Projector advice

[mdk5068]

Ok so I am looking to upgrade my projector. My maximum budget is 900, but I would prefer to keep it in the 6-800 range (less is always ok!). I watch a lot of movies off my computer, but will be watching DVD's and Comcast digital cable through my new Pioneer Sc-05 as well. I am a large fan of mobility, but that only means that I do not want a behemoth. My current projector is a PJ 503d. Here are the specs:


Brand ViewSonic
Model PJ503D
Type DLP
Display
Panel 0.55" DMD
Lens Manual focus
Lamp 160W, 2,000 hours normal, up to 3,000 whisper eco mode
Aspect Ratio 4:3 (native), 16:9
Display Size 38"–150" (diagonally)
Native Resolution 800 x 600
Throw Distance 60"–236"
Brightness 1,500 ANSI lumens (max.)
Contrast Ratio 2000:1
Horizontal Refresh Rate 30kHz – 100kHz
Vertical Refresh Rate 50Hz – 87Hz
Connectivity
Input Video Compatibility Analog RGB, Composite Video, S-Video
Input Video Connectors 15-pin HD, D-sub cable (x1)
Composite Video Input: RCA jack (x1)
S-Video Input: Mini-Din 4-pin (x1)
Power
Power Supply 100 - 240 VAC, 50/60Hz
Power Consumption 250W (typ)
Convenience
Users Controls Basic: Standby/On, input, menu
OnView: Display mode, brightness, contrast, keystone, aspect ratio, blank screen, color temperature, user color, video (sharpness, saturation, tint), display (phase, H. position, V. position), advance (auto source select, eco mode, lamp hours, lamp reset, auto shutdown, OSD timeout, menu position, factory reset)
Regulatory Approvals UL, FCC-B, CCC, CE, NOM, PSB, CUL, ICES-003, Argentina TUV/GS, RoHS, IRAM, CB
Features Normal mode 30 dB (typ)
Whisper mode 27 dB (typ)
Dimensions
Dimensions (W×H×D) 10.35" x 4.25" x 8.6"
Weight 5.7 lbs.


I have put in bold alot of the things I am assuming I should be looking for, but my desired goal is something that is in the 6-800 range (less is always fine!) but that significantly outperforms this. Hdmi connects would be fantastic, as that is one of the main reasons I bought the sc-05 (I am a noob with video jargin of any type, that includes connections and how it is done between machines). That was one of my main problems with my last projector, its lack of inputs in general. The weight was fine on my last projector, but an increase in that is not a huge factor unless I would have trouble ceiling mounting it.

Here are some models I have looked at (the point of this thread is to get more recommendations for specific models based on experience with them):

----Mitsubishi HC1500 720p DLP Home Theater Projector
----Sanyo PLV Z60 - LCD projector - 1200 ANSI lumens - 1280 x 720 - widescreen
----Optoma TX7156 Projector
----Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector
----Epson logo Home Cinema 720 Projector
----Mitsubishi HC1600 Projector
----Optoma HD65


Thank you all for reading, sorry for all the letters and words, and any models/experience/recommendations would be incredible.

Thanks again,

Mark

[Sherardp]

For your budget I was going to list some of the very models you mentioned. 600-800 bucks doesnt get you much. You missed a fantastic deal a few months back as one of our members sold an Epson 1080 in the 800 price range. Out of those u mentioned I would pick the Epson 720 or Mitsubishi 1600

[mdk5068]

O wow, I read a forum that compared the best 1080's and the epson was on that list. I would have done anything to get my hands on that, ha. Yea I heard the epson was a very good pj, just did not know if anyone had experience with it or the other models.


For your budget I was going to list some of the very models you mentioned. 600-800 bucks doesnt get you much. You missed a fantastic deal a few months back as one of our members sold an Epson 1080 in the 800 price range. Out of those u mentioned I would pick the Epson 720 or Mitsubishi 1600

[mdk5068]

bump only one opinion?

