2012-02-12

useful links

Get an idea about what kind of quality 3D Blurays are out
Daily Stereoscopic 3D Media News
3D Radar
3d vision blog
stereoscopy.com
free 3D clips

Input Lag: A Scientific Experiment (Epson 8350, 3010, 5010 & more)
Epson 3010, TW5900 and TW6000 sadly have a constant 100ms lag


AVForums Epson TW5900 review
AVForums Epson TW6000 (EH-TW6000W) 3 Chip LCD 3D 1080p Projector Review
Trusted Reviews reviewed the Epson EH-TW9000W
ProjectorCentral has a full review of the Epson Home Cinema 5010
ProjectorReviews has a full review of the Epson Home Cinema 5010
Amazon,com Customer Reviews Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010
Amazon,com Customer Reviews Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010
ProjectorReviews has a full review of the Epson Home Cinema 3010
ProjectorCentral has a full review of the Epson Home Cinema 3010
The Canadian Reviewer looked at a Frankenstein Epson Home Cinema 3010 with only one HDMI and a total different backside - Eh.

2012-01-27

LG 47LK950 review

The LG 47LK950 FullHD 3D TV for 649 Euro is a terrific bargain.

this picture from our island looks awesome in 2D to 3D conversion




Where most HD TVs restrict the D-Sub VGA port just to 1280 max the LG accepts and shows full HD 1920x1080.
This 3D LCD TV just keeps blowing my mind with its features.
I just connected over the VGA PC port in full HD and activated 2D to 3D conversion.
Depending of the kind of material you throw at it It works between no 3D to an stunning 3D effect and everything in between.
A lot of my pictures with a person or object in the foreground work quite well, also my own home videos show noticeable depth and GTA San Andreas never looked better.
Connecting a cable from the router and I can look at all the goodies the internet has to offer and I look forward checking out You Tube and its 3D material.
Connecting the satellite dish directly with the LG 47LK950S worked also quite well.

Tips and Tricks
Connecting over VGA showed the whole desktop but over HDMI there was always overscan and lost borders. It took me a while to find that there is no overscan adjustment, but if you go into the aspect ratio, set it from 16:9 to Just Scan.

from a visitor:
The input lag is around 100 milliseconds by default on HDMI, which is rather bad. Enabling the game mode in picture settings will change nothing on this aspect.
However, labelling the HDMI input as PC (highlight the input where the console is connected and press the blue button, then select PC in the list) will reduce the input lag to a very good 30 ms (did my tests with a PC, at 60 Hz). It will also:
- Remove the edge enhancement (giving a render close to a PC monitor),
- Always fill the screen with the scanned data (no more overscan),
- Disable some options in the picture settings.
With this setting, this monitor is clearly one of the best on the market.
Other than that, it is an excellent TV, especially for the price.

I just checked it, pressing INPUT on the top row of the remote and the it was the green button to label the HDMI 1 to PC. It gets a little laptop instead of the HDMI port as an icon and there is no overscan anymore. Thanks for that tip, keep em cumming.

download the manual English or Spanish

2012-01-22

DIY LG clip on 3D glasses

3D clip on - the next best thing after glasses-free 3D

Since I read about LG clip on 3D glasses I wanted a couple.
Now living on a small Coconut Island with just Media Markt and Saturn around you might think they would have made it here so far but nah - nada.

While the LG glasses are not too uncomfortable to wear in front of normal glasses it is still nothing I enjoy.
So I was hunting for some clip on sun glasses what might not have been fasten with rivetts as usual.
Well today I got lucky at one of our Chinese stores and they were dirt chat for 2.50 Euro a pair.

So in case you want some and can´t find the LG clip on 3D glasses anywhere, her is how you can Do It Yourself.

LG 3D glasses and my new clip on sun glasses
After using my DIY clip ons for a nice 3D movie here is my take on:
If you need prescription glasses to see, this is the next best thing to a glass free 3D experience. You don´t see the clip on while watching 3D, you don´t feel the clip on and when you want a short brake in watching they are flipped up without getting in your hair or getting smudged. The clip on is absolutely a must have!

2012-01-12

3D you have to see

How to watch 3D if it is your first time,
you want to convince your significant other or maybe you are no spring chicken any more... 
Here is how it worked for us:
Start with a slow paced easy to watch movie like Disney´s A Christmas Carol 3D from 2009. Don´t get fooled by the title, it is a masterpiece, will blow your mind and hook you to 3D.
If you watch with active shutter glasses, you might make a pause after, or watch it in segments of no more than 30 min to avoid feeling dizzy.
If you have passive glasses it still is a good idea not to overdo it the first few times to give your brain a chance to adapt to what you see.
Also get a bit closet to your tv, LG recommends around 6 feet for the best effect. Our 47" is on a little table with rollers and gets moved closer for 3D watching.


