Front Projector

[chuckaroo]

Hey Guys,
Thanks for letting me take part in the forum. I've been retired for a number of years (71, Air Force) and I'm trying to put together a home theater. I have a 10X14 foot room with no windows and a sony STR-DE995 Receiver. Also I have a Infinity BU-2 Subwoofer and the minuette speaker system front,center and surround. The sony is a 7.1 so I purchased 2 more minuette's on ebay to complete it and have 4 rear speakers.
Now my big dicision is" What is the best projector" in the price range of 1200.00 - 1700.00. I'm pushing 71 and I don't want to get taken.

After reading this forum, I know I will get good advice.

Many thanks

Chuckaroo




Chuckster

[Bam!]

Hey Chuckaroo!

It`s Bamaroo!

hey why don`t you check out the thread right below this one one...The Infocus X1....is...right in your price range....and....it is a DLP!

woo whoooo!

I have it....and....I love it Truly!

Take care !




Bam!

[George Bellefontaine]

And if DLP gives you headaches or causes you to see color flashes( Rainbows) try out lcd. I believe the Sanyo HD2 falls in your budget range at USD. A few here own this PJ and love it. Plus it offers 1280 x 720 resolution which will be good if you will be watching high definition tv shows on your PJ. If you are only going to use it for dvds, Epson has a PJ with dvd resolution for $1200USD and may even street at much less.




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[chuckaroo]

Sure do appreciate all the good info. I have taken your advice and have checked out the X1, also I have been looking at the Sanyo Z2, what do ya think? Specks look great. Anybody out there have any info on this machine?
Also I checked out this bright white screen with a gain of 1.0 to 1.3 on ebay. This stuff any good or does the ME paint put it down?
Thanks a heap. You guys are a great help. Would appreciate your continued input.

Thanks
Chuckaroo




Chuckster

[Bam!]

Chuckaroo!

Cjeck out the thread below my Trevor Schell...comparing the Matinee to the Z2...it pretty much sums it up....

If you have the budget for the Matinee or Z2 I would take that over the X1 because the Z2/Matinee are in HD.....

For the screen...I have a 0.8 gain screen because these projectors play very bright and I want the deepest blacks possible....Your room has a lot to do with it to....

Take care...keep us in touch!




Bam!

[chuckaroo]

Thanks BAM
I'm sure it will be one or the other. I hear the Matinee has a better warranty so I lean that way a little more.
Thanks a lot for the great info and I'll let you know how it all works out and now.........back to doing some more dry walling.

Thanks




Chuckster

[Sonnie Parker]

Hey Chuckster... glad to have another southeasterner aboard... welcome! I'm only about an hour from Florida.

You may have a hard time finding a 2HD for less than about $2k right now but the Z2 (same machine) is floating around in the $1700-$1800 range. I'd jump on it. For HD or widescreen material it's gonna be hard to beat IMO. I tried to find the link but couldn't... I know I read somewhere that the Z2 was at $1749 or $1789. You may have to dig really deep to find it but I know it's out there somewhere. When I have more time maybe I can find it for ya. Most of what I've found just on a quick look was $1899-$1999.

Even the 1HD and Z1 (same machines one step down from the 2HD and Z2)) are nice... a couple of guys here in the forum own those and have been very pleased with them. Those can be had in $1100-$1200 range.






SONNIE

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DVD Collection

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[Brandon B]

The Z1/1HD are the previous year's model. The resolution is substantially less (960 x 540), although this is the "1/4 HD" resolution that scales nicely with HD sources, so it is not a completely negative factor compared to the Z2.

More importantly (maybe) is the Z1 does not have a DVI port, which the Z2 does.

Another good candidate is a very-soon-to-be-released infocus HT PJ in this price range, read about it here. I would certainly consider it, as InFocus' units are pretty much competitve values across their product line.

BB

[Dean McManis]

I'd also recommend squeezing the budget a bit to get into a Z2. HDTV is astonishing to look at, with a 1280 X 720P projector, and it's quite likely that HD DVDs will be available within the next two years, so spending a couple hundred dollars today would have a good reward a couple years from now.
And the regular picture of the Z2 is visibly better than the Z1 even with NTSC material.

-Dean.

[Legairre]

I've recently paired my Z2 with a Momitsu 720p/1080i DVI DVD player and the PQ is stunning. the Z2 really shines with a quality signal. If you see a Z2 with HD or a DVI player you'll have to have someone hold you back from buying it.