Projector comparisons


So my wife recently noted that our 65” Panny plasma is too small, and if I wanted I could look for a projector.  I keep up with most things in home theater and am trying to find a site that lays out a comparison of various projectors including discontinued ones. I see the merits in typically going used as a few years old top of line projector now costs what the entry level model does, with typically a better lens and more features. However I’m not 100% clear on how important HDR and other things are relatively speaking for my first projector.  We do a fair amount of Netflix and amazon and typically I purchased Blu-ray if cheap or I want the movie and have an oppo 205 to play them. The room for watching has no windows. I’ve been looking at some of the discontinued Sony models like 385 and the 1100 which sold for 28k. Looking for suggestions on how to work through this and any good websites that lay out features and comparisons to make ruling things in and out simple. Let’s say budget will be 4-7k. 
Thanks!
esthlos13

Showing 2 responses by millercarbon

Video projection is like a whole other system. Light control, being able to darken the room, and the screen, are almost equally important. The most important factor in video is contrast. Most people with plasma are used to watching with a lot of room light. But there's a reason every movie theater is dark. And red. With a big screen the light off the screen itself reflects back onto the screen washing out the picture. Even the background color affects your perception of screen colors. There's a reason my room is painted a fairly dark neutral gray. And the screen is a Grayhawk, same brightness and color but much less washout. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 Also the wire you use matters just as much as with speaker cables. The difference with a really good video cable is like going from 1080i to 4k.  

There's really no point in buying used. You will figure out after some years the bulb thing. Just buy new. By which I mean new new, not last years model new. And don't waste money. There's a ton of people throwing $5k to $50k and more, and you have to strain and get technical to see any difference from the $2500 model. There's more difference by far to be had from the cable, screen and room that anything you can get for any amount of money if those aren't all optimized.

That's why I say projector people. They know projection.