I was pretty set on the Panny AE3000 when I saw it at CEDIA but now that the time has come to get a projector for my new theater there are some other choices that I'm having to consider, mainly because of the screen size. I have a Seymour 169" 2.35 AT screen (Shear weave 3000/1.17 gain) and a masking system that can do just about any masking size. I need to stay sub $3k on the projector which puts 4 projectors in mind, the Panny ae3000, Epson 6500UB, Epson 6100, and Sanyo Z3000 (okay, and maybe 5 since the Sony VPL-HW10 since it has 697 lumens vs the panny's 566 once calibrated).
The panny is the only one with powered zoom and lens memory which would be a huge plus to me since I'd like to do the poor mans 2.35 for now (the anamorphic lens will have to wait a year or two because of $). The 6100 is a light cannon, but I still can not find a calibrated lumen output anywhere, same with the 6500UB. The Z3000 can put out about 700 lumens once fully calibrated (3 lumens more than the Sony, also more than the panny's 566). But the Panny and Sanyo both have their dynamic modes that can put out about 1200 lumens which the sony can't touch. I'm wondering if I'll have to sacrifice some color quality to fill the screen when displaying 2.35 content and if so, what projector will give me the lumens and have the best color? Or since it's a bat cave do I go with a darker picture and better color?
A big plus for the Sony is it does have optics that you can adjust for convergence which could be useful.
Also, I don't recall if it's the Sanyo or the Sony that has the dust blob cleaning "function" but that is a concern of my theater, it's in the basement and most of the basement is still unfinished. I've loved my Sony m20x for it's sealed optics but it sadly won't power up as of two weeks ago, red blinking power light like others got. Anyway, the m20x had a great picture on the screen (projected about 110" due to room length vs long throw of its lens) but it's 1900 lumens (never found out what it's calibrated lumens were though) and a 6 year old bulb with 1100 hours looked great.
The room is a total bat cave (no windows, door bottom sealed) and all surfaces in the room (walls and ceiling) are black fabric, carpet is a dark red and there are no reflective surfaces.
In 16:9 the max diag is 133" I can get on the screen, in 2.35 it's 169", but I'd be happy to get about 150"
Can anyone offer some insight into calibrated lumens of the 6100 and 6500? Is it better to go with a brighter less color corrected image or darker and better calibrated image? Is the panny's lens memory the deciding factor for my situation or do I need to avoid it because of dust blob problems? (I know there's a 2 year warranty offer if you by Wednesday 12/31/08). Is the Sony a better choice because of calibrated lumens and ability to clean and adjust the optics?
Thanks guys.
The panny is the only one with powered zoom and lens memory which would be a huge plus to me since I'd like to do the poor mans 2.35 for now (the anamorphic lens will have to wait a year or two because of $). The 6100 is a light cannon, but I still can not find a calibrated lumen output anywhere, same with the 6500UB. The Z3000 can put out about 700 lumens once fully calibrated (3 lumens more than the Sony, also more than the panny's 566). But the Panny and Sanyo both have their dynamic modes that can put out about 1200 lumens which the sony can't touch. I'm wondering if I'll have to sacrifice some color quality to fill the screen when displaying 2.35 content and if so, what projector will give me the lumens and have the best color? Or since it's a bat cave do I go with a darker picture and better color?
A big plus for the Sony is it does have optics that you can adjust for convergence which could be useful.
Also, I don't recall if it's the Sanyo or the Sony that has the dust blob cleaning "function" but that is a concern of my theater, it's in the basement and most of the basement is still unfinished. I've loved my Sony m20x for it's sealed optics but it sadly won't power up as of two weeks ago, red blinking power light like others got. Anyway, the m20x had a great picture on the screen (projected about 110" due to room length vs long throw of its lens) but it's 1900 lumens (never found out what it's calibrated lumens were though) and a 6 year old bulb with 1100 hours looked great.
The room is a total bat cave (no windows, door bottom sealed) and all surfaces in the room (walls and ceiling) are black fabric, carpet is a dark red and there are no reflective surfaces.
In 16:9 the max diag is 133" I can get on the screen, in 2.35 it's 169", but I'd be happy to get about 150"
Can anyone offer some insight into calibrated lumens of the 6100 and 6500? Is it better to go with a brighter less color corrected image or darker and better calibrated image? Is the panny's lens memory the deciding factor for my situation or do I need to avoid it because of dust blob problems? (I know there's a 2 year warranty offer if you by Wednesday 12/31/08). Is the Sony a better choice because of calibrated lumens and ability to clean and adjust the optics?
Thanks guys.
