[es347]

Hello everyone,

I am building a new house with a theater. This will the third time so it may be the charmed one. I am thinking about the Marantz VP-12S4 or the Sharp SV-Z1200 MkII. The Sharp is of course less $$. Neither is 1080p. First question: is it that big a deal to go with a 1080p projector? Second question: the three chip DLP Sim2 C3X Lite is very appealing for more money of course but you do avoid the color wheel but it's not 1080p either...anyone have experience with that unit? I saw it in a theater in a model home last week and it was impressive. Question three: what is the best way to match up a screen with any of those projectors. I do know that the Marantz is supposedly best if matched with a screen with higher gain because of its lower light output but I don't know diddly about the Sharp or the Sim2. My first theater had the first gen. Sharp DLP front projector (9000?) matched with a Stewart grey hawk I think but when I bought them on line, it was a shot in the dark. The picture was impressive but not sure it was optimal. Sorry for length of this message and thx in advance.

[klh]

1080p will only help if the screen is big enough. 720 p is all you need if you have distance to width ratio of 1.8:1 or more. I think you'd be better off waiting for1080p if your front row is at 1.5:1 or less. Check out the Mitsubishi HC5000. For the price, it has the potential to be one hell of a projector. You could always go with the Sony Pearl. Both will be winners as far as I am concerned. CEDIA is only a few weeks away. You'll be much better off if you can wait to see what is released in Denver.

[es347]

We are just now breaking ground on the house so I have at least 6 months and I know a lot can happen in that time frame.  How about a 3 chip DLP or LCD, LED 1080p front proj. for less than $10K?  I can dream right?

thx.

 

[zybar]

We are just now breaking ground on the house so I have at least 6 months and I know a lot can happen in that time frame.  How about a 3 chip DLP or LCD, LED 1080p front proj. for less than $10K?  I can dream right?

thx.

 

I thought Sony had that with their newest pj?

Anyway, if you can't use the pj for 6+ months, don't buy anything now.  It will only get better and cheaper.

George

[klh]

The Sony Pearl I linked to will sell for around $5,500 and the Mitsubishi linked to will sell for around $4,500. Check out the links I provided above. The Mitsu is 1080p with the new D6 panels with C2Fine technology. It has phenomenal optics and a video processor and deinterlacer (for 1080i and 540i signals) that rivals the best independant ones you buy. The Sony has better contrast, but lacks in the other strong suites of the mitsu. There are others that are more expensive, but the gain is so incremental. I don't think its worth the extra investment unless you are uber rich.

[zybar]

The Sony Pearl I linked to will sell for around $5,500 and the Mitsubishi linked to will sell for around $4,500. Check out the links I provided above. The Mitsu is 1080p with the new D6 panels with C2Fine technology. It has phenomenal optics and a video processor and deinterlacer (for 1080i and 540i signals) that rivals the best independant ones you buy. The Sony has better contrast, but lacks in the other strong suites of the mitsu. There are others that are more expensive, but the gain is so incremental. I don't think its worth the extra investment unless you are uber rich.

I totally agree with your last statement on the investment part.

I bought a VP12-S1 when it first came out, and while it was excellent, it was quickly equaled or surpassed at a much lower price within 12-24 months.  Additionally, not having certain features (like 1080p) might not seem like a big deal now, but could be in 12 months as the technology matures and grows.  For the amount of money the Marantz costs, I would think you would want use it for a number of years.

George

[es347]

Thanks for the responses guys.  I am very intrigued by the Mitsubishi HC5000.  I have read everything I could find on the net and the only drawback, if there is one, is that the LCD panels...in the past anyway...eventually wear out.  There are differing opinions regarding DLP vs. LCD tech for front pjs.  But for $4500 MSRP I don't see how you could go wrong.  No color wheel, low noise, apparently good contrast, and I believe a relatively inexpensive lamp (at least relative to the Sony xenon lamps).  Boy I would love to see a comparison test to say the Sim2 three chip dlp at 3x the price.  I'm betting the picture isn't 3x better.

