Shadow Detail Performance 2

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Art Feierman

Below is a heavily overexposed scene from Lord of the Rings. The overexposure lets you see all the details in the shed on the right, the structure on the left, and the plants and ground along the lower right. The blacks might not be very black, but there is plenty of detail.

Click on left thumbnail image for the Epson, Sanyo PLV-Z60 in the center, and the right for the Optoma HD71.

comparision

MovieMate 60 spacecowboys walk

MovieMate 72 spacecowboys walk2 large

Home Cinema 700 spacecowboys walk

HD71 spacecowboys walk large

It's not uncommon for projectors with lesser black level performance to do particularly well on dark shadow detail, since the darkest shadow areas appear lighter, and therefore are easier to see. With a projector with exceptional black levels, the nearest non-blacks are still extremely dark, and more easily lost to sight, especially if there are bright areas nearby.