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Has anyone noticed projector central's top 5 list?

1735 Views 21 Replies 10 Participants Last post by triodeuser, Feb 22, 2005

BuffBakerGA

Discussion Starter · Feb 21, 2005

http://www.projectorcentral.com/home...projectors.htm

I remember when the Panny and the Sanyo were 1st and 2nd but now the Sanyo has dropped to 5th. Is the Sanyo that bad or has the Panny been that good???

No wonder everyone keeps asking about the Panny AE700 vs. the Sony HS51...

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Ron_C

· #2 · Feb 21, 2005

The Sanyo got released behind the rest so it hasn't gotten the attention like the others have. Much like last year when the Z2 was talked about more than the AE500, and the Z2 also out sold the 500. Next year, whoever gets out first will do the same thing. I would say as far as all around quality of the units, the Z3 and 700 are pretty much on the same playing field. I bet it would be hard to tell the 2 apart on a "blind" test.

Ron

georgeorwell

· #3 · Feb 21, 2005

Check out ProjectorPeoples top seller list also........AE700 at the top.

jagouar

· #4 · Feb 21, 2005

projector central did a shootout between ae700 and z3 and pretty much said the ae700 was better.

Better brightness in cinema black vs AE700, and overall slightly better coloring.

Toe

· #5 · Feb 22, 2005

I would not go completely off Projector central as a guide. The one big deal killer for me on the AE700 is the cropping on the hdmi which PC failed to find. I would place the Z3 in front of the AE700 for this reason alone. As minor as the cropping is, it would drive me crazy just knowing it is there (or should I say not there). Also the Z3 is better for a ceiling mount in my opinion due to the better lens shift. If you can live with the cropping and have a easy ceiling mount, then the AE700 is a good option.

Toe

· #6 · Feb 22, 2005

I would not go completely off Projector central as a guide. The one big deal killer for me on the AE700 is the cropping on the hdmi which PC failed to find. I would place the Z3 in front of the AE700 for this reason alone. As minor as the cropping is, it would drive me crazy just knowing it is there (or should I say not there). Also the Z3 is better for a ceiling mount in my opinion due to the better lens shift. If you can live with the cropping and have a easy ceiling mount, then the AE700 is a good option.

hdkhang

· #7 · Feb 22, 2005

ProjectorCentral isn't the only review site out there, there are those that prefer the Z3 compared to Pana's (for example http://projectorreviews.com/ ) then there are those that will swear by the SP5000, it's all personal preferences so I couldn't care less what PJ central ranks them. I mean they mostly do subjective testing, not many numbers and what not in their reviews... this is what people want to know, because claimed specs mean nothing if they are not in movie viewing modes.

Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang

AVWH

· #8 · Feb 22, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by hdkhang
ProjectorCentral isn't the only review site out there, there are those that prefer the Z3 compared to Pana's (for example http://projectorreviews.com/ ) then there are those that will swear by the SP5000, it's all personal preferences so I couldn't care less what PJ central ranks them. I mean they mostly do subjective testing, not many numbers and what not in their reviews... this is what people want to know, because claimed specs mean nothing if they are not in movie viewing modes.

Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang

I think you're missing what the rankings represent:

"Rankings based on popularity"

so it has NOTHING to do with specs or reviews or ratings - just how many click-throughs the reviews and/or specs have gotten.

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hdkhang

· #9 · Feb 22, 2005

@AVWH

My reply was in response to jagouar's post.

Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang

jagouar

· #10 · Feb 22, 2005

I know but for whatever reason projector central did a side by side review and thought the ae700 was better (hence it being #1 on their low cost list).

Other sites have done a review of the AE700 and a few weeks/months later a review of the Z3. And its alot harder to tell little differences then. Shootouts are the best way IMO to review Home Theater Projectors. I know the best computer equipment reviews are almost always shootouts (wether it be processors, video cards) you get more value when things are run under exactly the same conditions.

Toe

· #11 · Feb 22, 2005

Projectorreviews found the Z3 to be better than the AE700, so not everyone agrees with PC shootout results. That comparison favored the coloring of the Z3 OVER the AE700. There are many comparisons in the projectorreviews review of the Z3 to the AE700. That site preferred the Z3 over the Pany. Just because a projector is more popular than another does not at all make it better. Last year the Z2 was more popular than the AE500, but that did not make it better either. The Z2 was released before the Ae500 last year, and this year the AE700 was released before the Z3. This has a lot to do with the popularity of the projector in question obviously and should not be used as a method of purchase in my opinion. A 1 year waranty is pathetic by the way which is another huge negative. Sure you can purchase a 2 year waranty on top of that, but I feel that is a way for Pan to swindle more money out of their customers which sucks in my mind.

