First Experience with Projectors (Vivibright, Egate, Epson)

Rega Amplifiers
tuff said:
A shippy friend of mine had come last month with his newly acquired led projector for 300 USD (full HD). the luminance was almost half of the DLP projector.
Click to expand...
A full HD projector for 300USD? Can you find out the make and model. I'm looking for something cheap to project on the bedroom ceiling.
 
tuff said:
It's a mini Sony projector. sony mp-cl1.
Click to expand...

I like these small projectors..It will turn any small room to a large screen experience..

There are some more Chinese models exactly like a small cube, and these are just beautiful..

tuff said:
A shippy friend of mine had come last month with his newly acquired led projector for 300 USD (full HD). the luminance was almost half of the DLP projector. Friend ended up with instant regret. Just sharing my experience.
Click to expand...

The Sony Pico projector has an avg of 32 lumens while the Benq DLP was 3,200 lumens.. No wonder why he was disappointed..
 
@elangoas, do post comparison pics with Egate and whatever new projector you end up upgrading to by using the same video clips. It will help many people. Did you get Xgimi or decide which one you are going for?

@shibashis, I hope you can post the Epson U32 pics soon.
 
NiteRider said:
@elangoas, do post comparison pics with Egate and whatever new projector you end up upgrading to by using the same video clips. It will help many people. Did you get Xgimi or decide which one you are going for?
Click to expand...

Sure.. Will update here..Not yet..Should receive the Xgimi H1 hopefully by month end..
 
rajesh srinivas said:
Where did you place your order for xgimi H1,for what price,great to know
you will be receiving soon,keep updating...

thanks
rajesh
Click to expand...

My friend in US, has placed order thru amazon.com with Xgimi mounting hardware too..A total of $900..

Should receive it by month end..Sure.. will share here..
 
elangoas said:
My friend in US, has placed order thru amazon.com with Xgimi mounting hardware too..A total of $900..

Should receive it by month end..Sure.. will share here..
Click to expand...

How much did you get it for elango?
So you had to upgrade from Egate, this is the point I tried to make that you can start with the cheaper Chinese alternatives but eventually you have to upgrade.
If someone has the budget then they should avoid this first expenditure and get the best their budget can afford.
 
Totally agree with you @Shibashis. But what if we bought a 75K projector and didn't like the big picture viewing for a longer period, say, get a headache or strain on eyes. In that case, getting a cheap Chinese will help decide if the big viewing suits us.
 
shibashis said:
How much did you get it for elango?
Click to expand...

$850 for the Xgimi H1 & $ 50 for the Xgimi mount.. Mount looks very tidy for wall mounting than the usual claw type..

So you had to upgrade from Egate, this is the point I tried to make that you can start with the cheaper Chinese alternatives but eventually you have to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I understand what you saying..

Am upgrading since i have the opportunity to get it thru my friend from US, so can skip duties, since it is part of his baggage.. If i didn't have the oppty, would have continued with Egate P31 for sometime and then looked at options..Yes, eventually am upgrading..

If someone has the budget then they should avoid this first expenditure and get the best their budget can afford.
Click to expand...

Until & unless you have abt 50 ~ 60K for PJ + screen, Egate P513 + screen for less than 20K, can get you a good large screen experience with some limitations..
 
Hi Guys, I am pretty new here. I have bought a Vivibright GP100 last month after watching quite a few reviews over the Internet and have it setup on a 100" Map type screen. My observations on the same are as following:

1. Fan is loud and you cannot ignore it specially in winters as you will eventually be using it with your celling fan turned off.

2. It produces quite a bit of heat as pointed out earlier.

3. Its pretty good for Movies but average for any kind of text. Meaning you will not have an great experience browsing the web. You can choose between keeping the centre sharp and focused or the corners you can't get both the same.

4. Since there are fans(2 of them) it is bound to collect a lot of dust. My projector already has a line of dust in the corner of the screen and I will have to open it up and blow dry it for that to disappear.

