A couple of years ago a did a ton of research (mostly here) before buying my first front PJ and ended up with the InFocus 4805. We've enjoyed in immensely. Now that HD capable machines are coming into my price range I sense many hours of research are ahead of me again. There are lots of threads here on different projectors and I'm hoping to get some help with creating my "short list" from which to start my efforts. When the 4805 came on the market there was a lot of buzz surrounding it so I focused on it and then compared all others to it. At this point my knowledge of the 1080 market is very limited so I feel that my research and ultimate decision processes will be tougher this time. Any help with getting to my short list would be much appreciated.

I have a dedicated theater room, light controlled. Viewing distance with the IF4805 is 12 feet. The viewing distance could be anywhere from nose on the screen to about 18 feet. The ceiling mount places the projector lens about 7 feet, 4 inches off the floor. My screen is home made but I'm willing to consider buying a screen or covering mine with commercially available screen material.

Thanks in advance for any help from this knowledgable and passionate group of folks.

Well, if your budget is in this (US$3000 or less MSRP) forum, then you have only one official choice, the Epson Home Cinema 1080. It is an excellent projector. If you can spend around $5000 or maybe more, the JVC RS1 is getting the best reviews.

The panasonic ae1000 is also underk 3k with rebate. Here is a comparison test


http://www.projectorreviews.com/Best1080pProjectors042007/

A couple of years ago a did a ton of research (mostly here) before buying my first front PJ and ended up with the InFocus 4805. We've enjoyed in immensely. Now that HD capable machines are coming into my price range I sense many hours of research are ahead of me again. There are lots of threads here on different projectors and I'm hoping to get some help with creating my "short list" from which to start my efforts. When the 4805 came on the market there was a lot of buzz surrounding it so I focused on it and then compared all others to it. At this point my knowledge of the 1080 market is very limited so I feel that my research and ultimate decision processes will be tougher this time. Any help with getting to my short list would be much appreciated.

I have a dedicated theater room, light controlled. Viewing distance with the IF4805 is 12 feet. The viewing distance could be anywhere from nose on the screen to about 18 feet. The ceiling mount places the projector lens about 7 feet, 4 inches off the floor. My screen is home made but I'm willing to consider buying a screen or covering mine with commercially available screen material.

Thanks in advance for any help from this knowledgable and passionate group of folks.

You certainly don't need 1080p to enjoy HD. The real value, right now, is 720p. If you must have 1080p, consider waiting. Expect half the going prices a year from now.

Refurb'd Benq directly from Benq

There is a new entry in the under 3K 1080P as of today.
http://www.twice.com/article/CA6448441.html

It is bound to start getting crowded soon with 1080P's in this forum.

Kevin C. :)

I'm sort of in the same boat, I originally had an X1 - got an upgrade to the 4805 and have just been biding my time waiting for a 1080p projector that will satisfy me for many, many years to come. But my timeline for upgrading runs into the first half of next year if need be. So my suggestion would also be to wait and watch the announcements as they come in. I'm waiting for a choice between several $2k to $3k 1080p DLP projectors with HDMI 1.3 and the capability to play back material at 24 FPS (or some multiple that allows for smooth playback). Sealed optics, the ability to truly turn the PJ off with the remote, long lamp life, and some other usability features will definitely be on my list too though.

There is a new entry in the under 3K 1080P as of today.
http://www.twice.com/article/CA6448441.html

It is bound to start getting crowded soon with 1080P's in this forum.

Kevin C. :)
I was kind of surprised to see the HD80 with a DC2 chipset.

The key to 1080p, as mentioned above, is to simply wait. This is the first year of cheap 1080p's, and prices are still at a premium. 720p machines are falling like boulders on a California highway......480p machines have literally disappeared from the market overnight.

1080p? Wait till next year.

Well, the consensus is to be patient so I guess I'll continue to enjoy my 480p resolution and hope the bulb holds up. I appreciate everyone's replies.

I've seen most of the 1080p projectors well setup and I can say.....they look great ,but I don't see the real wow in them at this point. If you want to be the first kid on the block with one....go ahead ,but for me.....1080i works enough.

I have a 4805 with a couple thousand hours on it, but it still looks great to me even though the new stuff is sounding great, and I'm getting the bug bad. The old 4805 was the first and it still looks great, so like some of the other folks out there, I'll be waiting a while for the prices to fall a bit. JD

I am getting the bug as well... CEDIA is just around the corned (in Sep.) and will give us the first look at next season's PJs. My 4805 still gives me plenty... I am like a little kid with my 100" image.

...if the bulb blows... that is another thing...
;)

I just purchased the Epson Home 1080 and a 100-inch High Power screen. I am blown away by this combination on Blu-ray and HD DVD movies/concerts. I don't see how you could do better for about $3500 if you buy new.

IMO, 1080p is a bit of rip off right now. It's not THAT much better than 720p unless you get a unit like the Pearl or RS1. Resolution wise it's marginally better and past 1.5x the width of the screen you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference a large majority of the time.

Basically, if there was a 720p RS1 and 1080p RS1 I'd pay no more than $500 more for the 1080p version. All I'm saying is that if I'm going to pay $1,500 more than I could get an HC3000U or DT-500 for (actually I can get a DT-500 for HALF that price) it better have very significant improvements beyond just resolution and only the RS1 and Pearl have those due to having a high native contrast to begin with.

Guys, 720p to 1080p isn't what we should want right now:

What we should want are Contrast Ratios above 5000:1 native....more like 10,000:1.

The added resolution just makes an already super-sharp picture even sharper, but a huge bump in contrast would be much more visually impressive.

Guys, 720p to 1080p isn't what we should want right now:

What we should want are Contrast Ratios above 5000:1 native....more like 10,000:1.

The added resolution just makes an already super-sharp picture even sharper, but a huge bump in contrast would be much more visually impressive.

i'd agree with that.

For movies, I think it depends on the individual. If you have eagle eyes and are always looking for sharp detail you'll probably appreciate the 1080p more, esecially if you're one of those people that likes to sit at less than 1.5 screen width for a more immersive experience. (assuming HD content being viewed) What's the THX standard? 1.3x? I can't remember.

At my house we once went from 720p lcd down to 576p dlp. most loved the amazing contrast and three-dimensional image, while a couple couldnt get passed the loss of resolution, even at over 1.5x seating. If you have beter-than average vision and are always able to tell when a pj is out of focus, you will probably appreciate the 1080p.

For multipurpose theater/computer use there is no question. Try browsing the web normally for a week on 1280x720. It is just not enough since many web pages are designed to be viewed at 1024x768. Granted, a 1280x768 projector will fix that though.. But a 1920x1080desktop is a breath of fresh air to use.. especially if you're showing high res photos or working on on big projects or viewing more than one window at a time.

For console gaming all you need is 720p. For computer gaming, the main advantage over console gaming nowadays IS the resolution, so you should either get 1080p or go 720p and trade your computer gaming system in for a console.