What was the first HT projector you auditioned and thought about buying ??

I think mine was the HT200 from Sim2..

Sharp 9000
It started everything for me.

Infocus 4800. And I thought it was great! When I saw it I couldn't believe that I could have something like this in my home. Didn't buy it though. Got a Z3 instead. Now I'm looking at either the Z5 or Epson Home cinema 1080. Probably going to get the Epson.
Later.

Sony HS10, I liked it so much I bought it! Still running fine 4 years later.

Sony VW10. Started the whole thing for me.

Davis DLS8 which I bought and used with HTPC in 2000.

Davis DLS8. I bought one!

The Advent and the Kloss Novabeam. I auditioned the Kloss Novabeam at the company that made it in Cambridge, MA, right in my neighborhood.

Infocus 7205, JVC HD10 (not sure I've got the model number right), Sharp 10000

The Advent and the Kloss Novabeam. I auditioned the Kloss Novabeam at the company that made it in Cambridge, MA, right in my neighborhood.

Man, I was a teenager when that thing came out, I read about it and I really, really wanted one, but they were waaay too expensive for me at that time.

My first fp setup i ever saw was a 4:3 Sharp about 10 years ago. It was nothing special as the screen wasn't very big and it was before widescreen native pj's were available. What really got me excited about front projection was the Sony 10ht I saw at Hifi Buys in Nashville about 8 years ago. It was shooting 480p dvd on a large screen and at the time it blew me away. Within a year our new theater was finished and I bought my 13hd(plv-60).

I still recall that first WOW moment with the 10ht like it was yesterday. :)

Dwin Transvision 4, I wanted that projector so bad and almost got it but it had a fixed lens so that was a no go. So I checked out the marantz vp8600 and thought it was great which it was for it's time. Now I can't wait for the RS1 to arrive!

Sharp xv-s55u (which I bought as my first projector)

Sharp 9000 and Sharp 10000 for me.

Back when CRT was it I went to a show that had a GE Talaria ( spelling? ) on a huge screen. Very bright and smooth. I was in awe. Only showed static images ( slide show ) but I was wowed by the size and brightness of the image. I wanted one badly.
My very first digital projector was ether the David 800x600 model or the Sony w400 wide screen LCD. Cant remember. Coming from CRT I could not believe the technology in this tiny little box.
I added a cinema scope lens to the Davis and built my first curved scope screen which a few forum members visiting saw and were wowed. It was a crude setup but what made it wow was the fact it was probably one of a kind setup for its day!
I used a HTPC with YXY for aspect ratio control. The memories :)

Almost 10 years later here we are ;)

I demo'd a Sim 200 at home. Soon thereafter, bought a Sharp Z9000 (which I still have in the closet as a backup). Currently using an Epson Cinema Pro 1080.

mooneycj

About 12 years ago...

The first digital projector was a sharp LCD, I don't remember the model number, but it was very low resolution 640x480 I think. I described it as looking at a nice image through a chain link fence, with higher resolution we now call it a screen door... ahh, progress!

I ended up buying a new video grade Seleco CRT projector. That day On the way home with the CRT projector in the back of my '89 Firebird Formula 350, I stopped by McDonalds to see a girl I liked.. and to get a burger too. A few weeks later we had our first date, and we watched The Flintstones on the new projector. Today she is my wife and we have seen hundreds of movies and been through a few projectors, including an NEC 6pg CRT used from AVS, and most recently an H710 also from AVS. Interestingly enough, they were all about $3500 each.

I read an article in a HT mag a few years ago defending spending tens of thousands of dollars on a home theater. Their argument was that many people have no problem spending $30,000 on a boat that they will use a few times a year, whereas a home theater can be used by the whole family several times a week.

I can say I don't regret the money dumped into this hobby. My '68 Corvette is another story :rolleyes:

~Jay

actually, mine was the sony ruby at 6th ave. I have seen other projectors at office meetings, but I dont think you are referring to presentation projectors.

been through a few,

~Jay

Cool story Jay!
Glad you said projectors and not wife's ;)

Viewsonic 830 (rebadged Davis DL450). Great SVGA projector. The variable speed color wheel sync'ed to whatever refresh rate you sent it. Really did a great job minimizing RBE.

Bought it and now that I think about it... I never did sell that projector!

Scott I think that David projector was responsible for starting the digital craze on this forum. For so many of us that was our first digital.

Advent Videobeam ,around 1980 ,at a store called Opus One in downtown Pittsburgh.

Art

Art I forgot about that one. They had that curved silver screen. In its day it was a true home theater big screen experience.

