[deanmm]

Hello all,

I'm asking for help again! I currently own a toshiba mt100 and am looking to upgrade. My budget is about £1000.

The best projectors in my price range all seem to be LCD (panny ae900, hitachi PJX200 etc.). Is LCD REALLY as good as DLP?

I'm leaning towards the panny at the moment, so i need some advice. Will I notice a huge improvement over my toshiba or am I destined to be disappointed?

Oh yeah, if anyone wants to buy an mt100 make me an offer!

[deanmm]

Damn, knew I'd forget something! Anyone know a good place to get a demo in the Bristol area?

[Gary Lightfoot]

There are differences between them which can be down to a personal preference, but generally DLP will produce better overall blacks as well as better blacks during mixed scenes. The Sony HS60 had excellent blacks though and never looked grey so is the exception to the rule IMHO.

As you suggest, a demo is the only way to know if LCD is for you, and if the black level difference is an issue.

Gary

[deanmm]

I think the HS60 is a little out of my price range.

I watch my current projector in a very dark loft room. Will this mean the blacks problem will be less or more noticeable?

[Gary Lightfoot]

Blacks will generally look noticably greyer. You may like the overall image though, and the blacks may be an acceptable compromise, all things considered.

Gary

[cyberheater]

If you are unaffected by rainbows and your set up allows it (because most DLP machines don't allow lens shift) then DLP is clearly the winner in terms of black level and contrast.

If absolute contrast and black level is not your primary concern then modern LCD's do push out a lovely image. My mate just bought a Z4 and although it's blacks are not it's strong point, the ability to position the device where he wanted it (lens shift) and the incredible whisper silence of it made his purchase well worth while. I thought the image was great and certainly good enough to forget about the mechanics of the image and just immerse yourself in the movie.

I really think you can't go wrong with any 'this gen' projector these days. They're all good.

[Zag]

If you are used to DLP then yes there is a risk that LCD will be a let down.

I upgraded my DLP machine (Optoma H30) a while ago to a Z4 and whilst generally pleased with the overall picture, on the contrast front I found that the blacks were just too grey in comparison with DLP so I sent it packing and tried other PJs before finally settling with the HS60.

I think that provided you eyes are okay with DLP, I think it worth saving the extra few hundred pounds and taking a serious look at likes of the Optoma H72.

At the end of the day though the differences are just not that significant between the LCD & DLP machines of similar price, and in terms of price/performance, the 720p LCD machines now hovering around the 1K or less mark do deliver great performance for the money.

[Jammyb]

Worth pointing out I think that if you put two equivalent LCD and DLP models next to each other the DLP would deliver slightly better black levels and contrast.

However this is not to say that the LCD would give a washed out grey image, which I think is an impression someone could easily pick up skimming through some of these threads.

[squibbly]

I was all set to pull the trigger on a DLP last year after over a year of research and demoing. Then I suddenly worked out that the headaches I was getting on Saturday DLP demo days were not down to the alcohol imbibed on Friday night but to the the colour wheel on the DLP, which left me with eyestrain/headaches for 24 hours after half an hour of viewing (rainbows not much of a problem by the way).

Anyway, I was gutted and was forced down the route of LCD, which I travelled with some trepidation, with many months on this forum leading me to believe they were as grey as John Major.

Ordered myself a Z4 and was blown away. The HD image is crisp, stable, no artefacts and is as good as anything I've seen in my local multiplex. Yes, it does lack somewhat on the black, but not drastically so. The main noticeability is not the image itself, but the blank area of the screen when you're watching 2.35:1 films on a 16:9 screen. This allows the eye to note it's not a deep black (if you search the threads diligently you may spot DeanoB's fabulous illustration of how the eye is completely fooled by contrast where two boxes are on an image, one appearing grey, the other dark, yet both are actually the same). I deliberately bought a velvet lined screen, which defines the image beautifully and soaks up any lightspill, so 16:9 films do not appear lacking in contrast at all. I'm thinking of rigging up a cheap masking device for 2.35:1 films, but to tell you the truth, it's not really a problem when immersed in a film.

Try and demo one, and if you don't like it, save your pennies for a few more months for a DLP.

[cyberheater]

Good job Squibbly. Yep. The Z4 blacks are not it's strong suit but to be honest. If you go down to your local cinema, the blacks are far from black so it does recreate the home cinema presentation accurately.

[Darko]

I own a Z4 and it is a perfect solution for positioning issuse and the picture is well above par although the blacks are not ebony they still will impress you and compared to older lcds it is far superior.

Cheers darko