New projector announcements

[Brain Sturgeon]

It's CEDIA time, which usually means a slew of new front projectors; so I thought I'd start a thread on new announcements.

JVC has announced the RS-15, RS-25, and RS-35. The RS-15 and RS-25 appear to be very similar to the RS-10 ad RS-20 in performance, with light output and other measurables (on/off contrast) virtually identical. The new units appear to have improvements in the CMS and have added "Clearmotion" which is JVC's implementation of Frame Interpolation. There is also a mention of improvements in the lens with improvement in ANSI contrast. The RS-35 will be a "select" version of the RS-25 with hand picked/matched optics/polarizers/chips and improved convergence. These will reportedly have better on/off performance as well.

MSRPs are $5495 for the RS-15, $7995 for the RS-25, and $9995 for the RS-35. Jason Turk has a great early review of the units here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1174409

Sim2 has announced the Mico 50 single DarkChip 4 DLP projector incorporating an LED light source with expected lifespan of 30,000 hours (!). Lumens output has not been announced, although it sounds like it will be about 1000. Contrast ratio stated put to 100,000:1, although I'll believe it when I see it. Here's Sim2's page on the projector: http://www.sim2usa.com/home/us/grand-cinema-mico/mico50

MSRP has not been announced.

Sim2 has also announced the C3X Lumis, which is basically a single unit version of the Lumis HOST (which placed much of the electronic innards in a separate box from the projector itself). I would expect performance to be identical to the Lumis HOST. MSRP has not been announced.

Sim2 may also be announcing an addition to it's high end line. Reportedly the HT6000 will be north of $100k.

Epson will be announcing 4 new 1080p units, including the 8500UB which will reportedly sport a 200,000:1 on/off contrast ratio (again, I'll believe it when I see it), as well as an upgraded frame interpolation system, which was reportedly one of the weaknesses of the 7500UB. The European version of it (TW5500) will be listing at €3200 ($4640). Here are a couple of pages on these:
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/news/...new-flagships/
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/Epson...projector.html
http://www.projectorreviews.com/blog...ails/#more-461

The Epson 6500UB has been EOL'd and will not be available much longer.

Panasonic has announced the PT-AE4000, which adds a new "rich red lamp" and an improved dynamic iris, reportedly increasing on/off to 80,000:1 (yada, yada, yada). MSRP appears unchanged from the AE3000. A couple of other details:

• a new optical system
• 100Hz Intelligent Frame Creation
• an enhanced Lens Memory 2 system, able to store up to six zoom/focus positions
• automatic switching between 16:9 and 2.35:1 content using signal aspect detection
• Advanced Gamma Adjustment
• intelligent power management system, able to reduce lamp output in scenes where full brightness isn't required

Here's a page on it: http://www.trustedreviews.com/home-c...or-Unveiled/p1

Any others you guys have heard? I'm pretty sure Sony has some new models coming. I'll post these and any others as I hear/read them.

[kpkelley]

The Epson 8100 is rumored to have an MSRP of about $1599, which would be the lowest they've had for their entry-level 1080p projectors. If it improves upon it's predecessor it will be a terrific value(even if it doesn't it still woule be a great buy).

[Trogdor2010]

I remember that someone was stating JVCs new high end product would sport a native of 80,000:1 contrast ratio, but looks like it's going to be the same as the previous generation (but with frame interpolation), and the prices are the same , but great to see progress.

About Sim2 new LED projector sounds great but I'm not sure if it will be cheap, as the Vivitek H9080D LED DLP cost $15000 and Sim2 isn't in to making cheap projectors.

Thanks for the report.

[Oddiophile]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

I remember that someone was stating JVCs new high end product would sport a native of 80,000:1 contrast ratio, but looks like it's going to be the same as the previous generation (but with frame interpolation), and the prices are the same , but great to see progress.

About Sim2 new LED projector sounds great but I'm not sure if it will be cheap, as the Vivitek H9080D LED DLP cost $15000 and Sim2 isn't in to making cheap projectors.

Thanks for the report.

The rumored on/off contrast for the RS25 was 80,000:1 & RS35 was 70,000:1. JVC later shot down this rumor announcing the RS25 would have the same contrast as the RS20 it replaced at 50,000:1, but the new RS35 would have 70,000:1 on/off, a new achievement in native contrast for JVC.

