My budget is $2500 for a projector. I currently have a Sony VPL-VW100 from my local dealer who is willing to sell it for under 2k, he is letting me keep another week until I decide. The unit was a demo unit in the store and has only 150 hours on the bulb. The question is can I get anything better for $2500 or less?

That's a nice deal on the VW100 for under $2K IMO , if you can up the amount to $3K then there is the Sharp XV-Z20000 1080p DLP (it would actually be the euro version which is identical) . I think the Sony VW40 can be had for $2500 or less and if you don't mind used you might be able to find an RS1 with reasonable hours on the lamp for around $2500 ( probably closer to $3000 but I have seen a couple go for dang near $2500 ) .

Best of Luck ,
-- Jason

Where can you get the Sharp for 3k and how does it compare to the RS1 for contrast and black level?

It was mentioned over in the >$3000 forum , I think they are coming from ebay . It has a different model number (5000) but it is the same exact PJ as the XV-Z20000 .

RS1 has higher on/off CR and better black with low APL while the Sharp has better intra-scene contrast and better blacks with higher APL (higher ANSI) . The RS1 is probably brighter as well but not nearly as accurate colors . Some claim the Sharp has more depth while others say the opposite , I think the RS1 requires an outboard processor to really shine ( CMS and Gamma tweaks ) . The Sharp has CMS on board .

-- Jason

My budget is $2500 for a projector. I currently have a Sony VPL-VW100 from my local dealer who is willing to sell it for under 2k, he is letting me keep another week until I decide. The unit was a demo unit in the store and has only 150 hours on the bulb. The question is can I get anything better for $2500 or less?

BEWARE! While the VW100 is a very nice projector, the bulbs cost almost $900 each! Just do a google for vw100 lamp.

If you're looking for a budget projector and you're planning to use your PJ a lot, a used VW100 may not be the bargain it pretends to be. ;-)

I almost bit on one of these and ended up very happy I did not. I would've been watching dollar signs every time I turned on the PJ. I'm an incurable tightwad. LOL.

Good luck,

John