1080p Projectors

Description

The Optoma HD20 brings a new level of flexibility to your high-definition home theater/multi-media experience. With true 1080p resolution, the HD20 delivers excellent color saturation and subtle details for superior image quality. With its sleek design and weight of 6.4 lbs, the Optoma HD20 is perfect for sharing big-screen movies, sporting events and concerts or for taking your video gaming to the next level by connecting the HD20 to your favorite game console.

Features

• True High Def 1080p Resolution
• 1700 Lumens Brightness
• 4000:1 Contrast Ratio
• Up to 300-Inch Screen size
• HDI Component, Composite, Video, and VGA Connections

Reviews

Bargain buy, AWESOME picture

by Joey Wiggins from on 2010-08-30
I've been an LCD flat panel fan since they first came out, but I wanted something for a media room in my house that the previous owners finished out and was just wasting away. What better than a 92-inch screen? Found it with the Optoma HD20. Awesome picture for the price of a 50 inch 720p plasma, and this is 1080p! I am very pleased.

Dedicated home theater room projector

by LiveLaugh&Golf from on 2010-08-25
I performed a ceiling mount installation with a 13' throw which produced a 115" 16:9 screen. What can I say, it's beautiful, bright even with a fair amount of room lighting, colors are wonderful, quiet, and doesn't seem to have issues with a 25' hdmi connection. I thought hard about a mitsu or epson projector of similar image quality ratings but after reading some of the early bulb blowing stories I'm happy I went with this Optoma HD20. Best on the market for under $1500 if you ask me.

Don't buy any Optoma projectors

by OB21 from on 2010-08-24
This is the second Optoma projector I bought. The first projector was a HD72. When the projector is mounted from the ceiling the lamp becomes loose (due to heat and gravity) and the picture will go out. This is a design flaw which was supposedly fixed with the new Optoma HD20. Unfortunalety I trusted Optoma and bought the HD20. Big mistake! Only after 16 hours of use, the HD20 is doing the exact same thing as the HD72. Picture goes out after a couple of minutes. I am in the process of returning the HD20 and I just bought a Mitsubishi HC3800.

Are you kidding me? AWESOME!!!!

by -MM- from Chicago, IL on 2010-08-09
This thing is an AMAZING value.I ordered the Optoma HD20 on Wednesday night with free super saver shipping and the thing arrived on Friday morning!I popped this thing out of the box and put it on the universal projector mount that the previous owner had left on the ceiling of our house.I then hooked up the HDMI input to our HDDVR cable box and WOW! The picture quality for under $1000 is amazing! It takes a few minor adjustments to get the thing focused and if the mount isn't mounted exactly centered to your screen you will get the standard one corner higher than the other. Nothing you can do about this leveling wise, so just get it the best you can or re-center the screen or projector (depends on if being off by 1 inch on a 300 inch screen bothers you).Long story short after about an hour of messing with the mount in order to get it they way I wanted (nothing to do with the projector) I had this thing displaying AMAZING 8 foot by 5 foot 1080 HD programming.For less than a $1000 this thing blows away my 52 inch Samsung LCD (also purchased off Amazon, and I also think is a great product).I highly recommend this to anyway who has the space. HD programming and / or blu-ray is a must for this projector and sports are really great. This thing is especially good if you have a larger room where you don't feel like you are on top of the screen. Hope you have as much luck with it as I have so far. Enjoy!

great starter projector!!!

by LoreBlob from on 2010-08-07
As a total projector newbie, I did some research on reputed review sites as well as amazon and came up with the Optoma20. It works fantastically well. i do not have a receiver but i just hooked it up to a pair of computer spearks through the projector's audio output. Awesome for DVDs, extremely sharp and bright color, and that's saying something: we live in a loft apartment where it is impossible to black out the entire space, and we have a lot of light pollution at night through the loft windows via the busy street outside. It is still possible to watch movies comfortably. one day i suspect people will start putting lawn chairs outside our window and watch with us.

Description

1080p DLP Home Theater Projector, 1300 ANSI, 6 seg. Color Wheel, 4000:1 contrast ratio, 7.9 lbs., HDMI input (v 1.3),

Features

• Home Theater DLP Projector 1080p
• High Quality Glass Lens
• 1300 ANSI Lumens
• 4000:1 Contrast Ratio

Reviews

Nice picture, noisy and unreliable

by slammy from Atlanta, GA on 2010-09-05
Upgraded to the 1080P HC3800 from a Mitsubishi HC1500 720P projector. Much better blacks. The higher resolution was not as noticeable an improvement as I expected, but nice. Overall a good picture for the money. My gripe is the fact than the unit I received is noisy, with both fan clicking and color wheel whine. Sounds like a mosquito in your ear. Sent it in for repair( at my expense!) and despite specific instructions they only fixed the noisy fan. So I still have the color wheel whine. As a bonus I have two dust blobs now since the repair. I also had to send in my HC1500. So until Mitsubishi improves its quality control, I cannot recommend their projectors. I will give Mitsubishi credit, their service department is courteous and prompt.

