Who has bought a projector last year or two?

[Lex]

What have you bought? What were the criteria for your selection of it? Would you shop an HTG advertiser if we had a projector retailer?

[Dean McManis]

I recently bought a new projector. I had been holding off the upgrade to a full 1080p projector because my money had been allocated to other projects. But the steady drop in prices along with improved contrast, high brightness, longer bulb life, quieter operation, improved input options (HDMI), and other reasons finally pushed me over the edge. I had convinced myself that I could wait for the next generation of 3D, LED/laser lit FPTVs, once they hit my price point. But ultimately the combination of a super low price and a bonus discount coupon made the difference.

I'd definitely look at a HTG advertiser for HT accessories and such if it had fair pricing and good products offered. :T

[M.Roberts8]

I recently bought a Panasonic PT-AE8000U around Feb or March of this year. It was based solely on the fact my 4000U was getting a little old & I ended up paying less for the 8000U than I did the 4000U. I would look at whatever sponsor we got for projectors but now that I look at my purchase history it won't be for quite awhile.

My projector evolution:
2006 Sanyo PLV-Z5
2010 Panasonic PT-AE4000U
2015 Panasonic PT-AE8000U 3D

[Chris D]

I'm very similar to M.Roberts

About 4 months ago, I also bought a Panny PT-AE8000. Couldn't pass up the deal at $1500, and it's a good improvement over my previous Panny PT-AE2000. Bought it from the Projector People, who have done me very well over the years. Would be great if we could get them as advertisers.

This PJ will be holding me until I can get a 4K projector for a decent price, at least sub-$3k. I'll most likely need a replacement bulb before that happens.

[M.Roberts8]

Yeah I think the biggest problem is that the projectors of late have really made a huge jump in quality & longevity. So I don't how much business it would generate because the purchases tend to be years apart for upgrades. I suppose there are guys who have to have the latest & greatest every year but I think people are being more cautious with big purchases. I know I sure am these days.

My 4000U was in perfect working order. Like Chris I myself couldn't pass up an upgrade for 1500 bucks. I had seen a 8000U in action as I installed one for a friend so I knew I was in for a slight upgrade from my 4000U. Plus I could finally watch 3D at home & see what all the fuss was about. Having said that I was on my 3rd bulb in my 4000U with no issues at all 1st bulb changed @ 2,754 hrs. I swapped #2 out @ 2,642hrs mind you they were still working fine & I had well over 1,000 hrs on my 3rd. Now the Sanyo was a different animal. By the time I did that on the Sanyo the LCD panels were degrading & I was developing a yellowish spot. Funny thing is I think the Sanyo cost me 1400-1500, like 1250 after rebate! But when you compare that junker to the 4000U r the 8000U it's crazy what has happened in front projection!

On a side note Chris if you want 3D glasses on the cheap check out playstation 3D glasses on amazon got a 4 pack for under 30 bucks! I now have 12 pair just in case!

[Chris D]

LOL, M.Roberts, you're right on the money with that one. I bought two 4-packs of the PS3 glasses off Amazon, so I have 8 of the glasses for like $7 each. Not the best of glasses, but definitely the best way to go.

[Hank]

I got a used JVC RS-25 off eBay for around $750. Six years ago brand new it was $7,995. The image is impeccable - JVC's implementation of LCOS panels is fantastic. I just built a 134" diagonal screen: frame is 1 x 4 poplar and I used pocket hole joinery. Screen material is Carl's Flexy-white.
FWIW, I agree with M.Roberts8's first paragraph.

[TEK]

I got a Sony HW50ES projector 3 years ago. My next upgrade will be a bit into the future, but probably not that long. Waiting for more source material before I'm going to upgrade. I will probably also have to do something with the rest of the chain (PC + pre-pro), so that might push it forward as well.
Another option that might turn it all around is the development in TV screens. I currently have a 106" projector screen. It will be interesting to see what's going to happend in that area as I expect large screen tv's to continue to drop in price.
And I would pay more for a 4k 100" TV than for a projector, and if prices start plunging that might possible cause the cost for 100" tv's to become manageable.

