3D Projector Reviews

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 5,650:1

Measurements were made using CalMAN software from SpectraCal, together with Photo Research PR-650 and Klein K-10A color meters, and an AV Foundry VideoForge pattern generator. All calibrations and measurements were performed in 2D.

In the Reference Calibrated Preset with the Brightness setting at 53, the Contrast at 96, the Lamp Control on Low, and the Gamma Correction at 2.4, the measured peak white level was 22.6 ft-L and the black level 0.004 ft-L, resulting in the contrast ratio shown above. I also measured the full-on/full-off contrast ratio for different combinations of the Brightness (53 and 54) and Gamma Correction (2.4 and 2.2) controls, and in both the High and Low Lamp Control settings. I used these settings in various configurations depending on the source (most often with Brightness at 53, Contrast at 96, and Gamma at 2.4) and used the Low Lamp Control setting for all of my 2D viewing. The lowest contrast result of the eight combinations was 4,276:1 (Lamp Control High, Gamma Correction 2.2, Brightness 54) and the highest 6,367:1 (Lamp Control High, Gamma Correction 2.4, Brightness 53). The latter was due more to its higher peak white level (38.2 ft-L) than to its black level (0.006 ft-L).

With the Gamma Correction control set to 2.4, the gamma ranged from a minimum of 2.27 to 2.3 from 20% to 80%, dropping to 2.2 at 90%.

With the Calibrated Preset in Reference mode (with minor adjustments, including proper setting of the black and peak white levels) and in the D65 Color Temp. setting, the unweighted average pre-calibration grayscale Delta E was 4.09 (20% to 100%), with a maximum of 5.04 at 90%. Post-calibration, the unweighted average grayscale Delta E was 1.38 (20% to 100%), with a maximum of 2.33 at 50%.

(Delta E is a figure of merit indicating how close the color comes to the D65 HD standard at each point in the brightness range. Values below 3—some experts allow for 4—are generally considered visually indistinguishable from ideal.)

The color Delta Es for the (BT.709) color gamut didn’t require the use of the projector’s color management system to produce more than satisfactory results, with a post-calibration maximum of 1.78 (blue).—TJN