Looking for some advice about a new projector

Hi,

I would very much appreciate some advice for a new projector. The projector I'm replacing is a Mitsubishi HC3000 (which doesn't work anymore, and it's too expensive to repair).

My opinion about this projector is a bit mixed. I liked it in bright daylight scenes, but in darker scenes I found that bright areas tend to glow or "bleed" quite a lot (I hope you understand what I mean), and I tend to get tired watching movies that are quite dark because of this. The picture seems a bit unstable/flickery in a way - I can also see rainbows, but I don't know if that's what causing me to dislike the image in dark scenes, as I'm not actually seeing the rainbows much unless I try to.

Could the negatives I described about the image still be due to the fact that it is DLP? Or is it just the general quality of the projector that could be better?

As a replacement for this projector I have been considering these projectors:

- BenQ W1200
- Epson TW-5910
- Optoma HD23
- The new BenQ W1070

I can unfortunately only watch the HD23 and BenQ W1200 in a store where I live (Denmark) - I haven't been able to find a shop where I can watch the other projectors in action.

The BenQ W1200 seems to be a nice projector based on reviews, but it doesn't have 3D and it's getting a little old? I don't know how much I'd like 3D as I haven't seen it, apart from in the cinemas - but I'm thinking it could be nice to have the option to try 3D at home at some point (I don't have a 3D capable blu-ray player right now).

The W1070 seems to be a really nice budget projector, but my concern about this one is that it needs to be pretty close to the screen - I have a 92" (diagonally) 16:9 screen, and the projector would be placed in front of my sitting area (and my ceiling is quite low) - so I'm worried if it will be annoying to have it placed like this because of noise. A plus for this one is also that the color wheel appear to be fast.

Then there is the Epson which is one of the cheaper LCD's I could find - how would this projector compare to some of the other options?

I hope someone can help me decide, or suggest other projectors I should consider.

Thanks in advance

Thanks for your reply I don't think the lack of lens shift is a big problem - my HC3000 doesn't have it either. I have a low ceiling and the top of the screen is relatively close to the vertical position of the projector.

The W1070 should be available here where I live in just a few days - but it may be a problem that I have to mount it so close to the screen - when do you think some major reviews will be out for the W1070?

I have actually never seen a LCD projector, and I don't know if the issues I've had with the HC3000 is because it's a DLP - it's not like I would say I'm bothered specifically by rainbows - my best way of describing the problem is that the image feels hard in dark scenes - where bright spots are sort of glowing - but perhaps it's still because it's DLP.

I can only get to see the Panasonic PT-AE6000 (I think it's the same as US PT-AE8000) - which is too expensive for me There are not many shops selling projectors here, it's primarily online shops. They do have a 14 days return policy though.

I just went to a shop today and I got to see the Optoma HD33 (I know I didn't list this originally, but I may up my budget a bit) - the picture was definitely better than my old HC3000 but in terms of rainbows it was probably about the same. It's not like I was much bothered by it, but I felt that the picture was not so natural with quite saturated colors - the guy in the the shop said that this specific movie was quite high contrast and saturation (the latest Batman), but I don't know.

As I mentioned I considered to up my budget, and I have also been looking at the Epson TW-6100 (equivalent to the US model TW-3020 isn't it?) - how do you think this one would compare with the HD33 or even the BenQ W7000 (I haven't seen this one but they have a refurbished one for sale with 700 hours in it for the same price as the HD33)?

I'm from Denmark so I don't think I will find someone that could show their projector on this forum at least

There's one other thing I'd like to add since this W7000 is only for sale tomorrow - do you think the colors are more natural on the W7000 compared with the HD33? I was told this in the shop, but they were not able to set it up for a demo session.