Both are about the same price now (low-mid 3k's). From the reviews I've read the Panny is a better value? What do you all think? How big does 1080p vs. 720p play into your opinion?

There are a couple of threads detailing experiments done by the guys in Europe comparing the 8720 to it's 1080p counterpart (W1000). The results are surprising - you can go to those threads for information - but unless you are dealing with a very big screen size, no - you won't be gaining much benefit.

That said these projectors are very different flavors. They will have very different looks based solely on their technology - with those looks also comes the associated flaws.

With the Panasonic you'll be gaining quite a bit of installation flexibility over the BenQ (zoom, greater lens shift, not nearly as big/heavy of a unit)-
With the 8720 you'll be getting a really top notch display, likely with better black levels, color points, perfect convergence, sharper and brighter. You'll also be gaining a color wheel - which may or may not be a concern to you.

It really depends on your viewing and personal preferences. Both are great units.

There are a couple of threads detailing experiments done by the guys in Europe comparing the 8720 to it's 1080p counterpart (W1000). The results are surprising - you can go to those threads for information - but unless you are dealing with a very big screen size, no - you won't be gaining much benefit.

That said these projectors are very different flavors. They will have very different looks based solely on their technology - with those looks also comes the associated flaws.

With the Panasonic you'll be gaining quite a bit of installation flexibility over the BenQ (zoom, greater lens shift, not nearly as big/heavy of a unit)-
With the 8720 you'll be getting a really top notch display, likely with better black levels, color points, perfect convergence, sharper and brighter. You'll also be gaining a color wheel - which may or may not be a concern to you.

It really depends on your viewing and personal preferences. Both are great units.

Any link?

And what is a very big screen?

And where are you basing the "Sharper" image from? Have you had both these units, have you read a/b comparisons or reviews???

Thanks for the repsponces... I'm gonna have to ask the same questions because all the reviews I've read (especilly projectorreviews) say the panny has better black level and shadow detail than the benq. This is coming from a guy who owns the 8720. He was saying that in most instances the black level is better on the panny unless there is a fair amount of light on the image which minimizes the use of the iris... Furthermore he said that the only place the 8720 would have an absolute advantage is its more horsepower overall, especially in 'best' mode.

The panny on the other hand has more room placement flexibility. supports 1080p/24, has far more controls (fun stuff for those that like to play), more zoom range, more lens shift range, inkier blacks most of the time, and is noticably sharper, ect....

Have you seen the panny in person? Just curious... Thanks!

P.S. Projectorcentral's review of 1080p projectors found the panny to be sharpest in 480p an tied for 1st sharpness with the mistu in hi-def....

I own the panny and I was shocked at how sharp it was when I first set it up on my wall...

Until Vigga can get me that link, or tell me why he thinks this 720p projector is sharper, has better blacks, and the supreme machine compared to the 1080p Panny, I will guess the panny is better... only guessing though.

cool man, where'd u buy from? what kinda screen you got? can you comment on the brightness of yours vs. the ae900u? i got the ae900, its very nice but i want something brighter/sharper/betterblacks.... thats all i care about right now...

I'm not sure what "link" you guys are referring to. I'm not refrencing any reviews (although many here will caution you with taking projectorcentral reviews seriously - another conversation for another time).
I've seen both of these projectors, calibrated (Eye-one w/ colorfacts 6.0 - we were using a Lumagen HDP for signal generation), side by side in a light controled environment. the screen was a 120" Firehawk.
The source was HD-DVD - Phantom of the Opera, Batman Begins and Seabiscuit. For DVD we were using a JVB Digital SDI modded Denon 3910 feeding the Lumagen HDP outputting 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

Like I said in my posting, the image produced by these two different projectors are very different "flavors" that are sometimes harder to quantify in actual numbers - both are fantastic - but the differences in DLP vs. LCD are immediately noticeable. I don't know about supreme - just different. When at a distance where the resolution is not as important (see links below) the differences can become more a matter of taste.

For our demo we thought that the 8720 has a punchier image. Whether this was due to differences in ANSI contrast, or any of another hotly debated reasons (there are threads debating this as well - it isn't just brightness), who knows? The 8720 handled shadow detail better for us than the Panasonic. I think the dynamic iris plays a part here. I read Art's (projectorreviews.com) review - I really like his review - but sometimes there are points of contention. For all of us viewing these two projectors, this was one of them.

In terms of sharpness? Was it sharper? Yes - to my eyes it was. But whether this is a function of higher quality optics in the 8720, smooth screen, or differences in convergence that occur inherently in any 3 chip projector - I don't know. My thought would be the increased sharpness that I perceived was likley the result of the lens and optics in the 8720 giving it an advantage here.

I suffer from rainbows - even with a more pleasing image I couldn't watch the 8720 for more than an hour or so without getting woozy.

In terms of 720 vs 1080 discussions - I was referring to these two threads:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-767929.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=799340

I'm not sure what "link" you guys are referring to. I'm not refrencing any reviews (although many here will caution you with taking projectorcentral reviews seriously - another conversation for another time).

