sunprairie Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 I'm in the process of going from rear projection TV to Front Projection and want to do my research. Any HT people out there with some experience that will be helpful? Any information from what type of projector to brands and models would be great. I'm thinking right now about an Optima HD72. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Best is a very hard one to say. The clearest picture comes from CRT projectors but they are large, heavy and don't have huge light output so a dark room is nessasary for the best image. DLP is getting better and I understand that the mirrors are getting faster so that the rainbow effect is reduced markedly or even eliminated. LCD units have gotten better in the contrast department and the new Panny is supposed to nearly eliminated the screen door effect. So you see, there is no "BEST" only what is important to you and what you can live with. Whatever you buy today will be "old hat" next year (If that long!) so you need to look at things like size of room, size of the screen, light control in the room, seating distance as a start to get you down the path to purchase. Most people here are happy with what they have and will recomend their unit highly. I have a hitachi pj-tx100 and we enjoy it very much. It is about 2 years old, LCD with good lenses and adjustments. We have a 119" HD screen and sit back at about 14 feet. We do not see any screen door effect at that distance though in our front seats (at about 10 feet) if you look close you can see it. Does the room have good light control or will there be a light problem? This is a big issue right off the bat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunprairie Posted September 28, 2006 Author Share Posted September 28, 2006 It is a walk out basement which has a 12' walk out patio sliding door and a 4' window. I can close heavy curtains on both which makes it pretty dark, even in the daytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdbaba Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Aloha Cal--You Rock! Hope all is well. sunprairie--One other thing to consider is ease of placement. I have the Panny AE900 right now-- it is now being replaced with the AX100 that just received a screaming review. These PJs have lens shift which makes them very easy to place in a room. However, LCD does seem to have the risk of image retention. DLP does not. I would go over to avsforum.com and check in the display devices then digital PJs under $3500 section--unless you have bucks, then go to the over $3500 section. There is more info then you might want over there. There are some great new PJs that have just come out and others that are coming out very soon. The 1080p PJs will be out soon as well--waiting to see prices on those. I do like my panny, but I think I like the DLP image a bit better from what I have seen, and I like not having to worry about burn in. However, with the place I am living right now, having the lens shift was the deciding factor. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunprairie Posted September 28, 2006 Author Share Posted September 28, 2006 I've learned my lesson on paying high dollars for AV equipment that will be quite outdated in 1 to 2 years. From my research and checking forums I think there's plenty out there below $3500 that will be quite adequate. I think with the options I have for placement and a fixed screen that I'll be fine without lens shift which seems to add quite a bit to the total cost. BB has a Sony LCD on closeout locally that had been $3500 down to $1499 just down the street, but I'm really leaning towards the DLP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 DLP looks pretty great to me.. Obviously the room will dictate a lot too. One of the things if your looking to go with a screen.. Be sure to do your homework. A great screen match will REALLY enhance your projector. I have a samsung DLP HDTV.. 61 inch 3 years old.. 1080i STILL awesome.. I also, as a projector, went with the Infocus 7210 and Daylite screen in a controlled room it is flawless.. Just amazing... seriously.. Some HDTV channels better than others.. True.. Some movies not 100% awesome either.. but when it is.. I can see every bad makeup job, pock marks,..pimples.. hahahah u name it.. as well as incredible sound too. It is sooo real it is scarey. NFL on HDTV...or HD projector.. OMG incredible.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 BTW, I have not yet seen a DLP Mirror image goofed.. but Pixels on LCD's do... And once it does..everything you see will have that pixel goofed too.. My neighbor had one in the middle of his screen projected.. it was very very annoying!