I am hoping for some help here. I know damnsam77 created a thread to determine if the rs20 would be a better buy than the epson 7500ub. My question is a little bit different because my setup and use will be entirely different. That is where I will need some advice and help. I currently have the hd100. Suffice to say, it was not bright enough for me and my use. I do not have a dedicated home theather room. I use my projector in the family room :eek:. I know, not the ideal way to go but that is what I have to work with. I used to have a dalite cinema contour, hc screen with a 1.1 gain. It worked great helping with the contrast, but my projector was too dim. I have ambient light issues during the day, I have curtains but light still is present. At night, the room is fairly dark, I have dark walls and dark curtains so night didn't seem to be much of a problem. So I changed screens and made the mistake of purchasing the silverstar screen from vutec. It is a great screen, it brightened up my picture a little but ambient light is still an issue. I really wanted to get the rs20 but I was afraid that I would be upgrading my hd100 to an RS20 and not get enough brightness. So I was given a chance to demo, at my home, the epson 7500ub, and it is plenty bright. I use the Cinema day or vivid setting for the day and cinema night or natural for the evening. I watch hdtv, sports, and concerts half the time, during the day, and movies at night. I thought I found the projector I needed :), problem is that I really notice that the picture is really not as good as my hd100 when my hd100 bulb was new. Meaning that when the hd100 had a brand new bulb, it was bright enough even with the light issue. So after boring you with my whole story, I would like to know if anyone has an opinion if the RS20 will be bright enough for me considering my situation. I don't have the opprotunity to either demo at a store or at my home the RS20. No one will sell it to me and take it back if It doesnt work for me. I guess what I need to know is if the RS20 at least comes close to the brightness of the epson 7500 in cinema day mode? I understand that in best mode the RS20 is brighter but during the day, being brighter is more important then the best setting. Sorry for the long post but I have to return the epson by march 4 and I am totally confused as to which way to go. I've been trying to read all other post and answer my own question but no one seems to have the same setup I do. Please any help on this would be really appreciated. :o Thanks

You're not really giving us enough details. Brightness depends on screen size and throw distance of the projector - not just ambient light issues.

You're not really giving us enough details. Brightness depends on screen size and throw distance of the projector - not just ambient light issues.

What would be the max distance you would recommend for this PJ if the screen is 128.5" diagonal (16:9)?

You're not really giving us enough details. Brightness depends on screen size and throw distance of the projector - not just ambient light issues.

You're right, I forgot. I have the projector ceiling mounted 15.5ft back from the screen. The screen is 123" diag. Hope this helps.

BTW, there was a problem with my screen and Vutec is going to send a replacement for me. I do have the option of downgrading the screen to a smaller size (110"). This may help with the brightness issue, I'm not real sure.

Have you considered a DLP?

The Infocus IN83 is very bright, >1000 real lumens, though it's throw might not work.

You might not think, as I did, that it will work because of the large fixed offset, but if you have 2" wide black screen borders it's very likely you can absorb the keystone from tilting the pj to get your desired image height.

I'm planning to replace my RS1 with the IN83 and do exactly that.

BTW, there was a problem with my screen and Vutec is going to send a replacement for me. I do have the option of downgrading the screen to a smaller size (110"). This may help with the brightness issue, I'm not real sure.
You could try adjusting your zoom so that you are projecting a 110" diagonal image and then you will know what the brightness will be with a 110" screen.

Have you considered a DLP?

The Infocus IN83 is very bright, >1000 real lumens, though it's throw might not work.

You might not think, as I did, that it will work because of the large fixed offset, but if you have 2" wide black screen borders it's very likely you can absorb the keystone from tilting the pj to get your desired image height.

I'm planning to replace my RS1 with the IN83 and do exactly that.

I hadn't thought about that. I previously had a sharp mxv12000 but it was not bright enough. It said that it was 1000 lumens but after about 100hrs of use the bulb went very, very dim. I might look into the in83.

