I'm looking to dive headfirst into the projector realm and was looking at the three heavy hitter projectors I can find for under $1200.

I'll be placing this in a living room with about 13' back from the opposing wall. I'll be seated a couple of feet in front of that at about 11' - 12' feet. I want to get a 92" screen (at least). I looked up all the calculators on projectorcentral.com and it seems like the PT-AX200U provides the most flexibility, but I also read about the LCD panel problems and their degrading.

The room slopes from higher to lower, higher would be where the screen is to lower where the projector would lay.

We have tint on all of our windows, have blinds, and plan to get curtains so the ambient light that is not controllable during the day should not be a concern. I also plan to get a cheapish 42" flatpanel (LCD or Plasma) to hang behind the 92" screen (or if I can finagle bigger) I purchase for regular TV watching.

I also plan to get a Onkyo SR-605 receiver in order to just have one HDMI cable traveling to the receiver, so having one HDMI is all I need on the projector so the amount of inputs is not a concern for me.

My sources will be a PS3, a Xbox 360, a Wii, and a HTPC.

What factors should I be looking into when comparing these projectors?

Thanks in advance! :)

Sigh and now I'm reading about the Epson 720 with a free replacement bulb and $100 rebate with some great contrast/black levels/etc.

I was leaning heavy on the Panny, but after reading about the 720 myself I am about to pull the trigger. It appears to have very good reviews. With the extra lamp, $100 rebate and a slightly lower price to begin with it is hard to pass up. It brings the pj to around $850 after deducting the extras. I find it hard to buy the Panny if it will cost me around $500 more. That $500 will come close to buying me a Carada screen to mate.

Sigh and now I'm reading about the Epson 720 with a free replacement bulb and $100 rebate with some great contrast/black levels/etc.

I'm not going to get into the whole DLP vs. LCD thing here but I will tell you that you should be wary when looking at specs like contrast/black levels/etc. The numbers look impressive but the native and ANSI contrast of a 10,000:1 LCD will not be as good as a DLP with 2500:1.

Projectorcentral has a good article that explains why you shouldn't use contrast ratio as an indicator of performance.

So what did you wind up getting? :cool:

Been using my HC 1500 now for about a week, absolutely love it. PQ is amazing. I'm using my PS3 for Bluray and have a 360 and Wii as well, couldn't be happier. Plus the price was right, a tad over seven hun.

You can get the HC 1500 from Amazon for around $770.00 new, Just bought my second HC 1500 there with a $25.00 gift card and free 2 day shipping with Amazon prime for lesss than $750. I'll be selling my first HC 1500 together with my Sammy 1000 Blu Ray player (as i bought the Panny BPD 30)

I have about 1000 hours on my original HC 1500 and it still is an amazing picture with HD STB and Blu Ray material. I higfhly recommend the HC 1500 for what you're lookig for.

If your room can be set up so that a DLP works for you and if none of the people that will be using this projector can see rainbows then I would look at the HC1500. It is cheap and produces a good image. If your room has limitations for projector location and screen location then I would look at LCD. Of the LCD projectors out right now it is hard to beat the Epson 720.

I view a 106" from 10 to 11 feet. I like to sit mid way in a theater. You might want to go with a larger screen size, unless you are the type that likes to sit in the back row of a theater. I do not recall ever hearing anyone on AVS that has said: "I wish that I had gotten a smaller screen." I have read where many have gotten larger screens though.

If your room can be set up so that a DLP works for you and if none of the people that will be using this projector can see rainbows then I would look at the HC1500. It is cheap and produces a good image. If your room has limitations for projector location and screen location then I would look at LCD. Of the LCD projectors out right now it is hard to beat the Epson 720.

I view a 106" from 10 to 11 feet. I like to sit mid way in a theater. You might want to go with a larger screen size, unless you are the type that likes to sit in the back row of a theater. I do not recall ever hearing anyone on AVS that has said: "I wish that I had gotten a smaller screen." I have read where many have gotten larger screens though.


Good advice there. I'll eventually have to decide LCD vs DLP for my projector, but I am a ways away from that decision for now...

I prefer the picture on DLPs better than I do on LCD. Convergence is an issue too on LCDs, I find. And the ones I've had you have to clean the intake screens, which you don't on DLPs

Question for those of you who have the Mitsubishi.

Do you hear a high pitched noise from the color wheel or is it completely silent? I bought one of these yesterday and there is a fair amount of CW noise and I'm wondering if it's just this unit.

