Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
129 of 133 people found the following review helpful.
A Beginner's Perspective
By Christopher Galgon
I have little prior experience with projectors other than some work experiences and extensive reading leading up to my purchase. Some things to know about projectors in general, versus this one in particular:1. Even "bright" projectors are not bright by LCD or plasma TV standards. A review boasting how a projector works well even in a "lit" room is talking about a lamp on in the furthest corner, not a living room with the blinds up in daylight.This projector manages about 2500 lumens in practical conditions, which is considered bright compared to most consumer projectors, but you'll still need a very dim room to get the most from it.2. There are two kinds of projectors you'll tend to encounter: LCD projectors and DLP projectors. LCD projectors can lose points with people because each pixel (squares that make up the image) can be a little too crisp and delineated. This sounds good but can make you feel like you're watching a giant Gameboy screen. DLP projectors don't have the problems of LCDs, and can look more natural; but DLPs can bother certain people who can detect a "rainbow effect" at the corner of their eye or when looking away quickly. There's a type of DLP projector/ TV called "3 DLP" which uses three chips and should cure this problem, but they're much more expensive at the moment.This projector is the DLP variety. I was able to see the "rainbow effect," but not when I was watching directly, and I found it didn't bother me.3. Projectors currently use a light bulb to project their image, and these typically last 2000-4000 hours. Compared to 20-40,000 hours for a Plasma or LCD, that can sound like a small number, but remember that 2000 hours= 2 hours per day for almost three years! Not too shabby. However, replacement bulbs cost about $200-- not cheap.This projector claims 3000-5000 hours of lamp life, depending on whether you use it in "eco" mode or "bright" mode. In my experience, "bright" mode makes the projector noticeably louder and hotter, and is only a little bit brighter than "eco." For the extra hours of lamp life, as well as the longevity of the projector, I recommend "eco" mode.4. Not all projectors come with built-in speakers-- in fact, many don't. This may not sound like an issue when you're planning a home theater, but it can prove a practical disadvantage if you take your projector places or only set it up occasionally. Additionally, some projectors have no way to output sound once it reaches the projector, another problem if you aren't sending your video through a sound system first.This projector has 10-watt speakers-- enough for undiscerning viewers in a small room. It also will pass sound through a headphone-style jack, so you can connect bigger speakers.5. There are plenty of low-priced projectors out there without an HDMI port. At this point in time, HDMI isn't just the future, but the present! Modern PCs, game consoles, even smart phones can use this port. And for legal reasons, you soon won't be able to play movies in high definition without one.This projector has 2 HDMI ports, as well as all legacy ports like VGA (for PCs), component (Wii), composite and s-video (VCR). This makes it easy to connect from most any device as well as being pretty good for a permanent installation.6. Typically, a projector is designed to be at the very back of a room, projecting to the opposite wall. There are, however, "short throw" projectors that can produce an equally large image from fairly close. The disadvantage of short throw projectors is that the most discerning will notice that the image is slightly distorted in order to make such a big image in such a small space. The advantage is that people can be standing and moving about without getting in the way of the projected image.This projector is of the "short throw" variety and can project an image about 100" diagonally from 5 feet. The image is always above the top of the projector from any distance, so the projector is never in the way, and the distortion is mild and not distracting.7. Most projectors have some form of "keystone" correction. What this means is that they can allow you to project a perfectly square/ rectangular picture even when your projector is angled left or right/ higher or lower than optimal.This projector allows you correct an image if your projector is angled higher or lower (vertical keystone), but not left or right (horizontal keystone). For me this means having to fidget with the projector to get a square image, which can be a challenge.8. Currently there are two levels of HD projectors, just as there are for TVs: 720p and 1080p. Just as you would expect, 1080p is the sharper image. However, at comparable prices (under a thousand), they are not nearly as bright as their 720p counterparts.This projector is 720p, and looks sharp enough to my eyes, but with 720p you choose "big and bright" over "sharp." I would suggest that, if you are planning to have a truly dark room, you should get a 1080p projector instead. If you plan to have any light in your room, however, and you don't plan to spend significantly more money, this projector (or one similarly bright) is preferred.Some other thoughts on this projector and projectors in general:- If you're planning to watch a lot of content during the day, and you don't plan to block out almost all light habitually, I'd recommend a large LCD or plasma over a projector.