Hi Again All,

Well its down to the wire here and I am about to press the “place my order button” on ProviewDigital.com for my home theatre projector.

I had wanted to buy the Mitsubishi HC1500 all along (I had found it as cheap as $769 on us1photo.com), but because of my placement and throw distance constraints, I had to accept the fact I have to buy one in a higher price category (around $1,200) which has real, physical, vertical and horizontal (not only digital) lens shift.

My placement restrictions are a 24’ throw distance and a placement height of about 6’ above the floor. I can’t ceiling mount and I can’t bring the projector any closer to the screen so I had to find something that can cater to my dificciult placement limitations. As a result, I have narrowed it down to the Panasonic PT-AX200U and the Epson Powerlite 720.

I was originally more interested in the Panasonic because it has basically similar specs, but with more Lumens than the Epson. Panasonic is also a more popular brand in projectors. But then some people said the Epson has equivalent brightness, but yet even more sharpness than the Panasonic, which is an advantage and so it seems lumens is not the only spec that relates to brightness.

Pricewise, the Panasonic is $100 more and the Epson has $100 rebate until the end of June, so actually the Epson comes out to be $200 cheaper. Epson is also offering a free replacement bulb with the rebate right now which is about a $200 additional value.

I was just wondering if anyone has any final thoughts to add on my decision to buy the Epson, or if in fact I should actually be buying a different model of projector all together in and around the $1,200 price range instead?

Many thanks…

Wow, that's far. I'd go for the brightest you can get. And that'd be the Panasonic.

Go read reviews of both. You will find that Epson under rates their lumens (one of the few that does this) and Panasonic over rates their lumens just like most manufacturers. They are very close to being the same. Besides the image at full lumens will not be that good with either projector and I doubt that you use that mode much if any. The Epson will give a sharper picture. To me it would come down to viewing distance. If you want to view closer than 1.5 x screen width (not diagonal) then I would go with the Panasonic other wise I would go with the Epson.

Go read reviews of both. You will find that Epson under rates their lumens (one of the few that does this) and Panasonic over rates their lumens just like most manufacturers. They are very close to being the same. Besides the image at full lumens will not be that good with either projector and I doubt that you use that mode much if any. The Epson will give a sharper picture. To me it would come down to viewing distance. If you want to view closer than 1.5 x screen width (not diagonal) then I would go with the Panasonic otherwise I would go with the Epson.

Thank you. I have read both reviews, on a couple of different sites, ProjectorCentral.com and ProjectorReviews.com and they both offer pros and cons. Anyway, sounds like from what you are saying the lumens are really about equal on the 2, but the Epson is sharper. More sharpness definitely appeals to me.

Based upon what you are saying though, it seems you feel the Panasonic would be better at a closer viewing distance and the Epson at a farther viewing distance, is that right?

Just to backtrack here a bit, I will be throwing from 24' away and the wall I will be displaying the image on is about 115" wide from left to right. How much of that space the projector fills will be governed by the projector's capabilities itself, correct?

It also sounds like I can expect about an average of a 110" diagonal projected image, correct? And if so, I am not sure who many inches that translates through from left to right?

To answer the question though, I expect people will be seated on average about 12' to 15' away from the projected image. Given this information, it sounds like you would go for the Epson?

Thanks again....

not sure if it helps but I just ordered the Epson last night. For me what it came down to was warranty and customer service. Epson from what I've read wins this hands down, also the $100 rebate and free bulb dont hurt either!

not sure if it helps but I just ordered the Epson last night. For me what it came down to was warranty and customer service. Epson from what I've read wins this hands down, also the $100 rebate and free bulb dont hurt either!

Thanks. Part of my decision obviously has to do with my placement limitations, but was your decision also down to these two models of projector before oyu went for the Epson?

Thanks. Part of my decision obviously has to do with my placement limitations, but was your decision also down to these two models of projector before oyu went for the Epson?