The first was some ancient lcd that had horrendous screen door. I passed. A few years later came the Sharp 9000. It wowed me, but I decided to wait. Little did I know that I would wait four more years until the Panny AX-100 to actually make a purchase. And now I have the RS-1. Meanwhile, I must have worn out a couple of Stanley tape measures and a few friendships while talking big and forever planning.

The first projector I auditioned was the Panasonic PTL-75U. It wasn't really a HT projector, it was a business projector. I remember being absolutely wowed by it watching scenes from Jurassic Park at the demo.

I then moved on to an Epson TW100, Epson Cinema 500, and currently have an Optoma H79. Due to the start up and short lamp life of the H79, I'm on the verge of replacing that with the JVC RS1.

I was lucky in that when I upgraded the first 3, I was able to do so at minimal cost (i.e. I got back most of all the money I paid for the previous projector). This upgrade from the H79 will cost me. But I can't sleep until I have the RS1 in my theatre. My health and peace of mind is worth a few thousand dollars, isn't it? :D

Scott I think that David projector was responsible for starting the digital craze on this forum. For so many of us that was our first digital.Alan,
I think you're correct. I recall a great deal of buzz with everyone trying to find those "not very common" projectors!

I used a HTPC with YXY for aspect ratio control. The memories :)

Almost 10 years later here we are ;)


Alan, I think I visited you on my way to Toronto in 2000 and saw your setup. You were also fiddling with a D-ILA on that day ;)

My setup at that time was also a Davis (not David! The company which went bancrupt a year later) and I used an HTPC Mark Reijhon helped me with.

BTW: I am using YXY again to cope with an ISCO lense in front of an JVC RS1/HD1/Dreambee with Cybelink Ultra and Blu-Ray/HD-DVD

I think the first projector I saw was at a Costco with all the lights blazing down on a cheap pull down screen free with purchase of a Infocus 4800. Remember being really disappointed and thinking that RPTV was the only way to go. After switching about 6 RPTVs at BB in a year and finally being told that I would never be satisfied at that price point I started saving up for a projector. Finally after 6 months of research and saving I finally pulled the trigger on a Panny700 and was blown away. Saw several other demos of much better projectors but they never looked as good due to bad set-ups. Got a RUBY over a year ago and will probably keep it for a few more years until prices get so low that I cant resist upgrading. I have to say I have gotten more than my monies worth out of this hobby and enjoy it on a daily basis.

NEC LT150z in my home. I still have a soft spot for NEC's, too bad they're out of the HT game.

Yamaha LPX510 on a 106" Firehawk screen at "The Big Picture" outside of Denver. They had it set up to a DBox system showing LOTR. It was a very nice set up.

When I was thinking about a projector back in early 1999, I started reading this forum and based on Alan and Steve Bruzonsky's suggestion went to find a dealer with a Dwin HD-700... I ended up with one in my theater room.

I've played with many presentation projectors over the years (InFocous, Proxima, Nec, etc.), but I always went back to the Dwin. I liked its picture, and specially its near silent operation in my bat cave.

As I started seeing more and more 1080p content, I got the upgrade itch and got on the pre-buy list for the JVC RS1. It arrived last week and I'm enjoying it now!

The first one I saw was the Advent Videobeam. A few years later..I think 1982 or '83 I bought 3 Kloss units for use in a club I owned. I didn't really look at any for quite a few years till '99 or 2000 and bought a G1000 sight unseen just from AVS reports, G15 later, then the RS1.

Larry

I saw a couple of those big Sonys CRT's at Home Electronics in Houston in the very early 80's I think. They were very dim with lousy contrast and color as I recall (and this store was supposed to be the truly high end stuff with all the expertise), and they cost a fortune (which that store was known for). A little later I saw some Sharp in a huge new store something like a Fry's but I don't think it stayed in business for a year. That sharp LCD had so much screen door you could barely tell what the image was, and it was dim. They always showed everything with the lights on too, which made it impossible to see anything. I thought you had to be a sucker to buy one at that time.

During those years I had a fold out CRT FP on a curved silver 50" screen from Sears, that could look fantastic with the rare good signal. I went RP after than up through a 70" until:

In the late 90's I found this forum after stumbling onto a Dreamvision (French) DLP that gave what I thought was a stunning picture that was probably 100" diagonal 4:3. I was salivating. It hurt. When I got the guts and after reading and talking to a good saleman, I started buying pj's sight unseen. First a DLP (low contrast and dim though it was described as a "light cannon" then - Infocus LP350 clone from Boxlight) and then my much brighter and more colorful LCD's since.

The first PJ I saw in action was an Infocus X1. I was so amazed by the picture that I bought one the same day, when I saw it at Cosco. I was not planning such a buy on that day, in fact I had never considered buying a PJ before that very moment!