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Projection HD

4K Ultra HD Home Theater Projection HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #627: JVC 4K UltraHD Projectors

JVC's Procision projectors, including the entry-level DLA-X500R at $5,000, use e-Shift3 technology to simulate 4K by offsetting two native 1080p D-ILA chips by half a pixel diagonally, achieving high pixel density rather than true 4K resolution. All 4K input signals are downscaled to 1080p before processing, meaning the projected image approaches but does not match a native 4K display like Sony's VPL-VW500ES at $10,000. Buyers gain impressive contrast ratios up to 150,000:1 native and strong color reproduction, making these a compelling compromise for home theater enthusiasts not yet ready to invest in true 4K.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Home Theater Projection HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #606: Best Selling Projectors

Five top-selling home theater projectors are reviewed, ranging from the $549 B-stock Epson MegaPlex MG-850HD at 2,800 lumens to the THX-certified Epson Home Cinema 5030UB at $2,599 with 3-chip LCD technology and built-in 2D-to-3D conversion. The only DLP entry, the BenQ W1070, uses Texas Instruments DarkChip 3 and delivers 1080p 3D at $999 with ISF calibration support. Buyers balancing budget against light control, 3D capability, and room flexibility will find meaningful tradeoffs across each model.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Home Theater Projection HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #587: CE Pro Brand Analysis 2013 and Home Theater Design Tips & Mistakes

The 2013 CE Pro Brand Analysis reveals notable shifts in custom installation market share, with Epson overtaking Runco in projectors at 47% versus Runco's collapse from 46% to a tie for fourth, while Samsung held firm atop flat-panel TVs at 87%. A companion CE Pro white paper on home theater design covers practical acoustic and visual considerations, including the recommendation to use cloth over leather seating for sound absorption and to apply matte or flat dark paint to walls and ceilings to minimize light reflection that cannot be corrected through calibration. Installers and enthusiasts alike will find actionable guidance on seating distance multipliers, screen sizing, and room treatment priorities.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
HDTV Expert - Projector Manufacturers Are Going Lamp-Free. But Is It Too Late?
Projection HD Laser TVs

HDTV Expert - Projector Manufacturers Are Going Lamp-Free. But Is It Too Late?

Sony's new laser-powered 3LCD projector, built on the FH31-series chassis with a claimed 20,000-hour lifespan and 4,000-lumen output, signals a broader industry shift toward lamp-free projection as manufacturers including Panasonic, Epson, and NEC race to market with laser and laser/LED hybrid models. In side-by-side testing, Sony's unit showed a visible edge in color saturation over Panasonic's PT-RZ470 single-chip DLP projector. However, AV professionals report that large LCD displays - often 70 to 90 inches - are already displacing projectors in classrooms and conference rooms due to superior brightness, lower maintenance, and dramatically reduced lamp-replacement overhead.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Projection HD LED TVs Laser TVs

HDTV Expert - Lamp? What Lamp?

Lamp-free projection technology is emerging as a competitive response to large-format LCD displays, with manufacturers at Integrated Systems Europe 2013 showcasing LED and laser-based projectors ranging from 500 lumens to over 60,000 lumens for digital cinema. Sony debuted the first 3LCD laser imaging system, while Christie Digital demonstrated a 60,000-plus lumen laser DLP Cinema projector during a GI JOE: RETALIATION screening, and LED-only designs currently top out at 1,100 lumens with laser/LED hybrids bridging up to 4,000 lumens. For end users, lamp-free designs promise 15,000 to 20,000 hours of essentially maintenance-free operation with instant on/off capability, directly addressing the key advantages that large LCD panels hold over conventional projectors.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Home Theater Projection HD Streaming HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #574: WD TV Play and Projector vs Large Format TV

The WD TV Play, a $70 media player with built-in Wi-Fi and Full-HD 1080p output, supports an extensive range of formats including MKV (h.264, AVC) and Dolby TrueHD audio, while offering streaming services and a notable Slingplayer app tested at 2Mbps upstream with solid results. A separate comparison weighs projector setups averaging $7,500 against large-format TVs ranging from a 70-inch Vizio at $1,700 to a 90-inch Sharp 240Hz 3D LED at $9,000. Readers evaluating home theater options will find concrete cost and size trade-offs that clarify whether a large-format TV can realistically replace a front-projection system.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Living with 4K - Here is the 4K Content
Home Theater Projection HD Calibration

Living with 4K - Here is the 4K Content

Sony's 4K demo server for projector owners is an HP-based system delivering up to 2 hours of 4K content, including the 48-minute TimeScapes nature film, connected via hi-speed HDMI with only stereo or Dolby 5.1 audio tracks via Toslink. Content is encoded at 8-bit, 4:2:0, Rec-709 color space at 24fps, the same baseline as Blu-ray, leaving the full potential of 4K unrealized in many clips. Viewers evaluating on a 130-inch Stewart Firehawk screen found that well-shot material like the Rocky Mountain Express clips delivered a convincing sense of realism, but inconsistent lighting and compression in other clips made some 4K content indistinguishable from 1080p Blu-ray.