[Hdale85]

When 4k projectors come around I'll likely be interested again.

[Lex]

looks like 4K $ for a budget 4K projector, or 28K $ for the high end Sony right now, so we got some trickling down to do...

[Ovation]

Unless I go for a MUCH larger screen (which, in my current setup, is not really feasible), I'm likely to get a 1080p PJ to replace my current Sony AW15 (long in tooth, 720p projector, though a very highly regarded one in its day--which is why I bought it). Of course, it could be that by the time I get around to replacing my current one, 4K will be the minimum available. Not in any hurry yet--mine still looks pretty good (at least, as long as I don't bring in another one to compare ).

[Hdale85]

Yeah Doug, sadly my upper limit is in the 3k range for a display device lol. I'm still waiting for OLED to get that low in the size I'd want, I think we're getting close though. Projectors have been pretty stale lately other than the uber high end stuff.

[Ovation]

I vacillate between wanting another projector and getting a TV. My room is small (15 x 11.5 usable space, though there's another 10 feet behind a curtain for storage--so my dual subwoofer setup has room to breathe overall). My seating is 8.5 feet from the screen. My speakers are setup for optimal listening (all tweeter heights, across the front, are within 6 inches of each other--same applies to side/rears in 5.1 configuration [two subs are on one channel]). As such, my screen is actually higher than ideal, but I'd rather compromise the video than the audio. My screen is 64" fixed in 16:9. When I bought my projector, a flat panel of that size was around 6000-7000$ CDN. The projector was 1600$ (the screen I made myself--under 150$ in parts). I gave some thought to the Sony SXRD RPTVs back then, but they were still more than what I paid for the size I have and off-angle viewing from below was not as good as what I get with my screen.

These days, I can get a flat panel in the same size (I have room to go to 70 inches, if I push it) as my current screen for far less than back then, and there are many convenience factors with a TV (currently, I rely on a small--24 inch--flat panel for short time watching, say under an hour for sure, often under 90 mins, but it's a clumsy arrangement). However, I like the look of a projected image on my screen for movies--looks more like a movie than anything through a glass (or other) panel.

Ultimately, it'll come down to what I want to spend and what I conclude makes up the bulk of my watching. Currently, I watch more TV than movies (I have more time to catch a 45 min. episode of something here and there than a dedicated 2-3 hour bloc for movies--I HATE watching movies in more than one sitting [my wife does not grasp that concept :huh: ]). If I went by time spent watching, a TV would make more sense (for TV programmes, for sports, for simplifying the display setup in my room and because I don't have room for a big screen in projector terms). And TV programme aesthetics are not (IMO) diminished by a TV rather than a projector. But if I go by what I most prefer for movies, the projector option wins by a good margin. If OLED was not around, I'd go for another projector for sure. But the OLEDs I've seen make a compelling case to switch to TV--though not anytime soon.

Good thing I'm not nearly so indecisive in the classroom. My students would hate me. :lol:

[Lex]

in that size room, if you can wait a while for prices to drop, a 65" Oled 4K would be sweet! Even a 70" maybe. but I am hesitant to go above a 65" in any direct view set. That's just me. I will probably only get another front projector at good prices, later on. I do enjoy the immersive experience. My room is 20 wide X 18 deep I set the projector about 5 feet from back wall, and project onto screen on the 18' way, seating and my junk in room takes up the 24' wide

I like my 55" 4K LCD, and my 60" Plasma, no new directviews in my future for a long time!.

[Hdale85]

I'm expecting one more year for the 65" OLED to be around 3500.

[Ovation]

in that size room, if you can wait a while for prices to drop, a 65" Oled 4K would be sweet! Even a 70" maybe. but I am hesitant to go above a 65" in any direct view set. That's just me. I will probably only get another front projector at good prices, later on. I do enjoy the immersive experience. My room is 20 wide X 18 deep I set the projector about 5 feet from back wall, and project onto screen on the 18' way, seating and my junk in room takes up the 24' wide

I like my 55" 4K LCD, and my 60" Plasma, no new directviews in my future for a long time!.

