Topic: My dream theater

[streetsmart]

Great theater! tanong ko lang how the DVDO compares to true hi def when you sit closer to the screen?

The seats are currently around 6.5 to 7 meters from the screen. When you get to about 3 to 4 meters from the screen, you start to see more artifacts. But honestly, you don't want to get that close. Nakakaduling na kasi.

Also, ang liit talaga ng difference. If you spend the time looking for artifacts, rather than enjoying the movie or concert, siguro makakakita ka ng differences. But that's not supposed to be the objective of home theater!

[MAtZTER]

Now I know what you mean by what a video processor/scaler can do. I experienced the best HTiB last night at Listening in Style:

A Meridian all-in-one thingie w/ dvd player, audiophile CDp, tuner, hybrid digital amplifier and faroudja video scaler. It was as big as a CD player only & doesnt heat upw/ its 5x100w (all chanels driven) hybrid digital amp. The sound was sooo clean!!!

The internal Faroudja scaler was just jaw dropping in its upscaling a standard DVD to crystal clear HD 1080p image  on a Panasonic 103" plasma. A 40  year old remastered "GOLDFINGER" was demoed and the PQ was so stunning, you could see Sean Connery's facial blemishes (pimples). Meridian representative claimed that 70% of the image was "fixed" by the faroudja scaler. 

Slim On-wall speakers w/ ribbon tweeters surprisingly filled the 100 sqm. room with sound w/ just 100w. plus the Meridian sub.

Cost is 8,000 for the all in one thing & the speakers cost another 8,000.

in DOLLAR$$

After all, Meridian is the Ferrari of the HiFi industry.

If your DVD collection reaches $8,000. JR of LIS argued that its better to buy this instead of renewing your entire DVD collection to bluray or HD DVD. It really made a lot of sense. Now if only I can find $8,000.   

Now I am a believer of video processors!

[streetsmart]

A Meridian all-in-one thingie w/ dvd player, audiophile CDp, tuner, hybrid digital amplifier and faroudja video scaler. It was as big as a CD player only & doesnt heat upw/ its 5x100w (all chanels driven) hybrid digital amp. The sound was sooo clean!!!

The internal Faroudja scaler was just jaw dropping in its upscaling a standard DVD to crystal clear HD 1080p image  on a Panasonic 103" plasma. A 40  year old remastered "GOLDFINGER" was demoed and the PQ was so stunning, you could see Sean Connery's facial blemishes (pimples). Meridian representative claimed that 70% of the image was "fixed" by the faroudja scaler. 

Slim On-wall speakers w/ ribbon tweeters surprisingly filled the 100 sqm. room with sound w/ just 100w. plus the Meridian sub.

Cost is 8,000 for the all in one thing & the speakers cost another 8,000.

in DOLLAR$$

After all, Meridian is the Ferrari of the HiFi industry.

If your DVD collection reaches $8,000. JR of LIS argued that its better to buy this instead of renewing your entire DVD collection to bluray or HD DVD. It really made a lot of sense. Now if only I can find $8,000.   

Now I am a believer of video processors!

You must be referring to the Meridian G95 surround receiver. It's quite impressive that LIS has a unit because it is quite new.

For a Meridian product and given what it does, $8000 isn't really expensive! I am sure that the performance is very impressive. I agree with JR that a video processor may currently make more sense than HD or BD, especially if you currently have a lot of SD DVD's. It's like converting your entire SD DVD collection to "nearly" HD/BD. Cheaper nga. 

I have a bias, however, against integrated equipment. I want to have the freedom to change or upgrade individual components. Of course, the other problem is that $8000 is a lot of money.

I would argue that if you want to get a very good video processor, you can get the DVDO VP-30, which is $2000. Over time, you can upgrade your other equipment - amps, speakers, etc. Thus, over time, you can get a system that comes close to the Meridian, but you don't have to wait to save $8000 before getting a video processor.

