RadioShack
Entered CNET Catalog: 09/10/2004
SKU: 0050585150614
Manufacturer: Hitachi America Ltd.
Manufacturer description
Hitachi's new PJTX100 High Definition Front Projector provides a large screen size solution with flexible installation options and unparalleled image quality. The 3 Panel 720P LCD light engine and exclusive Super Focus Quattro ELD can create an image from 30 to 300 inches, with incredible clarity and brightness. The Super Focus Quattro ELD lens system includes lens shift capability as well as 1.6x zoom functionality. The lens shift feature in the PJTX100 allows the unit to be placed off axis from the center of the screen without having to use digital correction. The lens system itself shifts the image both vertically and horizontally, maintaining detail and sharpness. A host of picture adjustment features allow the PJTX100 to be properly calibrated for any home theater environment or incoming source signal. Black levels are extremely important to the picture quality in a Front Projector, 10-step Motorized Iris control, 3 Optical Black Level settings and an exclusive 8-step Gamma adjustment feature ensure optimal picture quality for any home theater displayProduct summary
The good: Solid black-level performance for an LCD projector; horizontal and vertical lens shift; DVI and HDMI inputs.
The bad: Limited input flexibility; somewhat expensive compared to other 720p projectors.
The bottom line: With lens shift, high resolution, and plenty of adjustments, this LCD projector stands out from the midpriced pack.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 12/02/2004
The PJ-TX100's attractive curved exterior is a far cry from the squared-off boxes found on cheapo projectors. It measures 13.4 by 5.6 by 11.1 inches (WHD) and weighs 9 pounds. Power, menu, and input buttons, along with a four-way rocking controller for menu controls are on the top of the box. The small remote includes dedicated buttons for each input, as well as brightness, contrast, and color. Most of the buttons are backlit.
With a native resolution of 1,280x720, the PJ-TX100 has enough pixels to display full 720p HDTV; everything else, including 1080i HDTV, is converted to fit those pixels. Keystoning is vertical only, so placement must be more precise than if horizontal keystoning were also onboard. Happily, you may not have to use keystoning at all since the projector includes both horizontal and vertical lens shift. This allows you to place it higher, lower, or to either side relative to the screen and not experience the detail loss that comes with digital keystoning.
Five picture presets are available, in addition to four user-defined modes. The Normal setting's color temperature is closest to the 6,500K standard. Optical Black adjustment--Opt Black on the remote--actually controls the iris. Setting it to Normal or Deep Black will result in deeper blacks at the expense of light output. There's also an eight-step Gamma adjustment to further fine-tune the grayscale. The Progressive setting activates the 2:3 pull-down circuit, and aspect-ratio controls include 16:9, 4:3, Wide (to expand 4:3 sources so that they fill the screen), Normal (which keeps the input signal's aspect ratio intact), and Movie-1 and Movie-2 zoom modes.
Connectivity options include one component video, one S-Video, one composite video, one computer RGB, one RS-232 control port, and one DVI with HDCP.
We tested the PJ-TX100 in concert with a 96-inch-diagonal Da-Lite High Contrast Da-Mat screen specifically designed for use with LCD and DLP projectors. Right out of the box, color temperature was impressive compared to that of many LCD projectors we've seen. But it was still a bit blue and varied substantially from 6,500K through the middle of the grayscale. After calibration, it became a lot more accurate and consistent throughout the grayscale. The color decoder showed minor red push. Primary colors of red and green looked more accurate than on many LCDs but still slightly orange and lime.
Black-level performance was one of this projector's best points, with very little detail lost in dark portions of the image, even when faced with difficult material such as the Alien DVD. The darkened hallways in chapter 2, "Autopilot," neither plunged into inky muddled blobs nor turned them gray or overly bright. Sure, blacks were not as deep as we've seen on some DLP projectors, but they were very good for an LCD. Thankfully, false contouring was nearly absent.
The annoying screen-door effect that afflicts so many LCD projectors was not a problem to our eyes when viewing the PJ-TX100's image from a distance of two screen heights or more. Moving closer, we did begin to detect the faint grid of pixel structure, especially in brighter areas, but most people won't sit that close.
As we expected from a high-resolution projector, high-definition content from HD Net over our DirecTV feed looked wonderful. Clint Eastwood's fabulous biopic of Charlie Parker, Bird, looked great, with rich colors and full shadows. Even Odyssey 5 on HDNet was somehow enchanting to watch with the sound turned off.
Even if you don't want to spring for a calibration, the PJ-TX100 is a solid choice for a moderately priced home theater. DLP projectors with this kind of resolution cost much more, and the Hitachi's accurate initial settings and range of adjustments differentiate it from competing LCD-based models. If you don't need all those settings or the lens shift, then Panasonic's PT-AE500U may be a better bargain.
| TEST | RESULT | SCORE |
| Before color temp (30/80) | 6,575/6,925K | Good |
| After color temp (30/80) | 6,550/6,540K | Good |
| Before grayscale variation | ± 495K | Good |
| After grayscale variation | ± 187K | Average |
| Overscan | 0.25% | Good |
| Color decoder error: red | 5% | Good |
| Color decoder error: green | 0% | Good |
| DC restoration | Gray pattern stable | Average |
| 2:3 pull-down, 24fps | Y | Good |
| Defeatable edge enhancement | Y | Good |
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.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3out of 3 user reviews
Pull the trigger! Outstanding design LCD, Best buy!
Pros: Good pics out of the box. Custom 6500 color w/Deep Black awesome. Exceptional Optics
Cons: Manual left out 1080P capable w/3-2 pulldown for awesome 720P pics!
out of 3 user reviews
An excellent projector
Pros: high resolution hd picture, quiet, bright, inexpensive compared to a plasma
Cons: none yet after 8 months ownership
Essential components:
1) wall or ceiling mount screen (I have one of the cheap roll-up types and it works wonderfully- go for high contrast for better blacks)
2) ceiling mount (go for the good one on this. One with adjustments for every direction and sturdy construction)
3) necessary a/v cables (again, get the good ones)
out of 3 user reviews
The Unit itself looks great - and the picture it produces even better!
Pros: Excellent clarity, lovely blacks reproduced, and the lens system is amazining.
Cons: Non really - other than the fan still creates enough noise to hinder your enjoyment of quite scenes.
