Josten, thanks for the reply. I had made up my mind by the end of the day to go with the Epson 1080 model. Unfortunately I wasn't able to grab the one that was on sale for $900. It sold before I got home. Oh well, maybe next time.
I appreciate the time and energy you spent in your response. I'm definitely convinced now. Thank you for the seating chart. I'm going to forward it to a friend of mine who is in the same boat.
You are most welcome. I would encourage you to carefully consider anything BMX says about the FP world. TBH, I myself was curious about the exact model you were thinking of buying. So that we may better help you in the future, always list the actual model for now on.
I have every reason to believe that once you put in the BDP and good midlevel PJ, you will be completely floored. I think the sweetspot in PJ value as NIB, no sale, is around $2.5k. There WILL be sales, open box (like mine, only 3hrs, fully warrantied), or refurbs as the recent deal BMX told us about on the W5000 for $1.5k (of which he correctly predicted would sell out quickly).
Then again, everyone has their reasons. Perhaps you need a new bulb, and you're thinking that those incurred costs could go towards a new PJ. Perhaps you look to upgrade often, say every 2 years, but just do it step by step, rather than 400%. If you ask me though, I also vote for 400%.
I'm currently running a 7.1 setup but with the extra speakers using the presence outputs up front versus the rear speakers. I like the Yamaha DSP using the presence speakers. I know some folks don't like it, but I do. It really opens up the sound field and adds height to the experience.
I believe you. FWIW, Onkyo just released their new entry receiver with Dolby plIIz, and the higher end models should come down the pipeline. Yamaha of course has been doing this for longer, but just wanted you to be aware.
I'll take a look at the Panasonic. Does Panasonic make a multi-disc Blu-ray player? What would be a comparable machine as the 550?
The BD80. But as BMX may have noted for you, you don't need the 80 or 550 if you have HDMI receiver. The 80 = 60, and the 550 = 350. The difference is simply the mch analogs between most brands like these (once in a while something else, but never important in my eyes). I've been advocating the twice-superceded Pana's over the 350/550, let alone the last iteration, let alone the present iteration of the 60/80. If getting the new receiver, get the BD60 for $258, or if you got nearly double that you could get an Oppo for the SACD/DVDA + ABT upconversion. Like I said before, even the twice-superceded Pana's performed better; only player to pass all HQV tests in the 6 player shootout I linked in the bdp subforum. The 350/550 did not. The Sony also cannot recode mch PCM into DD/DTS for spdif users, even if the particular BDs that leave you with only 2.0 will be rare indeed. You will also not be able to simply select spdif vs HDMI audio for instance, without being forced to go into the menu. The one thing that Sony has over the Panasonic is a prettier faceplate.
