NEC HT410 Projector?

[Bassomatic]

First-time poster and planning my first home theater system.

I don't have a lot of money to work with ($1200 or so), and I am really interested in some of the budget projectors currently on the market...but choosing is proving very difficult.

Does anyone have any opinions on NEC's HT410? The current $200 rebate combined with the low base price has me intrigued. ProjectorCentral.com gives it a fairly good rating, and the reportedly low fan noise is a plus, but I am wondering about the lower lumen output (1,000 ANSI) and a contrast ratio that seems quite a bit lower than many of the others on the market (1200:1). I'm probably not quite as critical of picture quality as many Audioholics, but I do want a crisp image with decent black levels and good reproduction of colors.

This projector often gets compared to the Optoma H31, which does seem to rate better...but for a $300-$500 price difference, will my less critical eye really care?

I'm primarily going to be watching DVDs and TV sports (analog now, HD eventually). My room is a little smaller than I'd like, but it can't be helped. I should have complete control of ambient lighting levels. Projector would be about 12 feet from screen...hoping for somewhere in the neighborhood of an 80-inch diag. picture.

Any advice?

[BMXTRIX]

I would avoid this projector as it only utilizes a 2x color wheel. Projector Central talks about color wheel speed several times and flat out says that they no longer recommend ANY projector for home theater use that utilizes a sub 4x color wheel.

Any manufacturer with half a brain realizes that 2x doesn't cut it anymore, which means that NEC, in the HT world, has less than half a brain in their product design and engineering team.

The Optoma H31 and the InFocus SP4805 seem to be the most often purchased and discussed entry level HT projectors on the market.

Do some more reading on Projector Central and stop worrying about 'lumens', though contrast ratio is still of importance, it is all about black level. Most fully calibrated home theater setups run closer to 300-400 lumens and are designed for theater black conditions.

In a lit room, contrast ratio becomes a near worthless specification as it often drops to about 20:1 due to ambient light issues. Pretty worthless to have a 3,000:1 or even a 500:1 contrast ratio projector in your living room if you do a lot of daytime viewing. That is when lumens count more and image quality is secondary.

There was a recent post in their forums about what projectors should be highly considered and at your price range the H31 & SP4805 are high up there, as well as the Sanyo Z2 which is a decent 720p entry level unit.

Keep in mind, we are talking entry level here, not 'high-end'...

[brian32672]

Just a quick note on 2X
My other projector is a 2x and it was by far better then my 4x.
Also as of now, I have never seen a RBE. So that is one thing you need to know with buying a DLP and or a DLP with a slower wheel. There are still people who complain about RBE even with a 5x color wheel. So its more of an individual taste. Some are immune to it. Something like 80% don't see it / 20% do see it.

On the other side, I personally have easilly seen the SDE with LCD's
And a lot of people do, depends on how far you sit away from screen

[BMXTRIX]

The SDE with current generations LCDs designed for HT use is almost non-existent. Very comparable to DLP for sure. Especially the Panny AE-700 which did a fantastic job with it.

My point was not about color or projector quality, but that since 1 out of every 5 people have RBE issues, that spending an extra couple hundred bucks may prove to be well worth it for a doubling of color wheel speed and some extra peace of mind.

I see rainbows mildly on the SP4805 - which may be enough to cause me headaches on extended viewing. But, I don't own one so I don't know for sure. The 7205 has less impact on me for RBE than the 4805. Still, I see them. I think DLP is a superior technology than LCD, but really, LCD projectors these days are a great value in home theater projector and the Z2 (for example) at just over $1K includes optical lens shift and 720p which is not something you are finding on comparably priced DLP projectors which may help with placement - and therefore image quality.