I can’t decide which projector to buy. This is ridiculous. I feel like a woman. All of these projectors are in my price range.

Samsung SP-H710AE
Mitsubishi HC1500
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 400
Sanyo PLV-Z5
Panasonic PT-AX100U
BenQ W500

A little about me:
· I own a Mitsubishi Diamond 65” CRT RPTV (the one with the 9” guns), which has made me a huge fan of shadow detail.
· My room is 13’ X 19’
· I have total light control.
· My screen has a 1.3 gain, and is 120”
· This will mainly be for HD-DVD and DVD movie viewing.
· I will also occasionally use it for football parties and playing video games.
· I like long walks on the beach and listening to Barry White by the fireplace.
· My wife likes the cheapest projector best.

Thanks for the help,

I forgot to mention that I am terrified of rainbows. I have yet to see a rainbow while watching a DLP display, but I have less than 2 hours of DLP viewing under my belt.
Also, I failed to mention that this will be a dedicated HT room.

if the panny is in your price range then you might as well skip the rest and check out the marantz vp4001, you can get it with warranty for less than $1300 shipped.

the z5 would be nice but that's an awfully large screen for it's weak lumen output and the samsung would be a really good choice provided you don't get a lemon.

the epson 400 and the w500 are the two steady performers - not brilliant at anything - let me rephrase that, the w500 is a brilliant scaler, but extremely durable with pleasing colors.

I really like the reviews I read on the Samsung SP-H710AE. What issues do they have?

Is the Sharp XV-Z3000 the same as the Marantz?

the marantz is based on the xv-z3000 and until someone proves otherwise the marantz has improved custom optics and comes better calibrated (this is strictly manufacturer info for differences)

the 710ae had a long history of startup problems. nobody really knows if those problems have been resolved but the current batch from the discount online vendors seem to having minimal issues thus far.

I would like to know where you can get the marantz vp4001 for $1300 shipped? It must be a refurb.

I would like to know where you can get the marantz vp4001 for $1300 shipped? It must be a refurb.

me too. PM me with the details.

I can't speak to the others but I have a Mitsubishi HD1000 that is almost identical to the HC1500 and I love it.

I have it in a 21' x 11.5' room with a 92" screen. I am sure the HC1500 would be plenty bright for your 120" screen because it has a little more lumens than my HD1000 and even on low power mine is plenty bright in a light controlled room.

I am sure each of the models you listed has their pros and cons and all are probably excellent choices.

Before I got my proj. last January I have been using a Mitsubishi RPTV like you. Mine was purchased in 1999 or 2000 and was a 55" Diamond Plus. We wanted the 65" but the house we were in at the time had the bonus room above the garage and with a strange stairway the 65" would not go up!

I had to make a similar decision.
I decided on the Panasonic PT-AX100U due to my screen size (about the same as yours). The extra lumens would help with some ambient lighting if it needed it. A screen that large will require a further mounting distance, and thus more brightness. As well, running the projector in economy mode would produce a better image than something like the Sanyo.

Projector People also single handily recommended the Panasonic versus the Sanyo and similar. The rebate with the free mount is a killer deal.

A lot of online reviews generally point towards the Panasonic. It seems to be the best for the money. That isn't to say the other projectors are bad though. I vote Panasonic PT-AX100U.

How is the shadow detail on the Panny? Projectorreviews.com makes the Samsung sound awesome.

bump