Help with deciding between 2 Front Projectors (1 Viewer)

[Keith>R]

My family is looking into installing a home theater system. After searching for quite some time we finally found a reputable dealer that we feel comfortable with and that we know will do a good job. We are still at the stage of deciding whether or not we should go ahead and have them install it. They came out and gave us two identical estimates except for the projector used in each. The lesser estimate uses the Sony VPL-HS20 and the other uses the Sharp XVZ10000U. Now, money isn't really the issue, we can go ahead and spend the money for the Sharp. However, because of the unique space we are using for the system the largest reasonable screen we can use is a 70" diagonal 16:9 screen. So, my question is, is it really worth it to spend nearly $5,000 more on the sharp in such a small screen format? Will the differences in the two units still be that substantial in this case? I have read really good things about the Sony on projectorcentral.com so I'm unsure of how to advise my parents. I would appreciate any input you have. Thanks,
Keith

 

[mark alan]

The sharp projector is an older model, and I believe that it has been discontinued. A quick search online shows that it is selling for around 5K. Based upon that, I would say that no, it is not worth 5K more than the sony (unless the sony is free).

The biggest difference between the projectors is that sony is lcd and the sharp is dlp. you pay a BIG premium to get 720 line resolution in a dlp projector. DLP has a better contrast ratio, but I haven't heard anybody complain about the picture quality with the HS20.

Just so you know, the sony model will be replaced fairly soon. I don't know if the replacement model (HS50) will be much better.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Those two projectors are fairly comparable in picture quality.

 

[Ian-Fl]

With a 70'' screen I would consider the DLP projector because of the screen door effect.
I'm sitting approx. 14' from my 110'' diagonal screen and I don't notice the screen door with my LCD projector. If I get up and look at the screen from a closer distance it's noticable.

 

[Thomas Nichols]

I saw the HS20 in several setups recently and thought it looked nice. I don't think it was good as the HD2 and HD2+ setups I have seen but then it was a lot cheaper.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

How far will the seating be? At that size, with a 10' or greater viewing distance, the $1500 InFocus 4805 would likely come very close in performance...

 

[mark alan]

Thats true, if you plan to sit more than 2 screen widths away from the screen, the cheapest projector out there will look basically as good as the most expensive.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Wow, interesting. I was just referring to that specific model, where the main "drawback" is the lower resolution...the chief aspect mitigated by distance.