decision time

Epson, it's brighter for 3D has less ghosting and better blacks. It's often sometimes a tad sharper (since no smoothscreen).
Longer warranty as well I believe.

of those 2, go with Epson,


Keep in mind you can also get the sony HW50ES for 2999, which makes it a strong contender as well.

If you're set on those, get the 5020. I saw one and it looks great.

And now for the point you'll likely hear from most people in this forum: consider a JVC, even a previous model. If you're not interested in best-in-class 3D, you can have the RS40 or RS45 for between $1750 and $2500. 3D is still good, but 2D is where these projectors trump all else. My RS20 still puts out a better picture than most new stuff, save for a bit of motion blur due to slower panels. Just something to chew on!

Where can I get the hw50es for 2999?

I bought both and returned one.

- Epson has more pronounced screendoor effect. If you don't like that, Panny's better.
- Epson was a lot louder. If you're sitting near the projector and care about noise, Panny's better.
- Epson had crap lens shift controls, but that doesn't matter after you've set it up.
- Epson (at least the unit I had) had a serious firmware bug with HDMI CEC that basically bricked the projector when HDMI-Link was turned on.

If none of the above are issues for you, I'd call it a toss up, slight edge to Epson for blacks.

As for me, I returned the Epson and kept the Panny. Loving it.

Don't go for a dirt cheap retailer. Use a good one, authorized. 2 out of 3 specimens I received were defective in some way or another and had to be returned.

The lens memory feature is an advantage for the Panasonic if you want to use a CIH setup.

^^^

"Don't go for a dirt cheap retailer. Use a good one, authorized. 2 out of 3 specimens I received were defective in some way or another and had to be returned.ReplyQuote Multi 0 "


All the more reason to make AVS your first stop and likely last stop when purchasing your projector!


Great service and nice pricing to boot!


...Glenn

Talk to Mike at AVS, I think you might be surprised at what you hear. Also there is rumor of a price increase or the free bulb promotion going away, so act fast.