Best alternative to JVC?

Probably the Sony VW95 would be your best alternative to JVC. It's well under your $9K limit and uses Sony's own LCoS technology (similar to that used in the JVC projectors). This is now a year old model and Sony has not yet announced a replacement, but one will likely be coming out sometime later this year. Of course Sony's flagship consumer projector is the VPL-VW1000 which is a true 4K Ultra HD model that has 4 times the pixels of 1080p projectors. Overall the VW1000 is a step up from the JVC projectors as well as Sony's own flagship 1080p model (i.e, VW95). However the VW1000 is well above your $9K price range ($25K MSRP).

SirJohnFalstaff

Be aware that 95ES zoom is "only" 1.6:1, while the flagship 1000ES has a zoom of 2.1:1

dj

Have you thought about an LED DLP projector? (Q750, Vango, DPI CIneLED etc.), there are deals to be found for under $9k. Although, I am not sure what kind of brightness, screen size and throw distance you need and whether they would work for you. Black levels won't be as good as the Sony or a JVC but are still very good. If you can, I would certainly demo one if possible, you may still prefer the look of LCOS though. I sound like a broken record but if I had a light controlled setup, I'd go LED. If and when ex-demo/used brighter models (DPI Dvision 35, M150) become more affordable I will probably trade up.

EDIT: just saw the above post, there a re lens options for the throw distance but not sure if they would be bright enough, you may want to ask other owners if looking into them
Edited by danieledmunds - 1/23/13 at 12:48pm

You actually have a ton of options. Look here:

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=&pjl=&pjw=&pjh=&td=19.5&i=d&is=118&oop=1&sort=pop&sz=15

For a 118" (diagonal 16x9) screen the VW95 has a max. throw distance of 18' 2" so you are correct that the VW95 would not work in your case, where you need a 19.5 ft. throw distance. On lower priced projectors the Epson 5020 and 6020 have a almost exactly the same zoom range and throw distance as the JVC projectors. From what you have said about your setup it is not the 2X zoom ratio that is the critical thing, rather it is getting a projector that has the right throw distance for your screen size. For example the now discontinued Mitsubishi HC9000D uses the Sony LCoS chips and has a 1.8X zoom lens that can fill a 118" screen with a throw distance anywhere from just over 13 ft. all the way out to 24 ft.. The new Mits HC5D (brochure is HERE) is replacing the HC9000D and still uses the Sony LCoS (SXRD) chips. It's priced well under your price limit and much less then the original price on the HC9000D or the Sony VW95. I don't know for certain if it still supports the same throw distrance range as the earlier model but it appears to have the same 1.8X zoom lens and probably has the same throw numbers as before.

The RS25 is now 4 generations old. The entire chassis and optical block were updated in 2010 with the RS40/50/60 series.

While you may find plenty of gripes about the early lamps JVC was using in this chassis, I think you'll be hard pressed to find a single instance of someone claiming the same issue with the color stripe on the newer models.

There are countless 'new chassis' JVC owners on this forum and this isn't a topic of conversation for these newer models.

I would make an effort to check out the new models or look for a good price on a closeout RS55/X70. With the e-shift, it doesn't get more 'film-like' in this price category.

I understand being upset about the RS25 as I know how much these were new. I don't think you need to spend 9K to exceed the PQ of your RS25 with models like the current X55 and X75.