Hello all,

I purchased a 990/7125 combo just before Christmas. I was wondering for those of you who have front projection what projector would you pick and why.

A little info:

I am building a home theater in the basement (controlled ambient light..NONE!)of my home. The room dimensions are 22' x 14'X 7.5'. The screen will be somewhere between a 100" diag. and a 106" diag. fixed frame placed on one of the 14' walls. I am not sure about what screen brand or material yet, as there seems to be so much info to sift through. I would assume with my lack of ambient light that I needn't be as picky as the next guy. Acoustically the room will be well damped (Fiberglass drop ceiling, insulated all walls, heavy dark red shag carpeting with thick padding, possibly carpeted wall half way up) Anechoic sound panels placed strategically, etc...etc..etc) For speakers I will be running DIY 3-ways across the front(F3 of 48 Hz sealed), including center and probably some old KLH 17's or two way DIY's as sides and rears. As far as subs I have two 15" IB woofers which will be built into the front corners of the room. The subs will be powered by two 250 watt plate amps. All will be controlled through the 990.

Please make comments or suggestions about any of my set-up.

Thanks,

Tim

Hi Tim,
Sounds like your putting together quite a nice set-up
As far as front projector go...
Beyond the picture, the inputs and...
the Ouh! Aah ! factors
(which are often linked to the price tag)
many little aspects are often forgotten
-lamp life and replacement cost
-fan noise during operation
-the right inputs for you
-That damn HDCP compliancy thingy


I would also recommend you look at multi-media PC projectors as well as home theater ones.
their costs are often much lower and they can handle most resolutions
I truly love my Optoma ...
it was cheaper than a huge plasma...
I presentely have 86 inches diagonnally
and moving the TV will never hurt again...
this one might be a contender for you to look at...
my local Optoma guy has been comparing it to much more expensive models
(it's even 1080p ready)

as far as screens go I believe that it depends on your projector and...HIC! your budget
some Stewart ones are real nice
I settled for Draper at a much smaller price...
once again don't overlook the not so obvious...
-Cleaning !
(glass bead I hear are a pain to wash)
-viewing angle (If you have a wide room with seating on the sides, some screens could leave you disapointed...

Lastly...Don't forget that you'll have to run at least two wires to your projector from your 990 to go all out....
one for digital(DVI or HDMI) and one for analog (component, s-video or composite)
Best wishes !
Merry Christmas !

If you're not in a hurry, I'd be tempted to wait until there are more projectors with LED or other alternate light sources instead of filtered 'white' light. If time is of the essence, buy 'cheap' but usable current technology with the idea that this won't be used long term but instead replaced about the time the lamp reaches the end of its usefulness with either a projector that has a long-lasting RGB light source or such an item as a light curtain viewscreen.

Tim

Look at the reviews of the new Sony Pearl, it is under 5k

Sony VPL-VW50 "Pearl" Projector SXRD Projector

I would say take a look at the new Panny AX100. I just installed mine a few months ago and love it. I went from a Marantz DLP to this Panny LCD and just love it. I can actually watch it with a good amount of light in the room, on bright mode it has 2000 ANSI. All this for under 2K.

I have an older version of he Panny (PT AE900U and am very happy with the performnce. I will be looking at the new crop of 1080P units by fall when I also decide on HDDVD vs Blue Ray.

Check out projectorcentral.com. They have a comparison of the lower cost 1080P units and the Panny did really well. Be sure to read the follow up article with the production unit.

I would also recommend carada.com for your screen. They are similar to Outlaw. They are an internet only company that has great quality screens and great customer service. The Cinema Series is as good as any Dalite/Stewart and a fraction of the cost. I have it in Brilliant White which looks great.

Good luck with your system.

After doing a great deal of research, I settled on a Mitsubishi HC3000 (DLP DC2, 720p).

Not the latest and greatest tech (just over a year old now) but an excellent picture and a street price of under $1500. MY HD DVDs look remarkable with it. A nice midway point until a few more choices are available in 1080p/24-capable projectors (and 24fps sources).

The Sanyo Z5 and the AX100 from Panny are legendary competitors in the under 2k LCD projector space. I wouldn't consider any other LCD projector other than these two for under 2k. I own a Z4 myself. Overall, from the considerable amount of research I did between the Z4 and the 900 Panny, I liked the "sharper" picture of the Z4 over the smoother image of the Panny. The Panny FP's all have SmoothScreen technology that helps to virtually eliminate SDE, but at the cost of sharpness (relatively). The Sanyo's have a very sharp picture, but if you're up close to the screen, you will see some SDE (which is basically pixelation). Find an FP vendor that allows returns, and eval both units in your own home once you have your setup ready. It's the only real way to determine which one works better for you and yours.

The Z5 and AX100 series Panny brings to light a few key differences. The Panny is brighter, meaning it can output more lumens, however in your case if you're in a completely light controlled room, this won't matter very much. Both are still 720p projectors, not 1080p.

What is your budget for the FP? There are more expensive models that I would consider other than what I just mentioned above.

The Panny besides have the light advantage has a long throw lens and great side adjustment. You can mount your projector up close or far back and also have it below or above the screen. Also doesn't have to centered. Great for a tough room. I was watching the colts game last night and all I can say is awesome!!!

Placement flexibility is one of the hallmarks of LCD FP's over DLP FP's. The Sanyo Z4/Z5 actually has the most flexible lense shift and throw mechanism of any of the cheap LCD FP's at this point, though the AX100 is close. You really can't go wrong with either one IMHO, it's just a matter of preference. Keep in mind that the "ratings" provided aren't really useful per se. For instance, the Z4 advertises a contrast ratio of 7000:1 and the Z5 I believe 10000:1, but the real world measurements for contrast once the Z4 is tuned to D65 standards is more like 1800:1. Pannies are in the same boat. Basically, both the AX100 and the Z5 use fancified twin iris systems to offer really good "rated" contrast ratios, but the picture quality will be all but unwatchable at these levels of contrast, especially color accuracy. If I were to buy a new Z5 I'd buy the custom tuned model from cine4home. com here, assuming I could find a U.S. dealer:

http://www.cine4home.com/Tuning/Z5/Z5Tuning.htm

With Cine4Home's custom glass lense/filter, you can actually attain 10000:1 CR's with adaptive IRIS based on a customization of the "Vivid" setting. A 3400:1 CR is available using a customization of the "dynamic" setting, and a native 1750:1 CR is available without any use of the auto IRIS settings. Basically what you're buying here is a custom tuned Z5 based on D65 (6500k) video standards. Shoot, now that I'm talking about it I'm thinking about upgrading my Z4 to a Z5 with these customizations.