Ok I've settled on this one, seems like incredible specs around $500 or less shipped - Page 2

re-read coderguy's posts...

hint: technology trickles down, not up.... the rebrands/knockoffs come AFTER the tech is developed, they don't develop the tech...

however, if you wanna beat your head up against a wall, be my guest....

edit: if you search around, i betcha you can find a bunch of items that will improve your gas mileage/horsepower by incredible numbers... amazing how well those things work...

26 led 1080p pjs(dont know why the panny led/laser is on the list)-there will be some led/laser 1080p hybreds around 3 grandish.HT pj sales are around 40,000 a year a tiny market and is well coverd by pure led,the hybred stuff will be a compromise and business/classroom based like the new pannys look or viewsonics, optomas, casios laser led or benqs color wheel/laser pjs.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?led=1&db=&br=&c=&sort=pop&mfg=&g=1&sp=&st=16&p=&ar=&dt=&w=&t=&hide=0&ll=&td=0&i=d&is=0&dvi=&sz=15&r=13&tt=0


38 Projectors Found led/laser or cw/laser
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?db=&br=&c=&sort=pop&mfg=&g=1&i=d&st=31&laser=1&p=&ar=&dt=&sz=15&t=&hide=0&w=&ll=&td=0&exp=1&is=0&dvi=&sp=&r=&tt=0

pure led has been around for awhile now and lase/ led is 2 years old now,the tech is well known and not much new or cheap is gonna happen in HT pjs.the market is to small.

I agree with peteleoni here, but I also understand that if something is too good to be true it usually is. There are some cases where you stumble upon a great find but those are few and far between, but who knows this maybe that case. I have had my eye on that cheap led pj on ebay but I have been afraid to pull the trigger. Hopefully we can find more info on it or possible even a video unboxing the item. If anbody finds any info on it please post.

something is about to break? sorry nothing like that is even possible or planned-price or tech wise.sorry your feelings really dont matter,the leading edge of what is possible and known in led tech does.these are the leading leds and used in most led pjs.
http://www.luminus.com/
a cheap pico dlp 720p chip(1140X912) is whats driving the small led pjs right now and we know that a lot of them are coming out of the same factory and being sold under diferent brand names .

there will never be a single panel lcd pj that looks good(they wash out) ,or it would be done.

somehow, i don't think if a miracle has somehow occurred, the first person to be selling it would have sold more things that lightswitch decals for a penny apiece....

furthermore, regardless of how confident the op is in himself, the facts are the facts...

second furthermore... as you go up the food chain in price on projectors, the differences are not insubstantial... my previous vivitek projector was a nice unit... however, there is no comparison between that and the mitsubishi i have now... and that's not even chasing the "last 5%"...

as far as a sub 500 dollar pj changing the paradigm.... HIGHLY unlikely... cheap pj's are available now... there hasn't been a mass rush by the public to implement them... i wish there would be a mass rush, as that would pump more money into the industry, some of which might find it's way to r&d...

This thread is a bit funny. Projectors are not like stereos. I don't even know what the argument is, there is no argument here.
You can get cheap projectors but the contrast will be worse and often other attributes are not as good either like the sharpness, color accuracy, etc... Things like stereos work about the same as far as output quality regardless of what you buy (as far as digital output in general). Projectors are very very different.

The argument is like if I can find a car with an engine just as good and fast as the $200,000 Lamborghini for $25,000 brand new with the same performance. Good luck with that...

The deals you will find on projectors are used and refurbs not knock-offs.

It's no more possible than it is for Chevy to copy a Lamborghini and sell it for $25,000... They can copy SOME of the traits in there and sell it for under $100,000 possibly, but it won't be an identical knock-off. Some of the stuff on projectors is generic, but the MFR's add their own touch more so than most electronics, and that final engineering they do to them is what makes all the difference in the world.

Maybe in 20 years, but even then I doubt you will get great contrast. You can get decent projectors now for under $1000 but they won't be as sharp or have as good of black levels, still they are fine for most uses. So stick with those if that is your budget, but don't buy a generic no-name brand.

BTW, I've been waiting for a $25,000 Lamborghini knock-off since the 1970's that performs the same, are we there yet?
It's just around the corner eh...
Edited by coderguy - 7/25/12 at 7:56am

ANSI lumen ratings don't mean that much, you have to look at review sites. I'm not trying to criticize you, but I'm just saying projectors are not like most electronics and eventually you'll figure out what the rest of us already know. I have no horse in this race, no dog in the show, and no interest in the bank. I get nothing by telling you one way or another. I do not sell projectors, I do not work in the projector industry. It is just a hobby.

Check out sites like at www.projectorreviews.com and www.projectorcentral.com, they often publish TRUE best modes. This matters a lot more than MFR published ANSI lumen specs.

If you are looking for the best PJ under a certain price point for home theater, us veterans already know how to advise, you are just wasting your time trying to evaluate a PJ based on a given model and ignoring expert opinions. There are thousands of PJ's, you are not understanding the system of summary review which experts already have been through. All the answers you seek are in this forum, keep an eye out in the DEALS section of the forum for refurb deals. Refurbs sometimes come with warranties almost as good as a new one, so you can swap if something goes bad. Buying a projector for a new person is a VERY daunting task, without hands-on experience you will not figure it out just by reading, other than to just listen to the advise of others in this forum when we advise you on a deal.

