upgraditis --planning to upgrade to 1080p from optoma hd65

[jayad08]

thanks for the suggestions man, the answers for the following
1-screen is 120" , viewing distance is abt 14feet
2-do have a dedicated room
3-source content is 1080p from pioneer BDP LX52 for reg A discs and philips BD3000 for reg C discs
4-the mits does have very good black levels, pana may have richer colors


led pjs are way too expensive , and hardly researched much in the HT segment

And i have already choosen to upgrade my main spkrs in some time from the jamo c809 (its a crime to think of upgrading from the C809) to either the emarald physics C3.2 or the legacy focus HD:yahoo:

1- for a 120" be sure that you have atleast 10' celing in case you are planning to do a ceiling mount on the HC3800(no lens shift on mits). There are workarounds possible, but that should be done only if you are very strict on the budget like 1000-1500 only. Epson provides better flexibility..
1a) For viewing distance as far as 14', I feel you wont notice much difference between a 1080p and 720p content, so HD65 is also a good bet. In 1-2 yrs time you would get more source 1080p material(maybe our own desi DVDs becoming BDs) and better cheap 1080p projectors - the ones in 4000/5000$ range now coming down to 1000$ (look at pro8100 as an example)

2- For a dedicated room,without any ambient light, the mits would definately score over epson 8100, but would be at par with pana 4000(maybe pana would be better - check the latest review for pana 4000 on projectorreviews)

3-your BDPlayer is 1080p, but how many source BDs do you have in 1080p?
If the count is limited to 10-20, then I dont see the need to shut down HD65 just for those..

4-I too feel that epson 8100 is not much of an advantage with the extra 200$, the only use i see is placement flexibilty. The only 2 serious drawbacks for mits are - no placement flexibility, some units with serious issues in the 1st lot (lots of shutdown problems reported), heard nothing of that sort on epson 8100 on that.
If you have the extra 500$ nothing would beat the pana 4000 in that price bracket for the next 6 months..

 

[srinisundar]

1- for a 120" be sure that you have atleast 10' celing in case you are planning to do a ceiling mount on the HC3800(no lens shift on mits). There are workarounds possible, but that should be done only if you are very strict on the budget like 1000-1500 only. Epson provides better flexibility..
1a) For viewing distance as far as 14', I feel you wont notice much difference between a 1080p and 720p content, so HD65 is also a good bet. In 1-2 yrs time you would get more source 1080p material(maybe our own desi DVDs becoming BDs) and better cheap 1080p projectors - the ones in 4000/5000$ range now coming down to 1000$ (look at pro8100 as an example)

2- For a dedicated room,without any ambient light, the mits would definately score over epson 8100, but would be at par with pana 4000(maybe pana would be better - check the latest review for pana 4000 on projectorreviews)

3-your BDPlayer is 1080p, but how many source BDs do you have in 1080p?
If the count is limited to 10-20, then I dont see the need to shut down HD65 just for those..

4-I too feel that epson 8100 is not much of an advantage with the extra 200$, the only use i see is placement flexibilty. The only 2 serious drawbacks for mits are - no placement flexibility, some units with serious issues in the 1st lot (lots of shutdown problems reported), heard nothing of that sort on epson 8100 on that.
If you have the extra 500$ nothing would beat the pana 4000 in that price bracket for the next 6 months..

Hi, Shutdown problem is common in Mits projector, you can see the review of old series, it is having the same... Most of the projectors will get settled after running to 25 to 50hrs. I had this with my Mits4900 till i cross 50hrs.. I got worried and later it got settled / Also some kind of this trouble will get sorted out once you remove the bulb and reset it( incase of DLP), generaly this will happen due to loose fitting of bulb.

Regards

 

[govindp]

Subhash,

even I'm looking out for a pj, probably in February timeframe (waiting for my HT room to be done). this is my first pj and hence not too sure about the screen size that i would be ok with. hence, have decided to go for LCD based models only due to the placement flexibility and zoom range that LCD models offer...

current probable list contains Epson 8100 and Panasonic 4000U..
the pana looks better in overall performance based on the review, but, costs about 25k more (IR). Epson's 4000 hrs of lamp life is really good and i might not need a separate TV with that kind of lamp life!!

Here is a quick comparison of parameters that are significantly different in spec...