Mitsubishi HC3800 1080p Home Theater DLP Projector

by D. Ferguson from New Mexico USA on 2010-08-14
Having owned the HD1000U & HC1500 this projector was a natural upgrade, have owned since mid March with no problems, if you haven't jumped to 1080p yet do it!

Wow - Great Picture!

by Donald Peven from Detroit, MI USA on 2010-08-11
Bought this as a projection TV/DVD/X-box display device, to replace my 5 year old Sharp LCD projector that had developed a yellow spot in the center of the beam. Between the ability to use HDMI and the 1080p capability, this is a great improvement for a very reasonable price.

Good Projector, 3D Ready

by John S. Hodson from on 2010-07-28
This a good alternative to a large screen TV if you have the area and patience to set up a projector. Does anyone know if it is 3D ready like the recent Mitsubishi HDTVs?

I'm a Projector Newbie, so, easily impressed - but I LOVE it!

by Mike Scher from Barcelona, Spain on 2010-06-01
I received my Mitsubishi HC3800 projector approximately one month ago. I hung it from the ceiling as soon as possible and have been blown away by the results ever since. I have to admit that I upgraded from an tube TV, so I am easily impressed. I was originally going to get a plasma tv, but after some research it became obvious that for my intended use (watching movies in a dark room), a projector was the way to go. I looked at all of the reviews and settled on this projector. I know I could have gotten blacker blacks and other advantages, but not at this price. I also got the projector during the bulb rebate offer which brings the price even lower. So, pound for pound, I considered this projector to be the best bang for the buck.I have not been disappointed and neither has anyone who has seen it. I also have not seen ANY of the problems which some of the other commenter's have mentioned. The only small complaint that I have is that the projector is mounted directly above our heads and there is a noticeable noise (which I assume is fan noise) when there is little or no sound from whatever we are watching.I got the projector from Electonics Expo via Amazon and the service was as it should be - brand new unopened item delivered on time with no problems/hidden charges.I pride myself in being a cheap-skate and am proud of the fact that I saved a fortune on cables and the mounting bracket by shopping very carefully.

Description

The Vivitek H1080FD is a high performance digital projector that integrates into any home theater based installation. With native 1080p resolutionthe H1080FD delivers brilliant and amazing digital images with full color saturation. Designed for high impact picture quality the Vivitek H1080FD is unmatched and unrivaled in function and performance.

Features

• Bright 1800 lumens and BrilliantColor technology for rich, stunning images
• 5000:1 contrast ratio for vivid picture quality
• 3,000 hours of lamp life; whisper-quiet at 26dB
• Built-in 5-watt mono speaker
• 1-year warranty on parts; 90 days on lamp

Reviews

Poor Customer Service

by J. Morrison from on 2010-08-25
I've had my projector for 4 months, and the color on HDMI port 1 has gone out. The color on port 2 still works fine, but I can't get a response from customer service. Also, sometimes when I start the projector the bulb doesn't turn on for several minutes. Other times it starts up instantly. I can't find any information about whether this is normal, but again, customer service won't respond. They only provide an online form and no actual phone number. It's been more than 30 days since I sent my first service request, and haven't received an email even confirming that they received my service request. BAD BAD BAD

A Great Product to have

by Shahid from on 2010-07-29
I got this just before the world cup. A bit skeptical due to the rainbow effect that I read in other reviews...but have to say, once i got the product...there is nothing like it. The picture clarity is amazing. (With Blue ray as well as HD comcast channels). Fan sound is very low. Brightness is great - I even watch games during the day and it is still looking great. Never felt any Rainbow effects. TO summarize, i feel this is a great projector for the price. Love my decision to buy this!!

Premature shutdown

by JP from on 2010-07-26
Tried 2 of these. First one would shut down after 40 minutes or so with the power light blinking 5 times. Found out that was code for bulb approaching end of life. Tried to contact support at Vivitek and didn't hear anything for a week so decided to send it back (which Amazon is excellent about), and try another one. I had the new one from Amazon within 2 days. Set it up again using all default settings and 40 minutes or so through a movie it shut down, just as on the previous unit. Turn it on again and it would run about 15 minutes and shut down again. All default settings and projector was out in the open with nothing to block ventilation. Decided to give up and sent it back (again Amazon's return policy is super) and try a different brand. Won't buy a Vivitek again.

