Hello everyone - Ive been lurking these forums for awhile... This being my first post just wanna say you guys are awesome... (forgive my rambling one too many sips of whisky)

I currently own a 4805. The lady and I have decided to step into the 1080p market - Looking to spend around 4k. I was thinking the ptae1000u - Yet in concerned about the "life" of the lcd panels. Also considered the Epson home cinena 1080, and the optoma hd81.

Currently we watch loads of dvds using an htpc. We also have an xbox360. Dont have cable so.. sd isnt a concern. Will be getting a hd dvd player once we switch.
Ive been reading up on these three pjs. Im thinking the panny would suit me best given i can sit close - and still have a good image. that 5 year warranty sounds nice too. However I seem to see more people liking the optoma and the epson?

The 4805 just doesnt cut the mustard anymore. Its got around 2k hours on it, Already went thru one bulb. No warranty anymore - just waiting for it to die :(

So help me decide - Lets put it this way... I can get a new pj... or we can remodel the kitchen.. hrm..

What kind of celing height do you have? If you're considering the Optoma you'll want to have a tall ceiling if you're planning on a big screen. It has a great picture but just very restrictive on mounting options. Unless you have a tall ceiling of course.

You might want to throw the Pearl into the mix at the top end of your
budget. You won't see any SDE on the Pearl if that is what you are concerned about.