Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-5 Posted on October 22, 2008 By Art Feierman 1. Planar PD8150 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector Review: Overview - Planar PD8150 Projector: Highlights2. Planar PD8150 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector Review: Overview-2 - Projector: Basic Specifications - Planar PD8150 Projector: Physical Tour3. Planar PD8150 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector Review: Overview-34. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality - Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Out of the Box Picture Quality - Skin Tone Handling5. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-2 - Planar PD8150: Black Level and Shadow Detail6. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-3 - PD8150 Projector: Shadow Detail Performance7. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-48. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-59. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-610. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-711. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-812. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-9 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Image Sharpness13. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-10 - Planar PD8150: Bottom Line Sharpness - Planar PD8150 Projector: Overall Image Quality - Overall Picture Quality: Bottom Line14. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance - Planar PD8150 Projector: Menus - Planar PD8150 Projector: User Memory Settings - Planar PD8150 Projector: Remote Control - Planar PD8150 Projector: Lens Throw and Lens Shift - Planar PD8150 Projector: SDE and Rainbow Effect, Pixel Visibility 15. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-2 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Brightness16. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-317. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-418. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-5 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Light Leakage 19. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-6 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Audible Noise Levels - Planar PD8150 Projector: Screen Recommendations - Planar PD8150 Projector: Measurements and Calibration20. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-7 - PD8150 Calibration settings for RGB - PD8150 Image Noise21. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Warranty22. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons - Planar PD8150 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Planar PD8150 Projector: Pros - Planar PD8150 Projector: Cons23. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons-2 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Typical Capabilities - Planar PD8150 Projector: Competitive Aspects - PD8150 vs. InFocus IN83 - Planar PD8150 vs. JVC RS1x and RS224. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons-3 - Planar PD8150 vs. Sony VW60 - Planar PD8150 vs. Optoma HD81-LV - Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary 25. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons-4 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Bottom Line I believe Planar has implemented the Brilliant Color and Adaptive Contrast so well, that for those concerned about ambient light, you just might want to consider their “brightest mode” to be roughly equivalent to having 1200 lumens or so, for a brightest mode, which brings the Planar PD8150 up to about average, or a little better than average for brightest mode viewing. One more pair, a very telling set. This is the usual image from Space Cowboys that I like to use to demonstrate shadow detail in a scene that has a lot of bright. Click on the thumbnails to see the larger, images (the thumbnails are the same). Left are with these features off, and on the right with the special features on. As you will see, much of the workings of the satellite, are much darker on the image with the features on, that image has more “pop”, but you can easily see that much of the detail is gone in those dark areas. PD8150 spacecowboys walk largePD8150 spacecowboys walk ACPreviousNext Ok, you should get the idea. Remember, in each case, the images with the Adaptive Contrast and Brilliant Color on, were shot at a faster exposure, so that the overall brightness is close, so you can compare. Planar PD8150 Projector: Light Leakage The Planar PD8150 is very clean, in terms of light leakage. There is just the tiniest amount, coming through the lens and hitting outside of the image area. The light streaks are curved, indicating reflections from the lens. Even with a fully black image on the screen, it’s barely noticeable, even if your wall by the screen is white. I never noticed any issue during viewing of content! 1. Planar PD8150 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector Review: Overview - Planar PD8150 Projector: Highlights2. Planar PD8150 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector Review: Overview-2 - Projector: Basic Specifications - Planar PD8150 Projector: Physical Tour3. Planar PD8150 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector Review: Overview-34. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality - Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Out of the Box Picture Quality - Skin Tone Handling5. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-2 - Planar PD8150: Black Level and Shadow Detail6. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-3 - PD8150 Projector: Shadow Detail Performance7. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-48. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-59. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-610. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-711. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-812. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-9 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Image Sharpness13. Planar PD8150 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-10 - Planar PD8150: Bottom Line Sharpness - Planar PD8150 Projector: Overall Image Quality - Overall Picture Quality: Bottom Line14. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance - Planar PD8150 Projector: Menus - Planar PD8150 Projector: User Memory Settings - Planar PD8150 Projector: Remote Control - Planar PD8150 Projector: Lens Throw and Lens Shift - Planar PD8150 Projector: SDE and Rainbow Effect, Pixel Visibility 15. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-2 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Brightness16. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-317. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-418. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-5 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Light Leakage 19. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-6 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Audible Noise Levels - Planar PD8150 Projector: Screen Recommendations - Planar PD8150 Projector: Measurements and Calibration20. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-7 - PD8150 Calibration settings for RGB - PD8150 Image Noise21. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Warranty22. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons - Planar PD8150 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Planar PD8150 Projector: Pros - Planar PD8150 Projector: Cons23. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons-2 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Typical Capabilities - Planar PD8150 Projector: Competitive Aspects - PD8150 vs. InFocus IN83 - Planar PD8150 vs. JVC RS1x and RS224. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons-3 - Planar PD8150 vs. Sony VW60 - Planar PD8150 vs. Optoma HD81-LV - Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary 25. Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Competition, Pros and Cons-4 - Planar PD8150 Projector: Bottom Line Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-4 Planar PD8150 Home Theater Projector Review: General Performance-6