Which of these 1080p projectors should I buy?  

Get the BenQ from Costco. My choice would be the Optoma but the BenQ has lens shift and an excellent lens.

Well I was in similar situation and went with the w5000. Looked at the optoma 803, contrast and blacks were not as good.

I disagree I would not go with an optoma and Im guessing many would agree it will be plauged with issues. The benq had issues but they have all been fixed, optoma does not seem dedicated to fixing there issues.

W5000 is bright super sharp two things very important to me.

So is the optoma but if its anything like the previous models it wont match black level.

I watched kill bill the other day which really showed off the projector on blue ray, great colors, lots of pop thanks to the dynamic iris, and good blacks in the final scene and extremely sharp. Shadow detail is also among the best on these machines.

The 806 and benq sound very similar, bright, sharp, lots of 3d pop seem to be the similar strong points, the benq has a manual and dynamic iris, I believe the optoma does but they have had poor iris implementation in the past, but optoma if its anything like previous projectors will have other problems and optoma has been a nightmare for some. The benq did but they finally ironed them out now with firmware fixes which came quickly. The w5000 also allows for perfect color calibration now with cca and cms. I doubt the 806 can.



The epson is also very good, but a different animal, better blacks for sure, not as sharp or bright calibrated.

I think the 5500 is a good projector I only seen it for a short period, but according to art at projector reviews it wont match the benq.

I don't own any of those, but bought a BENQ 6200 in early 2004. It has worked flawlessly for me ever since. Like you, I am looking for a new projector. Here is my short list (at least right now):

Epson 1080
Epson 6100
Sanyo Z700

These range in price from $1600 to $2000 US. I think I will wait to see how the sales look on black Friday, and then pull the trigger. By the way, I looked on the Costco website, and I did not see the BenQ you mentioned. Is it only available in stores?

Forget the z700 from sanyo if you can still get a z2000 for near the same price which is much better.

Guys, he's in Canada. We don't get the same deals.

The Z700 has organic panels, the other two do not. That would eliminate the Z700 for me.

If you go to AVDeals.ca (Canada)

You can get an Epson HC 1080UB considerably cheaper than the best prices listed on any of the AVS forum U.S. sponsors sites
.... in Canadian Dollars EH!
http://www.avdeals.ca/epsonprojector...lite1080ub.htm

When you consider the Canuck buck's at $0.82 US, that's pretty significant
Then you also get the $300 rebate in $US funds (That's over $360 Cdn)
...and a spare Bulb (Valued at $350 U.S.) They even throw in a ceiling mount (FREE)


They also ship for FREE ,
FedEx to your door anywhere in Canada
and the unit is covered by a full 2 year full replacement warranty from Epson Canada
(Extremely good customer service reputation)

after all is tallied, its around $2k Canadian

I'm Pretty darn happy with mine ,
3 weeks old and 100 hours so far


Some actual screen shots of mine in action in my sig link below

pretty thorough review from Art here:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/epso...80ub/index.php

Where in Canada are you located?
You can even call AVDeals and arrange a free in-home demo


FYI, here's the 9 units that made my short list
http://www.projectorcentral.com/part...506&pid_9=4041

I went with the highest lumen output, highest contrast ratio and best black levels I could get for close to $2k

That Epson deal is pretty good. They also have the 6100. Is that a step down?

But I'd have to say the current W5000 deal in Canada is good also.

I'm from Canada and bought my z2000 from avdeals.ca, very good experience with them, would buy again.

Having owned the Epson 720. Their customer service is great, but if your original unit has a problem, they will send you a refurbished unit and those are far from perfect. I had to exchange my unit 4 times. And each unit had an issue. This will stop me from ever buying another LCD projector or one from Epson again. The polarizers, and the convergence is a big issue with Epson projectors.

Stick with DLP. No polarizers and certainly no convergence. A white screen actually looks white, not tinted with green and red.

Forgot about the polarizer problems, I said ok to the Epson but eightninesuited is right the DLP will look cleaner / sharper plus the ansi contrast will be more than double. If you're not sure what's great about ansi CR, it's the ability to show bright white and dark black at the same time with a much larger spread. It creates a more 3D pop to the image.

My 1080UB was spot on right out of the box
no convergence issues or colour shift on a white screen at all
(checked using DVE HD DVD)

I still need to calibrate it, but Theater Black 1 looks amazing to me
(comparing it to my Pioneer Kuro plasma)
Black level performance is extremely important to me,
and I'm sensative to DLP RBE.

I felt like I was taking a bit of a gamble having never demo'd an Epson in person,
and putting my final trust in Art's reviews comparing it second only to his DLA JVC-RS1.

Since I have demo'd an RS1 (and an RS2) and consider it my Holy Grail of FP's
...I knew I was on the right track for my first FP purchase in the sub $3k category.

The new replacement for the Epson 1080UB is the 6500 or 7500 pro model
Yes the 6100 is a slight step down from the 1080UB, lower CR (18000:1 vs the 1080UB's 50000:1)
appears to be the only stat that stands out.

Hehehe, Yup Audio 5.1, that's my guy too,
He's got all my favorite toys,
Authorized Pioneer Elite dealer,Yamaha AVR's, JVC FP's, Velodyne Subs

Did he show you his JVC-HD100 on the BIG 230" screen in the secret room?
The Speakers, Tube Amps and Subs in that room are to DIE for too {drool}

That's what really pulled me from my beloved Pio plasma's and into FP

Sorry, guys. No "where to buy" threads.