----------------------------------Pana----------Epson
Street Price----------------------$1,999---------$1,499
-------------------INR(approx) 1,20,000 --------97,000
Brightness (ANSI Lumens)---------1600-----------1800
Contrast Ratio--------------------100000:1 ---------36000:1
----------------------------------3 HDMI inputs-------2 HDMI inpits
Lamp life -------------------------2000 hrs--------4000 hrs

Epson is suggested as a better choice if the usage is more for watching sports.. Else, if u have the reach ($$$), Pana seems to be the one to go for in this range... I have not yet looked into Sanyo model.. will be googling over the weekend on that..

 

[jayad08]

Hi, Shutdown problem is common in Mits projector, you can see the review of old series, it is having the same... Most of the projectors will get settled after running to 25 to 50hrs. I had this with my Mits4900 till i cross 50hrs.. I got worried and later it got settled / Also some kind of this trouble will get sorted out once you remove the bulb and reset it( incase of DLP), generaly this will happen due to loose fitting of bulb.

Regards

well i m relieved to hear that..i hv almost zeroed on HC3800..just waiting for mits india to launch it here.. they say that its going to be competitively priced.. which means that it should be around 1L INR

 

[srinisundar]

well i m relieved to hear that..i hv almost zeroed on HC3800..just waiting for mits india to launch it here.. they say that its going to be competitively priced.. which means that it should be around 1L INR

However wait for few days closely watch the Avsforum for the problem coming out with Mits3800 and go with that... Please read the review of Pano earlier series, lot of complaints about the breakdown inspite of its high performance but it kept itz place at No.1 thru out next release.. I believe straight competion of PQ will be now between Pano & Epson in kind of all aspects.. Sanyo is moving out or getting sidelined by the forums/dealers in USA..

Regards

 

[jayad08]

However wait for few days closely watch the Avsforum for the problem coming out with Mits3800 and go with that... Please read the review of Pano earlier series, lot of complaints about the breakdown inspite of its high performance but it kept itz place at No.1 thru out next release.. I believe straight competion of PQ will be now between Pano & Epson in kind of all aspects.. Sanyo is moving out or getting sidelined by the forums/dealers in USA..

Regards

as you are a mits owner, can you throw some light on the mits build quality, its service support here in india, bulb replacement etc..
also can u share ur room setup.. and placement of the prj..

i suppose the mits 3800 is the VFM model for the time being in the 1000-1500$ bracket. I am not looking for a 2000$ as that is out of my budget so basically pana 4000 is out of the picture.. also the old pana 3000 is not coming down below 2000 of what i hv heard..
so that basically leaves me with epson 8100/mits 3800/viewsonic pro8100.

epson 8100 is a more family room prj, similar to the HD20, with better placement flexibility and better blacks..
mits 3800 is good in dark rooms of what i hv read in the reviews, only thing being the zero lens shift.. which means that i will have trouble throwing a 120" from a 8' ceiling of mine..

 

[srinisundar]

as you are a mits owner, can you throw some light on the mits build quality, its service support here in india, bulb replacement etc..
also can u share ur room setup.. and placement of the prj..

i suppose the mits 3800 is the VFM model for the time being in the 1000-1500$ bracket. I am not looking for a 2000$ as that is out of my budget so basically pana 4000 is out of the picture.. also the old pana 3000 is not coming down below 2000 of what i hv heard..
so that basically leaves me with epson 8100/mits 3800/viewsonic pro8100.

epson 8100 is a more family room prj, similar to the HD20, with better placement flexibility and better blacks..
mits 3800 is good in dark rooms of what i hv read in the reviews, only thing being the zero lens shift.. which means that i will have trouble throwing a 120" from a 8' ceiling of mine..

1) About the built quality it is good but it is bulk one... Optoma /Benq is sleek and compact. But in the range of Epson/ Sanya/Pano, size of built quality is same except Sanyo has front lens cover automaticaly closed on switching off. But i dont think it is worth, since in my last 5 years of usage my half the time i have kept open my front lens open...

2) I never thought about servicing in India and never had in my chance in my last 5 years of usage with earlier Benq/Mits... Still both are doing good, No problems........ In my case no electronic goods have let me down or died in my last 15 years of usage.... Had dust blob in 3 spots in my PJ, will live with that, dont want to attempt to clean... This is also an issue with this PJ, Epson/Sanyo/Pano can be cleaned easily with small blowers, but it has not worked out easily as attempted by somebody in Mits which i have read in forums.. Recent models i have not followed fully, may be some changes could have been done...