My next upgrade would a DLP projector. Deciding between a 720p or a 1080p as my screen size would not be more then a 7x5 feet screen size(About 100") with a viewing distance of 10-12 feet. I am choosing between a Wowoto H8($ 325 on Gearbest), XGIMI CC Aurora($399 on Indegogo) and XGIMI H1S($900 on Amazon US but a Chinease version as no international version is out yet).

The XGIMI ones are one stop solutions meaning you don't need to hookup a external speaker or worry about wires. The CC Aurora is a pretty neat device but its 720p.

The problems with projectors is that you can't really have a good experience without the lights off. Meaning its not ideal for daily usage. Also if you are coming from a 40" LED to a projector until and unless you invest in something really good(50K plus) you will not find the picture quality great. 720p on a 40" TV is much much sharper then 1080p on a projector with 100" screen size. But for under 15K a projector is a an awesome HT setup(barring the sound) for those late night movies.
 
Last edited:
Switch said:
I have bought a Vivibright GP100 last month
Click to expand...

Your experience with Vivibright seems to be similar to mine as noted in the first post in this thread.

I had tried GP90 and was wondering if the focus issue was solved in GP100 but apparently it is not. If you don't mind sharing, where you did get GP100 in India and for how much?
 
Switch said:
Hi Guys, I am pretty new here. I have bought a Vivibright GP100 last month after watching quite a few reviews over the Internet and have it setup on a 100" Map type screen. My observations on the same are as following:

1. Fan is loud and you cannot ignore it specially in winters as you will eventually be using it with your celling fan turned off.
Click to expand...

I have seen videos, where they have replaced the fan inside the projector with a good quality one..I think they are 80mm fans, the same that is used on PC case.. this should reduce the noise considerably..

The problems with projectors is that you can't really have a good experience without the lights off. Meaning its not ideal for daily usage.
Click to expand...

Few members have shared abt Ambient Light Rejecting screen, which should help for day time viewing.. But they are even expensive than a PJ..
 
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elangoas said:
Until & unless you have abt 50 ~ 60K for PJ + screen, Egate P513 + screen for less than 20K, can get you a good large screen experience with some limitations..
Click to expand...

shibashis said:
If someone has the budget then they should avoid this first expenditure and get the best their budget can afford.
Click to expand...

Agreed with both.

In my opinion:

i) If you have the budget, then go for as high as you can jump. Don't go for the low-budget projectors if you have high expectations. There is no comparison between a cheap projector and a professional one. But don't lose your priorities and over-stretch.

ii) If you don't have the budget, then something is better than nothing and both Vivibright/Egate at 720p are watchable and under $300 or Rs.20,000. If you have the room for it, then go for over 80-100 inch screen width. The big size will help you ignore the negatives. Anything smaller may just not be worth the trouble. I will not talk about lower than Rs.10,000 budget with lower than 720p resolution but there are many happy users of such projectors too.

But do remember that resolution is not everything. Other points to consider are brightness (measured in lumens; it is easy to lie about it on paper but your eyes will know and reviews will help), contrast, clarity, focus/sharpness, throw ratio (how far you have to keep the projector to get a big size), keystone correction (digital ability to keep the projector off center; not in any cheaper models), lens shift (physical ability to do the same without any loss in picture quality; only in higher end models), projector type (1-panel or 3-panel LCD, 1-chip DLP), heat generated, lamp type, fan noise. So if you have a higher budget, then you also gain much more by spending more.

iii) Stay away from projectors if you cannot do the basic setup of placing or mounting the projector at a proper place, setting up a screen or a light colored wall of enough big size and sitting at a comfortable distance and height. Don't get attracted by the low cost of entry alone. Other setup (such as a grey screen) will also help improve the experience as posted in my first post. Do not get into projectors if you are not comfortable with watching in the dark as any light in the room will lower the picture quality. Avoid them if you are thinking that they will be better for your eyes than a TV.
 
NiteRider said:
Sharing my first experience with projectors:

I have tried Vivibright GP90 (Rs.16-17,000), Egate P513 (Rs.17-18,000) and Epson EB-X31 (Rs.34-36000).

Having tried Epson, I could not go back to the cheaper brands. The colours are fantastic, like watching an LCD TV. And having seen a large size on the wall from 80in to 100in diagonal, I do not like watching movies on my 42 inch Plasma.

However, Epson X31 has other issues.

(1) First, the resolution is too low at XGA (1024x768). The problem is not just about losing details in an HD picture but you can see the big pixels on the wall/screen which takes you out of the viewing experience. This is called the "screen-door effect" (SDE).

If going for this, I recommend at least going one model higher to Epson W04 which has a higher HD resolution of WXGA (1280x800) which will fall around Rs.42-45,000. The next model is U32 which is full HD WUXGA (1920x1200) for around Rs.52-55,000. However, the throw ratio is the worst in this model which means you need to keep the projector quite far to get the same screen size.

(2) Second, all "EB" models are business class products meant for data or presentations (or home entertainment vs home theater) which means they are meant to be watched in a bright room while accepting a washed out picture as something is better than nothing. But if watching with lights out, the brightness is too high which hurts the eyes. That doesn't work well for home theater users. You can use tactics like placing an "ND filter" lens made for cameras to reduce the light coming out or you can use a grey screen. Doing this felt like doing hacking and not expected after spending so much.

The next higher model is more suited to watching movies, which is EH-TW5300 but the cost is quite high at Rs.70-74,000. It also suffers from weaker blacks (as per reviews, I haven't tested it) which means a proper setup is required. But the throw ratio is excellent and the brightness isn't too high to blind you. You should only go for this if you have the budget for it. Don't over-stretch to get it.

Some other points from my experience:

Vivibright vs Egate: The corners in the Vivibright did not have focus. Egate seemed to have better focus in the center and the corners.

EGate vs Epson: LED projectors seem to throw out less heat. Having an Epson in the room meant that you had a small heater turned on which means in the hot summers you will need to keep the AC on and you will not be able sit too close to it. However, with regard to colours, Epson is more natural while Egate will feel like watching in black & white (used a light-yellow wall, may be better on a white screen, but not tested). But Egate had better blacks than Epson, maybe due to the lower brightness. That also meant easier on the eyes than Epson which is a light canon (but still not good enough even with one tube light on as any light in the room affects the picture quality). Epson has digital keystone which means you can place the projector off-center with some loss in picture quality which I didn't notice except on text. There is no "lens shift" feature in any of the models I have named here. The "throw ratio" of all Epson models are better than EGate (distance/1.55 = screen width) which means you get a bigger screen size for the same distance.

DLP vs LCD: I did not try any DLP projector as I was worried about the rainbow effect as I do get headaches even on watching TV for too long. The black levels are considered to be better here. But the bulb replacement costs are much higher.

Placement: Make sure that your eye level is at 30% to 50% of the projected screen from the bottom. That is, when you are seated, the screen shouldn't be too high up. Otherwise it becomes too uncomfortable to watch.

Screen size: Don't go for a projector unless you can go for at least 80 inch screen size which means a 70in width. For an immersive experience, I like the ratio of 1.35 the best (most people like it from 1.25 to 1.50). For example, if sitting at 120 inches away from screen, I would like a screen width of 120/1.35 = 89 inches (x 9/16 = 50 inch height). For a screen size of 89x50, the diagonal screen size will be 102 inches (formula: Pythagoras: a^2 + b^2 = c^2 where c is the diagonal size).

If going for Epson: Use Epson's calculators on UK/AU sites to get the proper estimates of screen size vs distance before buying any model. Also, buy from the local dealer for a better price than Amazon if you do not want the return option.

Darkness: For home theater use, you need to have darkness to enjoy the picture. However, I realized that my eyes start feeling tired too quickly due to watching flashing lights in a completely or heavily darkened room. The scientific reason for this is that the pupils have to keep contracting and expanding depending on the light levels in the room and the more it has to do that, the quicker the eyes get tired. Since I have to work for hours on a computer, I did not want to risk damaging my eyes. Not only that, I did not find it comfortable to watch and could notice that I am watching something instead of being lost in the movie. So I am out of projectors at this point but I do miss the immersive experience.

Future/Proper Setup: I probably shouldn't have gone casually into projectors with less time and budget as they are meant to be taken seriously if you are an AV enthusiast. If I go for it again, I will need to spend more time on setting up bias/ambient lighting by setting up a screen and placing lights behind it and some dim lights in more places. I will also need a grey screen, darker walls and a darker ceiling so that light does not reflect back on to the picture making it wash out by its own light. I will also need to do wall/ceiling mounting of the projector/screen to get perfect centering which means making it a fixed setup and doing a lot of hard work for it. That required a dedicated room which I didn't have and a lot of time and budget which also I didn't have at this time. I will probably upgrade to a 55-65 inch OLED TV first as it is easier for my eyes with all lights on.

Hope this helps someone. If anyone has found an easier solution or did their own testing, please share your own experiences on this forum. I found this forum quite useful when I was doing my setup.
Click to expand...
which is better amoung gp 90 100 and egate p531?
 
NiteRider said:
Sharing my first experience with projectors:

I have tried Vivibright GP90 (Rs.16-17,000), Egate P513 (Rs.17-18,000) and Epson EB-X31 (Rs.34-36000).

Having tried Epson, I could not go back to the cheaper brands. The colours are fantastic, like watching an LCD TV. And having seen a large size on the wall from 80in to 100in diagonal, I do not like watching movies on my 42 inch Plasma.

However, Epson X31 has other issues.

(1) First, the resolution is too low at XGA (1024x768). The problem is not just about losing details in an HD picture but you can see the big pixels on the wall/screen which takes you out of the viewing experience. This is called the "screen-door effect" (SDE).

If going for this, I recommend at least going one model higher to Epson W04 which has a higher HD resolution of WXGA (1280x800) which will fall around Rs.42-45,000. The next model is U32 which is full HD WUXGA (1920x1200) for around Rs.52-55,000. However, the throw ratio is the worst in this model which means you need to keep the projector quite far to get the same screen size.

(2) Second, all "EB" models are business class products meant for data or presentations (or home entertainment vs home theater) which means they are meant to be watched in a bright room while accepting a washed out picture as something is better than nothing. But if watching with lights out, the brightness is too high which hurts the eyes. That doesn't work well for home theater users. You can use tactics like placing an "ND filter" lens made for cameras to reduce the light coming out or you can use a grey screen. Doing this felt like doing hacking and not expected after spending so much.

The next higher model is more suited to watching movies, which is EH-TW5300 but the cost is quite high at Rs.70-74,000. It also suffers from weaker blacks (as per reviews, I haven't tested it) which means a proper setup is required. But the throw ratio is excellent and the brightness isn't too high to blind you. You should only go for this if you have the budget for it. Don't over-stretch to get it.

Some other points from my experience:

Vivibright vs Egate: The corners in the Vivibright did not have focus. Egate seemed to have better focus in the center and the corners.

EGate vs Epson: LED projectors seem to throw out less heat. Having an Epson in the room meant that you had a small heater turned on which means in the hot summers you will need to keep the AC on and you will not be able sit too close to it. However, with regard to colours, Epson is more natural while Egate will feel like watching in black & white (used a light-yellow wall, may be better on a white screen, but not tested). But Egate had better blacks than Epson, maybe due to the lower brightness. That also meant easier on the eyes than Epson which is a light canon (but still not good enough even with one tube light on as any light in the room affects the picture quality). Epson has digital keystone which means you can place the projector off-center with some loss in picture quality which I didn't notice except on text. There is no "lens shift" feature in any of the models I have named here. The "throw ratio" of all Epson models are better than EGate (distance/1.55 = screen width) which means you get a bigger screen size for the same distance.

