Top DLP projectors

[TommyW]

Looking for recommendations on a dlp projector in the 4-5k range

[George Bellefontaine]

There is a host of DLP projectors available in that price range and most are pretty darn good. Which is best ? That is usually someone's opinion. My suggestion is you visit Projector Central .com and look at all the models available in that price range, then try your best to see some of them demoed. Honestly, it is the only way to buy projectors. And you need to be sure the dlp artifacts ( rainbows, headaches, etc) don't bother you as they do some.

[JimRHIT]

Samsung's 710AE is hard to beat in terms of accuracy and detail. A great unit with a great lens attached to it.

There are better light cannons out there .... but the Samsung is VERY refined.

[Audiophiliac]

Isnt Joe Kane working with Samsung on their front projection projects?

[sirbogey]

I agree with George. projector central is a very good starting point. There is not such a thing as which one is the best either. The DLP chips are all manufactured by he Texas Instruments (unless some other players have joined that market recently).

As a projector owner, I need to stress that you DO want to buy a projector with at least 3y manufacturer warranty. Don't touch anything else. Myself I've had an Optoma for 4 years. I bought it brand new and it broke 7 times, yes 7 times in the first 2 years. I shipped it, they repaired it asap, I shipped it again, repaired it, etc. After 6 times I demanded a replacement, which was very very difficult, but finally they agreed. I am very pleased with my choice and the Optoma brand itself. If your projector breaks, you are simply very unlucky, but I've heard similar issues with other people. It's a one in a hundred thing.

[George Bellefontaine]

Isnt Joe Kane working with Samsung on their front projection projects?

Yes, on the first one anyway. It is supposed to be the most accurate D65 color temp out of the box.

[Brandon B]

There's a bunch of excitement over the new Mistsubishi wd2000u. 3000 lumens. Image specs are decent, and that amount of light output opens up some pretty interesting options.

Also has lens options. Worth a look.

BB

[TommyW]

There's a bunch of excitement over the new Mistsubishi wd2000u. 3000 lumens. Image specs are decent, and that amount of light output opens up some pretty interesting options.

Also has lens options. Worth a look.

BB

I viewed one Mitsibishi the other week but I dont know the model number of it. I know it was being sold around 4k range so this may or may not have been the same one.

It had a nice clear picture although it seemed dull but this may or may not have been how it was calibrated. SDE was visibile from close ranges. I saw now Rainbow effect. Fan was silent.

This was really the first projector we looked at as far as trying to select one so we had nothing at the time to base a comparison on. Also I was wary since this is really the first post anyone else has recommended mitsibiushi to me.

Still waiting to see what the guy quotes me, I will see what model it is at that time. Have you viewed this model you mentioned?

[draganm]

I've had an Optoma for 4 years. I bought it brand new and it broke 7 times, yes 7 times in the first 2 years. I shipped it, they repaired it asap, I shipped it again, repaired it, etc. After 6 times I demanded a replacement, which was very very difficult, but finally they agreed. I am very pleased with my choice and the Optoma brand itself.

8O , wow after all that your pleased with the Optoma brand. You're the kind of customer every business dreams about. I have to agree with your insistence on a warranty although some people have reported Warranty nightmares, with Sony in particular. One case of a bar in Canada where the PJ failed in 30 days and Sony rejected the warranty because their Techs smelled cigarette smoke. Another guy had his rejected because they smelled smoke even though it came out of his Tapanyaki restaurant which was a no-smoking establishment. :M
Personally, if I had no other choices besides DLP it would have to be a machine with the HD2+ chip. I did not see Rainbow's and the Pixel structure was bearable although not something I could live with long term.

[TommyW]

Any thoughts on the Benq PE8720, I keep seeing good reviews for it but cant find anywhere local to demo it.

[Brandon B]

No, I haven't yet personally seen the Mits (which does list at $4K). It is not the nicest picture out there, but that much brightness at that price point with some of the flexibility it offers make it a good mix for some. Tell us about your room, so we can make more meaningful recommendations:

Light control?
Wall/ceiling color?
Screen size and gain?
Viewing distance?
Sources (HD, DVD, HDDVD)?

