Projector Reviews

The projector's post-calibration color fidelity ranged from good to excellent. While I sometimes noticed a hint of green and, at other times, a slight paleness and lack of saturation in flesh tones, this was only with some material, suggesting that the fault was in the source. Color and tint controls would have helped here (I did most of my viewing through the HDMI input which, as noted above, lacks those adjustments.) But I suspect the added processing required for such controls were something SIM2 preferred to avoid. On the other hand, green foliage, which can often be artificial-looking with digital projectors, looked as natural as I've yet seen from a digital projector.

The C3X's image was exceptionally crisp and detailed. In that department, its optical performance put it just a hair above the Yamaha DPX-1300 projector I reviewed just last week. The differences were not huge; the Yamaha is one of the best single-chippers on the market. But the C3X's superiority is there if you look for it. Great optics aren't cheap and are likely a major item in the C3X's parts budget. Images weren't always tack sharp, but when they weren't it was clearly a source problem and not the projector's.

On the new King Kong, dark scenes generally looked good, with acceptable shadow detail. Black levels clearly weren't the best in the business, but this was seldom obvious. Blacks and shadow detail were comparable to other three-chip DLPs I've seen—both professional and consumer models. That is, they aren't as good in these characteristics as the best single-chip projectors, but are obvious in their shortcomings only on the most difficult, dark on dark, low-contrast scenes. The shots in the opening below decks sequence in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World were merely okay—a little gray and lacking in punch. They were also a bit less sharply defined than brighter scenes. But dim scenes with bright highlights that give the eye a point of reference—a category that includes the majority of what we think of as "dark" scenes—were more than acceptable.

High-definition was also very well handled. It all wasn't pristine of course, the source material can be just as variable as with standard definition. Fever Pitch on HBO looked poor, but then so does the 2.35:1 DVD (HBO's 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 pan-and-scan image masher didn't help matters.) But The Tailor of Panama on HDNet Movies was far better. And the in-studio portions of the HD newscasts from KABC here in Los Angeles looked sensational.

Over the Top
When I measured the gamma of the SIM2 in the User 2.4 setting I had been using, I found to my surprise that it actually measured much lower (see Tests and Calibrations.) This means that the mid brightness levels of the images I had been watching were higher than they should have been, a characteristic I noticed in some early comparisons with the Yamaha DPX-1300 projector. Ordinarily I wouldn't have considered using a gamma setting of, say, 2.8 (which will darken the mid-brightness region.) But, it turns out that this setting measured closer to a gamma of 2.4 than did the 2.4 setting. Not only that, but 2.8 lowered the overall brightness level from the projector enough that I could comfortably remove the ND filter even on my relatively small screen. The peak was still around 18fL, but most program material does not go that bright very often.

This single discovery, made during my final week with the SIM2, changed everything for me. The picture went from "respectable, but it doesn't really blow me away," to superb. Not great in every way, mind you; I'd still like to see deeper blacks and better shadow detail in dark scenes. And removing the ND filter did make both slightly worse. But in every other respect- color, detail, punch, and, in particular, a realistic rendition of depth and dimensionality- the change pushed the SIM2's picture well over the top. It was now quite spectacular.

It was so good in fact that I couldn't resist a more detailed comparison with the Yamaha DPX-1300. The Yamaha is capable of just as much output as the C3X with its lamp near maximum and its iris fully open. And while that isn't the setup that produces the best blacks on that projector, it's hard to go back to peaks of 13fL once you're used to 18fL. The Yamaha does have the advantage, however, of offering both options; of the two projectors the Yamaha provides the most usable adjustment of light output by far. On my small screen, the SIM2 demanded that I use that ND filter and its lowest lamp setting to come close to matching the low output setup of the Yamaha, and even then it can't approach the black level and peak contrast of the DPX-1300.

But with both projectors set up for approximately the same gamma, the same peak light output, and their best color fidelity, it was a real shooting match. I went back and forth many times, using a variety of the best DVDs at my disposal. The SIM2 sometimes pulled slightly ahead by virtue of a little extra punch (this might merely have been a slight difference in gamma, but since this couldn't be eliminated when I matched the two projectors as closely as possible, it must remain a plus for the C3X.) The SIM2 also had a very subtle advantage in natural sharpness and detail (those optics again). And I had the C3X' lamp on 200W during this comparison, leaving a little reserve on hand with higher lamp settings (important if you want a larger screen than the one I used, or want to hold something back for the inevitable dimming of the lamp.) The Yamaha was running nearly flat-out.

On the other hand, even with the higher blacks resulting from fully opening its iris, the Yamaha had a distinct advantage on dark scenes in the richness of its blacks and shadow detail, and sharpness. Yes, the SIM2 was subtly sharper most of the time, but the Yamaha was crisper in dark scenes. I'll take a wild stab and speculate that this advantage was due to the DPX-1300's pixel-based, HQV video processing.

Of course, the Yamaha did display the occasional rainbow, which the three-chip SIM2, of course, did not. It must be said, however, that the differences between the two projectors weren't huge, which certainly gives the prize for value to the Yamaha.

Conclusions
Curiously absent from the owner's manual (though to be fair, not from the SIM2 website) is any mention of the fact that the C3X is a 720p projector in a world where high-end DLP home projectors are on the verge of exploding into 1080p. No 1080p consumer DLPs are yet available, but we expect single-chip 1080p DLPs with true 1920x1080 DMDs to show up on the market by late this year. Three-chippers won't be far behind.

The Grand Cinema C3X was designed in a 720p projector world, and as a consumer device it certainly approaches that technology's state-of-the-art in most respects. We won't know until we actually see the first 1080p three-chip products what real advantages they may offer, and what (if any) problems the first generation of those designs will experience.

There are also other new technologies likely to find their way into DLP projectors in the coming year, including new types of color wheels, non-lamp light sources, and improvements in black levels. A dynamic iris, for instance, has yet to make an appearance in a consumer DLP projector, but it's only a matter of time.

So, buying an expensive 720p projector today may be a bit of a crapshoot. But the SIM2 Grand Cinema C3X certainly has the stuff to come up a winner. It has a few limitations, and the price may be high, but it's not outrageous for what it provides on the bottom line: an involving, compelling picture.

Highs and Lows

Highs
Bright, sharp, wow-inducing image
Flexible setup controls
The most compact three-chip DLP on the market

Lows
Contrast ratio limited by today's standards
Limited black level and shadow details
Restricted resolution in 480i component