babka

I have 2 options that my co-worker is selling...both brand new

1. Canon LV-7350
1800 ANSI Lumens
Native XGA Resolution
350:1 contrast ratio
Horizontal resolution: 800 TV lines
Canon exclusives: Optical engine, powered bright mode and wide-angle lens
has component video!!!!

2. Toshiba TDP-P5 XGA
1100 ANSI Lumens
800:1 contrast ratio
Texas Instruments DLP™: 0.7" XGA DMD DDR, 4x3 native aspect ratio
Resolution: (1024 x 768) XGA native; (up to 1280 x 1024 compressed, 1152, Macintosh®)
Pixels: 786,432
only has s-video input!!!!!


Im using a 9x12 screen high power, that probably needs more lumens than anything else.


What do you guys think will be better? Or are both stinkers?

ckolchak

how far back are you going to be sitting from this 12' wide screen?
with an XGA, like my lt150, 1.5 screen widths is probably the closest i would sit- so that comes out to 18' back.
closer than that and you are really going to notice the pixel structure-especially if you are using an s-video connection and the internal scaler isn't very good (don't know how good the one is on the tosh)

you don't need component inputs on the pj if you have a 15 pin rgb input (which i'm assuming is de facto on these).
you just need a breakout cable-
component at one end, 15 pin at the other.
i think i paid $40 for a 30'er.

s-video is going to give you a pretty underwhelming picture, unless it is using a faroudja chip to de-interlace and scale.
i would go over to www.projectorcentral.com and research these.
otherwise just on specs, i would probably take the Tosh.

i wouldn't pay more than $1k for it, especially since you can find used LT150s on ebay for under $1k now-i would recommend that over say a brand new X1 for the same price, simply for resolution, especially at those sizes.
and 2 years later, it is still a damn good pj.

babka

Yes, I am sitting 17-18' back. Where's a good place for this breakout cable you are talking about. the back has a computer input with 30 holes, and 4 separate ones on the right of the input. I never even knew these existed. the specs on the Toshiba review say....

"the selection of inputs on the rear is a bit disappointing - you'll find only S-Video, Composite and a DVI (EVC) connector. Where's the component video, we asked? In fact, the projector can accept component video but this is done via the DVI (EVC) connector and you'll have to purchase an optional lead, which makes things rather awkward."

ckolchak

if it has a dvi input, i would look into investing in a dvd player that has dvi out.
only 2 i know of at the moment and both of those have issues of some sort.
hopefully this fall will see more dvi out players.

what kind of price is he offering you on these?
will the warranty be vaild?

350:1 contrast ratio sucks, frankly.
and at this point in time 800:1 isn't much to get excited about either.
dvi would be nice, but i would still be interested in hearing what kind of scaler is in it.

Josh Z

The specs on both of those projectors are pretty underwhelming. This leaves two questions:

1) Would you be getting a really great deal on either one?
2) Would a better projector be out of your price range?

If you would be getting a really great deal, and this is probably your only shot at affording a projector, I would have to go with the Toshiba simply by virtue of the fact that it has a better contrast ratio.

350:1 on the Canon is very poor. And keep in mind that 350:1 is the "official" spec, using the projector at full-on brightness. After calibrating the projector for a movie image, the ratio will drop significantly, probably down to 100:1 or less. It would be pretty much unwatchable for movie viewing.

babka

Thanks guys. The toshiba is great deal. And I cant afford to spend more. Would it be worth it to buy a EVC (on back of Toshiba projector) to DVI adapter & a DVI to component cable? Does this offer a better picture than component to component?

Josh Z

There would be no point in doing this. The advantage of DVI is that it transmits the signal entirely in the digital realm, bypassing the need for digital-to-analog conversion. By using the method you've described, you'd be taking the signal from the DVD player's MPEG decoder (digital) to component output (analog) to DVI (digital) to whatever EVC is (analog?). That's a whole lot more conversion steps and can only degrade the picture even more.

Component to component should be fine. DVI is useful only if you have a DVI output on the DVD player and a DVI input on the projector, and you can connect them directly.

ckolchak

babka,
i know someone who will be putting up their LT150 pretty soon on ebay.
it has a little more wear on it than mine did, and i think he said he has a couple hundred hours on the bulb, but you should be able to get it for a good price.
without having seen the canon or tosh, i will tell you the LT150 is excellant for watching movies- a $25 breakout cable hooked up component to rgb and you are good to go.

the fellow i just sold mine to already has one and loves it and he bought mine for his friend who saw his and wanted one.

i don't know what he's going to be asking, but i would assume you could get it for a good deal less than those two you mentioned.

Jah-Wren Ryel

My reco is get the Toshiba and get the Bravo D1 DVD player with scaled DVI output, it is only $200 (or less if you get it from the power buy at avsforum.com ) the results are reported to be amazing - on par with a $1k-$2k htpc setup. The only downside is that poorly "flagged" video can exhibit combing artifacts, so if you watch a lot of japanese animation it will have problems. One big benefit of the Bravo player is that it does not require HDCP copy-prevention schemage on the projector side like all other DVI dvd players do. Rumours exist that Bravo will "upgrade" the player to require HDCP sometime this fall, so if you have a non-HDCP projector (as most current and all past models are) then the current D1 may be your only hope for an all-digital path.