Oh, it'll be a good two or three years before I make a change (unless the projector itself dies--if the bulb goes, I'll get a new one as it'll be much cheaper than a new display). Even if I wanted to spend the money now, I don't have the time to really make good use of a new display--I just started a PhD programme last September and I'm looking at 75 hour work/study weeks until spring 2017. But a new display would make a great graduation gift.

[TEK]

I vacillate between wanting another projector and getting a TV. My room is small (15 x 11.5 usable space, though there's another 10 feet behind a curtain for storage--so my dual subwoofer setup has room to breathe overall). My seating is 8.5 feet from the screen. My speakers are setup for optimal listening (all tweeter heights, across the front, are within 6 inches of each other--same applies to side/rears in 5.1 configuration [two subs are on one channel]). As such, my screen is actually higher than ideal, but I'd rather compromise the video than the audio. My screen is 64" fixed in 16:9. When I bought my projector, a flat panel of that size was around 6000-7000$ CDN. The projector was 1600$ (the screen I made myself--under 150$ in parts). I gave some thought to the Sony SXRD RPTVs back then, but they were still more than what I paid for the size I have and off-angle viewing from below was not as good as what I get with my screen.

These days, I can get a flat panel in the same size (I have room to go to 70 inches, if I push it) as my current screen for far less than back then, and there are many convenience factors with a TV (currently, I rely on a small--24 inch--flat panel for short time watching, say under an hour for sure, often under 90 mins, but it's a clumsy arrangement). However, I like the look of a projected image on my screen for movies--looks more like a movie than anything through a glass (or other) panel.

Ultimately, it'll come down to what I want to spend and what I conclude makes up the bulk of my watching. Currently, I watch more TV than movies (I have more time to catch a 45 min. episode of something here and there than a dedicated 2-3 hour bloc for movies--I HATE watching movies in more than one sitting [my wife does not grasp that concept :huh: ]). If I went by time spent watching, a TV would make more sense (for TV programmes, for sports, for simplifying the display setup in my room and because I don't have room for a big screen in projector terms). And TV programme aesthetics are not (IMO) diminished by a TV rather than a projector. But if I go by what I most prefer for movies, the projector option wins by a good margin. If OLED was not around, I'd go for another projector for sure. But the OLEDs I've seen make a compelling case to switch to TV--though not anytime soon.

Good thing I'm not nearly so indecisive in the classroom. My students would hate me. :lol:

Hmm, for me - if I only needed 65" - that would be a easy choice. I would much rather go for a 65" TV than a projector.
Just the projector noise and heat is a good argument, and then the TV is much better to use in daylight and you would have only one screen that you would have to related to.
A quite good 65" LED tv these days are available at quite nice prices, and I'm quite sure that they will be better than most projectors in comparable price range.
And most of them may be hang quite flat onto the wall.
Only reason I see for going for projector is that you want a larger screen size than it's realistic to get from a affordable TV. The crossover point between screen size and when to use a projector is moved every month that passes...

[Hdale85]

Well you don't buy a projector for the same reason as a TV. And honestly I think you can get a pretty damn killer 1080p projector now in the budget area's. I spent 1200 on my 65" Vizio M series 1080p which was pretty much the best 1080p set when I got it. You can get some pretty damn good 1080p projectors in that price range now days.

I don't think 100" direct view TV's are going to become a norm anytime soon, they are not very convenient. They are very large, very heavy, and very bulky. Honestly I don't expect their prices to be reasonable for a very long time either. I think anything much over 70" is going to be best on a projector price/performance-wise for quite a while. Of course unless technology drastically changes......

[Ovation]

I saw some very nice TVs today but they each had an issue that my projector screen doesn't have--reflections. Not nearly as prominent as on a glass surface of an old CRT direct view, but reflections nonetheless if any lights are on (no way to have zero lights where I was to see what they look like under such conditions). That reflection is what makes it less "movie-like", regardless of screen size. But again, not an immediate issue by any stretch.