Last year during IFA & CEDIA JVC announced the RS10 & RS20 at 15,000:1 & 30,000:1 contrast. Then later after CEDIA JVC announced the RS10 was now 30,000:1 and the RS20 50,000:1. The RS15 & RS25 have already been tested and confirmed at there numbers but so far no one has seen the RS35 yet. There is a pre-production sample that is being hand carried over from JVC Japan for CEDIA that some are speculating may see a rise in specified contrast from JVC after CEDIA.
Well see.

The RS35/HD990 is a limited production piece retailing at $9,999.95.
It is basically an RS25 but has the best of the best. All of the RS35's components are hand picked offering the best performance JVC can offer. Being the RS35 is limited each one will come with a build certificate.

[singhcr]

I have a question.

These new projectors are supposed to have automatic 16:9/ 2.35:1 detection, but since all BD movies are in 16:9, how can the PJ tell what is what?

[Disky76]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

It's CEDIA time, which usually means a slew of new front projectors; so I thought I'd start a thread on new announcements.

JVC has announced the RS-15, RS-25, and RS-35. The RS-15 and RS-25 appear to be very similar to the RS-10 ad RS-20 in performance, with light output and other measurables (on/off contrast) virtually identical. The new units appear to have improvements in the CMS and have added "Clearmotion" which is JVC's implementation of Frame Interpolation. There is also a mention of improvements in the lens with improvement in ANSI contrast. The RS-35 will be a "select" version of the RS-25 with hand picked/matched optics/polarizers/chips and improved convergence. These will reportedly have better on/off performance as well.

MSRPs are $5495 for the RS-15, $7995 for the RS-25, and $9995 for the RS-35. Jason Turk has a great early review of the units here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1174409

Sim2 has announced the Mico 50 single DarkChip 4 DLP projector incorporating an LED light source with expected lifespan of 30,000 hours (!). Lumens output has not been announced, although it sounds like it will be about 1000. Contrast ratio stated put to 100,000:1, although I'll believe it when I see it. Here's Sim2's page on the projector: http://www.sim2usa.com/home/us/grand-cinema-mico/mico50

MSRP has not been announced.

Sim2 has also announced the C3X Lumis, which is basically a single unit version of the Lumis HOST (which placed much of the electronic innards in a separate box from the projector itself). I would expect performance to be identical to the Lumis HOST. MSRP has not been announced.

Sim2 may also be announcing an addition to it's high end line. Reportedly the HT6000 will be north of $100k.

Epson will be announcing 4 new 1080p units, including the 8500UB which will reportedly sport a 200,000:1 on/off contrast ratio (again, I'll believe it when I see it), as well as an upgraded frame interpolation system, which was reportedly one of the weaknesses of the 7500UB. The European version of it (TW5500) will be listing at €3200 ($4640). Here are a couple of pages on these:
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/news/...new-flagships/
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/Epson...projector.html
http://www.projectorreviews.com/blog...ails/#more-461

The Epson 6500UB has been EOL'd and will not be available much longer.

Panasonic has announced the PT-AE4000, which adds a new "rich red lamp" and an improved dynamic iris, reportedly increasing on/off to 80,000:1 (yada, yada, yada). MSRP appears unchanged from the AE3000. A couple of other details:

• a new optical system
• 100Hz Intelligent Frame Creation
• an enhanced Lens Memory 2 system, able to store up to six zoom/focus positions
• automatic switching between 16:9 and 2.35:1 content using signal aspect detection
• Advanced Gamma Adjustment
• intelligent power management system, able to reduce lamp output in scenes where full brightness isn't required

Here's a page on it: http://www.trustedreviews.com/home-c...or-Unveiled/p1

Any others you guys have heard? I'm pretty sure Sony has some new models coming. I'll post these and any others as I hear/read them.

Very interesting, thank you, Brain. I like the automatic switching between ratios. So will anamorphic lenses be phased out?

[Swede]

Originally Posted by singhcr

I have a question.

These new projectors are supposed to have automatic 16:9/ 2.35:1 detection, but since all BD movies are in 16:9, how can the PJ tell what is what?

I wish. Unfortunately so far the only projector that I have heard will have this feature is the new Panasonic AE4000. Hopefully there will be a few more coming out with a similar feature this year...

