[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey all!
My 8 year old projector died, so it's time I do some shopping. I've been out of the hobby for a while and haven't keep up with the new tech. For example I see some new bulb/lamp tech out there I've never heard of ("laser"). I dusted off my log-in to the Home Theater Shack, but it seems the video portion of the forum is all but dead. I've gotten on Projector Central and did some window shopping, but I'd really like to chat with folks and read what's going on with the units these days. Anyone have a good place to go, or have any words of wisdom. Thank you!
Bob

[drummermitchell]

AVS Forum is a great place for projector discussions.
Jvc and a few others have laser projection.
I believe the Jvc retails around $24,000.00
They have lesser prices on other 4K models...NX-5 ..7..9
Jvc has been very popular for their inky blacks.
And if you would like a stocking stuffer for your projector.........
Look no further than a Panamorph Paladin DCR anamorphic lens.
They fit JVC,Sony,Epson,BenQ which are all 4K.

Should add the Panamorph lens is good for only 4K projection.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Great info, thank you. Yes, the Optoma laser unit ($1400) has a contrast ration of 300,000:1, which blew me away. At least, the numbers I'm used to seeing.
Thanks for the reminder about AVS, I forgot all about them.

[RolandButcher]

Jvc and a few others have laser projection.
I believe the Jvc retails around $24,000.00

Man, you don't mess around with your Home Theater gear! My sub-$2K Epson Home Cinema 3700 projector is still humming along, but I am curious about the short-throw laser projectors that are becoming more popular these days. Also, with 85" TVs coming down in price, I wonder whether that is the way of the future vs. my 110" projection screen.

 

[Tyson]

I have an Epson 5050 which is the best projector under $5k if you have a light controlled room, IMO.  Epson is really great with black levels and rich colors.  It's also nicely bright and has good contrast.  Only downside IMO is it's not true 4k, it uses 'e-shift' technology to create a close proximity to true 4k. 

Looking at the other projectors out now, I'd say the Panasonic NX-7 is probably the best projector in the 5k to 10k price range.  True 4k resolution, class leading contrast and color, and very bright.  This is the one I'm going to get next after I save up a bit. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Man, you don't mess around with your Home Theater gear! My sub-$2K Epson Home Cinema 3700 projector is still humming along, but I am curious about the short-throw laser projectors that are becoming more popular these days. Also, with 85" TVs coming down in price, I wonder whether that is the way of the future vs. my 110" projection screen.

Yea, he's definitely out of my price range too. I wondered if that was a typo, with an extra zero. 
My sub $2k Epson, Sanyo and Optoma units served me well, I won't complain.
At 140" diagonal, I'm still stuck with the projector tech. Although, I find it mind blowing that this little Optoma I'm looking at needs only 5' throw distance to generate a 140" picture. 

Tyson, thank you. Still a bit out of my price range. I'm not quite that much of a videophile. I would like to see what 4k looks like, but it might have to wait til my new unit dies.

[Philistine]

I started with a Sony CRT, then Runco DLP, followed by an Epson (think it's a 5020) and now a Sony 885ES (4K).  Screen size 120 inches.

The Epson has just over 100 hours on the lamp and no longer used, with 4K the Sony is significantly better than the 1080p Epson - on regular 1080p the Sony is still superior but I could still live with the much less costly Epson.  Given the step changes in technology I think any of the $2k Epson projectors will give you a great picture, can't comment on other brands, but you might want to consider future proofing by getting 4K.  I had a 4K Super Bowl party this year and the picture quality was incredible.

[Tyson]

For under $5k, the Epson 5050 or 6050 is the way to go, IMO.  It has superior contrast and color and the interpolation process gets you close to 4k.  Call it 3.5k.  The optics/glass is also very good.  And it does 3D well too, if you have the 3D glasses. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Thank you fellas very much!

[rklein]

There is a sale going on right now on the Epson 6040UB.  This is the black units as opposed to the white 5040(50)UB.  I believe that these units are refurbished models but come with Epson's 3 year new warranty.  The price is $1,699.  These units sold for $3,999.  These units are good for ambient light rooms and of course very good in a light controlled HT.  Audio Advice and the Epson site has them listed.  I also believe that Parker Gwen has them and you can get an additional 2 year warranty through them.

