Last year I bought the HD70 from Optoma when it debuted at $999, an upgrade from my H31. Overall my satisfaction with the HD70 has been satisfactory. Colors pop, once I performed the mod trick to bring down the absurd white-crush inherent in the unit no matter what setting I chose, the blacks darkened up and all was well, the picture improved dramatically, its still plenty bright shining on my Graywolf screen.

But a year later...I still have less than 200 hours on the thing. Yeah, I know, I've got about 25 unwatched BD's and HDDVD's. Its madness. I think its because I'm not 100% super thrilled with the HD70...I mean its a great bargain machine, but I'm wondering if I didn't want just "A little bit more". I probably should have spent the extra money and gone with a mits HD3000u and its deeper black level.

Now, to be honest, 720p is fine for me...the 1080p units out there aren't exactly knocking my socks off.....but...where are the bargains? Where are the truly great 720p projectors, the ones with deep blacks and bright outputs? Where is this projector, I want to buy it.

But, damned if I can find it.

Seems to me everyone is excited about the $4000 JVC units and...well, thats it....which is great and all, but thats way too rich for my blood (expecially at 200 hours a year :) ).......I watch the occasional movie, I'm not a total junkie, and for that perhaps the HD70 is fine. But I want.............

More?

Where do I look....has anyone reviewed the Mits 4000U? Do I try to find a used 3000U? What to do, what to do.



Personally, I like DLP....I dont mind losing lens shift and I don't mind a few notches of keystone to square up an image on my ceiling mount.

Marantz VP4001

Marantz VP4001

Translation: http://www.projectorcentral.com/SharpVision-XV-Z3000.htm

(or get a DT-500 for less than an HD70...that's what I did)

Translation: http://www.projectorcentral.com/SharpVision-XV-Z3000.htm

(or get a DT-500 for less than an HD70...that's what I did)

Where did you manage to find a DT-500 for less than an HD70?

There's the Optoma HD80. Not a bargain per se, but looks like a winner for 1080p DLP under $2,700.

Where did you manage to find a DT-500 for less than an HD70?

The bay, awhile back. New to my door ,nine franklins. Others paid less.

Optoma HD80

For DLP, I vote for the HD80 as well.

sharp 12000mk2 or marantz 2001

heres my top three best bang for buck 720 dlp pjs right now.
sharp 12000mk2
marantzVP4001
sammy SP-H710AE



cheers

Murphy:)

heres my top three best bang for buck 720 dlp pjs right now.
sharp 12000mk2
marantzVP4001
sammy SP-H710AE



cheers

Murphy:)

Do any of these have lens shift and hdmi inputs,BOB

heres my top three best bang for buck 720 dlp pjs right now.
sharp 12000mk2
marantzVP4001
sammy SP-H710AE



cheers

Murphy:)

OP asked where all the NEW projectors were, not the clearance rack.

OP asked where all the NEW projectors were, not the clearance rack.
gee..thats funny,,,,,,,,my apologies I read
Now, to be honest, 720p is fine for me...the 1080p units out there aren't exactly knocking my socks off.....but...where are the bargains? Where are the truly great 720p projectors, the ones with deep blacks and bright outputs? Where is this projector, I want to buy it.


so i must have interpreted his question incorrectly??


cheers

Murphy:)

Do any of these have lens shift and hdmi inputs,BOB

The Samsung and sharp have lens shift. The sharp is long throw so make sure it fits your room. The Samsung has a defect that may cause it not to start up. Tigerdirect and samsung are really good about replacing the projector if it has this problem, but it's still a hastle.

Do any of these have lens shift and hdmi inputs,BOB

sorry i missed this thread.

gwlaw99 is correct and has some good advise to boot.

cheers

Murphy:)

gee..thats funny,,,,,,,,my apologies I read



so i must have interpreted his question incorrectly??


cheers

Murphy:)Don't sweat it, I hadn't had my coffee yet! ;)

I'm not really thrilled with the idea of dropping 1080p dollars right now because, frankly, stuff looks so absurdly good at 720p, the 1080p upgrade will only come when those are in the $1200 range and have the specs to back up the image beyond higher rez.

That Sharp looks interesting.......

I'm not really thrilled with the idea of dropping 1080p dollars right now because, frankly, stuff looks so absurdly good at 720p, the 1080p upgrade will only come when those are in the $1200 range and have the specs to back up the image beyond higher rez.

That Sharp looks interesting.......

I hear yaa.

