1080p Front Projectors - Page 2

Tim Glover · 09-18-2006, 11:41 AM

We will gladly wait and of course expect it to be really good stuff since you've given it more time.

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Tim Glover · 09-19-2006, 12:37 PM

This report is from ProjectorReviews.com:

This guy is very FP savvy and I like his reviews: Here's the actual link to his CEDIA report (well worth the read) and a few snippetts:

http://www.projectorreviews.com/Home...mCEDIA2006.asp

In that link he has links for his 720p CEDIA report and a link for 1080p CEDIA stuff...

Quote:

Just one 720p home theater projector! Panasonic demonstrated their new PT-AX100U projector, in two rooms. The first demo room, a fully darkened theater, and the second in more of a family room environment with the ability to vary the brightness widely to see how the PT-AX100U performed. The projector looked great with movie content in the dark, and had the brightness to handle moderate ambient light, in the other room.

Quote:

Moving up one step in quality, Optoma's HD73 home theater projector is replacing the Optoma HD72, one of my all time favorite projectors. With an anticipated selling price of $1999 when it starts shipping in November, it is rated 30% brighter than the HD70 and offers a number of improvements in image quality. No doubt it will prove to be a worthy successor to what has been the best under $2000 DLP projector on the market.

Quote:

The HD7300, is replacing the HD7100. The HD7100 has been, by far the least expensive home theater projector to sport the Darkchip3 DLP processor. New for the HD7300, is an outboard processor featuring Gennum VXP processing. Gennum's processing has been key to the excellent reviews that Marantz's higher end VP-12S4 has received (including ours). The HD7300, however, is expected to sell for under $3000, while the Marantz has been selling for almost $15,000 and has just dropped its price to $10,999. The HD7300 looks to be a superb bargain, for those looking for the richest colors and blackest blacks in a 720p resolution projector.

Quote:

Over 40 Hot New 1080p Home Theater Projectors - By Manufacturer, With Comments:
Images of many of these projectors will be added over the next few days.

As mentioned in the Overview, 1080p projectors are here - in force, and many at surprsingly low prices (starting at $4499)!
Panasonic, Epson and Mitsubishi are going to slug it out for the king of the 1080p LCD based projectors. Just about every other 1080p projector is DLP, either single or three chip, with the exception of a few LCOS projectors from Sony, JVC and Dreamvision.

The 1080p summary is a longer one so I'll let you all read that.

Give it a look as there's plenty of top notch FP options for us whether it be 720p or 1080p.

Nikki M · 09-19-2006, 01:39 PM

OK-I'm new to the forum & home theater, and may be posting in the wrong area, so please point me in the right direction!
First, thanks to all of you for your knowledge and willingness to share info. And thanks in advance for any advice.

My husband & I are looking to create our 1st home theater. We were all set to buy the Sharp XV-Z12000 Mark II front projector this week because we have seen it locally, thought it was the best image out of what we have seen & the price has come down to $4900.

Then I started reading this forum, & read about the Sony Pearl. I am trying to find someplace locally that might have one to view. But I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on whether it would worth waiting for the Pearl to become available, or grab one of the Sharps before they are all gone?

Any input would be great!
Nikki M

JediFonger · 09-19-2006, 02:04 PM

ya gotta wait for another 2-3 months before widespread availability.. or get in line by calling sony themselves =).

Nikki M · 09-19-2006, 02:16 PM

Thanks for the reply...but what I'm really trying to figure out is if it's worth waiting for.

There's a local company that has the Sony Ruby on display...anyone know if the Pearl will be comparable to the Ruby visually? (and I realize that much of it is subjective) I've read that the replacement bulb will cost a lot less for the Pearl, and various other specs...but what I'm really interested in is image quality. So if the Pearl looks similar to the Ruby, then we at least could look at it & compare it to the Sharp.

Nikki M

Adam Gregorich · 09-19-2006, 02:39 PM

The Pearl and Ruby use different bulb types, so the color saturation won't be identical. Do you already have a screen? That may be a consideration too, as the Pearls on display were shown against a special screen that Stewart developed for them (Firehawk SST)

Nikki M · 09-19-2006, 02:50 PM

We don't have anything yet, just a big finished basement. The only advice I have gotten so far is to buy a Stewart screen, that they are the best. We are going 100".

And the basement does have easily accessible crawl space, so running cables won't be too horrible.

Adam Gregorich · 09-19-2006, 03:12 PM

Factor in the difference of a firehawk SST vs a Studiotec 130 (or whatever you were planning on using with the Sharp. That will make a difference to the bottom line. Depending on how far away from the screen you are you may not see a difference between 720 and 1080P.

Nikki M · 09-19-2006, 03:58 PM

Thanks for the input. I guess the best way to go is to at least look at the Ruby, then go look at the Sharp. Luckily the 2 stores are within a few miles of each other.

As for the price on the Firehawk SST, I haven't been able to find one.

For some reason, I have seen very few reviews/feedback on that Sharp projector. Maybe it's because the MRSP was $10k+??

Tim Glover · 09-19-2006, 05:12 PM

Hey Nikki.

Haven't seen that Sharp model but there is a VERY STRONG buzz on the Sony Pearl you are looking at too. Here's a link to a review that Robert F. provided last week. This reviewer did some short comparos to the Ruby too. Looks like the Pearl will be the best display and value in a long time.

Read this review...but I warn you, it's very detailed!

http://cine4home.com/reviews/project...VW50Review.htm

I re-read the 1080p CEDIA report again from this site and other online sources. Even though the prices on these are landmark, they are still a bit too much for me right now. The prices on 720p units are extremely competative currently and are delivering top notch images.

Robert F, can't wait to read your 720p and 1080p assessment as you said you talked with others at CEDIA about this very thing. Can't wait.

Tim Glover · 09-19-2006, 05:16 PM

I've been looking at plasmas in the 50 inch range....considering you'll pay about $2500 on the low end for these (not counting Vizio

)....this is still about $1000 to $1200 more than a 720p projector that will throw a HUGE image. I realize that's not counting the screen but there are deals/bargains and other means to do this economically and still have a stellar image.

I have a REAL hard time throwing down that kind of money for a flat panel model when I can have a real cinema experience for way less.

Nikki M · 09-19-2006, 05:28 PM

Thanks Tim for the info. I'll read the article & hopefully understand it...at least the parts that might pertain to us! I am anxious to see the Ruby and I hope that the salesman can talk to me about what the differences w/ the Pearl will be.