720p Buying Advice

[CraigJ]

I’ve been enjoying an Infocus 4805/Bravo D1 combination for a couple of years and am thinking of moving up. With the current price slashing of high-end 720p players, I am considering purchasing the Sharp Z12000 MKII (new $1400) or the Marantz VP12S4 ($1999 refurbished). My basement “bat cave” theatre room is 14’ x 20’ with a 94” screen, seating distance is 2x width of screen . We use the projector for 85% movies and 15% over the air HD.

Unfortunately, I am not able to view any projectors in my city, so your expert advice is really appreciated. Are there any additional projectors in this price range that I should be looking at? Finally, is it the “wrong time” to purchase 720p that’s priced close to 1080p (I hope that made sense)?

Thank in advance for your advice.

Craig

[Dean McManis]

There are a lot of very good new 720p projectors in the sub $1500 range today.

Panasonic PT-AX200U
Sony VPL-AW15
Optoma HD7100
Mitsubishi HC3000

1080p projectors still cost at least twice as much, but it depends on your budget.
The Sharp Z12K is a nice projector at that price, and a match in capabilities and quality with these newer units, but I don't think that it has HDMI inputs. That alone is not a deal killer though. The Marantz VP12S4 is also about 2 years old, and it does have HDMI input. But it has 700 lumens output as opposed to 1000+ for most of the others. This also is not a deal killer depending on your room settings and screen size.

[Hdale85]

also the Optoma HD72 I believe is in that price range. The Sony and optoma's and the Mitsubishi have gotten really great reviews. I'm not sure about the Panasonic. Right now I'm kind of leaning twards DLP because the LCD's use iris's to get their high contrast ratio which is not bad but a lot of time it has an adverse effect on black level which is how black the blacks actually are. Although reviews I've read of the VPL-AW15 have said that the black levels are only slightly less then the newer DLP's in the price range like the HC3000.

[Dean McManis]

I've owned a newer Infocus LCD 720p projector and it looked very good overall, but the fact that I just bought a new DLP projector last week (my second one in the house, and 4th so far) says a lot for how good DLP FPTVs look to me. :T

Of course price was a real factor as well. 8)

[CraigJ]

Thanks for the advice Dean and Dougie,

The Sharp and the Marantz were $10K and $14K units when they first came out so I'm trying not to get caught up in price with the 85% off 8O. In your opinion's, is it worth purchasing a 1-2 year old 720p unit, when an inexpensive 1080p is $500 more, or a new Acer PH530 can be purchased for $599?

Also, if prefer DLP, and 2K is my max. budget. Has anyone seen any of these projectors?

Thanks,

Craig

[Hdale85]

If you can save 500 more and grab a 1080p unit I would recommend that. The Epson 1080p unit has been loved by many and I think I've seen it for around 2300-2600.

[Dean McManis]

I know what you are saying about the appeal of apparent value when you are looking at projectors that cost MUCH more only a year or two ago, so they appear to be that much more of a deal.
I once bought a Sony CRT projector that cost $46K when it was brand new, so when I got it used with low hours for $5500 (many years ago) I felt like I was buying a Rolls Royce for Honda Civic prices.

But with digital projectors there is not too much in them. You could see that the quality of the optics, electronics, fans and other support bits might be higher on a unit that cost $10K-$14K than one that costs $1K today. Some of that is likely true, and some is not. How much is better quality materials, and how much of that higher cost was repaying back the R&D costs and a low volume production premium.

The first computer XGA LCD display that I saw years ago cost $10K and was 12" diagonal. Spending $120 on a 20" LCD display today will likely get you a better built unit than the original one. It may not have gold contact leads but who cares.
At $120, the new one is relatively disposable compared to the original $10K one.

So you need to weigh the difference in materials quality of a unit that sells for 1/10th the cost, which is offset by the improvements in technology (in the chip, the optics, and scaler) that have been made in the last two years.

For me, I'm a tech guy. And there are so many technolgical advances happening in modern projectors that I'll usually buy the new model when given a choice.

If you are looking to actually spend under $1500, and this is your only projector then most any of these 720p projectors should bring you enjoyment.
If you were seriously looking to buy the Marantz at $2K for a refurbished unit, I'd definitely spend the extra $500 for a new 1080p model.

Personally, I don't have the budget right now for one of the 1080p units, so I'm happily staying at 720p, especially since it looks great with DVDs and HD material.

I'm banking on the idea that 1080p projectors with similar (or better) specs than the impressive JVC RS2 will be available for under $2K within the next two years. And my 720p FPTVs will hold me over until then just fine.

Unless of course some outstanding deal comes along to challenge my resolve in the meantime.

[Hdale85]

I'm thinking in the next 6-9 months the low end 1080p projectors will creep into the 1500 range. And before to terribly long we'll be hard pressed to actually find 720p anything. I wonder what all the tv companies will push after that. Because right now its 1080p everything.

[CraigJ]

Hi Dean,

Thank you for understanding my situation and providing specific advice. I was going to mention my Dell P100 system that I recently retired, which cost $2700 at the time. Some "experts" recommend buying the sharp/marantz unit just because just the optics alone cost more than the "cheaper units", or the BMW vs Toyota theory. I don't quite think it's that simple; many things to ponder.

I'm banking on the idea that 1080p projectors with similar (or better) specs than the impressive JVC RS2 will be available for under $2K within the next two years.

I read your earlier post regarding the RS2 under 2K. I'll leave it at that, I don't want Draganm selling me on the old CRT. (just a joke). Have you received your Acer yet? If so, how do you like it.

Craig

[chasw98]

My SP4805 bit the dust last weekend (3000+ hours on the bulb) and I just got a Sanyo PLV-Z5 for $1,249.00 with a 3 year bulb warranty. It looks great and hopefully by the time it is dead and gone, the 1080p's will be down around that range. I am also hoping that the silly format war will have straightened out.

Chuck

[Dean McManis]

Hi Dean,

Thank you for understanding my situation and providing specific advice. I was going to mention my Dell P100 system that I recently retired, which cost $2700 at the time. Some "experts" recommend buying the sharp/marantz unit just because just the optics alone cost more than the "cheaper units", or the BMW vs Toyota theory. I don't quite think it's that simple; many things to ponder.


I read your earlier post regarding the RS2 under 2K. I'll leave it at that, I don't want Draganm selling me on the old CRT. (just a joke). Have you received your Acer yet? If so, how do you like it.

Craig

I should get it delivered some time this week. :T

By the Acer's specs, it should be able to rival the picture quality of my Studio experience HD50, which was $8500 new.
If it can manage anywhere close to that picture quality then I will be more than happy for it to be my placeholder projector until I have the cash to spend on a new 1080p model in a year or two. 8)

At $190 for the Acer's replacement bulb, it's cheaper to run as well.
And will definitely fill in for watching regular TV, gaming, and internet use.
We shall see how well it does overall.