You could try adjusting your zoom so that you are projecting a 110" diagonal image and then you will know what the brightness will be with a 110" screen.

I did with my old jvc and it was still not bright enough, although it did help somewhat. I have read posts that state the rs20 or hd750 is much brighter than the hd100 but I wonder how much brighter? I have not been able to demo the 750/rs20 so I really don't know how much brighter. I can only compare it to the 7500 since I currently have that mounted as a test unit in my home. I really wish I could try the rs20 out first but like I stated earlier, there are no dealers that i could find that would allow me to demo the unit.

I did with my old jvc and it was still not bright enough, although it did help somewhat. I have read posts that state the rs20 or hd750 is much brighter than the hd100 but I wonder how much brighter? I have not been able to demo the 750/rs20 so I really don't know how much brighter. I can only compare it to the 7500 since I currently have that mounted as a test unit in my home. I really wish I could try the rs20 out first but like I stated earlier, there are no dealers that i could find that would allow me to demo the unit.
The RS20 is considerably brighter than the RS2. There must be forum members in your area with RS20s who would be happy to show them to you. One might be willing to bring one over just to try it out on a Silverstar. Why not ask in the main RS20 owners thread?

AV Science usually allows customers to try out a projector first and return it as long as there are no more than 15 hours on the bulb.

The RS20 is considerably brighter than the RS2. There must be forum members in your area with RS20s who would be happy to show them to you. One might be willing to bring one over just to try it out on a Silverstar. Why not ask in the main RS20 owners thread?

AV Science usually allows customers to try out a projector first and return it as long as there are no more than 15 hours on the bulb.

Thanks for the info. I will try asking someone in the other thread. Hopefully I will find someone here in my area. I had heard that AVS would sell you the pj and give you a chance to try it but I think they changed their policy. I was told they no longer allow you purchase a unit and then return it no matter how many hours you put on the bulb. If they gave me the chance, I would have definitely bought an RS20 from them.

The HD750 is even brighter than the HD1, so the HD100 is no competition in this regard. I get a max light output of nearly 900 lumens with my unit. With the HD1 I got 730 lumens max.

The Epson has those two modes that are brighter than that (Vivid and Cinema day ) but those are not at D65.
In the best contrast modes it is not as bright as the HD750 and needs the support of the iris for blacklevel. I have sampled the Epson right after the HD750 so it was pretty obvious. Also on lamp high the Epson was noisier than the JVC.

The Sharp Z12000 (which I also own) is roughly as bright as the HD750, but only with open Iris. If the Iris is closed it had around 300-350 lumens only.

So you have to decide what you need most:
- best blacklevel and contrast
or
- flexibility in light output

The HD750 is even brighter than the HD1, so the HD100 is no competition in this regard. I get a max light output of nearly 900 lumens with my unit. With the HD1 I got 730 lumens max.

The Epson has those two modes that are brighter than that (Vivid and Cinema day ) but those are not at D65.
In the best contrast modes it is not as bright as the HD750 and needs the support of the iris for blacklevel. I have sampled the Epson right after the HD750 so it was pretty obvious. Also on lamp high the Epson was noisier than the JVC.

The Sharp Z12000 (which I also own) is roughly as bright as the HD750, but only with open Iris. If the Iris is closed it had around 300-350 lumens only.