[slowpolky]

Listen the best choice by far is the panasonic 200 .I have saw the mitz hc1500 and its great for movies but cant beat the panasonic .The panasonic can upscale to full 1080p without using a 3.2 pulldown .Basicly the projector crams in all the extra information to the 720 1280 pixel matrix

The panasonic also has a completely invisible pixel structure . Combine this with the 1080p 24 fps and you have what evan powell refers to as "the poor mans 1080p projector " ,None of the other projectors can do this as effective as the panasonic

Another thing is the power of the panasonic ,its the brightest in its class , also its lcd so the color contrast will be way higher than any same exact spec dlp projector

The panasonic is also the worlds only dedicated video game projector . Basicly when I play hardcore first person shooters my projector is gona refresh the screen with new information faster than my control pad can send information to the game console . It can also bring out color and detail in places that would otherwise be pitch black . I noticed this when comparing call of duty on my way higher spec plasma . The plasma just couldent resolve the shadow detail

I love the panasonic for movies too , to get the color to 6500 kelvin in the super bright cinema 1.
Lower the color temp by two

I love this projector and will have use for it for many more years to come

Buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mdk5068]

When you say that it up converts what do you mean? Also what types of cables will I need with it to get the full effect? I am not very learned in the cable practices, and do not know how I would take advantage of some of the things on these projectors. An example would be hdmi, where I assume that I would just run an hdmi cable from my projector to my receiver correct? Does that just drastically improve everything I watch or only some things? How does all this workkkkk, ha.

Thanks



Listen the best choice by far is the panasonic 200 .I have saw the mitz hc1500 and its great for movies but cant beat the panasonic .The panasonic can upscale to full 1080p without using a 3.2 pulldown .Basicly the projector crams in all the extra information to the 720 1280 pixel matrix

The panasonic also has a completely invisible pixel structure . Combine this with the 1080p 24 fps and you have what evan powell refers to as "the poor mans 1080p projector " ,None of the other projectors can do this as effective as the panasonic

Another thing is the power of the panasonic ,its the brightest in its class , also its lcd so the color contrast will be way higher than any same exact spec dlp projector

The panasonic is also the worlds only dedicated video game projector . Basicly when I play hardcore first person shooters my projector is gona refresh the screen with new information faster than my control pad can send information to the game console . It can also bring out color and detail in places that would otherwise be pitch black . I noticed this when comparing call of duty on my way higher spec plasma . The plasma just couldent resolve the shadow detail

I love the panasonic for movies too , to get the color to 6500 kelvin in the super bright cinema 1.
Lower the color temp by two

I love this projector and will have use for it for many more years to come

Buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[slowpolky]

Basicly if you ever watch a bluray then you dont have to set your player to 720p you can leave it set to 1080p and have the 24 frames per second frame rate . That way you wont miss out on fine details . It also has deepcolor support for the future

If you dont plan watching bluray you can watch pay per view movies in 1080

Another great thing is the replacement bulbs can be found for $250

You just hook it up to hdmi or component even vga 15 pin for most older computers .The pj will do the rest .I would not advise you use this projector for standard def programming that has not been upscaled

[mdk5068]

I don't own a blueray player, does this mean that I would have to set something else? Having never owned anything hdmi, I previously had one cord going from my receiver to my projector. Does the hdmi cord take the place of this cord, and therefore everything going to my projector is improved? Or does hdmi pick and choose what it wants to put in hdmi quality? Also what is an example of standard def programming that has not been upscaled? Is this just comcast cable that has not gone through ____ yet? Sorry for all the dumb questions, I am just not every well schooled on all the connections and their given benefits.


