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Entered CNET Catalog: 05/17/2003
SKU: MATINEE1HD
Manufacturer: Boxlight
Manufacturer description
The Studio Experience Matinee 1HD has a wide VGA LCD panel optimally matches DVD resolutions (480i/480p), as well as being HDTV compatible. Featuring a short throw lens so that you can project a large image in a typical size room, as well as a manual zoom lens with manual lens shift to work around set-up limitations. This unit is one of the quietest projectors in the market with a 28 dB noise rating in the Theater Black Mode. Automatic and manual image adjustments allow for fine-tuning the image to personal preferences. Backlit remote control can be used in the dark. Comes complete with a spare lamp and a ceiling mount kit. 700 ANSI lumens, wide VGA resolution, 800: 1 contrast ratio for fantastic theater-like image quality at home!CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 04/18/2003
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more. The 1HD is nothing to write home about in the looks department. This compact black box has a flip-down door in the front that exposes the lens. Some of the most commonly used functions are also located on the top of the projector. The remote is small but well laid out and, to our great surprise and pleasure, almost fully backlit for ease of use in a darkened home theater.
At roughly 4.3 by 13 by 9.7 inches (height, width, and depth), the 1HD could easily be concealed in a hush box, making it invisible on the ceiling. This model weighs a mere 7.5 pounds, so taking it on the road is another option. Most front projectors have little if any convenience features such as picture-in-picture or a TV tuner, and the 1HD is no exception. However, it does have a number of setup- and picture-enhancing features worth mentioning. We were pleased to find that it offers both horizontal and vertical physical lens shift, which is something we have seen in only pricey DLP projectors up until now. This adds a huge amount of flexibility in the physical placement of the unit. Of course, there is also the obligatory digital Keystone correction, but we recommend that you make sure the projector is level relative to the screen; that way, you don't have to use this feature, as it degrades picture quality.
Four selectable color temperatures are available: Xlow, Low, Mid, and High, which range from a reddish, more accurate color temperature to a bluer, cooler look. There are also three aspect-ratio choices: Normal for 4:3 material, Zoom for wide-screen nonanamorphic sources, and Full for anamorphic DVD and HDTV signals. You can optimize all the sources coming into the 1HD with its six separate memory slots.
The unit is also PAL and SECAM compatible for use in Europe. More importantly, the 1HD is HDTV compatible. It will receive and display 1080i and 720p HDTV signals, but of course it scales them down to its native resolution of 964x544. Its wide-screen aspect-ratio chip is ideal for use with 16:9 screens.
Connectivity is somewhat limited with only one set of component-video inputs, which means you can't run progressive-scan DVD and HDTV sources into the 1HD separately. Other jacks include one S-Video input, one composite-video input, a 15-pin VGA input for computer hookup, and a service port. The main strength of the 1HD is its bright, colorful image. The primary colors of red and green looked exceptionally good for an LCD projector, and the color decoder was excellent, with no red push whatsoever. This means you will get excellent color saturation, especially with component-video sources such as DVD and HDTV.
We checked the Xlow Color temperature setting to see out-of-the-box grayscale performance and measured 7,300 Kelvin near the bottom of the grayscale and 8,300 near the top. After tweaking the grayscale with the projector's limited controls, we were able to get much closer to the standard of D6500; we measured 6,400 at the bottom of the grayscale and 7,400 at the top.
Video processing is where the 1HD falls down. Looking at all the jagged edges and moving lines during the opening sequence of Star Trek: Insurrection, we realized that the 1HD lacks the all-important 3:2 pull-down detection in video processing. A progressive-scan DVD player is a must have for this projector.
Black level, probably LCD's biggest drawback, is not great on the 1HD, but it's not as bad as that of some LCD projectors we've seen. After calibration, we sat back and watched some scenes from Training Day and Charlotte Gray on DVD. Color saturation was really good on chapter 31 of Charlotte Gray. Chapter 4 of Training Day looked OK, but since it is a 2.35:1 aspect-ratio film, you can clearly see that the black bars on the top and bottom of the image are dark gray instead of really black. HDTV from our Dish Network HD feed looked good, especially with bright scenes on the demo channel.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 User Rating: 
5/10
good picture, poor reliability
Pros: Sharp contrast, good color saturation. 16:9 native aspect ratio (good for HD).
Cons: Poor reliability and very poor customer service. I had a burnt out bulb after less than 200 hrs. of use. I have it in for warrenty work due to a shutdown issue--it's been a month since I've seen my projector and still no resolution!
Review:
