[charker]

I currently have an old Davis 450 DLP projector as well as a Panasonic plasma. I was just looking to get a new projector but this time I want one I can leave set up all of the time, my Davis is on a trolley which I wheel out when I want to use it.

Ideally I would like to project through a thin partition wall to get the noise and heat in the room next door. To achieve this I need to project an 84" wide picture from 5m. It would be even better if I could mount to one side of the room and key-correct the picture.

With the Sanyo Z4 and the Panasonic E900 this is easily achieved but with DLP at around the same price point its impossible. First their lens only allow very limited distance settings 3.5 to 4.2m or similar and many don't allow you to have any horizontal correction at all.

Why is this? Is there a £1200 DLP projector that is flexible. I like DLP but will switch to LCD if I can't get what I want.

Cliff

[Gary Lightfoot]

I think your title is somewhat misleading to your question. You should have asked which DLPs were long throw rather than ask about LCD vs DLP 'feaures'.

Go to projectorcentral.com and see what DLPs have a long throw lens that suits your screensize and pj position. Each pj has a throw calculator which should help, but it might be just that the DLPs in your price range don't have long throw lenses. The Sharp XVZ200U looks like it will fit the bill and is around £500ish from nexnix.co.uk (but is only 1024 x 576, and I assume you're after 1280 x 720 though you don't mention it directly).

Gary

[charker]

Gary

Thanks for the reply, but it's not only the long throw lens. They don't seem to have the ability to be placed off-centre either.

It just seems you get more for your money with LCD but it can't be that expensive for the DLP manufacturers to include them

A big gap in the market I think for a £1200 1280x720 DLP, with a long throw lens and horizontal shift I think!

Cliff

[Gary Lightfoot]

Lens shift is harder to implement on DLP (something to do with the optical path IIRC), so that's one reason why you don't often see it on the cheaper DLPs, and probably why it's not used horizontaly very often (I think there is a new model DLP with it now though). It can be done with horizontal keystone correction, but that can be detrimental to the image.

There's a small price gap at the moment, but that's bound to reduce even further in time - prices have dropped considerably for 720 DLP and will continue to do so, especially when 1080 arrives. I think you're going to be out of luck with the horizontal lens shift for the moment though.

Gary