[elocs]

I have been thinking seriously about getting a pj and have gather a lot of info here and elsewhere. I must admit that the long thread about giving up on lcds is giving me second thought even reading the threads about the people excited about getting their Z2s. Originallly, I was going to go with something like the Z1, but then decided to go for the Z2 for my hdtv and dvd viewing. Then I read about all of the problems the longtime lcd users are encountering compared to the joy the users of new lcd pjs are expressing.


Am I better off going with a more entry level model and waiting for some of the bugs to be worked out in the more expensive lcds? I understand and can accept the limitations, but I don't want to be stuck with something that is getting to be crappy before the first lamp goes.

I have spent a lot of hours here reading all the threads and enjoying how excited people are with their new pjs, but it is disappointing to read the bummer posts.

I really do want a front pj, but I want to get my money's worth.

 

[RalphArch]

I've been real happy with my low end XGA Sharp PG A10x - it will hold me over for quite a while and in the meantime I will enhange the HD output even more with the power buy on the panamorgh.

 

[BreakStuff]

I have just come off a 3 hour viewing of "Return of The King" on my Z1 and I am still impressed with its performance. I don't consider myself a "finicky" viewer and I don't expect a perfect picture, but I sure am glad I went towards front projectors.


All matters what your expectations are but you will probably find more happy low budget front projector users than you think.

 

[dawziecat]

Do NOT be discouraged at what you read here . . . all the nay-saying, the nitpicking, the litany of complaints and problems harped upon ad-nauseum . . . usually by the same few people over and over again too.


I just returned from a three month trip and turned on my Z2.


I was blown over all over again!


THIS is home entertainment! You could not DREAM of this kind of thing, at this price point and in a convenient little box weighing so little just a few years ago.


DO IT!!

 

[UnknownShadow]

Quote:

Originally posted by elocs I have spent a lot of hours here reading all the threads and enjoying how excited people are with their new pjs, but it is disappointing to read the bummer posts. I really do want a front pj, but I want to get my money's worth.

I'm in the same boat. I got rid of my 32" tv and want a big screen. I was ready to buy a PJ but there seems to be no end of problems with both LCD and DLP units.


I was then convinced I would get a RPTV instead but the only units in my price range are CRT based and all the convergence and professional tune up posts sent me running away from RPTV as well.


I'm about ready to buy another $300 32" CRT from Wal-mart :-(

 

[Ericbres]

Quote:

Originally posted by dawziecat . . . usually by the same few people over and over again too.

Guilty as charged ...

All things aside, thousands of people (ok, maybe a few hundred) every month go front-projection and are completely blown away.


These same people enjoy their projectors over and over again for years.


I know that problems with LCD, DLP, Lamps, etc. are fact ...

But ... it is also FACT that I do not know ONE SINGLE person who went front-projection and then went BACK to a TV or plasma.

Not one ...


Once you go FP ... you never go back ... those are great stats.

Relax and enjoy

If you DO have trouble ... we are all here to help!

 

[DaveInBerlinNJ]

I was briefly deterred by the "giving up on LCD" thread myself. I was even more deterred by the guy who still sees rainbows on a 5 or 6x DLP which cost WAY more than I could afford.


But... I've seen a FP in action (my uncle has one in his house) so I KNEW mere mortals like us can, and DO, have success with them. So I got a Z2.


Set it up in my unfinished basement. I literally have a $12 54x108" blackout cloth duct-taped to my concrete basement wall... I have the Z2 ON THE CONCRETE FLOOR... I have my brand new Momitsu DVD, and brand new Onkyo HTIB right next to it on the floor. There are wires and crap everywhere. My 60 year old spinster aunt, who loves going to the movies, comes down the basement on Monday... I'm watching Nemo (again)... very first word out of her mouth: "Wow", and then: "the colors are so beautiful", then "it's gorgeous". Then she pulls up a foldout chair and watches til the end of the movie.


