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[twistedsymphony]

My new Optoma HD73 projector came in last night


The box had a worrying dent in it but everything inside was a-ok


Beautiful gloss white casing. it's got the texture of a mac with the shapeliness of a 360.  The chrome accents really set it off too.


connectors from left to right: 12V trigger (to automatically raise/lower a screen), USB-B (for firmware updates), RS-232 (so I can use a PC like a remote control), S-Video, Composite, component, DVI-I (w/HDCP), HDMI (w/HDCP)

and on the lower left bottom it's got a Kensington lock port and of course power on the lower right

You might notice on the front it denotes the Faroudja DCDi processor. That's the scalerchip inside. Part of why I choose this projector over other models was because of this processor, it's hands down the industry leader in scaling 480i to HD resolutions. Playing a lot of classics on Saturn, PS1, PS2, Xbox and even Wii this will ensure that the picture scales as nicely as possible. There are other processors that are better at scaling 1080i/p down to 720p, but I figured that most modern HD devices can be set to output natively at those resolutions (the 360 and PS3 both can, as can nearly all Bluray/HD-DVD players). I plan on feeding it mostly 720p which will remain unscaled.

Unfortunately for me I don't have any cables to hook this thing up. My last projector had a VGA port that doubled as component so my ceiling is wired for VGA, I could hook up vga through the DVI port but I don't have an adapter... I have Composite and S-Video cables run that I could use but those are for classic consoles and it would sacrilege to do the premiere run of this thing in SD. My Monoprice.com order comes in Thursday with a 50ft HDMI cable, 50FT component Cable and a VGA to DVI-I adapter. Also coming in Thursday is my OPPO upscaling DVD Player (gotta use the HDMI for something   )

For those of you interested in the specs:
MSRP (USD): $2000 (I paid $1800 shipped with a free extra bulb and free OPPO DVD player)
Brightness (Lumens): 1100 ANSI
Contrast (Full On/Off): 4500:1
Contrast (Image A/I): 6500:1
Audible Noise:    27.0 dB
Weight: 7.0 lbs.
Size (inches) (HxWxD) : 3.7 x 13.6 x 9.7
Focus: Manual
Zoom: Manual, 1.20:1
Throw Dist (feet): 8.2 - 19.7 (I'm placing mine at about 12.5ft for my screen size)
Image Size (inches): 61.1 - 176.3 (my screen size is about 105")
Keystone Correction: Digital H+V
Lens Shift: Yes
Warranty:    2 Years (bulb and projector)
V-Sync Range:    43 - 85Hz
Compatibility:
-------HDTV: 720p, 1080i, 1080p/60
-------EDTV: 480p, 576p
-------SDTV: 480i, 576i
Display:
-------Type: 0.7" DLP (1)
-------Color Wheel Segs: 6
-------Color Wheel Speed: 5x
-------Native Rez: 1280x768 Pixels
-------Max Rez: 1920x1080 Pixels
-------Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (WXGA)
Lamp:
-------Type: 220W UHP
-------Life: 3000 hours
-------Quantity: 1 (though I got a free backup)
Max Power: 285W
Voltage: 100V - 240V
FCC Class: B

I'll take some pics of the image once it's up and running

[throwingks]

Congrats, I know you have been looking forward to this. Definitely post up some pics of it running when you get a chance.

[grim_d]

I'm extremely jealous.

not only because you have a HD projector

but because i was expecting my 5.1 to come today..which didn't *cries* so i'm jealous you  got a package and i didn't.

cant wait to see some pics of that beast up and running. looks the sex.

[twistedsymphony]

OMFG... I finally got it all hooked up... no joke I almost fell over with just the absolute stunning beauty of the dashboard... everything about the picture is just... perfect. I've only just watched the GoW and Halo 3 trailers so far... looking forward to spending all of Saturday gaming.

long story but I had to wait for the new wires to come in then I had to hunt for some new screws for the ceiling mount. Then I decided I should re-wire my whole home theater room... I spent all day... er yesterday on it... I just now finished... it's 4am and I'm going to bed... more details tomorrow after I sleep.

[_iffy]

I like it!!!

[twistedsymphony]

Ok so I got the projector in on Tuesday by my Mono Price order for new wires didn't come in until thursday. Interestingly my last projector used a VGA port, and accecpted component video through a Component to VGA adapter. So I had a VGA cable running to it... the new one doesn't use VGA at all (though it accecpts it through a DVI adapter)... so I had to run all new wires... 50' of HDMI 50' of component and using my existing 50' of VGA (with a DVI adapter) and 50' of S-Video.


mmm 18ga oxygen free gold plated 4x shielded component cables


You really need to see it to appreciate how massive this HDMI cable is the cable itself is nearly as wide as the connector   each wire inside is 22ga the cable is about 4x the size of most VGA cables I've handled  


Once I got around to mounting the projector on the ceiling I came to unfortunate realization that the holes on the projector were too small for the same sized screws, so I had to find some M3 (.50) x25mm machine screws... these are some mythical friggin screws let me tell you... I eventually had to go to some obscure specialty hardware store about 50 miles from my house to get them... I probably spent more in gas driving there then I did on the screws.  

