Showing posts with label nvidia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nvidia. Show all posts

7/18/2011

ViewSonic’s PJD6210 XGA DLP 120Hz 3D Ready Projector Review

ViewSonic’s PJD6210 XGA DLP 120Hz 3D Ready Projector
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I recently took the plunge on a projector. I was actually originally going to get this projector initially but then the Acer H5360 and Optoma HD66 lured me with their 720 peeeez. However, upon many many talks with the wife, I decided to wait on a more expensive 3D PJ until the Blu-Ray 3D thang is all settled. For nearly $300 less than the Optoma HD66, I scored a Viewsonic 6210 at $420. As for the Acer, it is still unavailable here in the 'States as of writing this. Anyways, the projector is tiny and does max res of 1280x1024 (1024x768 native). It supports 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio.
Right off the bat, I felt the color was a bit muted, but the projector was insanely bright. I borrowed a HD20 Optoma for months and this rivals the brightness of that PJ. Picture clarity of the 6210 is what you would expect of a XGA projector. It's clear, but no 1080p. I played with the color and was satisfied but never undeniably impressed. It's passable (for my standards), but I think I need to do some more tweaking.
After a wrestle with an on-board GPU, I finally got the drivers to work for my 8800 GTS (thanks to Windows Update - nVidia installer flat out would not work). 3D Vision wizard was an absolute breeze. It recognized the monitor instantly. I tried some movie trailers (Bolt, Fly Me to the Moon) and they were EXTREMELY impressive. No ghosting, very clear.
I then tried Avatar the game. Blown away. I was used to playing on a 120hz CRT but playing on a DLP projector is just... better than I imagined. ZERO ghosting. I mean, zip, zilch, nada. The brightness dips heavily in 120hz mode, but you can make up for this for the most part in the number of options via the nVidia Control Panel, in-game settings, or PJ settings.
I hooked up my 360 to it with ease via the VGA cable that is available. It looked great, along with HD Netflix streaming. The PS3 was a different story. It's super easy and looks great when you have the right connectors, but I had to order the PS2/PS3 component cable first, and a VGA to component adapter which took forever to arrive (accidentally ordered from a Chinese seller on ebay for the adapter). Once its all hooked up it looks really good in 720p, but 1080p was too compressed for this PJ. Blu-Rays actually look pretty damn good too on my 88" screen. Definitely "HD" looking although the projector is technically a 1024x768 native image.
Summary:
Pros:
Small
Bright
Zero Ghosting
CHEEEEAP!!
100% 3D Vision Compatibility/Support (although did not work for Mirror's Edge)
Clear
Cons:
Less-than-impressive Color (not bad, just wasn't impressed)
Not Technically HD (but can take HD signals and def looks HD)
Dimming in 120hz Mode
No HDMI Port, which was obvious before I ordered, but still.
Need lots of connectors too hook up PS3
I also posted this review at the nVidia 3D Vision forum.

Click Here to see more reviews about: ViewSonic’s PJD6210 XGA DLP 120Hz 3D Ready Projector

ViewSonic’s PJD6210, 1024x768 XGA DLP 120Hz 3D Ready Projector, 2200LM delivers 2200 lumens at an amazing 120Hz refresh rate with a 1024 x 768 XGA native resolution. When combined with the nVidia 3D Vision shutter glass / emitter combination, the PJD6210‐3D delivers an immersive 3D visual experience, compatible with over 350 gaming, education, and entertainment titles on the market. It offers both VGA and RCA composite inputs, as well as RJ‐232 for control. The PJD6210‐3D supports both Kensington security lock port and security bar for increased theft deterrence. There are several default picture modes (including Whiteboard, Blackboard and Greenboard) to choose from depending on the user’s projected source.

Buy Now

Click here for more information about ViewSonic’s PJD6210 XGA DLP 120Hz 3D Ready Projector

5/23/2011

HP Digital Entertainment Center z545 - DT - 1 x P4 530 / 3 GHz - RAM 512 MB - HDD 1 x 200 GB , Personal Media Drive 1 x 160 GB - DVD?RW (+R DL) - Radeon X300 SE - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Win XP MCE 2005 - Monitor : none Review

HP Digital Entertainment Center z545 - DT - 1 x P4 530 / 3 GHz - RAM 512 MB - HDD 1 x 200 GB , Personal Media Drive 1 x 160 GB - DVDRW (+R DL) - Radeon X300 SE - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Win XP MCE 2005 - Monitor : none
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I write this review with a heavy heart, because I have to admit, when it was working, I was in love with the z545. It was, hands down, the coolest piece of technology I had ever purchased. The dual DVR was phenomenal, easy to use, and produced a MUCH better picture through DVI video outputs than my Tivo Series 2 (which still can support only the awful composite video standard). Adding and viewing photos and videos was simple, DVD picture was fantastic, HP Tunes worked great.
All in all, I waas ecstatic over the z545 ... until the problems began. The first was that, when using the z545 in "computer mode" (e.g., surfing the internet, etc. through XP), the screen image was cropped off on all four sides so that the start bar, task bar, icons, etc. were all offscreen. I read all the FAQs, guides, and spent hours with HP technical support (who, to their credit, genuinely tried hard to fix the problem). Nothing worked, and ultimately the only solution HP could come up with was either to use an S-video cable in place of DVI (which would ruin the picture quality for TV and all the other non-PC options) or to turn down the resolution on my TV (a similar non-solution). I have a widescreen, 16X9 big screen rear projection HDTV, and I cannot believe that HP did not provide for its "media center" that is supposed to replace all your home theatre pieces to work with such a TV -- who do they think is buying the z545 if not a technophile home theatre buff?? -- but, alas, they could not find a solution.
Nonetheless, I might have been able to live with less with less than optimal PC performance from the z545 because all of the media center features were, in a word, phenomenal. However, even in Media Center mode, I started encountering too many glitches, e.g., the machine would freeze coming out of sleep mode, it would lock up when changing channels, and it would sometimes "change" the channel only to replace it with a blank screen while channel surfing.
These glitches were just too many and too frequent to let me keep a toy that cost me $1800. Such a shame, because when working the z545 was a dream. Five stars when it worked, but in the end just too glitchy to keep. I returned it after a week and a half and almost daily troubleshooting. In a few generations it will be a must-have product, but right now, in my experience, the reliability and stability just is not there.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Digital Entertainment Center z545 - DT - 1 x P4 530 / 3 GHz - RAM 512 MB - HDD 1 x 200 GB , Personal Media Drive 1 x 160 GB - DVDRW (+R DL) - Radeon X300 SE - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Win XP MCE 2005 - Monitor : none

Bring home the home entertainment with HP's new Digital Entertainment Center! This sleek, black, brushed-aluminum device houses control of your TV, music, movies, and photos under one "roof", with a design that blends with your home theater equipment. You get loads of storage space plus dual TV tuners!

Buy Now

Click here for more information about HP Digital Entertainment Center z545 - DT - 1 x P4 530 / 3 GHz - RAM 512 MB - HDD 1 x 200 GB , Personal Media Drive 1 x 160 GB - DVDRW (+R DL) - Radeon X300 SE - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Win XP MCE 2005 - Monitor : none