my mini theater with ACER K130 LED projector

@Diplomat
I am looking at these Led projectors and after a day's research have come to the point of shortlisting three...
Optoma ML500
Qumi
Acer K330

optoma is my current front runner its $440 at amazon at the time of writing
other two are a little more expensive...
you must have done some background research on these projectors ... pray tell me ...why an acer over an optoma or a dell ??
 
tally3tally,

Have you considered Acer K130 over K330?
K130 seems to have a better contrast (10k:1 vs 4k:1) though 330 has more brightness (500 vs 300)

where are you planning to buy from? Any idea for a group buy?
 
@tally
getting the unit from abroad was never an option for me , hence companies like optoma and qumi were not in my pocket due to much higher price tag. u can refer to youtube reviews of ml500 and k330 for better idea before getting it.
optoma ml500 may have an upper hand, being from a company who specialized in projector for years
 
I would prefer K330 over K130. The contrast figures in real life don't matter most and is not so much noticeable. What matters is ANSI contrast which is quite low anyways. But the brightness gain of K330 is quite noticeable in real life.
 
@Diplomat
I am looking at these Led projectors and after a day's research have come to the point of shortlisting three...
Optoma ML500
Qumi
Acer K330

optoma is my current front runner its $440 at amazon at the time of writing
other two are a little more expensive...
you must have done some background research on these projectors ... pray tell me ...why an acer over an optoma or a dell ??

some advice :
1. Set alerts in price check sites of US
2. Read projector FAQ for in home theater shack
3. Consider the fact that the contrast at best setting is important
a higher lumen Pj may have lesser intensity at best setting than other with lesser lumens
 
@koushik,
pl pass on the best adjustment mode u have kept for cinema in dellm110
i mean brightness, contrast etc etc in hdmi mode...
 
The thread owner please dont mind this ..in future ,i will post elsewhere my ramblings of my buy idea
no intent of any thread jacking
tally3tally,

Have you considered Acer K130 over K330?
K130 seems to have a better contrast (10k:1 vs 4k:1) though 330 has more brightness (500 vs 300)

where are you planning to buy from? Any idea for a group buy?

hi
i didn't have much info about K130 just saw the name pop here ..
i was planning to get it either shipped to india via amazon or get it thru a friend..
the price keeps fluctuating at amazon yesterday it was 440 , the day before it was 544 today its 488 :( .
group buy from a foreign site wont be a good idea i guess ..no benefits...a indian dealer though would def lower his price on a bulk offer...provided we find a local dealer !!
 
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@koushik,
pl pass on the best adjustment mode u have kept for cinema in dellm110
i mean brightness, contrast etc etc in hdmi mode...

i cant claim it it the best but my suitable config is

LED : eco mode ( full mode just 10% variation, but bad fan noise )
Contrast : 60%
Brightness :some 45%
Saturation : i keep default and do a lil in software .

you cannot push intensity to full or even 80% , them the picture gets overexposed , so full 500Lumens i could never use (noob assumption)
There are many factors like Depth of black,color fidelity etc etc ..... they come in to play more in expensive PJs . I did not check those while buying .
The cut down list of requirement made m110 to fit easily .
 
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for u the advantage is ur playing from pc, where as mine is from hd media player where such option of adjustment is not there
my contrast is 85% with brightness similar and color going to 20% to match skintone in hdmi mode
 
diplomat,

You need to use a video calibration disc to set the brightness and contrast correctly. You can set it by eyeballing, but best results are obtained by using calibration patterns. Download the free calibration disc from http://www.avsforum.com/t/948496/avs-hd-709-blu-ray-mp4-calibration

Brightness controls the black level, contrast controls the white level of the display. If the brightness is set too high, the black levels will be horrible and picture will look washed out. If the brightness is set too low, you will lose details in the picture, especially the shadow details (details in dark scenes). If the contrast is not set right, you will see white crushing problem. That's why its important to set these properly.

If you are used to scorching contrast mode, like what they do in showrooms, you will not like the calibrated results at first. But do give it some time and you will realize how natural your display looks with correct settings. Good way to test is the clip from Batman movie "The Dark Knight". When the officers go to Lt. Gordon's home to give the news of his death to his wife. If your display settings are correct, you will see Batman in the dark there as she is hearing the news. If settings are not right, all you will see is darkness.
 
Thanks manoj ,
I tried tweaking but found that Dell m110 is apparently poor for dark scenes, calibration may help here, but the drawbacks of singlechip DLP cant be avoided.
 
kaushik
put the mode in video and go for gamma 3 and color temp as 1
this will be fine for dark movies...
u can have ur user settings too for gamma 3, if u prefer other contrast and brightness settings rather than default
 
i cant claim it it the best but my suitable config is

LED : eco mode ( full mode just 10% variation, but bad fan noise )
Contrast : 60%
Brightness :some 45%
Saturation : i keep default and do a lil in software .

you cannot push intensity to full or even 80% , them the picture gets overexposed , so full 500Lumens i could never use (noob assumption)
There are many factors like Depth of black,color fidelity etc etc ..... they come in to play more in expensive PJs . I did not check those while buying .
The cut down list of requirement made m110 to fit easily .

how do u get 500 lumens from dell m110, any modification on led???
 
Thanks manoj ,
I tried tweaking but found that Dell m110 is apparently poor for dark scenes, calibration may help here, but the drawbacks of singlechip DLP cant be avoided.

Kaushik,

what do you mean by poor? Is it too bright or too dim? It's not a limitation/drawback of a single chip DLP as it is used widely from entry level to mid level in lots of projectors and they calibrate fine. All you need to make sure that brightness is just right for the screen size that you have and other settings are right. Try going to the video mode, which will set brightness contrast to 50, temp to mid and white intensity to 10. Then try the test patterns.
 
Kaushik,

what do you mean by poor? Is it too bright or too dim? It's not a limitation/drawback of a single chip DLP as it is used widely from entry level to mid level in lots of projectors and they calibrate fine. All you need to make sure that brightness is just right for the screen size that you have and other settings are right. Try going to the video mode, which will set brightness contrast to 50, temp to mid and white intensity to 10. Then try the test patterns.

+1 to that. The main advantage of a DLP is its dark level. Also, 3 DLP will boost brightness, work on saturation levels and avoids RBE. If you have a decent fL value at your screen, there is no need to worry about brightness levels. . Correct me if am wrong. Regarding RBE, as I've commented somewhere else, it varies from person to person. After using for 2 years now I feel am completely insensitive to RBE. So, I think there may be issues with his projector settings probably gamma?
 
+1 to arun, it may be only the gamma setting for koushik, which already i have requested to put on 3 and revert back with results
these units are not that bad for darker movies as he feels..
 
Hi,

is there any focusing issues with K130, like the previous models - (Acer K330, Optoma ML500) have?, that focus will shift a bit after 10-15 minutes of viewing.
 
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