best 3D projector

kenshingintoki

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So my Epson 9400 projector has sadly bitten the dust.

The thing I loved most about it was my introduction to 3D BluRays. I've realised my Panasonic 902B also supports them so will play them for aslong as I use it.

However long term, I will go for a 77'' OLED.

This leaves me in a difficult position because I can only seat one TV in my cinema room, and it'll be the OLED. I have a Draper React Projector screen, which will be paired with my HW40ES temporarily.

Anyway, my question is, whats my best value for money 3D projector? I need something which is PLENTY bright, will throw a good image and preferably match or beat the Epson 9400 in 3D picture quality.

I've just tried 3D on the 902B and it does it excellently with its ample brightness. I read in the past DLPs do 3D better than anything else does so I'm really excited for any suggestions please.

Thank you!
 
So my Epson 9400 projector has sadly bitten the dust.

The thing I loved most about it was my introduction to 3D BluRays. I've realised my Panasonic 902B also supports them so will play them for aslong as I use it.

However long term, I will go for a 77'' OLED.

This leaves me in a difficult position because I can only seat one TV in my cinema room, and it'll be the OLED. I have a Draper React Projector screen, which will be paired with my HW40ES temporarily.

Anyway, my question is, whats my best value for money 3D projector? I need something which is PLENTY bright, will throw a good image and preferably match or beat the Epson 9400 in 3D picture quality.

I've just tried 3D on the 902B and it does it excellently with its ample brightness. I read in the past DLPs do 3D better than anything else does so I'm really excited for any suggestions please.

Thank you!

Optoma UHD52ALV/UHD370x/UHD380x have ~1700 lumens, HZ39HDR 1700-2000 lumens, Viewsonic LS800WU ~2700 lumens. Not sure about the higher lumen rated Optomas ZH506, 606. The ZH403 is almost the same as the HZ39HDR.

But these models have poor black level/contrast, and inferior to the Epson in other ways.
 
Optoma UHD52ALV/UHD370x/UHD380x have ~1700 lumens, HZ39HDR 1700-2000 lumens, Viewsonic LS800WU ~2700 lumens. Not sure about the higher lumen rated Optomas ZH506, 606. The ZH403 is almost the same as the HZ39HDR.

But these models have poor black level/contrast, and inferior to the Epson in other ways.


Thanks. I'd read DLPs are superior to LCDs/DILAs for 3D. Not sure about the theory behind that. This looks like a tough ask to find a PJ which betters the Epson 9400 and is cheaper. I thought it might be simpler.
 
Thanks. I'd read DLPs are superior to LCDs/DILAs for 3D. Not sure about the theory behind that. This looks like a tough ask to find a PJ which betters the Epson 9400 and is cheaper. I thought it might be simpler.

What simpler, what do you mean?

The HZ39HDR, GT1090HDR, ZH403 are cheaper than the TW9400.

Cheaper than the 9400 is general? Impossible, the 9400 is great value, maybe a used JVC would offer better picture quality (not in HDR) in general.

DLP is better for 3D because it does not have ghosting or other issues that 3LCD can have.
 
What simpler, what do you mean?

The HZ39HDR, GT1090HDR, ZH403 are cheaper than the TW9400.

Cheaper than the 9400 is general? Impossible, the 9400 is great value, maybe a used JVC would offer better picture quality (not in HDR) in general.

DLP is better for 3D because it does not have ghosting or other issues that 3LCD can have.


I thought getting a projector that would beat the 9400 for 3D specifically for below its price budget would be easier lol.
 
It is. Have you looked at the prices of the projectors I mentioned?


thank you just checked them out. ideally id want them to support RF glasses as i have £130 worth of RF glasses.. lol.
 
What simpler, what do you mean?

The HZ39HDR, GT1090HDR, ZH403 are cheaper than the TW9400.

Cheaper than the 9400 is general? Impossible, the 9400 is great value, maybe a used JVC would offer better picture quality (not in HDR) in general.

DLP is better for 3D because it does not have ghosting or other issues that 3LCD can have.
hz39 not available in the uk :(
 
If you go for a DLP projector, I don't think you could use your current glasses anyway as DLP projectors tend to use DLP Link glasses. I could be wrong though.
 
If you go for a DLP projector, I don't think you could use your current glasses anyway as DLP projectors tend to use DLP Link glasses. I could be wrong though.


yeah i realised will have to buy new glasses.

damn i'm lost man. idk what to buy.

panasonic ae8000? the 3D enthusiast reviews and experiences is so limited on the net.
 
My only 3D experience on the projectors is on Optomas, origially the 720p HD600X a few years back which I thought was great, eve for 720p, then with my current UHD51A which is great all round for both 3D and 4K. A friend had a 1080p Optoma, not sure if it was the 141 or not, but he loved his 3D on it and he recently got his UHD52 ALV and is really pleased with that for both 3D and 4K. Sorry I can't be of mor help but from what I have read DLP is the best for 3D.
 
yeah i realised will have to buy new glasses.

damn i'm lost man. idk what to buy.

panasonic ae8000? the 3D enthusiast reviews and experiences is so limited on the net.
The pann pt-at6000e is a side step from the Sony you already own infact at the time of release of the 2 machines picture wise etc the Sony reportedly had the edge across the board, the panny had the motorised lense on its side, other wise the Sony won.

