Since the introduction of our KJ Cinema division last year we have completed a number of impressive high-end home cinema systems for our clients. Now we have taken the next step and installed an extremely impressive yet simple reference quality AV setup in our main showroom.
The difficulty with projectors and screens can often occur from the light in the room and also finding where the equipment can be housed. The setup we are now displaying gets around both of these issues and gives a truly fantastic result without over complication.
The XTV is an ultra-short throw projector from Sim2 designed to sit on a surface below a screen. This removes the need for mounting a projector on the ceiling, and all the cabling and installation complications that this ultimately involves.
We have paired this with the Screen Innovations Slate 1.2 Screen which is specially designed for ultra-short throw projectors with a patented design to the structure and alignment of the light reflecting substrate. This is designed to reject light from above and only reflect light coming up from below – from the projector. In fact the SI Slate screen rejects 65% of the room’s ambient light vs. only <10% light rejection with a standard white or grey screen.
In addition to the light rejection the screen has a high contrast grey finish, improving the black levels. The result is a large screen image that is comfortably viewed in average home environment.
The source we are using comes from the new Oppo 203 UHD Blu-Ray and DVD player. Oppo are an incredibly high regarded manufacturer of players. At their price point it is extremely difficult to find anything that can come close to matching the performance that Oppos give.
There are a number of advantages to using a projection image over watching on a TV –
1) No glass – Every TV has a layer of glass in front and no matter how good the glass is, it will always be reflecting ambient light and movement from the room. The projected image has no reflections, so when you view the image it has a striking solidity and believability that is most compelling and natural.
2) The dynamic range is compatible with the human eye – TVs are designed to work in highly lit environments and use a dynamic range beyond what the eye can respond to without opening and closing of the Iris in the eye. This leads to fatigue as the eye is constantly having to react to sudden changes of light intensity. There is far less fatigue from using the projection system, and since the iris has less work to do the viewer can appreciate subtitles in the darker scenes and capture far more detail.
3) Focus of the RGB Components that make up the colours – In a TV the red, green and blue dots of light that make up a pixel are very close together, but discrete. In the projection system the red, green and blue components are all focussed at precisely the same location on the screen. This renders much purer colours.
The overall effect is much more cinematic, you’ll be struck by the much greater sense of depth and naturalness of the image.
When compared with a TV of a similar size its price point is extremely comparable.
The Sim2 XTV Projector is £13,995 (inc VAT)
The 2m wide (90” Diagonal) Screen Innovations screen is £6,871 (inc VAT)
The Oppo 203 UHD Blu-Ray and DVD player is £649 (inc VAT)