I had looked at the panasonic, from the reviews that I read (projectorcentral, etc) they were very close in capabilities. Warranty and good CS are very important to me when purchasing electronics and the fact that Epson will ship you a replacement projector before you send yours back was a real positive to me along with a 2 year warranty(can't remember what the panasonic carries. The free bulb by rebate was what pushed me over to the epson though. I want to ba able to use this projector and not worry about bulb life, a free backup in the closet definitely eases my mind.

Good luck in what ever you choose

Thank you. I have read both reviews, on a couple of different sites, ProjectorCentral.com and ProjectorReviews.com and they both offer pros and cons. Anyway, sounds like from what you are saying the lumens are really about equal on the 2, but the Epson is sharper. More sharpness definitely appeals to me.

Based upon what you are saying though, it seems you feel the Panasonic would be better at a closer viewing distance and the Epson at a farther viewing distance, is that right?

Just to backtrack here a bit, I will be throwing from 24' away and the wall I will be displaying the image on is about 115" wide from left to right. How much of that space the projector fills will be governed by the projector's capabilities itself, correct?

It also sounds like I can expect about an average of a 110" diagonal projected image, correct? And if so, I am not sure who many inches that translates through from left to right?

To answer the question though, I expect people will be seated on average about 12' to 15' away from the projected image. Given this information, it sounds like you would go for the Epson?

Thanks again....

You need to look at this projector calculator: www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Home_Cinema_720-projection-calculator-pro.htm
Set the throw distance to 24 feet. Throw is the distance from the lens to the screen. Then in the upper left hand corner click on diagonal range and that will show you the screen size range. 108" is the smallest it can project from 24 feet.

Also note that the foot lambert is only 13 from that distance. 13 is okay right now, but when the bulb dims due to age you will not have a bright enough image and you will have to run the projector at a higher setting. You either need to move the projector closer or use a screen with some gain. Since you can't move the projector closer and you are going to shelf mount at 6 feet above the floor, the best thing for you to do is purchase a DaLite High Power screen. It has a gain of 2.8 and it is retro reflective. In other words it reflects the light back toward it's source. This is a great screen for low rear shelf mount. it also does not hot spot nor does it show waves like many of the other screens.

To answer your first question, from that distance (12' is 1.5x viewing distance) I would get the Epson 720. 1.5 x 96" screen width = 144" or 12'. I used to own it's little brother the HC400.

I had looked at the panasonic, from the reviews that I read (projectorcentral, etc) they were very close in capabilities. Warranty and good CS are very important to me when purchasing electronics and the fact that Epson will ship you a replacement projector before you send yours back was a real positive to me along with a 2 year warranty(can't remember what the panasonic carries. The free bulb by rebate was what pushed me over to the epson though. I want to ba able to use this projector and not worry about bulb life, a free backup in the closet definitely eases my mind.

Good luck in what ever you choose

Thank you. You too. I imagine you will enjoy your Epson very much. Cheers.

I have mine set about 18 feet away from a 120" screen with a main viewing distance of 17 feet. I get plenty of brightness even in the most accurate color modes with my Elite Cinewhite 1.1 gain screen. When there is some ambient light, living room mode gets the job done. Dynamic mode is inaccurate, even after some general calibrations but it can be used if you need the extra brightness.

I was in the same boat as you. I almost bought the Panny but the free lamp offer and the posts about problems with the Panny made up my mind.

So far I am very happy with HC720. It seems to be getting better and better the more hours I put on it.

I have mine set about 18 feet away from a 120" screen with a main viewing distance of 17 feet. I get plenty of brightness even in the most accurate color modes with my Elite Cinewhite 1.1 gain screen. When there is some ambient light, living room mode gets the job done. Dynamic mode is inaccurate, even after some general calibrations but it can be used if you need the extra brightness.

I was in the same boat as you. I almost bought the Panny but the free lamp offer and the posts about problems with the Panny made up my mind.

So far I am very happy with HC720. It seems to be getting better and better the more hours I put on it.