Rodolfo La Maestra •
Articles
Projection HD LED TVs Laser TVs

HDTV Expert - ISE 2013: Oh, It's ON! - Pete Putman

At ISE 2013, Sony unveiled a prototype 3LCD laser projector rated at 4000 lumens with 1920x1200 (WUXGA) resolution, marking the first publicly demonstrated 3LCD design to use a 100% laser light engine. Mitsubishi countered with three LaserVue DLP models featuring hybrid red LED and blue laser diode illumination, promising 20,000 to 30,000 hours of rated lamp-free operation. These lampless projectors are a direct response to the growing commercial adoption of large-format LCD displays from 70 to 95 inches, which undercut projector installations on cost, maintenance, and ambient light performance.

Pete Putman •
Columns
LCoS TVs Projection HD

OmniVision Launches Cost-Effective, High-Performance HD LCOS Solution for Pico Projection Systems

OmniVision's OVP7200 and OVP921 form a complete LCOS chipset targeting pico projection systems, with the OVP7200 delivering native 1280x720 resolution on a compact 0.37-inch panel using all-digital liquid crystal drive technology. The OVP921 companion chip integrates keystone correction, frame rate conversion, and support for 24-bit RGB, MIPI, and USB inputs without requiring external memory or an image processor. Together, the chipset simplifies system design for engineers building HD projection into mobile devices and automotive head-up displays.

Shane Sturgeon •
Bulletins
3DTV Home Theater Projection HD

Epson Debuts Ultra Bright HD 2D/3D Projector Under $900

Epson's PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD is a 3LCD projector delivering 3,000 lumens of both color and white brightness at 720p resolution, with active shutter 3D support priced at $899. The projector features Bright 3D Drive Technology, RF 3D glasses with a three-minute quick charge lasting up to 40 hours, and an E-TORL lamp rated for up to 5,000 hours of life. For buyers seeking a versatile home theater solution, its broad out-of-the-box compatibility with Blu-ray players, game consoles, and cable boxes eliminates the need for a separate format converter.

Shane Sturgeon •
Bulletins
Home Theater Projection HD Smart TVs

LG Announces Cinematic 100-inch Class Laser TV

LG's HECTO is a 100-inch class Laser TV that uses an Ultra Short Throw projection unit positioned just 22 inches from the screen, delivering Full HD 1080p resolution with a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The laser-based illumination system is rated for up to 25,000 hours of operation, roughly five times the lifespan of conventional mercury-based lamps. For home theater enthusiasts, this combination of near-wall placement flexibility, Smart TV features including WiDi and Miracast, and a built-in digital tuner makes large-format projection far more practical than traditional ceiling-mounted systems.

Shane Sturgeon •
Bulletins
Living with 4K (Part 6) - Which 4K? Sony - DCI 4K and Ultra-HD Capable
Standards Home Theater Projection HD

Living with 4K (Part 6) - Which 4K? Sony - DCI 4K and Ultra-HD Capable

Sony's 4K projector uses a native 4096-pixel DCI 4K chip, displaying 3840x2160 Ultra-HD content via center pixels with 128 unused pixels on each side rather than uneven upscaling, making it genuinely compliant with both DCI 4K and the CEA's Ultra-HD standard. The CEA's adoption of the 3840x2160 'Ultra HD' label introduced naming friction with the broader UHDTV framework already covering 2160p and 4320p formats. Understanding these distinctions matters for buyers evaluating whether a display is a true 4K DCI device or a 16:9 Ultra-HD panel with a different pixel grid.

Rodolfo La Maestra •
Articles
Living with 4K (Part 3) - Which 4K ... DCI 4K, Ultra-HDTV, Ultra-HD, Quad-Full-HD?
Digital Cinema Standards Home Theater

Living with 4K (Part 3) - Which 4K ... DCI 4K, Ultra-HDTV, Ultra-HD, Quad-Full-HD?

The Sony VPL-VW1000ES home cinema projector ($25,000 MSRP) uses a true DCI 4K chip with 4096x2160 pixels (17:9 aspect ratio), distinguishing it from consumer Ultra-HDTV panels that offer only 3840x2160 (3.75K by binary measure). Standards bodies including DCI, EBU, ITU, and CEA each define 4K and Ultra-HD differently, creating a fragmented naming landscape that affects how buyers interpret product specifications. Understanding these distinctions matters practically when choosing between a cinema-grade projector and a 16:9 Ultra-HD panel for home use.

Rodolfo La Maestra •
Articles
Projection HD Streaming HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #556: 3M Streaming Projector with Roku

The 3M Streaming Projector with Roku ($300) is a DLP-based portable unit rated at 60 lumens with a maximum 800x480 resolution, capable of projecting images up to 120 inches and running up to 2.5 hours on battery in eco mode. It uses an HDMI port with MHL (Mobile High Definition Link) support, enabling compatibility with the included Roku Streaming Stick as well as laptops, iPads, and other MHL-capable devices. Travelers and dorm dwellers will find it a practical large-screen solution in darkened rooms, though the built-in speakers and lack of keystone correction are notable limitations.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
3DTV Home Theater Projection HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #555: Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010 Projector

The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010, a 1080p 3LCD projector priced at $1338, delivers a measured 1424 lumens in Cinema mode, outperforming many competing projectors even in their brightest Dynamic settings. Active shutter 3D, 2200 lumens rated brightness, and a 40,000:1 contrast ratio round out a strong feature set, though black levels fall short of comparable DLP and LCOS alternatives. The critical omission of lens shift forces reliance on keystone correction, making installation impractical for ceiling-mounted home theater setups despite otherwise excellent performance for the price.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts