Just sold my HD65. Request opinion on upgrade

[anibap]

I sold my HD65 yesterday to a forum member. I gave a demo to him and I think he was more impressed to see it in real and understood why I always say it looks better than my screenshots.
I am now with a Blu ray player and a 15 inch CRT Tv. 90 inches to 15 inch
So you can imagine, the hunt is on for a new PJ. I have 3 areas to choose from. Request owners for each machine to post their opinion.

A. A budget 720p (should be better than the Optoma HD65 otherwise no point in upgrading). Pocket friendly option and small stop gap PJ before 1080p

Options
1. Planar 7010 - under £500. Good blacks and contrast. Concerns - Brightness, lamp price and warranty. Not sure if it is better or worse than the HD65.
2. HD75 - At £650 with Free lamp. Better contrast, build, free lamp.
3. IN76 - Don't know if you can still get one new. Don't mind a 2nd if in good condition
4. Infocus X9 - Spec looks great but not sure if it can do 1080p 24fps Under £500

B. A High end 720p. Could be a long term one at least a year
Options
1. IN78 (top choice. Perhaps best DLP under 1k.) apprx £750 with 3 yr warranty or 2nd hand
2. Planar 7060
3. ??

C. Budget 1080p - Oh …don't we all want to go there? Bit high for my current budget.
Options

1. Infocus X10 - Sharpest pic, shadow detail, solid picture. Concerns - Blacks needs calibration, throw distance, size £899
2. Optoma HD800x - Image pop, punchy (I know what I can expect as I owned 2 Optoma before) Concerns - White, black crush , sharpness - relative
3. BenQ W5000 - Better blacks than the X10 and 800x Concerns - Image noise and some firmware issues, budget
4. IN80 - Still need to know if it is actually same as the X10 Concerns - budget

As you can see, choosing any PJ from ‘A' will be more experimental and short term. ‘B' looks better than A but price is close to C and I am bit confused what to choose.

As for C, I thought initially a high end 720p can match and beat a budget 1080p but I could be wrong. There are a few more Pjs coming in the budget 1080p end like the Optoma HD806. Should I wait?

I know that after owning PJ for nearly 3 years it is realistic to do a demo and choose but again I want to hear from owners and even ppl who are in a similar dilemma like me.

The forum has been ever helpful and this time also I am looking forward to senior members and all owners of different PJ s to hear your views. All suggestions are most welcome. It will be great to hear from ppl who owned a PJ from 'A' or 'B' and have upgraded to 'B' or 'C'.

Cheers

Ani

 

[tomelli]

Ani. I've always marvelled looking at your screenshots on the HD65 thread. Congrats to the new owner... but why did you decide to sell? Was it upgrade-itis and yearning for a new project??

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your new toy!

 

[kbfern]

Ani

As above poster said not sure why you got rid at the moment,the HD65 is an exceptional pj for the money and you arn't going to get much better without spending a fair bit more.

You can get a different pj,you may get a better looking pj or a quieter pj but are you going to improve on the image you got with the HD65.

What budget do you have?.

Its a difficult choice at the moment what with new pj's on the horizon and not knowing what the prices are going to be.

You may be better getting back in now with a cheap stop gap 720p and later next year upgrading to a 1080p.The Planar 7010 or Infocus X9 probably the best sub £500 choices.

Did see there was an offer on a Samsung 720p model at £399 http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=801214

Cheers

Keith

 

[Deleted member 63670]

If you can source one then a Planar 7060 is just superb, the difference over my last pj (Optoma HD72i) is astonishing, to have nice deep inky blacks is a great luxury, didnt realise the difference a DC3 chip would make!!

 

[cyberheater]

I know if I sold my current 720p PJ (Sharp XV-Z3000) then I'd have to get a 1080p machine and even then i'd worry about achieving the same level of black.

Don't you think it's worth hanging on until the new crop comes out. At least it will reduce the cost of current projectors and you should be able to pick up an amazing bargain.