[Hdale85]

With lights off generally reflections aren't an issue.

[TEK]

I think this might represent the future in big format tv-displays...

170", and I assume that there is nothing in the way (except data power) for going a lot bigger if you want to.
Should be possible to distribute around the world in a compact format as well. You get your 200" tv delivered in 10 20" boxes :-)

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ces-2016-samsung-reveals-worlds-largest-170-inch-suhd-television-1536457

[John G]

I recently replaced a 12 year old Infocus X1 with an Infocus SP-1080. The SP-1080 was released in December 2015 and is their new budget HT projector model. It's quite an upgrade picture-wise from the X1 which was 800 X 600. It's also much quieter 30/32db depending on what mode you run it in. I also like that it can be powered on and off all from the remote, no toggle switch on the projector like on the X1.

This was all triggered from an attempted upgrade to Xfinity X1 which didn't work with the old projector. Some type of handshake between the box and projector that wouldn't take place.

Pleased to now have Xfinity X1 with the new voice remote which is a huge free upgrade. I also now have a Bluray player and Apple TV so am quite late to the party technology-wise. My old Rotel amp died last year replaced by NAD 758 and I recently took the matching Rotel RDV1080 out of commission and replaced it with a NAD T567 Bluray.

[JonMarsh]

The nice thing about going a long time between upgrades is that even somewhat budget oriented gear is surprisingly good!

Now, I was thinking I couldn't participate in this thread, directly, but then I remembered I bought an Epson WUXGA projector, mainly for work stuff (portable, 1920X1200) but it doesn't look bad at all on movies if you set it for sRGB color space, though it doesn't have the stuff like inverse telecine without judder that the 120Hz refresh flat panel TV's have. Still, I don't have any place right now I can leave it setup at home, so it's a moot point of sorts- I suppose I could take down the 55" Sony I've got in the Mac cave work space, and try to squeeze in my 72" screen, and hang this, but it might be kind of tricky...

[scottvalentin]

I bought an Optoma HD37 on Christmas Day. It was an Amazon.ca flash sale, and I got it for $999 CAD.
I just finished the 135" screen (blackout cloth and screwed together frame) and I am really happy with it. My only complaint is fan noise is noticeable on quieter dialog-only scenes.

Very happy so far and haven't even fired up a Blu-ray yet, just Netflix!

To the subject of this original thread...HTGuide has vendors?

[Lex]

Glad to see some discussion on this. Dougie, I think it will only take 1 year for 4K to drop 1000 to 3K range for decent 4K FP. Of course, there will always be that ultra high end toy that not many of us want to afford or can. That's ok, we get the benefit of the trickle down technologies in a year or two! Right now, my very old 1080P has a sufficient image quality for my room and just my viewing. I expect I won't even think of replacing mine until it craps out completely. I have had that happen.

[Hdale85]

Yeah when we got our Vizio 1080p set Diana wanted a 4k set and I told her I don't want to spend that much until the OLED sets are in that price range. I think one more year and we'll be looking at a 4k 70" OLED set in the 3k range somewhere which is what we were going to spend a little over a year ago on a 4k LCD set.

[hatlesschimp]

I got the Epson 6040ub/ tw9300 a few weeks back amd love it. I ised to have the JVC x7000 but couldnt game on it. The X7000 is better for movies but gaming is way better with the Epson 4k Projector and cheaper.
Here is my latest video of it in action playing Battlefield 1.

https://youtu.be/Jj9FggUSR6Y

[Hdale85]

How much did you end up picking up the 6040 for? That's what I'm leaning towards if I end up getting a projector next year. Although I won't make that decision final until I see the new pixelshifting DLP's, but not sure I can swing the extra coin for those.

[Ovation]

My projector died in mid summer and my budget was constrained by the unplanned replacement. Got a very good deal on a close out of Epson's 5030, with a free extra bulb, and while it's not 4K, it is a jump up from a nine year old 720p projector AND I didn't have to upgrade any other gear to make full use of its capabilities. I'll be happy for quite some time to come, I'm sure.