I am not ready yet to pull the trigger as my HT room is about 6 months from completion(doing it myself).  If you are looking to buy now, that would be the deal.  There are some differences between the 6040 and 6050(5050) models.

I am looking at the JVC NX-5 and the NX-7 models(native 4k).  These can be had for $3,599/$4,599 refurbed from an authorized dealer.

Regards,

Randy

[mojave]

AVS Forum is a great place for projector discussions.
Jvc and a few others have laser projection.
I believe the Jvc retails around $24,000.00
They have lesser prices on other 4K models...NX-5 ..7..9
Jvc has been very popular for their inky blacks.
And if you would like a stocking stuffer for your projector.........
Look no further than a Panamorph Paladin DCR anamorphic lens.
They fit JVC,Sony,Epson,BenQ which are all 4K.

The DCR is for the NX9 while the much cheaper DCR-J1 is now available for the NX5 and NX7.
If you use the Zoom mode on the JVC projectors, you will get an 11% increase in brightness for 2.39 content. This uses the entire width of the 4096 x 2160 panel. If you add a DCR lens, you get another 23-24% increase.

Should add the Panamorph lens is good for only 4K projection.

Just to clarify further, the Paladin Lens is for 3840 x 2160 and the Paladin DCR lens is for 4096 x 2160. There are also direct mount lenses for Sony and JVC projectors called the DCR-S1 and DCR-J1 respectively.

[mojave]

There are some very nice PJ's available for low prices. However, distribution is an issue right now with COVID-19.

There are several types of PJ's in the under $5000 range:  DLP, LCD, D-ILA (JVC), LCOS (Sony). The light source can be lamp, laser, or LED. Only D-ILA and LCOS offer true 4K panels in consumer projectors . The DLP and LCD "4K" PJ's use pixel shifting at high frequency to simulate 4K.

There are numerous things to consider when buying a PJ:  black level, brightness, tone mapping for HDR, resolution, how quickly you want to turn it on/off (laser is super fast), what adjustment you need for vertical/horizontal shift, throw distance, calibration capability, memory settings for zoom and shift, noise, whether it can be adjusted via an iris to calibrate to 14 fL on the screen for diffuse white, whether it has a secondary iris for higher dynamic contrast ratio, motion handling, and bandwidth of the HDMI inputs.

If you want to watch UHD Blu-rays or stream movies with HDR content then you need dynamic tone mapping. JVC is the only PJ that offers dynamic tone mapping and this is on their NX5, NX7, and NX9 PJ's.

Looking at the other projectors out now, I'd say the Panasonic NX-7 is probably the best projector in the 5k to 10k price range.  True 4k resolution, class leading contrast and color, and very bright.  This is the one I'm going to get next after I save up a bit.

Panasonic hasn't had a consumer PJ for a couple of years. I think you mean the JVC DLA-NX7. They are under $5K.

[Tyson]

There are some very nice PJ's available for low prices. However, distribution is an issue right now with COVID-19.

There are several types of PJ's in the under $5000 range:  DLP, LCD, D-ILA (JVC), LCOS (Sony). The light source can be lamp, laser, or LED. Only D-ILA and LCOS offer true 4K panels in consumer projectors . The DLP and LCD "4K" PJ's use pixel shifting at high frequency to simulate 4K.

There are numerous things to consider when buying a PJ:  black level, brightness, tone mapping for HDR, resolution, how quickly you want to turn it on/off (laser is super fast), what adjustment you need for vertical/horizontal shift, throw distance, calibration capability, memory settings for zoom and shift, noise, whether it can be adjusted via an iris to calibrate to 14 fL on the screen for diffuse white, whether it has a secondary iris for higher dynamic contrast ratio, motion handling, and bandwidth of the HDMI inputs.

If you want to watch UHD Blu-rays or stream movies with HDR content then you need dynamic tone mapping. JVC is the only PJ that offers dynamic tone mapping and this is on their NX5, NX7, and NX9 PJ's.
Panasonic hasn't had a consumer PJ for a couple of years. I think you mean the JVC DLA-NX7. They are under $5K.

You're right, I meant the JVC DLA-NX7.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Excellent info, thank you!