The epson9400 you briefly owned was the natural upgrade path from the sony40 and panny6000e, so dlp maybe the way to go, depending of course if you see the rainbow effect.
 
The pann pt-at6000e is a side step from the Sony you already own infact at the time of release of the 2 machines picture wise etc the Sony reportedly had the edge across the board, the panny had the motorised lense on its side, other wise the Sony won.

The epson9400 you briefly owned was the natural upgrade path from the sony40 and panny6000e, so dlp maybe the way to go, depending of course if you see the rainbow effect.


Thanks. I have read in reviews that the Panasonic AT6000 completely destroys the HW40 for brightness. I am surprised that for 3D, they would be similar. Maybe I am wrong by the Panny is 2400 lumen or 2200 lumen? Whilst the HW40 is 1400 lumen? Isn't that a gigantic difference?

My main limitation in 3D is the brightness which is why I was exploring the Panasonic.

I thought maybe the Panasonic would have been a smart buy as it has the lens shift capabilities of the Epson alongside its brightness but 1080p and and significantly cheaper.
 
Thanks. I have read in reviews that the Panasonic AT6000 completely destroys the HW40 for brightness. I am surprised that for 3D, they would be similar. Maybe I am wrong by the Panny is 2400 lumen or 2200 lumen? Whilst the HW40 is 1400 lumen? Isn't that a gigantic difference?

My main limitation in 3D is the brightness which is why I was exploring the Panasonic.

I thought maybe the Panasonic would have been a smart buy as it has the lens shift capabilities of the Epson alongside its brightness but 1080p and and significantly cheaper.
Maybe the panny can pump out more light if on dynamic mode but you really wouldn't watch anything that way and in allfairness when calibrated the lumens would drop anyways, I think on basic calibration the lumens is roughly the same as the sony, the lense shift is good and has it's benefits on scope screen or if using masking, I can tell you that the panny produces a softer image than the Sony this is so to try and combat the screen door effect. I own a panny so feel free to ask if there is anything you wish to know I will do my best to answer.

If your after light canon for 3d dlp maybe is the place you have to look to.
 
Maybe the panny can pump out more light if on dynamic mode but you really wouldn't watch anything that way and in allfairness when calibrated the lumens would drop anyways, I think on basic calibration the lumens is roughly the same as the sony, the lense shift is good and has it's benefits on scope screen or if using masking, I can tell you that the panny produces a softer image than the Sony this is so to try and combat the screen door effect. I own a panny so feel free to ask if there is anything you wish to know I will do my best to answer.

If your after light canon for 3d dlp maybe is the place you have to look to.


Hi Sim

you have way more experience in PJs than me so I'll respect ur input and follow your advice.. maybe 3D DLP is the way to go.

I heard its cross talk free too which is huge for 3D.

Can you identify any PJ models available on ebay second hand or amazon which I should be looking at? I'm in no rush at the moment but it would be nice to have 3D setup in the home theatre room too.

I'm using a Panny 902B in the lounge for 3D and it disables the backlight fald.. (lol)... so my blacks are grey on 3D so I've gotten used to it (the glasses help a lot anyway).
 
I think the likes of @noob0101 is likely the best to ask about a 3D pj they appear to be the most active these days on the forum with PJ purchasing advice :thumbsup:.
 
Still searching for a decent PJ which can do 3D well as a light cannon.

Without lens shift.. how do u position a projector, do you need to buy one of those extension poles?
 
I bought this one from Amazon that you can buy with different lengths of the extension tube when I mounted my Optoma 51A.

Ceiling Mount

The 51A only has vertical lens shift and no horizontal shift and no keystone options, so I made an adjustable fitting using a couple of pieces of 2 inch square wood and 2 pieces of Aluminium Checker Plate that a friend got for me and bent so that it had an angle to stiffen it even more.

I have fastened the ceiling mount to the pieces of wood and the Checker Plates are screwed to a joist using a single large coach screw in each piece so that the pieces of wood are sandwiched between the plates and the ceiling.

This allows me to move it the projector about 4 inches left and right of where I had marked it for what I thought would be central to my screen and also allowed me to have a fore and aft movement of about 4 inches as I was filling my screen with no zoom with the projector as close as I could get it when fastened to that joist.

The picture isn't too good but the setup is like this.

Ceiling mount and projector.jpg
Ceiling mount and projector.jpg

I now have it perfectly aligned with my screen and only needed to use the vertical adjustment.
 
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Still searching for a decent PJ which can do 3D well as a light cannon.

Without lens shift.. how do u position a projector, do you need to buy one of those extension poles?
You basically have to get the lens dead metre of the screen, or the image dead centre, it can be challenging at best.
 
Thank you. Wow so the Epson projectors REALLY do you spoil you with the options they provide for placement.
 

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