Basicly if you ever watch a bluray then you dont have to set your player to 720p you can leave it set to 1080p and have the 24 frames per second frame rate . That way you wont miss out on fine details . It also has deepcolor support for the future

If you dont plan watching bluray you can watch pay per view movies in 1080

Another great thing is the replacement bulbs can be found for $250

You just hook it up to hdmi or component even vga 15 pin for most older computers .The pj will do the rest .I would not advise you use this projector for standard def programming that has not been upscaled

[slowpolky]

Just hook up the comcast to the receiver and that should do a pretty good job of upscaling the standard def pic wich will send it out to the projector via hdmi in high def ,you choose the resolution of the upscale and the upscale pj will detect what ever signal automatically

Same goes for watching movies ,feed the vga computer cable directly to the projector and feed the computers audio to your receiver

[mdk5068]

Great! 3 last questions :o :

1. I saw a vga-hdmi adapter...does this have any use if the pj has both inputs?

2. All this talk about putting video through hdmi, what is the story behind audio quality being improved through hdmi. Is it all carried in that one cord?

3. I know I need one hdmi cable going from my sc-05 to my projector, do I need any other hdmi cables anywhere? DVD player to receiver? Anything?

Thank you so much for all of your help and patience!

--Mark



Just hook up the comcast to the receiver and that should do a pretty good job of upscaling the standard def pic wich will send it out to the projector via hdmi in high def ,you choose the resolution of the upscale and the upscale pj will detect what ever signal automatically

Same goes for watching movies ,feed the vga computer cable directly to the projector and feed the computers audio to your receiver

[slowpolky]

You can choose ,but if comcas, dvd players etc have the hdmi there to use then its best to conect with them. The reason being that theres gona be less obstruction getting the video or audio to the source .These obstructions can manifest themself with digital noise ,like fuzzy pixels or hiss in the audio

The vga to hdmi can come in handy for 2 reasons

1 You have less wires running to the pj making it look tidy
2 You can upscale the vga source being output by your computer

You will still have to hookup sound separately to the receiver as the vga only carries vifdeo display info but never the less you can have your computer near the receiver . This can eliminate the need for costly extension cables because this way you would only have to buy one long hdmi cable thats going to run from the receiver to the projector

monoprice.com has 25 ft or 35 ft hdmi cables for as low as 25 dollars , I use them mself for the panasonic 200

For some one that doesnt know an awefull lot about hdmi you sure made a smart purchase getting that awesome receiver

[slowpolky]

Here's one more feature on the panasonic I never talked about

It has a built in light sensor so that it will adjust the picture and settings if the light in the room gets brighter you can turn this on or off with the flick of a button

[mdk5068]

Good deal then it does seem like both cord and adapter will be a good idea. The light sensor is definitely a good option but I am still having trouble with my comparison between the projector you are recommending and the epson 720. It seems as though the panasonic 200 has great upscaling, but it is also said to have a fuzzier picture at times. With a contrast of 6000-1 I am not sure whether it is worth getting that one for 999 or the epson 720 for 999 because the epson has a 10000-1 ratio. Are there any overbearingly large reasons the panasonic 200 should take the cookie?

And in terms of the receiver, it was hard to ignore with everyone on the polk forum's screaming to high heaven about how great this receiver was! It is affordable, which is nice, and seems to make everyone happy.

--Mark

[mdk5068]

bump any more recommendations on projectors? I know a ton of you have them, tell me which ones. Tell me what you have heard about others/ones you have seen.

[slowpolky]

Heres the reason you should not buy any 720, PIXEL STRUCTURE ,only the panasonic doesnt have one

[Grimster74]

Epson Home Cinema 720 Review:

http://www.projectorreviews.com/epson/powerlite-home_cinema_720/

Panny PT-AX200U Review:

http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ax200u/

Hopefully this will help beings this seems to be the two projectors your most interested inn.

