In a previous thread, "Why do projectors cost so much?", I mentioned how much I loved my SIM2...well, things have changed.
While I still love the picture quality, the unit has become rather fussy and quirky. From what I understand, this is commonplace for Sims, at least according to the tech that installs them at the place I bought it from. Well, I really don't care for quirky in my home theater. I've dropped a ton on some great equipment and it would be nice to hit a button or two and everything work the way it's supposed to. Lately, my AV room reminds me more of the 1960's era British sports cars I used to restore...yea, quirky and prone to leaving you stranded on a lonely country road you thought would be quaint to drive down with the top down and the wind in your girlfriends hair...that is until you have to ask Bubba and Spuggy if they have a spare spanner so you can make some adjustments under your bonnet.
"Mind if we dance with your dates" springs to mind.
After weeks of it intermittently shutting off in the middle of a great movie, or on the back straight at Sebring while your driving the best race of your career on Forza 2, it finally died. It's still in warranty though and it was promised back to me in 2 weeks. Not too bad for a boutique type piece of equipment.
This all got me thinking about the new 1080p projectors, and what a great excuse this would be to buy one...oh yea, and how about a new Blu-Ray player, I'll need one of these for sure, ummm, the Playstation 3 should do nicely, and of course I'll need a new HD-DVD peripheral for my X-Box 360, but wait a minute, will my bright white Carrada screen be okay for the brighter projector, and oh crap, I almost forgot, what about my "old" Denon 4806, won't I need the new Denon 4308 with 1080p scaling and Wi-Fi also...couldn't hurt...right?
Great hobby isn't it? Sort of like collecting $100.00 bills with disappearing ink.
So, of course, I got online and started researching the new 1080p's. This time, I decided not to go down the boutique road, but instead stay on the main drag, i.e. Epson, JVC, Sony, Mitsu, Sharp. I viewed an Epson Pro 1080 at my local AV store, and as Shania says... "that don't impress me much...".
Sure, the picture was great, but not as sharp as the Sim. I found the image to be very clear and detailed, but also somewhat soft at the same time. So much for the Epson.
Long story 'short', naw, too late. What did all this research lead me to? Well, it led me back here, to the people I trust the most when it comes to this stuff, you guys. Since I joined Audioholics way back in January '06, I've gone from a dumb *** newbie to a seasoned know it all newbie in less than 2 years. End result? I still don't know Jack...so I rely on most of you
to keep up with all this stuff for me. Oh yea, checks in the mail.
SO...opinions...anyone here have one on the latest batch of 1080p's? General consensus seems to lead me to the new JVC RS1U. I've yet to see one close up, so I don't have an opinion yet.
I remember not that long ago when we were all speculating on how much the 1080p's would cost on their release. I was aghast to learn that they were actually affordable and even more stunned by how well they've been received and reviewed.
My only hesitation to buying, let's say the JVC, is the same old hesitation we all have daily...I wonder how much this thing will cost in 6 months, what about 2160p???, that's sure to be the next technology. I've come to the conclusion that you either buy disposable equipment with a view to replacing it every 2 years, or you stay away from places like this, and AV mags, and electronics stores, and virtually all forms of media. What the hell, it's only money, and who needs retirement IRA's and crap like that anyway?
So, should I sell the freshly repaired Sim on Ebay upon it's return from the shop and go 1080p, or...?
Tab
