Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Projector recommendations ?

My brother-in-law is about to take the plunge on a home theater system. Seating distance about 12 feet from the screen, looking for 90-ish inch front projection screen. It's not a dedicated room but we should be able to control the ambient light pretty well, with curtains if necessary.

He is looking at a Sony HS-51 3 chip LCD projector, which uses an automatic iris to improve black levels (cute idea). Single chip DLP projectors are a problem for him because he can see artifacts VERY easily (he's our official deer spotter when we go hunting, even without binos ) and so far this projector has seemed by far the best in the price range for his eyes.

Any thoughts for good alternatives in that price range (~3500 US) ? I don't want to completely eliminate DLP projectors, it's just that if there are ANY artifacts he's gonna see them.

Thanks...

EDIT : Oh yeah, he is also going through an "I want to get a serious receiver, maybe a Sony, not that yuppie crap like Denon, NAD and Harman Kardon". How far up the Sony receiver line do you have to go to get something in the same league as the "yuppie crap" ?

The Sony HS51 has had good reviews. If he has not done so already, I would recommend he go to http://www.projectorcentral.com and read the reviews on all of the DLP/LCD home theater projectors. That is where I started a few years ago. Personally, I have the Sanyo Z2 and absolutely love it's performance. Nickbuol on this forum has the Z3, and now their are rumors the Z4 is on its way out. It sounds like he will want a short throw projector, meaning you can get a large screen from a relatively short projector throw distance. At 13ft I can zoom anywhere from 80" diag's upto around 120" diag. I would also recommend a 720 capable projector. HD material on my Z2 is jaw dropping.

I'm actually in the process of considering building a 2.35 constant height aspect screen as most of my DVD's are around 2.35 material. To accomodate this idea I'll be looking at an anamorphic lens from Prismasonic. This way you can enjoy all the 2.35 movies as they were intended to be viewed in the theater's with no black bars. When watching the lower AR's, the height stays the same, you just have to mask the sides.

Anyway, I don't want to get off track on your question. Another reason I like the Sanyo's is the Lens shift option, it makes it darn nice for setup. I believe the Panasonics and others offer this feature now as well, but I think they have a bit longer throw distance...

good luck

So, reality is not likely to hit this guy on the receiver front, huh? Likes dropping a lot of money so he doesn't look like a yuppie?

i would look at the benq pe7700, toshiba mt700. the optoma h77 came down in price also. all three are suppose to be very nice projectors around that price range. For recievers i guess i would look at the onkyo tx-nr1000 arcam or integra dtr-10.5. sonys high end stuff probaly only hits the 1500 hundred mark.The two i suggested well run about 3000 to 4000 thousand. But they have everything pretty much you would want.

>>So, reality is not likely to hit this guy on the receiver front, huh? Likes dropping a lot of money so he doesn't look like a yuppie?

Quite the opposite, unfortunately -- wants to buy something good and reasonably priced like a high end Sony rather than wasting a bunch of money on overpriced yuppie crap like Denon or HK ;(

He was looking at the $1000 CDN range, say $700 US (or $300 US for HK -- the joke is that he is sort of right regarding HK because the Cdn HK disty marks them up something fierce...

Ah, I understand now. That is somewhat problematic... perhaps one of the better Yamahas?

Pioneer 1015 is about $699 CDN MSRP, said to be the same as the Pioneer Elite 52. Good value for the $$$$

Both good ideas. For reference, $1000 up here roughly gets you :

- midway between Denon 2105 (899) and 2805 (1199)
- Yamaha 1500 (999)
- midway between HK235 (899) and HK335 (1299)
- Pioneer Elite 52 (or 1.5x Pioneer 1015 )
- Denon 5805 (whoops, typo, that's $10,000)

I'd be looking at the Elite or the 2805, myself. I'd say those outclass the H/Ks by a good amount.

In reply to:

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He is looking at a Sony HS-51 3 chip LCD projector, which uses an automatic iris to improve black levels (cute idea). Single chip DLP projectors are a problem for him because he can see artifacts VERY easily (he's our official deer spotter when we go hunting, even without binos ) and so far this projector has seemed by far the best in the price range for his eyes.

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We have had the Sony here since the first of the year - Fresh out of the box, it is really good. Then there was a recall for some software upgrades, and I would call it fantastic now.

We also have a Yamaha 510 LCD, and the Sony crushes it.

Even the Infocus 4805 can throw 90" from 12'. Actually, that is the 4805's sweet spot/size. Don't "think" your going to see rainbows until he's actually seen it. I've had mine since Jan. and I have had nobody yet see rainbows on the 4805. Keep in mind my screen is 110's and larger the screen the more likely to see rainbows. I do see them on other dlp's though. I figure about 1200 Canadian. Don't skimp out on a pj. Get something with good color/blacks. And don't forget you need a good screen as well. A good screen makes a huge difference. Don't be using some white wall.


Oh, and Forget Sony...just wake him up somehow.

Ah Ha!!.....My Projector

My projector can throw a 20 FOOT picture with no problem at all!!!

Yeah!!

I know....it dosen't quite count.

It's my 1946 Matco 16mm movie projector.

And it still works!! Watched Laurel and Hardy and a Bert Lahr movie just the other night(rare that I actually drag it out though)

(I still use the speaker box from the thing as part of my home theater and sound system,re-drivered, of course)

Love my Z3, but there are a LOT of very good projectors for that price range.

Sirquack is right on the mark with checking out Projector Central. You can play around with their "Throw Calculator" and find out what will work with the room size to get the picture size needed. Keep in mind that you don't want the "zoom" to be at the maximum or minimum to get the desired 90" screen. Some projectors have a little distortion at the maximum limits.

Also, it does make some difference depending on what ratio screen needed. A 90" 1.78:1 screen (regular HDTV or 16:9) is different than a 90" 2.35:1 (format Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc were done in).

You will also want to look at screens too. I picked up a Carada screen http://www.carada.com and love it. You will find pretty much all positive comments about their screens. To me, they are to screens what Axiom is to speakers. High quality, lower price, awesome customer service... But there are limitations. For example, for their 1.78:1 screen, there is no 90", but there is 88" and 92". For their wider 2.35:1, their closest screens to 90" are 88" and 96".

Lets say that you want at LEAST 90", so that means the 92" and 96" options I mention above. Here are the visible screen sizes...

1.78:1 - 92" = 80.2 inches wide by 45.1 inches high
1.35:1 - 96" = 88.3 inches wide by 37.6 inches high

Take that into account when factoring the size in on the calculator.

I went with a 1.78:1 screen, but there are many arguements to get a wider screen that can be discussed elsewhere. I went back and forth and ended up with the HDTV format even though I only watch movies on it and no TV... I have a few photos on my cheesy home theater web site linked in my signature line below. 106" is nice!

projector central is a good start, but go to the manufacturer's web site to get more exact projection calculators. I've come across quite a few that are wrong on projector central.

Nice one newf... That IS great advice... Kind of like a carpenter, "measure twice - cut once" only, since it is a projector, "check twice - buy once."

>>Oh, and Forget Sony...just wake him up somehow.

I think he is over his Sony thing. I told him to ask around...

He was out tonight looking at a Denon 3805. More like it. Hey, is there a big difference between 3805 and 2805 other than a bit more power and a cool big blue remote ?

There's always DenonLINK, but that kind of requires a godawful expensive DVD player.

Ah yes, that's what I was forgetting. Thanks !

I'd still get the 3805. Should be able to get a really good price on them now with the 3806 coming in sept/oct.

Apparantly the sound quality is a lot better on the 3805. But, that's only what I have read.