Are you sure that your throw distance is 18 feet. The calculator gives 121" as the smallest image that can be projected from 18 feet. Throw is from the lens to the screen. With this setup you get 13FL if you have a 1.0 gain screen which is the same as what the other poster would get at 24 feet onto a 110" screen. Keep in mind the lumens will be cut in half when the bulb is near the end of it's life. With your 1.1 gain screen you currently get 14.3 lumens.

I can also tell you that these calculations are not based on using economy high contrast mode. The 720 puts out 468 lumens before calibrating and around 430 after calibrating. A 120" screen is 43 SF. 468 lumens/43 SF = 10.88 fl x 1.1 gain = 11.97 fl. 12 is adequate. About 6 fl once the bulb is worn. Not enough lumens in my opinion once the bulb is worn. Need a higher gain screen IMHO.

Are you sure that your throw distance is 18 feet. The calculator gives 121" as the smallest image that can be projected from 18 feet. Throw is from the lens to the screen. With this setup you get 13FL if you have a 1.0 gain screen which is the same as what the other poster would get at 24 feet onto a 110" screen. Keep in mind the lumens will be cut in half when the bulb is near the end of it's life. With your 1.1 gain screen you currently get 14.3 lumens.

I can also tell you that these calculations are not based on using economy high contrast mode. The 720 puts out 468 lumens before calibrating and around 430 after calibrating. A 120" screen is 43 SF. 468 lumens/43 SF = 10.88 fl x 1.1 gain = 11.97 fl. 12 is adequate. About 6 fl once the bulb is worn. Not enough lumens in my opinion once the bulb is worn. Need a higher gain screen IMHO.

I am sure it is 18'. I believe you made a mistake using the calculator. The HC720 can throw a 100" image at a 20' throw.

I understand the brightness issue as the bulb ages. That is another reason why I went with the Epson free bulb offer. Once the image gets too dim I will swap out the bulb. I only use the projector a few hours a week. At this rate the 2 bulbs will last me a very long time. Long enough to be ready to upgrade to a bright 1080p model. Keep in mind that in living room mode the lumens are about 2.5 times higher than in theater black mode. If it is dark in the room Living Room mode is way too bright. It hurts my eyes. It looks great in theater black mode when the room is dark.

I have an Elite EZ frame screen. I thought about getting their higher gain 1.8 material but a few people here had some issues with it. If I need the extra gain in the future I will order it to see how it compares to the 1.1 Cinewhite.

I am sure it is 18'. I believe you made a mistake using the calculator. The HC720 can throw a 100" image at a 20' throw.

I understand the brightness issue as the bulb ages. That is another reason why I went with the Epson free bulb offer. Once the image gets too dim I will swap out the bulb. I only use the projector a few hours a week. At this rate the 2 bulbs will last me a very long time. Long enough to be ready to upgrade to a bright 1080p model. Keep in mind that in living room mode the lumens are about 2.5 times higher than in theater black mode. If it is dark in the room Living Room mode is way too bright. It hurts my eyes. It looks great in theater black mode when the room is dark.

I have an Elite EZ frame screen. I thought about getting their higher gain 1.8 material but a few people here had some issues with it. If I need the extra gain in the future I will order it to see how it compares to the 1.1 Cinewhite.

My mistake on the throw distance. i sold my brother my old Epsom HC400 and I was looking at the projector calculator for him on a another window. When I went back to answer your post I clicked on the wrong window and did not notice. The HC400 does not have as much zoom as the 720. It is the HC400 that can only do 121" from 18 feet.

I am just trying to let people know that the bulb dims a lot with age and it is better if they can plan for that dimming. People also need to keep in mind the bulb does not last near as long if you run it in the higher modes.

My mistake on the throw distance. i sold my brother my old Epsom HC400 and I was looking at the projector calculator for him on a another window. When I went back to answer your post I clicked on the wrong window and did not notice. The HC400 does not have as much zoom as the 720. It is the HC400 that can only do 121" from 18 feet.

