I'll list some details to help the knowledgeable make some reccomendations.

1. Room recieves a little ambient sun light during the day...can be cut down almost completely if needed.
2. Weekdays - night viewing only.
3. Weekends - sports throughout day and night.
4. Must be mounted on coffee table or AV rack(vaulted ceilings that go way high)
5. SD picture is not of much concern at all....as I watch DVD's & HD programming 90%+ of the viewing time.
6. 1100 lumens...saw a FP with this and it is a little too dim....so 1200+ lumens
7. Budget -- $1600 for projector
8. Seating -- ~12' from wall


Questions:
1. How much difference does the type of viewing material make?(different quality screens as well as DIY ones)
2. How much difference does HDMI make for FP's over component?(same as flat panel tv's?)
3. I was told that the smaller the screen(image throw) the better all projectors look, so a projector that can do 100"+ would look better on a 92" or 84" screen....is this true?
4. Do I want/need/situation warrants a CRT or LCD or DLP?
5. How big do I want to go - IYO - with a 12' viewing distance whild saving as much PQ as possible?

I'll take a shot at this one E-A-G-L-E-S ... iggles!

Questions:
1. How much difference does the type of viewing material make?(different quality screens as well as DIY ones) It appears that you are asking about screens here, so I'll approach it from that point. You'll get as many opinions on this topic as there are members in this forum, but here's mine. I have a white-paint-on-drywall 'screen'. I have compared it to several matte white screens that I have acquired over the years and it's properties are identical. If you are viewing in some ambient light, many will recommend a high gain screen. This directs more lumens back into the viewing cone, however the cone (viewing angle) will be much narrower. Some say the screen makes the image. My experience says to go cheap ... paint if you can or go matte white. But that's just my opinion. (0ne advantage of painting your screen on the wall is that you can always change the size by simply repainting it a different size.)

2. How much difference does HDMI make for FP's over component?(same as flat panel tv's?) This one is out of my field of experience, but will likely depend on how picky a viewer you are. Many will say the difference is negligable if it can be seen at all. Others will tell you it's noticable.

3. I was told that the smaller the screen(image throw) the better all projectors look, so a projector that can do 100"+ would look better on a 92" or 84" screen....is this true? Well, the smaller the screen, the closer the pixels to each other on the screen, so yes, this is true. The bigger the screen, to easier it is to see pixel structure. Also, 1200 lumens on an 84" screen is quite a bit brighter than 1200 lumens on a 106" screen. I watch my old X1 (about 300 lumens) occasionally in almost broad daylight at just about 42" and it's a beautiful pic. Open that up to 84" and it would be almost unviewable (is that a word?) because the image is too dim. Same amount of lumens concentrated into a smaller area = brighter pic. Having said that, once you get used to an 84" screen (and believe me ... you will) you'll be looking to go 92 ... 106 ... and beyond. The whole purpose of front projection is that size really does matter. Bigger is better.

4. Do I want/need/situation warrants a CRT or LCD or DLP? Oh boy, you open a huge can of worms here. This debate has filled literally thousands of posts (tens of thousands?). I've only owned DLP, so I'm not qualified to debate this topic, but it's all over this forum if you look a little. They are all different and offer different advantages (and disadvantages). CRTs seem to offer the best blacks, but they are relative beasts in size by comparison to digitals. DLPs appear to have deeper blacks than LCD, but many LCDs have lens shift which makes projector placement easier. If its your first PJ ... they're all good.

5. How big do I want to go - IYO - with a 12' viewing distance whild saving as much PQ as possible? I am also at about 12' viewing. I started out at 92", but after a year or so, it just started looking like a big screen instead of a theater screen, so I expanded that to 106" (which is all I can fit to this point without moving furniture and outlets). That is now starting to look like the 92" did, but I'm probably stuck here (tragic, eh?) for a while. That does not directly address your question, however. The answer to that really depends on how discerning a viewer you are. Some are at around 12' diagonal from that distance, but that's REALLY big. Personally, I wouldn't go less than 92", but that's just my opinion. You may look at that and think it's huge. You may also say "honey, pass me the opera glasses, I can't see the stitching on that guy's lapel".

