Prices on NEC LT150? (1 Viewer)

[Andres Munoz]

I'm in the market for a projector in the $2,500 range and I've been reading many good things about the NEC LT150.

Can someone tell me how much it is going for? Who's got the best prices out there?

Also, if you can list the specs, I'd appreciate that. I'm not really familiar with what this projector can do. I think it has 800 lumens. Is that bright enough?

Is it HTDV compatible?

16:9 aspect ratio?

How loud is the fan?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Matt Stryker]

Good luck finding one, they have been discontinued for a while. Try Ebay, or AVSForum; I believe they have some B-Stock models available.

I have an LT150 and I'm using a 60x80" screen with 1.5 gain; 800 lumens is plenty as long as you can completely darken the room. The LT150 is HDTV compatible. Its native aspect ratio is 4:3, but since it is XGA (1024x768 pixels) it can completely resolve anamorphic DVDs when fed through the component input with no loss in resolution. The loudness depends on whether you're planning on mounting it right side up or upside down; right side up it is pretty quiet, but if you decide to ceiling mount it, the fan goes into overdrive when it is flipped and the noise becomes noticeable.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Yeah, I read that this model had been discontinued but I didn't know how long ago or that it would be hard to find.

So what's the replacement model then? the LT150z? How much is that going for?

 

[PaulHeroy]

Andres, I'd suggest doing some searching (if you haven't) over on the AVS "DLP, LCD, D-ILA" forum. There is an enormous amount of info about the LT150 over there, from basic specs and reviews, to info about screens, scalers/doublers combinations (hint: the LT150's isn't that great), and various mods.
One very nice thing about the LT150 though is the contrast ratio of 800:1, which means good black/shadow detail. That's a better spec than most other inexpensive projectors, most of which are designed for presentations -- CR is much more important for video/HT than for computer presentations.
800 lumens might be enough depending on the screen and your room. I use the Hi-Power version of the Dalite 60" x 80", which has received several recommendations from other LT150 owners. My room is not totally light controlled -- it's open on one side, has a smaller opening on the back wall, and a couple of windows. By using shades & curtains over the windows & rear opening I can get away with decent daytime viewing, though certainly not optimal. At night it's quite bright.
The noise is loud enough to be somewhat annoying IMO, even right side up. I started out putting it on a coffee table, and recently mounted it in a partially enclosed box on the ceiling. If you flip the image (for ceiling mount) the fan automatically speeds up and gets noisier, so a hush box is just about a requirement in that case.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

You can probably find some from dealers at www.projectorcentral.com I got bids for around $2400 4 months ago and you can usually find someone with B stock.
As for opinions of the LT150. I say it is the best bang for the buck. This thing is amazing when hooked up with a HTPC. Also for the screen, if you are DIY type of person, Blackout material works perfectly and a quarter of the cost of a store bought screen.
If you can find one, I would definately buy it. Double check that you get NEC's instacare warranty with it though if you do purchase it from someone.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I found a price of $2,499 for a brand new LT150. Is this considered a good price?

Double check that you get NEC's instacare warranty with it though if you do purchase it from someone.

Instacare warranty? Is this a different warranty from the standard 3 year one that you get from NEC?

I'm a little hesitant about buying the projector without having demo'ed it first but there's nothing I can do about that. Since it has been discontinued, I doubt any dealer in the NYC area will have one.

But if everyone is raving about it, that should be good enough for me.

 

[John Kotches]

Andres,
The NEC LT-150 is an excellent starter projector with a few caveats....
1) The fan is loud, and is much worse when the projector is ceiling mounted -- you must do something to deal with the fan noise in a ceiling mount implementation.
2) Utilization of a Color Correcting Filter (CCF) is essentially mandatory, ie you'd be crazy NOT to use one. If you read through the thread locked to the top of the page about LT-150 mods, or check out the numerous LT-150 threads at AVS, you'll see what I'm tallking about. THe cost is nominal, anywhere from US$15 up to US$80 depending on size and quality. Best ones are the Hoya Multicoat lenses.
Hope this helped.
Regards,

 

[Andres Munoz]

Yes John. I read that thread and a couple of others at the AVSForum. There seems to be a lot of info on this projector which is a good thing.

So is $2,499 a good price? Should I jump on it like there's no tomorrow?

 

[John Kotches]

Andres,

The $2,499 price is a decent price -- AVS gets B-Stock LT-150s for a less (around US$1999), but the inventory is available only very sporadically.

IMO, it's the best entry level Digital PJ on the market....

Regards,

 

[Andres Munoz]

I already contacted AVS but they don't have any and it seems that the waiting list is pretty long.

What's the warranty on the B-stocks?