Help - Which LCD projector to buy for my home theater? (1 Viewer)

[norcalty]

I am remodeling my garage completly and making it a home theater. I have an older Sharp projector that I'm getting rid of and want to buy a projector for the new theater that will project in 16:9 format.

I would like to stay under the 2k price mark.
It should be at least 720 but would obviously like higher if I could afford it.
Prefer lamps cost under $400
Would like decent brightness and contrast ratio
Needs to be LCD because I had a DLP and the rainbow effect drives me crazy

I was looking at the Epson PowerLite 550 or Pro 800. Does anyone have one of these? Do you like it?

What projector do you recommend? Why? What do you like about it? How much are the lamps?

 

[ChrisClearman]

Panasonic AE900U , 720p projector
Panasonic AX100u, 720p projector
Optomo HD72, 720p projector

depend on your distance, lighting, and mounting

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I just recently bought Epson's low(est) end model, the Powerlite Home 20... and I'm amazed at how good it looks, a lot better than I expected. If that's any indication of the quality of their products, I'd say the Epsons are at least worth some consideration. Also, they have amazing customer service. Might not seem like a big factor in a purchase, but for how much a projector costs, to me it's important to know that I'm covered in case anything goes wrong along the way.

 

[Shane Harg]

I second the above recommendation for the Panasonic models. I've had my AE900 for almost a year, now, and still LOVE it. The Optoma model is DLP, however, not LCD.

Another good one is the Sanyo Z1

 

[Jim Mcc]

Forget the Z1, it's VERY OUTDATED and not 720p.

 

[Shane Harg]

Sorry, I meant the Z4. Or even the Z5, which I believe is out now. It boasts a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, although I don't know how "real-world" that is.

 

[mustangwally]

just received the Z5 today(2200CDN shipped with a spare lamp and ceiling mount) and it looks amazing on my friend's wall with no screen(wall color is mocha), right out of the box the pic was amazing, and probably be even better when i get it home and show it on a screen

i highly recommend this unit!