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetJockey Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Hi there, check out the Epson cinema 550 or 400(new model) $1599 list. rave reviews on line anywhere and a great warranty to boot. have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 DLP = Rainbows. That's why I don't own one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merkin Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 I have two DLP's. A 46 inch Samsung up stairs and a Benq projector down stairs. The Sammy is about 4 years old and the projector almost a year. I have never seen a rainbow, no one that has ever been to my house has mentioned a rainbow. I think that rainbows were an early problem with the dlp's but they have made improvements like speeding up the color wheel. DLP=great looking picture LCD = probably a great picture but I don't own one so I don't know. Seen some in stores and they looked great. Just watch for screen door, but that isn't a problem if you viewing set us is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 I've learned my lesson on paying high dollars for AV equipment that will be quite outdated in 1 to 2 years. From my research and checking forums I think there's plenty out there below $3500 that will be quite adequate. I think with the options I have for placement and a fixed screen that I'll be fine without lens shift which seems to add quite a bit to the total cost. BB has a Sony LCD on closeout locally that had been $3500 down to $1499 just down the street, but I'm really leaning towards the DLP. The MSRP of my PJ is $3000 but you can buy them new for $999 now. They are native 720 and have A STUNNNINNG PICTURE! We have watched ours for over 500 hours now and have had no problems with it at all. Give it a HD signal and LOOK OUT! The signal with DVDs (420 p until some HD format is decided) is very good. We use Component connections but the unit can accept all the major connections. At 10 feet diagional, our picture is large and it never fails to impress. Projector Centeral had the info on it. A good option for you right now might to be to go with something like this for a few years and wait for the HD format to shake down into some normal format that you could buy without too much worry about loosing a ton of money on. I know you won't be disapointed with the Hitachi. OH BTW, it does have the shifts and they make life SO nice when setting the unit up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 I haven't seen a projector yet that was worth a dam (15k Runco 1080P, ceiling projectors in Damons which are huge and need a towmotor to install). The Mitsubishi 1080P DLP's were nice, the Sony SXRD's were outstanding and the smaller Toshiba LCD's were nice. The LCD's are making massive improvements. CRT's are pretty dead. They are almost giving them away. The Panasonic 1080P new projector is written up very well. Although when you view a projector (1080P) next to a DLP (Same program) the DLP (1080P will blow it away as far as brightness and contrast. When the projectors attain the same brightness and contrast as 16mm movie film projection then I will be interested. The new Sony $30,000 projectors are supposed to be just great. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Cal beat me to it. But just to re-iterate....Projector Central is a great source of information and I've yet to see any real bias to their testing or articles. http://www.projectorcentral.com/ As for JJK....just ignore him. He's delusional. [] Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 DLP = Rainbows. That's why I don't own one.I have had my 50" Samsung DLP for over 2 years now and have never seen the rainbow effect . I have noticed the screen door effect on occasion though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepathlesstaken Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 For me personally (I have a 4 year old Samsung 56" DLP) I really like DLP technology as there is so many positive things about it. Its cheap (price wise), not many moving parts (easy to repair), no half life on the picture (replace bulb and its brand new), and the picture is on par with pretty much all the other tech that is out there right now. Since OLED and SED (check out these two techs with google) are on the horizon my suggestion to anyone now not needing a slim panel, need a gaming display or are combating light interference is to get a DLP set. I am guesstimating there will be new display tech (see above) that will put LCD and Plasma to shame in the next 3-5 years. Price difference is a considerable amount considering you get less display (screen area) for twice the price on these 720p sets. All quotes below are for Samsung displays quoted through froogle. 56' DLP = ~1500 46' LCD = ~3250 50' PLA = ~3250 Check out avsforums for a bit more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 How much are the DLP bulbs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepathlesstaken Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Around $150-250 depending on various factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merkin Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 How much are the DLP bulbs? I bought one for my Sammy and it was around $100.00 if I remember right. I bought it as a spare and haven't used it yet. I think I have several thousand hours on the bulb in it and it hasn't needed replacement. I did have to replace the color wheel since it was an early model and they had a defective part. Other than that no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merkin Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 How much are the DLP bulbs? I bought one as a spare for around $100.00 if I remember right. I haven't had to use it yet. I think the bulb that came with the set has several thousand hours on it and it is still going strong. I think your suppose to replace them after a certain amount of hours so that they don't explode in the set. I should probably check it out on the AVS forum. Lot of good info on the AVS about desplay devices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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