Question for those of you who have the Mitsubishi.

Do you hear a high pitched noise from the color wheel or is it completely silent? I bought one of these yesterday and there is a fair amount of CW noise and I'm wondering if it's just this unit.

I hear no fan noise of the "high pitched" that you are talking about. There was another thread with a google link to the noise and I found it to be very annoying. So if you can exchange it do so quickly.

I had the HC-1500 to try along with an HD65 and there was a much better pic on the HD65. Better color, clarity and brightness.

I would pick the HD65 hands downs.

If I'm correct, the old Mits model that the HC1500 replaces (the HD1000u) had color wheel noise develop for like 15-20% of forum members in a poll (I'm too lazy to search right now) but while operating normally it's a VERY quiet projector.

I had the HC-1500 to try along with an HD65 and there was a much better pic on the HD65. Better color, clarity and brightness.

I would pick the HD65 hands downs.



100000% disagree. i bought a optoma 65, and a mits 1500 the same day at bb. i tried them both, and ended up with the mits.
much better film look. more accurate skin tones. superb detail without the grain look.

100000% disagree. i bought a optoma 65, and a mits 1500 the same day at bb. i tried them both, and ended up with the mits.
much better film look. more accurate skin tones. superb detail without the grain look.

Some peoples eyes are not very good as that is easily the case with you :)

Some peoples eyes are not very good as that is easily the case with you :)

ok..??

if your happy with your purchase, all the power to you.






but my eyes are fine....thanks for the concern

ok..??

if your happy with your purchase, all the power to you.






but my eyes are fine....thanks for the concern

It was a joke. Sorry you did not catch it.

100000% disagree. i bought a optoma 65, and a mits 1500 the same day at bb. i tried them both, and ended up with the mits.
much better film look. more accurate skin tones. superb detail without the grain look.

Absolutely agree. The Mits looks better to me. Just bought a 2nd one. The 65 looks kind of harsh and takes a while to turn on. And the Mits, to me, is sharper.

When someone owns one and makes a choice they tend to always say good things about them. It a much better way to own both and not have any bias.

I would take the AX200U any day over those two. Mainly because I have a PHD in RBE. :)

However, I don't know if Panasonic has fixed the iris and brightness dropout issues people seem to be having.

My brother inlaw just got a hc-1500 I just was just over there watching a movie now I need to go to my brothers house to watch his hd65 then I can decide which one I will replace my panasonic with. So stix when we watching a movie?

Soon. I hope rick got it for the $600 they are on sale for now!!!! The HC dropped like a rock. To bad I see that now.

$600? Which one? I`ll take either at that price....

$600? Which one? I`ll take either at that price....

The HC1500 is on sale for 715 shipped 699 if picked up not 600 sorry.

The HC1500 is on sale for 715 shipped 699 if picked up not 600 sorry.

where r they on sale?

Can anyone tell me (either post or PM...not sure of rules) where they are finding such deals on the HC1500)...

I've dug around...and found nothing. It's not one of those brooklyn camera shops is it?

Can anyone tell me (either post or PM...not sure of rules) where they are finding such deals on the HC1500)...

I've dug around...and found nothing. It's not one of those brooklyn camera shops is it?

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=53807&t=808234

Fwiw, that place raised their price soon after that thread was posted.

Personally, I'm wondering when this current batch of 720p PJs (HC1500, HD65, etc.) will see their next price drop across the board... Late summer? Fall?

Fwiw, that place raised their price soon after that thread was posted.

Personally, I'm wondering when this current batch of 720p PJs (HC1500, HD65, etc.) will see their next price drop across the board... Late summer? Fall?

Was up for awhile i seen it a few days after is was posted. Goes up and down gotta catch it at the right time. Besides its only 30 dollars more than it was at deal time. Still cheap.

I was looking at all these projectors recently and decided that the Panny AX200U was the best choice for me for the following reasons:

1) Bright 2000 lumens
2) Setup flexibility due to zoom and especially the lens shift
3) Availability at that particular warehouse chain

Only cons initially was drop-out issues with blu-rays on the PS3, but replacing a standard hdmi cable with a higher quailty hdmi cable eliminated that issue.

I got the HC1500 and it is plenty bright, as I still get some ambient light during the day through the blinds and it still produces a great picture even on low lamp mode. We are enjoying the projector so much that we signed up for netflix to watch something just about every night. The only downside is the lack of placement flexibility. However, it happens to work for me. The price on this is fantastic and that is what got me to give projectors a try after years of reluctance.