[streetsmart]

Let me share a few improvements/tweaks I recently made:

First was the purchase of a 94" wide high-gain screen c/o Matzter. Incredibly inexpensive. I decided to get a high-gain screen because with age, my projector was losing light output. The high-gain screen makes the picture brighter. The problem with high-gain screens is that, similar to LCD's, when you sit to the side, there is a loss of brightness. However, this doesn't apply to my room which is pahaba. I am pretty happy with the screen, except that no matter what you do, you can't remove all the creases. I think you can see some of the creases in the picture. Pero pag may image na sya, di naman napapansin ang creases.



Next, I moved the projector forward by more than a meter. Kasi, as you move the projector forward, the light output increases. Of course, there is a limit to the distance between projector and screen.

Third, I found a tweak in AVS Forum which adjusts the opening of the iris in the projector through the Service Menu. There is a huge increase in picture brightness.

Finally, I had to beg Alvin to come back to the house with his video calibration equipment. It seems that you need to re-calibrate your projector each time you change the screen. Alvin spent 3 hours calibrating the projector! I learned a lot.

Here is a screen shot after I did all of the tweaks.



Here is the older set-up. I think you can see the difference, even in the screen shots.



Happy na ako sa video ... For now. 

[streetsmart]

I also improved the audio through a couple of tweaks.

Firstly, I put the subwoofer in a corner. I always used to think that the subwoofer should never be placed in a corner. Ang dami kong binasa na ganun ang advice. Recently, however, I started reading articles which recommended that you put the subwoofer in a corner. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=177449

I tried it out and the result is tremendous. You can hear the big difference on CD's and DVD concerts where there is a complicated bass guitar sequence. For example, Jack Bruce of Cream. You can now distinctly hear each bass note. Here's the sub now, nakatago sa sulok. Di na nga makita.



Secondly, I had 2 large area carpets. However, there was still a big gap of granite floor between the 2 carpets and that gap happens to be between the speakers and the listening area. I put an extra carpet so that there was no exposed hard floor to cause reflections, and the result was incredible. Parang nawala ang "muddiness" of the previous set-up. The only problem now is that halo-halo ang design ng mga carpet. Maybe I need to get a single big carpet ...  Eto ang floor with the new carpets. Puno na talaga ng carpet.



Then, I re-aligned the 2 front speakers with a laser pointer, making sure that the tweeter was pointed at the main listening position. Without a laser pointer, ang hirap to do the proper toe-in. Plus, I removed the speaker covers. This made a huge improvement in the imaging. Ang tunog ngayon ay parang wala nang speakers, which is the objective.



Finally, I ran the Audyssey room correction of the Denon receiver. Ayos na! Galing ng sound and it didn't cost me anything.

Very happy na rin ako sa audio... Again, for now. 

[tonedeaf]

ang ganda pala ng HT mo 

[streetsmart]

Hehe. Don't worry. Your HT is much better than mine was when I was your age. 

[audiojunkie]

I learned many things also about A/V calibration, sub location, and even carpet gap that made huge difference... Nice! 

[gearhead]

congrats, sir. mukhang talagang pinaghahandaan nyo pagbisita namin. sobrang pinagaganda nyo pa talaga. hehe. dun sa screencaps nyo kitang-kita difference. big improvement talaga in brightness, sharpness, contrast and color. about the carpets, maybe it's time for you to give a ring to the one selling carpets here in pdvd. to me though, di naman masagwa yung combinations ng carpets/rugs nyo as it is. happy viewing.

[streetsmart]

I learned many things also about A/V calibration, sub location, and even carpet gap that made huge difference... Nice! 

That's nice to hear.  I want to share my personal experiences so that people here can learn useful things while avoiding the mistakes that I had made in the past.

I am constantly researching and experimenting, to find ways to improve picture and audio quality. There are a lot of small things you can do, which make sense, that can improve quality and yet may cost you very little. On the other hand, in my humble opinion, you may spend a lot of money (like super-expensive cables and interconnects, spikes, etc.) and yet get nothing in return except the chance to show off some very expensive gear.

That doesn't mean that I won't buy expensive gear.  Have just ordered an upgrade to my video processor, which is pricey but is state-of-the-art in reducing noise and adding detail.  The point is that I am pretty sure that it will greatly improve picture quality kaya okay lang.

