Yamaha DPX-1100 - Manual (Page 3)

selected and adjusted in a single line at the
bottom of the screen.
The Signal menu provides Display
Aspect (ratio), Overscan, 3D Y/C
Separation, Noise Reduction, Video Type
(DVD or VCR) for composite and S-video
signals, Progressive Mode (Auto or Video)
for standard-definition signals, Color Space
Conversion (Auto, SDTV or HDTV), Setup
Level (7.5 IRE or 0 IRE) for SDTV and HDTV,
(Digital) Signal Level (Video 16-235, or PC
0-255), Clamp Position, and Signal Status
(HDMI source, signal format and sync infor-
mation). When analog RGB PC signals are
used the menu also includes Sync
Adjustment, Tracking, Horizontal Display
Position, and Vertical Display Position.
The Initial menu includes Color System
(Auto, NTSC, PAL, etc.), Input A Signal
(YPbPr, RGB-PC, or RGB-TV), and Sync
Type (Auto, HV sync, composite sync, or
sync-on-green), Input B Signal and Sync
Type, HDMI Signal Type, Auto Power Off,
Auto Input Search, Display Language,
Lamp Running Time, and Reset. The latter
provides a submenu to reset the current
memory, all memories, or all projector
parameters to the factory settings.
The Setup menu includes Location
(table/ceiling, fro n t / rear projection), Keystone
Correction, Remote Control Sensor, Remote
Control ID, Lens Adjustment Lock, Lamp
Power, Menu Color (Monotone or Color),
Menu Mode, Message, Trigger Out, and
Baud Rate.
T h e re are six memories for each of the six
inputs (36 total memories), plus each memory
saves separate settings for SD, HD, or RGB-PC
signals if they are applicable to a particular
input. Nearly all of the Image and Signal
menu settings are stored in each memory.
This is a valuable feature, but an additional
function to copy the settings between mem-
ories would save the user a lot of time. It
would also be beneficial if the memories
could be named to identify their purpose.
Like many projectors, whenever a set-
ting is changed it is immediately saved in
the current memory, which makes it a bit too
easy to accidentally change a saved set-
ting. The DPX-1100 has wisely added a
Memory Lock function that permits the user
to lock or unlock individual memory numbers.
Gamma
There are ten selectable gamma modes
that are labeled a-e and A-E. The a-e
gamma modes have a relatively constant
gamma from 10 to 40 IRE, and then the
gamma decreases as the brightness
increases. The 10 IRE gamma values
increase from about 1.85 for mode ‘a’ to
about 2.2 for mode ‘e.’ At 90-IRE the
gamma value varies from about 0.8 for
mode ‘a’ to about 1.65 for mode ‘e.’ The
gamma values of the A-E modes are rela-
tively constant from 10 to 60 IRE and then
roll off more gently. The 10 IRE gamma val-
ues vary from about 2.0 for mode ‘A’ to 2.4
for mode ‘E.’ At the highest brightness lev-
els the gamma values vary from about 1.0
for mode ‘A’ to 2.2 for mode ‘E.’
The video signal gamma standard is
0.45, hence a display gamma of 2.2 is
required to produce a system gamma of
1.0. (System gamma is equal to the signal
gamma multiplied by the display gamma.)
Gamma selection is always a subject of
controversy, but research indicates that a
system gamma of 1.1 to 1.2 is advanta-
geous when viewing a picture with a dark
surround. I usually prefer a display gamma
of about 2.4 to 2.5, which produces a sys-
tem gamma of 1.08 to 1.125, so I preferred
gamma mode ‘E’ for most of my viewing.
The gamma values in the DPX-1100
don’t roll off as much at high brightness lev-
els as they did in the DPX-1000. Hence
there is no longer a problem differentiating
bright details, which there was in the previ-
ous projector.
Lamp And Iris Modes
There are three iris modes that can be
selected with a button on the remote control
or in a menu. As the size of the iris aperture
is reduced the brightness is reduced, but
the contrast ratio is increased.
The lamp power adjustment now has
five steps instead of two. This is an excel-
lent new feature that makes it easier to ini-
tially adjust the projector for the desired
brightness, and then to maintain a more
constant brightness as the lamp ages.
Black Level And
Contrast Ratio
An AccuPel HDG-3000 Calibration gen-
erator (www.accupel.com) was used to gen-
erate test patterns to measure light output,
contrast ratio, gray scale and color accura-
cy. Light output and contrast measurements
were made using the HDMI input with the
white reference calibrated to D65. The pro-
jector was adjusted for maximum calibrated
light output (Contrast control) with a peak-
white PLUGE pattern (98 IRE stripe against
a 100 IRE background), and optimum black
level (Brightness control) with a convention-
al PLUGE pattern.
The DPX-1100 produced the best on-off
contrast ratio that I have ever measured
from a fixed-pixel projector. With the lamp
power at 100 and the iris at minimum aper-
ture, the projector produced 14.2 foot-
Lamberts (fL) from my 1.3 gain, 85.3-inch
wide, 16:9 Stewart Filmscreen Studiotek 130
screen. The record setting on-off contrast
ratio measured 3590:1.
I prefer about 11 to 12 fL for critical
viewing (SMPTE recommends 12 fL for digi-
tal cinema), so I reduced the lamp setting
to 90, which produced 11.8 fL—about 83
percent of the full brightness in the mini-
mum aperture mode. That gave me an
exceptional black level of only 0.0033 fL.
With the middle iris aperture and the
lamp power at 100, the projector produced
14.8 fL with an on-off contrast ratio of 2500:1.
I rechecked this several times because it
was somewhat puzzling that the contrast
ratio changed significantly between the min-
imum and middle iris aperture modes, while
the light output changed so little.
With the lamp power at 100 and the iris
at maximum aperture, the projector pro-
duced 554 lumens, which is equivalent to
G R AY S C A L E T R AC K I N G
HDMI YPbPr RGB
Fixed Fixed Calibrated
IRE °K dE °K dE °K dE
10 6731 6 6679 6 6464 3
20 6644 4 6610 1 6477 2
30 6451 2 6506 2 6437 1
40 6437 1 6499 1 6492 0
50 6377 2 6499 1 6430 1
60 6437 1 6570 2 6506 2
70 6437 1 6562 2 6499 1
80 6424 2 6506 2 6437 0
90 6370 2 6506 2 6437 1
100 6430 1 6529 4 6522 4
Yamaha DPX-1100
equipment Review
Widescreen Review • Issue 88 • September 2004 3 Page 3/7