[Lex]

Congrats on the new projectors guys. I'm just not watching much movies these days, and I have my great room in such a mess, I am not sure I can even watch a movie now on my 1080p Sanyo projector. It's complicated by my music/amps/lack of space! I have gotten so frustrated by my AV system that I am almost as happy just watching a TV with built in volume. Not really. But I have GOT to get my Lexicon fixed for audio side, and am not sure I will be able to use the video portion of my Marantz. the blackout delays on that thing when changing channels or anything have driven me completely crazy, then when the triggers went out, I lost all faith in it.

Everything except my Lexicon going out, and the Marantz issues are my own fault. Ok, only my music is my fault, lol.

[madmac]

It seems that projectors are the latest thing in HT.......right up there with Atmos. I dunno.......I thought about it awhile back and thought it was a cool idea but at the end of the day, I couldn't get past the limited life bulb issue. Also, nowadays TV's are getting pretty damn big so I don't really see a need for a projector.

Plus, I think the picture quality of any good flat panel display would be better than what a projector could do blown up to 100" or more.

Just my 2 cents.......

[Lex]

Well, there's nothing like the size of one for real film like experience. I admit, my projector is hardly a contender in today's 1080p market, let alone 4K! But it can still present a respectible video expernience. I also have a 1080i one, that probably would to. At one point, I was watching front projection all the time for TV. So, the plan was watch the old one for TV, and save the new for movies. Then stuff happened, and I got my 60" plasma, and my viewing habits changed. Then I got the 4K 55", and spend more time sitting in my kitchen knook with my 4K turned toward me than I do in my actual great room. Go figure. I save my Plasma as much as possible, because it's so dang good!

I watch the 4K which is ok, I mean it's 4K after all. But I don't have time to do a lot of movies anymore. Time is fleeting. The older you get, the more it seems to fleet! I mean I worked all day today, play some music, watch a couple of TV shows, that's about my day. So, sitting down and watching back to back blue rays, just doesn't happen anymore. I watch whatever is on Showtime or HBO mostly.

When retired, even if I still have these projectors, I'll watch em some, I hope! I mean I got a nice big 1080p screen. Actually to big, lol.

[Hdale85]

The 4k market is still almost non existent in projectors. There are some new DLP's coming very soon that will be able to project a true 4k pixel perfect image. The couple of LCOS E-shift projectors and Epson E-shift projector that are out right now only project around 4 million addressable pixels, where as the new DLP's are not native 4k panels but they are halfway to 4k and with the e-shift they actually do project 8 million addressable pixels for a true 4k image. These are still going to be in the 5k dollar range but I imagine stuck next to a native 4k panel projector you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Now the real question is DLP hasn't had a major update in a long time and have fallen way behind in native contrast and black level game, so it'll be interesting to see if they close that gap as well.

[Ovation]

As projection screens go, my current one (home made nearly 10 years ago) is small--64" 16x9. However, back then, any TV that size, let alone one with as good a picture as I got with my projector, was easily FOUR times more expensive, and a good one was SIX times more. This time around, I could have gotten a 4K TV at the same size with, according to various reviews, a picture about as good as I'm getting with my new projector. However, I plan to get a larger screen in a year or two--something in the 80-84" range--and a TV that size, with as good a picture (or better) remains FOUR to FIVE times more expensive (now, and likely TWO to THREE times more in a couple of years), so I'm happy with my choice. Moreover, I did a lot of TV shopping before deciding to remain with a projector but a few things tipped the balance (beyond price) in favour of a projector. One--life span of bulbs today are much longer than even a few years ago (and mine came with an extra one for free). I got nine years out of two bulbs from the previous projector, so I can't complain on that score going forward. Two--despite many advances, LCD TVs still have some motion artefacts and issues that my projectors don't have (even though they are also LCD, their crystals are vanishingly small, so far less prone to motion lag and other issues). Also, off axis viewing on LCD TVs is worse than on my projection screen. Three--I find the lack of a "glassy" look more aesthetically pleasing, especially for movies (totally subjective, of course). Four--new projectors are BRIGHT. Even with eco-setting and a disc-driven calibration (not as good as a pro one, but close enough and a lot more wallet friendly), I can easily keep some lights on for casual viewing (wouldn't do it for a Blu-ray, but certainly for a sporting event if house is full of guests). And if the event is in the day, I can select from a number of pre-sets (not as colour accurate, but that's not important for "social viewing") where the projector will outperform a plasma and keep up with many LCD sets.

