[JPinTO]

Hello Torontonians...


I am new to FP but after having borrowed an old INFOCUS projector from work this weekend, I am sold on the technology.


My head is spinning from reading this board and all of the issues of selecting a projector.


My question is---Where do you buy a "business" Projector unit from in Toronto??? All of the high end audio stores (Brack, BayBloor, Kromer) carry "home theater" units with Mega-buck price tags. Usually the Sony 10HT is on display for $10K CDN.


When you discuss "Business" projectors, the audio gurus in the stores poo-poo the idea, I guess because they don't carry the technology.


So where do you go to see a LT150/LT155 or LP350/530 or anything in the $5k-$6k range? Are there stores that carry these things in TO? And where do you get a price other than "full List"?


The US sites list decent discounts from MSRP. Is there a CDN site that does the same thing? Dell.ca doesn't seem to carry the LT150.


The so-called "home theater" show on King street this weekend was very disappointing. But it was nice to see that Audio Excellence was at least featuring the Plus products


Any hints would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Jason Turk]

You can find good prices many places on the net. Getting a good demo is another story. The problem is that the places that actually carry the presentation projectors do not know how to properly show them for HT use. Even if you see one with a DVD player, they usually only use a composite input which leaves something to be desired. They really need a scaler or lens to optimize quality.

Thanks, Jason

 

[JPinTO]

of good information about projectors and some have deep discounts. But, being Canadian, I don't want to start dealing with shipping and cross-border duty&tax issues. And while I haven't looked into it, I'm sure the US warranties would not be honored in Canada.


So I'm still looking for a Canadian online discount establishment.

 

[BGane]

Jason/Alan: Apart from the excellent sales service that you are able to provide - do you actually have a demonstration capability?


There are a couple of stores in Toronto that have some demo capability. Audio Excellence now has a Plus U2 in addition to a CRT (Ampro?). Brack Electronics had a Sony G90 on display piped through a Faroudja. Custom Cinema & Sound (Mississauga) had a Sony VW10 and now a VW11 on display. They have two demo rooms - not sure what is in the other.


So - there are a couple of places, but be prepared to do some driving.


From a purchase perspective, if you want to buy, and you want to buy something that these dealers stock, then you are in luck. Otherwise, if you know what you want, you can buy through the business projector dealers. Duocom or Applied Electronics will sell you pretty much anything, but have no demo capability.


As for ordering through the US, you are correct - if you want warranty service, you will have to pack up the projector and send it back to the dealer from whom you purchased it. Or, you can forget warranty and pay to have the unit serviced in Toronto - your choice.


There is no duty on electronics. But yes - you will have to pay shipping, insurance (if you want it), and taxes - GST and PST - Customs are now collecting provincial taxes - joy! But many of the web discounters provide such excellent pricing that I find it is often worth the risk. Your call.

 

[JPinTO]

There does seem to be quite a number of people on this forum from the Southern Ontario region.


I'm curious as to what their experience has been with respect to demoing, choosing and buying a projector.


While I order many items from the US, it does not seem like this is the type of purchase that will work well cross-border.


The one CDN site that does seem to offer discounts from MSRP is the computer supplier Insight (insight.ca) They carry Infocus, NEC and some other projectors too. Their selling prices is 15-20% off of MSRP. Maybe that's the best that can be done here in Canada.

 

[Silo]

You can get demo in Toronto. I went to Advanced Presentation Products ( www.advanced-inc.com ) and they demoed the nec lt150, lt155 and vt540 for me. It was not the best demo, but they had all 3 machines side by side. You'll never find that in a HT store. Tomorrow, I have an appointment at Duocom for a demo. The hard part is finding the best price, as we cannot realistically buy from US and get the price and service that we want. How soon do you want to make a purchase? I live in North York, maybe we can combine our buying power. Check out my other new post.

 

[JPinTO]

a corporate office? I have been reading the endless info on the LT150 and it seems like the best bang for the buck.


Insight.ca has it listed at $3995, but I'm not sure what the current CDN$ MSRP is.

http://www.insight.com/canada/apps/p...g&sku=NC766783


The LT155 is $5599: http://www.insight.com/canada/apps/p...g&sku=NC766800


If the LT150 lives up to the hype then at $4k CDN it's a pretty smoking deal.

 

[Silo]

It is a corporate office. You call them, they connect you to your area sales rep, then he/she can either come to your office for demo or you can go to their office at Sixteen Ave and 404.

 

[GaryWW]

NEC will honour their warrantee right across North America. In the GTA, they use the Getronics Canada repair depot in Markham.


BTW, I see that Insight has 2 replacement lamps in stock for $532.99 each.

 

[Keith Bilinsky]

Another place that is usually worth a look at is: Edcom


I have seen D-Ila's in there used section. The store is in Kitchener and I have been there before and they will 'attempt' to demo anything you want.


The demonstration conditions are ok but not great. They did offer to loan me a projector for a day or two to demo at home.


Keith

 

[Grant Smyth]

I have purchased 2 LT150s in the U.S. and since NEC's service is excellent and the warranty covers all of North America, I am not worried. I had a problem with my first one which was purchased in Canada and it was immediately replaced.


I sure would like to see a demo of the new Sharp and Yamaha and some CRTs.


My offer to demo is always open - I have two different DLPs, HTPC, procan DVD players, three screens, anamorphic lens etc. Problem is I am about two hours east of Toronto just off the 401.


Cheers,


Grant

 

[kromkamp]

I purchased my demo D-ILA projector from Edcom out of London. I was allowed an extensive demo of the unit (30 minutes).


A friend of mine purchased a projector from Duocom (VT540), and he was also given a good shootout demo.


Duocom in particular has competitive prices to US mail order, at least for NEC models. And my demo D-ILA (G10) was purchased from Edcom for approx. $4500 US w/ 150 hours on it, but including a full 3-year warranty, which I thought was a pretty good deal.


Andy K.

 

[JPinTO]

would you still recommend the product as highly if you were NOT running it through a HTPC?


I want to keep my system simple and plan to just use a DVD player. I am willing to upgrade my cheapo DVD player for a progressive one, but given that scenario, in your opinion, is the LT150 still the best bang for the buck picture for a Prog-scan DVD source?


Thanks - JP

 

[rrobson]

Hey, Grant saw your offer to demo an Lt150, I am located nearby in Kingston and would be interested in seeing the Lt150 in action.

I have sent you a private mail with my contact info. You can also Email me at [email protected] .


Thanks,


Russ Robson