[dayneger]

Recently my Optoma H31 arrived and I've been having fun playing around with it, especially since this's my first pj.  Very cool!  

I've been perplexed by a couple of issues, though, which are likely terribly basic but, well. . .    At the moment I have the H31, a 854 x 480 DLP model, (inadequately) hooked up to a Pioneer DVD player via S-Video.  Here're some of the things I'm wondering about:

1.  To the left and right of the projected image there seem to be several rows of DLP mirrors projecting nothing but "black", i.e. approximately 10-12 unused rows of the 854 resolution per side.  Is this normal, due to my less-than-ideal setup, or what is it?

2.  Every single movie I've watched so far is projected at 2.35:1 or therabouts and not a one 16:9.    Sometimes the back of the DVD says 2.35:1 AND 16:9 right beside each other, as though they were the same thing.  The only thing so far that plays using the full 854 x 480 is the opening menu where you can set subtitles and that kind of thing.  Again, is this normal?  Seems to defeat the point of this chip format if everything's 2.35:1 anyway.  I could very easily be missing something, though. . .  

3.  What exactly do I need in order to calibrate the projector for my situation?

4.  Is using the digital keystone a "very bad thing" for the image quality?

5.  Why do DVI cables cost so darn much?

6.  Do most people A) have their DVD player in the front and run a long picture signal cable back to the projector B) put their DVD player near the pj with a short picture cable but long sound signal cable to the front or C) put the whole system at the back with short signal runs and long speaker cables?

As you can see, despite more than a decade of audio experience I'm finding the projector / home theater world quite mystifying!    Any replies are much appreciated!

Cheers,

Dayne

[bubba966]

2. Every single movie I've watched so far is projected at 2.35:1 or therabouts and not a one 16:9.  Sometimes the back of the DVD says 2.35:1 AND 16:9 right beside each other, as though they were the same thing. The only thing so far that plays using the full 854 x 480 is the opening menu where you can set subtitles and that kind of thing. Again, is this normal? Seems to defeat the point of this chip format if everything's 2.35:1 anyway. I could very easily be missing something, though. . .

A 2.35:1 image will stay 2.35:1 when played back on a 16:9 (aprox. 1.78:1) display. What's confusing you is that the back of the DVD is telling you that it's a 2.35:1 image that's "enhanced" for 16:9 displays. Meaning that the DVD is encoded in such a manner that it will display properly on a 16:9 display using the full resolution that the display is capable of (within the lmits of DVD, of course) while still retaining the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

But when you take a 1.85:1 movie, and play it back on a 16:9 display, they will zoom or crop the image a slight bit so as to fill the entire area on the 16:9 display as 1.85:1 isn't too far off of 1.78.:1. But if you tried doing that on a 2.35:1 image you'd lose a lot of info.

Try running a 1.85:1 or 1.78:1 image on your PJ. You should then see that nothing's wrong and it's playing on the full height/width of the 16:9 area. Most if not all computer animated movies of the last decade have been animated in 16:9 to start with. So that'd be a good way to find a 1.78:1 image on a DVD. Comedies & dramas are usually shot "Flat" which is the film term for a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. And action & scenery type movie are frequently shot in "Scope" which if the film term for a  2.35:1 aspect ratio.

[dayneger]

Hi Bubba966,

Thanks for the help.  So, it looks like I tend to watch a lot of action films and not a lot of family dramas. . .

Would anyone care to answer a couple of the other questions?

Dayne

[bubba966]

I wish I could give you some more answers, but I don't have a PJ in use here. I do have a LCD PJ & 7' screen, but I like my 32" direct view better.

I'll try to give you some more answers though...

3. What exactly do I need in order to calibrate the projector for my situation?

Something along the line of the Digital Video Essentials or AVIA calibration DVD's will have the test patterns & walk throughs on using them. Either of those will get you about as close as you're going to get without spending big $ for more advanced test & calibration gear.

I don't know if there's a PAL version or equivelent of the AVIA disc. But I think there's a PAL version of the Digital Video Essentials disc. Someday I probably should get a PAL copy of DVE. But I don't actually use PAL very often.

5. Why do DVI cables cost so darn much?

Because they can. I guess they figure that if you've got the $ to buy DVI equipped gear, then you've got the $ to spare & mark them up more than needed.

Not sure on shipping to you, but you can get quite reasonably priced DVI cables here http://www.pacificcable.com/DVI.htm