A bit of self-gratuitous gloating here

My Christmas present to myself has just arrived and I've picked it up.

Can't wait to have a good tweak and drool in front of the pictures.

Only problem is I don't have any 1080P source material at home :( Will go to my old man's this evening and have a play with his hew SkyHD install

What a "gem"

Just connect it to your pc, set the resolution to 1920x1080@60hz and download some HD clips of the web.

I thought sky was 1080i and not 1080p.

What a "gem"

Indeed. It's also very interesting reading the comparisons between the pearl and the double-the-cost ruby. Whilst the ruby may give a slightly colder white picture thanks to the xenon lamp, the auro iris on the pearl is a lot more advanced and so in real terms, the difference between them probably doesn't equate to half / double the cost.

Just connect it to your pc, set the resolution to 1920x1080@60hz and download some HD clips of the web.

I thought sky was 1080i and not 1080p.

You're right Manny, sky is 1080i. I have a few 1080P WM9 clips downloaded off the web - will try them when I get home this evening. It's just my experience with WM9HD is not that good - the compression does show itself. Yet to try with Sky of course.

It's also soooo quiet, very nice bit of kit

very nice Mate! You deserve it!

Cheers:thumbup:

Bas

Oh and BTW, I hear that Xav has a new pick-up line:

"Wanna come back to my place, and try out my High-Density?":rofl:

When I get my new house I'm after something like that is there a buyers guide etc to see which one suits my needs best and where's the best place to buy

When I get my new house I'm after something like that is there a buyers guide etc to see which one suits my needs best and where's the best place to buy

When you get to that kind of level, there's no real black and white answer for what's best. It depends on how you plan to use it, what kind of picture you like, etc.

As for where to buy from, only the proper dealers / outlets will have the high-end stuff. IMHO, if you're going to spend

That looks cool. forgive my ignorance -- but what is the main difference between your projector and say the ones that are knocking around for £1,500 -- is it really worth the extra cash ??

What sort of lifespan do projectors have these days ?

That looks cool. forgive my ignorance -- but what is the main difference between your projector and say the ones that are knocking around for

There are three main type of projector technologies around at the moment.

LCD, DLP and SXRD/others. LCD and DLP have been around for some time, whereas SXRD is more recent development.

LCD is like your flatscreen computer monitor. Works very well, but once "magnified" produces what's called a screendoor effect or chicken wire. Basincally, the individual LCD pixels stick out so from close up, you can see an array of coloured dots. Of course, you can also have "blown pixels" which can be a real pain and you can't fix that (unless you change the LCD panel).

DLP is completely different. I'm not too sure exactly how it works, but one big potential downside is what's called rainbow effect. DLPs use a colour wheel which spins around and that's what produces the colour picture. Some people notice a kind of flashing light (that's the rainbow effect) and it can be very distracting. The higher up the DLP range you go, the faster the colour wheels turn so RBE reduces / dissappears.

SXRD is a Sony development and the PJ I have is SXRD (stands for silicon xtal reflective display). There's no colour wheel like DLP and there's no screendoor with LCD.

There are other nuances in the technologies too which I haven't gone into, namely because I don't fully understand them

Then you have actual screen resolution. Most decent projectors today are 1280x720 in resolution. Also, they should have an HDMI input to be labelled "HD ready".

Lifespan-wise, the only part that wears out is the bulb. Bulbs are expensive, cost between probably

The thing with RBE is that not everyone is susceptible to it. A DLP PJ may present it, but that doesn't mean that you'll notice it. I've heard you don't always instinctively notice it. Some people have headaches after watching a couple of hours on DLP, but don't know why, others never will But that's why you really need to have a demo to see if it bothers you.

I didn't go down the DLP route because even if it didn't bother me, I wouldn't know if it bothered friends who come round for a film night. Also, the main reason I bought the pearl is because I could get one "cheap"

When you get round to investing in a projector and you want to seriously use it for home cinema, I would spend a few days researching and having demos. I'd never buy a PJ from a supermarket unless I knew exactly what picture it would produce

Different projectors produce different kind of pictures, so a demo is essential. Would you buy a car without a testdrive?

Also.. if your after future-proof HD setup.. its silly to go for anything less than true 1080p (1920x1080) - alas at the moment proper projectors/lcd tellys that support this cost a small fortune! altho im pretty sure prices will drop dramatically over 2007 as HD gets established better with Sky and ntl

Also.. if your after future-proof HD setup.. its silly to go for anything less than true 1080p (1920x1080) - alas at the moment proper projectors/lcd tellys that support this cost a small fortune! altho im pretty sure prices will drop dramatically over 2007 as HD gets established better with Sky and ntl

also if you wanna play bluray you'll need a HDMI interface that uses the HDCP protocol.

Or DVI with HDCP