- Gaming on a giant projector screen is UNBEATABLE for immersion! Also it has been rated (by a blogger) at 0ms response time, meaning you'll see action 4-12ms sooner than you would with a plasma or LCD. This makes a big difference for both modern shooters and old-school platforming games.- Best I can tell, all projectors perform best in an "almost" pitch-black room.- Nearly all projectors lie about how bright they will be in practice. For instance, I could probably achieve the advertised 3000 lumens with the GT750, but only after ruining the picture in the settings menu.- I have found two instances where users said this projector died from overheating. I can see this as a real possibility for someone using it for 8-hour stretches on its brightest mode, but not in eco mode.- The GT750 has 3D available, but I don't own the $80 glasses needed to try it out.- This projector has no handle, but comes with a backpack with plenty of room for accessories.- I tested this projector with a PS3 for 1080p games and movies, iPad for 720p HD movies, and a Turbografx-16 for old-school standard-definition games.- All bulb projectors (this one included) need a brief period of time to cool down after use. This one runs the fan loudly for 10 seconds while giving you a countdown on the screen.- Most of the reading I did to familiarize myself with projectors came from (projector reviews com) and (projector central com), in addition to reviews posted by other amazon members.
35 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Awesome or PITA: depends on user
By Will
I gave this projector 3 stars due to the fact that it is a great unit only for a particular demographic which I'll explain below in further detail.SHORT PRO/CONPROS:CostFull 3D capable with hdmi 1.4 ports (no external box or computer needed)Short Throw (big image with short throw distance)Comes with RF emitterPortable (has speakers, light weight at 6.6pounds, comes with backpack carrying case)Okay picture quality, pretty good for price pointAttractive looking projectorCONS:720p (what do you expect for this price?)Short throw (can be a PITA if you don't have the right setup for it)No lens zoom (there is a digital zoom but it cuts off portions of image)No lens shift (again, I didn't expect this on a projector this cheap)Can only memorize one user setting (big deal to me, explained below)Wonky controls for calibrationPoor greyscale (lack of blue is problematic)2X color wheelA GOOD BUY IF:You really want 3D on a budget.Gaming projector-0 lagPortability is important.You need a short throw projector to mount projector in front of seating.Not super picky about image quality.A BAD BUY IF:You don't care about 3D.Your main use is 2D movies in a home theater setup.You really care about picture accuracy.You want to mount projector on rear shelf or towards back of room.Aren't willing to setup the room for the projector. (not flexible in terms of placement).Sensitive to rainbow effects.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I gave it a slightly lower score just because it's only a great buy for a certain audience. Personally I'd give it a 4 since I wanted the short throw, really cared more about 3D than great picture fidelity, and I'm not sensitive to RBE (rainbow effect). Plus I live in apartments, move often and this is more portable.The GT750 is a short throw, DLP projector with a 2X color wheel. It has a native resolution of 720p and is full 3D capable using RF or DLP-link glasses. Here's a run down of those features before I get into the picture quality and calibration.Short throw: due to the optics the projector casts a big picture at a short throw distance. It can make a 100inch picture at a distance of only 5.1 ft. Due to this short throw there are uniformity issues, when the center is focused, the edges can be a little blurry. This is hard to see during movies but when hooked up to a computer and looking at words you can see that you can't get clear focus on the entire screen at once. There is no zoom, you cannot mount this behind the seating position. The image will either be too big or you will be sitting way too close. Ceiling mount is best for permanent installation since it stays out of the way. I have mine on my coffee table and move it when I'm not using it....PITA but I only have 12 feet from rear wall to screen and my next apartment might have smaller dimensions.DLP with 2X color wheel:I prefer DLP tech for 3D over the LCD type. Less crosstalk, ghosting, harder to see pixel structure in screen. DLP does tend to give a softer image than LCD. The color wheel is budget, most home theater DLP projectors will have at least 4X color wheel. If you notice RBE on other projectors...you WILL see it on this one due to the low speed color wheel.720P:I don't know if other reviewers have used 1080p projectors. But I think there is a noticeable difference with projectors. It doesn't make much of a difference when seated at normal viewing distances from normal direct view tvs which are usually 60inches or less. But at a screen size of 10 feet, the extra resolution helps. 