[streetsmart]

congrats, sir. mukhang talagang pinaghahandaan nyo pagbisita namin. sobrang pinagaganda nyo pa talaga. hehe. dun sa screencaps nyo kitang-kita difference. big improvement talaga in brightness, sharpness, contrast and color. about the carpets, maybe it's time for you to give a ring to the one selling carpets here in pdvd. to me though, di naman masagwa yung combinations ng carpets/rugs nyo as it is. happy viewing.

Hehe ...  Sa tingin ko, pangit talaga combination ng mga carpets!  Yung 2 ay modern, yung 2 ay persian. Dapat modern lahat o persian lahat. Pero pinag-iisipan ko pa kung ano gawin. Better still, tama ka ... isang malaking carpet na lang.

Thanks sa observation sa picture quality. Sa audio, di mo naman makita difference kung di mo pakinggan pero gumanda talaga audio! 

Pinag-research ko talaga how to improve the picture quality. The next step is an improved video processor. Pagkatapos nun, HD at BD na lang siguro ... pero ayaw ko pa rin ... masyado pang mahal ang bala at saka parang HD na rin quality ng picture ko.  Problema minsan ay parang nakakalungkot kung wala ka nang maisip to improve picture quality. 

Sabihin mo na lang when kayo punta ng kapatid mo. Dala kayo popcorn. 

[deo]

super classy..parang mga "godfather" ang tumatambay dito. Congrats!

[streetsmart]

super classy..parang mga "godfather" ang tumatambay dito. Congrats!

Di naman. Tito ko yun ... Eto sya.

[MAtZTER]

except that no matter what you do, you can't remove all the creases.

You can sir, but it involves drilling a hole on the wall. The screen was designed to be supported by 2 stable screws (very important) on the lower part of the screen. Most improvisations are not stable & defeat the design of the screen (the tension pull is not achieved correctly), thereby causing those creases.

Try it sir  .

[jerix]

Finally, I had to beg Alvin to come back to the house with his video calibration equipment. It seems that you need to re-calibrate your projector each time you change the screen. Alvin spent 3 hours calibrating the projector! I learned a lot.

Dito kami lalong inggit sir...

[streetsmart]

Jerix, I can appreciate what you're saying.

You can get the basic adjustments of brightness, contrast, color, hue and sharpness by using Avia or Video Essentials, but not the grayscale and gamma.

In order to get good grayscale and gamma, you need to adjust the bias and gain of red, blue and green. That's six variables. In my projector, each variable may have 150 steps. Figure out the math on the number of combinations! If you don't have the proper equipment, its literally impossible to get the calibration right. And when it's done right, you can really tell the difference.

Alvin's calibration equipment probably costs around $5000.  Alvin charges a reasonable fee and I believe it is well worth it.

Siguro, kapag retired na ako, dun ako bibili ng sarili ko calibration stuff and spend my time calibrating projectors of pinoydvd members. 

[streetsmart]

Over the past few months, I have been watching the news about the latest upgrade for the DVDO video processors, the VP50Pro. The screenshots on the DVDO website were so incredible that I decided to pre-order a unit, which I received a few days ago.

The main improvements in the VP50Pro have been the following:

1. Fine detail enhancement
2. Edge enhancement (or de-enhancement)
3. Mosquito Noise reduction

Its hard to appreciate without a long explanation but I think screenshots would be better. In August, I posted screenshots of my original set-up, including this one:



Last month, I did a few tweaks and the image improved:



With the upgraded video processor, here's the latest image:



Here's another set of comparison shots. Prior to upgraded video processor:



After upgrade:



Here's a last set. Prior to upgrade:



After upgrade:



I am still tweaking the new video processor and trying to understand it more but so far, I am pretty satisfied. I think the screenshots speak for themselves. There is a lot more detail coming out and even the colors seem to be affected, in a positive way.

[audiojunkie]

Wow! it's really a Big leap in PQ, more natural shades and colors.....     

[Kobe Bryant]

where can we buy this DVDO Iscan VP-50?

thanks

[pjohn]

PMed you, tnx   

[streetsmart]

The local distributor for the DVDO products is AV Driver, sa Shang Mall. They will sell the units at the MSRP, which you can see in the DVDO website.

A good thing about DVDO is that they have an upgrade program. The problem is that video processor technology is constantly improving and so DVDO typically does an upgrade every year. If you think the upgrade is worthwhile, you can trade in your old unit.