I'm assuming you mean encoded as anamorphic 16:9, since a lot of BD movies if not most are actually displayed as 2.35:1. I don't know if there are flags that can be set on a blu-ray disc for 2.35:1 format discs (probably not), so my guess would be that the AE4000 detects aspect ratio from the image itself that is displayed. There is apparently a delay of x seconds as well so that the projector does not change aspect ratio incorrectly. If anyone knows more about this please chime in...

[loco]

that LED sim2 really tickles my fancy...pricewise if i were to venture a guess...it should either fit somewhere between the 10k sim2 domino d80e and the c3x 720p version which goes for about 15k or sim2 would probably phase out the c3x 720p and replace it with the mico50 LED. I cant wait to see this with my own eyeballs.

[igotcabada]

Anyone have some inside info on a AE3000 price cut with the arrival of the AE4000? Looking to pick it up in the low 2's range


edit - on cue, projector people lowered their price to $2,299 today

[DoomBot]

I wonder if the dust blob problem is any better with the new Panasonic AE4000?

[Oddiophile]

Originally Posted by DoomBot

I wonder if the dust blob problem is any better with the new Panasonic AE4000?

Probably not.

There is only so much you can do to a technology that requires an open light path.

[Swede]

Originally Posted by Oddiophile

Probably not.

There is only so much you can do to a technology that requires an open light path.

Well, that's not really true. There are definitely varying degrees to how vulnerable projectors are to getting dust blobs and such things.

I for example have had my trusty ol' 720p Sanyo PLV-Z4 for almost exactly 3 years now, and I do not have a single dust pixel on my screen after all this time, and I believe Sanyo in general is actually pretty famous for their anti-dust technology in their projectors. Unfortunately I'm not very interested in their Z3000 1080p pj. That said, of course a closed light path would obviously be preferable

[SeanMF]

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/m...-395/#comments

My next upgrade. My Mits 1600 sure didn't last long...but most of my stuff doesn't. For $1395...1080p...1300 lumans...5000 hr lamp life...and full support for anamorphic lens. I'm going to see if I can get a discount. Anyone interested in my Mits HC1600 shoot me a offer/pm. I've had it a month and its calibrated.

[Oddiophile]

Originally Posted by Swede

Well, that's not really true. There are definitely varying degrees to how vulnerable projectors are to getting dust blobs and such things.

I for example have had my trusty ol' 720p Sanyo PLV-Z4 for almost exactly 3 years now, and I do not have a single dust pixel on my screen after all this time, and I believe Sanyo in general is actually pretty famous for their anti-dust technology in their projectors. Unfortunately I'm not very interested in their Z3000 1080p pj. That said, of course a closed light path would obviously be preferable

I had a Sony HS51a for 3 years and never got a dust blob, and I live in the desert. Yet some HS51 owners have had dust blob problems most haven't. Panasonic said they fixed the problem with the AE3000 yet still some people still have gotten dust blobs and some haven't. It can be hit or miss. Point is by design LCD has to have an open light path which makes it susceptible to dust blobs unlike LCOS that can have a sealed light path.

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by Oddiophile

I had a Sony HS51a for 3 years and never got a dust blob, and I live in the desert. Yet some HS51 owners have had dust blob problems most haven't. Panasonic said they fixed the problem with the AE3000 yet still some people still have gotten dust blobs and some haven't. It can be hit or miss. Point is by design LCD has to have an open light path which makes it susceptible to dust blobs unlike LCOS that can have a sealed light path.

Yes... Sony Lcos no dust blobs.

[ryoohki]

Sealed path can have dust in them. I saw thread with them. But it's pretty rare... because of an manifacturing error..

[HDJK]

CEDIA Summary here

[Another_Dude]

Originally Posted by igotcabada

Anyone have some inside info on a AE3000 price cut with the arrival of the AE4000? Looking to pick it up in the low 2's range


edit - on cue, projector people lowered their price to $2,299 today

It went to $1999 w/ a 2 year warranty as of yesterday.

That is one hell of a machine for $2k.

[Swede]

Add a free extra bulb to that and I'm in
Prices may drop even further once the new models start coming out...

edit: forget I said that, with the ae4000 now announced at $1999 I don't see myself going for the ae3000, even at the now even lower advertised price of $1699, things are moving quickly right now!!

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

The Epson 8100 is rumored to have an MSRP of about $1599, which would be the lowest they've had for their entry-level 1080p projectors. If it improves upon it's predecessor it will be a terrific value(even if it doesn't it still woule be a great buy).

This is very tempting for me. I'll be in the market very soon...