Stuck for choice - Z3 or TX100?

[thechicco]

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

[thechicco]

would happen to be a TX owner yourself now would ya

[Deansmark]

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

[Deansmark]

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).

[Deansmark]

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).

[thechicco]

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.

[thechicco]

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

[thechicco]

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

[Deansmark]

BlueTone73 is a very wise man - Z3 it is.