I am just trying to let people know that the bulb dims a lot with age and it is better if they can plan for that dimming. People also need to keep in mind the bulb does not last near as long if you run it in the higher modes.

No problem with the throw distance error. I didn't want anyone else to make a decision based on the wrong information. That is why I pointed it out. ;)

You are right about the bulb not lasting as long at the higher brightness settings. At @ how many hours do most bulbs start dimming to the point it is noticeable?

I know my setup is just about perfect with a fresh bulb. I know that won't be the case as the bulb ages. If I can get @1000 hours out of a bulb before it becomes too dim then I should be all set for a long time with two bulbs. If it is more like 500 hours then I may consider ordering the power gain screen material sooner rather than later.

No problem with the throw distance error. I didn't want anyone else to make a decision based on the wrong information. That is why I pointed it out. ;)

You are right about the bulb not lasting as long at the higher brightness settings. At @ how many hours do most bulbs start dimming to the point it is noticeable?

I know my setup is just about perfect with a fresh bulb. I know that won't be the case as the bulb ages. If I can get @1000 hours out of a bulb before it becomes too dim then I should be all set for a long time with two bulbs. If it is more like 500 hours then I may consider ordering the power gain screen material sooner rather than later.

It varies by projector, but as a general rule of thumb you can start to get bulb dimming at 100 hours.

I have mine set about 18 feet away from a 120" screen with a main viewing distance of 17 feet. I get plenty of brightness even in the most accurate color modes with my Elite Cinewhite 1.1 gain screen. When there is some ambient light, living room mode gets the job done. Dynamic mode is inaccurate, even after some general calibrations but it can be used if you need the extra brightness.

I was in the same boat as you. I almost bought the Panny but the free lamp offer and the posts about problems with the Panny made up my mind.

So far I am very happy with HC720. It seems to be getting better and better the more hours I put on it.

Good feedback beekermartin from someone using the 720 and who went down the same road as I did before buying one, thank you. I just ordered one in fact from http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=N94127

At the moment they have it for $1,150 with free shipping. And with the $100 rebate (and the free bulb until the end of June), it sounds like I made the right choice.

Not a lot of money for a projector when you consider how much this model offers. I am fairly certain I will be happy with it and with the extra bulb I don't have to worry about conserving hours.

At first I thought I would only watch movies with it, but may use it to watch TV as well sometimes.

One question I have is on these widths you are talking about of 100" image size and a 120" screens, are these diagonal measurements or are they width measurements from left to right?

If they are diagonal, then what is your actual image width I am curious?

Good feedback beekermartin from someone using the 720 and who went down the same road as I did before buying one, thank you. I just ordered one in fact from http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=N94127

At the moment they have it for $1,150 with free shipping. And with the $100 rebate (and the free bulb until the end of June), it sounds like I made the right choice.

Not a lot of money for a projector when you consider how much this model offers. I am fairly certain I will be happy with it and with the extra bulb I don't have to worry about conserving hours.

At first I thought I would only watch movies with it, but may use it to watch TV as well sometimes.

One question I have is on these widths you are talking about of 100" image size and a 120" screens, are these diagonal measurements or are they width measurements from left to right?

If they are diagonal, then what is your actual image width I am curious?

I can't answer for him, but if you go to the projector calculator that I linked to above you can set the screen size and see width and height.

Good feedback beekermartin from someone using the 720 and who went down the same road as I did before buying one, thank you. I just ordered one in fact from http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=N94127

At the moment they have it for $1,150 with free shipping. And with the $100 rebate (and the free bulb until the end of June), it sounds like I made the right choice.

Not a lot of money for a projector when you consider how much this model offers. I am fairly certain I will be happy with it and with the extra bulb I don't have to worry about conserving hours.

At first I thought I would only watch movies with it, but may use it to watch TV as well sometimes.

One question I have is on these widths you are talking about of 100" image size and a 120" screens, are these diagonal measurements or are they width measurements from left to right?

