My future ex wife cleaned out my home theater and I'm looking to replace it but on a little bit of a budget, $1000 max for PJ. My ht has a 7ft ceiling is totally light controlled and the throw distance is 14' 10". screen size can be as much as 110" wide(smx) but had it at 100" before with my epson hc720. Have been reading alot but just cant seem to decide. have considered the marantz vp8600, sharp 510, mits 1600, sanyo plv-60, sony vpl-aw15. dont know if I have enough flexability to due a dlp projector or not.
Any help or other suggestions? maybe business class I should look at? Will be used for gaming(kids Wii)70% and movies 25% with some directtv hd 5%

Thanks
Jayson

PM'd.

Sorry to hear. Been there. Why does she get the home theater in the first place? When I went through mine in '95, I made sure I got my 48" Toshiba rear proj tv and sound system as part of our separation. I hope everything works out.

She basicly stole it! and is claiming not to have it. A he said she said situation. She has been court order to return it but so far nothing has been returned.

one suggestion out of 230 views, guess that's better than nothing:)

But that suggestion is going to be the best one you get! :D

That definitely sucks to hear Jamz, hopefully you'll see it soon and it's in one piece.

If you've considered placement limitations for the DLP projectors you've listed, you may be interested in a Mitsubishi HC3000U I will be selling shortly. I have had it set up in my dedicated theater which has 7 1/2 ft. ceilings and is mounted at approx 11 1/2 ft from a 92" screen. It's seen light use, less than six months old and less than 200 hrs. on the bulb in mostly low/economy mode. If it's something you're interested, shoot me a PM and we'll chat about it as I don't want to derail your thread.

Any of the DLPs you've listed would be a good choice for under 1k, not sure the LCDs would compare w/your recently departed Epson 720, but based on the intended usage you listed, it may not be a huge issue... -TD

Why not go with the Panny AX200u? It has a 1-2x zoom lens. Pretty good demo's at a friends house. Ill be picking one up after christmas as well.

Heck, you can probably find someone to get a black friday deal on the Epson 720 if you really liked what you had.

Well friend, I'm not a lawyer, but I do know what a friend of mine did...since his credit rating and his life was on a rocketship to H*ll due to the unbelievable actions of his soon to be ex - and make no mistake, the rights,wants,dreams etc. of the Male half of the union are and will be irrelevant in the courts (ie don't expect her to ever pay in any way for any theft(s) or false reports she makes)...long intro, now the meat.

...since you both are responsible for any credit card debt, equally, my friend saw this as a once in a lifetime 'everything is half-off sale' And very soon about 100K in available credit was burned. Was one heck of a ride and at the end she was in fact resposible for 50K...Naturally neither could pay, and how do you return expensive trips and dinners? And other items were nary to be found...scorched Earth, yes, but nice guys finish bankrupt while others trace a bright path 'cross the Heavans, then fall to Earth...bankrupt.

...and who knows, Bush et al. might even come bail you out. I'd whip the plastic and start looking at the A3000, or even RS1 or above...why not?

Decided to keep the budget way down and order a Benq MP620c. I know it is multimedia class but hopefully it will get me buy for now. and with costco's return policy it was hard not to give it a try.
Just FYI I put together a system that the kids should be able to enjoy with out breaking the bank. TSC p-series LCR's for the fronts, the (4)P5-PR bookshelves for the surrounds and a refurbished onkyo 606 reciever. Total cost shipped for everything just pennies over a $1000.00. I have a sony dvd player(ns-55p) that the ex forgot to grab! nothing fancy should fit right into with the other budget equipment:)

That definitely sucks to hear Jamz, hopefully you'll see it soon and it's in one piece.

If you've considered placement limitations for the DLP projectors you've listed, you may be interested in a Mitsubishi HC3000U I will be selling shortly. I have had it set up in my dedicated theater which has 7 1/2 ft. ceilings and is mounted at approx 11 1/2 ft from a 92" screen. It's seen light use, less than six months old and less than 200 hrs. on the bulb in mostly low/economy mode. If it's something you're interested, shoot me a PM and we'll chat about it as I don't want to derail your thread.

Any of the DLPs you've listed would be a good choice for under 1k, not sure the LCDs would compare w/your recently departed Epson 720, but based on the intended usage you listed, it may not be a huge issue... -TD


The Mitsubishi HC3000U is a terrific projector provided one is not allergic to RBEs. I have one and it projects a wonderful image. :D

Decided to keep the budget way down and order a Benq MP620c. I know it is multimedia class but hopefully it will get me buy for now. and with costco's return policy it was hard not to give it a try.
Just FYI I put together a system that the kids should be able to enjoy with out breaking the bank. TSC p-series LCR's for the fronts, the (4)P5-PR bookshelves for the surrounds and a refurbished onkyo 606 reciever. Total cost shipped for everything just pennies over a $1000.00. I have a sony dvd player(ns-55p) that the ex forgot to grab! nothing fancy should fit right into with the other budget equipment:)
I'm sure the BenQ will do fine for what you need. The TSCs should suit you well, also. They offer a great 'bang for the buck' option, coupled with the TX-SR606, you'll have a great system for under a grand.


The Mitsubishi HC3000U is a terrific projector provided one is not allergic to RBEs. I have one and it projects a wonderful image. :D
Agreed, I'm not hypersensitive to RBE, but they can be distracting. I've found the HC3000 shows them on the rare occasion, more so on high contrast black and white text or scenes, but not to the point where that's all I can think of, which has been the case w/other lower end DLPs. No one out of about 10-12 other folks that have seen my setup have noticed them at all.

With as tight as the market is on things right now, I may just decide to keep it for a while and use it on the rare occasion (high profile football games, big Blu-ray debut, etc.). Seems a shame to have such a nice, big picture just sitting idle... :) -TD

Should all be here next week. Will post with my conclusions. My first projector, Nec vt540, was pretty fair just didn't have the contrast ratio needed for darker movie scenes. Hopefully the Benq is better in that regard!
Jayson

Well I've had everything for just over a month now. The Benq just dosn't do it for me so today I ordered the Sanyo plv-z60. Was able to get it for $200 more than the Benq, ProviewDigital.com, after the mail in rebate, If I actually get the rebate! The Benq had a pretty decent picture for video games but didn't have the contrast I wished for movies. Looked more like my Nec VT-540 best I can recall. As for the rest of the equipment, the TSC speakers are very surprising for the cost and the Onkyo 606 receiver fits right in with them. Pleasantly surprised with all the audio gear. Far better than any HTIB system and less money to boot.

Jamz