Agreement,advice,criticism lets have it !

[foghorn]

I have for the last while been looking to upgrade my aging DLP projector and my wife was good enough to sanction around £3500 to £4000 on a new projector.

Over the summer i have watched with interest the developments with Optoma and the H78DC3/H79 looked a likely purchase. However developments over the past couple of weeks has halted me in my tracks. First came the arrival of the Sim2 new 3 chipper,then the Sony VPL-VW100 and Texas instruments anouncement of 1080 chips early next year.

Ok here the deal my projector is not going to last much longer so my thinking is that i should consider a stop gap solution to see me over the winter and keep the bulk of my money to invest next year.

I have been doing a little bit of surfing and i have came across what looks like a worth while short term investment. The projector is the Sharp XV-200 with a native resolution 1024 x 576 overall decent spec and for very attractive price of £795, considering this projector was selling in some retailers for around £2500 - £3000 not that long ago in seems like a good option.

In addition given the distance to the retailer i would be doing someting i would not normally consider or advocate which is a blind purchase, however for £795 i am not too bothered (famous last words).

So this is where your agreement, advice and criticism would be welcome.


Should i stick by original plan and buy something like the H79?

or

Is my thinking good and would the Sharp XV-200 fit the bill.

Or

Is my thinking good but should i consider some other make and model.

All comments welcome.

Thanks foghorn

[sbowler]

I would go for the xv200, this will suffice until the HD scene sorts itself out and prices settle downwards

[Gary Lightfoot]

I agree with sbowler.

Gary.

[MikeK]

So do I

Although the Sanyo Z3 at around £700 (same retailer ? ) also looks a viable option too - LCD though!
And who knows, you may find that this Sharp is perfectly satisfactory for your needs and might save you a big pile of cash

PS - they are quite long throw (1.95 - 2.36:1) - make sure you can accomodate one OK.
The XV-Z201 is the short throw alternative (1.17 - 1.41:1), also listed at the same price (if they have stock), but that is quite short - they don't seem to have given medium throw requirements much thought. Still, if it's not an issue, then this is a bit of a bargain I think!

[foghorn]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback.

Good point regarding the throw distance on the Sharp XV-200. If my memory serves me right all original matterhorn chipped projectors had a long throw, I am sure this was down to the size of the DLP chip used.

I would prefer the throw distance of the XV-200 as opposed to the XV-201. Ceiling mounting the XV-201 in front of my seating position at 3.81m does not appeal too much.

I have a 6 foot 4:3 screen at the moment so if I could accommodate a seven foot 16:9 screen that would be great. Length of room is approximately 4.57m(15feet) long, I will need to make allowances for the size of the projector.

Foghorn.

[inzaman]

The same site also has the Mitsubishi HC2000 for £1,644, this was a £4k+ machine just last year

I would also agree with the above and is the same predicament i am in, although my current pj is not in desparate need of replacement it is more my upgraditis kicking in.

I too was going to go for the H79 but as there are stock issues i could not get one when i had made my mind up just the other week, since that time a lot has happened that has made me seriously rethink my next pj purchase.

[foghorn]

Hi Inzaman,

I spotted the Mitsubishi HC2000 for £1,644 and for a split second I thought about it, then I thought spending another £1050 is going to take me to the price of the H79.

The Sharp I am sure will give me a sufficient increase in quality allowing me to bank the money for another jump in quality next year. If I buy the H79 the other half is not going to entertain a further upgrade next year.

I can't see myself being an early adopter of Sky HD, so the matterhorn chip with my viewing habits of mainly dvd should suit me just fine for the next few months or longer if nothing grabs my fancy. Also the price of the Sharp seems so appealing at only £795 and not much more than the price of a replacement bulb for my existing projector.

I am sure when I am ready to upgrade the Sharp the second hand value would still be all right given that it is fitted with a 5000-hour bulb. And if I can’t get more than a couple of hundred pounds I will set it up in one of my boys bedrooms for their game consoles.

The more I think about it the more sense it makes.

Foghorn

Ps Inzaman not sure what you have at the moment however if this thread is giving you similar thoughts give me head start in ordering one of these in case they run out of stock.

[inzaman]

Foghorn i have a Z2 and have been contemplating a new pj since last year. Instead i decided to get my cellar converted Nov last year, then i got married this year and now its Sept already .

I will quite happily keep my Z2 for another few months then see what the new crop of lcds retail at, i am tempted to go the sony HS60 if it allows 1:1. I can then get some new speakers with the price differential between that and the pj i was going to get.