OK ... so based on that what do you buy? That's really the question here isn't it? Rather than answer that at length here, I am going to refer you to the Marantz 4001 thread. I have posted my review there as well as several others. As I said there, I don't know if it's the BEST bargain out there because I haven't seen 'em all, but I will tell you with certainty that it is an EXCELLENT bargain. It's an absolute light cannon (which is critical for any daytime viewing -so you can see in detail just how bad he misplayed that punt ...). It has an adjustable iris, which allows you to control the amount of light that reaches the screen. If you are viewing in a dark environment, you don't really want a bright image so you can close the iris down and dim the lumens which will give you nice deep, detailed blacks. To watch the Eagles fly on a Sunday afternoon, all you need to do is open that iris up, set the picture to 'dynamic' and you've got 106" of near-plasma bright image to scream at (oh ... and they'll make you scream won't they?). It's the most amazing PJ I've ever seen (but bear in mind ... I haven't seen much). Reviews by others on that thread share my opinion based on what they have seen. Check it out ... and check out the many other threads that review different PJs. For $1,200.00 you'll get yourself into something that you just won't believe. It's a great time to jump in ... the quality of PJs for less than $1,500.00 would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. It's a tough decision because you can't see them in action in a store like you can a TV. That's why this forum is such a valuable tool for shopping. Join some threads and start asking questions. People here will jump at the opportunity to help out another kindred soul. Most (if not all) of us started the same way - buying a PJ based on information gotten here or similar forums. You'll be watching the Birds in 100+ inches of HD before you know it ...

GJ

GJ....just awesome!
Here's a little more for you.
I'm thinking a silver screen or gray screen to help with blacks with a possibility of a white matte.
I'm looking for 100"+.
I am a big fan of rear DLP's(have a 50" 1080P Samsung DLP now)...so I would lean their way but not to the point of excluding an lcd.

O.k. now to the projectors.
Here's a couple besides the Marantz v4001 I was considering.
1a - Mitsubishi HC3000U
1b - Panasonic PT-AX100U
1c - Marantz v4001
Then in no particular order:
-Mitsubishi HC1500
-Epson Home Cinema 400
-Sanyo PLV-Z5
-Optoma HD70
-Optoma HD72
-Optoma HD7100

I cannot find any of the top three in my budget which is under $1500....could you please lend a hand here?

Thanks so much - Matt

GJ....just awesome!
Here's a little more for you.
I'm thinking a silver screen or gray screen to help with blacks with a possibility of a white matte.
I'm looking for 100"+.
I am a big fan of rear DLP's(have a 50" 1080P Samsung DLP now)...so I would lean their way but not to the point of excluding an lcd.

O.k. now to the projectors.
Here's a couple besides the Marantz v4001 I was considering.
1a - Mitsubishi HC3000U
1b - Panasonic PT-AX100U
1c - Marantz v4001
Then in no particular order:
-Mitsubishi HC1500
-Epson Home Cinema 400
-Sanyo PLV-Z5
-Optoma HD70
-Optoma HD72
-Optoma HD7100

I cannot find any of the top three in my budget which is under $1500....could you please lend a hand here?

Thanks so much - Matt

Check the Marantz thread. It can be had for $1299 at the moment. Not sure about the other two. The Marantz also comes with a three year warranty.

bdbaba

On 'U' right? So that's just a hit or miss thing with availability?

Apparently $1299 at Accessories4less. It's been popping up on uBid from time to time at $1999.

Apparently $1299 at Accessories4less. It's been popping up on uBid from time to time at $1999.

Did they raise the price on U? That's a shame. They were $1299.

