Mitsubishi HC1100 - Uneven focus

[Blueeyedfrog]

Hello all,

I have been happily enjoying my HC1100 projector for the past 6 months and have just noticed that the middle and left side of the image is blurry (i.e. the left 2/3rds of the image). It is very noticeable when viewing my computer desktop. I have tried rotating the sideways position of the projector slightly just to make sure the projector is sitting at 90 degrees from the screen - doesn't seem to make any difference.

I have calibrated the image (contrast, brightness, sharpness) a while ago. I run a 5 metre cable from my computer (DVI out) to the projector (HDMI in). Cable is an DVI to HDMI. I have no keystone correction on and have the over scan set to 100%.

I have never cleaned the lens - could that be the problem? Or could it be my computer's video card/drivers going funny? Interference?

I have always had a high pitched whine coming from the projector. I took it to the service agent soon after I brought it. He said there was nothing wrong with it and that it was a very quiet machine. He got a bit aggressive actually, as if I was trying to waste his time. I wonder if it is capacitor or something - the fan is definitely very quite in the low lamp mode I use. Do you think the noise could be related to the image being non-uniformly out of focus?

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Sam

[Mike P.]

Is the projector only connected to a computer? If so, try a DVD player to see if you get the same results.

[Blueeyedfrog]

Hey Mike!

Good idea. I'll try that tonight - hopefully. But it will only be an analogue signal to the projector - which from memory gave an overall fuzzy picture.

[Blueeyedfrog]

Okay, I didn't get a chance to test with a DVD player but I played around with the focus control on the projector. The good news is that I can get the entire image in focus. The bad news is that I can't get the entire image in focus all at the same time. If I get one part of the image in focus the other is out of focus - e.g. if I get the left side in focus then the right is out of focus and vice versa.

I have the zoom at the midway position. I remember reading a review about this projector that said the zoom went out of whack at the extreme end of the travel. But which is the extreme end - when the image is at its smallest or largest? Should I try moving the projector and setting the zoom at the best end of the travel? Is my alignment between the projector and the screen somehow out? Or is the projector screen not entirely flat?

[Anthony]

My first thought is that they are not perpendicular.

Then I would check to see if the screen was not flat.

It does not take much to throw off the focus (only a few degrees). If this were the case, I would check to see if there was any vertical keystoning (image would be slightly larger on the side farthest from the projector).

[tonyjover]

Blueeyedfrog wrote:

I have always had a high pitched whine coming from the projector.

That's the DLP colour wheel.

WRT the blur, I agree with Anthony - it sounds like your PJ isn't perfectly perpendicular to the screen. The alternative is that the lens isn't perpendicular to the chip inside the PJ but the cure is the same - move the PJ either left or right; one direction will make it worse, the other direction will make it better.

Regards,
Tony

[Blueeyedfrog]

Thanks Guys,

I will play around with the perpendicularness [sic] of the projector and see if I can improve things.

Re the DPL colour wheel - is it faulty or ok? I.e. should I put up with the noise or try to get it fixed under warranty? By the way, when I turn the projector off and the light goes out and the fan speeds up (cool down mode), the noise disappears.

[tonyjover]

Blueeyedfrog wrote:

Re the DPL colour wheel - is it faulty or ok?

It's fine. All DLPs whine to a certain extent, some models are so quiet you can't really hear them, some are more noisy.

Regards,
Tony