It's really fantastic. It's killing me that I have to put all my stuff away so we can actually get the basement built... I want to seal the equipment up during the construction... meanwhile, my WIFE is giving me suggestions on which of the bedrooms we should use to temporarily set it up... it's THAT good.


My caveats:

I'm prepared to buy a new bulb or two every year as an ongoing cost... I don't wanna, but I will, and I won't complain about it.

I'm prepared to treat it like the special machine it is (maintenance/service when required)... again, I don't wanna, but I will.

I have a basement with complete light control... I've found even a little light hurts the PQ.

I will mainly use this for DVD and HDTV viewing... I don't think a FP is really a good idea for "normal, day-to-day" viewing (though I guess some use it that way).


I think if you are OK with those caveats, you'll be BLOWN AWAY by the picture these things can throw... I am, and I haven't even hooked up the HDTV cable box or used the DVI connection yet!

 

[elocs]

I would like to thank everybody who has made encouraging posts concerning front pjs. I have never seen one in use, but I am sure that I would be blown away. I am 51 years old and can remember having no tv and then thinking how great it was to watch one with rabbit ears with tinfoil on them. Then there was color tv and a few channels, then cable with more and more channels, then widescreen tvs. There would have been a time, not long ago, when the thought of a movie theater in my living room would be inconceivable. It's getting better all the time.


I look at projectors the way I look at any other product: I expect it to do what it should do and not break down or become useless before its expected lifetime usefullness. If I bought anything for over $1000 I would be majorly disappointed if it started to go to hell in a year's time. Since I would be blown away by any projector, I am wondering if I might be better off with a Z1 if it peters out in a year than spending much more on a Z2 and have the same thing happen. Either way, I'll give it a shot. I guess I'm just having prepurchase jitters.

 

[gwlaw99]

Just make sure you can return it if it doesn't meet your expectations.

 

[DaveInBerlinNJ]

If you're uncertain, and there's no need to rush to make the purchase, I suggest you take some more time.


Trust your spidey-sense! It's telling you something.

 

[elocs]

It is a good thing to trust your spidey-sense and I for sure will buy from somebody with a good return policy. I'll keep looking and learning before I buy and I'll take the complaints with a grain of salt. It will be awhile before I order anything. Thanks for the comments and the advice.

 

[Dave Biggs]

Boy, this sounds like me not four months ago when I was having a hell of a time pulling the trigger. I too had all the same concerns as yourself. SDE, blown lamps, heat issues, light control issues, little green men...


In the end I went with a 1HD/Z1. It came down to price, what I was going to watch MOST of the time(DVD and HDTV) and a huge resource of information (mostly found right here). I can tell you now and forever, I will never return to RPTV. I follow the same rules that DaveinBerlin follows.


1. Understand what you are buying. This is maturing technology.


2. Expect a few niggly issues. Setup can be a pain but do the reading and you will get a great picture.


3. Newer stuff is gonna come along and we will always be "behind the curve".


4. Maintain that sucker. Bulbs will blow. Factor it into the cost. Filters need cleaning etc..


5. And most important. Enjoy the show! I am a constant tinkerer. I am always trying to tweak the hell out of everything I own. But I have learned that after all the money is spent, it's all about watching films in an environment that you enjoy. Turn on projector, load DVD, enjoy the movie...


6. Last but not least. I will tell you, some people will never be satisfied...ever. I have a brother that will never stop talking. He'll go on and on about a movie while it's playing, critiquing everything. The day my theater was finished (not even calibrated totally btw) he came over, sat down and I fired up "Kill Bill Vol.1". He didn't say a word for almost two hours. When the movie finished all he could talk about was what he had to do to get a setup like mine in his house.


If that wasn' the best endorsement ever I don't know what is.


Pull the trigger...you'll thank us.

 

[AnthonyP]

I don't think any one that went FP has ever regretted it and moved back to small screen. We are complaining about the small stuff, because most (and the important) stuff are good. If it was the otherway there would not be anyone here to complain.

