Projector Central

[Tom Adams]

What in blue blazes happened to Projector Central?? Gone are the reviews, industry news, and a whole bunch of other info stuff. Looks like it's now just another "mail order" place.

Tom

[DrPyro]

Projector Central has definitely gone down hill, most of their recent reviews have read more like sales brochures. Of the projector reviewers, I really like Steve Smallcombe at Secret's. He at least measures the performance of a projector (granted its with his own system, which he sells) but they are still decent reviews and he often notes things that other reviews haven't...ie, he has spent time with the projector more then just reading the darn sales brochures. However, he is often very SLOW to do a review and its often that someone has sent him one.

I ended up purchasing the Sanyo PLV-Z1 as soon as Steve reviewed it. I purchased it sight unseen, but I had seen the Yamaha LPX-500 (aka Epson TW100) and decided that I could live with the black level and picture quality and the Z1 had similar specs and reviews just lacked the DVI (I wasn't sure about the DVI since it didn't have HDCP - So I saved about $2000 and purchased the Z1). Also, I really liked the idea of no red-push in the decoder. I had a major problem with this on my old TV and it was annoying to have to turn down the contrast and saturation to keep ppl looking normal.

-Dave

[damonrpayne]

When did this downhill slide happen? I haven't noticed changes.

[DrPyro]

damon-

I just feel that the reviews have started to be much more "positive" then they were and less informative. Every piece of electronics has its nuances, and they seem to no longer tell you what they are, its more of a list of features (sales brochure like). Maybe I'm just smokin' something, who knows....

-Dave

[marksdad]

i cant respond about projector central, but can any of you who have experience with projectors tell me if it woth the expense, i mean as compared to hdtv? or lcd's??? i am just wondering after my tt gets going, what my next direction will be

[DrPyro]

Marksdad-

Sure, I have a projector (Sanyo PLV-Z1). I have had it for only a few months and have about 200 hours on the bulb. So far I really like it!!! The Z1 is not a FULL HD projector, i.e. a native resolution of 19020x1080 (1080i/p), its only 960x540, the so called 1/4 HD format. Its an LCD based projector, I tried the Marantz VP-12S2 (DLP) projector and I about got sick at the dealer due to the rainbow artifact, so I had to go with an LCD based projector. The principle reason why I bought a front projector was size, weight, resolution, and cost.

Direct View TVs:

Direct view TVs can be very expensive (over $1500), are limited screen sizes (max 36"), and very HEAVY (too much for me to move by myself). However, they do offer multiple input sources, built-in HD & std TV tuners, excellent black levels, and work in almost any light levels. You do have to be selective to get one that does not have a "red-push" problem with the color decoder, something I found VERY annoying with my cheap TV.

Rear Projection TVs:

As for Rear Projection TVs, are also quite expensive (~$2000) and very heavy & bulky. They offer much larger screen sizes then standard direct view TVs, however you do have to worry about convergence with the CRT guns and burn in on the screens. They can provide excellent pictures when ISF calibrated. Again, they provide switching input sources and depending on the technology used can provide good black levels. Many of the new ones are based on DPL technology so why get a huge box & screen when I could get a 10lb front DLP projector??

Plasma/LCD Displays:

Nice BRIGHT images, far brighter then traditional screens, excellent in bright areas. They also a relatively small form factor, multiple component switching, built-in tuners, and often provide DVI/VGA connections so its possible to connect PCs and/or scalers to feed native resolutions and bypass the internal scalers. However, burn in can be a big problem, the display will loose about 1/2 its brightness after X number of hours (I don't remember the times), and you could have/get dead pixels.

Front Projectors (LCD/DLP):

These provide good resolutions, are very light weight, can provide excellent images, and can have the largest screen sizes (in excess of 110" is not unheard of). However, they don't provide the inky black color nearly as well as direct-view, rear projectors, or CRT front projectors. Although they do have some level of switching possible, its ofen much more limited then the other displays. Also, no HDTV or Std TV tuner is provided, which might or might not be a big deal considering if you have an external cable box or not. Also, dead pixels & dust can be a major problem. They don't work well in a well in ambient light. Finally, they almost always have VGA/DVI connections so its possible to connect PCs and/or scalers to feed native resolutions and bypass the internal scalers. In a dedicated HT room, they can work very well. As for costs, they are coming down, but the more resolution that you want the more you pay for them.

As with everything, its a matter of tradeoffs, which tradeoff doesn't hinder your HT experience is probably which technology that will work best for you.

As for myself, I had a semi-light controlled environment, wanted larger then 36" screens, and had a limited budget, so a projector was the best alternative. Since I will be moving several times in the next few years, something that is light and portable was preferable, thus a front projector is what I got.

Hope this helps

-Dave