BB

[draganm]

Any thoughts on the Benq PE8720, I keep seeing good reviews for it but cant find anywhere local to demo it.

the specs on that unit look very good, That Auto Iris has done more to further Bulb based projection than any other feature in the last 2 yeasr, even 3 chippers.All that without panel misalignment problems.
I would say a demo will be of limited value because unless your buying a Runco none of these companies do more than simply rough in grayscale. Regardless of what you buy a qualified ISF calibration is well worth the $300., just make sure the guy knows what he's doing.

[TommyW]

No, I haven't yet personally seen the Mits (which does list at $4K). It is not the nicest picture out there, but that much brightness at that price point with some of the flexibility it offers make it a good mix for some. Tell us about your room, so we can make more meaningful recommendations:

Light control?
Wall/ceiling color?
Screen size and gain?
Viewing distance?
Sources (HD, DVD, HDDVD)?

BB

Thanks

The room is 20x14 and will be a dedicated HT room with no windows. Right now only the framing is done and stuff like, colors and screens have not been selected yet. The screen will probably be around 100-110" Riser against the back wall is 7' deep and will be for the second row. So the first row is 13' from the front.

Equipment wise I have MTX in-wall speakers (I still need to find subs) and a mantraz receiver.

[TommyW]

the specs on that unit look very good, That Auto Iris has done more to further Bulb based projection than any other feature in the last 2 yeasr, even 3 chippers.All that without panel misalignment problems.
I would say a demo will be of limited value because unless your buying a Runco none of these companies do more than simply rough in grayscale. Regardless of what you buy a qualified ISF calibration is well worth the $300., just make sure the guy knows what he's doing.

Oh man I blew this one, the BenQ MSRP is like 6-7k and some site miss priced it and the original price is showing 6k slashed out with the new price being $260.57 I was stupid enough that I emailed them and asked if this was right, next I looked the price was raised by 5k. ops:

I do agree about having it calibrated and this point I may just have an installer do it all but I'd still like to select my own projector because so far every one I got estimates from represent like one manufacturer and I'd like to have more/better choices in it.

You mention Runco, should I being looking towards them?

[draganm]

You mention Runco, should I being looking towards them?

i'm not a big Ronco fan as I think you can match their performance with a cheaper PJ then add a better lense and calibration. Just one mans opnion, there are some Runco lovers on here and that's cool too.

[Audiophiliac]

I am Runco junky. However, keep in mind that they specialize in high end projection systems. Their entry level projectors (especially the 410 and 420) are basically built to a price point. The CL-610 starts at $6k so thats probably out of your budget. The lowest I would personally go in the Runco line is the 810...maybe even the 810 Ultra...and if I did get a 810 or a 610, I would definitely pop the extra $1k for the SDC-1 outboard processor.

So I would second the above suggestion to check out some of the Samsung stuff. The InFocus arent too shabby for the price either.

[TommyW]

It seems everything jumps from 4k to 6k, so maybe I should change my budget limit here, ok now its 6k... ;-) I'd like to stay in that 4-6k range and get whats best for that range.

Ive been trying to visit local shops to demo projectors but each shop usually only has on pj set up. So far I only have gotten to see one DLP projector which was a mitisibishui and that had a nice picture but still had the SDE.

[ekkoville]

I have demoed the Infocus 7210 at the local Magnolia several times and it gets better everytime. From new movies to HD broadcasts, it looks fantastic on a Stewart screen.

[eelco74]

The Benq 8720 is a stuning projector and the recent price drop makes it even a better deal. The auto iris really works well and significantly helps contrast. It is one of the few auto Iris sloutions that really works without side effects.

A step down is the PE7700 wich is a really fine unit has a native 720P DLP chip. And a real bargain for the current price.

I own the Benq PE8700 (now PE7700) and I am very happy with it. It has not let me down once and Benq service (at leas here in Holland) seems to be very good.

[Adz]

I think most of the DLP projectors 720p with Dark Chip 3 are basically the same performance give or take (especially if all properly callibrated). But why spend thousands now on that trechnology? Might as well hold out for the 1080p versions due out in a few months or less. They will initially be priced high so I guess I can see buying a used 720p to get into the game but be prepared to want to upgrade shortly thereafter.