If I were not intending to get a larger screen OR I lacked a dedicated room, I'd have probably gone for a TV (and will certainly do that for the living room, someday). But I have no regrets and suspect my next display in the same room will also be a projector (though if this one lasts as long as the last one, who knows what will be on the horizon).

[JonMarsh]

It seems that projectors are the latest thing in HT.......right up there with Atmos. I dunno.......I thought about it awhile back and thought it was a cool idea but at the end of the day, I couldn't get past the limited life bulb issue. Also, nowadays TV's are getting pretty damn big so I don't really see a need for a projector.

Plus, I think the picture quality of any good flat panel display would be better than what a projector could do blown up to 100" or more.

Just my 2 cents.......

The latest thing? That leaves me rolling on the floor- don't take this the wrong way, but I've had projectors since the early 90's, starting with a Zenith CRT unit driven by laser disk, and early DVD on computers. Replaced with an NEC 9PG , then a n NEC10PG, which is currently in storage, pending what I decide to do when I retire in a few years.

I have thought about getting a 4K projector, but will probably wait and see how well I can tune up th 10PG first- mine has the top of the line metal body lenses.

[Ovation]

While I've had my "new" projector since last September, Saturday night last was the first time its 3D functionality was put to use for a complete film (I'd tested its function with a few scenes from a couple of movies, but no one had watched a full film yet). Have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I don't have a giant screen (as projector screens go, it's quite small at 64" 16x9) but the effect was as good as any I've seen in non-IMAX 3D at the cinema, and, in one way, better (owing to the smaller screen size, I suspect). Some of the "crosstalk" and other artefacts of 3D that I've noticed at the cinema were seemingly absent (Jurassic Park 3D). I'm sure if I'd concentrated on finding them, I would have, but nothing was severe enough to distract from the movie watching. I'm not going to suddenly re-buy any titles I have that are also available in 3D, but as an occasional change of pace, and for the kids' enjoyment (they really appreciated it), we'll be watching the titles we do have on 3D (usually purchased because they had extras I wanted, not for the 3D as I had no such capability until late last summer).

Maybe I'll chase down a copy of Avatar in 3D (I think I'm one of three people who saw it at the cinema in a non-3D presentation :lol: ).

[JonMarsh]

Just bought an Epson 5040UB, mainly for the color space/gamut and HDR performance, hopefully the LCD shift feature for 4K resolution will work reasonably; at least, it will accept 4K input, and the price is certainly right for what you get.

It's not a baby compact projector, though, pretty big from the pictures, and when I unpacked it. Probably a pretty serious optical path, and interestingly, Epson quotes rather long bulb life, too. You can tell how big it is from the rear panel and how small the connectors look...




I've got a 72 in Carada screen back from the old days, but am looking into an 80" ALR screen from Screen Innovations- have a quote request pending. I suspect I may need a defibrillator when I see the number...

[Hdale85]

The eShift is supposed to work pretty good, but you don't get close to 4k resolution really. It's more like double 1080p pixels. The DLP 4k projectors are shifting as well but their panels have more pixels so you actually get 4 times the pixels of 1080p. From what I've gathered though the 5040ub is pretty dang sharp and you can get the image quality pretty close to the sharpness of the 4k DLP's and the black levels and contrast ratio is leaps and bounds better on the Epson. Also the HDR was better if I recall.