 

[Member 55145]

if i were you id do one of 2 options. buy a cheap and cheerful PJ that will last you about a year.

then save save save for a good quality 1080p pj.

the second option would be to skip the first part and just save for a good 1080p pj now

 

[martian1]

Skip the first part live with little telly for months..doubt it i know i tried

 

[KelvinS1965]

I have to ask the question, but why did you sell the HD65 in the first place? Whatever it was should be the starting point for your next PJ: Better contrast, black levels, sharper image, etc. Are you bothered by rainbows, in which case look at newer LCD/LCOS PJs, if not then try deals on the older spec Infocus PJs, as I've seen the IN78 for about £800 or the 1080p models for £1,200 or so. If you've got money to burn try the new JVC HD750 but join the que and be prepaired for a long wait.....

Also, take into account that contrast and black levels are massively influenced by the room, ambient light and screen. I've improved my room setup (by adding extra black velvet carefully placed when watching films) and this gave a better improvement than spending loads on a better PJ...still want a HD750 though!

 

[anibap]

Thanks to all of you who responded. I get the common question as - why I sold my HD65 in the first place?

Actually there are no strong reasons other than the following

1. Recent reviews on X10 and HD800x
2. A friend from work baught a PT AE2000 and I saw it. Resolution does matter along with other new processing power and I liked it.
3. Something better than HD65
I was very happy with the HD65 but wanted something which can be better on the following weaknesses of HD65
a. Sharpness - Just by screenshots I am leaning towards X10. It is so sharp but at the same time not cartoonish.
b. Black level in very dark scenes without white.
c. Better gamma range
d. Better contrast

I could have waited for some time but will be busy with work for some time now and hence thought of selling it. But difficult to live without a PJ
I know that things which I am looking for in a PJ comes at a price higher than HD65. But the market is changing with newer PJs and premium PJs coming down in price and wanted to know opinions from forum members.
Right now I am in germany but can't stay awya from the forum. Love it..

Thanks again...Will write more on my choices later. Few things i noticed in the forums
1. X9 getting great owner reviews and Doctor Smith who owned both Planar 7060 and sharp XV3000 says that X9 beats them both ... hmmm that is something...is it the new budget but quality king in 720p?
2. X10 and HD800x both going strong in the budget market and all owners are happy.

more to come.. keep posting your views.

Ani

 

[ibster]

I am also in a very similar situation, have been looking at the threads on this forum for many weeks now and was leaning towards getting a Planar 7010 from creative audio, but then i thought and decided that 720P is just not worth upgrading to at the moment and i have decided to go the budjet 1080P way.

There has been lots of talk about prices dropping soon, but how long does one wait ? Im currently leaning very heavily towards the Sanyo Z2000 whcih has now dropped to then 1K, when the Z3000 is launched, i expect there maybe possibly a further drop, i think, once its hits the 900 mark, i will go for it. The added bonus is that its LCD and has a shorted throw distance which is ideal for me, the throw distance on the Planar and the zoom functions were very restrictive for me.

If I was you, then go for a 1080p one !

 

[nwgarratt]

I would also go 1080p especially now you have a Blu Ray player. I don't see the point in replacing a 720p with another 720p regardless how good the new might be.

 

[sparkymarky]

i agree with nwgarratt 1080p next.

I'm in a similar position to you anibap having sold a hd65. I was considering another one but won't be buying on euntil january now so am hoping to buy a 1080p then. I saw a demo of the ae2000 in sevenoaks bristol demo room in conjunction with a hd80.
I thought i would prefer the hd80 but i actually preferred the ae2000-by a fair way too. I didn't want that to be the result either because it was lcd but it was much sharper (even with the smoothscreen bad press it looked sharp to me) and the picture had more pop than the hd80. also it was near silent wheras the hd80 sounded like a jet engine behind me. So it had no drawbacks other than size as it is a big old box. The other plus was that i saw the odd rainbow on the hd80 so it cures that snag too.
obviously a drawback is the dust blob issue though and is the reason why i haven't settled on this pj yet. but if i were you i'd try and step up to 1080p as nwgarratt says.

Hopefully there will be a few ae2000 for sale around christmas with the ae3000 upgraditus that people will have.