Cinetron HD700 Projector - Image Quality
Cinetron HD700 images below are from either Blu-ray, or HDTV, with the exception of Lord of the Rings (standard DVD).
These HD700 images are provided to support the commentary. In reality, the projectors always look better than the images in our reviews. From a color standpoint, my dSLR camera still adds some color shifting to some photo shoots that I have not been able to completely remove. In other words, while we can demonstrate differences in black levels and shadow details of the HD700, the photos are only approximations of skin tone and color accuracy.
1/31/2010 - Art Feierman
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HD700 Out of the Box Picture Quality
The image immediately below is an all digital image from the DVE test disc.
Flesh Tones
Here, first are a pair of images from my favorite movie not available yet on Blu-ray: Lord of the Rings, played from standard DVD. (Note; all these photos show a bit more red than the projector itself does.)
Next are our usual three images of Daniel Craig, as Bond, in Casino Royale, under different lighting conditions. The point here, is that correct skin tones vary, depending on the lighting. You can expect significantly different looking skin tones, when switching from bright sunlight, to nighttime, fluorescent lighting, incandescent lighting, or even lighting in the shade, or a cloudy day. Consider these three images, the first in direct sunlight, the second is a scene with fluorescent lighting, and the third, a sunny day, but Bond is sitting in the shade - indirect lighting.
Next are images from the sci-fi flick, Aeon Flux: (not ready yet. these are placeholders)
From Men In Black:
Next, from Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (and here he is, and ticked off!)
Lau, above, from The Dark Knight looks really good, in terms of skin tones!
Bottom line on skin tones: Impressive. A calibration, (or try our calibration numbers), definitely makes a significant difference compared to "right out of the box". That said, "out of the box" basically is a bit too cool (slightly strong blues, slightly weak reds), although it looks pretty good. After calibration though, the numbers and the balance between red and blue, become very, very good.
While the Cinetron HD700 doesn't have the most perfect color accuracy around, it certainly is very competitive. I did a fair amount of switching between the HD700 and my JVC RS20 - a projector roughly 3x the price. While the skin tones never looked as good as my JVC, I must admit, that, compared to the JVC, they always looked at least respectable, which is more than I can say for at least a few other projectors from some big name brands.
HD700 Black Levels & Shadow Detail
Good news and bad news.
The good news is easy: The Cinetron HD700 has very good shadow detail, better than most, but, that ties to the bad news:
Projectors with relatively poor black level performance, tend to be very good at shadow details as, those shadows are inherently brighter, making it easier to pick out those details. That can be really tough, for example, with my JVC and its black level performance that is a couple of magnitudes better than the HD700.
Black Level Performance:
Not good. Actually, in the first days of testing, where I only watched the uncalibrated HD700, I immediately noted the lack of a dynamic iris, but also the unspectacular black performance. Still in watching the HD700 fill all of my 128" Firehawk, I found the projector to be enjoyable to watch, despite the blacks.
It wasn't until after Mike calibrated it, and I started doing some side by side viewing that it became clear as to how the HD700 positions in terms of black level performance. The only phrase that need be applied, is "strictly entry level blacks".
I did some side-by-side viewing in the testing room, against the Epson Pro Cinema 9500UB. The Epson was far superior - not even close. Switching to the Panasonic PT-AE4000, I had briefly hoped that the HD700 might at least be fairly close to the Panasonic, but that too, was not to be. The HD700 is not only not, what I define as an "ultra-high contrast" projector, but it's not close.
Next I put the similarly bright, $1399 Mitsubishi HC3800 DLP projector side by side. Sadly, the HD700 still couldn't match the Mitsubishi either (neither have a dynamic iris). It's possible that the HD700 is slightly better than the three $999 1080p home projectors, including the BenQ W1000, Optoma HD20 and Vivitek H1080FD, but that's besides the point.
The point is, that if this projector is to be successful, selling in the $2000 to $2500 street price range, it better have a couple of great things going for it, to offset the inherent black level performance weakness.
Oops, more good news - the HD700 does have a couple of things going for it, so read on...
Image time: From The Fifth Element, the starship. First image is intentionally overexposed. you can see the bit of the letterboxing that is visible has been overexposed to be a darkish gray. If you were to look at a similar image from a projector with outstanding blacks, by the time the letterbox got this "light" the whole starship would be mostly white with very little detail left. (you might check out any of the JVC reviews of their RS2, RS20, RS25, to illustrate this point).
