Acer H9500BD Projector – Performance Posted on July 10, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Acer H9500BD Home Theater Projector Review - Acer H9500BD Projector Overview - Acer H9500BD Projector Highlights - Acer H9500BD Special Features2. Acer H9500BD Projector – Physical Tour - Acer H9500BD Projector - Appearance - H9500BD Control Panel - H9500BD Projector - Input/Output - H9500BD Menus - Acer H9500BD Remote Control - Acer H9500BD Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen3. Acer H9500BD Projector – Image Quality - Acer H9500BD Out of the Box Picture Quality - Acer H9500BD Projector - Flesh Tones - Acer H9500BD Black Levels & Shadow Detail4. Acer H9500BD Projector – Image Quality 2 - Shadow Detail Performance - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: H9500BD Projector - Bottom Line - Acer H9500BD - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Acer H9500BD Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Acer H9500BD Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content5. Acer H9500BD Projector – Performance - Acer H9500BD Brightness - Post Calibration: User "best" mode = 1106 lumens - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) - Effect of Brilliant Color on lumen output (Bright mode) - H9500BD Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - Acer H9500BD Pre-Calibration Color temp - H9500BD, Post Calibration, Best Mode6. Acer H9500BD Projector – Performance 2 - Acer H9500BD 3D Brightness - Acer H9500BD Sharpness - Acer H9500BD: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise7. Acer H9500BD Projector Calibration and Settings - Acer H9500BD Color Temperature - Acer H9500BD Basic Settings - Acer H9500BD Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - User - H9500BD RGB Settings and Recommendations8. Acer H9500BD – Competitors - Acer H9500BD vs. Panasonic AR100U - Acer H9500BD vs. Mitsubishi HC4000 - Acer H9500BD vs. Epson Home Cinema 8350 - Acer H9500BD vs. Home Cinema 3010 and Home Cinema 3010e - Acer H9500BD vs. Optoma HD33 - Acer H9500BD vs. Optoma HD20, Viewsonic Pro8200, Vivitek H1080fd9. Acer H9500BD – Projector Screens - Acer H9500BD Projector Screen Recommendation10. Acer H9500BD Projector – Warranty - Acer H9500BD Projector - Warranty11. Acer H9500BD – Review Summary - Acer H9500BD Projector - The Bottom Line - Acer H9500BD Projector: Pros - Acer H9500BD Projector: Cons12. Acer H9500BD Projector – Full Specifications We discuss the Acer H9500BD projector’s brightness in various modes of 2D plus 3D. Also find images showing the differences in brightness (and color) between those modes. Further down we get into the H9500BD’s sharpness, image noise, audible noise, etc. Acer H9500BD Brightness Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE Bright 1502 @ 6952 Presentation 1140 @ 6984 Standard 1095 @ 7023 Movie 1101 @ 6994 Dark Cinema 1106 @ 6951 Game 1018 @ 7060 Sports 1073 @ 7042 The Acer is fairly typical of a lower cost DLP projectors when it comes to brightness. Its measured lumens are likely in the middle of the range of 1080p the more affordable DLP projectors – 2D ones that start around $800 with basic features, and 2D / 3D projectors like the Acer H9500, the Epson, Optoma, etc. For example, it’s not as bright as the Epson in either “best” or “brightest” 2D modes, it’s about the same brightness as the Optoma HD33 in “best”, but is a good deal brighter in “brightest” mode. Its single mode in 3D seems to fall in between its “best” and “brightest”, but closer to “best” – probably the equivalent of around 1200 lumens, before, all the losses incurred in the process for 3D and the glasses. 3D brightness is discussed in more depth, a bit further down Those numbers are all “right out of the box”, without any adjustments, to settings like contrast, which can affect overall brightness. Post Calibration: User "best" mode = 1106 lumensConsider – we believe that this H9500 is first and foremost a home entertainment projector – and it does look good to almost all but some of us enthusiasts. Brilliant Color when on does add a lot of dynamic pop to the image, but skin tones appear oversaturated, and transitions in shades of skin tone are coarse by comparison. From his testing Mike points out the H9500 projector’s underlying CIE – individual colors, were better with Brilliant Color turned on. Brilliant Color shows up on most DLP projectors. It means that TI – make of the DLP chip, provided the core set of performance for BC, but the manufacturers that license it can modify it. Some have as many as 10 BC modes others, just one, or two. I favor multiple modes that sort of transition you to from non-BC with it’s more natural look, to one with a whole lot of pop – usually way over the top. When a projector has only one or two settings, their options are more limited. The Acer is definitely a bit “over the top” in colors with BC on, but the colors look respectable, if a touch cool. Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) Effect of zoom on lumen output (Bright mode) Zoom out 1713 Mid-zoom 1502 Zoom in 1245 Take note, that’s a significant drop in brightness over the range for a projector that has a 1.5:1 zoom ratio. When I speak of the Acer’s brightness from a viewing standpoint, I did most of my serious watching of content in the theater – with the projector placed maybe a foot closer than the mid-point. Remember, we publish the projector’s brightest we measured, here (1713 lumens), but everything else, including discussions assumes roughly mid-point. Effect of Brilliant Color on lumen output (Bright mode) Header Content BC On (default) 1502 BC Off 760 Acer really ramps up the Brilliant color. A doubling of brightness is rather uncommon with most Brilliant Color implementations. For the family room, and non-critical viewing the Brilliant Color is just fine. For more serious movie viewing though, you’ll get a more natural look with it off. H9500BD Eco-Mode vs. Full Power Lumen Output, Lamp modes Full Power 1502 lumens Low (eco) Power 1311 lumens That’s a surprisingly small drop, of about 12%. Most projectors lose between 20 and 30% of their brightness when switched to their eco-modes. Acer H9500BD Pre-Calibration Color temp Color Temp over IRE Range, Best starting mode – Dark Cinema 30 IRE 7083 50 IRE 7086 80 IRE 7069 100 IRE 6951 H9500BD, Post Calibration, Best Mode Color Temp over IRE Range (User mode) 20 IRE 7015 30 IRE 7083 40 IRE 7030 50 IRE 7086 60 IRE 7047 70 IRE 7030 80 IRE 7069 90 IRE 7079 100 IRE 6951 Average gamma = 2.22 Lumens at 100 IRE (Best mode, with BC on): 1106 The grayscale balance is almost perfect it would seem, in terms of the projector being consistent from darkest to brightest. But it’s the wrong color temperature! It is a bit cool.These measurements would have been perfect – if they were all 500K lower. Below, the same frame taken with the same exposure so you can get a handle on the relative brightness and color aspects of most of the major modes. Of course, since the exposures are the same, the darker modes like Cinema (“best”) would look better properly exposed: These will be posted tomorrow.The CNBC images below are from a different projector. -art User/Dark Cinema:Bright:PresentationStandardGamePreviousNext 1. Acer H9500BD Home Theater Projector Review - Acer H9500BD Projector Overview - Acer H9500BD Projector Highlights - Acer H9500BD Special Features2. Acer H9500BD Projector – Physical Tour - Acer H9500BD Projector - Appearance - H9500BD Control Panel - H9500BD Projector - Input/Output - H9500BD Menus - Acer H9500BD Remote Control - Acer H9500BD Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen3. Acer H9500BD Projector – Image Quality - Acer H9500BD Out of the Box Picture Quality - Acer H9500BD Projector - Flesh Tones - Acer H9500BD Black Levels & Shadow Detail4. Acer H9500BD Projector – Image Quality 2 - Shadow Detail Performance - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: H9500BD Projector - Bottom Line - Acer H9500BD - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Acer H9500BD Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Acer H9500BD Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content5. Acer H9500BD Projector – Performance - Acer H9500BD Brightness - Post Calibration: User "best" mode = 1106 lumens - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) - Effect of Brilliant Color on lumen output (Bright mode) - H9500BD Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - Acer H9500BD Pre-Calibration Color temp - H9500BD, Post Calibration, Best Mode6. Acer H9500BD Projector – Performance 2 - Acer H9500BD 3D Brightness - Acer H9500BD Sharpness - Acer H9500BD: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise7. Acer H9500BD Projector Calibration and Settings - Acer H9500BD Color Temperature - Acer H9500BD Basic Settings - Acer H9500BD Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - User - H9500BD RGB Settings and Recommendations8. Acer H9500BD – Competitors - Acer H9500BD vs. Panasonic AR100U - Acer H9500BD vs. Mitsubishi HC4000 - Acer H9500BD vs. Epson Home Cinema 8350 - Acer H9500BD vs. Home Cinema 3010 and Home Cinema 3010e - Acer H9500BD vs. Optoma HD33 - Acer H9500BD vs. Optoma HD20, Viewsonic Pro8200, Vivitek H1080fd9. Acer H9500BD – Projector Screens - Acer H9500BD Projector Screen Recommendation10. Acer H9500BD Projector – Warranty - Acer H9500BD Projector - Warranty11. Acer H9500BD – Review Summary - Acer H9500BD Projector - The Bottom Line - Acer H9500BD Projector: Pros - Acer H9500BD Projector: Cons12. Acer H9500BD Projector – Full Specifications Acer H9500BD Projector – Image Quality 2 Acer H9500BD Projector – Performance 2