Midrange Projector recommendation for light-controlled room

[farhanm]

I've been navigating through the forums and learning lots of useful information from all the projector reviews, but its making my head spin a bit. I figured if I could just bullet-point out my situation, some of you experts could help pretty easily with projector recommendations and pros/cons for my situation.

-Building out our dedicated media room, which is 15x20
-Dark carpet, dark walls/ceiling. Canned lighting and sconces that are on a dimmer. No windows
-Main purpose is movies and sports (football/basketball). When watching movies, all the lights will be off. When watching sports, I would like to have some light on since it will be a room full of my buddies, and I dont want the image getting washed out. If possible I'd like something that would help with not having the "jittery/blurry" feeling of fast motion sports
-2 rows of chairs. First row is about 13ft from the screen, 2nd is about 17-18ft
-Planning on a 110-120in Stewart Firehawk G3 screen
-Electrical outlet for the projector in the celing is about 16-17ft from the screen

Ideally i'm looking for a midrange projector in the $1500-2000 range, since I'm open to replacing in a few years when 3D becomes more mainstream. So i'm dedicating more money to the "fixed" items, like screen, speakers, etc.

Different home theater companies have suggested different projectors, such as the Mitubishi HC6800, Epson 8500, etc.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[gmichael]

I would go with the Epson 8350 seen here for $1274. http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_8350.htm

or the Epson 8700 seen here for $2199. http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_8700_UB.htm

There are others that are good choices as well. http://www.projectorcentral.com/home-theater-multimedia-projectors.htm

Under $1500 - http://www.projectorcentral.com/home_theater_projectors_1080p_review.htm

 

[BMXTRIX]

In a room such as this, I'm not sure that the Firehawk in worth the money, though this is up to you.

The JVC HD250 is a great choice, and a bit more is the RS40 which is phenomenal.

The LCD projectors may show a bit of blur in fast motion, which is minor, but the JVC projectors seem to handle motion better. (LCoS)

DLP models will also do well if they work in the space.

There aren't really a lot of bad models from decent manufacturers that I'm aware of. Mitsubishi, for example, makes solid stuff which isn't as flexible on the installation, but is still very good.

The difference between the cheaper models (Epson 8350) and the best models (JVC RS40) is minimal, but definitely noticable. Especially with fast motion and the black levels.

Whether this is worth it to you may still be up in the air. I figure we will see 1080p 3D proejctors under $2,000 in the next couple of years with higher brightness than we have now and more acceptance for all 3D formats.

Always good to pay a bit more for speakers...

Screens can be questionable as to the quality improvement they will deliver in a properly designed home theater environment.

 

[farhanm]

Thanks. I might have to change up my budget since those Epsons are in white, and I definately want black b/c the furniture, walls, carpet, etc are all dark colored.

Do you think the Epson 9700UB is worth the cost, or something better in that price range?

 

[gmichael]

Thanks. I might have to change up my budget since those Epsons are in white, and I definately want black b/c the furniture, walls, carpet, etc are all dark colored.

Do you think the Epson 9700UB is worth the cost, or something better in that price range?

Yes, and yes. The 9700UB is a fine unit, but for that amount, I would prefer the JVC HD250 that BMXTRIX recomended.

 

[farhanm]

What am I missing here about the JVC HD250? Looking strictly at the specs, it looks like its only 1000 lumens with a 25,000:1 contrast ratio. To me that seems pretty low, so is there something else that makes up for this?

 

[gmichael]

Color saturation and motion blur. Besides, they play a lot of games with those numbers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

This is going be extremely rough and possibly inaccurate, But from what I gathered - for Home use, since you'll have light controlled space, you shouldn't give too much attention to Light output, but to contrast (aka Black levels)

Exact opposite for biz use.

 

[BMXTRIX]

What am I missing here about the JVC HD250? Looking strictly at the specs, it looks like its only 1000 lumens with a 25,000:1 contrast ratio. To me that seems pretty low, so is there something else that makes up for this?

JVC typically quotes their numbers at best possible AFTER color calibration.

Other manufacturers quote best possible, regardless of calibration.

I've put the RS50 up on a 110" screen and in 'theater' mode it was plenty bright enough. On a larger 120"-130" screen it would still have been fine. Likewise, in 3D mode (dynamic) it was far brighter and would likely hit a 150" screen okay.

JVC is reknowned for delivering what they say, not promising the world, then delivering less.

There are plenty of reviews of JVC RS series projectors out there, and the bottom line remains that they are not only incredibly reliable, but are a step above the rest in terms of image quality.

The RS40 would be my first choice in a projector if the budget allowed for it.

If not, the HD250 would be ahead of the Panasonic AE4000 or other models.

But, as mentioned, the Mitsubishi models are out there as well at a budget price, look very good, and come in black.

 

[lsiberian]

What am I missing here about the JVC HD250? Looking strictly at the specs, it looks like its only 1000 lumens with a 25,000:1 contrast ratio. To me that seems pretty low, so is there something else that makes up for this?

Specs aren't standardized enough to make generalized comparisons.

But if you are looking for a complete package I'd get the Epson 8350 and put the rest into sound, seating and the hidden costs. I don't recommend buying a screen until you get an idea for what size picture you really want. For example I just moved and even with beige walls I ran a trial run on the image size and came up with 92". It's worth the wait to get it right.

Home theater has lots of hidden costs so be sure to give yourself room in the budget for this.

 

[AVRat]

https://shop.avscience.com/crm.asp?action=contactus
These folks should be receiving a batch next week of the JVCs. Their pricing is usually better than most others.

 

[gmichael]

When does JVC normally come out with their new projector models? I'm hoping for the usual, extra quality & features at a lower cost.

 

[BMXTRIX]

When does JVC normally come out with their new projector models? I'm hoping for the usual, extra quality & features at a lower cost.

Half a year from now. But, it will be hard to determine if they will stick to that schedule due to the Tsunami this year. It may be slightly delayed.

I can also give a pretty decent price on JVC product.