The Z3 is the obvious choice if your room can accomodate either projector without a problem.

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jagouar

· #12 · Feb 22, 2005

2000 hours vs 5000 hrs bulb life is pretty pathetic too.

It seems though that these 2 projectors are pretty close and you will get a good one whichever way you go.

For me though bulb life is more important that warranty (which you can get upgraded to 3 yrs... pretty cheaply I might add).

hdkhang

· #13 · Feb 22, 2005

Well I guess it comes down to what is important.

AE700 has higher brightness and default colours are not in D65 spec (many people have questioned Panasonic's claim that it was tuned by a Hollywood colourist on this).

Z3 has dual component inputs whereas AE700 has only 1 and has 1 HDMI has an issue with overscanning, not sure if it is fixed yet. The AE700 in some countries comes with a SCART connector. The Z3 can handle PC refresh rates natively at 48Hz, 50Hz and 60Hz making it one of the most flexible out there.

Flexible zoom is only important if you require that specific range, more important for shelf mounting than ceiling mounting. Flexible Lens shift is more important for ceiling mounting on the other hand.

Panasonic AE700 is more widely available here in Australia as compared to the Z3. Panasonic also has a larger market share overall hence greater brand presence so more people would choose Panasonic over Sanyo.

Z3 has the hurricane blower thingo that allows you to clean the panels should dust settle on them.

According to Cine4Home, they rank the PJs overall as follows:

Sony HS50: 67

Hitachi PJ-TX100: 63

Sanyo Z3: 61

AE700: 57

Epson TW200: 52

I would take the rankings done by Cine4home over PJ Central anyday, but the thing to remember is that the score comprises so many categories that for you some might not be as important and as such your rankings may differ. That is what a review is supposed to do.

I am not saying one is better than the other, I have not seen them side by side with both set to D65 and 12ftL of brightness which is what many here would hope to achieve when viewing at home.

Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang

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Toe

· #14 · Feb 22, 2005

2000 hrs vs 5000 hrs is verry pathetic. I verry much agree with you here. However, I will gladly take 2000 un-cropped hrs over 10000 cropped hrs. Quantity vs quality, and for me I will choose quality. I respect your opinion though.

jagouar

· #15 · Feb 22, 2005

well Im using vga regardless for now anyways so cropping will be a non issue for me right now.

Italia_NYC

· #16 · Feb 22, 2005

I'd like to know where everyone is getting this "2000 hours" bulb life info from? Sanyo does not post lamp life, so where did this rumor begin?

jagouar

· #17 · Feb 22, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by Italia_NYC
I'd like to know where everyone is getting this "2000 hours" bulb life info from? Sanyo does not post lamp life, so where did this rumor begin?

Do you have a source saying its more? Not to mention Ive read many horror stories of z2's failing in the sub 1000 hour mark due to poor ventilation (z3's havent been around long enough to see if they suffer as well)

BuffBakerGA

Discussion Starter · #18 · Feb 22, 2005

I didn't think this would turn into a specs war but it was merely an observation based on Popularity from just one vendor. It seems that the popularity of the Z3 is losing steam, not just to the Panny, but to the Infocus, Benq, and Mitsubishi. I've always looked at the AE700 and Z3 as the Coke and Pepsi of projectors (in this entry level price range) but according to projector central's numbers, it's more like the Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. Popularity is a big deal because it does show where consumers are putting their money and there has got to be a reason for it, right? I mean, if the number 1 selling product was crap, why are people buying it? Ad campaigns, reviews, and specs can only take a product so far but doesn't it eventually have to hold it's own.

I've been looking at the big 3 for some time (HS51, AE700, Z3) and I will purchase the one that fits best for my personal taste and installation but I was just curious as to why the Z3 is no longer a "Popular" choice like it once was? Does it not hang out with the cool kids anymore

...

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BoyScout

· #19 · Feb 22, 2005

I guess projector central never did get the replacement SP5000 or it would be somewhere on the list IMHO.

triodeuser

· #20 · Feb 22, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by jagouar
for whatever reason projector central did a side by side review and thought the ae700 was better (hence it being #1 on their low cost list).

These lists are based on web page views, not on reviews.

They are an indicator of interest, not of quality.

Granted, an excellent review will generate more interest.

All lists and rankings need to be viewed within the framework of which they are specified to have meaning of substance.

While these rankings of "popularity" are of minor interest, they have little meaning of substance to a purchaser.

The reviews, however, are of a good bit more important - yet don't mean everything as indicated by other posts in this thread.

Regards

Ken L

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

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