[Red Brian]

I want to get a light cannon this year for my apartment (no ceiling mouting or holes in closet doors).


Ideally, I want a projector that is easy-to-use, portable, sub $10K, bright, good color, 16:9 (or high enough rez that I don't feel cheated by the black bars), reasonable bulb cost, no screen door effect, and no rainbow.


Each techology has definite trade-offs. After lurking for a month here's how I see it...


D-ILA Pros: very bright, great color

D-ILA Cons: very noisy, very expensive bulbs


DLP Pros: bright, good color

DLP Cons: noisy, expensive bulbs, rainbow


LCD Pros: easy to setup, decent color

LCD Cons: screen door effect, poor black level, light control needed


I'm leaning towards the Sanyo PLV-60 (I hope it has MLA) but am wondering if anything else interesting is coming out this year that I should wait for?

 

[Cain]

I'm right there with you bud..


I know a guy who has seen the new Sanyo and it did not wow him...


After fighting it, I'm probably going to get a DILA. The DILA has drawbacks but not in its ability to project a wonderful image, the others have problems with projecting the best image,that does not have some critical flaw..


Be sure to look at all of them before you decide..


Good luck!!


-- Cain

 

[MrWigggles]

Red,


I don't know what your budget is but waiting is always a good option.


I really think the PLV-60 is going to be good but I think the 11HT is going to be what really kicks of front projection in the states.


If the 11HT has slightly better colors (reds), 700:1 type contrast, and 1366*768 RGB support, it will be king.


These three things kept the 10HT from domenating.


I am going to a seminar next Tuesday hosted by Sony. I hope they will have the 11HT on hand as one of their "suprises" (an unnamed digital projector is named in the invotation).


Anyway,


JVC needs to get their prices down to make their stuff worth it.


DLP needs to hit the HT market harder.


LCD needs to get d-ila type colors and needs to have a more improved fill ratio.


I think all of these things are possible.


-Mr. Wigggles


PS. Only two manufacturers make LCD panels for all of the digital projectors out there, Epson and Sony. Epson has the MLA, Sony doesn't. Sony has the WideXGA, Epson doesn't.


------------------

The Mothership is now boarding.

 

[leckian]

I have not heard or seen anything in regard to the 11HT but a source that is in the business full time has told me the 11HT could very well be a disappointment and a step backwards. What I heard was that in an effort to improve contrast and black level the 11HT is less bright than the 10HT. I hope this info is not correct because I was excited by the prospect of an improved 10HT.

 

[kelliot]

Infocomm will be here soon. Any new announcements may come at that time.


------------------

Ken Elliott

 

[Red Brian]

DLP might fit the bill if they did a 3 color wheel (no clear section to make the rainbow worse), upped the wheel speed perhaps, and got the lamp cost down a tad.


A front projector would fit my life style so well. No heavy box or fragile LCD panel to deal with. But I'm loathe to pay dramatically more for less (still saving for that Ferrari .


<sigh>

 

[arrow]

Quote:

Originally posted by MrWigggles: I don't know what your budget is but waiting is always a good option.

Waiting certainly is the least expensive option. I'm very glad I didn't wait. My theater is a blast.


I'd be wary of a DILA or any $10,000-$15000 projector at this time. Not because they're not good. But because the new stuff in the next 12 months is going to cause them to drop like a rock.


If you can afford it, get in now at the lower end or buy something used with the option of upgrading in about 12 months.


--Les

 

[bluedevils]

Try this for a buying philosophy. Don't be a slave to technology. Let technology be your slave.


In other words, you make the criteria of what you want out of a projector that would make you totally satisfied. Set your spending limit (you might be a slave to finance though). If technology has not met your requirements, then wait or get a really cheap TV to tie you over. Don't be fooled into making compromises. You'll save more and be happy with yourself in the end.



Half the fun is the research. I was hooked when I saw a sony 400q and waited for the 10ht. When the 10ht didn't meet my requirements I waited again. I'm very happy with my DILA, but if it didn't meet my finance requirements I would've waited again.

 

[Red Brian]

I guess I'll have to continue living without TV until a projector meets my needs...


In my condo I had a great TV (3 tube projector) and an ok sound system. In my house I had a great sound system and a good TV (Sony XBR). Now I want it all, in an apartment http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/wink.gif .

 

[rlsmith]

I agree with Joe Brasi.


I have been following this area for decades and I think that the next 12-18 months will be the period of greatest growth in quality and affordability for FPTV projectors. If you can wait, now is an uncommonly good time to wait.


In addition to great new things, used equipment will be very inexpensive, I think. At least I hope so, since I try to optimize "value" in my HT purchases.

 

[Mark Hunter]

Quote:

If you can wait, now is an uncommonly good time to wait

While I tend to agree, the same thing was being said on this same forum 18 months ago when I started looking. A search on the archives will reveal the wisdom of the prognosticators of past years...

 

[David Mendicino]

I first must say that the longer you wait, the less time you will have in enjoying what is available today.


You have pointed out the pros and cons of each, but must realize that there will always be some flaw. I have come to except that will approaching it, no product is ever "perfect".


If you are sensitive to the rainbow artifact, then DLP is out the window, unless you are not bothered by it.


Your con for LCD "light control needed" is incorrect I believe, for LCD's can and now are brighter than DLP.


However, I must agree in that now is the time to wait. New DLPs may eliminate all rainbow and make DLP superior to LCD. But then, the Sony 11HT may turn out to be an amazing machine.


I have to say unless you plan to upgrade, you should wait till at least these come out.


But then, you will always be "waiting", because new things come out all the time. My projector, the Sharp VGA model, was TOP-OF-THE=LINE just a few years ago, and now even I would consider it a mockery, even though it served well.


So, it is buy and enjoy now, but regret when the better thing comes out, or buy later, say I am glad I waited, cuz this is much better, only to realize they will announce something better right when yours is delivered to your home.



Case in point, and this is just an example, I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST SELECO!!!


But they have anounced, within two months of releasing the HT200, a better version with better scaling and a new colour wheel. Imagine if you just bought that thing now!





------------------

David Mendicino

Sharp xv-s55u (Don't laugh)

 

[Larry Davis]

Waiting sucks. If you have the FPTV HT bug, you probably caught it by seeing a [email protected] setup in person. You saw it, it blew you away and now you MUST HAVE IT! I know the feeling. The first thing is to scour this forum and internet search engines for information. Maybe one week, you think LCD is the way to go. Next week, D-ILA's resolution has you rethinking your options. Then you think about CRT, but rule it out because of it's size/weight/setup issues/whatever. Then you think DLP is the way to go, but then you read some more posts and now you're more confused than ever! Now is not the time to buy. Don't rush into this. Keep doing research and keep absorbing the information. Eventually you will be well informed - at least in manufacturer's claims and the opinions of the forum members. Best thing is to see it for yourself. But waiting, just to wait for prices to come down is something I don't advocate. I mean if you know that prices on a model you are interested in are about to take a nose dive, well that's one thing. But while you keep waiting for prices to drop, many people will have had huge s--- eating grins on their faces for months, while they watch their front projection setup. I can tell you that a few days ago I watched The Road To El Dorado and while it was an awful movie, chapter 11 was nearly a religious experience, it looked that awesome. If you know what you want and you can afford it, don't deprive yourself.

 

[Phat Phreddy]

If you know what you want and you can afford it, don't deprive yourself. I have to agree with this statement as well.. Prices are always falling... Machines are getting better at such a pace that the newer machines are leapfrogging each other in performance so fast that what ever you buy the projector will be dethroned before it is barely out of the packing...


Another way to look at this is if you want to dive in now and keep your options open go for a cheap used / B stock example that you know to be temporary..