 

[lc1846]

Years ago I was one of the pioneer users of laser disc technology (still have my players and discs) and we never dreamed there would be DVD's or that one day we could make our own on a computer. I used to buy and rent from a high end Stereo/Video store that also sold CRT's and the first FP's I'd ever seen. It was a Bell & Howell I believe and you could stick your finger in the screen door holes, but it still blew me away! I told the wife that one day I would buy one of those....and never did!

Then some ten years later I walk into the same store and they have a DLP set up playing a HDTV football game and I almost had a stroke. I got the fever all over again and this time I am going to buy one...I promise! The technology is light years ahead of what it was but the WOW factor is much the same. Cars break, TV's break, computers break and PJ's break, but I am going to have them all anyway......I promise.

 

[UnknownShadow]

Quote:

Originally posted by lc1846 Cars break, TV's break, computers break and PJ's break, but I am going to have them all anyway......I promise.

Fortunately, all of the above usually have decent warranties and decent Out Of Warranty repair costs... EXCEPT for the PJ. Measly 90 day warranty on the bulbs and if it breaks while out of warranty you may as well throw it in the trash.

 

[mitchell_gusat]

Nothing, I repeat, nothing this side of reality comes close to front projection. As researcher and engineer my job --and hobby, too!-- is to find problems to solve. I found problems galore in everything I looked at; PJs are no exceptions from this. (Please don't ever get me started on TVs and flat screens... .


Yet PJs are exceptional in something - the image they project, of almost mystical beauty! Despite my academic bitching about accutance, bits, 12-degree DMDs, RGB muxing and 3rd order aproximations, no other display technology can rival today a PJ. Whether DLP, LCD, LCOS/DILA, it doesn't matter - that sheer magic is always there.


Down in the lab, whenever I set a cheap little PJ side-by-side with the most expensive flat screen money can buy today, the little PJ wins with everyone in the audience. Always - despite the 40x price disparity. The darker the room, the farther ahead the PJ pulls, and the more annoying the plasma and TFT flat screens become.


Long ago I've joined the bright side of the "force" and never had a single regret.


Mitch-

 

[doggiedog]

This thread is like a cult/brainwashing thread.


Must buy PJ now.......


I really want to buy my first PJ and you guys are making it hard to resist. I'm waiting for the Hitachi TX100 to come out first though.

 

[JPinTO]

Reading this forum is going to drive any newbie nuts.


Go to the TV tube forum and you'll see people complaining about misconvergence (or some other issue) on some units.


Go to the plasma forum and you will see people complaining about dead pixels or burn in (or some other issue) on some units.


Go to the projector forum and you will see people complaining about rainbows, FPN, dust blobs, bulb life.... the list goes on and on. FP is young and has a lot of issues still.


These type of "reality check" threads aren't all bad... they will teach people that projection technology is new, has issues and not look at it just through rose colored glasses. You will need to make the best educated decision you can before you buy. In the end you will need to take a risk and actually jump in. Prepare to accept a small risk and live with the cons of the technology you choose.... or just be happy with your 27" interlaced TV.

 

[JPinTO]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ericbres But ... it is also FACT that I do not know ONE SINGLE person who went front-projection and then went BACK to a TV or plasma.

I think alot of people have seen my high ambient light viewing environment thread. My image size at 80" is relatively small and with high ambient light my projector becomes unusable this time of year.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/501/20403Layoutx.JPG


I am actually quite a bit happier with the image quality from my 42" plasma than 80" projector. As such, I'd be more than willing to replace it with a 70" plasma when they become reasonably priced. Yes, there would be a drop in size, but the usability in my viewing environment would go up. At current 70" pricing, I will be using a projector for many more years.

 

[edwardr132]

Jpinto, I think your room could use some blackout curtains! If you can afford a plasma, maybe have the blackout curtains electrically controlled or electrically controlled shutters which roll up or down. That would darken your room in less than a minute!