AndrewWilliams Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Like lots of other people it seems, I'm torn as to which of the current crop of budget LCD projectors would suit me best. I've seen demos of both the Panasonic AE700 and the Sanyo Z3 and I must say, the AE700 certainly impressed me right off the bat (Both are mind-blowingly good for the money though!) My only gripes with the Z3 were noticeable screen door from a moderate viewing distance and blurred motion on sports (possibly due to a bad internal deinterlacer) The problem is that I have only seen demos of these projectors running SD DVDs whereas I intend to run a HTPC (XPMCE) My main criteria are as follows...(I'd like to hear how well a Sony HS50 would handle the following too) - Must be able to run in 1280x720x50Hz (with Powerstrip) from a HTPC (DVI or VGA) - Minimal motion blurring (I watch lots of sports like tennis & cricket and most LCDs struggle) - Good brightness (my room is not completely light controlled - i.e. white ceiling etc) - Low running costs i.e. good lamp life etc. I'd also like to hear if anyone has some thoughts on what would be a good screen for a non-light controlled room - around 70-90 inches would be more than adequate (Preferably less than $800) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Maybe the Hitachi PX100 would foot the bill? Doesnt seem to be any/many issues like some of the AE700 owners are having (as in lamp fails, faulty units and such like). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arushan12 Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 hi mate i was in your position couple of weeks ago, with the panny, sanyo and the sony in mind. after many auditioninn sessions the sony left these two for dead IMO, in fact it left any projector i auditioned in this price bracket for dead IMO, the panny and sanyo are still great projectors for their price but if you can stretch your budget a little, i beleive you wont be dissapointed, the jump in picture quality and contrast ratio really outweigh the price jump, i beleive this is the best contrast levels and lcd projector can output in current day. and yes it does 1280x720x50Hz fine with powerstrip, and if your using an htpc, i really recommend you try running theatertek with ffdshow post processing, it left my sony dvd's picture for dead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dik Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 I love my Panny 500 (predecesor to the 700) My viewing room is sand walls and white ceiling. I am using a 92" 3-pass blockout screen (coated side out) on a hardwood frame with matt black MDF skirting frame. I run it on low lamp. From some posts you would think that's all that going against me, but I actually like to view it with some dimmed halogen down lights (that don't cast light onto the screen) behind me. Still blows me away. Best of luck, Dik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToeCutter Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Don't forget that for every person having an issue with the AE700 there's a hundred more who love it to death and have never had a problem with it. There's a reason it's so popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzibee Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 You might find this of interest: http://www.revolutionhometheater.com/equip...hs51/index.html Sold in Aust. as the HS-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewWilliams Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 Thanks guys. The 1366x768 panel on the Sony is nice but a slight worry for HTPC purposes...Does it always scale 1280x720 to that res on all inputs? It's stretching my budget slightly by the time I add a screen. If it had better lamp life than the Panny then I could probably justify it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzibee Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Thanks guys. The 1366x768 panel on the Sony is nice but a slight worry for HTPC purposes...Does it always scale 1280x720 to that res on all inputs? It's stretching my budget slightly by the time I add a screen. If it had better lamp life than the Panny then I could probably justify it though. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Did you read this from the review I posted: I was particularly impressed and surprised that the HS-51 was able to easily sync with my Apple G4 computer’s video card, creating a wide screen desktop resolution of 1280 x 768 WXGA, a vast improvement over the previously crippled operating systems found in so many wide screen projectors. It is amazingly easy to surf the web in widescreen projection glory. If your using a HTPC what is wrong with creating a Custom Resolution using Powerstrip. See: http://www.entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm There are already 1366x768 resolutions defined in Powerstrip. More info on the Powerstrip Forums: http://www.entechtaiwan.net/forums/index.php Also checkout the The Big Picture Forum which has a fair bit of info on the Sony Projector/s: http://www.thebigpicturedvd.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi Anyway Just a thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewWilliams Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 True, but it's hard to resist doing a bit of big screen gaming on a HTPC and a lot of games only support 1280x720. It would be good if it did 1280x720 on the 1366x768 panel with reduced size 1:1 pixel ratio but from what I gather it scales the picture and there's currently no way to disable it (like there is on most PC LCD displays) I'm not sure what he's on about talking about 'crippled OSes' in other projectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djOS Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Thanks guys. The 1366x768 panel on the Sony is nice but a slight worry for HTPC purposes...Does it always scale 1280x720 to that res on all inputs? It's stretching my budget slightly by the time I add a screen. If it had better lamp life than the Panny then I could probably justify it though. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ok that article is complete rubbish, as a HS50 owner I have gone out of my way to test this with my HTPC and I can say with 100% certainty that the Native Res is 1280x720! It's also worth noting that if you try inputing 1280x768, or 1366x768, the result is horrid - however at it's native res of 1280x720 the quality is truly outstanding! Some older sony PJ's like the HS20 did have a native panel res of 1366x768. Anyway, checkout the HS50 and you'll never even consider buying the panny AE700. It's night and day in the PQ Dept, Noise Dept etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewWilliams Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 Thanks. Bizarre that they would make such an error in a review. I'm not sure how the Sony can be much better than the Panny...it didn't seem to be lacking in any department from what I saw (!) However, I'll do my best to find somewhere that can do a HS50 demo for me... EDIT: That review is for a HS51 - maybe that's the only difference between the 2 - the resolution of the panel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewWilliams Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 My other concern is overscan for HTPC use. Do any projector owners have any comments on how their projectors handled overscan? Is it able to be adjusted/eliminated (as MCE effectively does it's own overscan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djOS Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Thanks. Bizarre that they would make such an error in a review. I'm not sure how the Sony can be much better than the Panny...it didn't seem to be lacking in any department from what I saw (!) However, I'll do my best to find somewhere that can do a HS50 demo for me... EDIT: That review is for a HS51 - maybe that's the only difference between the 2 - the resolution of the panel... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is only 1 difference between the HS50 & HS51 and that is the ethernet jack on the HS51. To be honest I dont know what use it could be tho? There are massive difference's between the AE700 & HS50: 1/ HS50 has better Horizontal and Vertical lens-shift. the HS50 can be adjusted on the H/V individually and can move it's image a lot higher/lower on the Vertical. The panny has this fidly little joystick which is very hard to fine tune. 2/ The HS50's never ever suffer from vertical banding due to higher quality LCD panels than the AE700. 3/ The HS50 is quieter at 24db in low lamp mode (which is what you use for optimal PQ on any LCD/DLP). AE700 is 26db (dont forget that DB is an exponential scale). 4/ Contrast on the HS50 is rated at 6000:1 but delivers a REAL Life 4400:1 Contrast ratio. the AE700 is only rated at 2000:1 and delivers less in real life. As a result the blacks & the detail in them on the Sony is far superiour and the blacks from the AE700 look grey in comparison. The Fully Dynamic iris & clever electronics on the Sony are largely responsible for this outstanding performance. 5/ the Colour from both units is similar but overall the Sony has more depth and has a more engaging picture to watch. 6/ The Sony uses a 135W UHP lamp vs the AE700's cheaper 130W UHM Lamp. UHP is a newer and superiour lamp technology which stabilises around the 150-200 hour mark and then puts out a consistent quality of light until it's rated life time is up - then it starts to fade out. UHM lamps tend to fade across there entire life span of the lamp which for a HT PJ is less than ideal. Anyway, take a look at the sony and you wont be dissapointed. Btw, my HTPC is currently connected via an XGA rated cable and there is no overscan at all. There is a couple of percent on Component and i haven't tested DVI/HDMI. Like most PJ's this isnt adjustable on the Sony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Preacher1973 Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 There are massive difference's between the AE700 & HS50.[ Anyway, take a look at the sony and you wont be dissapointed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Djos, Please stop posting like this! I'm trying to wait for the BenQ PE7700 to come out. Keep this up and I may succomb to one of the bargains on ebay ATM and buy an HS-50 instead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewWilliams Posted June 25, 2005 Author Share Posted June 25, 2005 Thanks djos - sounds pretty compelling... A few more questions though... (argh!) Can you confim that 1280x720x50Hz works and has 1:1 pixel ratio without overscan via VGA? At what distance would you say SDE becomes unnoticeable on, say, a 100 inch screen? What is the current replacement cost for the HS50 bulbs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djOS Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Thanks djos - sounds pretty compelling... A few more questions though... (argh!)Can you confim that 1280x720x50Hz works and has 1:1 pixel ratio without overscan via VGA? yes, you need powerstrip to activate 50hz but it's easy. At what distance would you say SDE becomes unnoticeable on, say, a 100 inch screen? Dunno, mine is 90" and SDE is 99% invisible from 2.5m+, I imagine 100" if setup correctly wouldn't be any different. What is the current replacement cost for the HS50 bulbs? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i'll be buying mine from PriceJapan as they rrp here for about $800. SONY LMP-H130 HS50 Lamp on PriceJapan = AUS$494 Delivered. Keep in mind my earlier comments regarding UHP Lamps, they are worth the extra Money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djOS Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Djos,Please stop posting like this! I'm trying to wait for the BenQ PE7700 to come out. Keep this up and I may succomb to one of the bargains on ebay ATM and buy an HS-50 instead! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> LOL, It's worth noting that the BenQ PE7700 has no lens shift at all and so mounting will be absolutly key to getting it right for your room. Im not a fan of BenQ's DLP units as every model i've seen give me an eye-strain headache after only 5mins of viewing. My suggestion is that if you really want this PJ find somewhere to view it for at least 1/2 an hour before hadning over your money. here's a review which you might Find Helpfull: Benq PE7700 on PJ Central and here is the Sony HS51(50) review from the same site: Sony VPL-HS51(50) however their recomendation that an external Scaler is required for SDTV is based on NTSC 480i/p. 576i/p SDTV scales very well to it's native res of 720p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norpus Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 HS50 seems to be going for <$3400 on ebay today http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel1503559528 Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 Repackaged HS50s at Bing Lee "Sony Clearance Centre" in Homebush - $2999. The one I saw had 1 hour on the globe and looked perfect (alignment, full manuals, remote, et c). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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