If you ever wondered if 3D is worth all the trouble,
you only have to watch:
Disney´s A Christmas Carol 3D from 2009 - for me it is Avatar in animation.
This masterpiece makes nearly everything regarding 3D right and then some.
Despicable Me - just plain fun with good 3D
Toy Story 3 - well done story and 3D
Cars 2 - easy to watch and good 3D
Bolt - very well done and beautiful 3D

Studio 3D MOVIE Reviews
3D Radar The top 10 3D movies you must own
About.com Best 3D Blu-ray Disc Movies


Brain melting bad
3D movies to avoid
Monster house
Cats And Dogs The Revenge Of Kitty Galore
Yogi Bear
Open Season - has it´s moments


2012-01-05

Home Theater 3D - personal log

I found this in a German forum (Google translation for now)
Activate the convergence menu.
Beamer on.
Press the Menu button and hold down 8 sec
2x briefly press the ESC key
It is now a window appears with information about the projector. Use the arrow keys left or right can be shown more information window.

Again 8sec. Long press the Menu button (window disappears)
2x again briefly press the ESC key.
It now appears a window on the left side of the 6 lines with the words "DIP SW-1" to "DIP SW 6" are.
In this window, use the down arrow button on the "DIP SW 6" and press Enter to go
In the right pane 8 lines with the labels are "Bit 0" to "Bit 7" followed by two fields with "0" and "1" and before the numbers of white or green rectangle (ie activated green)

Now the right side of the window using the "down arrow" key to "Bit 5" go and put this with the help of the "right arrow" key from 0 to 1.
Now press Enter and then exit the menu with ESC 2x.
Now the projector off and then back on

Now finds itself in the main menu under "Advanced", an additional sub-item named "LCD alignment" ...
Here you can either make appropriate adjustments. You can also activate the changes and deactivate or delete on reset.
The LCD settings menu now appears always on the menu, while not following the above procedure again represents the bit 5 to 0.

2012-01-03

3D glasses M-3D1 standard

Panasonic VIERA TY-EW3D3 Active Shutter 3D $69 
It took until early 2011 when finally there was the M-3D1 standard established for 3D shutter glasses.
If you wanted to share your 3D screen with friends, and they came with their own glasses, there was a slim chance they could use it since most were not compatible to each other.
This is one of the things needed to be done so that 3D can really go mainstream - to have an affordable full HD projector what will work in the living room is another one. If now the camera manufactures do the same and we get some 3D channels and some good movies 3D could be here to stay this time.

Epson and the EH-TW5900/6000 - Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010 are the first low price full HD 3D projectors what have this standard implemented. Sadly, the Epson glasses have just batteries what need to be replaced when empty.

USER INPUT
falafala: I found Optoma-DLP-link glasses are much darker than the Epson glasses...which contributes to lowered lumens but of course you get deep blacks. Epson glasses are significantly lighter in shade and the image brightness in 3D is as good as 2D because of this.

Jason: I can confirm that the following glasses do not work with the 3010...
 Nvidia 3D Vision - Samsung 1st gen IR -  Xpand 103

Confirmed working
Xpand X104
Toshiba FPTAG02G 3D Active Shutter with only happy reviews regarding the Epson compatibility

2011-10-29

comparing with other cheap full HD 3D projectors

Epson 3010 vs Optoma HD33 - A user's perspective


I tell you want I want , what I really really want

D/W=throw ratio
  • a big picture from a short distance (throw ratio around 1.35 = 120" from 3.6 meter - 11' 10")
  • 3D what works with nearly everything, from games to media centers
  • a crisp 1080p
  • >= real 1500 lumen for use in ambient living room light 
  • not much over 1500 Euro $ (glasses not included) 
  • next to no crosstalk / ghosting
  • not too dark in 3D mode
  • M-3DI Standard for the glasses





Compared to the only contender so far the Optoma HD33 DLP
what does not confirm with the new 3D glasses standard but goes for RF instead IR, also contrair to the manufacturer claim of 1800 lumens measures only 1049 lumens in 2D and the 1.2 x zoom lens with a throw ratio of 1.5-1.8  what produces a maximum of 109" at 3.6 meter while with the 1.6 x zoom lens from the Epson TW6000/3010 and the throw ratio from 1.32 to 2.15 I get the goal of 120" at 3.6 meter without resorting to use a mirror as shown in the image below with a Sony VPL-HS10.

So while the Optoma HD33 might be a nice projector, sadly for my criteria it fails already in 3 major points.

with projecting into a good mirror you can gain the extra distance to archive the size you want


In case you are wondering if any mirror will do, the answer is a big NO!
I got a cheap 20 Euro supermarket mirror and it had too much distortions.
An easy way to check is walk in front of the mirror and move slowly from side to side, up and down to check the whole surface. If  at any point you see that the reflection is not perfect, do not use. The better mirrors have mostly an extra angle on the outside like a frame.

cheap 20 Euro supermarket mirror with too much distortions in the surface

2011-10-28

Comparing EH-TW3200 with the EH-TW5900 / 6000

work in progress
What are the main differences between the Epson EH-TW3200 (Home Cinema 8350) and the
EH-TW5900/6000  (Home Cinema 3010)

Here is a good comparison between the 2 projectors.
heimkinoraum.de tells us that the fan is less noisy but the iris more than from the 3200, also that as compatible marked glasses do not function correctly.

2011-09-16

Epson EH-TW6000 vs EH-TW9000

 
What do you get for the double amount of money?


When we take a closer look at the EH-TW6000 / Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010  and compare everything we know so far with the EH-TW9000 / Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010 it looks like this: