JVC Projector Question

[talmazor]

I have a JVC DLA-G150CL projector and am now selling it to make room for my more "economical" home theater setup.

I originally paid $17,000 for the projector and was thinking about selling it to recoup some of that money, but this was the first and only projector I've had so I don't know how it compares to others.

Does anyone have any experiece with this projector? Any idea what it's worth or the best place to get top dollar for it?

Thanks.

 

[BMXTRIX]

While it's difficult to put an exact dollar amount out there, you would do best to look at eBay and do some comparisons there.

Unfortunately, you need to reflect the quality of that particular projector in the offerrings of current projectors on the market.

That's a 1,000 lumen, 1365x1024, 600:1 contrast ratio projector.
The Epson 1080UB is a 1,600 lumen, 1920x1080, 4000:1 contrast ratio projector.

The Epson costs about $3,000 on the street.

So, an out of warranty, early LCoS technology, unknown condition projector, to others, might get you $1,000 or so. Maybe a bit more. But, search eBay, see if it has sold and for how much in recent months. When I did a search for that model, they were listed for as low as $2,000 and they did NOT sell at that price.

Unfortunately, I think that is a very realistic reflection of the situation. As little as 5 or 6 years ago, projectors easily cost ten times as much as the projectors available today and had quality that is notably inferior to what is currently out there.

I wish you luck!

 

[talmazor]

Wow, that's totally not what I expected. I looked around and the projector is still selling for around $12,000 from retailers. Also, I went to Agon and their blue book has it priced at $8300 used. I figured I could sell this projector and buy myself a nice sized rear projection DLP, but it looks like I'll be selling this and supersizing my BK combo.

Thanks for the info.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Wow, that's totally not what I expected. I looked around and the projector is still selling for around $12,000 from retailers. Also, I went to Agon and their blue book has it priced at $8300 used. I figured I could sell this projector and buy myself a nice sized rear projection DLP, but it looks like I'll be selling this and supersizing my BK combo.

Thanks for the info.

If BMX posted the correct aspect ration, no need to doubt him, you will find it hard to sell it for home theater folks who are looking at 16x9 projectors.
Perhaps this was more for commercial applications where a 4:3 is fine?
One way to find out its worth is put it up for sale at $8k and see what happens
I would not pay that, nor would I be interested in a 4:3 projector at any cost, including free.

 

[talmazor]

BMXTRIX, I was just packing I up to send to you, but I guess I'll give it to someone else

Thanks for the honesty, but now I'm looking for someone who believes in the nostalgia of the "older" projectors. Forget 16:9, 4:3 is the best.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Thanks for the honesty, but now I'm looking for someone who believes in the nostalgia of the "older" projectors. Forget 16:9, 4:3 is the best.

You might find someone who would take it off your hand but your $$ expectations may have to change, not sure.
Or, advertise it towards commercial places.

 

[talmazor]

I'm now thinking that a school or someplace that does a lot of multimedia displays may be more suited for this projector versus a home user.

Any thoughts of a place to sell this other than Ebay etc.?

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm now thinking that a school or someplace that does a lot of multimedia displays may be more suited for this projector versus a home user.

Any thoughts of a place to sell this other than Ebay etc.?

Wish I could help but none at all. Perhaps others might?

 

[timone]

try selling it to a religious organization or a church or seminary. they might find it sufficient for their need.

 

[talmazor]

That's the plan, but finding the craigs list for churches is a little tough.

On a side note, I listed it in the classified section if anyone is interested in making an offer. I'll consider any offer. It's a great projector and the quality of the picture would easily beat any of the newer cheap projectors, it's just not 16:9.

 

[BMXTRIX]

What's amazing is that it's just to hard to know for sure how this projector actually does stack up against the current projectors that are out on the market.

About 8 years ago, a basic line doubler from Faroudja was easily upwards of $10,000. Noadays, these processors are included on sub $1,000 displays. Yes, that's over a 90% reduction in cost.

Similarly, about eight years ago, a basic 720p projector was pretty easily in the $10,000+ range. Now you can get a 1080p front projector, with far more versatility and performance for just a few thousand dollars.

It's extremely unfortunate that projectors have had such a severe drop off in value over the past few years, but it really is not much different than some of the PCs that are on the market. You look back that long at a PC and you had a $3,000+ PC with a 20GB hard drive, a CRT monitor, a CD recorder, a GB of RAM, a 32MB(!) video card, etc. on it. Nowadays, that type of PC would be worth about 100 bucks - at most.

While it most definitely isn't what you want to hear, it's simply the reality of the situation.

 

[jostenmeat]

I all too often agree with BMXTRIX.

and I couldn't help but notice your classified here talmazor.

For some additional perspective: its a different JVC model, but definitely newer (I believe by several years) than the G150. The JVC DLA-HX2 is 720p, retailed at $12,000 just three years ago, and was selling at AVS just two months ago replete with manufacturer's warranty for the total of $600.

For $3k I got a JVC RS1. For $5k, Id be looking for an RS2. I think you will have to be a LOT more realistic in your price expectations. Then again, you only have to find one sucker to make a sale.

 

[talmazor]

While I don't disagree that technology moves at light speed, there are several things that can't be improved in a small form factor.

You can buy a digital camera right now for $100, but you're not going to get the optics of a larger older camera. The same is the case with projectors, the chips and processors etc. have been reduced, but because of the smaller size the optics suffer.

That's also a reason why the lumens on some of these projector are so high when compared to older model at 800-1000 lumens. If I place a 1000 lumens bulb in a light house with great optics I can cover miles of ocean, but that same bulb in a flashlight will only light up a room.

Don't discount the quality that comes with size.

Now that aside, the real downside to this projector is the fact that it's running in 4:3 and not 16:9, but that being said some of our HTs are still running displays in 4:3.

I'm not looking to get $12,000 for this projector, and to the right buyer, not neccessarily a sucker, the price I posted is a steal. I just don't understand why I can't even get one person to say "you're crazy, but I'll give you $xxxxx".

 

[BMXTRIX]

It really is hard to understand until you can A-B current model projectors against the competitors. I remember when I bought my Panny PT-L300U just a few years ago (5?) for about $2,000.

The day I got it I took it into a local store chain that I worked at during 'closed' hours to do some testing against the $12,000 Runco on the floor.

With about half a dozen employees around, including the store manager, we split the signal to the projectors and switched back and forth.

The bottom line was that the Runco showed about 10% brighter, and had a bit better processing. The black levels were a bit deeper as well. The colors were indistinguishable. The noise from the Runco was extremely intrusive which was a huge issue.

That was the point where I realized that expensive projectors were simply that - expensive. Unless a projector actually uses cheap optics, or poor quality components, you are likely to see as good of an image in most areas of projecting compared to the more expensive counterparts. You end up with brand names that simply cost a good deal more, but don't offer that much more. Optics are easily the big ticket items these days, but an all glass lens RS-2 projector is going to look only marginally better than the Epson 1080UB model that is out there. Things have just improved - a lot - in fact, at a staggerring rate for home theater projectors. It's unfortunate though because you will get hit hard with the sale, no matter what you get. I would likely take a donation of it and shoot for a tax writeoff against current selling prices as it might net your more cash in your pocket than anything else.

 

[talmazor]

BMXTRIX, thank you for the explanation. I wish more of us had the connections to do a side by side comparison like you did, because in most cases you are paying for the name.

In my case, I wish I knew someone here that had a "newer" and "cheaper" projector to truly match it against this JVC. I know the projector can do 16:9, even though it's native 4:3, as well as 1080i, so it's comprable to the latest projectors but without a side by side it would be hard to tell if optics play into the equation. Also, I know that the projector is awesome when it comes to playing movie etc, which it has for the last 2 years, but maybe I don't know what I'm missing.

Either way, I appreciate your insight.