Mitsubishi

[arkight]

Thanks for all the info but is there any other suggestion on a projector i should look at i will be getting or ordering one Monday and wanted to try to looka at some locally. I am in Houston so i should be able to see several at some local shops around town.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Local shops tend to carry higher margin products on the shelves. This may include the more expensive JVC units, or the Sony models which are common. Occassionally the Mits unit will be out and about. I've seen Best Buy carrying the Epson models listed (8500/8100) but I've never seen one on.

What I have learned is that they ALL look good. At the very LEAST a brand name projector looks good. Then they get BETTER from there! The difference between a $1,200 projector, and a $10,000 projector is not nearly what it was 7+ years ago. Even then, I took my $2,000 Panasonic (PT-L300U) and put it under a $12,000 Runco projector and was flat out amazed at how close the image quality was. Truly, you are in a very good place around $2,000 for projector quality. See what is around, but odds are good that the best in class at $2,000 - the Epson and Panasonic are highly unlikely to be available for viewing.

 

[just-some-guy]

i have seen many projectors at retailers. none of them looked good. poorly set up perhaps, idk. and many were $5000 sonys/etc. if i was new to projectors, and those displays where all i had to go on, i would be looking at large flat screens. ymmv

 

[grantster]

Poor poor reliability with benq w5000 :-(

I came across this thread and will relay me experience, similar to others. I own a w5000 - love the picture when it works. Out of the box it had banding problems when using composite. When using hdmi it was good. Then it started having a pixelation problem when switching from 1080 to lower resolutions. At the same time as that, it started to have issues with the right side of the picture occasionally having mirrored vertical bars down the picture.

I read that a firmware update would fix the pixelation problems, i contacted costco where i bought it as it was outside the 1st year warranty and they extend it to two years. Benq disagreed that the firmware update would fix the pixelation problem, but costco paid the fees to have them do it and also check the split screen problem. It came back after 2 months and appeared to work normally, but now 7 months later the split screen vertical bars are happening again and i read that there are many people encountering the same problem, and it sounds like a problem with the electronics, and not cheap to fix ( about$800) Now i'm stuck with a projector out of warranty with costco by 2 months, a new $300 bulb i just bought and havent used, and a big expense to fix a unit that will probably break again.

I'll contact costco to see if their reputation to stand behind their warranties is worth anything. I'm not pleased to say the least with benq, and can't recommend their quality.

 

[arkight]

After Looking at Projectors

OK what do you think about the Epson 9350 i havent looked around on the internet for it yet but the deal was 2300 for the projector a replacement buld and a celing mount. He said that he would throw in the screen for $3k if i was interested. What do you think about that i know a couple of you suggested the Epson line this one should be better that the 8350 right??

 

[BMXTRIX]

No.

The 9350 is the 8350 in a black case with a replacement lamp.

That's worth about $300 more than the 8350.

The 8700UB will be much better, as will the Panasonic AE4000 (at $2,000).

The JVC HD250 will also be a solid product at about $2,500. The JVC lineup is getting scary inexpensive for the quality of their product and they are one of the few manufacturers delivering 3D this year for projection.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Heck, gotta add this...

The 8700UB is now shipping at Visual Apex and it is $2,199 with free shipping and includes a FREE spare lamp!

http://www.visualapex.com/Epson/projector-specifications.asp?for-the=Home-Cinema-8700-UB

This makes it probably one of the best projector deals out there.

 

[arkight]

No.

The 9350 is the 8350 in a black case with a replacement lamp.

That's worth about $300 more than the 8350.

The 8700UB will be much better, as will the Panasonic AE4000 (at $2,000).

The JVC HD250 will also be a solid product at about $2,500. The JVC lineup is getting scary inexpensive for the quality of their product and they are one of the few manufacturers delivering 3D this year for projection.

I looked up the JVC it looks nice. What do you think, i can get the JVC cheap for about the same price as an Epson 8700UB but it dosent come with a replacement bulb. If you could get the epson 8700UB or the JVC 250 for about the same price which would be better? I havent found a cheap place to get the Epson except the palce you showed.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I looked up the JVC it looks nice. What do you think, i can get the JVC cheap for about the same price as an Epson 8700UB but it dosent come with a replacement bulb. If you could get the epson 8700UB or the JVC 250 for about the same price which would be better? I havent found a cheap place to get the Epson except the palce you showed.

The JVC is most likely going to deliver the superior image. The black level of the JVCs is the gold standard in the industry right now, and there are very few complaints about the quality or reliability of their product.

The significantly dropped price by JVC this year is a great thing for consumers, and I know that my price runs around $2,499 on the JVC HD250 units from where I get them, so they are definitely in the category of the new Epson 8700UB. Yep, no lamp, but man, the image from the JVCs are basically untouched by any other manufacturer.

