Projector choice help better than my Mitsubishi 65-413?

[Chip]

Hey gang,

this isn't my area but, i'm thinking i'd like to move from my current Mitsubishi 65-413 to a projector in my basement HT. My room is 15' wide by 21' long with an average ceiling height of 7'5". I can sell my 65-413 for $1500.00 to a buddy. I have room for a screen on my wall up to roughly 100 inches. 92 inches would probably work better..

Is there a dlp projector i could buy for $1500.00 or less that would give me better video performance than my current RPHD set? Are they difficult to set up? I'm pretty good at figuring things out.. I am the "go to" guy for friends that get into HT. Front projection is new to me though. I'd appreciate some input on this to help me figure out what to do. Thanks.

[George Bellefontaine]

The Infocus Widescreen 4805 is the hot new dlp projector today. I don't know the resolution of your RPTV, but the 4805 is 854 x 480, which is a perfect match for dvds. I have read that the 4805 even looks good with Hidef material. I believe it is around $1500 USD msrp, but probably streets a couple of hundred lower. If memory serves, I believe it is a medium to long throw PJ so would probably fit nicely somewhere in your large room. There are also a few lcd projectors with 854 x 480 res in the $1200 USD range. You can get more info on the 4805 by visiting the Infocus website. Hope this helps.

[Chip]

Thanks George. You say perfect for DVD's. What about HDTV? Is this a high def projector? I have Comcast HD service. HBOHD, high def football, etc. Will the 4805 do HDTV justice?

[George Bellefontaine]

Minimum HI-def requirements call for a 1280 x 720 resolution projector. The 4805 is 854 x 480, so you won't see true hi-def but you will still get a pretty nice picture. I own a 1024 x 768 PJ , still below hi-def, but I had an opportunity to see a hi-def signal on it and it was pretty darn good. But if you are going to be watching a lot of hidefinition television, maybe you want to save a bit more scratch. SharpVision is coming out with a DLP in 1280 x 720 for $4499. USD.

[Shane Martin]

Your set is like mine and it's a native 1980x1080I set. As I said on another thread, I don't know if a $1500 DLP or LCD will do the trick for you.

[George Bellefontaine]

Yeah, Chip, Shane is correct. The 4805 would be quite a come down in res from your RPTV. The new Sharp could be just the thing with its 1280 x 720p resolution.

[Brandon B]

He should also check out the Epson TW200 and newer panasonics (AE500 and new 700). They will be closer to his price range than the Sharp, maybe, and are both 720p.

You may also see some other 720 DLPs coming into this range (<$4k) in the next several months as they are dragged there by LCD contrast improvements.

BB