Birds Fan ... to my knowledge two of your top choices can be had for under $1,500.00. The Marantz is under $1.2k on the "U" (I think redfox had a typo there), the Mitsu 3000 can be had from that rain-forest-store for about the same. I believe the Panny is closer to $2k although I haven't shopped for it. Regarding the Marantz vs the Mitsu, read the following from the Marantz thread by chexi1 (I would have posted a link to it, but I don't know how. :confused: He's a much more discerning viewer than I, so his review/shootout should carry more weight than my opinion ...

"Okay, here is my final review of the Marantz v. Mits HC3000.

First, some important background information. I just watched the entire POTA on HD-DVD on my Mits HC3000. I then mounted my Marantz on my universal mount. It took a while to get it close to correct (several setups and removals). Note to self, the next pj will definitely have to have lens shift, vertical and horizontal. The Marantz has a shorter throw, and I was able to come close to correct geometry and size between moving the Marantz as far forward on the mount as possible and unzooming as much as possible. However, geometry was a bit off (angled down with bottom of the picture slightly wider than the top). Also, and very important, the picture did spill a little bit outside the borders of my frame even at minimum zoom. This is very important to note, as this means the overall picture of the Marantz was about 8’ – 10’ wider than that of the Mits.

After mounting the Marantz, I watched about 20 minutes of POTA. Same source, and both were via component cables, as I could not get HDMI to work on the Marantz yet with the Toshiba HD-A2.

I had full light control after I taped up black blankets over my arched entryway from the game room (I'm still working on velvet curtains). However, my room is not a bat cave. It is painted maroon, with 4 taupe columns. Again, plans are in the works to change this, but this is how the house came. Seats are also taupe, as is the carpet. I put a few black blankets down on the carpet in front of the screen to reduce reflective light. All this was true for both pjs.

Mits has about 900 hours on the bulb, so I use eco mode with wide iris. This gives me about the same lumen output as normal with narrow iris. I have calibrated this pj with Avia within the last 100 hours of use on the bulb (in eco mode).

I calibrated the Marantz with Avia, which was close, but not spot on out of the box. I actually increased brightness/black level to +1 and increased contrast to +3. No other changes.

The screen is a Screen Innovations 8' wide, 16:9 aspect ratio white screen. I am not sure what the gain is… it came with the house. I know that it is not high gain, no glass beads or similar spotting issues. It’s probably between 1.0 and 1.3 gain max.

Finally, before we get into the details, let me say that the Mits is a very good 720p projector. When I finished watching POTA, I thought to myself, man I just wasted $XXXX bucks on this Marantz... I really should have held out, saved up, and bought the Benq W9000 that I was originally planning to buy, or something new shown at Cedia.

Okay, enough with the background, let's get the details!

I will start by saying that as good as a pj as the Mits HC3000 is, it really was not close. The Marantz beats the Mits on every single point (in many cases by a good margin) except 1, with a toss-up on 1 other.

Resolution/Screendoor. The biggest surprise for me comes first... screendoor. My first row of seats puts your head at about 11.5 feet from the screen. This puts your eyes almost at 1.5x screen width. At this distance, with my glasses on (which give me crystal clear 20:15 vision) I can see screen door on the Mits. Not always, but enough to make me sit in the back row by choice (putting me out of the sweet spot for audio). I especially see screen door on bright whites, and yellow flames. I can see screen door everywhere at about 10 feet. Again, this is with my glasses on. Without my glasses on (20:30 vision), I cannot see screen door from the front row.

Okay, now for the Marantz. No screendoor from the first row whatsoever. I double checked to make sure focus was spot on because I could not believe it. I mean, it’s still 720p… it’s still DLP… and I think it may even still be DC2 (not sure on this one). But after double checking the focus and watching scenes that I know I see screen door on the Mits, I could not see it. Not in bright whites, not in flames… not anywhere. Okay, so in anticipation of your next question, I pulled out the trusty old tape measure, laid it down on the floor, and walked until I could see the first evidence of screen door. It was not until I was at 8.5’ that I could see the first evidence of pixels. And remember… that’s actually on a wider picture! Due to the shorter throw of the Marantz, the picture was actually about 8.8’ wide. This means that with my glasses on, with 20:15 vision, I cannot see screen door until slightly less than 1x screen width. I did not even think this was possible for a 720p pj.

