So is this any good?

Mark W · #1 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009, 01:18 PM

I sort of drifted into home cinema over the last year after a broke friend gave me a projector - he couldnt afford the 280 quid bulb - and nor could I at the time but as I have wanted a home cinema for like 20 years i didnt eat that month.

My projector is a recently discontinued LCD model - mitsubishi XL5u - this is primarily a data projecor but a few forums rate it as bright and crisp.

I am occasionally aware of the LCD mask and it is a bit noisey on the high lamp setting.

My screen is a basic 120 quid model.

Source is a 24 quid dvd player - lols.

Sound I am pretty happy with. I use a very expensive passive pre amp from my hi fi days with a pair of £500 quid musical fidelity power amps, one current in currrent mono mode for each floorstanding £400 newish tannoy speakers.

No silly surround sound until I can afford the same quality of components and even then a sub would be irrlelveant with the tannoys and control of the quality amps.

So - is this projector any good? Clearly the DVD player has got to be upgraded as it is the source. Any reccomendations for a blu ray player that is good on SD DVD ? People tell me to get a ps3 as a source - good advice ?

Would it be worth my while aspiring to a new projector? What would I ned to spend to get a WOW improvement?

I would like to loose the video noise in flat areas of colour - I suspect this is the fault of the cheap dvd player.

Alan Mills · #2 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by Mark W

People tell me to get a ps3 as a source - good advice ?

That's what I did. It's Sony so plays blu-rays fine. It's also a pretty decent DVD upscaler to 1080. you can stream to it from your PC wirelessly. you can store video on the hard drive for playback.

Only downsire I've found is that it is not hackable to multi region at all as far as I know.

Oh, and apparently, you can play games on it too!

Mark W · #3 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009, 04:45 PM

yea - the ps3 does seem to be a good choice - games bit a bonus as I dont do that much.
I am hoping my friend will appear at some point today with his and a few blu ray discs to make me want one even more.

The native res of the projector is xga - 1024 x 768 - not proper HD res but above SD - it will be intersesting to see how a 'HD' source looks. I suspect the lack of colour dithering and mpeg dvd artifacts will make me want more stuff I cant afford.... lols.

Andy Lockwood · #4 (**permalink**) 02-06-2009, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by Mark W

.. the ps3 does seem to be a good choice ...

It might be if you take an extended warranty with it and avoid secondhand ones at all costs. The number of faulty PS3's is staggering. And it's the BluRay drive that's failing on them. Bloody criminal of Sony I think to be in the same boat as the XBOX 360 and their 'red rings of death'.

Fingercuff · #5 (**permalink**) 02-06-2009, 04:41 PM

I have had the red rings of death far to many times. I am on my 4th 360 now. And I don't even play it that much.

Alan Mills · #6 (**permalink**) 02-07-2009, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by Andy Lockwood

It might be if you take an extended warranty with it and avoid secondhand ones at all costs. The number of faulty PS3's is staggering. And it's the BluRay drive that's failing on them. Bloody criminal of Sony I think to be in the same boat as the XBOX 360 and their 'red rings of death'.

Dunno what red rings of death era. Sounds like me the day after a sever curry.

I sure can sympathise with eh PS3 issues though. My first blu-ray drive went after about 12 days (last Feb). Soon enough to return it to the shop. next one went in October. Must say though that although it was bloody annoying the Sony custoemr support was first class. They even sent a courier round to pick the thing up so I didn't have to go out of my way sending it off to them. So far so good on the third one.

Mark W · #7 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 03:11 PM

Amongst my friends tha x boxes seem to die more often than the ps3 but it's a bit crap that both are so flaky.

Fingercuff · #8 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 04:01 PM

Never ever had any problems with my good old sega megadrive back in the day!

Mark W · #9 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 04:04 PM

If it looks better it is better but I am curious about this....

It says on forums that if you have a projector you should the dvd player n pogressive mode. I tried it - progressive mode appears to loose detail.

Could this be cos the deinterlace filter in the DVD player is rubbish and the one in the projecor better - or is my projector actually displaying the interalced pic as interlaced.

I sort of assumed a projector - esp a what is really data projector - would only display in progerssive.

Most forums also advise doubling your bulb life by running it in ' low ' mode. To me that is daft. Why set up a cinema and then watch it at far less then it's best. To me the puicture is unacceptably less dynamic in low even if the bulb life goes up from 2000 to 5000 hours.