As a preface to this post, please note that I am somewhat of a novice when it comes to A/V equipment.
I was all set to buy a VPL-VW12HT (in the next few weeks) and then I started reading about the VPL-HS10. Now I can't make up my mind! Note that in-spite of the price difference, I am not opposed to spending the extra money on the 12HT, if it is really worth the extra money.
In comparing the two machines, the biggest differences I see, other than price, are brightness (1200 vs. 1000 lumens, advantage HS10), contrast (1000 vs. 700, 12HT), focus & zoom (power vs. manual, HS10), digital input & HTPC support (HS10), LCD size (1.4 vs. 0.9", 12HT), horizontal scan frequency (15-91 vs. 19-72kHz, 12HT), and vertical scan frequency (50-85Hz (12HT) vs. 48-92Hz (HS10), advantage ?).
Here are the details of my system configuration, etc.:
1. Projecting onto a 106" diagonal (16:9, masks to 4:3) Da-Lite Cinema Vision High Contrast screen
2. Room is 80-90% light controlled; viewing positions at 11'+ from screen
3. Receiver = Yamaha RXV-3300
4. DVD = Yamaha DVD-CX1
5. HDTV Receiver = Sony SAT-HD200
6. Will be viewing mostly DVD's and sports (antenna feed) (too cheap to get cable/DirecTV!)
My questions:
1. On paper, it seems as though the HS10 is a better overall deal for the money. What am I missing? There must be some reason that the 12HT is ~$2K more. After posting this on the $5000+ board, someone suggested that the price difference may be due to the scaler and/or de-interlacer used. Does anyone have information on the components used in the two machines? I have called Sony tech support but have not received a satisfactory answer to this question.
2. How do LCD size and scan frequencies affect image quality?
3. I am assuming that one of the main reasons for the price difference between the two projectors must have something to do with image quality. Given my viewing habits and the other components in my system, will I be able to get as good of an image quality with the HS10 as with the 12HT? If not, is there anything that can be added to the system to make the HS10 and 12HT equivalent in image quality?
Thanks, in advance, for everyone's input.
Jonathan Maag
New Berlin, WI