One further note on this, I had given up the idea of going with a 2.37:1 screen CIH setup due to the screen door of the Mits. With the Marantz, this could be back on the table for discussion.

EDIT NOTE: NO SCREENDOOR ON POTA, BUT I CAN SEE SCREEN DOOR ON DTV HD FROM 1ST ROW WITH MY GLASSES ON.

Black Level. This was my second biggest surprise, for the opposite reason. I found the black levels about equal with a slight nod to the Marantz. I was really expecting closer to CRT levels based on some other comments about black levels, but I found blacks to be only marginally better than on the Mits. That said, the Mits is a DC2 DLP with decent black levels. However, fade to blacks are not going to turn your room completely dark on either machine. I cannot recommend the Marantz as a CRT replacement if black levels are one or more of your primary decision criteria. They are better than a lot of digitals I have seen, but they are not CRT levels or really even close.

Shadow Detail. The Mits crushes the Marantz with respect to shadow detail… but not in a good way (gotcha!). The Mits was crushing blacks without me knowing it until I watched the same scenes on the Marantz. I saw creases in tuxedos that I never saw before. I saw details in fabric and clothing for the first time (this on a movie I have watched no fewer than 27 times on the Mits). I’m going from memory here from quite some time ago, but I even think that the Marantz’s shadow detail beat the RS-1 I demo’d for about 3 hours at a local dealer (in a comparably dark room). I think that I like the improvement in shadow detail more than any other factor. It is like watching an entirely new movie, because I am seeing things I never saw before.

Judder/Motion blur. Okay, this was a really pleasant surprise. I see judder/motion blur on pans quite a bit on the Mits or whenever I see a far amount of horizontal movement. This was much improved on the Marantz. Not to say that it was completely eliminated, but far less of it on the Marantz. Having smooth left-right pans really makes a difference in the experience to me. It the difference between watching a project picture and being there. Are eyes do not produce judder in real life, and the less of this on your pj, the better (IMHO). I was quite pleased with the reduction in judder/motion artifacts, as I was expecting no difference between the two pjs. Neither does 24 fps, so I expected there to be a fair amount for both, but the difference was indeed noticeable.

Colors. I had to make no changes in colors on the Marantz with iris set to medium in Theater 1 mode. A pro could certainly tweak more out of the color with the CMS system, but I am not that capable, so I left well enough alone. The colors on the Marantz seemed more vivid, but not oversaturated. It is hard to describe, but I definitely preferred the color reproduction on the Marantz. I saw gold flecks on Carlotta’s hands that looked like gold flecks (during her initial breakdown scene). I never noticed these on the Mits. In fact, metallic colors (especially gold) really looked great on the Marantz. With the Marantz, I saw glitter on Christine’s face during her Aria that looked like glitter. I barely noticed the glitter on the Mits. Flesh tones were also a bit better on the Marantz. They are good on the Mits, so there really was not much room to improve, but Marantz found a way to do so.

Rainbows. I still see rainbows occasionally on the Marantz, but far less frequently… and I really tried hard. On other DLPs that I have viewed (including the Mits), I can almost always see them in scenes with candles, but with the Marantz, very rarely. They are not 100% gone on the Marantz, but I would say improvement is several fold over the Mits. There were even black and white scenes that I could not see them on, which are probably the easiest to spot them if you know how.

Pop. The Mits had good pop. The Marantz has great pop. The 3D effect is materially more present with the Marantz. This is likely a result of a combination of no screen door, much better shadow detail, and better colors. This really was like looking through a window, or in some instances, breaking the window, climbing through, and joining the party. Note, I do not recommend throwing your bottle through your screen to join the party!

