What does "Throwing Rainbows" Mean for a DLP projector?

Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

VHS Member Old Skool
I am looking at the The Optoma HD65 720P projector. The reviews are pretty stellar, but one of the few complaints for some people is the "slow color wheel, which can throw rainbows". THis shows up in relatively few reviews, but I was wondering how big of a deal this would be if it came up.
 
If you are among the small percentage that can see these rainbow artifacts, it would be very annoying and a dealbreaker, but many people can't perceive them. From projector central--

DLP rainbow artifacts

DLP projectors have no vertical banding problems. But all of the inexpensive models (okay, say, those under $15,000) have a single DLP chip and a spinning color wheel that can produce visible color separation artifacts—commonly known as rainbows. People tend to perceive rainbow artifacts differently based upon how sensitive they are to them. But basically, they appear as a breakout of red, green, and blue color that shouldn't be there. When you see momentary splashes of color in Casablanca, you know something's not quite right. Not only are they visually distracting, but sequential color updating from the spinning color wheel can cause eye strain and headaches for many viewers. This problem never occurs on an LCD projector because LCD projectors don't use color wheels.

Some people are never bothered by DLP rainbows. I am one of them. I can watch a DLP projector all day long and never see visual distractions or develop eyestrain or headache. This is somewhat of a handicap for a projector reviewer. In years past I'd give a particular DLP projector a glowing review, only to get a flurry of email saying, "Evan, are you nuts? There are rainbows everywhere."

Individual sensitivity to rainbow artifacts can vary greatly. In addition to folks like me who don't see them at all, there are those who notice them from time to time, but don't find them to be much of a nuisance. On the other hand, there are some who are so bothered by them that they cannot watch a DLP projector under any circumstances.
 
Jim Brennan said:
Thanks...now if only I knew if these would be a problem for me .....:undecided
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Just go to a store and demo one. Any DLP with equal colour wheel speed would do.

I've owned a few DLP projectors in my day and have held plenty of movie nights. Not one complaint in the bunch.

Don't sweat it. :thumbup:

PS- I could notice rainbows on occasion with older models but not enough to bother me. The newer models (including the one you mentioned) don't affect me at all. I can't even spot them anymore. And trust me, the older models had MUCH slower colour wheels.

MAH
 
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Jim Brennan said:
Thanks...now if only I knew if these would be a problem for me .....:undecided
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In some trade shows you can see it happen, at least I do, usually when I shake or move my head. If not maybe in a shop you can get them power up some dlp projectors for you to see if you have the gift.
 
Some of the explanations I have been reading claim that some people don't notice it right away, but once you see them, you'll ALWAYS see them. Honestly, I don't think it would be a problem for me, but we watch a lot of b&w films, and odds are this will be a problem for my wife. SHe is ultra sensitive to crap like that.

Looks like I'm back to the Panny AX-200u
 
ilauzirika said:
In some trade shows you can see it happen, at least I do, usually when I shake or move my head.
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LOL!

Nothing against you but that comment reminds me of the first time I watched one. It was the old NEC LT150.
There was a guy there saying... "Look at the rainbows! I could never watch this." The whole time he was shaking his head back and forth very rapidly.

I turned to him and said... "try watching it like a normal person." :evil:

Some people actually go out of their way to see them. That's a big mistake.

MAH
 
Jim Brennan said:
Some of the explanations I have been reading claim that some people don't notice it right away, but once you see them, you'll ALWAYS see them. Honestly, I don't think it would be a problem for me, but we watch a lot of b&w films, and odds are this will be a problem for my wife. SHe is ultra sensitive to crap like that.

Looks like I'm back to the Panny AX-200u
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If she's ultra sensitive to stuff like that then how does panel misalignment and dead pixels sound? Every technology has its disadvantages.

Honestly, just take her to see one of the new projectors. I MOD over at AVSforum and this used to be a big problem. That was many years ago.

Barely anyone even talks about it anymore due to the increased wheel speeds and refresh rates over days gone by.

Like I said, I can't even spot them anymore and not one visitor has ever noticed them, even in the old days. Ignorance is bliss.

MAH
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
If she's ultra sensitive to stuff like that then how does panel misalignment and dead pixels sound? Every technology has its disadvantages.

Honestly, just take her to see one of the new projectors. I MOD over at AVSforum and this used to be a big problem. That was many years ago.

Barely anyone even talks about it anymore due to the increased wheel speeds and refresh rates over days gone by.

Like I said, I can't even spot them anymore and not one visitor has ever noticed them, even in the old days. Ignorance is bliss.

MAH
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I'll take her in somewhere to see one. Thanks for the advice. THis particular madel has a 4x wheel speed. THat is somewhat slower than the current average, no?
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
LOL!

Nothing against you but that comment reminds me of the first time I watched one. It was the old NEC LT150.
There was a guy there saying... "Look at the rainbows! I could never watch this." The whole time he was shaking his head back and forth very rapidly.

I turned to him and said... "try watching it like a normal person." :evil:

Some people actually go out of their way to see them. That's a big mistake.

MAH
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hahaha, true, in that case we were supposed to be moving and walking, so I had to move my head, hahaha, but I could also see the rainbow effect whenever I moved my eyes :shocked: to look off the screen.
 
Jim Brennan said:
I'll take her in somewhere to see one. Thanks for the advice. THis particular madel has a 4x wheel speed. THat is somewhat slower than the current average, no?
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For what it's worth... I believe the old LT150 had a 1x wheel. :)
Even then only a very low percent of people saw rainbows when watching normally. Even less were bothered by them.

If she doesn't know anything about rainbows, don't mention them. :thumbsup:
I'll bet you will be fine.

MAH
 
Jim Brennan said:
Some of the explanations I have been reading claim that some people don't notice it right away, but once you see them, you'll ALWAYS see them. Honestly, I don't think it would be a problem for me, but we watch a lot of b&w films, and odds are this will be a problem for my wife. SHe is ultra sensitive to crap like that.

Looks like I'm back to the Panny AX-200u
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It's true, once you see them you always will. I know several people who learned what to look for and they wish they never would have learned, thier movies have never been the same.

Like Terry said, you don't want your movies to be gay.
 
ChipG said:
It's true, once you see them you always will. I know several people who learned what to look for and they wish they never would have learned, thier movies have never been the same.
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While true of the old projectors not quite true anymore. It's very difficult to spot them on the faster wheels, even when trying.

The technology has improved drastically over the years.

MAH
 
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