In terms of 720 vs 1080 discussions - I was referring to these two threads:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-767929.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=799340

I said link it please, because you said there were threads comparing these two projectors, did you not?

One of these threads does not have the Panasonic model in it, the other brings it up once, but does not compare it to the 720p projector at all.

And people are now starting to make it seem like projectorcentral gives the opposite review of their findings... They are not the only ones who gave this Projector a GREAT review. But I would like to know why we should not take their word for it, got a link for the arguement at hand?

cool man, where'd u buy from? what kinda screen you got? can you comment on the brightness of yours vs. the ae900u? i got the ae900, its very nice but i want something brighter/sharper/betterblacks.... thats all i care about right now...

I bought it from Costco. Ordered a High Power 159". Set it up against the wall for now at around 159" and looks great. Never seen the ae900u, but heard it is a little brighter and much greater black levels.

I could only compare it to a limited viewing of the pearl, and from what I have seen, I like the panny more, the pearl was a great setup and environment, but limited time to play around with.

I said link it please, because you said there were threads comparing these two projectors, did you not?

One of these threads does not have the Panasonic model in it, the other brings it up once, but does not compare it to the 720p projector at all.

And people are now starting to make it seem like projectorcentral gives the opposite review of their findings... They are not the only ones who gave this Projector a GREAT review. But I would like to know why we should not take their word for it, got a link for the arguement at hand?


Vigga meant 8720 against it's bother the W10000.

Dale

Rockokma-
As Dale pointed out, in my first post I was referring to 720p v 1080p only. Not specifically the Panasonic as the original question was:
"How big does 1080p vs. 720p play into your opinion?"

To which I replied:
"There are a couple of threads detailing experiments done by the guys in Europe comparing the 8720 to it's 1080p counterpart (W1000). The results are surprising - you can go to those threads for information - but unless you are dealing with a very big screen size, no - you won't be gaining much benefit."

I'm sorry if there was any misunderstanding - I thought I was clear in my statement.

Regarding projectorcentral - many many members have taken question with their reviews and rankings - championing certain projectors and technologies over others. This is not recent and has been ongoing on the forum for several years. If you want to view some of the chatter about this I'd refer you to the most recent, very long I might at (12 pages), thread discussing the projectorcentral 1080p shootout results.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=752280&highlight=projectorcentral+pearl+panasonic+mitsubishi

projectorreviews.com also gives the Panasonic very high marks (updated review), very much consistent with the projectorcentral.com review, it seems.

Rockokma-
As Dale pointed out, in my first post I was referring to 720p v 1080p only. Not specifically the Panasonic as the original question was:
"How big does 1080p vs. 720p play into your opinion?"

To which I replied:
"There are a couple of threads detailing experiments done by the guys in Europe comparing the 8720 to it's 1080p counterpart (W1000). The results are surprising - you can go to those threads for information - but unless you are dealing with a very big screen size, no - you won't be gaining much benefit."

I'm sorry if there was any misunderstanding - I thought I was clear in my statement.

Regarding projectorcentral - many many members have taken question with their reviews and rankings - championing certain projectors and technologies over others. This is not recent and has been ongoing on the forum for several years. If you want to view some of the chatter about this I'd refer you to the most recent, very long I might at (12 pages), thread discussing the projectorcentral 1080p shootout results.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=752280&highlight=projectorcentral+pearl+panasonic+mitsubishi

No, I must apologize, I was at work, and read through it fast. I thought you had found a thread comparing the Panasonic directly with the 8720. Again my apology, and thank you for the link.

What do you guys think of this: When you first saw a 1080p projector (and in your mind compared it to a 720p) was that a similar experience to the first time you saw 720p vs. 480p? I know there are a lot of threads that discuss these types of issues but didn't really discuss the exact topic above.

For example, when I saw an h31 vs a h72, the difference was unbelievable--not talking about black level, contrast, ect, just resolution alone...it was much more crisp and detailed. In particular: the sharpness of mid to long ranged shots, here is where I saw the biggest difference b/w these two, because of there native resolutions.

So far I am completely satisfied with my Panny 1000 on a 133" High Power. I posted a few pictures on the other thread (Panny 1000)...

P.S. Screen door is nonexistent.

Not nearly as big as when I saw DVD -> HD-DVD...that was the first time my jaw has dropped in several years.

When you first saw a 1080p projector (and in your mind compared it to a 720p) was that a similar experience to the first time you saw 720p vs. 480p?

I have the Panny AE1000U. I have taken a bunch of my pictures on my computer, taken with a good camera (Canon EOS 30D w/ good lens). I had landscape shots, close-ups of stuff, etc. I took a bunch and resized them to 1280x720 and to 1920x1080 in Photoshop. Then I viewed the 720 pics fullscreen with the computer set to 720p and then viewed the 1080 pics with the computer set to 1080p. So I was viewing 720p upscaled to 1080p, vs native 1080p.

It wasn't as big of a difference to me as seeing the 720p in the stores when HDTV first came out, but I have to say it was definitely VERY noticeable in terms of overall sharpness and fine details. My screen is 88", and I sit about 12 feet away.