The Real Final Four: HD70, HD1000u, AX100, PLV Z5
HD70(HD32)
HD1000u
AX100
PLV Z5
Hitachi PJTX100

I've searched for a poll like this where all 4 are discussed in one thread but couldn't find one so I'm making my own.

I am a projector noob and in a 1/2 hour found that these 4 are the most popular.

What is the best projector out of these 4?

I'm partial to the HD1000U because of the 1500 lumens and I have a lot of ambient sunlight and its 50% cheaper than the AX100. I heard you can even get the HD1000U FOR 800. I don't know if that's true.


My budget is around 1000.
I'm getting a 720p(will not go lower or higher)
More concerned with brightness than sharpness.
Reliability is an Issue(I need this to hold up 2-3 years)

Not a videophile by any means

Which has better Brightness, Sharpness, Blacks.


Brightness
Sharpness
Blackness

So which do you prefer and why!

Definitely get a grey screen.

These should come off the list, I don't think they're under 1K:
AX100
PLV Z5

woot.com has the HD32 for $730.

If placement is a problem for you, I'd go with the Hitachi (it has lens-shift), otherwise the Mits. With a lot of ambient light, I'd keep the screen below 100".

Definitely get a grey screen.

These should come off the list, I don't think they're under 1K:
AX100
PLV Z5

woot.com has the HD32 for $730.

If placement is a problem for you, I'd go with the Hitachi (it has lens-shift), otherwise the Mits. With a lot of ambient light, I'd keep the screen below 100".
If used PJs are the OP's flavor, the Pearl can be had under 3K on any given Sunday.
to phrase in your own word....remove pearl and insert AX100 or PLVz5 and change 3k to 1k...maybe a little less common but you get my piont :)

get the hitachi; it is brighter than you would think. I can easily watch with the shade open during the day......it costs less, has an incredible lense, and scales through the hdmi/dvi better than any projector under a grand. Its the best deal and easily the best bang for the buck since you can get it for 599.

get the hitachi; Its the best deal and easily the best bang for the buck since you can get it for 599.

I don't know where you got that from. Retail is 5 times that. :confused:

Wolfie

Even though I love my AX100, if we're talking about bang for your buck and not individual preferences/needs, it's gotta be the HD1000U.

Interesting results, not what I expected based on lurking here for some time.


Polls like this probably should start with "If the rainbow effect doesn't bother you..", because I really think that's the major deciding factor based on the threads I have read here.

The Hitachi is an excellent deal. Very bright, even in low lamp mode, settings out of the box are very good and it has all kinds of options for tweaking. The image is very sharp and colors look fantastic. Blacks are good for an LCD.

I don't know where you got that from. Retail is 5 times that. :confused:

Wolfie

any basic internet search will reveal I am correct.....I can't list suppliers cuz of forum rules.....I bought it for that price last week.....yes, msrp may be higher...it costed 2450 at best at the beginning of january......which is another reason it is best bang for the buck....at most one should pay is around 700.

Of course the important factor may be your screen size of choice. I have this very dilemma. I have a wall that is bigger than my budget.

Interesting results, not what I expected based on lurking here for some time.


Polls like this probably should start with "If the rainbow effect doesn't bother you..", because I really think that's the major deciding factor based on the threads I have read here.
You said it...."based on what you have read here" read MOSTLY from misinformed or biased people who a quick to condem things without seeing them for themselves.
....Most who were bothered by rainbows on the older 2x colorwheel dlp's are 4 times less likely to see them on the hd1000u or hd70 ...6 or 7 segment color wheel vs 3 or 4 and 4x wheel speed vs 2x ....And honestly as long as a user doesn't know about the rainbow thing they don't look for it and never see it. I've never in the 4+ years I've had my 2 dlp's ever had anyone be bothered by any rainbows...but then you will have the type that worry about it so much they almost subconsiously look for it ... statistically its a very very small amount of people who are bothered by them. I'm not saying its just in everyone's head I'm just saying you take a ridiculously small highly ulikly thing to be bothered by and through rumors and non first hand experience it turns into this huge thing ...and something that is used and mentioned all to often by LCD users as a weapon to defend or justify (To themselves as well as others) thier purchase. In lcd owner defense just as many lcd contrast bashers are here who have never seen a modern lcd unit....I bet more than half of the people here who mention rainbows here have never seen them and a good portion of those that did were probably viewing an old 2x dlp and siting too close to too large of a screen (If your darting your eyes across the screen because you can't see the whole thing, rainbows can be seen in high constast sceens like opening and ending credits when doing this.)

