JVC RS1 vs. Panasonic AE4000 - Page 2

This would be a tough call for me. I really don't think the LCD projectors look that good. I've compared several in my theater to my pretty good looking 720p DC3 DLP and other than pretty much black level, my PJ always looks better.

That said, the RS1 colors are simply attrocious. Everything looks awful--grass is not even close to a realistic shade of green. So RS1 means processor to me to tame that. (I know you said 16:9 but processor would also allow RS1 to do scope).

I'd either do the RS1 and budget for a used processor to fix the color or look elsewhere. Many are happy with LCDs, but the color, motion, and general picture quality are still not there in my eyes.

Could you stretch your budget to a newer JVC, say the $3000 range? I'd be looking to do that.

Yes, you're right. I have the AE3000 and had for a week my sister's AE4000 and the AE4000 is brighter with the "Pure Color Filter Pro" on ("color" and "cinema" modes). I have a light controlled room so, for me, the differences exist, but IMO were not so much to buy the new AE4000.

I have two 720P DC3 projectors (Marantz VP-12S4 and Planar PD-7130) and my Viewsonic Pro8100 (LCD) throws a nicer BD image. The Marantz is as good or better for sports though. The Pro8100 throws a very nice image. It has more image depth than any other LCD that I have seen. The colors really pop also.

I'm not sure what the convergence issue coderguy is talking about is. I had one of the first wave RS1's for a long time and don't recall reading any more convergence issue posts than any other projector in the greater than $3k forum. It also includes a convergence adjustment so you can move RG&B in one pixel increments. Convergence issues should not be a concern with this pj, especially over a lower cost LCD with less concern for convergence. Does the Panny have a convergence adjustment?

Also, shadow detail is a function of gamma. If it is a later model RS1, it will have 11 point gamma correction so you can dial in any amount of shadow detail you want and can also target a 2.4 gamma curve.

The RS1 is both brighter at D65 than the Panny and has a higher calibrated contrast ratio. It is worth noting that the RS1's native contrast is higher than the Panny's dynamic contrast.

The RS1's are not as sharp as later model JVC's but I would think it would still be better than the Panny with its smoothscreen.

The RS1 does have oversaturated colors which can pose a problem depending on how sensitive you are. I used a lumagen to correct this before I upgraded. Most people were probably happy just turning the color control down.

The RS1 has manual zoom, focus and lens shift. The Panny is obviously motorized.

The RS1 will never get dust blobs. The same cannot be said for the Panny.

Very good points made by the above poster.

It is always riskier buying a used projector if you cannot verify it first, because you have no way of swapping it out with a warranty if you find a defect in the image.

Agree, that shadow detail is partly a function of gamma, it is also partly a function of the processing of the specific projector, as well as any IRIS difficulties, etc (of course the JVC do not have IRIS's).

JVC is certainly a good choice, but I'm not sure if you can even find any HD250's or any new JVC right now under 3.5k to 4.5k. JVC has a stock issue on almost all of their lower end models and are hard to get last I heard.

The motion is really only an issue if gaming, IMHO they are for the most part all close enough these days, it might matter a little in action movies or if you watch a lot of Sports, depends how picky you are.

LCD's
The Epsons POP just a bit more than the Panny. Another alternative is the Sanyo z4000, it probably has more POP than either of these other LCD's for bright scenes (the Sanyo is sharper and has higher ANSI contrast), but it is not bright enough for most. Other than that, check out some DLP's maybe.

As far as the technology variance goes:
It depends on the specific projector just as much as the tech, some LCD's have more POP than others. In general, DLP POPS a little more because of sharpness. I don't think DLP has better colors than LCD, maybe a tiny bit better "dark colors" in shadow detail, LCOS has better colors than both though just by a tad. All 3 technologies are VERY close when it comes to color, it's more about the projector itself as far as color goes.

Image processing and noise reduction is IMHO one of a few underrated aspects that varies between projectors which is often ignored by the reviewers. Although that said, for the most part our eyes adjust to the varying image noise and ignore it, but if you do a side-by-side, some projectors are clearly better at this than others.