tromprof Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Don't know the Panny projector but I can recommend Visual Apex. They were quick to ship and easy to deal with. UPS lost the first screen and the VA people were quick to get another out to me and followed up to make sure I was happy with everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 16, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2015 I've ordered from Projector People and Visual Apex. Both were great to deal with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 The JVC get great reviews but it would put him above his budget. A Sony VPLHW55ES would put him above budget too if you went by the $4,000 MSRP but he probably ought to consider those. A Sony at street price and a DIY screen can easily stay within budget. Prices have come down and if you shop around you should be able to get a factory made screen plus one of these and still be within budget. got a close friend with one of these and he said he thought pics were right on par. And he loves my zoom feature and wished his has it. So for 1499 Id take the panny 8000 ALL DAY. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) he loves my zoom feature and wished his has it. So for 1499 Id take the panny 8000 ALL DAY. Even though it zooms, it still has a manual lens shift doesn't it? Get a JVC and just press a button. Edited February 16, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Manual equals a big PITA lol Edited February 17, 2015 by Scrappydue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentster5172 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) The Sony VPLHW40ES and the VPLHW55 are the exact same projector. The 40 lacks the black level iris and thats pretty much it. But in order to get any benefits from the iris your room has to be pitch black which mine never is. The 40 has been on sale for better than $1999 lately. My boss got the 55 and I ordered the 40. My main decision was that our distributor only had one 55 and I didn't want to wait for one on back order. Now that they are both installed my boss is actually quite irritated that mine pretty much has the EXACT same performance as his for half the money! My Mitsubishi HC7000 had the auto iris, but my Sony performs pretty much as well without it. I guess that's what five years of technology gets you. I run a Stewart Firehawk film screen and I love it. A note on the Sony's brightness is that it specs less than the Epson, but it tests just as bright. I can run it with my lights on and my window open. The other advantage over the Epson is the fan is super quiet. I tried an Epson 6030UB for a few days. The fan was LOUD! At the time I was between this Epson and the Sony 55. I bought the Sony 40 and I'm very happy, even as picky as I am. The fan on the Epson was a deal breaker since my projector sits right above my couch. I truly can't tell the difference either in picture quality. I actually kept the Epson until my Sony came in so I got a decent back to back comparison. Now that I've mentioned the Epson if you are considering it get the 5030 which is the exact same projector as the 6030. Just no included mount, spare bulb, and a white projector instead of black. Edited February 17, 2015 by Trentster5172 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentster5172 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Lights on window open! Quick pic with an iPhone 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 My 6030 is literally a few feet above my head and I never hear the fan. Maybe it's an iris setting I don't use, not sure. My room isn't darked out either but the Epson is a light cannon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Don't know the Panny projector but I can recommend Visual Apex. They were quick to ship and easy to deal with. UPS lost the first screen and the VA people were quick to get another out to me and followed up to make sure I was happy with everything. I've ordered from Projector People and Visual Apex. Both were great to deal with I got my electric screen from them also. Great service before, during and after the sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 The Sony VPLHW40ES and the VPLHW55 are the exact same projector. The 40 lacks the black level iris and thats pretty much it. But in order to get any benefits from the iris your room has to be pitch black which mine never is. I don't see the point of that to be honest. It just ticks me off because it can be tripped up and tricked too easily. I have an $8K projector and I've purposely got this functionality turned off. I can't imagine it being very desirable for a more budget projector. Too many scenes that have something fairly bright on a sea of black, and such a thing will cause the bright object to dim in various amounts. Personally I want to see the bright object in all its intended glory. Running credits will do it every time just as an easy example. At the end of Star Wars or Metallica's Through the Never it will confuse this functionality every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Manual equals a big PITA lol I am doing some research on a 180" diag 2.4:1, and was looking at possibly a 4K. I got talked out of it on AVS, but what you just said about manual lens shift being a PITA has me wondering if the Sony HW40ES with CineVista is manual. Does anybody know, because that was the projector Mike Garrett recommended. BTW, gaming latency was an important factor on this system. Here is that thread: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/24-digital-hi-end-projectors-3-000-usd-msrp/1894449-buy-now-wait-4k-projection.html#post31798369 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentster5172 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Manual lens is super easy. The fully automatic lens in the Mitsubishi was convenient, but truly took the same time to set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Manual equals a big PITA lol I am doing some research on a 180" diag 2.4:1, and was looking at possibly a 4K. I got talked out of it on AVS, but what you just said about manual lens shift being a PITA has me wondering if the Sony HW40ES with CineVista is manual. Does anybody know, because that was the projector Mike Garrett recommended. BTW, gaming latency was an important factor on this system. Here is that thread: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/24-digital-hi-end-projectors-3-000-usd-msrp/1894449-buy-now-wait-4k-projection.html#post31798369 I have my screen matted down to 185" 2.4:1 with the AE8000... Picture looks great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Manual lens is super easy. The fully automatic lens in the Mitsubishi was convenient, but truly took the same time to set up.you and I are talking about COMPLETELY different things I'm guessing. Zoom in and out and focus. Manual or auto. Sure either is fine. Epson I had was manual and honestly 10 times easier to focus if it was bumper or anything like that. What I'm talking about is the zoom lens memory mode for different aspect ratios. Having a 2.35 screen and switching from 16x9 to scope and getting up and manually zooming in your lens and focusing it is more difficult by far then an auto feature that just recognises it and does it automatically. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 17, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 17, 2015 Yes, lens shift is totally different than Zoom Memory feature. One is a position, the other is a Preset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajoker2c Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Don't forget about screen gain, and colour (white or grey). Whats the room conditions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentster5172 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Got it! I think my Mitsubishi had it but I didn't use it. Edited February 17, 2015 by Trentster5172 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxoffice Buff Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) After months of research, I settled for Panasonic AE8000 with 115" Elite Lunette Series 2:35:1 screen. It works for my budget and room layout. Edited February 19, 2015 by Boxoffice Buff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 19, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 19, 2015 Congrats. I think you will be very pleased. Let us know what you think after you get it setup and of course, photos are always welcomed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Are you doing a anamorph lens? I didn't know you could do curved without one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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