3) When u buy a projector dont think about replacement of Bulb,, anything will happen in any moment, we will face that time... dont worry about it... Think possitively nothin will happen. Bulbs are easily available in India...

4) Regarding placement of PJ i am using in my living room with 20feet/10feet. Placed my projector at 14 feet for 110"/120" throw size. Last week pretty confused about pic quality if i shift to 18 to 20 feet by using wide/zoom lens,and another member Opert explained me about the wide/zoom lens and about loss of pic quality.My celing height is 8.5" and i have mounted the projector in ceiling around 550mm down from the ceiling.

5)And about placement and you can check your intended projector will suit for your room with your expectation or not with the help of Projection Calculator Pro - Projector to Screen Distance. Enter you projector model and play with the results till it suits your room size.

5) I dont think so you will have trouble for throwing 120" with your 8" ceiling height.Lens shits is used for adjusting vertical/sidewards ( offset axis). Zoom is used to fix the throw size if there is limitation in room length and most of the DLP it will be manual adjustment. what is ur room length ..( At minimum placement of 12.1 feet onwards you can have 120"in Mits3800 as per calculation by fixing in ceiling or shelf)

6) Since you are interested in service backup also can condier Epson , i think there are lot of service centres in india for epson, since very long back they entered into data projector segment in india.. Mits is entering now only and they will have startup problems intially, but i believe in USA also still they dont have a big setup in various cities as you can read in forums for servicing, but they are prompt and good with centralized setup.

7) Never researched about viewsonic and sorry about that for not commenting..

 

[subhash]

1- for a 120" be sure that you have atleast 10' celing in case you are planning to do a ceiling mount on the HC3800(no lens shift on mits). There are workarounds possible, but that should be done only if you are very strict on the budget like 1000-1500 only. Epson provides better flexibility..
1a) For viewing distance as far as 14', I feel you wont notice much difference between a 1080p and 720p content, so HD65 is also a good bet. In 1-2 yrs time you would get more source 1080p material(maybe our own desi DVDs becoming BDs) and better cheap 1080p projectors - the ones in 4000/5000$ range now coming down to 1000$ (look at pro8100 as an example)

2- For a dedicated room,without any ambient light, the mits would definately score over epson 8100, but would be at par with pana 4000(maybe pana would be better - check the latest review for pana 4000 on projectorreviews)

3-your BDPlayer is 1080p, but how many source BDs do you have in 1080p?
If the count is limited to 10-20, then I dont see the need to shut down HD65 just for those..

4-I too feel that epson 8100 is not much of an advantage with the extra 200$, the only use i see is placement flexibilty. The only 2 serious drawbacks for mits are - no placement flexibility, some units with serious issues in the 1st lot (lots of shutdown problems reported), heard nothing of that sort on epson 8100 on that.
If you have the extra 500$ nothing would beat the pana 4000 in that price bracket for the next 6 months..

1- i think and have noticed that there definetly is a difference @ any viewing distance btw 720 and 1080p , i have extensively compared these two on 42" lcd --and found that 1080p far better ,, so with a pj and big screen size the difference wud be better appreciated

2 --mine is a dedicated room, with hd65 perfectly celieng mounted throwing a 120" pic ,, abt flexibilty yes mits may have limitations but have already been with the hd65 for the past , so all i need to do is replace the pj probably in the same position , ie if i decide to part with the hd65

3--source is not a problem ,as the libraries are definetly picking up as more titles are being added constantly

4--what is this shut down problem?? got to find out

the other thing i have read abt the older pana ? lcd models are that they tend to become dull with usage , i have experienced this problem with my older toshiba pj ,which after about 800 hrs the p/q became really dull

 

[subhash]

Subhash,

even I'm looking out for a pj, probably in February timeframe (waiting for my HT room to be done). this is my first pj and hence not too sure about the screen size that i would be ok with. hence, have decided to go for LCD based models only due to the placement flexibility and zoom range that LCD models offer...

current probable list contains Epson 8100 and Panasonic 4000U..
the pana looks better in overall performance based on the review, but, costs about 25k more (IR). Epson's 4000 hrs of lamp life is really good and i might not need a separate TV with that kind of lamp life!!