I would hone in on your MAX budget and start a new thread that doesn't start out by pitching chinese knock-offs. The thread has turned off the people that would normally give the real valuable advice in this forum.

Best deals going right now:
B-Stock JVC RS-40 for under $2000
Refurb Epson 6500 around $900, or a refurb Mits hc4000 or Mits hc3800, or even refurb Epson 8500 or 8700

New under $1500 and 1080p:
Mits hc4000 (no 3d), Optoma hd33, Epson 8350, I could go on and on, they are in my sig link anyways, I'll leave it here

Even cheaper approaching $600 or maybe less
Benq w710st, Optoma GT 750, Refurb Viewsonic Pro8200 or new

If you are ultra-price sensitive, wait for a sale on the w710st, that is a good one and sometimes goes for around $500 or so, or grab you a used or refurb projector. You have to verify if it will work in your room and fit in the mounting requirements and all that. $500 is a tough budget to be restricted to, but you can find something very good and project onto a wall with a little patience. I am just telling you to look at refurbs and sales, not knock offs, that's all I'm saying.

You are not likely to find some magical model the rest of us missed
I give the chances of you finding this magic projector to about 1 in 500. You do have a good chance of finding a great deal on a refurb unit though.

I own many projectors and paid right at $500 for my refurbished Pro8200, which was a great deal. Great deals are out there, you just have to grab one fast when it comes. I also own projectors that cost 6x as much as the Viewsonic. The Viewsonic will hold its own in bright scenes but not as good in dark scenes, still you can get A LOT of bank for the buck for $500 these days if you get lucky and grab something fast when you see it. You cannot get quite as much bang for buck from new units, you will get no bang for buck on no-name units. The Viewsonic refurb deal is just one example, there are occasionally similar deals on other models, you just have to grab them fast!

I watch my Viewsonic and play games on it so I don't burn up my more expensive projectors, and really it looks just as good (95%) in most stuff, just not in dark movies or a few things.

Good luck!
Edited by coderguy - 7/25/12 at 12:29am

pt-120 leds have been used in led pjs for years now

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&mfg=&p=&w=&r=13&br=&ll=&t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=&dvi=&led=1&pjl=&pjw=&pjh=&td=&i=d&is=&sort=pop&sz=15

look at real lumens,the panny is a hybred and shouldnt be in the list and the specs for the cre are a joke,500-1000 lumens is the norm and the runco stacks are 2 pjs combined.

I own the casio xja-240 1280x800(720p)-they are the first hybreds to hit the market-most every pj maker is planning or has a hybred -
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Casio-XJ-A240.htm


34 Projectors Found(hybreds)
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&mfg=&p=&w=&r=&br=&ll=&t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=&dvi=&led=1&exp=1&laser=1&pjl=&pjw=&pjh=&td=&i=d&is=&sort=pop&sz=15

LOL, you guys are keeping the troll well fed.

Pete, I'll answer some of your questions, from real world experience. First, the single white LED thing: that is the cheapest way to do LED illumination systems. We marketed the first pocket projector and it used a white LED. After that we went to R,G &B LED's, because, as you move up in lumens, three separate RGB LED's give visibly MUCH greater color saturation/gamut.

Is a one LCD panel projector superior in image quality? No - inferior. That's why the higher-end LCD projector brands moved to the 3 LCD panel system, which obviously costs more, but has superior image quality.

Are they made in China? Every major brand I know of is made in China factories. Spec'd here, designed in Taiwan and made in the Taiwan company's China factory is the norm for U.S. brands. The largest DLP manufacturer is Coretronic, an ODM that does not have its own brand. Huge plant in NE China - I've been there. I believe all the Japanese brands are spec'd in Japan and perhaps designed in Japan, and made in China.

Do short throw projectors have lens distortion? Not if they are designed by good optical engineers. We invented short throw and I know the difficulty of making the key aspherical lens in the projection lens system.

Cheap, all LED illumination, high resolution projectors? NO
Not an HT projector, but movies look darn good on it: our 300 lumen DLP unit that's about 4" x 4" x 1.5": model MP410.

LED's are in about a 15% annual cost reduction, so LED projector prices will get lower. The next big thing will be all laser projectors. There's only one viable laser supplier now, but a couple more will be on board in the future and prices will come down.

Hope that helps.

http://www.coretronic.com/products03-1.html
what about optoma?

http://www.coretronic.com/products01-1.html
http://www.optoma.com/
look at them logos

Optoma is a brand. Coretronic is an ODM that builds projectors for several brands.

Guys,

Look at the source link the OP posted. It's for viglink. That means every time somebody clicks on it, he gets a small payment. If someone clicks on it and then buys a product, he likely get another cut. All this "research" has just been to keep the thread alive & on top so more people click on the viglink. Nobody wants these crap chinese projectors, its just a scam.