I want non-bias opinions please. (Help!)

[l33750rz]

I'm am now officially in the market to buy a projector. My 3 choices are:

Sanyo PLV-Z4
Panasonic AE900
Hitachi TX200

If you were to go buy a BRAND NEW Projector today, which of these three would you buy and why? Don't pick the Panasonic just because you have one, or the Sanyo just because your friend has one, or the Hitachi because you just feel like saying which one you like. I want some honest opinions please. Thank you very much for reading and please help me out!

 

[Oakleyspatz]

The only way anyone can make that judgment is if they have seen all three in action together side by side. Failing this, they should have at least seen all three in action at some time or another.
You could go to www.projectorcentral.com and read their reviews of all three and make your own mind up.
But the best idea is for YOU to get demos of all three and see for yourself which you prefer. Each pj will have its positives and negatives such as positives being resolution, detail, colour, contrast, quietness of fan and video processing. Negatives being verticle banding, visible pixelation, rainbow effect and all of these can suffer from one or another of these problems.

If I HAD to choose one of these (and I own none of them) it would be the Hitachi TX200 based purely on comments I have read of all three and the lack of negatives the Hitachi has received compared to the other two.
But then again, I wouldn't go for any of these given the choice, there are plenty of others to choose from within the same price range that can perform equally well or even better.
.....Decisions, decisions.

 

[l33750rz]

Well, thing is... I live in the US and there are no PJ viewing places in my area (not even within 2 hrs of where I live - as far as I know). I would definately love to go to a place where I can view these in action so I can make my decision, but unfortunately I do not have that option. That is why I have asked you to make the decision for me ;P

Tally:

1 Hitachi
0 Sanyo
0 Panasonic

 

[PJTX100]

But then again, I wouldn't go for any of these given the choice, there are plenty of others to choose from within the same price range that can perform equally well or even better.
.....Decisions, decisions.

Do tell which ones you are referring to (no standard def mind)...

 

[Oakleyspatz]

Do tell which ones you are referring to (no standard def mind)...

Not necessarily 'go for', but certainly audition before buying one of the other three mentioned would be:
The Sony HS50/60
BenQ PE7700
Infocus In76
Optoma H72i

Of these, I think the Optoma H72i (@ £1499) would be the one I would have most interest in as it has a fantastic spec which reads like a 'must have' list:

Optoma H72i

HD Ready
Unmatched 5000:1 contrast ratio for a film-like Cinema effect and greater
depth of field.
Super-bright 1300 Lumens.
Latest generation Texas Instrument DLP™ technology
Proprietary 5 speed, 7 segment colour wheel technology
Revolutionary Shield Design casing for reduced light leakage and whisper
quiet, 27dB performance.
HDMI and DVI connectors for ultimate quality
SCART RGB, Component Progressive, Component Interlaced, S-Video,
Composite. Digital and analogue PC input via DVI-I input
1280 x 768 (WXGA) active pixels, supporting Native 720P (1280 x 720)
3 year limited warranty

 

[PJTX100]

Yes that's a good list. For some reason I thought there was a 1Kish price range on the original query. If the budget stretches further those PJs should be given serious consideration.

 

[Miniholic]

As a first projector I'm sure you'd be very happy with any of the three.

The models Oakleyspatz mentioned would probably also do you proud, but the BenQ, Infocus and Optoma models are DLP rather than LCD, which some people find uncomfortable to watch (due to the technology not the PJ's) so I would definitely look to demo a DLP projector before taking that route.

The Infocus and Optoma models are both new, so you probably won't find much information on them at present, well, not from owners anyway. Of the others I'd probably go along with the others on here and suggest the Hitachi or Z4, as both have got rave reviews from owners., although the AE900 is no slouch either, it just seems to have fallen out of favour with the masses, mostly I think due to scare stores about VB (vertical banding) that is still present on some machines, although I've not seen it myself.

Have a read of this thread by PJTX100, who spent some time at a UK dealers to do a comparrison of a few of the latest models.

 

[cyberheater]

I too would go for the Optoma H72i. A hi def DLP machine with that spec and that price is simply amazing and would give an amazing image that should beat it's LCD competition easily.

 

[gingerone]

I'd go for the hitachi or the Z4. Due to the postive reviews.
I'd probably go for the Z4 myself as it is meant to be a bit sharper plus Rone has posted D65 settings as well.

 

[UrbanSurvival]

I too would go for the Optoma H72i. A hi def DLP machine with that spec and that price is simply amazing and would give an amazing image that should beat it's LCD competition easily.

Hi Cyber this is said VERY tongue in cheek but had to chuckle when I saw your signature and your post here .

l33750rz I cant offer advice on the pq of any of these in detail I would however suggest looking at the projector central reviews and use the Projector Calculator. You might find that placement of some of these is not as easy as others. It also details any fan noise issues, etc. This may reduce the shortlist.

I've been reading all the recent threads and had shortlisted all the models that you had included. I'd concluded that the Pany wasn't the one due to poor support and a reported 'soft' picture, which left 2. Now it appears it's 3 again, with a DLP in the bunch.