[klh]

We'll hear alot of stuff during and after CEDIA. It's just two weeks away . I doubt there will be many side by side comparisons but all of the 1080p PJs will get a lot of attention. I'm sure there will be several weeks worth of reading at AVS what with announcements and actual presentations. That will be a very interesting time.

[klh]

The kicker for me is the state of the art video processor on the HC5000. I've read it would cost upwards of $1000 as a stand alone unit. The fact that the PJ has very good optics, dust protection, improved contrast, flexiblity of placement, reasonable light output, displays 1080p, is rather quiet and the MSRP is only $4,500 is very exciting. Even though the contrast will probably not be as good as DLP or SXRD, it will be much closer than the D5 panels provided, and all the other assets will in my opinion make it a big seller. The one potential downfall may be the dynamic iris. If it is quick then it may be a big selling point, but if it slow it will certainly detract... and this will likely be the primary point for those who may come over from the DLP camp (or those considering the Pearl). I think there is a good chance the Mitsu will drive down the prices of 720p DLP if it has a reasonably good dynamic iris. Not only that, but I find it hard to beleive that Panasonic and Sanyo will have equally well built 1080p c2fine PJs whenever they finally come out... which means they will have to MSRP for no more than $3,500 if they want to sell. Not only that, but I think it will be at least another 6 months or so until Panny and Sanyo come out with their competing PJs, and by then the Mitsu will be selling for well below it's MSRP.

[balji]

It's more about the optics used in the device. The engines dont cost as much as good optics. Thats why Infocus 777 is quite expensive and one of the best 720p projectors.

Hook up a Blue Ray DVD or HD-DVD to a 720p projector, no eye would be able to tell wheather it is 1080i or 1080p.

Contrast ratio is very essential when watching movies like Underworld Evolution. The dark scenes clearly demand that a good engine like DMD3 or SXRD and to get a real 3-D feeling, optics make a huge difference. Thats why Qualia is also so expensive.

[es347]

Speaking of optics, I have heard that the Marantz front pjs have outstanding optics and that may be why they are so expensive.  They had better seeing how their new 1080p single chip dlp costs about $20K.  The new Sony Pearl seems to be a close competitor of the Mitsubishi HC5000.  I will need a throw of about 18 feet and a screen size of 110" diag.  I believe both pjs are capable of that distance.  The Mit may have a street price of under $4K which is pretty incredible.

[zybar]

Speaking of optics, I have heard that the Marantz front pjs have outstanding optics and that may be why they are so expensive.  They had better seeing how their new 1080p single chip dlp costs about $20K.  The new Sony Pearl seems to be a close competitor of the Mitsubishi HC5000.  I will need a throw of about 18 feet and a screen size of 110" diag.  I believe both pjs are capable of that distance.  The Mit may have a street price of under $4K which is pretty incredible.

The Marantz has excellent optics and that is one of the reasons for the high price.  You will get excellent performance form the Marantz, just not excellent value.

George

[klh]

Supposedly the HC5000 has very good optics. Given the price it's hard to imagine them being extremely good. Your're absolutely right about the constrast. C2Fine is supposed to be a major step forward for LCD. Then again, DLP is now using DI's, too. Hopefully CEDIA will provide some answers. It should be an exciting show, especially compared to the last few years.

[levesque]

Don't forget the impact of a high CR ratio in alot of dark films. I measured my Sony Ruby with a tweaked auto-iris at 22000:1. Try to do this with the new Mitsubishi HC5000. 

Sitting at 1X screen width at 1080p with a Toshiba HD-DVD player, it's like IMAX at home.  I was able to try the Marantz S4 in the same set-up and 720p didn't do it for me in the front row. The CR was also not enough for me.

Also, the Mit is using "unproven" technology for now, while the Sony Pearl will be using SXRD. Everyone everywhere were raving about the Sony Ruby for a good reason. It's now a proven technology.

But it's definitely worth waiting for CEDIA now. Exciting time! But CEDIA will confirm 1 thing for sure: 720p is out, 1080p is in!