Seem like apples and oranges? Not when $ are in play!

Where I live the only IN78 I can find new will cost MORE than either of the aforementioned 1080p machines. I'm not sure about the Planar yet as I have only just emailed the Canadian distributor to try to find out who sells them around here.

I'm not riding on any bandwagon - I'm not blindly loyal to DLP, LCD, 720p, or 1080p so I'm not trying to start a flame war. I just want to get the best possible picture for the money. I must say though that I do like the filterless design of many of the DLPs, and I'm not keen on the fact that many LCD panels are organic and could break down over time - but neither of these issues is a deal breaker. If it came down to two machines with identical performance, and the only difference was DLP or LCD I would go for the DLP.

The PJ will be in a dedicated room with no ambient light, and controls on reflected light as well. The sitting distance will be 1.5 screen widths (around 80" at 9' viewing).

Most of the viewing material will be either upconverted DVD, and gaming (360 and Wii). That said, I have HD-DVD and will be adding Blu-Ray when I can get a decent player for $200.

I have a feeling that either of the DarkChip3 720p machines will be superior to the 1080p machines as DLP tends to have inherit strengths against LCP competitors. Resolution is just one part of overall picture quality, especially at 1.5 screen widths.

In the end, I don't care about stats on the box. I just want the best overall picture for the money and I'm not convinced that 1080p is the answer.

TAKE IT take it! The Infocus IN78 is the perfect marriage of the Darkchip 3's best capability and 720p ultimate resolution threshold. It gives a buttery smooth picture, very natural colors, faultless brightness levels, and a satisfying 3,500 Contrast ratio. It is somehow obscure because Infocus released it at a time when the 1080p/HD resolution is on the ascendant. The 1080p issue almost buried the IN78's chances - when this is Infocus' 1-chip/720p/DC3 flagship. Instead of drumming up publicity for it, Infocus made a quick jump into the 1080p bandwagon and released the almost unknown IN81, a certain sales failure, and then the lackluster IN82. However, the British videophiles were more discerning, they gave the IN78 their highest award for over-all best projector after a thorough 5-projector shootout evaluation (Homecinemachoice).

No dust problems, no picture noise, no iris "crutch" to prop up inherent resolution weakness. And best of all its now selling for around $2000 or much lower than that. The only (liveable) complaint: no zoom lens. Yet everything else is superb. This is the kind of unit even a restless videophile would not upgrade for at least the next five years. I suggest it'd be couple with the Denon 2930 and 3930 for best upscaled picture and a Panasonic BD35 Blu Ray or higher-ended BR models for high-def sources - all thru HDMI.

I think I would pick the Planar 7130 over the Infocus IN78. The 7130 is about the same brightness, but has better contrast, has a faster color wheel and has horizontal and vertical lens shift. The 7130 is also heavier built. I do not know about Canada, but here in USA the 7130 was selling cheaper also. If you are viewing from 1.5 screen width then 1080p does not offer much if anything especially if we are talking about up-converted SD DVD and HDTV.

The w5000 you listed is a 1080p dlp and if it's cheaper then both the planar and infocus, why not go that route? You may not see much difference in resolution with your screen size but I question any advantages the other projectors offer over the benq, besides the horizontal lens shift with the planar. Note that I haven't seen the benq but a number of people have made the jump from the 8720(which should compare favorably against either the infocus or planar) to the w5000 and have found it a worth while upgrade.

The w5000 you listed is a 1080p dlp and if it's cheaper then both the planar and infocus, why not go that route? You may not see much difference in resolution with your screen size but I question any advantages the other projectors offer over the benq, besides the horizontal lens shift with the planar. Note that I haven't seen the benq but a number of people have made the jump from the 8720(which should compare favorably against either the infocus or planar) to the w5000 and have found it a worth while upgrade.

I was making the assumption that the W5000 (1080p) would cost more than the 720p projectors. That is the case here in USA, but may not be the case in Canada.

Where I live the only IN78 I can find new will cost MORE than either of the aforementioned 1080p machines.

I'm just going off what he said.

I was making the assumption that the W5000 (1080p) would cost more than the 720p projectors. That is the case here in USA, but may not be the case in Canada.

Funny isn't it? In Canada, there seems to be a bigger gap in prices in the 720p range than in the 1080p range.

The Panny AX-200 is a great example - less than $1k in the States, yet the MSRP is still $2k here. The best price I've found is $1800! Yet I can buy a HC5500 for $2200. It doesn't make any sense.

The best price I've found for a W5000 is $1999 (after a $500 MIR), the best price on an IN78 is $2800. No kidding.

The prices in Canada are very, very strange. The best price I can find for an AX-200U is $1800 - only a couple hundred bucks less than the W5000!

Anyhow, I'm finding that the biggest factors for me when looking at projectors is shadow detail and colour accuracy. That is a reason I'd really like an Infocus. I can rely on the colours being pretty good out-of-the-box, and their shadow detail is excellent. Even the X9 looks pretty good to me. I know I have to take screenshots with a grain of salt, but I really liked what I saw at projectorreviews.com I REALLY liked them actually. Oh, and I've found an X9 for $1450.


***I know price talk is frowned upon, but I included them as I felt it was required to illustrate why I'm asking for help comparing the models. There is little 720p vs. 1080p direct comparison reviews out there! Maybe time for another Athens Test or whatever it was called***

Again, I know it is a little like apples and oranges, but hopefully with the prices I've described to you, you'll see that they really are in the same ballpark.

Thanks for all the comments, and I hope to hear more of them!

Funny isn't it? In Canada, there seems to be a bigger gap in prices in the 720p range than in the 1080p range.

The Panny AX-200 is a great example - less than $1k in the States, yet the MSRP is still $2k here. The best price I've found is $1800! Yet I can buy a HC5500 for $2200. It doesn't make any sense.

The best price I've found for a W5000 is $1999 (after a $500 MIR), the best price on an IN78 is $2800. No kidding.

The prices in Canada are very, very strange. The best price I can find for an AX-200U is $1800 - only a couple hundred bucks less than the W5000!

Anyhow, I'm finding that the biggest factors for me when looking at projectors is shadow detail and colour accuracy. That is a reason I'd really like an Infocus. I can rely on the colours being pretty good out-of-the-box, and their shadow detail is excellent. Even the X9 looks pretty good to me. I know I have to take screenshots with a grain of salt, but I really liked what I saw at projectorreviews.com I REALLY liked them actually. Oh, and I've found an X9 for $1450.


***I know price talk is frowned upon, but I included them as I felt it was required to illustrate why I'm asking for help comparing the models. There is little 720p vs. 1080p direct comparison reviews out there! Maybe time for another Athens Test or whatever it was called***

Again, I know it is a little like apples and oranges, but hopefully with the prices I've described to you, you'll see that they really are in the same ballpark.

Thanks for all the comments, and I hope to hear more of them!

Check on the Planar PD7130 and PD7150. If you can get those at a reasonable price they have very good out of box color. If not I would get the W5000 before paying $1,450 for the X9.