epson hc720 vs. ax200u

Just woundering what peoples thoughts are. I am thinking of trying out a new projector that I never had before, which is the Epson HC720. I abandoned 720P LCD after owning the ax200u and not being happy with it. The image was extremely soft, it had a VB problem, it flickered badly, and it has a toy feel to it. Do you think I would be happy with the HC720 or no?

Well, I'm not new and I ahve had many 1080P projectors as well as many 720P projectors. I am only asking because I am low on money so I sold all of my things and now I am looking for a cheaper 720P LCD unit. I cant have a DLP beacuse the RBE bothers me to much. I was woundering how much more reliable the HC720 is over the AX200u. The ax200u was terrible in that it had a lot of problems right out of the box!

Have you seen any yellowing in the panels with 2000 hours on it? The only thing I dread about 720P LCD projectors is that they use organic panels that have a rated life of 2000 hours. The epson HC720 is the only projector that I have not seen any complaints of this problem. It is only 1 year old but still. Has anyone had any polarizer problem with the HC720? Thats another thing that I did not like about the ax200. It uses a 220watt bulb that gets hot. Not just hot but blazing hot. The epson uses a 170watt bulb and I am guessing that is less stress on the polarizers. I pulled the trigger on the HC720 so it should be here in a few days.

Thats very good news to me and makes me feel better about choosing the HC720. I was researching on the net about the polarizers in the HC720 and read that epson added some sort of dye in the polarizers to make them more heat and UV resistant. I dont know if thats true but its a big possibility. Also, do you notice any verticle banding in the image? The verticle banding on the ax200u was pretty noticable in blue or images where there was fog or smoke.

Well, got my HC720 and set it up today. I have never, ever, seen a projector with better build quality. This projector blows that ax200u out of the water in every aspect. The blacks on the HC720 are far better then the AX200u in their theater modes, and the shadow detail that this unit shows is the best out of any projector I have owned. Not to mention, convergence is %100 dead on accurate. Not a hint of any convergence problems. Also, this is the first LCD projector that I have had where on a white screen, there is no color shift through the entire image, and there is zero verticle banding. There is also no flicker, and this projector is SHARP. I prefer the image of the HC720 over the mits HC6000. I am still in shock at the quality of this projector. Its just mind blowing. Thats saying a lot considering that I have seen and owned many high end 1080P and 720P units. Epson has a new customer!

The ax200u will beat the HC720 in brightness in its torch mode, however the ax200u wont last long on its torch mode because it gets really got. The bulb is 220watts, and the cooling is not designed that well on the ax200u. Not to mention I had problems with light leaking out the front and spilling on the screen. The color was also terrible in dynamic mode. What is it that you would be using it for that requires you to need so many lumens? In their best modes, the ax200u is "suppoesed" to be brighter, however they appear the exact same to me and I can watch the HC720 during the day on living room mode, which is still bright but it looks much better then dynamic, even though its not as bright. I'm using a 92" screen thats 13 feet back. I am still amazed on how well the epson is put together and designed. I still have not even messed with the settings of it and have just used the stock setting of theater one. I would highly recommend the HC720 over the AX200u, because it performs so much better. I may have got a bad unit, but who hasnt got a bad ax200u?

Just in case there was any confusion, my HC720 has zero problems and is fantastic. When I was talking about VB, light leaking, ect, I was talking about the ax200u. I am not wrtting off all AX200u's, just most of them. Look at the AX200u owners thread. Its just full of problems and issues that people are having. Same with the ax100u thread. The HC720 owners thread has no such posts. Epson seems to have way above average QC, and this is coming from somone who has tried all the big name projector companies. Even if you dont get an ax200u with problems from the get go, you are bound to get them eventually. Using a 220watt bulb with a LCD projector is not such a great idea. When I had the ax200u the air coming out of it was extremelly hot. I cant imagine organic panels lasting that long with that amount of heat.

Jrwhite, you have an excellent looking image. Whats the source? SDTV or HD?