eVo

Hardware/software questions

General product questions

Hardware/Software Questions

Resolution & Aspect Ratio

Present: The eVo models v1.1 and higher have a native resolution of 800×480 (which is an aspect ratio of 15:9).

Past:
The v1.0 units also had this resolution, though it was wrongly
advertised as 848×480 as the factory changed the spec to use a more
appropriate panel without notifying us of the change.

Future: We
would love to offer a higher resolution, or even a 16:9 panel, but
currently this is the only decent panel we can offer while maintaining
a reasonable price. When a better panel becomes available, we will try
and offer upgrades for existing customers, but again this is dependant
on the situation at the time (sizes may be incompatible). There is no
guarentee here.

Fan Noise

Present: Fan noise is much less noticable when
ceiling mounted, and the surroundings make a difference. The fans have
not been changed yet, though some changes have been made to the air
path (such as making the lamp area more open). Fans should run slightly
slower, but it isn’t really a noticable difference.

F1 Mode
- Pressing the "F1" key on the remote after the projector has warmed up
turns it on to low power mode. The brightness doesn’t go down
significantly, but the fan noise drops by about half. Users have
reported that the button is a little in-sensisitive. It is suggested to
point the remote directly at the IR receiver and push and hold the F1
button for about a second. After a few seconds, the fans should slow
down.

Future: We are investigating better fans and ways to
re-route the airflow to cut down fan noise. For in-place fan upgrades,
we should be able to offer them as DIY upgrades, however major airflow
path changes won’t be so easy to mod. We are keeping up on what the
community is doing with fan mods and will of course attempt to
implement any changes that work out more reliable than the existing
setup.

Scaling Issues (Firmware)

Present: Currently shipping units (v1.1 and higher) do not suffer from scaling issues.

History:
Due to the change in panel in the v1.0 units, the firmware was
accidentally mis-configured and some timing details were wrong.

Resolution
(for v1.0 units): We need to replace the controller boards on old
units, as in-system upgrading is problematic due to software licensing
details outside our control. We are working on creating an upgrade
package for v1.0 customers, see the thread on scaling issues.

Change log

Changes from v1.1 -> v1.2

  • The
    loudest fan has been replaced with a quieter fan with the same CFM
    rating, and the control board for the fans has been upgraded.
  • The remote control has been been upgraded with a new Lumenlab look
  • The wiring for the ballast has been improved to make any replacements simple & easy for the user, should the need arise

Changes from v1 -> v1.1

  • The audio inputs and outputs have been removed
  • The warning voice has been replaced with 2 status LEDs
  • The TV tuner has been removed
  • The backup battery has been removed
  • The
    power board has been moved to the front, and component
    capacity/heatsinking has been increased. This leaves more room in the
    lamp area, making it less constricted.
  • The firmware has been updated to fix the scaling bug (see above)
  • There were some changes to the structure internally, though not significant/noticable for general usage
  • It’s now "pearl white" instead of silver

General Product Questions

High Definition Content

It is possible to play HD content on
the eVo, however the native resolution is 480p (15:9 widescreen). The
eVo firmware will scale down large input to 800×480. It still looks
great, but it’s not pixel-for-pixel.

eVo Manual Online Copy

The eVo manual is now available online as a PDF.

 

Setting up 800 x 480 on your computer

The eVo’s native resolution is 800×480, and the firmware is expecting a frequency of 65Hz from the computer.

Windows users

  • Many graphics drivers allow setting custom resolutions/timing. Setting the output to 800×480x65Hz should work.
  • If this fails (due to a poorly written driver that refuses to add a res), PowerStrip can be used - parameters for advanced timing screen’s "paste" feature below

Mac OS X users

Download: eVov11DisplayDrivers.dmg (BETA, 505kb)

This
package installs a display configuration that allows usage of the eVo’s
native resolution. It has been tested on a MacBook Pro (Core 2 Duo)
with the Apple DVI-VGA adaptor included with the computer. Written by Theo Julienne (aka Terminal).

PowerStrip timing information

PowerStrip timing parameters:
800×480=800,40,128,88,480,10,2,33,36051,2054

Generic timing details for 800×480:
HFP=40 HSW=128 HBP=88 kHz=34 VFP=10 VSW=2 VBP=33 Hz=65

VESA detailed timing:
PClk=36.05 H.Active=800 H.Blank=256 H.Offset=24 HSW=128 V.Active=480 V.Blank=45 V.Offset=10 VSW=2

Linux modeline parameters:
"800×480" 36.051 800 840 968 1056 480 490 492 525 -hsync -vsync