I`ve gone through looking at quite a few projectors recently and well was going to go for the panny ae100 but since there aren`t any about to purchase I`ve been considering stretching a bit more, so I looked at the Toshiba TDP-MT5 DLP as its the clone of the ls110/cine one with a 6 segment 4speed wheel, but cheapest I can find it for is £2975 inc vat Though today, Ive come across brand new sony WH10HT`s for £2566 inc vat which I reckon must be the best bet at this price... still a top projector. Does anyone really know of anything better than this at this price? I know the WH11HT is out now but its way more...I really can`t spend any more than this. I will be using a HCPC & capture card (laserdisc) with Dscaler & ATI graphics etc. Projector will only be for dvd`s & laserdiscs. Any views appreciated.
The only thing that could reasonably be claimed to be "wrong" with the VW10 is the relatively poor black levels. This bothers some people more than others. I'm entirely happy with mine. Black levels can be improved significantly with the addition of a pink colour correcting filter and a tweak (in the service menu) to the colour balance to compensate. My filter cost £10.50 including p&p, plus a couple of quid for some mountings, and about 15 minutes' tweaking. Although it is fairly competent with any signal, the inbuilt scaler is happiest when driven with a component, progressive signal. I gather that the VW11 is much better at dealing with non-progressive signals and does have better black levels. The VW11 can also be similarly improved with the addition of a filter. I can't comment on the other machines you quote, other than to note that the VW10 has a much finer pixel array than the others, and so it seems likely that the chicken-wire (which is virtually undetectable on the VW10) will be more visible. At £2566 I'd consider it to be a bargain. But you really have to see it for yourself to be sure that it suits you. Oh, and do try to buy it from somewhere that either a) will let you check it out before you pay for it OR b) has an enlightened returns/exchange policy so that you can check for intrusive broken pixels. (Broken pixels are fairly common in all LCD devices, but be aware that they rarely fail in use; if there are any bad ones, they will be bad from new and will stay that way).
Does anyone else use a vpL10 with HTPC. I seem to remember that they defualt to 4:3 mode when fed rgbhv progressive signals? When I tried a scaler on one I could only get it to work by sending it a signal with HDTV timings at 720P, or line doubling. I'm sure it must be able to be done by PC but I doubt you will be able to do pixel to pixel mapping. Still it's an EXCELLENT projector for that sort of money. Gordon
Good point Nigel Do you think I would notice a great difference between the Sony 11HT and what I currently have the VPL CS1?
Yes, it is in a different league. Go and see one for yourself. Try and get a side-by-side comparison if you can.
The ws sony projector is a good product, as Nigel has pointed out the killer is the black levels. Nigel is fine with his, other have found it too limiting. The only way to resolve this one is to try it for yourself. It is a massive jump over the cs1 imho. Great price for this kit by the way.
I know you folks probably know this, but have you ever considered a SMART II calibration with a CC40R filter? I will SIGNIFICANTLY improve the contrast ratio of a Sony LCD projector. Gus
That is more or less what I meant by: Black levels can be improved significantly with the addition of a pink colour correcting filter and a tweak (in the service menu) to the colour balance to compensate. My filter cost £10.50 including p&p, plus a couple of quid for some mountings, and about 15 minutes' tweaking.
thanks for all the tips & advice... Was lucky enough to come across a bargain on ebay, brand new sealed boxed Panny PT-LC75E xga for £1495 ! with 2 yrs warranty. There were 2 & the other didn`t hang about either! £3k plus normally. Nice & quiet too under 30db, short throw lens, 1200 ansi lumens etc.. now to build the hcpc! can`t wait... cheers
Seems they may have stopped doing them Probably out of stock There is a 2nd hand one on QXL with 240 hrs on the bulb. What would you say was a fair price to pay for it?
http://www.go2camcorder.co.uk/index_1.html do the latest 12HT for £3400 the HT10 has a contrast ratio of 500:1 (12HT 750:1) is 1000 lumens and XGA.......... BUT you can find some really nice XGA data projectors around now. Have a look around... If it were me, I wouldn`t wanna pay over 2K for that second hand one... www.av-sales.co.uk have them for £2800 brand new I think anyway. Note the sony`s can be a bit fiddly with a HCPC & I don`t think you can perfect pixel map them, no DVI input either. You have to take all these things into account... an XGA with a short throw lens fitted my bill but other ppl want a long throw lens. Its all about what you need.
Hi again Yes av-sales do the WH10 for £2800 inc vat When you said: Quote do the latest 12HT for £3400 Did you not mean the 11HT. The reason I ask is that I can't find the 12HT and the 11HT is £3600 inc Vat. Is this a grey import then? as its a canny price. My computer supplier, Inmac, does it for £3600 + Vat which makes it £4230 inc