Mounted the projector and ran my new beefy mono price wires:


At the front of the room I literally removed every last component from my shelves and rewired it from scratch... Here it is after I've cleaned it all and put stuff in the new arrangement. I haven't run anything but power cables and speakerwire at this point the big pile is all the wire that I pulled out of there.


Figured I'd take a nice picture of my speakers with the front cover off while I had some decent lighting the top two drivers have mirrored drivers on the back side that reflect off the wall too


My zip-tie wire management solution... I really only needed about 40' of video wire but they often go straight from 25 to 50 so I've got to do something with the extra 10'. The bottom is component, above that is hdmi, above that is vga and the purple one is USB which I'll explain in a minute.


I run about 30' (2 dasy-chained powered USB extenders) it ends in a 4 port powered hub mounted to the wall behind my couch. the bottom two ports to to a wirelss keyboard receiver and the Live Vision camera... the top two ports are used for whatever... you can see I've got a battery charger here, I don't use the playn charge kits... I use rechargeable energizers, they last longer and I can use them for my gamecube and Wii controllers as well (not to mention they're significantly cheaper and I never have to plug in the controller)


The Left side all wired up (though this morning after I took the picture I ran out and added a netgear 5 port switch to manage networking for the Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS2).
Here you see my Acoustic Research Power Conditioner, Wii, Xbox 360, Slim PS2, Oppo Upscaling DVD player, Psyclone component switcher, Xbox and Dreamcast


The Right Side, here you see my PSOne, Gen 2 Saturn and Marantz SR6500 Surround Sound Receiver

[twistedsymphony]

Everything all wired up and in place:


But how Does it look?

For reference each of these pictures has a little green dot in the lower left... that is the Xbox 360's ROFL

the Guide, checkout how crisp everything looks:


the Marketplace, what floored me most was how true the blacks were especially against such vibrant and bright colors, the picture looks like a 105" wet photograph.


Here's a straight on shapshot of a clip from the Conan Obrian show...


Really these photos do more to prove the shortcomings of my camera then the beauty of the picture this projector produces. you just have to see it in person to fully appreciate it.

I spent nearly all day playing 360 games I haven't played in months just to re-experience them... this projector was worth every last penny.  

[throwingks]

Everything is as beautiful as a sunrise, just passed the horizon, on the beach, with your lady and a Corona by your side.














Except that purple Dreamcast

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(epsilon72 @ Apr 8 2007, 07:04 PM)

*drool*  @ giant dashboard image

(what kind of speakers are those?)

Those are Cambridge Soundworks "Tower" speakers (not to be confused with the smaller Tower II or Tower III version)... They're from the "Classic" line and were CS's flagship loudspeaker before they stared the current Newton line of speakers.

Some argue that they sound better then the current Newton line though.

In the center I've got the CS Basscube 15 (15" driver with built in 350W RMS amp) and the CenterStage (which has 3 tweeters and 2 mids that match the towers), which are the largest matching center and sub from that line.

The rears are MC100s from the Newton line though, only because the Classic series has been discontinued at this point and I couldn't find them anywhere  

[youloseagain]

wow  that looks great.

ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID....

Colors are unreal! Text is so clear and visible its just weird!!

[henmill]

wow, you have my dream home theater set up, congrats

i don't think i'd be able to leave that heavenly place

[_iffy]

What kind of camera did you use?

how many mega pixels?

m3's are quite common here.



BTW - i hope you didn't use machine screws with wood(ceiling joists). It'll slip out.

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(henmill @ Apr 8 2007, 10:58 PM)

wow, you have my dream home theater set up, congrats

i don't think i'd be able to leave that heavenly place

I rarely leave it myself... why do you think my Gamerscore is so high  

QUOTE(_iffy @ Apr 8 2007, 11:02 PM)

What kind of camera did you use?

how many mega pixels?

m3's are quite common here.
BTW - i hope you didn't use machine screws with wood(ceiling joists). It'll slip out.

it's a cannon A75 2.3MPixel I think. it's good enough for showing people things which is all I really need, but it's horrid for taking pictures in anything but broad daylight.

and yes I used wood screws for the ceiling, the M3 screws were for attaching the stand to the treaded holes in the projector  

[grim_d]

i hate you

[Heet]

Yup me too.  Its funny, its just like my living room.  Probably 5,000-10,000$ or better of A/V then we have the 70$ walmart stands LOL.


I have the two you have plus the tall ones with the shelves.  



I'd trade my dog for that projector