Help me pick out a projector

Serendipity · February 2008

Well - since you know the deal, help me pick out a projector!

JVC HD1, Sony VW60, Epson 1080UB, Dell 5100MP, etc. Basically anything that is (a) digital and (b) not CRT and (c) gives a great picture will do!

What would you guys recommend?

hockeyboy · February 2008

This is one hell of a projector for about 30% off right now. I bought my HC5000 at this place used (floor model). Call them and they will tell you why it was returned, but should have full warranty.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/used_projectors.cfm?part_id=3892&bll=any&bul=any&wll=any&wul=any&prll=any&prul=any&res_family_id=any&trig=1

hockeyboy · February 2008

...and if you are looking to save some coin, this one is very nice too (but not near as nice as that 6000).

http://www.projectorcentral.com/used_projectors.cfm?part_id=3757&bll=any&bul=any&wll=any&wul=any&prll=any&prul=any&res_family_id=any&trig=1

hockeyboy · February 2008

The final choice... drum roll please...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/used_projectors_details.cfm?classified_id=19267

All three are fine PJ's. Go with the Mitsubishi. You will love it. I love my 5000 and any negative I would have to say is fixed in the 6000.

Serendipity · February 2008

Nope, I'm not buying anything used. Did you read the thread I posted when I got scammed?

Sherardp · February 2008

I would go for the HD 1 bro, its a bit brighter than the RS2. If not that then the Panny2000U but some users have reported dust blobs with LCD Pjs. So the JVC gets my vote, you can find tons of reviews on it, PJ central and projectorreview.com are a few to read. Followed by that the Sony VW60 comes in a close second, then the others come in a tie for an even 3rd. AVS was offering the JVC HD1/RS1 for like 3800 so if you can get it at the price then do so. I paid 4599 and others were paying 6000k when it dropped last yr so thats an awesome price for a kick a$$ PJ. Contact Jason in sales and get a quote, it wont hurt anything.

http://www.avscience.com/contact.htm

Serendipity · February 2008

Sherardp wrote: »

I would go for the HD 1 bro, its a bit brighter than the RS2. If not that then the Panny2000U but some users have reported dust blobs with LCD Pjs. So the JVC gets my vote, you can find tons of reviews on it, PJ central and projectorreview.com are a few to read. Followed by that the Sony VW60 comes in a close second, then the others come in a tie for an even 3rd. AVS was offering the JVC HD1/RS1 for like 3800 so if you can get it at the price then do so. I paid 4599 and others were paying 6000k when it dropped last yr so thats an awesome price for a kick a$$ PJ. Contact Jason in sales and get a quote, it wont hurt anything.

http://www.avscience.com/contact.htm

Thanks, that's a little bit on the expensive side though. Not saying that the JVC HD1 isn't a good projector, but this is just something temporary to hold me over before I go back to CRT...

So more like something in the $2500 range would be good - Panasonic 2000U, Epson 1080UB, Sony VW50, even the Dell 5100MP (since I may be also using it alot for presentations), etc.

Sami · February 2008

Epson 1080UB is $2700 after $200 MIR, with free ceiling mount. Epson 1080 is $2100 ($300 MIR) with mount and replacement bulb.

Serendipity · February 2008

Sami wrote: »

Epson 1080UB is $2700 after $200 MIR, with free ceiling mount. Epson 1080 is $2100 ($300 MIR) with mount and replacement bulb.

Which one would you go with if you were to choose between the two?

Sami · February 2008

appadv wrote: »

Which one would you go with if you were to choose between the two?

Definately the UB. I'm actually very close to pull a trigger on one of those to replace my 720p projector.

50000:1 contrast ratio, 1600 lumens on the 1080UB (Ultra Black) vs 12000:1 & 1200 on the 1080.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/epson/powerlite-home-cinema-1080ub/index.php

Serendipity · February 2008

Sami wrote: »

Definately the UB. I'm actually very close to pull a trigger on one of those to replace my 720p projector.

50000:1 contrast ratio, 1600 lumens on the 1080UB (Ultra Black) vs 12000:1 & 1200 on the 1080.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/epson/powerlite-home-cinema-1080ub/index.php

Are the lumens on digital PJ's measured like wattage on HTIB's? Because coming from CRT units that measure 120-200ANSI lumens, I can't imagine how bright a 1600 lumen unit would be.

Sami · February 2008

Coming from CRT's myself, I can tell you digitals are much brighter. That was never CRT's strength.

Contrast I know is a dynamic, I think their native is somewhere in the 1500:1 range.

The reviewer seemed to like it a lot. He said it's close to RS1 performance (about $4500 street price). Of course the RS2 is the best of the bunch but at $8k it's not a competitor to the 1080UB.

Serendipity · February 2008

Sami wrote: »

Coming from CRT's myself, I can tell you digitals are much brighter. That was never CRT's strength.

Contrast I know is a dynamic, I think their native is somewhere in the 1500:1 range.

The reviewer seemed to like it a lot. He said it's close to RS1 performance (about $4500 street price). Of course the RS2 is the best of the bunch but at $8k it's not a competitor to the 1080UB.

Okay, I can see that. Because the numbers had me confused, 50,000:1 contrast ratio? It just seemed a bit high.

As per the brightness, I know CRT's strength was never in brightness, but to me, a CRT looks much like what you would see in a movie theater - a darker image.

Sami · February 2008

Native contrast for the UB is 4000:1. Has an extra HDMI over the 1080 as well. The extra lumens help if you're watching in ambient light, you can still do that with these where with a CRT projector you really couldn't. You can also turn the projector to low mode to save the life of it, if you don't need the extra light. Black levels were always a problem for me with digitals (and to many others) but they seem to be getting very close now.

