I've just bought my first house and will have a dedicated theatre room. It's about 16.5' x 12'. I had a guy from a local home theatre store come out and give me a consultation and he recommended a 92' grey screen and obviously a projector. I have no idea about any of this stuff so I'd like you all to lend me your expertise on the matter. The only thing I know is that I want 1080p projector and I've seen great reviews on the Panasonic PTAE1000 and found a spot selling them for $2713. I've not found another 1080p projector for this kind of money with the same rave reviews, but the guy told me that Panny doesn't hold it's value, but that it was a good projector. What would you guys recommend for the screen and any advice on 1080p projector options, etc. would be great. Thanks in advance for any help.
Jesse

No projector holds its value. Don't buy home theater gear thinking of it as an investment--it'll be worth a fraction of what you paid for it in a few months.

I'm not worried about the value, the guy that came out was talking about for future upgrade purposes. I'm just wanting to hear some feedback and recommendations on what some good brands and products are.

Unfortunately (or maybe "fortunately"!), the projector landscape changes frequently and most units are not "upgradeable" easily to the next generation. My personal take would be that you ignore the "upgradeability" factor and buy something that works for you now, has placement flexibility, is bright enough, etc.

Since most of us usually focus on one or two PJs, your best bet to get a good sense of the tradeoffs are to do some reading ... actually scratch that ... you need to do a *lot* of reading! Else you'll find many people (including myself) telling you things like, "Projector A is the best!", "Forget projector A ... B is even better!", "No, ... projector B has all these problems ...", etc ... and they would ALL be right since there are tradeoffs with every projector in the market today and only you can judge what is best for you.

You could start with a site like projectorcentral.com and make a list of the different popular projectors, technologies (e.g. dlp, lcd, lcos) and prices. There are some articles outlining the pros and cons of each technology (there is no universal solution and each person may have their own view of the "best" technology/unit ... which may or may not be in line with your constraints/preferences).

Once you have a list of potential projectors, do a search on each one and read up what experiences people have to share -- there is a wealth of information and in my humble (and not so humble) opinion, the *only* way would be to spend time researching yourself.

To get you started, the Panny is a 1080p lcd projector (to my understanding). I myself have the AE900u which was last year's 720p. I'm sure that its a great PJ, but being a 3chip lcd design will not have the sharpness of a single chip dlp nor the native contrast of dlp (or the newer lcos RS1). On the flip side it will not display the rainbows that a single chip dlp will have - whether or not it bothers you cannot be answered by anyone but you. That is an example of the kind of tradeoffs you will have to make when like most of us your budget is not that of Bill Gates ... :)

Sorry if I did not answer your original question definitively ... I just don't believe that there is a definitive answer ... ;)

And one more thing ... don't discuss street prices ... that is against the rules of the forum. Only MSRP prices can be referred to.

so how much do you want to spend? Try to demo as many projetors as you can while using the search function here to learn about things. Only you will know if you like the inherent picture qualities of lcd, dlp or lcos.

learn about rainbow effects, screen door effects, xenon vs uhp bulbs, screen types and sizes, etc...

Personally I like the look of lcos and a white screen.

Yes, first thing to determine is budget - by far and away the most important consideration. This should be how much you are willing to spend for the total project (remember, there are ancillaries like cabling, mounts, screen, etc that'll have to be purchased). These all add up quickly your first time through. What you have now and what you'll need can play a big part in which projector will suit you best.

Unless you live in an area where you have access to an exceptionally good dealer/installer you'll likely be oversold and overpaying for equipment and installation. This isn't always the case, but is certainly the norm where I live (Raleigh/Durham area North Carolina)
There is little to no margin in projectors like the panasonic so they are rarely dealt with or recommended by custom install community.

Educate yourself, figure our your budget and decide if you are technically competent (it's not hard to do this stuff) to do much of the work yourself. You'll save a great deal of time. If this isn't doable, do your research on local dealers. It may make more sense to pay someone to travel from other areas than be stuck with what's available locally.

