I'm having serious difficulty finding a PJ bright enough for my screen. I currently use an Optoma HD-81 (and I've vowed NEVER to buy another Optoma anything). That said, the darn thing is pretty bright. I have a 120" 0.9 gain screen and the projector needs to sit about 10" ABOVE the screen and about 20' away from it.

I want similar - or better quality image - than the Optoma HD-81.

I would like to spend as little as possible - with a maximum of $4,000 street.

The Projector Central calculator shows the Panasonic and Espon's at 1,600 lumens, but the calculator states they will not be bright enough.

Obviously I would love to get my hands on a JVC DLA-RS25, but that's out of my price range.

Thanks for the suggestions and tips.

Do you have ambient light to contend with? Also where in upstate NY are you?

Do you have ambient light to contend with? Also where in upstate NY are you?

I'm up in Troy NY. Absolutely NO ambient light. This is a cave. :)

you can have a look at the Dell 7609WU DLP Projector for Ultra-Bright & Large Image for Large Venues (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KP8NSE?ie=UTF8&tag=shopguid0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002KP8NSE).
hope it helps.

you can have a look at the Dell 7609WU DLP Projector for Ultra-Bright & Large Image for Large Venues (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KP8NSE?ie=UTF8&tag=shopguid0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002KP8NSE).
hope it helps.

That's a presentation projector. Very poor for HT. Wrong resolution and poor CR.

What is your reasoning for a bright projector? Are you just used to the Optoma? A 120" screen in a light controlled room is no problem to light up unless you are looking for a super high Footlambert level.

What is your reasoning for a bright projector? Are you just used to the Optoma? A 120" screen in a light controlled room is no problem to light up unless you are looking for a super high Footlambert level.I assumed I needed to get between 12-18 ft Lamberts for a THX approved image. Are you suggesting ANY projector is fine?

Not any projector, no. Working the numbers, a 120" diag. 16:9 screen (assuming that as it wasn't specific) works out to roughly 43 square feet. Taking your target of 12-18, we'll average to 15. Take the 15 and divide by the .9 gain, we need to target 16.67 footlamberts. Multiply that by 43', = ~717 lumens. So as you can see the vast majority of projectors in the price range you want will get you in the ballpark. Point is, don't limit yourself to a "bright" projector, as this wouldn't really be considered that.

Not any projector, no. Working the numbers, a 120" diag. 16:9 screen (assuming that as it wasn't specific) works out to roughly 43 square feet. Taking your target of 12-18, we'll average to 15. Take the 15 and divide by the .9 gain, we need to target 16.67 footlamberts. Multiply that by 43', = ~717 lumens. So as you can see the vast majority of projectors in the price range you want will get you in the ballpark. Point is, don't limit yourself to a "bright" projector, as this wouldn't really be considered that.Thanks for the math. I was looking for about 750 lumens, but that's 750 lumens AFTER calibrating. I noticed that Projector Central shows most projectors blow past 750 lumens, but after calibration most are 450-650 lumens.

Maybe the Epson 8500UB will do the trick?

The BenQ w6000 may be worth a shot if you are receptive to a DLP and it is in your price range as it streets for under 3k.

I got one and have put 80 hrs. on it and I love the brightness it outputs as well as the pop and ansi contrast that is inherent to this technology. Conversely, I don't have a bat cave so I would not be able to realize the on/off contrast numbers of many of the other projectors that are available.

The RS-15 may not be far out of your price range- give AVS a call and the Epson can turn the trick as well if you want to save the coin. Art at projectorreviews posted a review on the Epson 8500 and there is a "good" mode that outputs around 1k lumens which most likely drop to around 700 lumens over time.

With the improved contrast of the latest crop of projectors in your light controlled environment, they will go a long way in adding to perceived brightness in your light controlled setting.

Dino

Thanks for the math. I was looking for about 750 lumens, but that's 750 lumens AFTER calibrating. I noticed that Projector Central shows most projectors blow past 750 lumens, but after calibration most are 450-650 lumens.

Maybe the Epson 8500UB will do the trick?

