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Contrast ratio vs black level

Tied together, but not the same importance.
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted March 16, 2013
- 1
I occasionally peruse Internet A/V forums to see what the techier web denizens have to say about the latest news and reviews.
One thing I’ve noticed a lot of lately, especially after our big projector 3fer, is a fixation on black level, with no mention or thought about contrast ratio.
This is a big deal, as black level without contrast ratio can result in some pretty terrible picture quality.

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Panasonic Low(ish)-Cost LED Projectors

Would someone please kill off UHP lamps already
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted February 26, 2013
I am a vocal and unrepentant projector fanatic. I think projectors represent the best value in home entertainment, and wish more people would embrace the awesome as I have (for over 10 years now).
However, projectors aren’t without drawbacks, and the UHP lamps in nearly all of them are a big one. Hot, expensive, and not particularly long lasting, UHP lamp replacement is often cited as one of the biggest annoyances of projector ownership. The alternative, LED lighting, has mostly just been found in uber-high-end projectors, and inexpensive wee little projectors.
But not anymore.

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Get the Big Picture

A guide to buying a projector.
- By Al Griffin
- Posted February 9, 2013
Need a good reason to buy a projector? How about this: Of all the video-display types, projectors provide the biggest image for your buck. Rear-projection TVs, which were once available in screen sizes up to 92 inches, used to be an even more affordable big-screen option, but the last manufacturer with a stake in rear-projector manufacturing, Mitsubishi, recently closed up on that biz.

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CEDIA Expo 2012: New Sim2 Projectors

And hints about a 4K DLP
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted September 10, 2012
With their usual Italian flair, Sim2 showed off their latest projectors.
The two big announcements: A dual-lamp, high-brightness projector for “media rooms” and a 4K DLP projector (sort of).
All the info after the jump.

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Review: Casio XJ-A146 Projector

Little. . . with LASERS!
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted July 2, 2012
Seriously. This thing has a laser. A blue laser that makes. . . green light? Color me confused, and intrigued.
Sporting Casio’s unique “Hybrid” light source firing at a 1,024x768 DLP, the slim $1,399 XJ-A146 is intriguing on many levels. But can it work in a home theater?
We shall see.

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Test Report: Mitsubishi HC7800D 3D DLP Projector

Mitsubishi’s projector makes bigscreen 3D affordable.
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted June 5, 2012
If there’s a sweet spot for home projector prices right now, it would be $3,000 to $3,500. Over the past few months, we’ve reviewed excellent projectors in that range from Epson and Sony, and promising, similarly priced offerings are also available from JVC and other manufacturers.
Once an LCD projector staple, Mitsubishi made the switch to DLP a few years ago. On paper, its HC7800D ticks all the right boxes: 3D-capable, full-glass lens, and all the other bells and whistles.
But that’s just on paper. So we figured we’d test it for real, right here... on paper. Eh, you get my meaning. Behold, the HC7800D!

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Review: Epson MegaPlex MG-850HD LCD Projector

A gigantic, bright image, for only $800? Seriously?
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted May 21, 2012
- 3
There’s a coffee cup on the remote, an icon unmistakably a cup and saucer. Maybe it’s tea. It’s the largest button. It’s backlit. It might be taunting me.
So begins my time with the Epson MegaPlex MG-850HD Projector, a plucky little PJ that makes me question the logic of every flat panel in existence.

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Projectors for Imperfect Rooms

A big name and an up-and-comer join forces to offer new options in video projection
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted March 14, 2012
I’ve been covering video projection since the early 1990s, but last week was the first time I walked into a product display and had a hard time figuring out which projector was showing which picture.

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Runco LS-10i 3-Chip DLP Projector

Delivering outstanding image quality on a potentially massive screen.
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted August 24, 2011
Plenty of people reading this review may exhibit a rather visceral reaction to the Runco LS-10i projector’s $20,000 price. After all, the Sharp XV-Z17000 DLP projector that I reviewed in Sound+Vision’s last issue was 25% as expensive, was nearly as bright, and did 3D. So what gives? What does the extra money get you? A fair amount, it turns out.

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Review: Optoma PT100 PlayTime Projector

A big picture at a small price from Optoma's pint-sized projector
- By Kevin James
- Posted April 11, 2011
- 1
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DLP: Tales from the Dark Side
- By sandv blog
- Posted October 4, 2007
At the CEDIA Expo, Texas Instruments announced the latest generation of its Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) technology, dubbed DarkChip 4. The company claims even better reproduction of black and dark grays than achieved by its current DarkChip 3 devices (never mind DarkChip 2 and the original, now antediluvian DarkChip).

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