So you have to decide what you need most:
- best blacklevel and contrast
or
- flexibility in light output

lozoppo, thanks for the help. When you saw the epson and the hd750, how much brighter was the epson in cinema day mode compared to the hd750 in its brightest mode? Was a huge difference? The reason why I ask is because for my setup, the epson in cinema day(with some slight adjustments like adding the AI and other setting which lower the brightness some) works great for cutting through the ambient light. I wonder how the hd750 in it's brightest setting(like yours that gets 900 lumens) compares? What i am also concerned about is the when I had my hd100, at first when the bulb was new, it was bright but after only a 150hrs, the brightness dropped quite a bit to where it was too dim and thats what i am afraid will happen with the hd750. I know I have to choose between blacklevel vs. light output, which is becoming a very hard choice. I was just hoping that the hd750 was bright enough(in brightest setting for both) to at least be competitive with the epson 7500.

will the Epson be brighter than the JVC, probably so, the issue is do you need the extra lumens. Will you be watching at night only, how much ambient light do you get

The HD750 is even brighter than the HD1, so the HD100 is no competition in this regard. I get a max light output of nearly 900 lumens with my unit. With the HD1 I got 730 lumens max.

The Sharp Z12000 (which I also own) is roughly as bright as the HD750, but only with open Iris. If the Iris is closed it had around 300-350 lumens only.

So you have to decide what you need most:
- best blacklevel and contrast
or
- flexibility in light output

I couldnt agree more with Lozoppo. The more brightness you push, the more ansi contrast is affected, ending with lighter blacks and maybe washed out colors. My suggestion to you, rather than buying a brighter but less impressive PJ, try to address your ambient lighting issues, by adding good wood or faux wood blinds to your windows, buying darker curtains and just control your day time ambient lighting issues, then buy the better PJ, which in my opinion is the RS20/RS10/HD750/HD350 and worst case get a slightly higher gain screen. And like most people have said already, the RS20/RS10/HD750/HD350 are significantly and visibly brighter than the HD1000/RS2, even straight out of the box. Also I think you have a relatively short throw at 15.5 feet, so you should be able to throw enough lumens for your 128" screen, and if that becomes dim then you can go for the 110" screen down the road.

I know someone here recommended the InFocus IN83, and although it throws an excellent crisp and sharp picture, but when compared side by side with the HD750/RS20 it doesn't stand a chance with black levels, and this is something I realized when viewing the inky blacks on the JVCs, the blacker the blacks are and the whiter the whites are on the same frame, the better the color dynamic range gets, blacker blacks just make all the other colors pop out! The difference was immediately visible to my wife, the uncalibrated JVC HD750 looked noticeably better than the calibrated InFocus IN83 in my opinion. And another thing to add, is that the IN83 was very loud compared to the almost whisper quite JVC. When I demoed both side by side, it felt like the showroom went completely dead silent when the InFocus IN83 was turned off and the HD750 was turned on, I swear the InFocus sounded louder than my xbox360 and PS3 combined, it was too loud for my taste, while the JVC was virtually silent.

I think if cost is a factor, get the RS10/HD350 over the Epson or InFocus. There is no iris with the JVC so you're constantly getting an average of 600-900 lumens in best/brightest modes without sacrificing contrast, brightness compression, or washed out blacks/colors.

I am going to use the RS20 on a DIY 2.37:1 AT screen with 1.16 gain (same as Seymour AV's and SMX' screens). And my throw distance is at about 18-20 feet, and I am not worried about it. I definitely taking a chance, but I would rather enjoy 1000 good hours per lamp out of the max 2000 hours with excellent unbeatable blacks, colors, and contrast on my RS20, rather than going for a less impressive projector with AI, brightness compression, iris and fan noise, lighter blacks and "supposedly higher lumens - on paper specs."

Many members on this forum argued with me that I should go for the JVC over the Epson in a heart beat on the RS20 Vs. 7500ub thread I had started. But I kept resisting and leaning towards thr Epson 7500ub based on paper specs, and I wanted the Epson to win the day, but it was clearly obvious for me, and my wife - who was completely oblivious and unbiased to either brands or technologies- that the JVC was the winner by a mile. The reviews say the the Epson 6500/7500 is a close 2nd to the RS20/RS10, but I just see the Epson as a far 2nd best PJ, because there is nothing out there in between the JVCs and the Epsons that perform better than the Epsons, with the exception of the the new DLPs, which are noticably louder.

As I said in the begining, try to control your daytime ambient lighting issues with better blinds, better curtains, whatever it takes, this way you won't have to sacrifice quality over brightness or vice versa.

silver700,

I was mainly interested in the "light power edition" of the Epson 5000
(thats what the 7500 is called here in germany) which is an added red filter that you can use to tame the colors of the vivid mode back to D65 (with only some minor change of settings in the menu). So the only measurements I made with my luxmeter were of this mode with lamp on eco and high.

But as far as impressions go: after I sampled the HD750 for quite some time we swapped the JVC for the Epson (same throw distance and same screen width of 2.8 meters) and started it up in vivid mode. Without the red filter the image was definitely very bright. Even with the lights still on it was not that bad. Obviously dark detail was not existent but with a somewhat smaller screen (2m) and bright content like sports this could really work. "Cutting thru the light" is describing it pretty good. Afaik the Epson delivers well over 1500 lumens in that mode so it makes sense what I saw.

I had high hopes for the LPE mode with red filter as Cine4Home measured up to 1300 lumens. But alas, in lamp high I measured only roughly 1000 lumens and in eco mode this went down to around 800. In fact the Epson in vivid+filter+lamp eco had nearly the same light output as the JVC HD750 in lamp high with opened iris. Needless to say I was somewhat disappointed.

Without the filter and switched to a "normal" mode (afaik cinema black(?) or HD) the Epson was visibly darker than the JVC. Not dramatically,but after resampling the same scenes from "Kung Fu Panda" and "No country for old men" it was evident. Too bad that I didn't took a measurement from this mode, but I was not happy with the way the iris worked (and sounded), the weak reflections from the red LPE filter and spotting too much artifacts from the frame insertion modes for my liking, so I lost interest in the Epson.

I am not sure how much lumens Cinema Day delivers, but the JVC will not be able to reach the output of the vivid mode of the Epson. So if absolute light power is what you need most, the Epson will still be the better choice.

I would suggest that you get yourself a light meter ( I paid ~70 Euro for mine) then you know in numbers what you are seeing. After all you are about to invest a few thousands more (or not) so it would help in decision making.

Since the swap from my Z12000 to the HD1 the luxmeter is my trusty companion when I take a trip to my dealers place.

I hope you find some useable information in my long text, but ultimately you will have to see the HD750 for your own to be 100% sure which one is for you. After all preferences differ, if not everbyody would buy the JVC and no one the Epson.

I know someone here recommended the InFocus IN83, and although it throws an excellent crisp and sharp picture, but when compared side by side with the HD750/RS20 it doesn't stand a chance with black levels, and this is something I realized when viewing the inky blacks on the JVCs, the blacker the blacks are and the whiter the whites are on the same frame, the better the color dynamic range gets, blacker blacks just make all the other colors pop out! The difference was immediately visible to my wife, the uncalibrated JVC HD750 looked noticeably better than the calibrated InFocus IN83 in my opinion.

Just a word of caution regarding the colors:

You are comparing apples to oranges here. The JVC in uncalibrated mode has vastly oversaturated colors. If you compare an OOB RS20 to a calibrated IN83, the JVC will have much more vivid colors and most people will pick the oversaturated image in an A/B comparison even though the calibrated might be more pleasurable to live wih in the long run. That´s why all the flat panel displays have screamingly oversaturated colors OOTB.

It often takes some time to really appriciate a correct picture. It grows on you and you get the feeling that all the pieces start coming together and that it just feels right. You might not see it in a short demo though if you don't know what to look for.


@ OP

If the HD100 was bright enough with a new bulb, the RS20 should be ok for most of the lamps life (it has almost twice the lumens) [edit: Well not quite twice but about 8-900 compared to 5-600]. However, was the HD100 ok also during day-time viewing?

silver700,

I was mainly interested in the "light power edition" of the Epson 5000
(thats what the 7500 is called here in germany) which is an added red filter that you can use to tame the colors of the vivid mode back to D65 (with only some minor change of settings in the menu). So the only measurements I made with my luxmeter were of this mode with lamp on eco and high.

But as far as impressions go: after I sampled the HD750 for quite some time we swapped the JVC for the Epson (same throw distance and same screen width of 2.8 meters) and started it up in vivid mode. Without the red filter the image was definitely very bright. Even with the lights still on it was not that bad. Obviously dark detail was not existent but with a somewhat smaller screen (2m) and bright content like sports this could really work. "Cutting thru the light" is describing it pretty good. Afaik the Epson delivers well over 1500 lumens in that mode so it makes sense what I saw.

I had high hopes for the LPE mode with red filter as Cine4Home measured up to 1300 lumens. But alas, in lamp high I measured only roughly 1000 lumens and in eco mode this went down to around 800. In fact the Epson in vivid+filter+lamp eco had nearly the same light output as the JVC HD750 in lamp high with opened iris. Needless to say I was somewhat disappointed.

Without the filter and switched to a "normal" mode (afaik cinema black(?) or HD) the Epson was visibly darker than the JVC. Not dramatically,but after resampling the same scenes from "Kung Fu Panda" and "No country for old men" it was evident. Too bad that I didn't took a measurement from this mode, but I was not happy with the way the iris worked (and sounded), the weak reflections from the red LPE filter and spotting too much artifacts from the frame insertion modes for my liking, so I lost interest in the Epson.

I am not sure how much lumens Cinema Day delivers, but the JVC will not be able to reach the output of the vivid mode of the Epson. So if absolute light power is what you need most, the Epson will still be the better choice.

I would suggest that you get yourself a light meter ( I paid ~70 Euro for mine) then you know in numbers what you are seeing. After all you are about to invest a few thousands more (or not) so it would help in decision making.

Since the swap from my Z12000 to the HD1 the luxmeter is my trusty companion when I take a trip to my dealers place.

I hope you find some useable information in my long text, but ultimately you will have to see the HD750 for your own to be 100% sure which one is for you. After all preferences differ, if not everbyody would buy the JVC and no one the Epson.

lozoppo, thanks for your help. Your post actually sheds a lot of light on the situation :D No pun intended. That is exactly what I needed to know. The cinema day mode is just about as bright as the vivid, but might be just a tad bit dimmer. And yes, for my situation, more light is a big need. I guess my only regret is wondering if the JVC would produce a better overall image. but then again, brightness is really important for my setup. Again thanks for you help. I hope I will get a chance to demo the rs20 before I have to make up my mind about the 7500ub I have.

Just a word of caution regarding the colors:

You are comparing apples to oranges here. The JVC in uncalibrated mode has vastly oversaturated colors. If you compare an OOB RS20 to a calibrated IN83, the JVC will have much more vivid colors and most people will pick the oversaturated image in an A/B comparison even though the calibrated might be more pleasurable to live wih in the long run. That´s why all the flat panel displays have screamingly oversaturated colors OOTB.

It often takes some time to really appriciate a correct picture. It grows on you and you get the feeling that all the pieces start coming together and that it just feels right. You might not see it in a short demo though if you don't know what to look for.


@ OP

If the HD100 was bright enough with a new bulb, the RS20 should be ok for most of the lamps life (it has almost twice the lumens). However, was the HD100 ok also during day-time viewing?

The hd100 was fine for daytime viewing when the bulb was new, so that is what i have been wondering. That if the hd750 is twice as bright, even with the drop off of lumens because of hours of use, the hd750 may be bright enough for me after all. I just have to find a way to see it somewhere.

will the Epson be brighter than the JVC, probably so, the issue is do you need the extra lumens. Will you be watching at night only, how much ambient light do you get

Daniel thanks for the help, half the time I will be watching during the day(mainly weekends, like sports) and half the time during the night. Of course during the day there will be ambient light so I have to fight with that, but during the night it wont be so bad. I guess what i have to figure out is 1st - really how much more lumens is enough and 2nd- what is enough for me might be equal to what the hd750 does. I really need to test the hd750 in my environment. I will keep looking for a place to purchase it so I can test it out at least for 1 day.

I couldnt agree more with Lozoppo. The more brightness you push, the more ansi contrast is affected, ending with lighter blacks and maybe washed out colors. My suggestion to you, rather than buying a brighter but less impressive PJ, try to address your ambient lighting issues, by adding good wood or faux wood blinds to your windows, buying darker curtains and just control your day time ambient lighting issues, then buy the better PJ, which in my opinion is the RS20/RS10/HD750/HD350 and worst case get a slightly higher gain screen. And like most people have said already, the RS20/RS10/HD750/HD350 are significantly and visibly brighter than the HD1000/RS2, even straight out of the box. Also I think you have a relatively short throw at 15.5 feet, so you should be able to throw enough lumens for your 128" screen, and if that becomes dim then you can go for the 110" screen down the road.

I know someone here recommended the InFocus IN83, and although it throws an excellent crisp and sharp picture, but when compared side by side with the HD750/RS20 it doesn't stand a chance with black levels, and this is something I realized when viewing the inky blacks on the JVCs, the blacker the blacks are and the whiter the whites are on the same frame, the better the color dynamic range gets, blacker blacks just make all the other colors pop out! The difference was immediately visible to my wife, the uncalibrated JVC HD750 looked noticeably better than the calibrated InFocus IN83 in my opinion. And another thing to add, is that the IN83 was very loud compared to the almost whisper quite JVC. When I demoed both side by side, it felt like the showroom went completely dead silent when the InFocus IN83 was turned off and the HD750 was turned on, I swear the InFocus sounded louder than my xbox360 and PS3 combined, it was too loud for my taste, while the JVC was virtually silent.

I think if cost is a factor, get the RS10/HD350 over the Epson or InFocus. There is no iris with the JVC so you're constantly getting an average of 600-900 lumens in best/brightest modes without sacrificing contrast, brightness compression, or washed out blacks/colors.

I am going to use the RS20 on a DIY 2.37:1 AT screen with 1.16 gain (same as Seymour AV's and SMX' screens). And my throw distance is at about 18-20 feet, and I am not worried about it. I definitely taking a chance, but I would rather enjoy 1000 good hours per lamp out of the max 2000 hours with excellent unbeatable blacks, colors, and contrast on my RS20, rather than going for a less impressive projector with AI, brightness compression, iris and fan noise, lighter blacks and "supposedly higher lumens - on paper specs."

Many members on this forum argued with me that I should go for the JVC over the Epson in a heart beat on the RS20 Vs. 7500ub thread I had started. But I kept resisting and leaning towards thr Epson 7500ub based on paper specs, and I wanted the Epson to win the day, but it was clearly obvious for me, and my wife - who was completely oblivious and unbiased to either brands or technologies- that the JVC was the winner by a mile. The reviews say the the Epson 6500/7500 is a close 2nd to the RS20/RS10, but I just see the Epson as a far 2nd best PJ, because there is nothing out there in between the JVCs and the Epsons that perform better than the Epsons, with the exception of the the new DLPs, which are noticably louder.

As I said in the begining, try to control your daytime ambient lighting issues with better blinds, better curtains, whatever it takes, this way you won't have to sacrifice quality over brightness or vice versa.

Thanks damnsam77, I did make some adjustments to my viewing environment (curtains and darker walls) but since the only place to use the projector is in the family room, I can only make it so dark. The wife likes to have the shades open during the day sometimes as do I. I know from all the post that the jvc image is better than the 7500 I guess I just have to weigh price vs. picture vs.brightness and see which things are more important, not to my tastes but because of my viewing room. I just have this feeling that the hd750 might be bright enough, thats why i am trying so hard to get input on this. Of course until i try it i might never know.

Isn't buying a projector supposed to be fun and not so stressful :confused:

Just watched the basketball games on TNT tonight and they looked great on the 7500ub. I was actually pretty happy with the overall picture. Really bright with a lot of the so called "pop" image. Then I watched 300 again, but this is the first time with the 7500ub and although it looked pretty good, I could definitely tell that the black levels were not even close to my previous pj the hd100. Even the hd100 had much better black area or dark area detail. In the scene, early in the movie, where the messenger rides in on a black horse, I could see the face of the horse clearly. Lots of detail, on the epson 7500 I couldn't make anything out on the horses. It just looked like a dark outline of a horse, filled with black. Kinda disappointing. Maybe if the epson was properly calibrated, I would have a better picture. I don't know. I am starting to lean towards buying the hd750. I really need to find a way to see one.

I really need to find a way to see one.

As someone previously stated, you can get one from AVS and try it and as long as you don't put more then 15 hours on the lamp you can send it back.

I wouldn't buy a projector from AVS (or anybody) just to check how bright it is - with the intention of sending it back if it doesn't meet your needs. They are then stuck selling it as a used projector (at a loss). I would only return a projector if it were truly defective. Not because I didn't do my homework.

I would imagine just about any projector would be bright enough during its first 15 hours anyway. Probably too bright. Its when it hits 100 hours, and then 500 hours that the brightness takes a hit. Worse case scenario - you buy a new bulb every 500-800 hours.

I would imagine just about any projector would be bright enough during its first 15 hours anyway. Probably too bright. Its when it hits 100 hours, and then 500 hours that the brightness takes a hit. Worse case scenario - you buy a new bulb every 500-800 hours

That's a good point John...actually they both are good points. I wouldn't buy something with the express intent of returning it if it didn't work in my room. However, if I bought it and it turned out not to work in my installation then yes, I would send it back or return it to the store.

Thanks for the info. I will try asking someone in the other thread. Hopefully I will find someone here in my area. I had heard that AVS would sell you the pj and give you a chance to try it but I think they changed their policy. I was told they no longer allow you purchase a unit and then return it no matter how many hours you put on the bulb. If they gave me the chance, I would have definitely bought an RS20 from them.

That was never the case. Our policy has always been 30 days, no more than 15 hours on the lamp.

That being said, if you don't use the iris the RS20 is about 30-40% brighter than your currnet projector. Generally it is brighter than the Epson if both are calibrated. If you plan to skew the calibration settings for max light output, the RS20 can actually get even brighter than its rating.

I agree the SS isn't a good option...though it is high gain, it is bad with ambient light.

I wouldn't buy a projector from AVS (or anybody) just to check how bright it is - with the intention of sending it back if it doesn't meet your needs. They are then stuck selling it as a used projector (at a loss). I would only return a projector if it were truly defective. Not because I didn't do my homework.

I would imagine just about any projector would be bright enough during its first 15 hours anyway. Probably too bright. Its when it hits 100 hours, and then 500 hours that the brightness takes a hit. Worse case scenario - you buy a new bulb every 500-800 hours.

I understand your point but what exactly is "doing my homework" entail? I have read all the post regarding the hd750. I have asked for advice, information, and help from anyone here in this forum and any other forums. I have contacted JVC to see if there are any resellers here in my area. The closest one is over 350 miles away. I really dont think people are advising me to buy the projector from avs just to check the brightness and then return it.(it's not just about brightness, although that is important, overall picture quality is also important) Nor am I saying that is what I need to do. I understand that if AVS allowed me to demo the unit, and it fit my needs, I would definitely buy from them and not return it. I wouldn't just try it for the sake of trying it. If you're willing to spend what it would cost to buy the hd750, I doubt you're doing this just to "try" it out. A local ht store allowed me to demo the 7500ub for 30days no restocking fee. Why, because I have spent quite a bit of money over the years with them. I was loyal to them because they allowed me that option from day one. If AVS had a policy where they allowed me to try the pj, I would make sure that I give them as much business as I could and recommend them to as many people as I could. So if I did return the unit, somewhere down the line they would make up any money they didn't make with me on that first sale. As for the fact that any bulb will lose it's brightness after so many hours, well that is an excellent point but at least I could adjust the hd750( ie lower the bulb's setting to low) settings to a lower brightness setting to simulate a bulb after so many hours and see how that works. BTW it's not just about brightness, although that's important for my situation, its also about picture quality.

That was never the case. Our policy has always been 30 days, no more than 15 hours on the lamp.

That being said, if you don't use the iris the RS20 is about 30-40% brighter than your currnet projector. Generally it is brighter than the Epson if both are calibrated. If you plan to skew the calibration settings for max light output, the RS20 can actually get even brighter than its rating.

I agree the SS isn't a good option...though it is high gain, it is bad with ambient light.

Jason, wow I didn't see your post. So you do allow to buy a projector and return it with less than 15hrs? That would be fantastic if I read that right. I realize that the ss might not be the best for ambient light, but for some reason in my home, it brightened up the picture enough to compensate for the ambient light. It just wasn't enough for my hd100.

Correct...it is our Platinum Guarantee. Basically you purchase the projector and have 30 days, less than 15 hours on the lamp to test it. It is the most generous in the industry and really 15 hours is more than enough to know if it is going to work (if you cannot find out within an hour then it probably isn't going to work!). :)

Correct...it is our Platinum Guarantee. Basically you purchase the projector and have 30 days, less than 15 hours on the lamp to test it. It is the most generous in the industry and really 15 hours is more than enough to know if it is going to work (if you cannot find out within an hour then it probably isn't going to work!). :)

I guess I should've just asked instead of assume :). Can I call you direct to order it? I really think that the hd750 IS going to work for me but since I spent quite a bit on the hd100 and would have to spent as much on the hd750, I just wanted to make sure.

Yup you can give me a call (585-454-1460 x102).

Yup you can give me a call (585-454-1460 x102).

Great, I will try and call you before you close today. If not I will try tomorrow, if avs is open. If not then for sure Monday. Again thanks so much.

I understand your point but what exactly is "doing my homework" entail? I have read all the post regarding the hd750. I have asked for advice, information, and help from anyone here in this forum and any other forums. I have contacted JVC to see if there are any resellers here in my area. The closest one is over 350 miles away. I really dont think people are advising me to buy the projector from avs just to check the brightness and then return it.(it's not just about brightness, although that is important, overall picture quality is also important) Nor am I saying that is what I need to do. I understand that if AVS allowed me to demo the unit, and it fit my needs, I would definitely buy from them and not return it. I wouldn't just try it for the sake of trying it. If you're willing to spend what it would cost to buy the hd750, I doubt you're doing this just to "try" it out. A local ht store allowed me to demo the 7500ub for 30days no restocking fee. Why, because I have spent quite a bit of money over the years with them. I was loyal to them because they allowed me that option from day one. If AVS had a policy where they allowed me to try the pj, I would make sure that I give them as much business as I could and recommend them to as many people as I could. So if I did return the unit, somewhere down the line they would make up any money they didn't make with me on that first sale. As for the fact that any bulb will lose it's brightness after so many hours, well that is an excellent point but at least I could adjust the hd750( ie lower the bulb's setting to low) settings to a lower brightness setting to simulate a bulb after so many hours and see how that works. BTW it's not just about brightness, although that's important for my situation, its also about picture quality.

Well ...good post. (sounds like you DID your homework):)(my bad):)

Well ...good post. (sounds like you DID your homework):)(my bad):)

No problem, at least you took the time to read the my long winded post and tried to be helpful. Advice, whether it's what I want to hear or not, is always good. You can never have too much information.