DLP vs LCD: I did not try any DLP projector as I was worried about the rainbow effect as I do get headaches even on watching TV for too long. The black levels are considered to be better here. But the bulb replacement costs are much higher.

Placement: Make sure that your eye level is at 30% to 50% of the projected screen from the bottom. That is, when you are seated, the screen shouldn't be too high up. Otherwise it becomes too uncomfortable to watch.

Screen size: Don't go for a projector unless you can go for at least 80 inch screen size which means a 70in width. For an immersive experience, I like the ratio of 1.35 the best (most people like it from 1.25 to 1.50). For example, if sitting at 120 inches away from screen, I would like a screen width of 120/1.35 = 89 inches (x 9/16 = 50 inch height). For a screen size of 89x50, the diagonal screen size will be 102 inches (formula: Pythagoras: a^2 + b^2 = c^2 where c is the diagonal size).

If going for Epson: Use Epson's calculators on UK/AU sites to get the proper estimates of screen size vs distance before buying any model. Also, buy from the local dealer for a better price than Amazon if you do not want the return option.

Darkness: For home theater use, you need to have darkness to enjoy the picture. However, I realized that my eyes start feeling tired too quickly due to watching flashing lights in a completely or heavily darkened room. The scientific reason for this is that the pupils have to keep contracting and expanding depending on the light levels in the room and the more it has to do that, the quicker the eyes get tired. Since I have to work for hours on a computer, I did not want to risk damaging my eyes. Not only that, I did not find it comfortable to watch and could notice that I am watching something instead of being lost in the movie. So I am out of projectors at this point but I do miss the immersive experience.

Future/Proper Setup: I probably shouldn't have gone casually into projectors with less time and budget as they are meant to be taken seriously if you are an AV enthusiast. If I go for it again, I will need to spend more time on setting up bias/ambient lighting by setting up a screen and placing lights behind it and some dim lights in more places. I will also need a grey screen, darker walls and a darker ceiling so that light does not reflect back on to the picture making it wash out by its own light. I will also need to do wall/ceiling mounting of the projector/screen to get perfect centering which means making it a fixed setup and doing a lot of hard work for it. That required a dedicated room which I didn't have and a lot of time and budget which also I didn't have at this time. I will probably upgrade to a 55-65 inch OLED TV first as it is easier for my eyes with all lights on.

Hope this helps someone. If anyone has found an easier solution or did their own testing, please share your own experiences on this forum. I found this forum quite useful when I was doing my setup.
Click to expand...
Nice
 
Thanks.
is there big difference compare to reputed brand like benq epson in visual quality as egate has more resolution but less contrast ratio?
which is more matter contrast or resolution?
for home theater experience one has to buy native 1080p projector or wxga is good enough?
 
Last edited:
kannan007 said:
Thanks.
is there big difference compare to reputed brand like benq epson in visual quality as egate has more resolution but less contrast ratio?
which is more matter contrast or resolution?
for home theater experience one has to buy native 1080p projector or wxga is good enough?
Click to expand...

The figures on paper are not comparable between them. Use those figures only to compare the different models of the same brand.

For resolution, I would prefer going for at least 720p and go to 1080p if possible.

However, if the only comparison is between a 720p Egate/Vivibright etc and a non-HD 1024x768 Epson/Benq etc, then the non-HD will be much better (in my opinion and experience).

A further feature advantage that I saw in all the entry-level models of Epson was the ability to do use Digital Keystone (not Optical Lens Shift) while Egate does not have that. Having this feature means you don't have to place the projector in a perfect straight location. You can Google it for more details of the benefits and also some quality loss due to the digital shift. There won't be too much of a quality loss for small adjustments.

I hope it helps.
 
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