Which 1080p projector?? Please help

[Cwoodall334]

As of right now, I've narrowed down my selection to:
Sony VPL-VW40
Panasonic PT-AE2000U
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 UB

I have to stay under $3000. I have complete light control in the room I will be in, so ambient light won't be a problem. I will be projecting an image of 84". I was originally leaning towards the Sony but I really like the side by side image calibration of the Panasonic. Also, I've noticed that they all say they accept a 1080/24p signal. Does that mean they will also display the image properly? I greatly appreciate any input.

[rogman]

Originally Posted by Cwoodall334

As of right now, I've narrowed down my selection to:
Sony VPL-VW40
Panasonic PT-AE2000U
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 UB

I have to stay under $3000. I have complete light control in the room I will be in, so ambient light won't be a problem. I will be projecting an image of 84". I was originally leaning towards the Sony but I really like the side by side image calibration of the Panasonic. Also, I've noticed that they all say they accept a 1080/24p signal. Does that mean they will also display the image properly? I greatly appreciate any input.

I have the Epson PowerLite Home 1080P and I'm VERY happy with it. Looked great out of the box, and did a few minor tweaks from the defaults to get everything just the way I want it. Switching to low lamp mode is essential- the bulb will last longer, and the fan runs quieter. The fan is still pretty quiet regardless.

I'd highly recommend the Epson Powerlite.

[AlaskaDon]

Your 3 choices basically are the same as what I looked at about a year ago. I went with the Sony VW50. The VW40 was not out yet. The main reason I chose the Sony was that I could get one locally. From what I've since seen posted by other projector users, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these 3. I think my Sony is great, but I'm not sure that there is anything to recommend it over the other 2 given that you have full light control. The powered focus, zoom and lens shift on the Sony is a nice feature, in case that feature is missing from the Panny or the Epson. My guess is that you could probably base your choice on which one has the best price.

My Sony handles 1080/24p perfectly and I have not heard of any problems in that regard with the VPL-VW40.

[sokrman14]

I would have to say the Sony. They run nearly silent which is amazing, great picture, with popping colors. Definitely my favorite of the ones you listed.

[saginawjuggalo]

VPL-VW40 then UB. Have you looked into the BenQ w5000? Great bang for the buck (if your room can accept the placement requirements and you don't have problems with DLP rainbows)

Skip the PT-AE2000U as it isn't worth the current asking price....

[09camaro]

Epson. If it would have been in my budget I'd have went with it.

[Cwoodall334]

Originally Posted by saginawjuggalo

Have you looked into the BenQ w5000? Skip the PT-AE2000U as it isn't worth the current asking price....

I haven't looked at the BenQ because like one of the other posters said, I'd like to be able to get it locally. If something were to happen it to, I would like easily get it fixed.

Why do you say the Panasonic isn't worth the price?

[Cwoodall334]

Originally Posted by AlaskaDon

Your 3 choices basically are the same as what I looked at about a year ago. I went with the Sony VW50. The VW40 was not out yet. The main reason I chose the Sony was that I could get one locally. From what I've since seen posted by other projector users, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these 3. I think my Sony is great, but I'm not sure that there is anything to recommend it over the other 2 given that you have full light control. The powered focus, zoom and lens shift on the Sony is a nice feature, in case that feature is missing from the Panny or the Epson. My guess is that you could probably base your choice on which one has the best price.

My Sony handles 1080/24p perfectly and I have not heard of any problems in that regard with the VPL-VW40.

What screen do you have for your VW50?

[aaaa6344]

the epson rules, BUT i would like to have power zoom and focus (and some some kind of memory/presets on it). this is because on my epson (1080 but not UB), every time i turn it on, it adjusts the iris or something and throws it a little out of focus EVERY time. now i have it zoomed in quite a bit (the short throw distance is unbelievable) and that might have something to do with, but have to adjust the focus every time. also power zoom is good if you want to have a super-widescreen screen or CIH screen cuz u can just zoom in and out easily if that's something that might be interesting. of course the epson is the only one i would have gone with cuz i got it for almost half the price of the sony, which was way out of my budget to begin with

[AlaskaDon]

Originally Posted by Cwoodall334

What screen do you have for your VW50?

