Final decision time - help required please!

[markusp]

Well, after a year hiatus, I want to jump back into the world of front projection. I've spent the past few weeks reading everything I can here and at AVS and want to buy a projector this week for the start of NFL season.

Problem is, it seems that every projector out there in my price range has its set of problems. The ones I am considering are:

• Sanyo Plv-z4 - I can purchase this projector for $1500 CDN plus tax with full warranty (no more free bulb offer).

• Epson TW-600 - this would be a grey market import and as such would need to be shipped back to Japan if problems arise. Cost is $1750 CDN plus taxes.

• Hitachi PJTX200 - another grey market import which costs $1578 plus taxes. Same warranty issue as the Epson.

I am not interested in the Panasonic AE900u as I am not a fan of smoothscreen technology and like sharp images (yes I have seen the projector in action and did not like how everything seemed to be just that small touch out of focus).

I am projecting in my living room and do not have 100% light control so a brighter image is probably warranted. I will only use the projector at night and the room is reasonably dark at night. Viewing will mostly be dvd, HD broadcasts and some hd dvds.

I previously owned an Epson Cinema 200 (emp-tw200) and a Sharp XV-z200. The Epson was a nice projector but the contrast was poor, as were shadow detail. Fan noise was also a touch high as the projector sat (new one will sit) on a wall shelf approx. 1 foot above our heads. The Sharp was a nice projector but still not great in terms of contrast and shadow detail but a good deal better than the Epson 200. Problem with this unit was fan noise, dlp wheel noise, dimmer picture and eye strain. I will say though that the Sharp was the only DLP projector that I did not see rainbows on. Optoma, Infocus, Benq were quite the oposite.

Which of the three projectors I have listed above do you feel would work best for me? I cannot demo them beforehand and certainly not in my home. I am leaning towards the Sanyo simply because I get full Canadian warranty but it seems that the projector is thought of as dim and needs extensive calibration. It apparenty also gets very noisy if mounted on the ceiling which is something I will do once I finish a dedicated viewing room next year. Is this still considered a great projector or is it overshadowed by the other two projectors in its class?

The Epson TW-600 sounds like a fantastic projector and is easliy the most expensive projector here in Canada in its Cinema 800 guise ($5500 CDN plus tax). It has the highest lumen spec which would be great in my room but then again, I think I read somewhere that once calibrated, it is no brighter than the Sanyo and may even be a touch dimmer. I believe that fan noise is also louder than the other two projectors and I have read about panel convergence problems which scares me since my warranty would only be valid in Japan and involves lengthy shipping and repair times, not to mention costs.

The Hitachi seems to get a lot of praise here but I'm not sure if it would work in my room. How does the Hitachi compare to the other two projectors? I read it has a somewhat dim picture as well but a touch brighter than the Epson emp-tw520 when fully calibrated. It also has a nice quiet whisper mode but does this increase when inverse mounted? I am not aware of any wide spread problems with this projector but again, I would have the same warranty issue as the Epson should something go wrong.

At the end of the day, I am looking for a great quality LCD projector that produces a nice, bright image in a dark but not totally light controlled room which may have a reading light on for my wife to read while I watch football etc. Screen size is 80" diagonal from 12' away from lens and seating distance is 11.5' with projector mounted approx. 1 ft above heads on shelf for the time being until next year when it will be ceiling mounted. Fan noise is an issue given projector placement as is shadow detail and contrast and overall colour balance.

I would love any and all opinions and comments. If you can point out any more strengths or flaws of each projector that I missed, I would appreciate it.

Thanks for all your help.