Here is a quick comparison of parameters that are significantly different in spec...

----------------------------------Pana----------Epson
Street Price----------------------$1,999---------$1,499
-------------------INR(approx) 1,20,000 --------97,000
Brightness (ANSI Lumens)---------1600-----------1800
Contrast Ratio--------------------100000:1 ---------36000:1
----------------------------------3 HDMI inputs-------2 HDMI inpits
Lamp life -------------------------2000 hrs--------4000 hrs

Epson is suggested as a better choice if the usage is more for watching sports.. Else, if u have the reach ($$$), Pana seems to be the one to go for in this range... I have not yet looked into Sanyo model.. will be googling over the weekend on that..

definetly the epson is also a very good option too, abt 200$ more than the mits and 400 $ cheaper than the pana , really needs serious consideration

 

[subhash]

is it true that with lcd projectors the PQ becomes dull with usage ??

i did notice this with my older pj toshiba , which was a multimedia Pj but i was using it for HT, this was way back in 2000 , after abt 800-900 hrs the pq really became dull

with the dlp optoma hd65 , its done abt 200 hrs the PQ is as good as it was when new

so is there this possibilty with LCDs , or has it been rectified

also have read in one of the user reviews abt the pana ptae3000 having the same problem after abt 400hrs of usage , he says even after replacing the bulbs the problem was not resolved

 

[subhash]

review of the pana , says the air filter needs to be cleaned every 100hrs or after 50 movies ,

so i guess dlp is maintenance free

 

[Sumit]

I have been a Mitsubishi owner for the past 5 years or so. Currently, this is my second Mitsubishi. I think I have done some 150 or 200 odd hours(not sure) on this one. Till date I have not got one problem with Mitsubishi.
I would personally rate Mitsubishi very good.

It is somewhat common that pre-production and newly launch models have bugs. But, they improve in a few months. I would suggest to wait and then decide.

Subhash, you are thinking of upgrading C809>>>> I would suggest you first hear the new speakers in your room. See if the new speakers is worth the extra money. " The juice should be worth the squeeze".
Man you are seriously ill---------with Upgraditis.

Cheers!!

 

[subhash]

I have been a Mitsubishi owner for the past 5 years or so. Currently, this is my second Mitsubishi. I think I have done some 150 or 200 odd hours(not sure) on this one. Till date I have not got one problem with Mitsubishi.
I would personally rate Mitsubishi very good.

It is somewhat common that pre-production and newly launch models have bugs. But, they improve in a few months. I would suggest to wait and then decide.

Subhash, you are thinking of upgrading C809>>>> I would suggest you first hear the new speakers in your room. See if the new speakers is worth the extra money. " The juice should be worth the squeeze".
Man you are seriously ill---------with Upgraditis.

Cheers!!

dropped the idea of changing the c809s , these spkrs really rock:yahoo:
was jst kidding
may be in a few yrs from now i may think of the focus hd from legacy

ill man thats the upgraditis bug !! highly infectious

 

[subhash]

I have been a Mitsubishi owner for the past 5 years or so. Currently, this is my second Mitsubishi. I think I have done some 150 or 200 odd hours(not sure) on this one. Till date I have not got one problem with Mitsubishi.
I would personally rate Mitsubishi very good.

It is somewhat common that pre-production and newly launch models have bugs. But, they improve in a few months. I would suggest to wait and then decide.

Subhash, you are thinking of upgrading C809>>>> I would suggest you first hear the new speakers in your room. See if the new speakers is worth the extra money. " The juice should be worth the squeeze".
Man you are seriously ill---------with Upgraditis.

Cheers!!

man dint know u have a mits PJ , which mopdel is it? dlp/ lcd?

upgrading my pj is for sure man , only thing is still deciding

 

[ashishkesarwani]

is it true that with lcd projectors the PQ becomes dull with usage ??

i did notice this with my older pj toshiba , which was a multimedia Pj but i was using it for HT, this was way back in 2000 , after abt 800-900 hrs the pq really became dull

with the dlp optoma hd65 , its done abt 200 hrs the PQ is as good as it was when new

so is there this possibilty with LCDs , or has it been rectified

also have read in one of the user reviews abt the pana ptae3000 having the same problem after abt 400hrs of usage , he says even after replacing the bulbs the problem was not resolved