Grabbing something like the 1100's going last week at $1695 or a Davis DL450 clone (DLPTheater just let one go for $1850) will mean you can get in now.. Have fun.. Enjoy the projector and keep evolving / refining your setup... and sell it on for a relatively minor loss (if any given those prices) in 6 months.. Of course for this advice to work you have to a) Buy at the bottom of the market where the downside is fairly low.. b) Not mind the temporary nature of the purchase (some people see their HT as something that is 'finished' and right.. many, or even most, see it as an evolution anyway) c) Be happy about the prospect of mounting / remounting as different throw ratios etc may not be so compatible..


If I was on the sidelines this is how I would proceed as I dont think I could bear to be without a FP now I have had one...


------------------

[email protected]
HTPC without using windows... GUI Front Ends for Home Theater

 

[Cain]

I had a good friend who kept waiting and waiting to get a new PC. Every year or 6 mos a newer, faster, better models were shipping, and he sat there waiting for over two years, even though he really wanted one very badly..


-- Cain




[This message has been edited by Cain (edited 05-05-2001).]

 

[rlsmith]

The PC is also a good example of my belief in occasional "cusps" in the technology evolution curve. Consider the following.


If you had gone out to buy a new PC in late early 1994, the fastest you could have gotten would have been a 486 DX2. If you waited until mid-1995 (18 months later), you would have been able to buy a Pentium P120 running W95.


I still am using a P120 that I bought in exactly that timeframe. The DX2 would have been junked by now. That point in time--1994-1995--was a cusp in the evolution of PC's. You were well off to wait if you could.


On the other hand, if you bought a Windows computer at any point in the last two years, you would not have seen such differences in quality/price/performance. I bought a Sony notebook in early 2000. It is comparable to the new models now in the stores. It would not have benefitted me to have waited.


I believe we are in such a point right now for HT PJ's. A good time to wait if you can do so me thinks. Especially if you are still researching the issue (as several posters pointed out).

 

[Don O’Brien]

I do not believe that Front PJs will or ever have followed Moore's law. I do not believe computer processing power and the quality of front projectors serves as a useful comparison because of the economies of scale.

The improvement in display technologies are uneven at best, but if you see an image that you feel you would enjoy for a five year period of time, buy it.

The biggest problem D-ILA has at this time is that there cheapest projector is about 10 grand. They stop producing the G11, and the 3010 has not made an appearance (I was not excited about it anyway-the elimination of the xenon lamp).


------------------

STOP HDCP on DVI

Don O

 

[Holger Klingspohr]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Brasi: This ain't your ordinary year for projectors and new standards will be established.

Has there ever been an 'ordinary' year for projectors? If you think this year will be hot, just wait til 2002, when sub-licensed D-ILA, LCOS and who knows what else hit the market.


And when the technology has finally stabilized we will dump our obsolescent projectors for 150+ inch Plasmas/LCDs etc.


It's a good thing too - just imagine, shopping for a projector would be as boring as buying a TV set. How horrible!


Holger

 

[piney]

If your requirements are absolute and not based on what others have or what you could have had, wait until your requirements have been met. If your requirements are relative, there are some decent projectors now.


I'm still watching a 1986 Sony XBR 26" TV because it was good enough. I was driving my 1983 Chevette up until a few years ago. But I'm not satisfied with the tradeoffs in FP yet so I'm waiting - but when I get one, it will be used for years to come.

 

[drmyeyes]

As has often been the case, Larry has said it best.

Don't wait, buy now. Look for a good deal on a projector that you will not be married to. You may eventually unload it; in the meantime, you will set up your screen, electronics, sound, lighting etc., etc., etc., and learn a lot more about this hobby than you possibly could reading and waiting.

By the time all of the above is accomplished, there will be a new generation of projectors that you might trade up to. Or maybe you'll wait two generations. In the meantime, even less than the best can look spectacular.