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Impulse buy! Sony VPL-BW7, not sure what to do next

post #1 of 19
7/22/10 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
I just saw the Sony VPL-BW7 on sale (original $800 - purchased for $400). It was really an impulse buy. I looked for reviews but couldn't find any. Now I'm having buyer's remorse.

I know it's only 720p but I'm only really planning on watching some movies and some pay per view sporting events on this thing.


Sony VPL-BW7
* Brightness : 2000 (Lamp mode : High) / 1500 (Lamp mode : Standard)
* Contrast Ratio : 1000:1
* Native Resolution : 1280 x 800

My questions:
I should be able to get a decent picture out of this thing right?
If not, is there anything around this price that would be recommended instead?

If I should keep, I'm considering the Elite Spectrum 100h projection screen on amazon. Thoughts?

Sorry, but I'm a NEWB in every sense of the term.
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post #2 of 19
7/22/10 at 1:09pm
Yes, you'll get a decent image. Hook up a Blu-ray player with HDMI and enjoy.

I know nothing about that screen.

You should search here to see if there's a thread about this projector for advice.
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post #3 of 19
7/22/10 at 1:14pm
When I first saw your header ..I thought Oh NOooo!!!!
After seeing the price you got it for.. you'll be quite happy with it.
$400 is a good buy! An Optoma HD65 at the same price destroys it...only problem is finding one at that price.
Enjoy!
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post #4 of 19
7/22/10 at 1:35pm
I saw that deal... thought about it for a second... realized it wasn't a deal.


I would cancel the order, there are better projectors out there. Even an older DLP on ebay with a spare bulb will completely smash a BW7.
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post #5 of 19
7/22/10 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for responding guys. I really do appreciate it. I'm thinking of maybe making it an outdoor projector if all else fails... or i'll search ebay for a dlp and see where that search takes me.

thanks again
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post #6 of 19
7/22/10 at 10:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Verge2 View Post

I saw that deal... thought about it for a second... realized it wasn't a deal.


I would cancel the order, there are better projectors out there. Even an older DLP on ebay with a spare bulb will completely smash a BW7.

well quote one specifically dude. How does that help the OP at ALL????

Plus, if he is even 1% picky about his picture he'll notice rainbow effect.
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post #7 of 19
7/23/10 at 6:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by omegaslast View Post

well quote one specifically dude. How does that help the OP at ALL????

Plus, if he is even 1% picky about his picture he'll notice rainbow effect.

Well if he wants LCD, there was a guy selling a vpl-aw10 on this very forum for around 290 dollars.

Looks like somebody has snatched it up though.
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post #8 of 19
7/23/10 at 8:10am
Thread Starter 
so I take it that DLP projectors are much better than LCD? I think i saw a comparison video on youtube a while back stating that.. told you i was a newb.

I'll see about returning product and start searching for a DLP projector if that's the case.
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post #9 of 19
7/23/10 at 8:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PigeonDropping View Post

so I take it that DLP projectors are much better than LCD? I think i saw a comparison video on youtube a while back stating that.. told you i was a newb.

I'll see about returning product and start searching for a DLP projector if that's the case.

In this price range DLPs rule in image quality. All of LCDs look a little washed out in comparison to their DLP counterparts.
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post #10 of 19
7/23/10 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PigeonDropping View Post

so I take it that DLP projectors are much better than LCD? I think i saw a comparison video on youtube a while back stating that.. told you i was a newb.

I'll see about returning product and start searching for a DLP projector if that's the case.


If you know what you are doing, you can find some good used equipment that will blow away a BW7... However, if you are a noob, you might not want to mess with it. You might end up buying a model that is junk.


What kind of room are you planning on using this in... i would say, in a dedicated home theater... i wouldn't use it. In a family room with lights and windows, well, that would be a different story.
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post #11 of 19
7/26/10 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
I've always wanted a projector and when i saw the price slash I just filled out my info and clicked "purchase" before really thinking about it.

Option 1: Family room. It's a big room with high ceilings and lots of windows. I can close the blinds but I can never really "darken" the room in it's entirety (except at night obviously) The homeowners before us actually had a projector set up before us in that room.

