I was originally looking at the PJTX100 then I saw the PJTX200 and was really impressed with the image. I was at a local home show and saw the HDPJ52 demonstrated and felt it would meet my needs. That was in the spring and I called a local AV store in September concerning what size screen I could go with , I was told that the projector was on sale for $2500 cnd , a good deal I mentioned since the week before it went on sale for $2999. The salesman then informed me that for the rest of the sale it would include an extra bulb, then the fact there would not be any taxes on the for the remainder of the week. I called the Boss (wife) and told I was going to purchase it. I went to meet her at the bank. Before I could meet her I had an accident and broke my arm. :eek: I still wanted to get the projector but she convinced me to go to the hospital instead. I called the salesman and told him I would be there the next day.
It is currently ceiling mounted in my home theater room which is 98% completed .I impressed with the overall brightness the richness of the blacks and the vivid color. I met Tiddler at the local Home depot and decided to paint my own screen (see Doing it with Dr.Doom) I became his guinea pig for painting a full screen (Many thanks to Tiddler for the work he did on my screen and excellent results) I am very pleased with the screen. :D
Talking about the projector and how impresses both him and I are with the quality of the image (Using a HD Satellite Receiver) I felt that I should start a thread.
I was wondering if anyone else had opinions on the projector?

I started a similar thread, but for some reason there doesn't seem to be much interest. This PJ is head and shoulders above the TX100, but that thread has hundreds of responses, go figure! Anyway, the reviews for the HDPJ52 seem to be uniformly great, and the package price is excellent (at the store that must not be named)!

I thought about this projector as well.....but I went for the tx100 because of price....what does its newer brethern cost??
I imagine it a pretty darn good projector as well.....I really didn't see overwhelming reviews that compared the two to justify the difference in cost......I heard that the sde effect is supposedly less in the newer model.......out of the box it may be head and shoulders better; but with some tweaking and adding a high power screen the tx100 is pretty hard to beat for around the 599 price range.

what exactly are the differences between the two? other than newer lcd panels

The newer panels offer less SDE, but more importantly, it also has over FIVE TIMES the contrast! Pretty major difference, and well worth the extra cost, IMO.

I just bought this package from a store, and am worried about the screen quality there were no details. Does anyone have any info on it?

I'm concerned because the image will throw between 16-17ft, and i want to be able to get a good picture for the 106" screen.

The newer panels offer less SDE, but more importantly, it also has over FIVE TIMES the contrast! Pretty major difference, and well worth the extra cost, IMO.

There are no D6 720p panels. All current or past generation 720p projectors are using the same D5 panels.

The D6s don't really have 5 times the contrast either. Having seen both D5s and D6s, I really think that the improvement (contrast and black levels) is modest and still not at dlp levels.

That being said, the HDPJ52 is a good projector, especially for the money and is probably the best bang for your buck that I know of right now, especially for those who that have mounting issues that make them unable to get one of the cheap dlps. It is very configurable, has great contrast and acceptable blacks (at the expense of detail however), is whisper quiet, and extremely flexible.

I just bought this package from a store, and am worried about the screen quality there were no details. Does anyone have any info on it?

I'm concerned because the image will throw between 16-17ft, and i want to be able to get a good picture for the 106" screen.

I have heard that the screen is .9 gain. I believe that this is the screen (based on the vendor that is mentioned in a related thread)

http://www.stampede-usa.com/supplyimages/WF00005/FixedENG.pdf

With a screen of that gain, your best bet is to have the adjustible iris in like the 7 position. That is what I used with my Matte White screen. It will do the job.

There are no D6 720p panels. All current or past generation 720p projectors are using the same D5 panels.

The D6s don't really have 5 times the contrast either. Having seen both D5s and D6s, I really think that the improvement (contrast and black levels) is modest and still not at dlp levels.

That being said, the HDPJ52 is a good projector, especially for the money and is probably the best bang for your buck that I know of right now, especially for those who that have mounting issues that make them unable to get one of the cheap dlps. It is very configurable, has great contrast and acceptable blacks (at the expense of detail however), is whisper quiet, and extremely flexible.

The TX100 used D4 panels, and was rated at 1200:1 contrast. The HDPJ52 uses D5 panels, which allows less screen door, and it's rated at 7000:1 contrast. While real world numbers are always lower, this is still a huge difference, and makes the PJ52 a much better candidate than the earlier TX100.

The HDPJ52 also takes into account the auto iris when measuring contrast ratio, which is how they achieved a 7000 to one rating. While it is a better projector, the leap from D4 to D5 was not that dramatic.

Both are terrific bargains and if you search in the 3k plus forums you will see more posts due to the previous price points.

Congrats on the new setup. Tiddler has done some great work for DIYers!

I have heard that the screen is .9 gain. I believe that this is the screen (based on the vendor that is mentioned in a related thread)

http://www.stampede-usa.com/supplyimages/WF00005/FixedENG.pdf

With a screen of that gain, your best bet is to have the adjustible iris in like the 7 position. That is what I used with my Matte White screen. It will do the job.


Do think painting the screen would effectively increase the gain?

Do think painting the screen would effectively increase the gain?

What makes you think that you have to do that?

Try it as it is. I think that you can get a good picture with this screen.

The HDPJ52 also takes into account the auto iris when measuring contrast ratio, which is how they achieved a 7000 to one rating. While it is a better projector, the leap from D4 to D5 was not that dramatic.

Both are terrific bargains and if you search in the 3k plus forums you will see more posts due to the previous price points.

Congrats on the new setup. Tiddler has done some great work for DIYers!



I think that the move to D5 panels, coupled with the auto iris, is what has made LCD projectors competitive with their DLP rivals. Those older D4 machines just could not produce decent blacks. Every advancement in technology brings incremental improvement, at the least, so why not take advantage of it? All things considered, the D5/auto iris is more of an improvement for LCDs than the DLP move to DC3 from DC2+.