[Grimster74]

If it helps, as Sherardp stated in the second post, I was the one that sold the Epson HC1080 for $800. Personally, I loved the Epson but as I stated, it was the 1080P version. When I purchased my Epson it came down to the Epson or the Panny. At the time the Epson had better reviews so thats what pushed me in that direction. To this day my only complaint was the black levels, could have been much better which apparently Epson has improved since then. The Epsons in my opinion are freakin light cannons, I had no problems what so ever viewing in my Home Theater with the lights on some. As of now I have well surpassed the Epson and/or Panny projectors and now I have a JVC HD1 (Best black levels for any projector under $10,000) and have a funny feeling I'll own the JVC for quite some time but the JVC is well out of your asking price range. This is basically the projector I own now. http://www.projectorreviews.com/jvc/dla-rs1u/

Rob

[slowpolky]

I cant believe you sold that for 800 ,If I was a member I would have jumped on it

I myself had a white screen but didn't like the blacks so I bought a dark gey screen and am now satisfactorily in my choice of pj

[mdk5068]

Did you really see a huge difference in shifting the screen/ I mean I only have two problems with the panny 200, first is that I am afraid of its black levels, and second that I am afraid its "soft" mode of displaying video will take away from clarity. I want a projector that will look as clear as possible, not to mention as bright as possible, so that my ht experience never has anyone saying "yea it is hard to see on this projector." Does the 200 really perform well for movies? I know you are into gaming a lot but the majority fo use for this pj will be movies and regular television or on demand. My projector now, from 15 feet, I have trouble reading small lettering, I would like to eliminate that.

And grimster I would have bought that projector off you so fast you have no idea.

--Mark




I cant believe you sold that for 800 ,If I was a member I would have jumped on it

I myself had a white screen but didn't like the blacks so I bought a dark gey screen and am now satisfactorily in my choice of pj

[slowpolky]

You can see this perfect , the softness is non existent .Read projectorcentral.com reviews evan powel is the most straight talking reviewer . My primary function is blue ray or upscaled dvds ,the slight softness is actualy gona make the picture smoother

This effect makes the picture look like film that you would see at your local cinema . When I play video games then I turn up the sharpness setting and its awesomely sharp for video games

My pj looks sharper and has more detail than my 1080p 42' plasma when viewing hdtv

[Grimster74]

I myself had a white screen but didn't like the blacks so I bought a dark gey screen and am now satisfactorily in my choice of pj

It's funny you say that because before owning the white screen I have now (1.8 gain) I owned a grey screen (0.8 gain) and it just didn't have that "pop" feeling like I get now with the brighter screen, my black levels are out of this world also with the brighter screen.

[Grimster74]

As soon as I get my SC-07 back from Pioneer (had to replace the blue power LED light) I have to update my system showcase, it's so out of date. I'll repost some screen shots for you guys of my JVC in action.

[slowpolky]

Thats because youv got a uber high contrast pj and the grey would take the 700 lumens brightness and only reflect back a 0.9 gain making your pj 630 lumens bright .With my panasonic normal mode puts out 1600 lumens so for 105 on screen in a room with light color room ambience and some lights on .....

my pj will appear to be higher in contrast than yours

[slowpolky]

friday I will post pics of the panny with the lights on

Just for you I will post a close up to show the absence of pixel structure

[Grimster74]

Which projector are you using again, the Panny PT-AX200U, and which one of my projectors are you comparing it too, the Epson or the JVC? Lost track with all these different models numbers being thrown around.:D

[slowpolky]

the jvc

[Grimster74]

I have no doubt the Panny has a brighter Lumens than my JVC, hell, my Epson had higher Lumens than my JVC but I can honestly say the JVC seems just as bright as the Epson. With my JVC being professionally calibrated I'd be willing to say it looks just as good as some of the best Plasmas out there as you stated.

[slowpolky]

In a dark room where most movies get viewed ..........the Jvc will look brighter at 700 lumens than my panasonic at 1600 lumens

the jvc is king

[mdk5068]

I am so glad you guys started to get talking, ha, all the details you throw around are what is really valuable to me. Slowpolk I will take your word on this projector, you seem to really rave about its performance. What is the lamp price like? When I buy the pj will it come with an extra? Any good deals you have found anywhere?

