about to pull the trigger on this...its this or the mitsu 1100....and the low offset of the DT-500 makes it more appealing, and the 5x color wheel

anyone see both back to back and can comment?

best place to buy the sharp? i know costco has them for 1500, saw this place

http://www.digital1234.com/product.jsp?x=DT500

for 1350 shipped

anywhere better?

pm me with the best place to buy it!

thanks

....buying this week.

Do you mean the HD1000U?

From http://www.projectorreviews.com/Sharp/XV-Z3000/proscons.asp

"XV-Z3000 vs. Optoma HD72, HD70, Mitsubishi HC3000 and Mitsubishi HD1000U

These four projectors are similar, with only the Mitsubishi HC3000 using an iris, and not having a clear filter on its color wheel. All four have virtually identical lens offset, that require them to be positioned high above the top of the screen (ceiling mounted) or well below the bottom. The XV-Z3000 by comparsion, has less than half the offset, which is a plus for all but those ceiling mounting with high ceilings. Of the four, only the Mitsubishi HC3000 comes anywhere close to the XV-Z3000 in black levels. the Mitsubishi is very good, but the Sharp is just plain better! The other three are all bright, close or as bright as the Sharp, so they rival it when you need lumens, but can't match the Sharp in the lower brightness modes, when looking for the richest saturated colors, shadow detail and black levels."

He likes the DT-500 better than the 3000 and isn’t the 3000 better than the 1000?

is the XV-Z3000 the exact same as the dt-500? it said 1500 lumens, i know the dt-500 is 1200. the z3000 has a 6500 contrast too....compared to 4000 on the dt500


the HC1100 (not hd1000) is mitsu's new 1000, that is very similar to last years 3000, i think its better in some aspects, worse in others....overall, about the same

this is going to be on a 120" screen, 11-12' away for seating.

all these brands with multiple model numbers for the same proj is annoying

The only difference is the dual iris compared to a 3 step. This sounds mysterious but it really isn’t. All the iris does is (I think) close a little bit to let less light out from the lens making the picture a little darker. The DT-500 has open or close and you hear it when it moves. The Z3000 either closes a little bit more OR there is on more in front of it making three settings instead of two. If you read the review he watched and based his observations on the middle setting which the high contrast is setting on the DT-500. The most closed setting on the Z3000 was too dim for his liking. So basically they are exactly the same.

thanks sjk, after about a month of research and reading, ill order either the dt-500 or xv-z3000, whichever i can get a better deal on...it was a tossup between mitsu and sharp, ive had good experience with mitsu, but the low offset and 5x sharp were the deal breakers...

off topic, but arnt sharp projectors the same as the marantz?

I have nothing to do with http://www.projectorreviews.com/ but I must say after reading his reviews and owning two of the projectors he reviewed I think his insights are uncanny. They IMO are dead on in every aspect. I know that sounds weird or like I have something to do with his site but I don’t. I guess what I am saying is that if you carefully read his reviews – you cant do any better other than seeing the units yourself. He really has a knack for this stuff

Yes. Merantz has a unit out that is a copy of the above DT-500/Z3000

The only caution I have is the sound level of this projector. It does bother some people. I asked my 11 year old this morning if the sound bothered him while we were watching “The Incredibles” and he said “No, I like the loud movies”. I said “I mean from the projector” He said, “I don’t hear anything”

thanks sjk, after about a month of research and reading, ill order either the dt-500 or xv-z3000, whichever i can get a better deal on...it was a tossup between mitsu and sharp, ive had good experience with mitsu, but the low offset and 5x sharp were the deal breakers...

off topic, but arnt sharp projectors the same as the marantz?

If you live in CA, try the corona best buy/magnolia. They had one new in box XV-Z3000 left as of a week ago. PM me if you want to know a good price to offer them!

Good luck.