 

[spylab]

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263453

this is the Greek site

http://www.avsite.gr/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8053

I will add that TOSH 700 is some better from BENQ 7700 even that it is a clone.

Personally i cant make my mind PANA 900 or TOSH 700
and i have seen them side by side for 2 or 3 hours

If not for some rainbows and the lack of lens shift and zoom TOSH is a bit
Better mainly for the better contrast

If you see the above PJs alone you will see a very good picture from all

For me the next step for better picture is Optoma 79

 

[rock-hard]

Hitachi TX-200 best LCD PJ with 1200 ANSI lumens and 7000:1 CR ...

The "lens mask" option adds horizontal black bars to the image, which are adjustable up and down independent of one another. We found this feature to be most useful while watching broadcast material, specifically broadcast HDTV, since these signals occasionally have extraneous lines of "noise" at the top or bottom of the image. Using the "lens mask" feature, you can simply mask off the top and bottom noise artifacts without using overscan to scale your image and losing the benefits of native 720p. This is an interesting and attractive feature, and one that we've not seen on competitively priced alternatives.

Projector Central .

This can manage up to 2.35:1 aspect ratios ...we have a winner !!

In Canada ( HD-PJ52 ) the price is the best as well ...

http://reviews.cnet.com/Hitachi_HDPJ52/4505-3180_7-31661448.html

http://www.projectorcentral.com/hitachi_ultravision_hdpj52.htm

 

[artois]

If you want my non biased opinion my 2 choices would be out of the panasonic AE900U or the AE900E?

I own an AE900 myself so could recommend any of the above quite happily.

Seriously though. its a great machine with superb colours. The image is great and along with the connectivity and the flexibility of the throw distance makes it a great bit of kit. If you are worried about reports of a soft picture dont worry. Maybe its not as sharp as some of the others you are considering but it is still tremendously crystal clear, while the smoothscreen technology eliminates the screendoor issue completly. On my 106" screen I can't see it from 3 feet away.

In the words of Mrs Doyle. Go on, go on, go on, go on.......

Panasonic, my cheque better be in the post

 

[spylab]

1 or 8 of march we will do
Optoma H 72 vs Infocus IN 76 vs Toshiba MT700 vs Benq 7700 Vs Pana 900

Just hold on a bit

I Will post here the results

 

[Lakes_Puma]

1 or 8 of march we will do
Optoma H 72 vs Infocus IN 76 vs Toshiba MT700 vs Benq 7700 Vs Pana 900

Just hold on a bit

I Will post here the results

how about including the TX200 as well

 

[spylab]

Lakes Puma

We will use Pana 900 as the best (for us and by a small margin) D 5 LCD (we have not seen Sony 60) VS the above DLP,but it will be more like
DLPs VS D5 LCD and we mast use one LCD

By the way does anyone else see a weak violet tint at the hitachi 200?
we have seen not only at the tests hitachi but at others too.

And rock-:hard 7000:1 CR is more like a joke

Also after the Z4 VS optoma 79 test Projectorcentral lost the last bit of credibility.

 

[Demon]

I don't think there is a dissatisfied customer with any of your choices...

You need to look at what's important to you, wrt to where it is placed, and what traits of PQ do you class as high priority..

At the end of the day, the contrast/brightness etc can all be tweaked to be close to one another.. so it boils down to other factors..

I went for the Z4 based on
1. Lens Shift ability was noted as being excellent in reviews, with good sharpness retained
2. The front motorised dust-cover..
3. A 3yr warranty..

I could have easily gone for the Panny or Hitachi, or Epson..

 

[rock-hard]

And rock-:hard 7000:1 CR is more like a joke

Kinda of like Sony numbers then

In the "Auto2"-mode, the projector actually reaches a contrast ratio of 7600:1. The high value however is reached only with a) a wrong color temperature and b) a clearly visible functioning of the adaptive iris. The image exhibits flickering on dark scenes with many changes in brightness, as if there is something wrong with the lamp. This mode should therefore be seen only as a marketing ploy to ensure the high value of the technical data.


Of more interest is the "Auto1" mode. The adaptive iris works much less aggressively now, i.e. it doesn't close as far and also doesn't make any large (and visible) changes. The "Auto1"-mode is quite useful for film representation. In most scenes the iris functions almost invisibly, only with sudden changes from bright to dark a minimal delay can be recognized, which critical viewers might find distracting. This happens only rarely however, the advantage the adaptive iris throws to the scale is an outstanding black level in dark scenes and maximum brightness in bright scenes. All scenes achieve a very engaging and believable picture depth, without "nebulas" in dark scenes or lack of brightness in bright scenes. The contrast ratio we measured is equally good: up to 3100:1 in Auto1 mode, albeit with the wrong color temperature. With a color temperature of 6500K (video standard) a contrast ratio of 2000:1 remains (with closed optical iris). This is an outstanding value in today's LCD technology, and even surpasses competitors such as Panasonic or Sanyo.

http://www.cine4home.com/reviews/projectors/HitachiTX200/Hitachi-PJTX200Review.htm