[slowpolky]

No extras Im afraid but usualy you can find a bulb on ebay for 250

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=panasonic+etlax100

[Sherardp]

Panasonic is a decent PJ, but they are well known for Dust Blobs which is why I suggested the Epson 720 or Mitsubishi to begin with. The Panny will perform well, just that they have a track record for dust blobs.

[slowpolky]

clean the filter with a vacume every 20 hours

I have had mine since october 2007 and never had any?

have you personaly had this problem with previous projectors?

[mdk5068]

You guys may not believe my good luck, but I did a craigslist search and found a brand new panny 200 as well as an electric 105'' screen for 750. Haggled a little bit and it will be delivered to my door tomorrow at 7pm for 735. Ha! Ideally ill be able to sell the s**t out of that screen and make the cost of the projector about 500, then buy a manual screen. We will see how they work together. U unfortunately I won't be able to use it until aug 14, but hell I am happy I saw that deal!

[Sherardp]

clean the filter with a vacume every 20 hours

I have had mine since october 2007 and never had any?

have you personaly had this problem with previous projectors?

I am a fan of LCOS PJs. I have owned the JVC HD1 and my current RS10, no issues.

EDIT: Congrats on the purchase OP

[slowpolky]

Thats cool that you chosen to go for the panasonic . Maybe try squeeze a few extra dollars outa the guy by asking if the screen has waves in it , unless its a tab tension

How many hours is on the bulb
Why cant you use it till the 14th ?

When I first got my panasonic I had it shining on a textured wall at 180 inch sitting 20 foot back . All my friends would beg me to hang out with them

[Sherardp]

Thats cool that you chosen to go for the panasonic . Maybe try squeeze a few extra dollars outa the guy by asking if the screen has waves in it , unless its a tab tension

How many hours is on the bulb
Why cant you use it till the 14th ?

When I first got my panasonic I had it shining on a textured wall at 180 inch sitting 20 foot back . All my friends would beg me to hang out with them

Read his post again bro.

Brand new = Zero Hours, projector unused, box not opened in most cases. Can't use til 14th, perhaps room is still work in progress.

[jinjuku]

Ok so I am looking to upgrade my projector.
Mark


Get the Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector.

[jinjuku]

You guys may not believe my good luck, but I did a craigslist search and found a brand new panny 200 as well as an electric 105'' screen for 750. Haggled a little bit and it will be delivered to my door tomorrow at 7pm for 735. Ha! Ideally ill be able to sell the s**t out of that screen and make the cost of the projector about 500, then buy a manual screen. We will see how they work together. U unfortunately I won't be able to use it until aug 14, but hell I am happy I saw that deal!

That is a heckuva deal. Have fun. You will love your panny.

[neokeelo]

Id get a Mitsubishi Hc1500, the 1600 has a slower color wheel. The 1500 has been great for me except for this current HDMI issue im going to through, im pretty sure its my dvr though. The picture looks amazing for the price. I can buy 3 1500's for the price of a decent 1080P projector

[mdk5068]

Yea brand new! And maybe I will be able to weasel a few more dollars out of him but I doubt it, because coming to give it to me he got in a car accident! No one was hurt, and I freaking hope my pj and screen werent, but he basically said he would call me next week. I can use it, or any of my new setup for that matter, because I am in NY doing an internship before I head back to school. Internship ends aug 14 and I cannot wait! Hopefully this deal still works out, because my pj503d is not going to keep up with my rti a upgrade (or that is what I told myself so I felt comfortable enough to buy this new pj!). Either way with the price, I will get it for 715, and even if I wasn't getting the screen, that would be a great deal for a brand new unit. So the motorized hd screen is just icing on the cake. So no pj for now, but hopefully he gets that car fixed and brings it to me stat!




Id get a Mitsubishi Hc1500, the 1600 has a slower color wheel. The 1500 has been great for me except for this current HDMI issue im going to through, im pretty sure its my dvr though. The picture looks amazing for the price. I can buy 3 1500's for the price of a decent 1080P projector