Panasonic PT-AE7000U OR Sony VPL-VW90ES HELP PLS

You do realize that the Sony is a much higher end unit..correct?
Don't get too caught up in the hype, the spec's are meaningless.

For 2D, the Sony will be significantly better. 3D it might be the panny, but a $500 3D projector is better than the Sony in 3D, in certain aspects.

Keeping in the same price range, the new Sony VPL-HW30ES (just begain shipping) would compete against the announced, but not yet released, Panasonic AE7000. As for the Sony VW90ES (that came out in 2010), I would hold off to check out the new VW95ES that may be released in the same timeframe as the new Panasonic, or just a little later.

A Sony 90 and a Panasonic AE7000 are not in the same league or price range

Do you have any where you can go and view projectors in general?
Certain or most companies hype the spec's in order to draw more attention.
Just because one states magical numbers in contrast doesn't mean it will have the most dynamic image.

The Sony is built to a higher standard in performance. Hence the much higher price of ownership.

It would be better for you to see projectors from different manufactures and compare yourself.

There are a few sites that do REAL measurements and give you a true sense of the differences. Sites like http://translate.google.com/translat...%26prmd%3Divns
is a good place to start. Go to the projector testing section and read as much as you can.

The Sony has a native contrast around 20,000:1 per this particular site. I would be surprised if native on the Panny is more than 5000:1.

Ok, I understand now. If you're not in a rush and don't mind waiting a few months, the Sony VW95 could be an option.

How large is your screen and what is the estimated projector distance from the screen? You have other options in that price range as well. Is this site blocked http://www.projectorreviews.com/home...projectors.php ? It is another good site to find info on current offerings. A Runco LS5 or Optoma 8700 will fall in your price range.

I was saying an inexpensive projector that cost about $500 like the Benq 600+, Acer 5360, or Optoma GT720 can do non ghosting when other expensive projector have trouble with it.

No one will know until the two projectors can be set up side by side, but I'd put money on the AE7000 being underspec when measured for on/off and calibrated lumens, judging by the previous AE1000-4000 (I owned the first three models myself).

As said above, don't get sucked into the hype: New models are always fantastic, then the niggles start, then finally as the next new model comes out they become rubbish. This isn't true as I'm still enjoying a near 3 year old HD350/RS10 (albeit calibrated with a newish Lumagen Mini3D).

By multiple reports the VW95 will be introduced by Sony at the IFA (Germany) and CEDIA (USA) trade shows in early September. HERE is the discussion thread. While many people have assumed the VW95 would be the replacement for the VW90, according to Mark Haflich (AVS National Sales Manager) the VW95 will be a replacement for the VW85 in Sony's new projector line-up. It is likely that Sony will also be announcing a new flagship model at IFA/CEDIA that is perhaps significantly more expensive than the current price of the VW95..

No news that I have seen, but I fully expect the vw95 to be priced @ $9999 MSRP. Given the deals you can get on a vw90 new, or even better used, the vw90 is a terrific deal.

When Mark said the vw95 will be a replacement for the vw85, I'm not sure if that is good news or not. The vw85 had slightly lower performance specs compared to the vw90, so I am hoping the vw95 has atleast the same on/off contrast as the vw90.

If the vw95 ends up being a vw90 with the hw30 3D upgrade and 16:9 & 21:9 lens zoom setting presets, will that be worth $2-3K more than a good deal on a vw90? You can already do a lens zoom between 16:9 and 21:9 screen masking on the vw90, it's just not automated.

Perhaps the confusion is what Sony means when they say Flag Ship projector.

I assume (which is dangerous) that the vw95 will be an upgrade to the vw90 as far as head to head comparison of performance specs and features. I also assume the Flag Ship replacement is something entirely different, with speculation of possibly a 21:9 SXRD panel or a 4K panel. However, I also assume this will be the new $14K+ Sony projector to take out the vw200.

We don't have very much longer to wait.

There is speculation about all that will be announced at CEDIA and why CEDIA. Do manufacturers announce new products at CEDIA vs. CES? I thought CES was always good for new products too. What's the difference?

CEDIA (in the USA and IFA in Europe) are the main shows for introducing new projectors. It seems that most new projectors traditionally start shipping the 4th quarter of the year and CES, being in January, is often too early to have new projectors to demo while CEDIA (and IFA) are timed within 1 or 3 months before the new models begin arriving at dealers. This means the manufacturers will have either pre-production units (but near final designs) or even early production units available for demo'ing at CEDIA. Also by CEDIA the pricing (at least the MSRP) is ready to be released.

New models are usually released in October or later. As the others had said, look for new projector announcments and availability at IFA and Cedia which start in early September.

Also, don't be surprised if the new JVC LCOS projector trumps the Sony VPL-VW95ES.

Ahhhhhh.... and the cycle of HT life continues.

You have to love it!