Color temperature (Low color temperature before/Manual color temperature after calibration):
Low window (30 IRE): 6,894/6,558K
High window (80 IRE): 6,750/6,742K
Brightness (100-IRE window before/after calibration): 19.1/16.0 ftL
Of the Sim2 HT-3000's color-temperature presets, Low measured closest to the 6,500-kelvin grayscale standard. Manually setting it to 6,500K in the User color-temperature submenu - an innovative feature that provides an actual onscreen CIE chromaticity diagram for plotting X and Y grayscale coordinates - delivered even more accurate results. Afterward, grayscale tracking measured ±200K from 30 to 100 IRE - very good performance. (Calibration needs to be performed by a qualified technician, so discuss it with your dealer before purchase or go to imagingscience.com to check for a technician in your area.)
The Sim2 showed fairly substantial color decoder error on its HDMI inputs, measuring -20% green and +5% red. Sim2 says the imbalance was a deliberate move by the HT-3000's engineers. The issue didn't extend to the component-video inputs, however, which measured only -5% green and +5% red. Color points were reasonably accurate, although green measured as more of a yellowish-green hue.
Overscan - the amount of picture "hidden" beyond the display area - measured 0% for both the HDMI and component-video inputs with 1080i/p format test signals and the Pixel to Pixel or Anamorphic display modes active. Both 1080i/p- and 720p-format test patterns revealed full picture resolution for all high-def inputs, although a fair amount of video noise could be seen in the last two bars of a multiburst pattern via the component-video input.
The HT-3000's maximum picture brightness as measured from a 100-IRE window on a 93-inch-wide screen was 16 foot-lamberts, making it one of the brightest projectors I've tested so far. In this case, however, the HT-3000's impressive brightness didn't entail a sacrifice in picture contrast, with blacks achieving a satisfying level of depth. Picture gamma proved to be very linear when the ST4 preset was selected. But I ultimately preferred to use the ST5 preset, which added a slight boost at both extremes of the grayscale while leaving the mid-gray tones untouched.