Let me give an alternative view. While I'm sure I will get flamed for this you should consider what I am saying carefully.

Whenever someone becomes educated about the fine points of whatever it is they are interested in, the pure enjoyment factor suffers. Just look at the audiophilles (I am guilty). I started out loving music. When I first was introduced to a good system and told why it was good, I began on the slippery slope of listening to the system and not the music.

The same can be said about projectors. Most people who come over my house are blown away by what they see. They have no idea what any of the criteria we use to determine what a good picture is. They don't understand color. They just enjoy the movie and the experience. You too, right now, know very little of the compromises you will have to make to get into HT and maybe you want to keep it that way. Sure you may be able to get a slightly better pj if you do research but maybe you will always be looking at the picture instead of just enjoying the movie.

Just another opinion, please don't flame me.

I've just bought my first house and will have a dedicated theatre room. It's about 16.5' x 12'. I had a guy from a local home theatre store come out and give me a consultation and he recommended a 92' grey screen and obviously a projector. I have no idea about any of this stuff so I'd like you all to lend me your expertise on the matter. The only thing I know is that I want 1080p projector and I've seen great reviews on the Panasonic PTAE1000 and found a spot selling them for $2713. I've not found another 1080p projector for this kind of money with the same rave reviews, but the guy told me that Panny doesn't hold it's value, but that it was a good projector. What would you guys recommend for the screen and any advice on 1080p projector options, etc. would be great. Thanks in advance for any help.
Jesse

I assume you mean 92" (inches) and not feet ('). That grey screen with the Panasonic 1080p will be very good in a dedicated theater room such as yours. This will surely be adequate for your needs.

k

Dont worry about future value. Almost everything electronic will work flawlessly for years but lose huge monetary worth as soon as you buy it.

I am in the process of buying my first PJ (RS1). We included as part of a whole house addition a dedicated HT room (14x21). Construction started a year ago February and finished this past October. This gave me the luxury of months and months to educate myself (mostly here on the AVS forums). We have been doing home theater in our family room for about 10 years, but with a big rear projecting TV.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is: 1) don't rush in, read and educate yourself. If you don't want/can't spend the time on this, you can do as a surgeon friend of mine did- visit a quality local B&M hometheater store, tell them your budget, let them make all the decisions and installation, and be prepared to pay 2-5 times the $$. Example: the local HT store wants to sell me an older 720P machine (albeit a good one) for more than I can buy the JVC RS1 1080p here from AVS (a good new 1080p). 2) Agree with Vigga about budget (figure it out). Lots of choices now at all different price points. 3) There are three basic technologies, LCD, DLP, LCOS. Different looks to them, try to see examples of each. There are also some good 720p PJ's, some at good prices these days.

1080P PJ's that get mentioned here frequently that you might want to read about here, just off top of head so I may miss one or two (this is the over $2500 forum, if your budget is less there is also less expensive PJ forum):

<$1000 - Mits HD1000 (DLP) (search posts by Wet1), 720P but good, inexpensive

<$3500 - Pan AE1000(LCD), Mits 5000 (LCD), Sony Pearl (LCOS)

<$5500 - JVS RS1 (D-ILA, JVC's version of LCOS), Epson TW1000 (LCD)

>$5500 - SIM (several models), Sharp 2000

Others I'm sure will chime in

1. Figure what you can afford.
2. Be realistic about your room/environment.
3. Do some homework, ask questions, AVS is a very good resource.
4. Demo some different displays (if possible) in your price range but understand
results can vary, setup, conditions, screens, etc.
5. Specs are very important, but don't let them consume you.
6. Don't get too caught up in the "best", something better is always coming.
7. Buy from a reputable dealer.
8. ENJOY your purchase!!

Pertaining to the screen, gray may or may not be the best option. Today's projectors are less and less needy of a gray screen. That is, assuming you have a dedicated, light controlled room. What color is the room? Are there any windows?