[JonMarsh]

You've hit on my assessment pretty well, from a few reviews- good brightness, color gamut, and HDR was more important to me than absolute 4k performance. You have to have a ginormous screen for 4K to really mean something over HD. Consider, on my desktop, I have a 5K 27" screen- looks like an iPhone, you can't see any pixels... but for a lot of work I use a 43" DESKTOP monitor that is 4K, because the scaled working area is so much more useful. But in an HT setup, you'd have to have something like 140" or more, and you just can't get enough light on a screen for HDR to be very practical at that size, unless you can go for the Sony $60K Laser 4K projector. Just sayin...

Bang for the buck, I think it's hard to beat the 5040UB. Dollar for the pound or cubic inch of projector, same comment.

[Hdale85]

I wish it were cheaper honestly, it's a pretty old projector at this point and they've made no updates to their lineup in a while now. You'd think the cost of manufacturing would have come down some but maybe not? Or maybe they are just happy pulling the funds in.

With several DLP projectors coming out in the next couple of months that actually have a full 4k array of addressable pixels and most of the other features you expect coming in as little as $1500 bucks it sure would be nice to see the 5040ub drop below 2k to compete a bit better.

Also you can see the 4k difference on a smaller screen, it's just a matter of how close you sit.

[Ovation]

I wish it were cheaper honestly, it's a pretty old projector at this point and they've made no updates to their lineup in a while now. You'd think the cost of manufacturing would have come down some but maybe not? Or maybe they are just happy pulling the funds in.

With several DLP projectors coming out in the next couple of months that actually have a full 4k array of addressable pixels and most of the other features you expect coming in as little as $1500 bucks it sure would be nice to see the 5040ub drop below 2k to compete a bit better.

Also you can see the 4k difference on a smaller screen, it's just a matter of how close you sit.

The 5040 is all new in 2016 (5030 was 2012-16 so it's why I was able to get a 5030 for a really great price in summer 2016--the 5040 was coming out in a few months).

I could, perhaps, have stretched the budget to the 5040 then, but I did not want to go down the rabbit hole of upgrading everything else (player, Apple TV, Netflix subscription, new AVR). In any case, I'm very happy with my new(ish) projector. Looking forward to my cheap size upgrade experiment (detailed in other thread).

[Hdale85]

You very likely could of gotten away with as little as a blu-ray player upgrade since all current 4k blu-ray players apart from the Xbox One S/X have dual HDMI output. Although I believe the 5040 supports ARC as well. And that's still a couple years old now, it hasn't really changed much in price over those couple of years. But I guess there aren't any competing LCD technologies currently.

[Ovation]

You very likely could of gotten away with as little as a blu-ray player upgrade since all current 4k blu-ray players apart from the Xbox One S/X have dual HDMI output. Although I believe the 5040 supports ARC as well. And that's still a couple years old now, it hasn't really changed much in price over those couple of years. But I guess there aren't any competing LCD technologies currently.

Probably. But I know myself. I'd have gotten the itch for an ATMOS setup (so four more speakers, new AVR, new player, costlier Netflix subscription, upgraded DVR, etc.). Not in one shot (I never do that) but faster than the original plan. As it was, I moved from 720p to 1080p and 3D (already had that ability in the player), so still a good jump--and all else stayed the same. Plus it was easier to rationalize NOT upgrading an AVR (though I could...don't need 4K for ATMOS) this way. As it was, I hemmed and hawed over whether to get a 4K tv and an articulating wall mount (to make it effectively bigger from the main seating position) but 2016 was one year too soon for proper HDR/Dolby Vision equipped TVs. And, in the end, it's about finding time to enjoy what you've got, at some point. Besides, given my schedule reality for the next 4-5 years, I've turned to improving my personal audio gear (headphone upgrade is next on the horizon--have my Schiit Magni/Modi combo ready for nicer cans in my workspace).

Too much gear, too little money and time. :lol:

[Hdale85]

Yeah, certainly can understand all that. As much as I like movies and what not I'm more focused on upgrading my PC and getting a VR headset to play Elite Dangerous lol.

[JonMarsh]

Now, if they had a VR version of Witcher 3, that would be interesting...

But time is the issue. This last year, I've had hardly any conventional spare time, including the holiday break, due to a combination of work circumstances and personal.