viewsonic pro8200 update ...open to advise....

Go check out Costco deals on pj's

2.35 fixed? You are going to need a PJ with remote power zoom to make the 1.78 and 1.85 movies fit the screen height. You are good with pillars on the sides of your screen?

Also: You listed DLP and LCD PJs - Have you researched the pros and cons of these two formats and made a decision as to which you prefer or at least believe will owrk best for you?

Since it's your first PJ, maybe just KEEP IT SIMPLE!

You are doing the right thing, you are researching and posting on AVS forum room, and you are giving lots of very good info. I can tell you have been reading in this room. Way to go.

Now, since it's your first PJ, maybe get a good cheap PJ that is 1080p with long warranty and got good ratings. How do you know about black levels and all that other crap!
Why do I say this? Because there are many people in this room that have all types of experience you don't have yet.

You are in first grade in PJ's. So get your feet wet with cheap and good. Don't get a PJ that people say suck, or super cheap.

Also get something on sale, and has good return policy.

Now, in the budget range, all these PJ's are pretty close to each other. I mean maybe one will be a little better in this area and not as good in another.

At this point you don't know if you will use it that much, or if even PJ'S are your thing. Next year or 2 years from now you can buy another one.

I would read the amazon reviews and go to forum rooms of PJ's you are interested in and read the last 3 months of posts. Are the people happy as a whole? How does the company take care of problems. Are people having problems with PJ that others say they have same problem. Now if you have long warranty, find out if people say "company fixed it and they were great". Or they sucked.

Now any PJ you get, relax, and don't like it or not like it, give it 48 hours to get used to it, try it at night and during the day, and watch different movies tv shows, and different sources, 360, pc, ps3. And find out calibration info for your PJ, and just use it as starting point. And if you have any problems with the pj you get, go to forum room of that PJ and post it.

All the pj's you listed are very popular, so you are not going for white van scam.

Some are bothered by RBE , some not. But if you are planning on having other people watch the PJ with you, they could get headaches if you get PJ that others say has rbe problem.

Now, some PJ's are multipurpose use. Meaning you can use it in bedroom, or in living room during the day, or on porch. Others have to be in dark room ONLY. Some PJ's have internal speakers which makes it portable too, and others have no sound, and if you run HDMI into it, you will have NO SOUND and will need outside speakers.

Now, you may say you only want ceiling mount. okay. You mean, you NEVER want to go to friends house or watch in backyard, or use for work or school . Ever?

My view is, I like options. I have taken my PJ onto porch, to friends homes, used it in bedroom , and in living room with lights on and in room that is super dark.

Have fun researching, that's half the fun.

I don't really think you know what 2:35.1 really is. The movie is shot in this format. For instance, Battleship is shot in 2:4.1 and they have bars on the top and bottom. All HD projectors will display this. Some movies like Avatar is shot in 1:78.1 and no bars are on the screen at all. A movie like Immortals is shot in 1:85.1 and you can barely see the bars on the screen.

If you are looking for a new projector in this price range of $1500, but you want a Darbee, you need to looks for something in the $1200 range. I really like my Darbee. It also depends on what you what more than anything. For movies, I would look at a Panasonic AE3000 or AE4000. You can probably find a used AE3000 for $700 and its similar to the AE4000. The Epson 8500 will be really good if you can find one in your budget. Sports and gaming, I would grab a Benq W6000, which is bright. But the Benq W1070 is coming out soon and looks to be good. Also, I heard good things about the Acer H6500 which is $800. If you really want to use your $1500 budget, there are jvc RS40s for this price, it will blow all the others away with its 2D, but some have bulb issues. The revised bulbs are better but you will have to find out if it has it.

I have to agree, first projector anything will blow you away. Costco has some screen projector bundles. Also don't forget http://shop.avscience.com/

Yup, don't over think it. Your jaw will drop regardless of what you get.

2.35:1 is a complex setup right off the bat. All of your football games will have bars on the sides, and many movies will as well. Even 2.35:1 movies may have subtitle issues if you don't have the right equipment to deal with it. You can't zoom 16:9 content out to 2.35:1 without chopping off heads (or in the case of football, the score/time and other graphics). If you really want to do 2.35:1, you should get a projector that automatically adjusts, like one of the Panasonics.

Personally I think you should go or a 16:9 screen as big as possible for your room and just deal with bars for 2.35:1. Then once you have some projector experience for a few years, you can decide if you want to deal with the quirks of 2.35:1. I have an 8700UB and with the good black levels, we don't even notice the bars on 2.35:1 material when all of the lights are out. 12 years ago I had a Sony LCD projector and I had to build masking because the bars were so distracting, but newer projectors have mostly solved that problem.

As someone else said, look for a cheaper solution at this point to get your feet wet. But still go 1080p if you can possibly do it (should be a slam dunk at $1500)

Th only way to get a image with no bars with a 2:35 movie is to buy a cinema scope screen. You could do a pull down or electric screen to raise the image so the bars will not be there. Then raise it back down when the movie is in 1:78 or 1:85. This is what I do and its the best and cheapest way to not see any bars. Ill show some pics later so you can have an idea. Ill also just around for a good deal for $1500

http://www.visualapex.com/epson/Projector-Specifications.asp?For-The=Home-Cinema-8500UB-R

Espon 8500ub for $1100