With HDTV now becoming mainstream it boggles my mind that we don't have a slew of 1920x1080 projectors out there.

I've given though to putting on some shows and being more-or-less limited to about 1024x768 is more than I can take.

I'm kind of think about using a large (>50 inch) LCD or Plasma display for this purpose and wonder if anyone else has contemplated this?


Thanks,

Brian

Brian:

There actually are quite a few 1080p projectors that just came on the market in the past few months, lots of them under three grand. I just switched my workshop projector to one of these and have been amazed at not only the image quality (with no "screen door effect") but also how quiet this projector is. I set the projector up in the middle of my students and the one I have does not make a sound. I always do a bunch of big slide programs in the fall when a new picture book comes out and this year I'm going to make the show 1080p. The only issue I have with them is that they are not nearly as bright as my old Epson XGA projectors, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get the auditoriums dark enough so it won't matter. I got a Panasonic PT-AE2000U and use a normal projection screen (I have three of them that I travel with, up to 9' x 12' - I won't be using the entire screen now so perhaps I will need to get a wider one!)...

Tim Ernst in Arkansas
http://www.Cloudland.net

Thanks Tim, I just checked B&H and it looks like your model is going for about $2500 now -- lower in the usual questionable places...


Brian

There are in fact nowadays probably more full HD projects available in Tokyo's electronic store shelves than 720p projectors.

They are indeed still at a price premium, but prices are going down fast.

I will personnally wait at least 6 months until they come down to around 1500 US$ together with the anticipated take off of full HD players.

The problem is the associated cost since I am looking for unified gear offering not only high quality images, but also high quality sound (high quality Blue Ray player...).

Regards,
Bernard

The problem with projectors has always been an issue of brightness and contrast ratio. For best results you need a darkened room like a cinema theatre. In order to enhance the contrast ratio, some enthusiasts seem to spend almost as much again on a screen.

I'm surprised at how much the price of Full HD plasma screens have fallen during the few months I was out of the country recently. There's a Samsung 1080p 50" plasma TV with built-in HD tuner selling over here for A$3150. I'm sorely tempted.

I can't find much in the way of detailed reviews of this model and my first impression, looking at the specs, was that maybe the reason for the low price was the 18 bit color. That's 6 bit per channel, isn't it? The sort of bit depth that cheap LCD monitors have (or used to have).

Apparently not, if the comments on the internet are accurate. I see references to so many trillion colors this TV is capabale of displaying. This display has apparently gone beyond the 16 bit per channel photoshop processing level. (Model PS50P91FDX).

If you have enough room for one of these monsters, then they are indeed very interesting propositions.

I do personnally love the rendering of the Pionneer Kuro 50 inch full HD, but that one is still about 5000 US$... and I don't have that kind of space.

Cheers,
Bernard

Check out the new Leica Pradovit D-1200. The image quality is unbelievable and the specs are as good as you'll see in a sub $20K projector.

Leica Pradovit D-1200 WUXGA DLP Digital Projector

A few highlights:

• 1920x1200 (more than full HD)
• 2000 ANSI Lumens (1400 in photo mode)
• 2500:1 Contrast ratio
• 7 lbs
• Magnesium shell (not plastic)
• <28 db (about the same as a laptop HD)
• Lamp warrantied for 3 yrs

David

It's unclear what you are planning to use your projector. I've had a Panasonic PT-AX200 for over a year now in TV/movie/game use, and just love it. It's 720p, but its big brother and competition sell decent-to-good 1080p projectors for a bit over two grand EUR/USD.

What was said about brightness is an issue. My Panny is one of the brightest ones, and you still need pretty dark curtains to watch TV during midday. Please note the two grand 1080p projectors are not as bright.

But you can't beat the picture quality, no screen door effect, smooth, accurate picture. I currently have an 86" screen. I used to have 120" in my previous apartment. You'd have to pay ten times as much at least for a plasma or LCD of the same size, and the quality is the same or better. Especially if you calibrate yours (I used my Spyder2), resulting in accurate colors. Movies look amazing, 720p TV looks great, and games are more immersive. It's the best investment in home entertainment I've ever made.