 

[arkight]

The JVC is most likely going to deliver the superior image. The black level of the JVCs is the gold standard in the industry right now, and there are very few complaints about the quality or reliability of their product.

The significantly dropped price by JVC this year is a great thing for consumers, and I know that my price runs around $2,499 on the JVC HD250 units from where I get them, so they are definitely in the category of the new Epson 8700UB. Yep, no lamp, but man, the image from the JVCs are basically untouched by any other manufacturer.

Yea i am trying to find some reviews but they are both are so new it is hard to find any. About the price i think i can get it for around that price maybe a little lower not much though. 100 or 200 dollars more than the retail price of the epson makes me lean towards the JVC. I took the wife out to look at some projectors today we went to a store that had a Epson 9350 and also a JVC 550 i think it was the 550. She was very impressed with the Epson and not so much with the JVC she said the epson had a clearer picture to her. To me they looked very close but the Epson was a week or two old with a fresh bulb and the JVC has been there for a while. The screens might have had something to do with it also since the JVC was on some gray screen that the guy said was for rooms that didnt have good light control or something and the epson was in a bat cave that might have had something to do with it.

Man the more you look the more you dont know it is also hard since this is my first projector

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The BIGGEST complaint I've heard regarding the JVCs is the lack of SHARPNESS compared to DLPs.

Just make sure you can HANDLE this before buying; some people think it's fine, while others cannot stand it.

 

[jostenmeat]

The BIGGEST complaint I've heard regarding the JVCs is the lack of SHARPNESS compared to DLPs.

Just make sure you can HANDLE this before buying; some people think it's fine, while others cannot stand it.

Counterpoints: those who work in the film industry will say that 3LCOS is much more what film should look like, and find it unfortunate that they are using DLP in the theaters.

Do you know why DLP is sharper, even sharper than 3DLPs, which are likely the best projectors money can buy according to some? No convergence issues.

DLP is also brighter.

OTOH, 3LCOS will give you the highest fill ratio, be quieter, beat it with black levels, contrast, and look closer to how film should be. Oh yeah, no rainbow effect, and way more install/placement flexibility. Oh yeah, much more reliable, less moving parts.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Oh yeah, much more reliable, less moving parts.

I was not aware of this!

So LCOS has less moving parts than DLP and better reliability?

Can you say LED LCOS?

 

[jostenmeat]

I was not aware of this!

So LCOS has less moving parts than DLP and better reliability?

Can you say LED LCOS?

Well, when I say 3LCOS, I should really have said JVC. Because I am not current on Sony's 3LCOS reliability. Sony calls their version of 3LCOS as SXRD, and JVC calls theirs as D-ILA.

DLP relies on a spinning color wheel.

 

[jostenmeat]

Do you know why DLP is sharper, even sharper than 3DLPs, which are likely the best projectors money can buy according to some? No convergence issues.

I've been corrected earlier today. This is what I was told at AVS:

Convergence error is not the main reason for DLP machines being sharper than LC machines. 3 chip DLP is still sharper than LC based units, even when sharing a similar degree of MC error. Obviously, low MC is still the goal as it will help provide the maximum possible sharpness, subject to the limits of any given technology.

The main factor is the ability of a DMD to display its individual pixels more uniformly, and to yield greater contrast at full resolution.

OK, so I was to a small extent correct, but I was incorrect and misleading to point out convergence as the most important reason.

 

[just-some-guy]

i don't like the "film" look.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

i don't like the "film" look.

You mean you don't like the way movies look like at the local movie theaters?

 

[just-some-guy]

You mean you don't like the way movies look like at the local movie theaters?

yeah. the only movie i have seen at the theater, that had GOOD IQ was avatar 3d.

now, saying that. i could be that the theaters i have been going to, just don't care about keeping their gear in top notch condition. or it is the nature of the commercial beast. idk

 

[jostenmeat]

yeah. the only movie i have seen at the theater, that had GOOD IQ was avatar 3d.

now, saying that. i could be that the theaters i have been going to, just don't care about keeping their gear in top notch condition. or it is the nature of the commercial beast. idk

You need to search out the theaters that use digital DLP. Over here, it ain't cheap, and is something like $16 instead of $11 (those are approximate guesses, as I rarely go). There is no way I can watch a regular theater, impossible. If I have to go to theater, it absolutely must be least a DLP if not IMAX. They WILL have DLP theaters in Chicago. I would be shocked if they didn't.

IMO, my 3LCOS playing 2D Avatar completely annihilates the IMAX 3D version, IMO. Not even close by a really long shot, IMO.

 

[just-some-guy]

that expensive place i went to. when talking to the guy, i think he said DLP. i don't recall exactly.

imax, saw star trek there a lil while ago. IQ was not that great.

from now on, when i go, i am going to talk to a manager and ask.