Here's the same image from the Panasonic PT-AE4000U:
For comparison, here's the same image from the Epson 8500UB:
And below is the low cost Mitsubishi HC3800:
OK next some side by sides, to make things easier. Also color saturation was reduced to 0, turning the images into grayscale. This removes the distracting color differences to make comparing black levels and detail easier. Each pair is a little bit different in exposure, but that's fine. The important point is how each other projector compares to the HD700.
First pair: Cinetron HD700 on the left, Epson Pro Cinema 9500UB on the right
Cinetron HD700 left, Panasonic PT-AE4000 right:
Cinetron projector left, Mitsubishi HC3800 right:
If you have taken a close look at the enlarged versions of the images above, you can appreciate the rather dramatic difference between the HD700 and the Epson, with the Epson's black being far darker. In the Panasonic PT-AE4000 comparison, again, a big difference, just not quite as much. Moving to the low cost Mitsubishi HC3800, even that does slightly blacker blacks than the Cinetron projector.
These two all digital images images are good ones for considering black levels and dark shadow detail. Look for the richness in the black part of some of the buildings and, also, the sky, in the second image. Both of these first two, are digital hi-def images from the DVE-HD calibration disc.
Above - a deep space image from the movie Star Trek (Blu-ray)
Shadow Detail Performance
The Cinetron HD700, as mentioned, is very good, no, rather excellent, at dark shadow detail. This is helped by the higher black levels, nonetheless, you do get to see things you might not be able to make out, on a projector with better blacks.
For my own viewing purposes, I set the Brightness of the HD700 either 1, or 2 below where it should be, to avoid crushing dark shadow detail. Basically I gave up a little detail for a bit blacker look to the blacks. It's only a very small change, but I'd rather have the slightly blacker blacks.
First image is the HD700, followed by the PT-AE4000, the Sanyo PLV-Z3000 and the Mitsubishi HC7000. Next comes the JVC DLA-RS25. The last is the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB.
Again, from Space Cowboys, this is a cropped image. The right side is very bright (so dynamic irises will not be effective). The HD700 (top left) shows extremely good shadow detail in the dark areas of the satellite, and that's despite the blacks and near blacks being so dark. Next to it, on the first row, is the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB/Pro Cinema 9600UB, Those images are followed by the Optoma HD806 and the JVC DLA-RS25 (second row). The third row is the Mitsubishi HC7000 (left), and the Sony VPL-HW15.
Next is a frame from the last Indiana Jones movie. You'll see this one in other recent reviews. The details still found as the walls and fixtures darken toward the top, are a good way to compare shadow detail.
On the left, is the HD700, the middle, the Epson 8500UB/9500UB, and on the right, the Panasonic PT-AE4000. The exposures are all a little different, but you should be able to appreciate the combination of shadow detail and dark blacks
Down below is a night shot of a building, overexposed.
When comparing, look at the detail in the roof (tiles), and also in the assorted trees and plants. The small images below (all from the same projector) show a slightly overexposed scene. Click on the images and you will find larger images, but of the different projectors. The large images are far more overexposed, to allow a closer inspection of shadow details. Note, it's not about how bright the roof tiles are, but that they are visible, and that there are also differences in the trees and shrubs.
Cinetron HD700 projector:
JVC RS25 projector:
Epson Home Cinema 8500UB:
Sanyo PLV-Z3000 projector:
Sony VPL-HW15 projector:
InFocus IN83 projector:
Mitsubishi HC7000 projector:
Mitsubishi HC6500 projector:
Below is a heavily overexposed scene from Lord of the Rings. The overexposure lets you see all the details in the shed on the right, the structure on the left, and the plants and ground along the lower right. The HD700 performs extremely well, with very good dark detail visible in the structures.
Click on left thumbnail image for the Cinetron HD700, Epson Home Cinema 6100 in the center, and the right for the PT-AE4000U.
Our last comparison uses the night train scene from Casino Royale. Look to the trees and shrubs on the right, especially just above the tracks. The first image is the Cinetron HD700, next the PT-AE4000, followed by the JVC RS25, the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB, and finally, the Mitsubishi HC7000.
Next is a side by side - HD700 as usual is on the Right. the Epson to the Left. This scene is from the trailer of the recent Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams.
Overall Color & Picture Quality
Most impressive. Not perfect, by any means, but looking very good, in terms of color. There are some subtle imperfections, such as a rise in color temperature at 100 IRE, making whites a little cool. Personally, that's a very forgivable coloration, one I've noted on some BenQ's as well, and I personally find it a pleasing "flaw", especially when I'm viewing sports, and the really great looking digital HDTV content out there.
