Which one PLV-30, MT1, U3-880 and LP340

johnny

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I've been thinking of the exact same four!

I've yet to audtion any of them though, I live in central london but its hard to find anywhere that stocks or demos projectors.

I'm leaning towards the plv-30 because im interested in seeing how a skyworth looks with progressive NTSC & PAL and as far as I know only the sanyo accepts progressive?
 
This is fairly much my playing field also....unless, that is, the sony happens to be much better.

I had gotten evry interested on the plus U3 over the last few days because of the superb price.....it can throw a big image.....but it has no zoom lens....the digital zoom doesnt cut it! Also, as suggested I can confirm that it will not accept progressive....ruling out any possibility of use with a Skyworth or iscan etc...

The Sanyo seems great....the trow is the problem.....I am informed from 13 feet it can manage a 6 foot wide image....but since I dont actually know thespecs of the lens, I cant say if it will suit your needs....also it is quite dim (according to the specs) but I havent seen it so cant comment on it in use.

Toshiba....well it doesnt get much showing in this forum....i havent seen it and as you say the mt3 is out also at around £2k. The guy who could tell us would be Fulabeer since he used to have one!

Dunno about the Lp340....I have read about it briefly but have heard very little about it in the uk....it does look kinda good though.

Hopefully someone will add to this....

Adam
 
Hi

I spoke to a guy at av-sales who recommended the Plus out of the four for my purposes. It is the cheapest one, but I'm still a bit concerned about the noise. I guess with any of them I'll find something to complain about: Plus too loud, MT1 poor blacks, Sanyo not bright enough, LP340 not optomised for video. Maybe the cheapest choice is the safest?
 
Not trying to take away from the plus, but it is in my opinion not the best choice. It definitely is not optomised for home cinema....just check out the plus website....it is geared for business presentations. And in my mind, the lack of progressive scan compatibility is a total killer. Having now read quite a bit about the plus....its specs now persuade me otherwise.....but then again, I havent seen it.....

I just had a look at the Infocus.....it is intended for multimedia use....but has also got an eye for home cinema....whether it is optomised for one or other, I dont know, but its specs are good......its a matter of how it actually performs.....maybe someone has seen one and could elighten us.

And dont think too much of the brightness of the sanyo, if you can competely darken your room you would probably be fine....Chris or Gordon would be able to answer that best.

Adam

Adam
 
I saw the plv-30 going in Congleton in a well darkened room, but with a glass paned door wide open letting light flood in, it looked o.k like this, just loosing a little contrast on the side of the image, where the light was coming from.
Image was great for the price, I want one :(

Tim
 
Simon

I am sure you don't to here this, but there is another choice of machine to look at!

I have used an Hitachi cp-S220w in the past and it impressed me.

It was very, very quite <32db
Small
Has 2000h lamp life (note the plus has only 1000h)
Great through (60" diag at only 1.5m)
I think its about £1550+vat, which is quite cheap

The only problem was that the contrast ratio is a little poor at 200:1, which could be a big broblem in a bright room. When I used it I had a dark room in complete black-out conditions and it was quite watchable?

Sorry to through another one into the pot, but that's what we are all here for - isn't it?

Meat
 
THE MT1 ROCKS!!
especially with an HTPC!!
I have had one for a few months now the colours are briliant, use a grey screen for v good contrast. Also and importantly it has v good build quality i thoroughly reccomend it as do all the mags!!
 
Looking at the speed this topic has grown, it seems there are a few of us out there at the 'budget' end of the market (2 grandish - try telling my missus that 2K is budget!) who are finding it v. difficult to make up our minds. After spending the whole week reading nearly every post in the archive (and getting even more confused) I have narrowed it down to the MT1 and PLV30 and would like to audition both (preferably at the same time).
Does anyone know where this could be done preferably on the South Coast near Southampton but willing to travel to London.
Maybe a few of us would like to organise the viewing together if possible since being new to the projector scene I am not really sure of the pitfalls etc. Also Simon E - where have you seen the MT1 for 1799 since I haven't found it for under 2000.

Thanks

John
 
Thanks for the info brownyboy.

If anyone else would like to arrange a group showing of 'budget' projectors - and suggestions on where to go then please add to this topic. I guess London would be the obvious place but I do not know who has demo rooms and sells these projectors. Hopefully dealers would be more accomodating and willing to give more demo time for a group.