And don't worry about the screen - it's the biggest rip-off in home theater industry. I got some Carada samples, and the highest gain sample slapped on my white wall was indistinguishable from the wall itself. So for my new apartment I bought a custom-sized 16:9 artist's canvas. It's flat, beautiful, calibrated well, and is almost tenth the price of a mid-range projector screen!

For all the info and reviews you need on projectors, surf to projectorcentral.com

I'm shopping for a new hd projector to use for slide programs in public - have had the Panasonic PT-AE2000U (1600 lumens) for the past year and have been unable to use it a single time in public since it is not bright enough - always had to go back to my old Epson XGA projector (2500 lumens). The A2000 is worthless outside of a completely dark room. The new Leica sounds great, but at 12 grand is not practical for normal folks just wanting to use it for slide shows in public places - and I wonder if it is even bright enough still? Anyone know of an HD projector that has come out in the past year that can actually be used in a public location like a darkened meeting room? Or even a new-generation XGA projector of some sort with better image quality? I bought the Pana HD projector after going through the projector central info last year and have been extremely disappointed. I guess projectors have not caught up yet?

There's an Optoma, TX1080 that's 3600lumens, list price $3500ish, but no reviews anywhere.
http://www.optomausa.com/product_detail.asp?product_id=396

It's a DLP if that's a problem.

I don't know about plasmas, do they still suffer from problems when used to view still images. I have heard that at least with older ones the image could burn onto the screen. A projector would be great, but for now I cant wait to get some images togther for a few friends on my 40 inch W series Sony Bravia. I am assuming I should be able to calibrate it with my Spyder 3 Pro when it is hooked up to my laptop via HDMI cable. Will have to try calibration soon.

This issue is very similar to the print size concerns that a particular DSLR is capable of. Would you make a 24"x36" from a 6mp image, or do you need a D3X? Do you really want to view a 6ft x 9ft image from a distance of 15ft, when the image resolution is only 2mp? What's going on here?

I think the projector is fine in a very large room with lots of people, some of whom are seated at large distances from the screen. However, I can't see it as an option for the home, unless it is a very big home with a very large room dedicated for home theatre.

The latest plasma displays knock the socks off everything else. Panasonic's 12th generation Z1 series is no thicker than a picture you hang on your wall, and takes up far less space than a projector screen. It's only 1" thick. It has a native contrast ratio of 40,000:1, an exaggerated (dynamic) CR of 2,000,000:1, and a refresh rate of 600Hz for full 1080p resolution during motion.

There's nothing on the planet that can compare, at the same price. (I don't work for Panasonic, but I'm hoping the price of their 65" models will come down ).

Burn-in and power consumption used to be a concern. It's far less of a concern with the latest plasma models. I wouldn't worry about it (within reason). Go to extremes and leave a still image on display all night, then you might have problems, although I suspect the latest models will automatically switch off after a reasonable period of time.

Good to know that newer plasmas don't have those problems. For slideshows for family and friends my LCD is plenty good enough. Most are just happy to see a pretty picture. If I have something special enough it can get printed at its best for permanent display in a frame

If you are into DIY projects, you can easily fabricate your own HD projector out of a small monitor and an old overhead projector.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=5223
Mind you, this was a bit over 6 years ago. Now, the same trick can be done with common parts for about the same few hundred dollars. Just in hi-def.

http://www.diyprojectorcompany.com/theory/lcd.php
Another source of info. Note - this is for *TV* projection, so if you want to just have your PC project, well, no biggie - run it as a normal LCD monitor, just without the case! Rather than have the converter hardware, most PCs now are powerful enough to do it or it's easier to get a Hi-def tuner card.

http://www.audiovisualizers.com/madlab/lcd_proj.htm

There are dozens of resources out there.

http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/HomeTheater/overview.aspx
Another good one.