I made a DIY screen. You can find links for how to do it in this thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=42889

They turn out really nice.

[saginawjuggalo]

Originally Posted by Cwoodall334

Why do you say the Panasonic isn't worth the price?

It's priced alone with top performing 3k projectors but hardly 'outclasses' the cheaper entry level 1080p projectors. It also has issues with dust blobs. It's a fine projector but $1,200 more then say the Sanyo PLV-Z2000 just isn't with it for a small step up in performance. If Panasonic reajusted their pricing structure (say 400-500 more) it may be worth it but as of right now, no.

If your willing to spend that much, you owe it to yourself to get either the Sony VPL-VW40 or Epson 1080UB

All projectors have their ups and downs, so only you can judge what attributes are important to you.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by saginawjuggalo

It's a fine projector but $1,200 more then say the Sanyo PLV-Z2000 just isn't with it for a small step up in performance.

The Sanyo doesn't have anamorphic mode for HD. I think that warrants a price increase.


fuad

[Cwoodall334]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

The Sanyo doesn't have anamorphic mode for HD. I think that warrants a price increase.


fuad

Does that mean the projector can do anamorphic, or that it supports the use of an anamorphic lens?

[aaaa6344]

the epson that i have (not UB) also does not have have a visual processing for anamorphic or CIH from what i can tell. This also means that letterboxed non-anamorphic dvds that are upscaled to 1080p (by ps3 or other player that can't zoom), will not be able to take up the entire frame. i would check and see if the UB is capable of this (as well as any other possible projector). it can zoom on 480p input but it doesn't look as good as upconverting---maybe cuz the internal scaler isn't as good, everything i watch is in 1080 tho.

[m_tyson]

The Panny displays 1080p24 fine, runs very quiet, and does vertical stretch in case you ever want a constant image height setup. No dust blobs on mine.

Originally Posted by Cwoodall334

As of right now, I've narrowed down my selection to:
Sony VPL-VW40
Panasonic PT-AE2000U
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 UB

I have to stay under $3000. I have complete light control in the room I will be in, so ambient light won't be a problem. I will be projecting an image of 84". I was originally leaning towards the Sony but I really like the side by side image calibration of the Panasonic. Also, I've noticed that they all say they accept a 1080/24p signal. Does that mean they will also display the image properly? I greatly appreciate any input.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by Cwoodall334

Does that mean the projector can do anamorphic, or that it supports the use of an anamorphic lens?

Both. You can use the Panny as a 16x9 PJ or a Constant Height PJ (which combined with an anamorphic lens will give you a wider picture). If the PJ doesn't have CH mode, you'd have to buy an external scaler to squeeze the video for you and output that at 1080p24.


fuad

[Cwoodall334]

I'm beginning to lean towards the Sony VPL-VW40. Does the VW40 do anamorphic?

[larryj763]

I went with a Sony 50 about two years ago and have loved it. For a long time, I simply projected it on my white wall and my friends who've watched Blu-Rays in that configuration were blown away. I've recently redone the whole room and now have a "real" screen (a Stewart Filmscreen Firehawk), and even with some ambient lighting, the image looks fantastic. The projector is about 14' back from the screen, which is 108" diagonal.

I think you'll like the Sony, if that's your end choice. I'm not sure what the 40 "lacks" compared to the other models in the sub-$10K range of Sony's line.

[aaaa6344]

i'd say get the sony if you can afford it, and can handle something that's relatively big. i got the epson cuz it was small and fit perfectly in my setup (replacing an older but just as small epson). literally even if i had the money i still would have got it just because of that. also, pretty much any projector can do anamorphic 2.35:1 if you stick a lens in front of it and a processor behind it, it's just if that's the route you want to go with it really. some projectors have an internal CIH mode that scales it properly i guess (which would have been nice on the epson, though right now i wouldn't use it as i have to zoom it in to fit the wall already)

[Cwoodall334]

I guess I should have mentioned that I play the occasional PS3 game and I love to watch sports.