Hey Rick thanks for the info. Two years ago when I was first projector shopping JVC kept popping up but they were just too pricey back then so I considered Sony since they were also LCoS which I had read very good things about. Eventually due to price it came down to the Espon or Panny and a couple of things pushed me toward the Panny despite knowing it would cost more in the long run because of the hours I’d be putting on it. The final selling points for me were that the Panny was shipping before the “federal holyday season” kicked in so I could start enjoying it right away. Reviews said it had better shadow detail which for gaming was more important to me than more brightness and slightly better black levels of the Epson.
Since this is your first projector don’t disregard one of last year’s Epsons. They have dropped in price and being this is your first projector it’s going to blow you away no matter what you buy. When I first fired up the Panny and put in Elder Scrolls Oblivion my jaw hit the floor not because of the pictures size but the clarity, black level, and colour depth but blew my 56” Samsun DLP with pretty new bulb out of the room. Literally I moved it out of the room because I just couldn’t even look at it anymore the picture on the Panny was so much better. This was one of the reasons I went with something less expensive than the JVC and Sony’s even though research told me I would prefer LCoS. I finally figured that just upgrading to a projector would be such a huge improvement I wouldn’t really appreciate the extra performance paying $3,000 more would give me in a JVC. So in a long winded way I’m saying again don’t dismiss one of last year’s projectors if you can get it for a lot less than a new model especially if 2D is all you’re watching. Paying twice the price is not going to give you much more than an incremental boost in performance.
FYI the reason I went ahead and pulled the trigger on this Panny is because I do want something a little brighter but with similar pictures characteristics which this is supposed to have both of. I want to give 3D a try to see if I like it so I don’t end up likening it and feeling the need to upgrade movies I might be buying 2D versions of instead. Too have a second projector so if one goes out I have a backup while the other is getting fixed, I just can’t look at the smaller screen (46” LCD) for very long before my eyes start to hurt (near vision going with age). And finally because last time I spent way too much time fretting over which projector to buy, bouncing back and forth between them and finally ending up with the first one I wanted in the first place. So I decided just to cut my losses and buy a Panny. I might regret it or I might not but at least I didn’t’ waste a ton of time researching and re-researching my choices when I could instead be enjoying my system.
P.S. Derail this thread as much as you like, it’s happened quite a few times before and will likely happen many more times. Besides I’m sure it’s not hurting the view count.