720p has a total of 921,600 pixels whereas 1080p has 2,073,600 pixels. You're doubling the pixel count and increasing the pixel density by a factor of 2. A 1080p projector has a sharper image and to me it seems like the image is more solid and detailed. It comes down to seating distance, you can sit closer to 1080p without seeing the pixel structure and sitting closer to the large image makes it feel more theater-like for me. This is why the projector is only a good value for those wanting 3D....you can get a 1080p 2D projector for only 50-100 bucks more which is the better value for those who care more about 2D picture fidelity than having 3D. Check out this link to see a comparison of images, the one on the bottom (from aeon flux) shows the difference. [...]3D:3D looks great. I use the RF glasses since my friends with 3D displays tend to have 3D direct view tvs. I can use the emitter and my glasses at their homes if they have a VESA port. (or if you buy the ir to rf converter that the monstervision glasses come with). The RF glasses are bit cauldron tech, same as VIP and monstervision. Monstervision is compatible right out of the box. Much prefer RF to IR glasses. These RF glasses are also adjustable synch so if there's a problem with the 3D you can adjust to minimize ghosting/crosstalk. I have not used the DLP glasses, they get good reviews at AVS forum though, and if your friends have DLP projectors or tvs, it'd probably be the better option for versatility.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Now on to picture quality and calibration:I used an eyeone colorimeter along with the AVS HD709 disc (free from avs forums) and the DVE basic bluray by Joe Kane. For the software, I used ColorHCFR (also freeware).I reset the projector to factory defaults and did a 10 point grey scale reading using the cinema mode and the default user modes. Both showed large greyscale errors. Green tracks along the 100% line, Red tracks around 110% and Blue is a paltry 60%. For proper greyscale all 3 should be 100% and the luminance should also be corrected. By adjusting the red, green or blue bias you can adjust the proportion of these colors. Normally gain controls the highend RGB levels and bias controls the lowend (lower IRE). This is not the case with this projector, there is only bias for greyscale correction, the gain seems to control luminance (Y value) of a color and to a lesser extent the hue and saturation (x,y values). At the default settings the projector runs out of blue at 80-100 IRE levels. In order to correct this I set the blue bias as high as I could before I run out of blue at IRE 100 (this was set to 2). In order to get the colors to track to 100% I had to reduce Green and Red bias to -21. This corrects the fairly extreme yellow hue that cinema mode has (too much red and green and not enough blue gives you yellowish tint). BUT, this also reduces the brightness to a level that is probably not watchable.The luminance of white is determined mostly by green. The luminance of green makes up 71.52% of the luma of white, red makes up 21.26% and blue makes up 7.22%. So reducing green and red by the extreme amounts that I had to, strongly reduces the overall luminance. With the incorrect greyscale of cinema and default user modes I can get about 14ft/lamberts of light to the screen with a decent contrast level (over 1000:1). With corrected greyscale my light output drops to 8.6 ft/lamberts and a contrast level of 544:1. So yeah, the reviews that say this projector is bright are correct but only with an inaccurate greyscale.As for colors. Not great. Blue is undersaturated and the hue is shifted towards green. Green is also undersaturated and is shifted towards red. Having this color inaccuracy along with greyscale inaccuracy makes green grass have a yellowish tint to it and blues tend towards blue-green. I can calibrate the luminance to be correct but without a CMS (color management system) there's not much you can do about the hue and saturation issues.I think that if you were to calibrate the projector using a meter, you'd have to balance the light output and contrast with the greyscale accuracy. I can actually get very good dE values (low errors) and once calibrated all 3 colors tracked at 100%, gamma was flat at 2.22 (reference is 2.2), and the gamma for each color looked very good. But with the poor contrast and light output, I need to increase green and red bias which will throw the gamma off. I would aim to run out of blue at 90IRE while hopefully preserving the 30-70IRE range as most video info is in that range.I will post my settings later, but please do not use them, they will not be right for you. I'm projecting onto a wall that is painted white, unless you used the exact same paint on the exact same walls and did so at the exact same time....your wall will not be the same white as mine which makes all the calibrations meaningless.I find brilliant color has a big effect on gamma. Using the cinema setting brilliant color 6 (default setting) has a gamma that is too high (2.6), at a setting of 0 the gamma is too low (2.0), a setting of 3 is pretty good with a gamma of 2.2...greyscale is still tinted and not right though. On my user setting I find that blue bias 2, green bias -21, red bias -21, brightness 0, contrast -4, and using the standard degamma (instead of the film degamma) gives me proper greyscale at the expense of overall luminance, also turned brilliant color off (set to 0) and used bright setting for lamp.