 640 x 480 output?

 

[IH8Rice]

£300 or the equivelent in $ anyway, maybe a bit more if im tempted. not much i know but im not after a pro setup really.. i only use it for dvds so couldnt justify huge expenditure.. not at the minute anyway

thats what the last one cost me and now ive been looking at better models than my own at the same price. one caught my eye for £180, its a refurbished 2000 ANSI model. only downside is the resolution, 640 x 480. i was hoping for a little better but i wouldnt lose sleep over it, more important to me is the brightness.

alot of models i see boast "HD ready" and 1080dp etc, does that generally mean they can accept a HD signal but still have a 640 x 480 output?

oh, well if youre spending that much for a fpj, a cheap screen or a do-it-yourself screen would be fine.

HD ready means that it needs a HD source, like cable or blu-ray. if it does 1080i/1080p or 720p, then whatever signal you send to it( 480i/480p) will then either be downconverted or upconverted to the displays native resolution.
some older and cheaper models could accept a HD signal, but then be downconverted to the display's native rez (480i/480p)

dont forget 640x480 is DVD quality...its not too shabby

 

[LMC]

oh, well if youre spending that much for a fpj, a cheap screen or a do-it-yourself screen would be fine.

HD ready means that it needs a HD source, like cable or blu-ray. if it does 1080i/1080p or 720p, then whatever signal you send to it( 480i/480p) will then either be downconverted or upconverted to the displays native resolution.
some older and cheaper models could accept a HD signal, but then be downconverted to the display's native rez (480i/480p)

dont forget 640x480 is DVD quality...its not too shabby

lol, yeah im on a budget.. i think i can still get a pretty decent refurbed one for that money tho.

this is where i was looking at the screen

http://www.projectorcentral.com/diy_screen.htm i get about the same quality as their DIY screen on my wall with the fpj 3meters away and id be happy enough with that.

about the rsolution, i was just thinking that blowing up the picture another 50% may affect the quality but ill not dwell on the resolution too much then

 

[IH8Rice]

jacking the picture up another 50% is actually a pretty big deal. since the FPJ isnt a HD unit, the picture rez will be significantly reduced over the larger screen....it wont be unbearable, but it wont be the best obviously.

 

[IH8Rice]

the fact that they rated a Panasonic or Sony panel above a Pioneer Elite panel, makes that web page FAIL

 

[syadasti]

Another evil LCD maker busted:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/10/hitachi-also-admits-to-lcd-price-fixing-will-pay-31m-fine/

 

[IH8Rice]

this makes Dell look even more stupider

 

[syadasti]

this makes Dell look even more stupider

It also explains that earlier lawsuit why Motorola was named:

And Sharp, a Japanese company, agreed to pay $120 million for participating in separate conspiracies to fix the price of certain LCD panels sold to Dell, Motorola and Apple. Those panels were used in computer monitors, laptops, Motorola Razr mobile phones and Apple's iPod portable music players.

 

[jimmydean]

the fact that they rated a Panasonic or Sony panel above a Pioneer Elite panel, makes that web page FAIL

Dude, the Panasonic is $4500! $$$=teh more awesomer

 

[IH8Rice]

Dude, the Panasonic is $4500! $$$=teh more awesomer

if more $$$ was the case, then the $5300 Elite would take the cake. big screen plasmas are teh suck.

every real review has given the 50" Elite, best tv 3-4 years running

 

[jimmydean]

if more $$$ was the case, then the $5300 Elite would take the cake. big screen plasmas are teh suck.

every real review has given the 50" Elite, best tv 3-4 years running

I paid $1100 for my 50" Panasonic. I doubt the Elite is $4200 better unless it comes with a team of strippers and a pole.

 

[IH8Rice]

well, its probably 5x better, so it should be $5500 :biggrin:

this black friday, Pana will have their 42" plasmas for $499 i just found out