One thing I really enjoy about digitals is that I don't have to constantly be tweaking the picture. With a CRT bolted to ceiling (made of wood, not steel), it always was shifting a little and you always had to be sharpening the picture. You know how that goes.

Serendipity · February 2008

Haha, convergence is a royal pain especially with a projector mounted on the ceiling!

And yes, my friends come over to play Wii a lot, so having a projector that would work in ambient light would be a big plus.

Sami · February 2008

If you head over to VisualApex, they have/had a discount code for $100. See if it still works, would you? "heart100"

Reason why I ask is I have it in my cart but haven't checked out yet. Code was good until 2/14 so I don't know whether I should order or not. I don't want to cancel and lose the $100.

Serendipity · February 2008

Yes, see the following screen shot:

Serendipity · February 2008

But to get it to work I had to use "presidents100" as the discount code.

hockeyboy · February 2008

That HD6000 isn't actually used, it is just carton damaged with warranty. It is a bit more than you are talking about but much higher rated. Without discount you will be priced out, but that PJ just won the shootout in Home Theater mag.

Serendipity · February 2008

hockeyboy wrote: »

That HD6000 isn't actually used, it is just carton damaged with warranty. It is a bit more than you are talking about but much higher rated. Without discount you will be priced out, but that PJ just won the shootout in Home Theater mag.

No thanks, after I got scammed over $1000 I'm not buying anything other than a NIB unit. And from an authorized dealer too (preferrably my local hi-fi store).

Serendipity · February 2008

I just realized something -

All of these projectors you guys mention are 16:9! Since I already have a 4:3 screen, wouldn't it be a waste of resolution if I have to zoom the projector in so that it fills the 4:3 screen? (Meaning set the projector to 4:3 mode and have it project black bars off the edges of the screen)

I already have a lot of money invested in my 4:3 screen so I really don't want to switch to a 16:9 screen.

And when I eventually go back to CRT, I'll be able to use 100% of the phosphor on a 4:3 screen unlike having to squeeze the raster and use part of the phosphor on a 16:9 screen...

wallstreet · February 2008

Dude, you need to go 16x9 screen. Otherwise you're losing alot of the light output of the projector as black bars. Either that or put you projector really close to the screen.

Serendipity · February 2008

wallstreet wrote: »

Dude, you need to go 16x9 screen. Otherwise you're losing alot of the light output of the projector as black bars. Either that or put you projector really close to the screen.

I just got a 4:3 screen months ago. And the reason is becuase most of my viewing is 4:3. Classic films like The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Fantasia, Citizen Kane, etc. were originally shot in 4:3 and IIRC, no 16:9 versions exist. Also, most of the time my highschool friends will come over and play SNES, PS2, Wii, etc. and that is also in 4:3. Finally, concerts and broadway plays (Riverdance, etc.) are mostly shot in 4:3.

So I'd hate to use a 16:9 projector and zoom it in a lot, wasting tons of resolution. Or the other option I can do is put it really close to the screen and have it project on part of the 4:3 screen.

What do you think is best?

hockeyboy · February 2008

:DLOL did you just admit you own Riverdance?

wallstreet · February 2008

If you're buying a projector to watch 4x3, I'd go 1024x768. Those are generally business projectors which can be had for under $1K.

Serendipity · February 2008

hockeyboy wrote: »

:DLOL did you just admit you own Riverdance?

Nope, not my DVD

It's hers.

Serendipity · February 2008

wallstreet wrote: »

If you're buying a projector to watch 4x3, I'd go 1024x768. Those are generally business projectors which can be had for under $1K.

Well, I'd still like a decent 4:3 projector. I've seen many business projectors and the picure quality was not very good. The only exception I can think of is the Dell 5100MP due to the fact that it is 1400*1080 so there is very little pixel structure / screendoor effect in the picture.

Sherardp · February 2008

Just go for the Sony VW50 or 60, it should be able to do 4:3 material fine, though I think you should read up on it, I know my JVC can run 4:3 material just fine. I too say upgrade your screen to a 16x9 format. Check out Carada and call it a day.

Serendipity · February 2008

Sherardp wrote: »

Just go for the Sony VW50 or 60, it should be able to do 4:3 material fine, though I think you should read up on it, I know my JVC can run 4:3 material just fine. I too say upgrade your screen to a 16x9 format. Check out Carada and call it a day.

Sure, it's just that most of the material I watch is 4:3, especially since my friends are so obsessed with video games...let's just say that 99% of the time I will be in 4:3 mode.

In that case, if I get a 16:9 projector like the Sony and set it to 4:3 mode, I will be wasting part of the PJ's resolution and projecting black bars off the sides of my screen. I really don't want that to happen.

Serendipity · February 2008

Would just like to point out -

If I watched a lot of 16:9 movies, I'd go with a 16:9 unit (and screen to accompany) in a heartbeat. But since my viewing is heavily biased towards 4:3 content, I'm in a dilemma as to which aspect ratio to choose.

Right now (a) all my 16:9 content gets watched on the Sony XBR960 widescreen TV
(b) I hope to do all gaming / 4:3 content on the projector.

Serendipity · February 2008

Sal,

I'm just looking for a digital projector to hold me over while I get my CRT PJ fixed. It looks like I will be going with 4:3 as like you said, many TV shows are in 4:3 and I enjoy watching them in their native format.

Thanks for the advice and good luck with your upgrade journey. Maybe someday I will go with a 16:9 DLP/LCoS but that is in the future. Or something like a 73" DLP TV for movies while keeping the projector solely for video games.

Help me pick out a projector

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