Of course the important factor may be your screen size of choice. I have this very dilemma. I have a wall that is bigger than my budget.
how is screen size really limited by budget? have you ever seen a blackout cloth screen? $35 buys all the materials to throw a 108" one together. In a good light controlled enviroment a plain white screen gives the best viewing angles (the screen looks just as good from anywere in the room) high power or high gain screens have a trade off since to make viewing in the "sweet spot" brighter they have to take light from outside the viewing cone and concentrate it into the narrow cone. A movie theater uses a flat viewing cone material that performs virtually the same as blackout cloth.are specailty screen materials better than a plain white screen?...only under certian circumstances in my opinion.
All newer projectors have a much shorter throw than older models meaning you can get a huge screen size in a modest room.but going to large has many drawbacks...you are limited to a high gain screen just because your going larger than the projector is intended forand the lumens have to be concentrated . (If your room is large enough to do this you should have no trouble affording the right screen. If you want to sit 12ft from a 150" screen well thats just uncomfortable. It may look cool and while the temtation to go over the edge like this especially when new to projection is great, you would most likely regret that desicion soon ...Try sitting in the very front row and the theater for like three movies in a row...Now imagine your neck at home after a week. Not to mention if you do this with dlp your more likely to see rainbows.

Interesting results, not what I expected based on lurking here for some time.


Polls like this probably should start with "If the rainbow effect doesn't bother you..", because I really think that's the major deciding factor based on the threads I have read here.

what is the rainbow effect?

First off, thank you for the thread. NOW, I do own the panny100 andit is BY FAR the best LCD when it comes to screen door effect. I truly cannot see it on a 106 in HC GreywolfII screen...but I truly hate the SSE. I will bwitching to MatteWh 108 inch next week. I work days/evenings, dso getting home with no lights is perfect for eithere screen. CC and BB have these screens for a great price. the DLPs have GREAT blacks, but the panny issoooo close that I believe only picky people will care (yes I'm one...but didn't have much choice. My celengs are 8 ft, and the screen drop is limited to 65 inches, so I was NOT ABLE to get a DLP due to furnishing/setups...the pannyisgreat sitting 6.5 feet up an a built shelf, throwing 1.2 feet across to a HC Grey GB screen. LOOK OUT for the sweetspot though. again, a reason why I'll be going to white.

As for prices...I URGE YOU TO LOOK AT THIS POST... I was able to obtain a Panny AX 100E (yes 100E...NOT 100U) for over 500 less. Search it out on various sites, and look agian. The difference is where they were produced. After calling Panasonic they informed me (on 2 different calls with 2 different people) that the specs are IDENTICLE. Warrantys vary though. So, I got a PJ, 4 yr plan, 3 yr (or 3 buld) replacement for 450.00 and without naming prices, I had it overnighted to me out of NY for 1800.00 EVEN. Yes warranty, with up to 3 bulbs, same specs, and in perfect working order. SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH, the deals are out there, and CC has a GREAT rebate from optima screens in the 106 catagory. I hope That helped.The blacks are yes, better on DLP, a grey screen brings out the blacks better, the 2000Lumens with this CR is great for viewing whenever ...but I can not get the perfect sweetsopt due to limitations on screen drop. (again why I'm switching to matte white.

(Mitz 3000U was my first choice BTW)

Heres a post I made on a different thread.

". Just recieved the GreywolfII Grey screen (glass bead) and I noticed something last night. I sit 12 feet from the screen, and as I got up to get snack as I looked at the screen from a slightly higher view the picture became better and better. as I sat down again the picture was more dim that it obviously could be. It reminded me of looking at a DLP style tv. I didn't know that there would be a sweet spot. And I am limited on the height of the screen....it cant fall any lower than 65 inches from the celing or it hits the sofa table below (which my plasma is on for regular viewing...then I retract the screen up/down for movies only). My point here is, ...If there is a sweet spot that I'm missing due to the fall of the screeen, can I adjust something to compinsate? Or shoud I get a matte screen, grey or white...or is this something (as a new pj owner) I have to live with. Also,,,As I held posterboard (white) over the screen it had ZERO sse. And my eyes were thanking me...but the detail on the posterboard was lost."

