I've seen some projectors from InFocus that look really good on paper, plus these come in a huge range of available lumens at reasonable prices.. Some say HDTV ready, but really.. I haven't auditioned one just yet.

I would love to hear the two cents from all of you who set up projectors.

Sure I have favorite CRT's, but I'm interested in the must have's and have not's associated with single lens projectors right now..

Also Who's scalers etc. are you using?..

What would you pick as the best or even the most disappointing projector?. Favorite features?

Don't you just hate these vague questions?

I think projectors are a must see, and in the "normal" environment. In my experience the specs don't mean much. A couple of good places for info on projectors are http://www.projectorcentral.com and [Link: avsforum.com] (very knowledgeable folks, but I think people tend to be a bit biased with what hey have, like asking here what is the best remote). Also usage and how things are connected and how much you tweak a projector can make a drastic difference on which is best.

I have seen several projectors (NEC, Epson, Infocus) I have feed them straight composite, s-video and VGA. I don't like infocus' blue screen (it gives a blue screen that says "computing next image" or something like that, I find the Epson (7250) gave a better image (sharper) then the NEC (more cloudy). The other thing to consider is that most DLP projectors use a single DLP chip and a colour wheel to make the picture, the LCD projectors use three panels, so you have more control over colours with a LCD projector then the DLP. I have not seen any D-ila or Lcos (generic term) projectors so I cannot compare. One more thing about projectors, as the bulb gets older the image gets darker, so it needs adjusting over the life of the bulb. I would also recommend to go with a brighter projector (I don't think there is such a thing as too many lumens). Also good controls are a plus, (if you use a scalar this is not important, but a lot of projectors have video connections that are on the same input (so that you cannot
connect a s-video and composite source and switch between them)

The Z-9000 from Sharp has a 16:9 DLP chip and a five color wheel. I haven't seen it, but these two features should make it better than other fixed pixel display projectors.

OK Anthony.. If you like things bright.. You'll appreciate the InFocus Pro AV 9350. At 5000 Lumens I'll better keep it in a fireproof and well ventilated cabinet.

The only problem is I can't find much of anything in the way of reviews on this product..

The LP925 has some coverage, but only 2400 lumens.. .. "only".. Both are supposed to be HDTV ready.. For whatever that is worth..

Oh.. and I really don't mind the blue..

sounds like a vacuum cleaner but looks good

with out a doubt, the best dlp and scaler are in my opinion "DWIN" transvision 1 and 2.....they rock......i have removed my rgb projector oin my house in favor of this product...the image is stunning

ed rakowski
custom entertainment inc.
[Link: svs.com]
[email protected]

IMO-

Top DLP: Marantz VP12S1, Seleco HT300, Sharp XVZ-9000, Dwin Transvision 2

Top Dila/LCOS: Madrigal MDP-1, Hitachi CP-SX5500W, JVC DLA-G15U

Top Scaler: Faroudja NRS, Key Digital Leeza, Videon Central Omega One, iScan Pro, Faroudja DVP3000

Don't Forget the Screen: Most of these perform best on Stewart's GreyHawk (haven't seen the FireHawk yet).

Not necessarily in that order.

jcmitch

Can anybody give an opinion about the Sony VW10HT projector? Here's a link:

[Link: TigerDirect.com]

Danke,
Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Just installed a JVC G-20 DILA projector on a 110" 16:9 greyhawk screen. Great picture....harsh fan noise; had to build an insulated box around the projector to reduce the noise. They have the problem licked with the projector up from this one. I am about to install one of them very soon. The ansi lumens are bright enough to practically watch it with the lights on. Note you can still get burn-in on these projectors, so no stationary data or video games. Scaler wise, we tried out a Dream Vision $5k scaler and it appears to work ok; very easy to set up and operate with all discrete buttons on the remote.

Brad

I have owned vw10ht for about 1.5 yrs now-no complaints. fan noise is reasonable. progressive scan image from sony 9000 dvd component(bypasses scalers) is awsome. better @ 122 inches than most 60 inch big scren tv's i've seen. cant wait to see hd broadcasts

Hey Larry, I have installed 2 of the Sony VPL VW10HT projectors, both were almost 2 years ago. One is in a home theater environment and the other in a conference room. So far they have performed excellent and the customers are very pleased. The only thing is that I worry about the bulb life. A message came up after 2000 hours to let you know its time to change the bulb yet it still looked great. I talked to a Sony engineer and he recommended to just keep using the bulb until it is no longer usuable. He also said, which I have seen, that the newer type bulbs do not suffer the darkening effect over time to near the degeree that other type bulbs do. The customer has almost 4000 hours on it and I have only had to make one picture adjustment on it. I wonder how long it will last? The replacement bulb for it is around $500 from Sony. In fact the room they have it in has a lot of light sources coming in and it still looks great so the projector has plenty of brightness to it.

The conference room still has less than 2000 hours and they mainly use it for power point presentations with their computer.

Both are projected on Drapers motorized 96" screens.

I'm very pleased with the performance and its lower cost than most.

Jeff

I bought the Marantz VP12S1 projector and the Faroudja NR scaler that jcmitch recommend. However, I learned something VERY interesting when I send the scalar to Faroudja to have them match it to the projector. They informed me that Marantz had licensed the NR scaler software and built it directly in to their VP12S1, so the NR scaler was not needed! So I returned the scaler to my A/V supplier and saved a few thousand dollars! The Marantz VP12S1, BTW, is incredible. I compared it against the other top ones in jcmitch's suggestions, and it blows them away. The number of inputs is also a bonus.

Steve

If you are looking for a projector don't forget to figure in the price of a replacement bulb(s) also if its not set up right it will never look as good as it should. Video essentials makes a good dvd for this.

I have set up a couple of Sharp XVZ-9000 DLP projectors in the past two weeks and am pretty impressed with their performance. Good bright picture and the 16x9 dlp chip helps when using a HDTV spec screen (I used DaMat with pro trim both times). I just did a sony LCD this afternoon VPL-VW10HD. For the $ its not too bad, although I kept expecting the Wendie's lady to come out and say "Where's the black" :) but for half the price of the Sharp its not too bad.