Like i have said before it other posts.
My Thought is if your happy with your present Pj then great.
When most of your Pj viewing is Standard DVD's and you happen to be lucky enough to have a 4805/IN72 mapped with a d1 ( consider yourself lucky ) or something equivalent in performance talking upgrade is unnecessary. unless your thinking of getting into heavy Hd TV or hd dvd viewing or your unit is old and maybe out of warrantee .then maybe you should think about blowing it out on fleabay. If that's the case .I would research the forum and web searching for yesterdays latest and greates720 Pj's of yesterdays past with proven performance and take advantage of the company's money spent on research and development and save money on the discontinued prices (yesterday it was $12,000 but today just for you $1,354 ).
In my own Opinion upgrading from a 480 to 720 is more bang for the buck then 720 to 1080.
I have seen 720 and 1080's side by side and to tell you the truth I wasn't all that impressed with the differences when price increase came into play..
With this in mind right now all the marketing pj genius's are trying to put together an affordable blue-collar 1080 with one billion contrast knowing numbers sell.and while the pj war escalades take advantage and grab yourself a good well built low cost proven 720 and upgrade in the future after the war is over and future winner has been crowned.
Again this is just my opinion.

Like I said, the HD70 does a great job, particularly after I modded it. But every time I wind up with extra $$$ I start to think about moving to a better projector.

The HD70 is a very good PJ.....but there are better 720p PJ's out there that are more accurately dialed in for color, and offer a better overall picture. That doesn't make the HD70 worse, it just means that a $1000 DLP can't be expected to reproduce the image a $2000 DLP produces.

Hmmmmm.......with low miles on the bulb I always get upgrade-itis around the holidays :D

Do yourself a favor and have a good look at this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=885398. You now have the opportunity of picking up for $1200 one of the last units of a projector that used to sell for $4000. But time is running out.

I just upgraded from a Mitsubishi HD1000U and I can't stop smiling every time I fire up the Marantz. I honestly don't think I'll feel the need to go 1080p any time soon.

Yeah I hear you, I was hoping to see black levels really come down, and have longer lasting lamps. I would much rather have a 720p projector with out all the problems with the current projectors than 1080p projector with just slight improvement in the rest of the stuff.

Do yourself a favor and have a good look at this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=885398. You now have the opportunity of picking up for $1200 one of the last units of a projector that used to sell for $4000. But time is running out.

I just upgraded from a Mitsubishi HD1000U and I can't stop smiling every time I fire up the Marantz. I honestly don't think I'll feel the need to go 1080p any time soon.

I have only one problem with the Marantz: Bulb Availability.
I'd probably wind up springing for a Sharp 3000 at $1500 because the bulbs are widely available, but the Marantz is discontinued and appears to not share the bulbs with the Sharp models on which is somewhat based, so this is a concern to me.

Others have stated that the bulbs are indeed interchangeable. In the thread I referred to there is also info about a bulb warranty that entitles you to two replacement bulbs.

I'd probably need to see those posts before I even considered this....but again, I can't seem to find the deals online so its a moot point.

I hadn't planned on jumping ship right away anyhow, I mean the reason I started this thread was to bemoan the new exciting PJ's. I mean the Panny 200 is out there for cheap, if you want LCD (which I really don't) or watch in the light (Again, which I usually don't). ....the Sony whatever-15 is out there, same situation with dark blacks...but likely screendoor and god knows what quality issues, dim? Dunno...

Seems the projectors people want to buy are the still the ones from last year.....

another vote fort thr HD80, I've just updated from a HD70 and I am very happy with a full HD projector right now(and the new firmware now allow me to watch blu-ray in great 1080p24 glory!)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2687765&Sku=A179-3026

:D :p :eek:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2687765&Sku=A179-3026

:D :p :eek:

Uh, might wanna remove that link.....before the mods see it...but isn't that Acer just a re-badged Optoma?

Seems the projectors people want to buy are the still the ones from last year.....

Precisely. Manufacturers have been focusing their attention on the development of 1080p projectors. The only new 720p projectors are entry-level models, similar to your HD70. The more up-market 720p machines tend to be older models, which manufacturers and dealers are now offering at heavily discounted prices to make way for 1080p projectors. And at the prices they are selling for now, these projectors represent a level of bang-for-buck that has never before been seen in home theater. Many feel that they are, on the whole, better quality projectors than the cheapest 1080p models. They won't be around for much longer, though.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2687765&Sku=A179-3026

:D :p :eek:
Not sure what the point is you're trying to make with that link. That projector would not represent an upgrade to the HD70. The other projectors mentioned in this thread would. They are models that used to cost several times the price of the HD70, and for good reason.

Yes, it seems that there is now a 720p Gap of sorts.......1080p projection doesn't interest me much, certainly not for the bump in resolution (I've got both technologies in my house...1080p looks only marginally better than 720p with film and video sources, the only area of significant improvement is with computer generated...aka PC or console games that actually render at 1080p).

Film just isn't the best medium to show a dramatic improvement with that extra million pixels...that leaf in the background is a little sharper, but the focus somewhat negates the improvement.....that kinda thing.

But I guess we all saw this coming....this was the year that 720p was to debut at $1500 and go down from there, with 1080p running twice as much. Seems like only a few manufacturers (Sharp, Mitsubishi, Panasonic) jumped on that bandwagon..everyone else seems to be going to the higher profit margin (I assume) of 1080p.

*sigh*

Sitting tight :)