i had a similiar question about a month ago, what proj to get on a budget.

i was all set on the epson 810, untill i saw one. i havn't seen every projector out there, so i cant comment on these panasonic's, mitsu's and sanyo's. but the epson 810 is regarded as *one of the best* sub 3k LCD projectors, epson makes the LCD's for most of the other manufactures, as well as there own.

problems i had with it, picture looked overall washed out, and SDE on a 116" screen from 11' was to noticable, it really got to me on white shots. one thing i cant stand is seeing the lines seperating the pixels. i just was not extremely impressed. panasonic has smoothscreen, or somthing sounding like that, which can be accomplished by any other projector just taking it slightly out of focus.

this lead me to look at DLP's. rainbows, for the most part are a old wives tale. yes some people can see them, but as said, that was mostly the old 2x or 3 segment DLP's. alot of wanna-be's will claim they can see them because they think you have to have a better eye to see them, or only video philes can see them, so naturaly since they think they are both of those, they can see them...its like a elite club of super video philes. sounds like im joking, but im not. it has nothing to do with how "good your eye" is. with a modern 4x, 5x or 6x, i doubt you can see them more then .001% of the time

i just picked up a DT-500, working on my theater, but so far ive only threw the image up on a sheetrock wall to check it out, played xbox 360 for about 3 hours. the DT-500 has a 5x wheel, 6 segment (no white segment = better blacks) and is rated at 1200 lumens. brightness is not a fair comparison since they were in different enviorments, but it looks at least as bright, if not brighter then the epson 810. picture is not washed out at all like the epson and on a 120" screen, the same SDE that was visible from about 11', i need to be about 5' away to see.

i had a similiar question about a month ago, what proj to get on a budget.

i was all set on the epson 810, untill i saw one. i havn't seen every projector out there, so i cant comment on these panasonic's, mitsu's and sanyo's. but the epson 810 is regarded as *one of the best* sub 3k LCD projectors, epson makes the LCD's for most of the other manufactures, as well as there own.

problems i had with it, picture looked overall washed out, and SDE on a 116" screen from 11' was to noticable, it really got to me on white shots. one thing i cant stand is seeing the lines seperating the pixels. i just was not extremely impressed. panasonic has smoothscreen, or somthing sounding like that, which can be accomplished by any other projector just taking it slightly out of focus.

this lead me to look at DLP's. rainbows, for the most part are a old wives tale. yes some people can see them, but as said, that was mostly the old 2x or 3 segment DLP's. alot of wanna-be's will claim they can see them because they think you have to have a better eye to see them, or only video philes can see them, so naturaly since they think they are both of those, they can see them...its like a elite club of super video philes. sounds like im joking, but im not. it has nothing to do with how "good your eye" is. with a modern 4x, 5x or 6x, i doubt you can see them more then .001% of the time

i just picked up a DT-500, working on my theater, but so far ive only threw the image up on a sheetrock wall to check it out, played xbox 360 for about 3 hours. the DT-500 has a 5x wheel, 6 segment (no white segment = better blacks) and is rated at 1200 lumens. brightness is not a fair comparison since they were in different enviorments, but it looks at least as bright, if not brighter then the epson 810. picture is not washed out at all like the epson and on a 120" screen, the same SDE that was visible from about 11', i need to be about 5' away to see.I though I read that at least some of the epsons are manufactured by coretronics as well....along with hp projectors.

I need to see more projectors. So far I've only seen a BenQ DLP, Epson 1080. Going to see an AX100 tomorrow. Got offered a crazy good deal on a new AX100 but am scared of SDE. Will report in after Sunday.

The ax100 has done an incredible job with the SDE. ZERO black lines at 3-4 feet...and with your eyes about 1 foot I swear the lines aren't black to even start with. look on theit website (panny's website) and view their "images" of the old vs New. And as stupid as it might look or sound, thesepics really do show those differences.. I had to return the higher end Sony LCD because looking at a scene such as in National Treasure...in the onening when their going along in the snow...the snow looked grey and the drifting snow looked like little blocks. With the ax100 I was VER happy to see ZERO level ofblocking and the snow (beigh fronm the Adirondacks in NY) Looked Very normal and Natural. With a bit of tweaking the shimmer of the snows refracting waseven there. OUTSTANDING job on getting the SDE out of the picture at 12 ft viewing a 106 in screen (Greywolf II HC)

(If your room is large enough to do this you should have no trouble affording the right screen. If you want to sit 12ft from a 150" screen well thats just uncomfortable. It may look cool and while the temtation to go over the edge like this especially when new to projection is great, you would most likely regret that desicion soon ...

