[Larry Hoffman]

I can get the HC1500 and Sanyo PLV-Z5 for the same price, as well as the Optoma HD72 for $100.00 less. The Optoma seems to have quality problems so I'm not too sure if I should consider it.

My screen is 92" diagonal and the room is light controlled, so the less bright Sanyo would work just fine.

I'm upgrading from a Viewsonic Cine1000 which is 480P and already have a Sony upconverting DVD player. They all should work in my theater room. The Sanyo will, of course be the most flexible, but I believe the others should be OK as well. Especially since the Viewsonic is a dlp and fills my screen perfectly.

Which projector do you recommend as a quality upgrade? The Viewsonic is a decent unit with very good colours, but I want the increased sharpness the 720P units offer as well as the possibility of going to blu-ray at some point.

Thanks for your advice.

Larry.

 

[BuffaloJim]

The Viewsonic is a DLP projector like the HC1500. The Sanyo is LCD. You might like the DLP picture more than an LCD. I would strongly suggest you see an LCD in person. I like the picture from DLPs better, but the added flexibility of LCDs is very compelling. I've seen both of these in far less than ideal settings and they both looked good. If you're going to use your present screen, I'd probably choose the Mits.


Note also that the HC1500 has recently been discontinued. There are lots of them out there still and the price may come down. Are you planning on purchasing it in the GTA or coming down to the states? I'm always shocked at some prices in Canada despite the relative even strengths of the dollars.


Jim

 

[Larry Hoffman]

Jim,


I work for an electonics reseller and I'm able to get the Mits at wholesale, and the Sanyo at less than the wholesale price. Since the Sanyo is a bit more expensive to begin with, they both end up at almost the identical cost. The two things I like about the Sanyo is its excellent warranty and adjustability. Both units get excellent reviews and I'm sure the Mits is well made because Mitsubishi has a very good reputation for quality. From what I've read the only difference in the HC1600 is higher lumen output. In fact I read that the colour wheel may have less segments than the one on the 1500which would make the 1500 a better buy.

If I were to come to the Buffalo area for the day, where do you recommend I go to check pricing of these two units. Also, just wondering what your thoughts are on the Optoma HD72.


Thanks,

Larry.

 

[BuffaloJim]



Quote:
If I were to come to the Buffalo area for the day, where do you recommend I go to check pricing of these two units.

Actually, if you can buy one of these wholesale, I'd say purchase it in Canada. A lot of places sell the Mits but I think their warranty would only be good in the US. The Sanyo is a lot scarcer. Off hand, I can't even remember where it can be purchased around here. I haven't been there in a few years, but The Audio Loft in Niagara on the Lake carried the Panasonic projectors. I always found them very similar in appearance to the Sanyos.


One thing I really like about LCD projectors is the flexibility. They're so flexible that you can do Poor Man's Constant Image Height projection with them.


Speaking of flexibility, the HD72 is a 1280 x 768 projector. This gives you a little vertical image adjustment because you're only using 720 pixels for home theater. It's not physical lens shift, but it does nearly the same thing, just not as much flexibility (only 24 pixels in either direction). I like Optoma projectors, even own a 480p one like yours.


In general I think moving from a 480p DLP to a 720p DLP is not that huge of a jump. Your projector has an excellent picture and DLP technology just hasn't moved that far. LCDs have gotten much better, but I personally think the edge still goes to DLP.


There must be more dealers in the GTA to check these things out though. And like I said, since you can already purchase wholesale (or less) I'd stay in Canada to buy.


Jim

 

[Jim McC]

I'd get the Mits.

 

[KeithfromCanada]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffaloJim /forum/post/14257350


In general I think moving from a 480p DLP to a 720p DLP is not that huge of a jump. Your projector has an excellent picture and DLP technology just hasn't moved that far. LCDs have gotten much better, but I personally think the edge still goes to DLP.

Jim

I would disagree with most of this statement. I went from an Infocus 4805 to the Mits HC1500 and the difference was very big. Brightness aside, watching HD went from being very nice to jaw dropping. True, 480p material looks the same but if the OP has HD content, he/she will definitely see a big jump in improvement.

 

[BuffaloJim]

Keith,


In general, resolution is not that high up on the perceived image quality list, unless of course you're close enough to the screen to see individual pixels. Contrast, on the other hand, is extremely important and on this front, DLP hasn't move that far (relatively speaking, and compared to LCDs). Now that's not to say that DLPs haven't gotten better, contrast has been increased by deflecting the mirrors more and adding a variable iris. But the fact remains that a several-years-old DLP can still hold its own against newer models.


I certainly did not want to talk the OP out of purchasing another projector. In fact, I think buying a new one is a good choice in his case. I just wanted to point out that if he was moving from a 480p LCD to a 720p DLP (or even a new 720p LCD), the difference would be enormous. Going from 480p to 720p DLP is big, but the perceived overall quality change is not nearly as large. In fact here's a recent post from Talon95 comparing the HC1500 and 3000 to his 4805 (comparable in quality to the Viewsonic Cine1000):

Quote:
In terms of picture quality (everything except resolution), the 4805 is just as good as either of the Mits units. The 3000 will have lower absolute black using the iris, but with the iris open, it's no better. The Mits units were both brighter than the 4805, but my 4805 had 300-400 hours on it while the Mitsu's had near zero hour bulbs, so I would guess there is not really a big difference with equal age bulbs.


You see a lot of people reporting the 1000/1500 being a lot brighter, but I would guess they're comparing to an old bulb in the 4805. Of course if you turn up brilliant color on the 1000/1500, white and near white will be much brighter, but as I said above other colors will not be.

But even saying all that, I still agree that purchasing a new 720p DLP is probably a wise move.


Jim

 

[Larry Hoffman]

You've all been a big help. Thank you!!!

I would hope though, that an upconverted 780P signal would be sharper than a 480P. And I beleive the projectors I'm looking at have better contrast than my Viewsonic as well. I guess I'll find out.

I'm seriously considering another unit I was reading about on this forum, though. It's the Sharp DT-510. From what I've read, it's an excellent unit, possibly better than the Mits. Also, since I'm sitting it on a table, it should work perfectly in my room. I can also get it at cost, about $250.00 less than the Mits or Sanyo. Please let me know your thoughts.

Larry

 

[BuffaloJim]

Although I haven't seen it, the DT-510 has a lot of fans on this forum. In fact, it's probably the most loved DLP at the present time. Another option would be an older 720p projector. I'm not sure what price you would have to pay, but older high end projectors are extremely well built and most people think the image quality is a step above today's shipping projectors. Take a look at this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1039990


Whatever you end up purchasing, I'm sure you're going to be happy (assuming you get a working projector out of the box).


Jim