Fan Noise. When the Marantz’s fan is in low mode, it is quieter than the Mits. It is quiet enough in low mode that I do not hear it at all when there is normal volume levels. I have my audio calibrated and watched at reference sound levels. At these levels, I could not hear the fan. Then again, I cannot hear the Mits’ fan either during normal volume levels, but I do hear the color wheel from time to time. I did not hear the color wheel on the Marantz. Time will tell if that changes. That said, this is my toss up category, and here is why. The Mits stays on low fan mode constantly until you shut it off. Then it cranks up. The Marantz, however, starts in high mode, goes to low after a minute or two, but seemed to occasionally switch into high mode while watching the movie. In high mode, I can hear it during normal volume levels. So, generally the Marantz is quieter, but not always. Hence, I have to give it a toss-up rating on this one.

Digital Noise. If you read my preliminary review, then you probably guessed this was the one that the Marantz fell short on… and it is. I watched for digital noise, dither, or whatever it is called very carefully on the Mits. I saw it in 1 scene, on the Maestro’s music book when they did the ballet from Act III after the Phantom killed Joseph Bukay. It was for a second only. On the Marantz I saw digital noise numerous times. For those with POTA and this projector, the scenes where I definitely saw it are the pan down during the end of Christine’s debut Aria where the camera pans down to the hole in the floor and you get your first glimpse of the Phantom. There was definitely digital noise during that pan that was not present on the Mits (probably due to the black being crushed on the Mits). I also saw it shortly after that on some pans during the cast party shortly after the previous scene (watch the black jackets). I stopped watching shortly after this scene, so I cannot point to any other scenes, but I am sure there are more (hey I like the movie, but let’s face it, 2 full showings in 1 day would be too much for any sane person).

Lumens. Plenty on the Marantz for an 8’ screen in eco mode with medium iris, but I have no meter to provide a number, and cannot really compare the two pjs because the Marantz has a new bulb and the Mits has 900 hours. With light control, even narrow iris is fine with the Marantz, but I think the colors are better with a medium iris. The whites get too muted with a narrow iris. (Might be good news for those looking for a sharp DT500).

Final Impressions. With the exception of digital noise on select dark scenes (which I hope to find a fix for), the Marantz equaled or exceed the Mits in every category. Most notable were shadow detail, lack of screen door, judder/smoothness, colors, rainbows, and pop. Will I be keeping it? You bet I will. I will even move my mount for it. I see no need to go to 1080p anytime soon, and by the time I do, I will probably have paid less for both the Marantz and whatever 1080p I get (which could very well be a Marantz based on my current impressions of their “low-end” pj) than if I had bought a 1080p now.

Oh, and now that I have completely torpedoed the Mits… I have a Mits for sale."

Granted, this is only one person's views, but it is a head-to-head shootout which you'll likely never get the chance to see for yourself. From what I've seen in this forum, the Sharp offerings are something to consider as well (I believe there's the DT-500 and an XV-Z3000) and both are in your range. All are DLP. You might want to look them up here.

The others you listed in no particular order are all very good projectors (I shopped all the same models - well, all that are DLP - when I went looking for 720p), but based on what I've read here and what your requirements are, I believe they would all rank below your top three.

1100 is fine ..if u PM me I can give u a link on some great screen paint to help your pic/ambient light issues.

If u want more lumens go with the Epson 400- Avoid the Pany AX100.

DT-500. The review for the Marantz seems like a very accurate reivew of the DT-500 sinnce on medium iris for the Marantz they are basically the same. Superb unit the DT-500 is and very bright when you need it to be. I watched Over The Hedge on DVD and it looked like HD. I was showing 720p Windows media HD clip to her on her new laptop and she was like "Wow. That looks really good." and then I told her to look up at my 9' diagonal screen playing "Over the Hedge" (with the light ON) and asked her how it looked and she goes "Wow. That looks real!". So, Over the Hedge blew her away even with the light on. :D

BTW, not all 1100 lumen projectors are accurate I don't think. The X1 never appeared as bright as my 600 lumen 4805 despite its higher rating. The DT-500 is a light canon even compared to the 4805.

