Well my old h77 chucked a color wheel so its time to go shopping. Heres what i got.
Screen 92-106", 106" pull down now, looking into a fixed frame(diy or less then $300)
viewing distance, 12-14ft
good light control (basement and i normaly watch at night)
HTPC DVI is the only video source. "gaming night" i really dont care about when some one brings over the 360 or ps3
mount, at least 13ft, shelf mount would be 16ft, CANT CEILING MOUNT


Previous projectors, Z1 (too grey fun at the time), h31 (still going at another house 2nd best ive had), Z3 (only for a few weeks, even nd2 didnt help the grey), h77+ (I miss ya man, sniff sniff), vp4001 (best blacks ive ever seen, impossible to mount in the current room though).

Projectors im looking at:
epson 720 (good blacks, very flexible mount setup, free bulb)
H73 (closest to the h77, not very good mount setup, good 15-18" off set for coffee table)

At the far far end is the hc4900, not very good blacks, $500 more then the rest, 1080p but at my viewing distance it might not be worth it, ansi contrast less then h73 and 720)

Im not sure if i should wait till after march 31 when all the rebates expire on these units, or if anything else is coming out in the next month or so (most come out nov-jan, then nothing till next nov-jan).

Right now the setup is sitting the projector on top of the av cabinet aprox 14ft back onto a 106" screen. The top of the av cabinet is at about the middle of the screen in hight and width.

I really love blacks and dont care as much about color and screen door( i was fine with the screen door on the z1) and would like to stay below $1200 after rebates.

My H77 color wheel broke too. After telling me I could buy one for $90, the Optoma service center told me that they didn't stock the color wheel anymore and that they would need to replace the color wheel and engine for 8 times the cost of the wheel alone. What a rip off, not worth fixing. Does anyone know where I can get a color wheel? I had the unit apart before I sent it in for repair, and it looks easy enough to replace.

Maybe a dumb question, but how do you know when the color wheel goes? I'm just curious. I have a 4-year old H77, and I'm wondering what happens/ how you can tell when the color wheel goes on you.

Maybe a dumb question, but how do you know when the color wheel goes? I'm just curious. I have a 4-year old H77, and I'm wondering what happens/ how you can tell when the color wheel goes on you.

Well theres a popping noise, you think your bulb went, but you still have light, but your missing one color, and since its now unbalanced, the whole projector vibrates like mad.

Well theres a popping noise, you think your bulb went, but you still have light, but your missing one color, and since its now unbalanced, the whole projector vibrates like mad.

So what did you end up with?