Projector Recommendation

[giffer]

Looking for some advice and help on choosing the right projector for my home theatre. I have recently begun building a home theatre in my basement. The dimensions are approximately 22 feet long by 14 feet wide. I will have complete control over ambient light so that shouldn't be an issue. I am seriously leaning towards the 110" Carada Criterion Series with the Brilliant White screen.

I think that I have narrowed down the options for the projector down to the Benq PE8720 and the Yamaha DPX-1300, but I am up for other suggestions or ideas.

I am fairly new to the whole home theatre world but just reading through this site has been a huge asset and very helpful.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated and invited.

Thanks in advance,
Giffer

 

[df4801]

Whats your budget and intended use?

Between the two you mentioned, I would take the BenQ for sure.
Less than 1/2 the price for a likely similar great picture.

 

[TABCON]

Yea, whats the old budget?

I'm in the same boat as you...still haven;t decided on a projector and it's killin me

Tabcon

 

[giffer]

Budget wise I am looking for under $10K hopefully. While budget is obviously important, it is truly secondary to top performance.

I want to get the best projector I can, with the best possible picture. As for the viewing requirements, it will primarily be used for movies, but I am also an avid sports fan and am planning on hosting all of the major sporting events.

Again I appreciate any and all advice, and I am not necessarily tied to only these two projectors. I also have a bit of time as it is a couple of months from completion.

I will likely start a new thread in a while looking for advice on some other components to fit within the new home theatre.

Thanks again,
Giffer

 

[TABCON]

Okay, we are in the same boat, but I will go to 13K if required.

I narrowed my search down to the Sony VW100 "Ruby" (around 7,400) and the new, but not out yet Optoma HD82. The Sim2 3x Lite is also in the running.

Tabcon

 

[cthomp]

10k

$10k just for the projector? There are lots of good sources for information.
A couple that I like are:

www.projectorreviews.com
www.projectorcentral.com
www.projectorcenter.com

For comparison purposes try

www.smarter.com

www.stores.tomshardware.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=38&form_keyword=projectors&rd=1

You can get a really good projector for <$5000
Hope this helps! Save some $$ for the sound system, you will have
it long after the projector!

 

[df4801]

If you are 2 months away then wait.
It seems that the pj market is changing rapidly.
Put off the decision on the pj until the very end IMO.
Prices also seem to drop about every month.

 

[cthomp]

Yes Wait

df makes a very good point! Two months is a long time! There
are some really great pj's coming out! Start doing your homework
now so you are ready though. I have only been looking for a month
and most of the pj's I have been interested in have dropped $100-
$500. This is quickly becoming a very competative market, so prices
are dropping and rebates and freebies are getting better Good for
the consumer if you can wait!

 

[jaxvon]

Also keep in mind that new, bleeding edge technology is inherently buggy in its first implementation. Keep that in mind as well. It would be best to go for a product just a tad behind that has some testing under its belt.

 

[TABCON]

I'd love to be able to transport myself into 2007 and get a great dp and then bring it back to now...but, I still may wait at least 2 to 3 months.

Tabcon

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm in the same boat as you...still haven;t decided on a projector and it's killin me

Tabcon

Well, you have that ambient light issue that makes your case so different.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Looking for some advice and help on choosing the right projector for my home theatre. I have recently begun building a home theatre in my basement. The dimensions are approximately 22 feet long by 14 feet wide. I will have complete control over ambient light so that shouldn't be an issue. I am seriously leaning towards the 110" Carada Criterion Series with the Brilliant White screen.

I think that I have narrowed down the options for the projector down to the Benq PE8720 and the Yamaha DPX-1300, but I am up for other suggestions or ideas.

I am fairly new to the whole home theatre world but just reading through this site has been a huge asset and very helpful.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated and invited.

Thanks in advance,
Giffer

Any idea of screen size? That will have big effect on on screen brightness, called foot Lambert. Move theater standards are 16 foot Lambert for film, but the average theater only projects 11 fL or so, some much lower. Light bulbs dim with age.

With a 14ft wide room, if that is where you will have the screen, perhaps a 100" wide x 56"= 1.77 ratio to accommodate TV.

Not sure of your screen choice. There is a great web site, AVS, that has lots of great posters, not all, that have experimented, measured and even posted screen measurements and comparisons of its quality. On a standard screen has a number of sample screens, and see how they react to light. Some high gain is very poor, and very narrow viewing for that gain. Some are totally crazy. Stick with about 1.2-1.5 gain screens. Yours may be part of it, not sure.

Then, your setup, projector location will depend on what is called a throw distance. Usually at the closes distance will have the most output.

Plan on using HDMI/DVI cable and perhaps a backup video to the pj, and probably one from the Cable TV box. Long distances for these cables, needs better, larger ga cable.

The projector has a certain distance above the screen that it can be placed, and left and right of center line. Don't want the screen too high or it will not be comfortable viewing. Eye level is recommended to be at .33X screen height.

Oh, yes, HD is around the corner, so you want a 3 chip 1080 progressive scan capable projector.

 

[giffer]

This site is great. I started looking about a month ago, before that I knew next to nothing, between reading and using this forum, I think that I am slowly beginning to get a handle on this home theatre thing.

Thanks for all of the advice so far. I will definately hold off until near completion of the room.

A couple of other things that I have obviously failed to mention (again chalk it up to being a newbie), I already have a full home theatre surround sound system including an Integra 6.1 receiver, B&W speakers and sub, a sony dvd player (likely to be replaced later on), and an hi-def box. I bought all of this in our previous place, but we have recently moved so my home theatre is being designed and built from scratch for specifically nothing but this purpose.

I originally was thinking about a 60+ inch plasma for the new room, but these front projectors seem to be the way to go. However, I don't want to give up the picture quality that we have become used to just to gain sheer size and to save a few bucks. I would rather pay a little more and get the quality that we are looking for, that is why I have shyed away from some of the more price conscious solutions.

That being said, I know very little about front projectors (and true home theatres for that matter) so keep the feedback coming. I also don't want it to seem that I am willing to throw unlimited funds at this projector either, that is why I have kind of put a $10K cap on it.

Hope this helps, enlightens, and spawns more feedback. It is great and every bit of your assistance helps to unravel the seeming mystery of this home theatre game.

Thanks again,
Giffer

 

[Ajbolit]

Panasonic900 vs SanyoZ4

I had narrowed my choices to Pany900 vs Sanyo Z4 - the best deal for the money currently IMHO. All I am trying to accomplish - is to get myself a good projector for a couple of years - before HD DVD players and 1080p projectors would drop in price significantly.
Having said that - I don't really want to suffer from inadequate quality, but those 2 have pretty fenomenal reviews for the price.
So the options are - Pany900 for 1700$ delivered, minus 400$ rebate and minus 40 DVD rentals from Blockbuster vs SanyoZ4 with the spare lamp for 1700$.
Price wise - Pany is actually marginally cheaper right now. The million dollar question is - which one to choose, considering that I am planning to install them in walk-out basement for mostly movie watching at night. Panasonic does offer slightly better lumen output - would it be brighter in the settings of significant ambien light? And should I invest extra 99$ for the extended warranty from the Third Party? It does seem that a lot of people complain about Panasonic service - what a shame for such a well known nameplate.

 

[~JC~]

Marantz

I would suggest that you consider the Marantz VP 12s4. It is at the higher end of your budget, but a superb projector. Check out the review on projector central.