Just got back from a thetaer store about an hour away and saw epson 400 and mitsubishi 3000.
What are you opinions on them?

The Mits HC3000 is much better if you have a dark room. The epson is brighter and much cheaper ($900) and has lens shift. The eqivalnet mits is the HC1500 which is even brighter than the epson and is also $900.

How much will I miss the contrast - iyo? I 'love' contrast when it comes to flat panel/DLP rears, but don't know how it equates in FP world. As in do i want brighter colors or deeper blacks. and how much they differ in the FP world.

If you're a contrast guy, then you'll miss it a bunch. From what I understand, the LCDs don't quite have the contrast that DLPs do, but that knowledge is from reading here in the forum, not first-hand. One of the weaknesses of most of the budget projectors is in the contrast. Many of the DLPs in the lower price range have a clear segment on the color wheel which makes the contrast numbers look good, but they suffer from blacks that are just dark grey. If you are looking DLP, look for one that doesn't have a clear segment for deeper blacks. I believe the Mitsu 3000, the Marantz, and the Sharp are all without the clear segment.

Not all LCD's are alike and DLP's do have higher contrast only in ansi contrast rating where black and white are mixed in one frame. Sony panel have native contrast same as DLP in on/off and 250 asni which is about half of the ansi a better DLP would produce.
If you like contrast in every scene including dark scenes such night shots get a Sony AW-15 or HS-60 (off the bay for real cheap) but need light control for serious black level show case. Otherwise a DLP such as DT-501 or similar would do it.

Get yourself a DT-500 or Z3000 and you will have a projector that is great in the dark or in ambient light. Best of both worlds. BTW, I personally prefer a LARGER image for the visual impact. I'm at 9'2" diagonal right now, but I want to move up to at least 10.5' wide, preferrably 11.5' wide or larger. I would NEVER run a projector at 84-92". I want it too look like a theater not a slighter oversized TV. At 8' wide I'm not happy with the size of 2.35:1 films. I want them to be at least 54" high at 2.35:1. In time. :D

Not sure if it would have the brightness needed for daytime sports and such (haven't received it yet) but I would like to add the Sharp XV-Z12000MK2 to your list which can be had for under $1500 as of now.
Check this thread for info
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=828072
Good luck!

MTyson....Z3000?
Also my maximum lens distance is 14' and the calculator on projectorcentral said that equates to maximum 100" diagnal and it said the 1500 is as low as the scale goes for handling ambient light?

O.k., some things that I'm already a little concerned about with my Mitsu HC1500.
1. Menu lettering is awefully not sharp, but sharpness control does 'nothing' for this.
2. Whites can look gray.
3. Colors are not quite rich enough.

Are these inexpensive projector issues or calibration issues? I ran a THX optimizer this morning.

1. Did you make sure overscan was set to zero?
2. Calibrate with an AVIA disc not TXH
3. Calibrate with an AVIA disc not TXH

Lol, my avia didn't some today, so it'll be here monday.

Overscan?

Found 'overscan' in my "signal" menu....only goes from 90% - 100%(no lower than 90% and cannot be turned off)
Out of the box it is set to 97%....changing this to 90% increases screen size but seems to do little else??

my mistake i meant 100% not 0

Doesn't do much other than shrink the screen size a little. no visible PQ improvement.
People are reccomending that it is my kilz2 and that I should look into these three link: ??

Projector Central $100 Screen
A guy using blackout fabric to make a screen
Da-Lite Screen material

Here is an issue I could 'really' use help with....my whole image has a flicker/pulse like an old film reel to reel projector?? I called customer support and he said that it is either one of the hdmi cords or my yamaha receiver causing the issue, but everything worked perfectly for 11 months with my RPTV 1080P DLP?
**This is not the frame stop you get from switching sources at first but a constant flicker.
I switched the hdmi's and same issue. So what else should I do before having to ship back the projector as faulty?
Thanks!