[streetsmart]

Wow! it's really a Big leap in PQ, more natural shades and colors.....     

Yes, the PQ has improved significantly but honestly, I still don't fully understand why. 

What I find most amazing is the last screenshot with Bruce Willis. You can see a lot more detail in the background, especially the faces of the black guys. Sometime, you can achieve that by increasing brightness but in this case, after installing the VP50Pro and calibrating brightness/contrast, I actually had to REDUCE brightness from "59" to "49" which will normally "crush" black detail. Kaya nga nakakagulat why you can see more black detail. And these are SD sources. I still don't want to buy HD-DVD or BD.

Here are the photos that DVDO posted which convinced me to buy the VP50Pro.

Without enhancement:



With fine detail enhancement:



With edge enhancement:



The differences are quite clear. However, it seems that a lot of people use negative edge enhancement, so that is what I have done as well, along with very aggressive fine detail enhancement and mosquito noise reduction.

[pekspert]

grabe di pa naka hd source yan ang linaw na . What happened to your old dvdo upscaler (30 series ata yun)? did you trade it in?

[streetsmart]

grabe di pa naka hd source yan ang linaw na . What happened to your old dvdo upscaler (30 series ata yun)? did you trade it in?

The old video processor (not just upscaler) was a VP50. I traded it in for the VP50Pro, kaya wala na sya.

My objective is still to improve the pq of my sd sources (without changing the projector!  ). Next step is to change screen again to an even higher gain (2.8  ). Parating na ang bagong screen. Sana next week na dumating. Will post screenshots pag nakabit na.

[audiojunkie]

Sir Streetsmart ikaw ang bago kong idol here in Pdvd aside from MatZter. You really have an awesome set-up. It's now one of my dreams to experience your system and theater. 

for those with other priorities like me, it's really a dream theater but you it's a reality...

[streetsmart]

Sir Streetsmart ikaw ang bago kong idol here in Pdvd aside from MatZter. You really have an awesome set-up. It's now one of my dreams to experience your system and theater. 

for those with other priorities like me, it's really a dream theater but you it's a reality...

Thanks for the post! 

D pa naman tapos ang dream ko. Dami ko pa sana gusto gawin kapag may pera na. Ganun naman lagi, e. 

Pagbalik mo sa Pinas, may open invitation ka sa HT ko. 

[gearhead]

Next step is to change screen again to an even higher gain (2.8  ). Parating na ang bagong screen. Sana next week na dumating. Will post screenshots pag nakabit na.

hmm... mukhang iba na ang screen nyo pag-audition namin, ah.  mas malaki na ba itong bago, sir?

[streetsmart]

hmm... mukhang iba na ang screen nyo pag-audition namin, ah.  mas malaki na ba itong bago, sir?

Hehe. 

Mas malaki sya. 119" diagonal. 16x9. 103" yata ang width. Da-lite High Power material.

I think this is about the limit of the size of screen, given the viewing distance and the light output from the projector. I can still tweak the service menu of the projector to get a brighter image pero pag masyadong malapad ang screen, nakakaduling kaya mas madali mapagod mata mo.

Pag nakuha ko na bago screen, benta ka ng mura ang dati. Hardly used pa nga.

[streetsmart]

Finally got the new screen:



It's a Da-Lite 119" diagonal screen made from "High Power" material. Gain is 2.8

I tried my best to source it through local dealers but only one gave me a quotation and it was almost 4 times the cost vs the US price. I found it sa Amazon, had it shipped to NY office of Johnny Air Cargo, who then trans-shipped it to Manila. Total cost was half the local quotation. Bilib din ako sa Johnny Air that they could handle such a big and bulky item without any problem.

[streetsmart]

First impression of the screen: it's big. Makes you really feel that you are in a cinema.

Problem with a new screen, in combination with the new video processor, is that you need to re-calibrate the video. Ginawa this morning by the technician of AV Driver (which supplied the video processor). Ang galing din talaga ng AV Driver technician. We spent nearly 4 hours doing the calibration.

There is a perceptible improvement in video quality but may be hard to appreciate sa screenshots lang. Nonetheless: