[roar]

After much deliberation and a year in the making I'm ready to pull the trigger on my first projector purchase.


I had long decided on the Optoma HD70 because one major requirement I have is I want my projector to be able to do the required stretch for 2.35 without having to use a HTPC or external scaler... my second requirement was I wanted a projector that looked good with HD DVD... 1080p's are out of the budget but I'm done with buying DVD's and wanted a solid 720p within my budget... my budget, around 1500 cdn. Here are the questions:


1. I'll ask one final time to be sure

I believe the AX100 will do the required stretch for 2.35 and not only that, the reason I'm going with this one over the Optoma is because it will do it for HD material and up converted material over HDMI... where as the Optoma will not stretch upconverted or HD material over HDMI or Component, if I've errored in this assumption, please stop me, I'd love to save 500 bucks or so!


2. I think I've decided to go with one of the forum sponsors, how do I make sure AVS gets its due when I make the purchase? I'll probably be having a friend make the purchase by phone because he lives in the states and is coming to visit and I need him to be able to collect the rebate for me, if I order from Canada and have it shipped I won't be eligible for the rebate, still amazes me I can buy a projector for almost 1k less this way, I'd love to support local retailers, but they can't touch American pricing.


3. I've certainly read enough threads on the problems people are having with the AX100 to make me nervous, has anyone in Canada purchased this projector from the states and had any luck returning it in Canada for service? Or even sent it to the states with good success?


Thanks for any replies...

 

[roar]

Is bumping a faux pas on this forum?

Am I too verbose?

 

[rombullterrier]

I use my AX100 in a 2.35:1 setup with a lens with no other scaler, and IMHO it works great. The AX100 will vertically stretch 720p and 1080i/p signals including 1080p/24 signals. You will have to upconvert DVD to stretch it. It will not do a 4:3 squeeze on the HDMI input, which I suppose could be an issue for cable (or 1.85 DVD if your player will not squeeze it), but I watch most 16:9 material without scaling and it does not bother me (although I have been ridiculed for this by a few people who've never used a 2.35:1 setup; it's really a matter of personal tastes/priorities). All of the foregoing observations apply to HDMI. The AX100 manual is available online on Panny's website, and it will show you every available mode for each type of input. You'll have to decide whether a 4:3 squeeze over HDMI is important to you. I bought my PJ from Projector People with good results and really like it. When you purchase, they ask how you found out about them, which is your chance to plug AVS.