Thanks, It will be 135" with a seating distance of 14' (or 1.4 screen width). I hope it is not too annoying. I do like to sit close at the theaters, at least the first row of the second third. I hope someday my ceiling and side walls have screens on them :-) , but for now if it is annoying I can reduce the picture and mask any unused portions and go bigger later with an LED projector. But the budget problem stems from needing a whole new audio system too, so an extra $300 for a high gain and motorized screen (or $1000 as can be the case) will cost me a better amp.

I don't want to blow 6k on a proj right now (being so new to fp), so I am going panny for brightness and smooth screen on 135" with 15' throw and 14' viewing.

I don't want to blow 6k on a proj right now (being so new to fp), so I am going panny for brightness and smooth screen on 135" with 15' throw and 14' viewing.

That's what I'm thinking too, being my first projector and all. I have a DIY stretch lens coming to do 2.35 and want at least a 10' wide image, so the AX100 lumens on paper make sense. If you shop you can find (after rebate) the price is only a hair over 1k.

I can't wait to go see one tomorrow. If it's good enough I will skip looking at the HD1000U just to save time and order the AX100 Monday. If I see it and have any doubts I'll look at some more low end projectors and only if they all suck I'll start reading the $3000+ thread :)

let us know how your demo goes. I am mostly just looking for a starter set so as long as it is acceptable I think I am a go with the AX100

let us know how your demo goes. I am mostly just looking for a starter set so as long as it is acceptable I think I am a go with the AX100

I am getting the AX100. Less SDE on this 720 AX100 than the 1080 Epson!

92" Stewart Firehawk 16:9 grey screen, 14' viewing distance, awesome. No SDE even 7-10 feet away while displaying white. Less than 7-10 feet you could see a *little* but NOTHING like the 1080 Epson which popped out at you right at 7 feet.

Only one issue. On pans and sweeps edges "bled" especially on faces around the edges. Almost looked like interlacing trying to keep up if that makes sense. Only happened once in a while, watching digital cable HD, so I'm assuming the cablebox is not ouputting the friendliest rate to the projector. I have no idea what that output would be.

For the price of the AX100 projector I'm letting that panning issue slide. I hope it was the signal from the cablebox and I'll be feeding it only DVDs. Even if the DVD's don't clear it up I'm happy enough to get this as a first projector!

I'll be e-mailing Jason Turk to see what AVS best deal is.

I can't wait!

you would be remiss not to check out the hitachi pjtx100....... there have been quite a few people on this board that have both and have returned the panny and kept the hitachi....both have pluses and minuses but with such a price difference think of the extra things you could buy for your setup with the $$ you'll save.
I just got the hitachi this week....it was the best decision I ever made.......I temporarily had the panny and epson pro cinema 400 and returned those in favor of the hitachi....once you learn the basics of tweaking and calibrating your projector the options on the hitachi are unbelievable for a projector in this price range...plus it does an extraordinary job of accepting 1080p signal and processing it to its native resolution.

Curse you, why are you doing this to me? ;)

Curse you, why are you doing this to me? ;)I hate throwing another one into the mix, but I was all set on the HD1000 then I read about the new Sony VPL-AW15 for $1300(will street for less of course) being released in June with 12000:1 contrast, 1300 lumens, lens shift and only of 20dB fan noise. This hobby rots everytime I think I found what I want someone has to go and introduce a new model :) .

Oh well guess I'm waiting until june now. :D

I hate throwing another one into the mix, but I was all set on the HD1000 then I read about the new Sony VPL-AW15 for $1300(will street for less of course) being released in June with 12000:1 contrast, 1300 lumens, lens shift and only of 20dB fan noise. This hobby rots everytime I think I found what I want someone has to go and introduce a new model :) .

Oh well guess I'm waiting until june now. :D

I'm jumping in. No more shopping for me. You can waste a lifetime planning this stuff. AX100 here I come!

Yeah, you either have to poop or get off the pot sooner or later. Me I still have my Z2 and since I can't kill the darn lamp even with 5600 hrs on it, I'm not really in a hurry and can wait to see what the new Sony offers.

Good luck with the AX100 and let us know how you like it.