Cheers

John
 
sorry bownyboy - just read my post - I guess Freud would diagnose subconscious racism but I just mis-read your name. Apologies.

John
 
You guys don't fancy the trip to Glasgow then? It's a long way but I'm sure that it will be worth it.

Jeff
 
Hi

I'm looking to get a projector asap. These 4 projectors are all in my price range. I've read quite a few posts regarding them but still haven't made my mind up.
My criteria are:
1. 10 ft throw and I'd like a 5ft wide image.
2. As cheap as possible.
3. My room is white, so a lot of ambient light.
4. The projector will have to be positioned fairly close to my head (about 18")so fan noise could be an issue.

My understanding of the projectors are:

PLV-30 £1996 - Great contrast, everyone loves it but not a great throw.

MT1 £1799 - Popular, about to be replaced but attractive at this price.

U3-880 £1645 - Cheapest with best contrast, but noisy.

LP340 £1997 - Projector Central highly recommend it, very bright and DLP.

I already have a screen and I'm not greatly affected by the DLP rainbow.

Thanks in advance.

Simon
 
Yes, Robert Whyte's is where I've seen it for 1799. To be honest, I don't really want to spend more than that, so the choice for me is between the MT1 and the Plus. I guess the MT1 is cheaper because of the MT3, which by the specs looks like a PLV-30 beater. Unfortunately its well out of my price range.
 
I use the tosh mt1 in my home cinema. I thinks for the price, especially now it is an excellent choice.
Personally I use it mainly in complete darkness and don't notice the "poor black" problems associated with lcd.
I paid £2500 inc vat and del, and was pleased with that price. But for the prices quoted above, you can't go wrong!
It's sensibly built and is easy to clean, inside and out.
I could'nt comment on the sanyo as I haven't actually seen it in full flow.
But when I took my mt1 along to my local home cinema specialist and tried it out there, when I was choosing a screen, they were very impressed. Which can't be bad as they were used to seeing davis dlp projectors, which were double the price.
I hope this helps.
As they say try before you buy. Whatever you feel is the best one is what is important.

:)
 
just try before you buy, i have the u2 870 and the rainbow gives me headache, hence im looking at getting the sanyo, tosh or sony/sanyo widescreen

Mike
 
In his original message, Simon quoted the price of the PLV30 as GBP 1996. Is that the normal street price for the projector in the UK? I live in Belgium where the price is quite a bit higher, so I may be able to fly over to England (or even Scotland)to pick one up and it still work out cheaper even including the flight.

Steve
 
I think I might go for the U3-880, according to their specs, its apparently a few db quieter than the PLV-30. Moreover its the cheapest, which is good news. I'm not tremendously bothered by the lack of progressive scan and I'm not affected by the rainbow effect, so I guess these shortcomings don't really apply to me. Unfortunately, there's no where around here where I can demo it.
 
if the rainbow doesnt get you then youre lucky coz my plus dlp offers great pictures
 
this post really has brewed up nicely!

Does the lack of zoom on the plus not cause any problems either? I wish I could ignore the lack of prog scan capability, but I feel for me, that closes my options. The sanyo noise couldnt be that significant, HCC didnt mention it as a problem in their review, they actually praised its lack of noise.

Price wise.....the NEC 440 is not that expensive, it is only £1700 ex vat with avsales.

Personally, my favorite before I get to demoing, is the sanyo....this leaves me the option to upgrade dramatically with the Iscan (which I DO know makes a big difference) I am also willing to look at the toshiba.....but since I cant find anyone in northern ireland who deal in tosh....i havent got much choice at the moment, actually, i cant even find a sanyo dealer!

hope this thread continues!

Adam
 
The significance of the Plus being quieter than the Sanyo is purely because I had read elsewhere on the forum that it was noisy. If it is not louder than the Sanyo then that's great news. My only other (new)concern with the Plus is the softness of the image through S-Video. A few sites have knocked the Plus and the Sharp clone for being too soft. However, it still got a good mark in HCC and therefore can't be that bad. I think all these things show how subjective people's views are of these projectors. One dealer I spoke to, commented that I would be happy with any of these projectors and he is probably right.
That said, if anyone has any views on the "softness" of the Plus's S-Video image, I would like to hear them.

[ 19-06-2001: Message edited by: Simon E ]
 
It is subjective......thats why we need demos! :)

Adam
 
id be amazed if the plus is quieter, dlp seem to get really hot

M

PS anyone got info on the plv60?
 

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