On the Bench

First, the Color Temperature, uncalibrated. It's too high.

And, RGB, uncalibrated. Too much blue, not enough red.

The gamma curve, uncalibrated.

After calibration, the Color Temperature and RGB are much better, but the gamma was actually a bit worse. I tried adjusting the gamma in the projector menu, but it made the RGB response worse, so I decided to maximize the RGB and let the gamma fall where it may.

The CIE chart shows that there is enough red, but it is slightly orange, there is more than enough green, but it is slightly yellow, and there is not enough blue. This is typical of LCD projectors (and LCD flat panel HDTVs as well).

Conclusions

At $1,699 street price - which includes a screen, ceiling mount, and cable - and if you are on a budget but want a very nice projector, here is one to consider. It looks fine out of the box, but I think all consumers should get some sort of calibration kit - such as from Datacolor or GretagMacbeth - to get the best possible performance. You can use these systems to calibrate flat panel monitors, rear projection TVs, and by putting the sensor on a tripod, you can calibrate your projector too. Bite the bullet and get one.

Tags: 1080i | 1080p | 720p | HDMI | LCD | Projectors

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