720p Projector

Hello everyone, This is my first post here! I am really glad to see so many technology savvy Indians in here. Now I am sure I will get all the expert advice I need!

I have a good audio-video setup currently at home (I am in Delhi) -
1) Sony 50 inch 3LCD projection TV
2) Onkyo AV receiver
3) Philips DVD Player
4) HTPC

Currently this is all in the living room. I will be moving to a bigger house before the end of year where I will have a spare room that I want to turn into a home theater room. I want to set up a projector and a screen there.

I want to start my preparations by zeroing-in on a projector first. Projector has to be 720p to play HD stuff. Though I would ideally like to buy a 1080p but it will be too expensive for me. After some research, I think the ideal projector would be "Mitsubishi HC1500 720p DLP Home Theater Projector". Please let me know what you think of the choice. Please suggest a better one if you can.

Please also guide me on how to procure the same. I have set a budget limit of around Rs 80,000/- for the same. I wouldn't mind buying from Grey market as long as its reliable. Buying from abroad is not an option because unfortunately, I will not be going abroad anytime soon. Let me know if some reliable source can get it for me from abroad. Else I can also buy it from anywhere in Delhi. Please let me know of dealers/shops/agents.

Waiting for your replies!

I am not sure how you chose Mitsubishi. If I were in your shoes, I would choose a projector that is sold by a reputed dealer in Delhi, has a warranty, and is serviceable. Since a lot of projectors are sold in India for office, you should have no issue in finding a reliable dealer.

Cheers

Hi Venkat! I chose Mitsubishi purely on the basis of online reviews available. I do not know about its availability in India. As per reviews, its the best value-for-money home theater projector. Its true that a lot of projectors are sold for offices in Delhi but they are non-HD and primarily suitable for presentations only. Projector sales are yet to warm up for home market in India (maybe it never will!).

You are not entirely correct. The same guys who sell for office purposes do sell HD projectors as do specialist HT retailers. I am sure people like Vinay would have better information about projectors. Going by what I read in the May issue of AV Max, the best projectors that are sold and serviced in India area:

1. Sanyo PLV-Z5
2. Epson EMP TW 1000
3. NEC VT 695
4. BenQ MP510

Cheers

Well out of the above list you missed out couple of models that are current like

Hitachi PJ TX 300

Epson TW700

Panasonic Ax200u

All the above are good projectors and you can buy them locally in india,
For Epson and Pana you will get 2 years warranty on projector and 400 hours or 90 days on the bulb,

For hitachi it is one year and 90 days on bulb.

I would recommend going for Epson TW700 as it has excellent reviews and performance and is the best out of the lot,

Dushie, I am not up to date on projectors. I just listed what I saw in the awards (May) issue of AV Max. I am sure there are more companies and more models out in the market.

And I am sure rshri would love to have more postings giving him advice.

Thanks guys! I sure would love more information!
None of you have mentioned Mitsubishi yet. Is it not available in India?

rshri
most of the members here i have heard have procured Mitsubishi projectors from outside,

Based on your requirement for 720p projector u need to decide wether u want a DLP or LCD projector, once u decide that you can get a clearer picture with pros and cons.

Mitsubishi is a dlp projector and most of the other projectors that are mentioned are LCD

Dushie,

I haven't yet zeroed-in on DLP or LCD. I am leaning towards LCD to avoid 'rainbow' effects & noise. I personally have not experienced this but want to avoid the risk. If not me, someone in my family could be susceptible to rainbow effect. I was leaning towards Mitsubishi because of the cost factor.

'Panasonic PT AX200U' looks promising but is it within my budget (Rs 80,000)? Also I have read on internet of people reporting problems in Panasonic projectors after 150-200 hrs of viewing. They say projector closes by itself after a minute or so. The root problem is of Iris control's grease drying up and jamming the thing. Apparently the projector then needs to be sent to US to get it repaired! Lamp life of Panasonic is also said to short.

'Epson TW700' could be the best choice. Yet to see it in action. How is after sales service of Epson? What about price?

Hi Rshri!!

I am using a Mitsubishi HC1500 DLP pjtr same as you desired by u.

It is an excellent projector. No rainbow or screen door effect. Noise levels is also very low. Since, it is an extremely bright projetor, I keep the lamp mode low which further reduces the noise levels. Normally, DLP's are noisier compared to LCD pjtrs. This one is an exception. The image quality is absolutely life like. The black levels are great too. This is my second mitsubishi. My older one bought years ago is still runnning fine athough the lamp is weak now.

If you want then you may come over to my place and chk it out. It is the best I can do for you. I am going out of station for a few days and shall be available after a 23rd.

You may also consider pana 200u or sanyp plv-Z5. The both are equally good projectors.
I bought mine from US for 31,500. You won't find a better pjtr for this price.

Sumit