Option 2: Use it primarily outside for Pay Per View events, big games and once or twice a year movie nights with the nieces and nephews.

It got delivered today.
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post #12 of 19
7/26/10 at 7:48pm
Option 3: Sell on Craigs list or Ebay for what you paid.
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post #13 of 19
7/27/10 at 6:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PigeonDropping View Post

I've always wanted a projector and when i saw the price slash I just filled out my info and clicked "purchase" before really thinking about it.

Option 1: Family room. It's a big room with high ceilings and lots of windows. I can close the blinds but I can never really "darken" the room in it's entirety (except at night obviously) The homeowners before us actually had a projector set up before us in that room.

Option 2: Use it primarily outside for Pay Per View events, big games and once or twice a year movie nights with the nieces and nephews.

It got delivered today.

For outside watching sports or movies for kids birthday parties, it will probably work great.

If you can't darken your room that much, it will probably still be ok for you. Especially if you have white walls. I have seen people bragging about the contrast ratio of their projector while their theater room has white walls... LOL... some people.
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post #14 of 19
7/27/10 at 8:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by airscapes View Post

Option 3: Sell on Craigs list or Ebay for what you paid.

lol, i can always do that I guess.

actually, I'm just going to use it outside for those special UFC fights and boxing events that I always end up overpaying for. thanks for the replies!
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post #15 of 19
8/1/10 at 3:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PigeonDropping View Post

I've always wanted a projector
It got delivered today.

Like you I bought this "Dell Deal of the Day" on impulse. This is also my first entry into projectors but have been around the block a few times with LCD and plasma flat panels (bought first plasma in 2002). I received the Sony on Thursday 7-29 and have been more than pleasantly surprised at the picture quality. Give this thing a dark room, a decent HD source and something other than a painted wall or bed sheet to project on and I think you'll be surprised as well. At a $400 price point I don't think you can do any better for a 16:9 HD projector (or even find one for this price). For now I've been using a 30 year old Da-Lite 72" wide matte white pull down screen but already looking to upgrade to a Da-Lite High Power 16:9 screen after reading the huge thread about that screen material on this site. The only thing that worries me about buying this is the feeling that once you go "big" you'll never go back...
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post #16 of 19
8/31/10 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1955Dave View Post

Like you I bought this "Dell Deal of the Day" on impulse. This is also my first entry into projectors but have been around the block a few times with LCD and plasma flat panels (bought first plasma in 2002). I received the Sony on Thursday 7-29 and have been more than pleasantly surprised at the picture quality. Give this thing a dark room, a decent HD source and something other than a painted wall or bed sheet to project on and I think you'll be surprised as well. At a $400 price point I don't think you can do any better for a 16:9 HD projector (or even find one for this price). For now I've been using a 30 year old Da-Lite 72" wide matte white pull down screen but already looking to upgrade to a Da-Lite High Power 16:9 screen after reading the huge thread about that screen material on this site. The only thing that worries me about buying this is the feeling that once you go "big" you'll never go back...

Yup, i got this set up and i'm super impressed with the quality of the picture. My family (on different occassions) have been in awe of the screen size and quality. Real happy i got this. I have it on a 120 inch outdoor screen that i picked up from Amazon. It goes up literally in 15 minutes and down in about 20.
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post #17 of 19
9/12/10 at 10:18am
I'm happy with it but I have it in a room with no windows and it looks great!

Question: Will this projector work with a PS 3?
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post #18 of 19
10/4/10 at 1:03pm
If anyone is sorry they missed the "Deal o' the Day" pricing ($400)...I've got a brand new (used once for 2.5 hours) Sony VPL-BW7 sitting here in the original box.

I picked one up on at the "Deal" pricing for a big family event where we needed a slide show. Now that the event is over, the projector is looking for a new home...

PM me if you are interested.

EDIT: Sold
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post #19 of 19
12/16/10 at 8:45am
I am interested in purchasing a projector. and will buy yours if the price is right.

please write me asap, because I'm shopping right now.

Neill7@aol.com
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