The gamma is also a little bit non-linear, but, add it all up, and this projector really does look good, which, ultimately is the key reason I decided to do the full review. My enthusiasm, unfortunately, is dampened by the black level performance. Oh, if only it had a good dynamic iris that could have put its black levels up to the "ultra-high contrast" class of projector. Next year, no doubt!
Colors are rich, and appear extremely well saturated. In this regard, I'd say it actually looks a bit more like some DLP projectors, than other LCoS projectors. I notice this when comparing to my JVC, and I know the Sonys aren't much different from my JVCs.
An example: When I'm viewing both the HD700 and my JVC RS20 and skin tones both look good, something like a red traffic light at night is more saturated. The RS20 seems almost a touch dull by comparison.
Simply stated, the HD700 projector, has a lot of "pop and wow" to offer. Combine that with lots of "best mode" lumens, and it really comes off extremely well, until you get to some really dark scenes.
Don't Panic!
I've watched over 30 hours of content so far on the HD700. While the blacks are disappointing, most of my viewing has been with the projector effortlessly filling my 128" diagonal Firehawk G3, a high contrast gray screen surface. The Panasonic PT-AE4000, by comparison, simply doesn't have the horsepower - the lumens to fill my screen in its "best" mode.
Thanks to the HC gray properties, that lowers the black levels a bit. It does make a difference. I really have managed to watch a lot of movies, and while noting the blacks, they rarely spoiled my enjoyment of the movie.
Some folks will find the Cinetron HD700 to be an ideal choice if they have less than ideal room conditions. If your "theater room" has light walls, or some moderately low levels of ambient light that can't be eliminated, that pretty much eliminates the bulk of the advantage of a projector like the Epson's superior blacks.
For example, the HD700 should pair very nicely with a gray screen in a family room environment, where pitch blackness, and dark walls rarely exist. All those "best" mode lumens should come in handy, and if the rooms ambient lighting comes from the sides, the HC gray screen helps there too. So, less wash out of the image, and blacker blacks.
Bottom Line: Overall Picture Quality: The HD700 does look good. If you aren't overly concerned about the blacks, or have an environment where it matters less, and you pair it with good HC gray screen, the HD700 looks good. It has that wow factor on those bright and normal scenes, but suffers a little in terms of blacks.
More images for your consideration: (Don't forget - the HDTV section is below)
The very bottom line on the overall image quality and color of the Cinetron HD700: Very pleasing to watch. Natural skin tones, extremely good black levels and shadow detail. Excellent on just about everything, but the darker scenes, where it still performs very well.
Cinetron HD700 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports
Wow! Rich and saturated, the Cinetron HD700 definitely works for me, in terms of sports viewing. With lumens in the upper 800s when in "best" mode, not much below the roughly 1000 lumen average brightness for projector "bright modes". This means great color with a fair amount of lumens. With most other projectors you'll have to compromise color to find 868 lumens. Here you enjoy "best" mode.
Or if you need extra, you can get 961 lumens in brightest (Dynamic) mode, with a lot better color than most Dynamic modes.
True, there are projectors including the Epson and the BenQ W6000 that can muster up a fair amount of additional lumens when needed (1300+), but for sports and digital science and travel content, you get the combination of good brightness, and better color.
Like with my JVC DLA-RS20 projector, if you want a big screen and a more than a little ambient light on when watching sports, you will likely wish for more lumens, (I'll be pulling down my JVC for this weekend for Superbowl, putting up the on loan Epson 9500UB, for the roughly extra 50% more brightness).
But! If you have a smaller screen, say 100, or 110 inch diagonal, the HD700 should do a really nice job with the same ambient light.
Bottom Line: I watched a couple of NFL playoff games - HDTV - and some other sports, reducing the projected image to around 105 inches for the NFL games since I had a few friends over. Plenty of brightness handling a fair amount of ambient light. End of conversation.
Note please: the HD700 isn't fancy, no creative frame interpolation which smooths out motion, and I personally like for sports. I don't consider the lack of this relatively new feature to be a real issue, but, a number of the HD700's competitors offer CFI.
The HD700 is, if you care much about frame interpolation, a rather excellent projector for sports viewing. The image just pops! I like this projector for sports, and for HDTV in general. On travelogue type HDTV content, it is spectacular.