[smithsonga]

Guys, please bear with me, but what is the decision process for choosing a PJ vs. a RPTV?


It seems with these lower cost PJs, u can get a much larger screen than RPTV. What about picture quality or background light sensitivity?


Please give me some guidelines to help me with this choice..I get varying comments at dealers and they dont sound too informed.


If I am willing to spend $4k-$5k, what is my best option?


Thanks!

 

[rlindo]

I say go FPTV all the way....if you have some decent light control going on.


Before I got my first projector, i was using a Pioneer Elite 53" 16x9 HDTV. Awesome picture. The first projector I got was the ae100. The PQ was not as good as the Elite (it is good though) but the fact that my image was 4 times the size, the ease of use with the ae100 and the fact that the Ae100 cost me half of what the ELite did more than made up for the inferior image.


Last week I got the sanyo z1. It is (IMO) the equal to the Elite in PQ and the most amazing thing is that it cost me even less than what the AE100 did 7 months ago. So not only do I have all the bonuses that the AE100 had over the Elite, I now have an image which is just as good and in some ways better. I will never go back to RPTV. I loved my Elite but I am loving the big projected image even more.


So anyway, I say FP.


As for your budget, there are so many options that it is hard to say what your best option is. For DLP you have the NEC HT1000 which I hear is killer. The image it produces will be stunning and i doubt it can be beat for anything close to its price range. It is 4:3 ratio though.


For LCD I think the top 3 projectors under 4k are the Sony HS10, the Panasonic AE300 and the Sanyo PLV-Z1. The HS10 has the best resolution which means it shoudl be the best wiht HD material. It costs the most though The AE300 has the smoothscreen technology which reduces screendoor to almost nothing and it also has the best lamp life. The Z1 probably has the best contrast of the 3 and is also the cheapest of the 3. IMO, I doubt you could go wrong with either of those 3 choices.


I suggest that if possible, you take a look at both DLP and LCD projectors to see which technology/image you prefer. Then, go from there

 

[Josh Z]

Smithsonga, I'm going to have to direct you to read some articles at Projector Central . They are a good starting point to help you research this decision, and will answer many of the questions you are asking.

 

[SayersWeb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Josh Z Smithsonga, I'm going to have to direct you to read some articles at Projector Central . They are a good starting point to help you research this decision, and will answer many of the questions you are asking.

That is a good article. One thing they don't mention is the mobility of a front projector, especially if you don't ceiling mount it. It's easy enough to grab the projector and take it to a friends house.


For me it was a simple choice.... There was no way to get a decent sized RPTV down the stairs to my HT.


It would be nice if some of the A/V magazines started covering front projectors a little more. I think most people don't even realize affordable projectors are available. I didn't until I realized an RPTV would never make it down to my HT.

 

[rlindo]

Quote:

For me it was a simple choice.... There was no way to get a decent sized RPTV down the stairs to my HT.

One of the main reasons why I don't use my Elite. I couldn't get it out of my parents' basement (it was a ***** to get down there) when I moved into my own house. Even if I could have got it out easily, it woud have been tough to get into my new basement. So that was one reason. The other main reason was just that I have wanted a front projection system for a while and building the HT room from scratch let me customize is for front projection.


it is funny to think i can carry around something that weighs 7 pounds but can give me a huge 200" picture (that looks great) whereas a RPTV that gives an image of say 53" wiht the same PQ weighs over 250 pounds. hahaha

 

[HTCrazy]

Given that you get 2X the size image at half the price with equal or better picture quality, and far better mobility, it's starting to look like RPTV's are now a bad option only for the uninformed. But this is a new development that wasn't as true even 60 days ago before the Z1, HS10 and X1 hit the streets.


For example, the only RPTV I've seen that's as good as my HS10 is the Sony Grand Wega - the image is very similar. The Grand Wega is 60" and costs around $4500. The HS10 costs around $2500 and I'm projecting a 120". Go FP!