Your First Projector: Did you buy without seeing it in action?

[sweevo]

The time is not far away now where i'm going to have to make my decision of whether to go large LCD only or get a quite large LCD (Postman Pat, News & Footy etc) and also a nice PJ and screen for that big movie experience!

The big problem for me is the scarcity of retailers who stock and demo a GOOD selection of PJ's. All the retailers who have demo rooms locally (south yorkshire) seem to be in a monogamous relationship with Infocus!!!! Stocking LCD alternatives seem to be below them all.

I spoke to Discount TV a while back and discussed a demo of an AX100 but never made a concrete date because the building work we're having done got put back 4 months just after!

So I've now had a few months (too long!) to ponder my options and to be honest i'm bewildered! :D

I'm quite happy to go for a demo of the AX100 but this alone won't IMO give me any sense of what to expect from other possibles, eg Z3000, Z5, HD70, IN74, especially since the 2000 lumens o/p of this PJ is way above any of the competition. I've got this voice in my head saying "will the big difference in lumens o/p be an issue at home?" when I look at the others since none of them are above 1100 lumens. I mean, that's nearly 50% less! Then there's picking a suitable screen to go with it.

So, did you buy your first EVER PJ on the strength of a mag/online review or word of mouth (eg forum) ONLY?

It's looking like i'll be spending £1000 - £1500 if I take the plunge and to do that without seeing said item (and the competiton) in action is a totally alien concept to me!!!!!

[sweevo]

Just realised Discount TV also sell the HD70 & IN74 DLP's so I guess paying them a visit for starters would be a good idea after all.

But anyway, back to the thread's original line of enquiry!

Did you buy your first EVER PJ on the strength of a mag/online review or word of mouth (eg forum) ONLY?

[Gary Lightfoot]

I've never bought a pj without demoing one first, but I've been lucky to see them properly set up in ideal conditions. Buying blind is not something I'd really recommend unless you've seen some projectors in action and have an idea of what to look for. Then you can possibly make a decision on forum opinions from people you trust, but even then it's taking a bit of a risk.

Gary

[nwgarratt]

Your First Projector: Did you buy without seeing it in action

Yes. About two and a half years ago, my local HI Fi shop had a second hand Panny AE100 for sale (1000 hours on it). I grabbed it and ran. My Dad was so impressed with it he got one of ebay a couple of days later.

I still have it despite using a W100 as my main PJ now (haven't even reach 2000 hours on it).

I also bough the W100 without seeing it first and haven't regretted it one bit. My Dad then also got a W100 and also a IN72. He hasn't regretted it either.

[ShanePJ]

Hi sweevo

Glad to hear your coming for a Dem.

I think you'll find it's word of mouth. And righty so if your not able to see one. Magazines can be a little one sided with brand names.

Regards. Shane.

[Jonstone]

I've just bought the Sharp xvz3000 as my first pj without seeing it in action, I went with a recomendation off someone on this forum, and it is stunning.

I would fully recommend a flat screen tv and a pj combination to anyone. I bought a cheap sd plasma for my normal viewing and an hd pj for movies etc and to me it gives the best of both worlds

[87cricket]

Yes I bought my projector (Benq W100) without a demo. I think it's fantastic,I read all the reviews I could find, and all the information available on this forum. If you do this I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Penfold73]

I bought an Infocus X1 without seeing it in action. It was my first projector and I found out very quickly that I had a problem with rainbows. I got a Sanyo Z2 shortly after and have been with LCDs ever since.

I'd say demo a DLP for rainbows before you get one. If it's not a problem then DLP would probably have the edge in picture quality.

[KraGorn]

On my 4th PJ so far and seriously considering my5th .. never demoed any because totally inconvenient to do so.

First was a Panny Ae100, then a Sanyo, Z2, then a Sharp Z200e, then my current HD77. Yes, I took risks at each stage and am fortunate enough to be able to afford the cost of a failure but I haven't been unhappy with any of them on initial purchase and only after some time with each did I understand their weaknesses in the setting in which I used them and thus prompted my upgrading.

My purchase of a DLA-HD1 will be the same as soon as my resistance breaks down.

Of course, demoing is highly recommended especially if you don't want to risk buying a dud, OTOH there's enough information here and elsewhere I think to be able to know which models to avoid, you just need to do some research before-hand.

[-Jay-]

Originally Posted by KraGorn

My purchase of a DLA-HD1 will be the same as soon as my resistance breaks down.

Holy crap £3.5k without a demo, are you mad my boy?

The only reason i aint got my HD1 yet is because i cant find a demo up north.

[nigelbb]

I bought my first & so far only projector sight unseen over two years ago. It's a Panasonic PT-AE700 & I have been absolutely delighted with it. I selected it by a mixture of reading magazine reviews, reviews on here & www.avsforum.com. At the time it had the best balance of quality, variety of inputs & price.

I haven't had a demo of a home cinema DLP projector but I have seen rainbows with office DLP projectors so wouldn't want to take the risk & will stick to LCD for my next projector.

If I were buying today I would probably do it sight unseen again but would be torn between a Panasonic PT-AX100 (brighter but much the same specs as my current PJ) or the Panasonic PT-AE1000 (1080P but only at Ebay price not rip-off retail).

[HandsomeBWonderful]

4 years ago I bought my first PJ, a Panny AE300, sight unseen - at the time there was practically nowhere in Ireland to demo ANY kind of PJ. So I just read the reviews, bit the bullet and haven't looked back since. I recently upgraded to an AX100 again without seeing it in action but I was pretty confident that the quality would meet my expectations as the Panny AEs are a great line of ever-improving products. And indeed I was correct in my assumption.

Half the fun of this home cinema lark is spending hours and hours reading reviews or forum threads in preparation for the day you type in those credit card numbers and hit Confirm Order. It's even more exciting (or foolish) when you've never seen what it can do until you've connected and fired it up for the very first time... and your heart is racing and the relief and joy is overwhelming as you realise you've made a wise investment and haven't in fact just blown a wad of cash on a dud.

Obviously if you fire it up and you're disappointed then you may feel that it's a complete waste of money but luckily I've not had that happen... yet.

[sweevo]

TBH i'm expecting to do nothing but dribble down my chin in awe when I get to see a few demo's!

Ambient light will be the big issue for me and this is where the paranoia comes into it. I don't want to have to black out the lounge like it's the blitz so i'd like to get a feel of how different PJ's can cope with levels of ambient light.

Once i've made my decision i'll just need to pop back with the gaffer so she can see what i'm hoping to inflict on the nice new lounge!

Thanks for all the posts, much appreciated and Shane, i'll probably call to arrange a demo the week after next.

[cyberheater]

I've bought all of my many (infocus 425z -> AE100 -> AE200 -> BenQ PB6100 -> BenQ PE5120 -> Toshiba MT200 -> NEC HT1000 -> Optoma HD70 -> Sharp XV-Z3000) projectors sight unseen and all of them recommended by folks on this board.

Man. I do get thru a lot of projectors.

[nwgarratt]

Originally Posted by cyberheater

I've bought all of my many (infocus 425z -> AE100 -> AE200 -> BenQ PB6100 -> BenQ PE5120 -> Toshiba MT200 -> NEC HT1000 -> Optoma HD70 -> Sharp XV-Z3000) projectors sight unseen and all of them recommended by folks on this board.

Man. I do get thru a lot of projectors.

That's impressive. What time period is that over ?