Projector

We just moved into a new home and have chosen a 24' X 13' room downstairs to be used as our home theater.

My wife has approved the budget for the projector to be $1500 or less. What is the best projector choice in this price range that would do well in our size room?

Thank You,
Dave

Re: Projector

Panasonic PT-AE900U LCD ($1,200 Amazon) or Optoma HD72 DLP ($1,400 Amazon) would be my top two picks. Enjoy!

Re: Projector

There are others though that are brand new that are getting great reviews like the Optoma HD70 for under $1k, and the Mitsubishi HD1000u for the same. These are both 720p Dark Chip 2 DLP projectors. Of course the HD72 Alon mentioned is a great one and probably a better overall performer in terms of color accuracy and black levels. The new Mits however would give it a run for it's money....

Good luck!

Re: Projector

Dave, before I recommend a projector, you need to tell us more about your room. 1) DLP or LCD? 2) Will you watch in the dark or with lights on? 3) Any problems like low ceiling or special throw distance requirements? 4) Will you be ceiling mounting it? 5) Desired screen size 6) Seating distance

Re: Projector

After a lot of research I went ahead and purchased the Panasonic PT-AE900U LCD projector due to it's excellent reviews and value. It came with a free 3 year lamp warantee and $300 Blockbuster gift card.

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If this is your first projector you'll definitely love it! Be sure to let us know what you think, if your able to pull yourself away.

Re: Projector

Alright I'm confused. Is a 720P projector capable of displaying Blu-Ray and HD DVD format, or does it have to be a 1080P projector?

Re: Projector

Any 720p projector will display HD DVD and Blu-Ray quite well, but not at the full 1080p resolution that these formats can provide. Cost is still relatively high on the 1080p projectors, so a 720p projector is a really nice cost effective stop-gap that can bring you into the FP world at a very low cost. Check out my review:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=248116

This is an example of a nice entry-level 720p projector that does great things for Blu-Ray and HD DVD.

Are there any setting to play blue ray or hd-dvd on 720p projectors? If there are any please advice. Thanks

Depends on the specific projector.  The manual should have a specifications list that says what resolutions it accepts, and what its native resolution is.  For a 1280x720p DLP, I would usually select 720p out on the BD output resolution, try 1080p if the projector accepts the input.  For a 1366x768 LCD, you should try both 720p & 1080i and pick whichever looks better, but use 1080p if the projector accepts it.