Hi everyone,

basically I want a PJ for home cinema stuff as well as running my PS2 and my Gaming HTPC thru it. I have seen the excellent deals on the Z3 and seen some pretty good deals on the TX100 too but I am PC guy and not really that gifted in the AV field I would certainly appreciate your comments on which way I should be swayed I would be pairing it with a Denon 2805 and possibly Tannoy FX 5.1 speakers although not quite sure.......


Any help would be very much appreciated guys,


Thanks.

[PJTX100]

The z3 plus bulb for £850 deal looks hard to beat especially considering the 3 yr warranty, and the little puffer thing to clear dust...

Hence my advice is go for the TX.

...PJ

would happen to be a TX owner yourself now would ya

I'm also currently working on the same choice. I got a Mitsubishi HC 100 last week (DLP) and although I found the picture excellent my wife saw oodles of rainbows and had a headache in 5 minutes. Thankfully the lovely people at projectorpoint have agreed to take it back and are letting me exchange for another.

So because of the wifes optical deficiencies ( ) I am going to have to get an LCD! The only two in my range seems to be the Z3 and the TX100.
The Z3 seems to have better contrast (2000:1) but worse light (800 lumens) while the TX100 has worse contrast (1200:1) and better light output (1200 lumens).

I can't find any info. comparing the 'Barn door' effect on these 2 projectors.

Does anybody know if the Themescene H30's more advanced DLP chip and faster colour wheel has managed to significantly reduce Rainbowing?

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by Deansmark

I can't find any info. comparing the 'Barn door' effect on these 2 projectors.

I've never seen it called "barn door" before but I can tell you that the pixel structures of the Z3 and TX100 are the same, have a look here...

http://www.cine4home.de/tests/projek...Vergleich2.htm

If you use a translator on this page you can sort-of get the drift!

...PJ

Whoops - I mean't Chicken Wire (or think I did - I'm new to this world of big screens and complex specs - up until now its been £200 for a telly from Asda).

Good God I've just looked at

http://www.cine4home.de/tests/proje...DVergleich2.htm

talk about Vorsprung Durch technik!

They seem to like the TX100 (and score both the projectors higher than the Panasonic PT-AE700 surprisingly).

Still no clearer

Just the offer of the Z3 with Spare lamp is incredibly tempting!

I believe that trying to tell apart the z3, tx100 and ae700 from online reviews is the quickest way to a headache this side of crazyfrog.

there really is nowt between them, this one has slightly better black, this one has a slightly better scaler...the list goes on and on and on....

unless you've got a ton of money, get the best value one, which is without a doubt the z3 with the free bulb at the moment. In a month they might reduce the tx100 in price to £750 and include a busty blonde in the box, in which case i'd go for that one.

but seriously, all three of these are essentially the same, its a bit like me saying the ford ka is better than a nissan micra coz its tyres are a bit better...point is they both get you from A to B...and they're both better than a bike

I absolutely believe that you can get kinda addicated to researching technology on the internet and on forums, and i know i do it on just about everything i buy....

Just so happens this latest price drop on the z3 and the free lamp was like a slap in the face to me, did'nt hurt that they put 'limited offer' on the web site either....

So which is better?

They are all better than not having a projector and for every person who says one is better than the other, you'll find a person saying the opposite

technology marches on, i've just bought a projector and probably in 3 years or so, i'll get another, it'll no doubt be much better....but the point is, i can watch movies/sky/xbox right now and i ain't wasting no more time choosing....

So my advice is, if you want a projector now and you've got about a grand to spare, get the sanyo z3 and use the money saved on buying high quality cables/new av equipment/HTPC components/dvd's

simple.

V.good point mate. I think I'm going for the Z3

[jriihi]

Dont forget to get CC10Y+CC20R LEE filters and rones settings for those if you use Z3 to get better PQ from it

thanks for the advice jriihi

man, i wish i had decided like that

i spent months looking at user reviews of projectors, you know the type, the ones where the projector gets like 4.5 out of 5 from 100 people and theres one who says 'this is the worst projector ever, the blacks are grey! its jerkys, blah blah blah' and gives it 1 out of 5.

and you can't get that review out of your head

just glad i made my decision and got on with the 'having a cinema at home and having friends/family say 'wow'' part.....

[PJTX100]

I bought the TX blind without having read any reviews. It just happened to be the cheapest WXGA on the market at the time! I paid 1K 8 months ago, the AE700/Z3 were £400ish more expensive back then.

Top PJ, but so are the Z3 and 700. Any of 'em won't disappoint.

You do of course know that the TX200 has been recently announced...PJ

BlueTone73 is a very wise man - Z3 it is.

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by Deansmark

BlueTone73 is a very wise man - Z3 it is.

...which is sorta what I was suggesting in my first post!...PJ

Yeh I do tend to get far too involved in the different aspects and advantages/disadvantages of X over Y. I do the same when I spec myself a new PC, should I go for the top of the range Athlon 64 with a RAID-0 or just a lower-end 64 with 2 spacious drives. In reality the benefits are negliable and real-world performance difference is ever so slight.

I'm just looking forward to playing HL2 and Gran Turismo 4 on a 100" screen and laughing and my cousins tiny 37" Viera

i'm not even going to mention porn on a 100" screen....

Bella Donna on a 100", wouldn't know what bit to look at!

hi
i have the TX100 it's fantastic in all areas but one FAN NOISE it is supposed to be whisper quiet and believe me it's not!!! until yesterday it was enclosed in a glasss cabinet with no rear panel for air etc with the image being projected through clear glass which works a treat,however we wanted to re-arange the room hence the ceiling mount........watched a couple of movies last night and on fairly quiet scenes the fan is irritating .....
My mate has a panny 200 rated at a louder fan Db than the hitachi and it is silent!!!

[Craig Armstrong]

Originally Posted by thechicco

I'm just looking forward to playing HL2 and Gran Turismo 4 on a 100" screen and laughing and my cousins tiny 37" Viera

I was playing GT4 on my mere 70" screen last night with the steering wheel and pedals - ther and then I pretty much convinced my best mate to buy the Z3 with spare bulb (he's too tight to get the HS50)

[spickee]

Bought the Z3 after the same umming and ahhing less than a month ago. Big screen xbox at 720p is something magical to behold. Can't wait for the 360.

If I had the same choice again now, there wouldn't be a seconds hesitation the Z3 would win because of the price and the bulb offer.

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by thepostman

hi
i have the TX100 it's fantastic in all areas but one FAN NOISE it is supposed to be whisper quiet and believe me it's not!!!

You are not the first to mention noisey fan on the TX, it does look as if some units are noisey - but I've a feeling the majority are quiet as per the spec. No consolation to you of course, if it's in warranty I'd have it looked at...PJ