I have been using my Panasonic Pt1000AE from last 1.5 year and the bulb has clocked 580+ hours and I haven't seen any of the problem you have mentioned. And yes you have to clean the filter which is located at the back after every 100 hours of operation and in dusty conditions even after 50-60 hours. I am quite satisfied with my projector after upgrading from NEC Lt260 which was a DLP unit.
As far as I know DLP needs a dark room like Subhash's to perform optimally whereas if ambient light is there then I would suggest a LCD Projector. Since LCD projectors have been their too long and all the weakness in this technology have been far resolved due to the time factor, whereas DLP technology is relatively newer than the LCD one so a low cost DLP projector suffers from a lot of problems in terms of PQ.

 

[subhash]

kindly go through this link, do read the user reviews too

both have pros and cons

but main thing is image degradation with time in lcd PJs is a concern and there is no results on the life of the lcd panels too

based on this i think i wud stick with DLP , and so opt for the Mitsubishi 3800

The Great Technology War: LCD vs. DLP

 

[subhash]

I have been using my Panasonic Pt1000AE from last 1.5 year and the bulb has clocked 580+ hours and I haven't seen any of the problem you have mentioned. And yes you have to clean the filter which is located at the back after every 100 hours of operation and in dusty conditions even after 50-60 hours. I am quite satisfied with my projector after upgrading from NEC Lt260 which was a DLP unit.
As far as I know DLP needs a dark room like Subhash's to perform optimally whereas if ambient light is there then I would suggest a LCD Projector. Since LCD projectors have been their too long and all the weakness in this technology have been far resolved due to the time factor, whereas DLP technology is relatively newer than the LCD one so a low cost DLP projector suffers from a lot of problems in terms of PQ.

if lcd pj is ceiling mounted , (in my case it has to be )

then wudnt it be difficult to clean the air filter, there will be need for a ladder right?

 

[ashishkesarwani]

if lcd pj is ceiling mounted , (in my case it has to be )

then wudnt it be difficult to clean the air filter, there will be need for a ladder right?

If your ceiling is on the higher side then I thing you would need a ladder to perform the filter cleaning operation. Otherwise in mordern homes I hardly find ceiling higher than 10 feets these days and after Ceiling mounting the projector it comes around 7-8 feets which I can reach even with my hands without the help of a ladder.

 

[cmsajith]

AE4000 has an emulation feature of anamorphic lens as per the reviews i have read..

This is similar to zoom and will degrade the PQ.

 

[cmsajith]

srini are u using a mitsu pj ?

bro is coming only by feb end , so plenty of time to research and decide

abt 2.35:1, if it needs an external anamorphic lens then no point in going in for the pana @ an extra 600 USD ,and also this wud need to change our screens too

i hope the mits hits 1000 USD @ even 1399$ it looks like a very good deal and a very good upgrade too

Anamorphic is another wide screen format which is wider than the 16:9. Even a 16:9 screen can be used for anamorphic projection, in that case, the image height has to be reduced to accommodate the extra width to accommodate in a16:9 screen (same as using a 4:3 screen to project a 16:9 image).

To get an anamorphic projection needs a separate lens and a commercial lens will costs almost 4 times than the PJ costs. The lens uses 2 identical prisms to split the light and reunite them and the angle and position of the prisms makes the light spread wider, provided the vertical \ height adjustment is already done. Normally there will be one feature in PJ to stretch the image vertically and this image is stretched horizontally using the lens. The automatic commercial lens works using a motor to bring the lens into the light path based on the format of the projected image. Hence the cost. There is one highly recommende lens (DIY) from CAVX, an austrialian guy had made a lens assembly (manually operated) and is retailing around 2K$ (MKIII). But a lot of people have got reasonable PQ using oil/water based prisims made of glass sheets w/ AR coating.

The 4000 features the vertical stretch that can be used along with an anamorphic lens. I didnt go through others. But in future if you want to go for a wider screen you may have to change the PJ if it doesnt have the vertical stretch.

There are some highend projectors which comes with an inbuilt anamorphic lens (cylindrical instead of trapezoidal prism) which costs several lakhs. Runco is one among them.

But the viewing pleasure of an anamorphic is a day and night difference compared to 16:9.

What i suggest is to make a screen that can accommodate anamorphic projection and use simple black masks for 16:9\4:3 projection.

I just put my thoughts, but decide on the PJ first...