If they are diagonal, then what is your actual image width I am curious?

I meant 120" diagonal. Most people will post the diagonal screen size. Not always but most of the time.

Good luck with your projector. I am sure you will be happy with it. Once you get it setup let it break in for about 20 hours before you make any decisions about it. I noticed a slight reddish area on the left side and slight greenish area on the right when displaying an all white image when I first set it up. That went completely away after it broke in. Most people here feel it takes about 100 hours for the bulb to settle in. I couldn't agree more. The more I use it the better it looks. I am still in the 60 hour range so I hope it keeps getting better.

I do plan on switching to the spare bulb once I hit 100 hours and keeping the current bulb as the back up. That way I know I will have a good spare bulb waiting when one fails.

Thanks again everyone for your good feedback. In the end I did buy the Epson 720 and I am very happy with it, although unfortunately I did not have a chance to do any actual physical comparisons between the Epson and the Panasonic equivalent before pulling the trigger, but I assume I made the right choice based on all the good feedback I got on this forum. Of course the $100 rebate and the replacement bulb were good incentives too.

The vertical and horizontal shift very much comes in handy and is something I am sure I would have been missing if I went for the Mitsu HC1500, which was the one I was strongly considering before I decided to step up to a higher class of projector. The shift gives me a lot of placement versatility. For the moment I have it placed on a table just under 2 feet off the floor and I am throwing the image onto the wall about 19.5 feet away. The image itself is on average (depending on the film I am watching) about 8.5 feet wide from left to right.

The picture in general is also very nice. Often nicer than my 29" television even. I was also pleasantly surprised how quiet the projector is compared to so many regular LCD projectors I have come across in offices which often have loud fans.

At the moment I have not had a chance to go out any buy any good cables for it yet and I am using just a regular analog video cable to connect my DVD player to it becuase unfortunately that is all I have aorund at the moment. I assume if I buy a good either S-Video cable or a Composite Video cable to connect the DVD player using one of these types of digital signals then my results will improve a bit more. As a result, I have a couple of quick questions:

1 - Having a choice of a number of outputs on my DVD player, should I go for a Composite video cable or an S-Video cable, or will there be little if any noticeable difference in image quality between the 2 such that it really doesn't matter?

2 - How much difference in overall sharpness and image quality in general would one see between an analog video output and one of the digital video output signals? I would think somewhere in the range of 15%-20% maybe?

3 - My DVD player also has a digital video connection for a coaxial cable. I am not familiar with this type of connection so I am not sure what kind of a cable I would actually need for this, but I am assuming either S-Video or a composite cable connection will be better anyway?

4 - Has anyone used any of that Screen Goo projector paint from Goo Systems (http://www.theaterthings.com/store/projector-screen-paint-crt-white,Category.asp) and if so what are the results like? Is it a worthwhile product for the $100 price tag I guess is my question.

Many thanks again...

At mimimum I would use component video connection...HDMI if your DVD player offers it. If your dvd player offers only composite or s-video I would consider investing in a newer player.

I have not seen the Goo system in use, but there are many DIY paint options on this forum. You might even start by priming the wall with Kilz 2 and see what the image looks like. From what I understand it's not bad even by itself.

Here's a quick guide to different video connections:

http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/patterson/2708

@chas_w - Thanks, I do have component, but not HDMI unfortunately. So I will go with that. Also, I will have a look into Kilz 2. Also, helpful link. That was great, simple reading. Thanks again.

I have the Epson 720 and I love it. I have it mounted from the ceiling at a heighth of 6.5 feet and it is projecting a 110" image at 11.5 feet from the screen. I'm at the oposite end of the throw distance, but with you on the height constrainst. I have 8' ceilings but there is a soffit that runs right through the only area to hang the projector, so I had to go with the LCD as well. The lens shift works really well and I have been very pleased with the projector. I am projecting on a 110" Wilsonart DW laminate screen and it looks really good. Good luck with yours.