I purchased an HC1500 several months ago as a "Trial" PJ to see if I wanted to go with a PJ when I finished my basement (Bar/game/theater room). Well I was amazed the day I set it up and would not think of NOT having a PJ now, I have planned on upgrading to a good 1080p as I finish the room. I have been to the 3 stores in town that sell them and all have dedicated theater rooms on display. I am not sure if I can post which PJs they were displaying so I won't, but they are all over $4,000 and 1080p but the thing is, I think my HC1500 has a definative advantage in PQ over these, now I know this shouldn't be but it makes me wonder. Do I just stick with the HC1500? I want the best PQ I can get as I am hopefully doing this right the first time. I just am not impressed with the more expensive and supposedly better PJs...not sure what to think.

I had the Mits 1000 before my current PJ (also a 720p model). The image was great, but I never believed it was better than a good 1080p model. With the price/performance improvements in the low end of 1080p, I find it difficult to believe that a well calibrated 1080p @ $4k would not show an immediate improvement to your eyes.

Therefore, I can only guess that the 1080p's you were looking at were not, in fact, properly calibrated. Unfortunately, this seems to be pretty common.

You need to determine if a bump up to 1080p is where you want to spend your money. If you are happy with your 1500, why not just wait to upgrade when it develops a problem or the bulb needs replacement? 1080p will surely be at an even better price/performance point by then!

I had the Mits 1000 before my current PJ (also a 720p model). The image was great, but I never believed it was better than a good 1080p model. With the price/performance improvements in the low end of 1080p, I find it difficult to believe that a well calibrated 1080p @ $4k would not show an immediate improvement to your eyes.

Therefore, I can only guess that the 1080p's you were looking at were not, in fact, properly calibrated. Unfortunately, this seems to be pretty common.

You need to determine if a bump up to 1080p is where you want to spend your money. If you are happy with your 1500, why not just wait to upgrade when it develops a problem or the bulb needs replacement? 1080p will surely be at an even better price/performance point by then!

I agree, my guess is they were not calibrated correctly which raises a concern. I want to upgrade to 1080p because we watch a lot of BR movies, but if I spend the money, how will I ever get it calibrated correctly and get the most out of it? Seems like the guys that I would pay to do it, would not do it correctly. I am not even close to confident enough to do it myself. I do love the PQ I get now with the HC1500, I am excited to see a 1080p picture that is properly calibrated.

What you experienced is one of the main reasons AVS Forum is so large. Very few places have projectors that are set up properly and calibrated - in fact, quite a few stores that sell projectors don't even have a proper environment to demo them in. Please post the models you looked at so others that have those projectors can jump in here and give you the pros and cons of each model.

As for calibration, many people just purchase a calibration disc. You also have the option of hiring an ISF calibrator. Just keep in mind ISF calibration depends a lot on experience. Someone that's been doing calibrations for years will likely do a much better job than someone that's only calibrated a handful of TV's/projectors, so if you go that route make sure you find someone reputable. If you post your location I'm sure some of the forum members can make a suggestion for who to hire.

sell you mits, add to the money and buy infocus x10. i saw some good reviews and the good thing is that it doesn't need much calibration colors are very good out of the box.

I may be a little off on theses but I think/hope i am close enough for you guys to know.

The 3 PJ's I was shown were the Epson 1080ub, Sony VPL/VLP-50 or something, and I am not sure on the last one but it was $12,000 and way out of my budget anyway, but it was the one on display and I will say it looked good, just not any better than mine. All 3 places had dedicated rooms and it was very dark. Now I do know that they all should look better than mine, my concern is getting them calibrated, so if anybody knows of any good guys from the area I would appreciate the feedback.

I am in Bismarck, North Dakota