[Canary_Jules]

Broached the idea very carefully with my dearest beloved and she said a grudging 'yes' to me upgrading my HS10! (That means I'll be reminded all year of how I get everything I want but I can live with that). Any way, now looking at either the HS50 or perhaps the Z4. I love my HS10 - no lamp bug for me (nearly 700 hours clocked on first bulb), no dust blobs - but the black levels have got me increasingly itchy to upgrade. Tried a CC40r filter and painted my room dark but still upgraditis won't go away. So my good experience with Sony inclines me more toward the HS50. But the Z4 seems to be a little cheaper. Any thoughts?
What's the best price you've seen for either?

Oh happy day!

Jules

[foghorn]

Would it not be worth including the new Sony HS60 to your list.

Foghorn

[Canary_Jules]

Wish I could afford one of those. Alas finances will only stretch to just over £1K. So it's a Z4 or HS50 for me I think.

Jules

[Donnacha]

Dare I suggest a Panny AE900?? Or are you put off by the probs some folks seem to be having? By all accounts its a cracking PJ and there is not much difference between that and the z4.

I don't have one, so I can't speak for it...just throwing in a suggestion!!

Get a Z4 then you can tell me if it's worth the upgrade from a HS10

[Canary_Jules]

I have to say that I think I am put off the AE900 by the problems others have been having. By all accounts however it is a cracking pj when all is well and good. I see that PJX100 did a really useful thread some while back on the competing machines but in the end said he would have gone for the HS50. Interesting. Difficult decisions lie ahead!

[Canary_Jules]

LOL! Not sure I fancy being a guinea pig! I have to say that in my heart of hearts I'm seeking good reasons not to buy the HS50. Robert Whyte have got a great deal on them (inc 5 year warranty for total peace of mind) and whatever I buy it's gonna be a big leap forward from my beloved HS10.

Jules

[Anim]

AE900 can be had for £1,040 from some retailers whereas the Z4 costs same as the TX200 at around £1,285 and the HS60 is going for £1495 by one retailer.

Anim

[Timbo21]

I think I saw a pjtx200 for under £1100 today. I think it was at RGBdirect, who I have bought from with no probs.

[Timbo21]

Originally Posted by Timbo21

I think I saw a pjtx200 for under £1100 today. I think it was at RGBdirect, who I have bought from with no probs.

Yes, it's £1063.99 from rgbdirect.co.uk. Bit of a bargain I think.

[Jack the lad]

Want a 6 month old HS50 for £1100 so that I can open the HS60 I'm about to put on Ebay

[Canary_Jules]

Ha Ha! No thanks! In fact guys, I've gone and done it. Appreciate all the comments today, but I bought an HS50 from Robert Whyte with 5 years warranty for £1060. Not bad at all. Just an HS10 to sell off now!

Jules

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by Canary_Jules

Ha Ha! No thanks! In fact guys, I've gone and done it. Appreciate all the comments today, but I bought an HS50 from Robert Whyte with 5 years warranty for £1060. Not bad at all. Just an HS10 to sell off now!

Jules

That is a stonking bargain. I'm sure you will be well pleased and amazed. 3 things impressed me about the HS50

- contrast
- detail yet lack of SDE
- smooth movement of pics

my only quibble was that it wasn't as much of a light gun as the others but if you can control the light there's plenty to play with.

[Jack the lad]

That is a very good deal

[Canary_Jules]

I thought so too!

I had heard that the HS50 wasn't the brightest of the bunch but I do have a totally blacked out HC room - black out blinds plus curtains and dark walls - so no should be no problems there at all.

One concern however is losing HS10s higher and possible SDE, especially as I watch a 80" wide screen from 1.2-3 width. No possibility of moving backwards either as I have cinema seats bolted to the floor. If anyone can reassure me on this I'd be even happier!

Will now be hoping to get 1:1 pixel mapping via DVI - HDMI. Anyone know how to do it? Can't wait!

Jules

[Jack the lad]

Originally Posted by Canary_Jules

Will now be hoping to get 1:1 pixel mapping via DVI - HDMI. Anyone know how to do it? Can't wait!

Jules

I dont think this has been done. But its not an area I have delved into too deep

PS It well worth getting Avia or DVD essentials and getting it setup right. Massive improvement over out of the box

[foghorn]

Jules,

Robert Whyte are still showing the HS50 at £1259. They were selling a low hours demo unit for £1050 a couple of weeks ago is it the same one?

Foghorn

If you want 1-1 over hdmi you're in for a nasty suprise - the hs50 (which I also own) won't do it. In fact, the only reason I'd upgrade at the moment is for that.

You'll have to use vga for that I'm afraid

[Canary_Jules]

I know the one you are referring to. I saw that ex-demo unit too. But I am assured it isn't that one. Apparently someone bought this HS50, opened the box and returned it because his wife/gf had an issue with him spending the money. Apparently it has never been powered up but obviously I'll check this on receipt. Still, with 5 years warranty can't really go wrong.

So if not 1:1 via DVI-HDMI then what's the best config for the HS50? I did read this on the Projector Central review which gave me some hope -

"In addition to the scaling artifacts on standard definition material through the analog inputs, there is some picture loss due to overscan. The loss amounts to about 5% of the image on each side of the picture. This is more than is typical, as 2% to 3% is more the norm.

Thus there is a practical consideration in setting up and using the HS51. In order to get the best image performance, owners will want to avoid using the component, S-video, and composite video inputs ports for standard definition sources whenever possible. For DVD, one way to avoid it is to use a DVD player like V's Bravo D2, and output the signal in 720p via DVI. You will need a cable with DVI on one end and HDMI on the other, or a DVI/HDMI adapter to achieve this interface. But these accessories are available from outside suppliers, it is easy to do, and the picture quality is superb. This solves both the scaling and the overscan problem at the same time."

Jules

The hdmi input used to have black border, reducing the size of the image although I think that 1-1 may have been possible, after the firmware fix (which was actually a swap of the board), it now overscans slightly.

Most people use a dvd player via hdmi and are very happy with it - you just won't get 1-1 on 720p (somewhat irrelevant with dvd, which is scaled anyway).

I use an htpc with vga, however I've read that the contrast and colours aren't as good as over hdmi (look for Kris Deering's thread on this over on avsforum) - infact look at the hs51 tweak thread over there also. I haven't spent much time on dvi -> hdmi (although I have the cable) as I prefer the idea of 1-1, especially for 720p content.

I wouldn't get too hung up on it though, it's a great projector regardless and this is really only a minor irritation.

[Canary_Jules]

Cheers. I did take a look at the thread on AVSForums - but at 150+ pages it's huge! From the little I read it seems that vga is the way to go as you suggest.

Thanks

Jules