Projector advice for newby

[Glen1]

Hi all,
I'm after some advice with selection of a projector for home theatre use. My budget is up to $3500 and I will use it with dvd and hdtv only. I don't intend to use it for gaming. The source will be a progressive scan dvd player and a hdtv set top box via component cable at this stage although a dvi (I think that's right) might be somewhere in the future for me. I will use it for about 10 hours per week at a guess. My room is 5 mt x 5 mt and has a 9' ceiling. My viewing position is about 4 metres from a screen. I think a 100" screen would be fine in my room. I can make the room almost completely dark.
I'm very sensitive to sde and even the pixilation on dlp projectors bothers me at times. I think a 16:9 screen would suit me best as I'll watch most things in widescreen.
I've seen the Toshiba MT200, Hitachi 100, Optoma H30 and Panasonic 500. I thought all were pretty good except the Hitachi which had pronounced sde although that might have been the set up.

I'm after some advice on what might suit my needs including any brands I haven't mentioned. Also I'm looking at approximate prices.

Thanks,
Glen

[JC]

well im a newby too...but last week went and bought the panasonic ae700 for
$2700 from harvey norman...and it looks fantastic...i suggest u go and get
one of them from harveys as they seem to be the only ones with a decent
amount of stock
hth
ta
jc
"Glen1" <Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Hi all,
> I'm after some advice with selection of a projector for home theatre
> use. My budget is up to $3500 and I will use it with dvd and hdtv
> only. I don't intend to use it for gaming. The source will be a
> progressive scan dvd player and a hdtv set top box via component cable
> at this stage although a dvi (I think that's right) might be somewhere
> in the future for me. I will use it for about 10 hours per week at a
> guess. My room is 5 mt x 5 mt and has a 9' ceiling. My viewing
> position is about 4 metres from a screen. I think a 100" screen would
> be fine in my room. I can make the room almost completely dark.
> I'm very sensitive to sde and even the pixilation on dlp projectors
> bothers me at times. I think a 16:9 screen would suit me best as I'll
> watch most things in widescreen.
> I've seen the Toshiba MT200, Hitachi 100, Optoma H30 and Panasonic 500.
> I thought all were pretty good except the Hitachi which had
> pronounced sde although that might have been the set up.
>
> I'm after some advice on what might suit my needs including any brands
> I haven't mentioned. Also I'm looking at approximate prices.
>
> Thanks,
> Glen
>
>
> --
> Glen1

[Michael K]

Id agree with JC, go and get the Panasonic ae700 that seems to be the best
deal at the moment.

You should also include a 100" screen of ur choice (cost up to $1000) and
about $500 for cables, mounts etc.

I personally have the Infocus 4805 which is an excellent projector I must
say. I saw the ae700 and in comparison I think they are fairly (DVD
quality). Havent tested in HD between the 2 so I cant say but id expect the
pasnasonic to be a little better. Panasonic wont have SDE at 5metres so id
say go with that.

Good luck


"Glen1" <Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Hi all,
> I'm after some advice with selection of a projector for home theatre
> use. My budget is up to $3500 and I will use it with dvd and hdtv
> only. I don't intend to use it for gaming. The source will be a
> progressive scan dvd player and a hdtv set top box via component cable
> at this stage although a dvi (I think that's right) might be somewhere
> in the future for me. I will use it for about 10 hours per week at a
> guess. My room is 5 mt x 5 mt and has a 9' ceiling. My viewing
> position is about 4 metres from a screen. I think a 100" screen would
> be fine in my room. I can make the room almost completely dark.
> I'm very sensitive to sde and even the pixilation on dlp projectors
> bothers me at times. I think a 16:9 screen would suit me best as I'll
> watch most things in widescreen.
> I've seen the Toshiba MT200, Hitachi 100, Optoma H30 and Panasonic 500.
> I thought all were pretty good except the Hitachi which had
> pronounced sde although that might have been the set up.
>
> I'm after some advice on what might suit my needs including any brands
> I haven't mentioned. Also I'm looking at approximate prices.
>
> Thanks,
> Glen
>
>
> --
> Glen1

[Byron Forbes]

I'd be personally saving a bit more and getting a WXGA projector.
There's nothing like having a projector that does 576 as it's native
resolution. No upscaling for DVD or FTA SD.


"Glen1" <Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Hi all,
> I'm after some advice with selection of a projector for home theatre
> use. My budget is up to $3500 and I will use it with dvd and hdtv
> only. I don't intend to use it for gaming. The source will be a
> progressive scan dvd player and a hdtv set top box via component cable
> at this stage although a dvi (I think that's right) might be somewhere
> in the future for me. I will use it for about 10 hours per week at a
> guess. My room is 5 mt x 5 mt and has a 9' ceiling. My viewing
> position is about 4 metres from a screen. I think a 100" screen would
> be fine in my room. I can make the room almost completely dark.
> I'm very sensitive to sde and even the pixilation on dlp projectors
> bothers me at times. I think a 16:9 screen would suit me best as I'll
> watch most things in widescreen.
> I've seen the Toshiba MT200, Hitachi 100, Optoma H30 and Panasonic 500.
> I thought all were pretty good except the Hitachi which had
> pronounced sde although that might have been the set up.
>
> I'm after some advice on what might suit my needs including any brands
> I haven't mentioned. Also I'm looking at approximate prices.
>
> Thanks,
> Glen
>
>
> --
> Glen1

[Jace the Ace]

I'd be personally saving a bit more and getting a WXGA projector.
There's nothing like having a projector that does 576 as it's native
resolution. No upscaling for DVD or FTA SD.