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You're probably worried about picture quality now. If this is your first projector and you aren't used to calibrating your televisions/display devices....don't worry about it too much. You've been enjoying poorly calibrated sets your whole life and will likely either not notice there are issues or you won't care. You will be amazed more at the size and the 3D than be bothered by greyscale and primary color inaccuracy. If you do care a lot, this is not the projector for you. Either get a nicer 2D 1080p projector like a Viewsonic pro8200 (about 900.00), or save up for a 1080p-3D projector like the epson 3010 (1500.00). The black levels are also mediocre on this projector.BTW a nice thing about this projector is you can move the menu screen around, it helps when using a meter to calibrate as you can move the menu screen out of the reading area.Also, if you calibrate...write down your settings...and then make a copy of them. It is very easy to screw your settings due to the projector only memorizing 1 setting. If you watch 3D, the projector defaults to 3D mode....if you then try to adjust anything, the projector saves the adjustment to the user setting and replaces the old user setting. So if I watch in 3D picture mode and turn up brightness a notch, when I go to user setting it will be the 3D setting values with brightness up 1 notch...the 3D picture setting will not have brightness up a notch since you cannot change it. So changing anything on any other picture mode changes the user mode and deletes all your saved values.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bottom line:If you want portable, 3D, short throw, and aren't willing to spend 1500 on a 1080p 3D projector...this might fit your bill. If this is your first projector you will be amazed by the size and quality of 3D, and will probably not care too much about picture accuracy.If you don't want 3D this is NOT your projector as you can find a 2D 1080p with better picture fidelity for only a little more (about 100-200) bucks more.If you want to mount behind seating position or are sensitive to RBE, this is NOT the projector for you.It may sound like I don't like this unit, with all my complaints about picture quality, but really I expected tradeoffs with a budget projector and I can live with those tradeoffs and still enjoy using this unit.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
SOOO Awesome, but one major issue that takes away 2 stars.
By B. Lowry
This is my second projector. Actually its my second 3D projector as well. My first one was a Viewsonic 6210, which was great for the price. These days, w/out HDMI - its hard to watch anything on it though.The Gt750e impressed me right off the bat with incredible brightness and color. It simply looks great. I like that it comes with the RF transmitter for the 3D glasses. Pretty darn hassle free. The 3D is good, but can be a little dark. They have a few different 3D modes, which I was surprised at how much better some were than the other. Overall, 3D looks impressive.Important Issues:No optical zoom = pain in the a** to mount on the ceiling. You're gonna cuss a lot when you realize the picture isn't 100% perfect, because there is zero optical zoom and no horizontal keystone. There is a vertical keystone, which is less helpful, but welcome. There's also a digital zoom in and zoom out that I had to end up using to get it to fit to my screen properly. I'm not happy about that because zooming in our out digitally isn't optimal for the best picture...but it looks fine.Small issues: I have to turn off the internal speaker every time I use the thing. Annoying. There's also only one 'custom' saved setting for picture settings which will get overwritten if you change the settings on one of the presets once. Also annoying.BIGGEST ISSUE:My projector developed a very very faint white 'spot' about 5" across. You can only see in near-black scenes, but thats more often than you think. After some research, it seems that the so-called sealed lens got some dust in it. I sent it back to Amazon with no problems and got a replacement. ...a few weeks in with the new projector, SAME THING. Sadly I think I have just decided to deal with it. The hassle of mounting, wiring, etc etc is just too much to go through again. They kinda have me by the b*lls in that regard. :\This is why I'm giving 3 stars. White spot aside, I'd give it a 4.5. If it had optical zoom and horizontal keystone, I'd give it 5.
See all 58 customer reviews...
Possibly the perfect tv!
Personalization