It sounds to me like your looking for brightness in best modes The Epson 8500UB will not be bright enough in best mode especially with that long of a throw. Nor will the Panny AE4000. Read some reviews on www.projectorreviews.com Pay attention to how much brightness the projector losses with a long throw and how bright they are in their best movie modes. Both of the above lose over 40% of their brightness with the lens at full telephoto.

I picked up a Viewsonic Pro8100 mainly because it is very bright in best mode with a long throw. I have a @17' throw onto a 120" 1.1 gain screen. It is more than bright enough for me. Of course the current pricing swayed me as well.

Read some reviews and you should be able to narrow down your search.

Thanks for the math. I was looking for about 750 lumens, but that's 750 lumens AFTER calibrating. I noticed that Projector Central shows most projectors blow past 750 lumens, but after calibration most are 450-650 lumens.

Maybe the Epson 8500UB will do the trick?

Well JVC's are all rated at calibrated values so what you see is generally what you get. The LCD manufacturers will have bloated ratings if you watch calibrated, but nevertheless should still test similarly bright (after calibration) to the JVC's. It's a pain to sort through I realize. :)

Well JVC's are all rated at calibrated values so what you see is generally what you get. The LCD manufacturers will have bloated ratings if you watch calibrated, but nevertheless should still test similarly bright (after calibration) to the JVC's. It's a pain to sort through I realize. :)

I was going to say the JVCs are probably the answer for the original posters setup. Unfortunately they are out of his $4000.00 price range. I myself would love to have one. One day maybe. ;)

I was going to say the JVCs are probably the answer for the original posters setup. Unfortunately they are out of his $4000.00 price range. I myself would love to have one. One day maybe. ;)

Get a used one. Even the old RS1's are pretty bright. The RS10 is brighter still. Can they be had for <$3k yet?

To the original poster:

Do you also have dark walls and ceiling?

If you are in a fully light controlled room and use the projector for watching movies in the dark, you really don't need more than 12 ft lamberts. The challenge is not to find a projector that will provide that level of brightness while new but will it provide that over the life of the bulb. The average bulb will lose 40% or more of its brightness in the first 500 - 700 hours.

For a point of reference and something to consider: I have a 124" when in 1.78 to 1 and 158" when stretched to 2.37 to 1 acoustically transparent screen with a gain of 1.13. I have been using a relatively bright Infocus IN83. This projector was measured with an average brightness in best mode, low lamp, at 870 lumens by projector reviews. I measured 940 lumens when new (zoom full, projected at the largest size). I now have 800+ hours on the projector and I am still using low lamp and have recently measured it at 550 lumens. I also have a fully light controlled room and brightness at the 158" size is still fine. If you do the math my 2.37 to 1 size is 61.4 sqft. Take the 550 lumens and divide by 61.4 and I am at 8.96 ft lamberts * gain of 1.13 = 10.1 ft lamberts.

I was also one of the folks on here that argued that we need brighter projectors because I have a large screen and like brighter images. However, I also started out my projector life with a lot more ambient light to deal with, i have changed that and now believe I can live with less light.

Now with all that said, I would still like to have brighter home theater projectors and I think with things like the RS15 having 1000 lumens with great contrast is a big step to that end. If I were you and holding $4K budget, I would stretch a little or wait a little longer and get the RS15. You will have plenty of brightness and unless you are a hardcore videophile I don't think you will mind the little bit of over saturated colors on the 15.

Good luck.

Get a used one. Even the old RS1's are pretty bright. The RS10 is brighter still. Can they be had for <$3k yet?

Maybe used ones. The RS15 is darn close though (to the $4k budget)...

Thanks for the math. I was looking for about 750 lumens, but that's 750 lumens AFTER calibrating. I noticed that Projector Central shows most projectors blow past 750 lumens, but after calibration most are 450-650 lumens.

Maybe the Epson 8500UB will do the trick?

Get any EPSON latest model.
I own 2 years old Epson EMP-TW2000 on Carada 134" Brilliant White Screen in my cave.
Bright (and good picture) enought for me.