Well, if he's watching HDTV that's not going to be much use. Given we're less than 12 months away from HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, anything less than 1280x720 is money wasted.

[Byron Forbes]

"Jace the Ace" <Jace.the.Ace.1hkziy@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in
message news:Jace.the.Ace.1hkziy@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Byron Forbes Wrote:
> > I'd be personally saving a bit more and getting a WXGA projector.
> > There's nothing like having a projector that does 576 as it's native
> > resolution. No upscaling for DVD or FTA SD.
>
> Well, if he's watching HDTV that's not going to be much use. Given
> we're less than 12 months away from HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, anything less than
> 1280x720 is money wasted.
>

You got suckered into my mistake! :) What YOU want then is actually
WXGA. What I meant to say in the first place was WSVGA! Compare the price
difference between WXGA (1280 X 768) and WSVGA (1024 X 576) and I think
you'll be happy with WSVGA for now! :)

[Nick]

Or make your own very good screen using a sheet of gyprock, ceiling white
and some MDF acrchitrave painted black (for a border) for less than $100 all
up which will give results so close to a $1000 screen you too will wonder
why people insist on effectively tearing up $900+ ...

Before you decide on a DLP projector, make sure you watch one for a good
15 - 20 minutes minimum. Many people are adversely affected by their
projection method and can suffer anything from seeing an annoying rainbow
effect to mild nausea to painful headaches.

I was looking at DLP until we actually sat an watched one and my wife was
badly affected. Got a Panasonic AE 500 and am very happy with this machine
and my wife has no problems with this unit. In short, don't just buy on
spec.

Don't get sucked into spending a fortune of extas and accessories like many
people do. Some of the claims about cables etc are as absurd as Peter
Brock's endorsement of the Energy Polariser many years ago. Sure, buy good
quality but remember the law of diminishing returns also applies to things
like AV cables too.

Good Luck.

Seasons geetings to all.
Nick.

"Michael K" <spunkie_wog@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:41c53d3e$0$25831$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
> Id agree with JC, go and get the Panasonic ae700 that seems to be the best
> deal at the moment.
>
> You should also include a 100" screen of ur choice (cost up to $1000) and
> about $500 for cables, mounts etc.
>
> I personally have the Infocus 4805 which is an excellent projector I must
> say. I saw the ae700 and in comparison I think they are fairly (DVD
> quality). Havent tested in HD between the 2 so I cant say but id expect
> the pasnasonic to be a little better. Panasonic wont have SDE at 5metres
> so id say go with that.
>
> Good luck
>
>
> "Glen1" <Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
> news:Glen1.1hhph3@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>>
>> Hi all,
>> I'm after some advice with selection of a projector for home theatre
>> use. My budget is up to $3500 and I will use it with dvd and hdtv
>> only. I don't intend to use it for gaming. The source will be a
>> progressive scan dvd player and a hdtv set top box via component cable
>> at this stage although a dvi (I think that's right) might be somewhere
>> in the future for me. I will use it for about 10 hours per week at a
>> guess. My room is 5 mt x 5 mt and has a 9' ceiling. My viewing
>> position is about 4 metres from a screen. I think a 100" screen would
>> be fine in my room. I can make the room almost completely dark.
>> I'm very sensitive to sde and even the pixilation on dlp projectors
>> bothers me at times. I think a 16:9 screen would suit me best as I'll
>> watch most things in widescreen.
>> I've seen the Toshiba MT200, Hitachi 100, Optoma H30 and Panasonic 500.
>> I thought all were pretty good except the Hitachi which had
>> pronounced sde although that might have been the set up.
>>
>> I'm after some advice on what might suit my needs including any brands
>> I haven't mentioned. Also I'm looking at approximate prices.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Glen
>>
>>
>> --
>> Glen1
>
>

[Peter]

On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 14:02:00 GMT, "Nick"
<hockeythumperTAKEOUT@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Or make your own very good screen using a sheet of gyprock, ceiling white
>and some MDF acrchitrave painted black (for a border) for less than $100 all
>up which will give results so close to a $1000 screen you too will wonder
>why people insist on effectively tearing up $900+ ...

Or some timber to make a decent frame, curtain backing as the surface,
and blackboard paint for the border. Again, less than 100 bucks all
up and to my simpleton's eyes, just as effective as anything else I've
seen.

Peter