Great Value

by P. Lertora from N. Virginia on 2010-06-24
As my first projector, I ignored the hype surrounding the 3d noise that's out right now and instead focused on 1080p. My only real mistake was not fully understanding the throw depth and what size image it projects. With a better understanding of that, I may have picked a different projector given how limited my projection distance is (12 feet). The Epson moviemate 720, for example, has a shorter throw (better zoom) which would have allowed me to get the full wall filled in my basement.With that - I'll say the projector has met expections. I'm projecting on a brown (leatherish) colored wall and even during the day - the image is pretty good (not the best lighting in the basement). At night, it's really great. I have yet to hook up a blue ray or any other signal similar yet so I'm expecting even great things. I did have an issue while watching a movie where people's faces were quite a bit red at certain angles. Not sure if that's the rainbow effect but I played with the color settings and improved things somewhat.Overall - it's super quiet and the built in speaker is very handy. I haven't mounted it yet either so I'm not fully ready to give me final thoughts.Hope this helps!

Broke after 2 weeks

by S. Tanaka from Honolulu, HI on 2010-06-14
This projector was great for 2 weeks. Then trouble started. The projector will shut down after 50 to 80 minutes into the movie. The screen goes blank, the power button flashes and fan comes on full blast. If I leave it, the fan will stay on forever. If I power down and restart, the projector shuts down after 5 minutes or so. Some kind of overheating problem? I was extremely disappointed!Contacted Vivitek and all they can do is to repair it. It's within the warranty period, so I won't have to pay for the repair. But I'll still have to pay $20 or so to ship it to them. Why do I have to pay anything for receiving a defective item? I'm already being inconvenienced with the hassel of having to return it. I guess that's how they handle warranty service.The silver lining to all this is that Amazon replaced the defective projector for a new one. I didn't have to pay a cent, even for returning. They also shipped the new one to me right away, and didn't wait until I return the old one. Good job by Amazon! I was without a projector for only about 2 days.

Description

The W6000 is living room cinema at its best, incorporating top technologies for luxury, cinema-class entertainment at home. It rivals high-priced models in offering full 1080p HD video at 24 frames per second – the same format used for professional movie filming and editing, as well as in Blu-ray DVD players. Movies are always pristine and immaculate without the degradation that inevitably occurs during the conversion process. Likewise, sophisticated HQV processing not only renders HD video sources in true 1080p high definition, but enhances standard definition content to new levels of clarity and vibrancy. The combined expertise of BenQ’s projector know-how, Texas Instruments’ DynamicBlack™ and Philip’s VIDI lamp technology delivers an astounding 50,000:1 contrast ratio for superbly rendered image definition, even in the darkest scenes, and a brilliant 2,500AL to counter any ambient room lighting.

Features

• Delivers an astounding 50,000:1 contrast ratio for superbly rendered image definition
• 50,000:1 High Contrast Ratio, 2500 Ansi Lumens Ultra High Brightnes
• Brilliant 2,500AL to counter any ambient room lighting

Reviews

W6000 is great!

by Jackie C. Ramsey from Milwaukee, WI USA on 2010-05-25
This is by far the best bang for the buck I've had in my AV experience. I was astounded with the brightness and image quality.

Super bright, super blacks amazingly quiet!

by M. Mitchell from Cecilia, Kentucky United States on 2010-03-02
We have owned an Optoma 1080p for two years before purchasing the W6000. We project on a gray wall with a screen size larger than 120 inches, ceiling mount. We use it for watching movies and playing PS3 games. The BenQ blows the Optoma away with crisp brightness yet no rainbows or loss of blacks (gotta love dlp). Also virtually no aliasing. There is considerable set-up time if you are really picky about colors and contrast - but at least you have the choice. The fan noise was unnoticeable especially compared to the Optoma...I was afraid it wasn't working correctly at first. Much cooler, much quieter, better picture = worth the price.Additional note: We have become a house divided...I like the Benq handling of motion, but my 28 year old son does not. We both agree that it is crisper, brighter and quieter than the Optoma but we are going to begin looking for a different projector that we both can love.Resolved! The motion problems were a result of a setting on the PS3. For games the motion was normal but for movies it was strange...not blurry, but odd. We changed a setting on the PS3 from 24 frames to 60 Hz(?)and now everyone agrees that this projector is perfect.

Terrific projector, but one flaw for me

by Paul E. Heroy from Durham, NC USA on 2010-02-27
I've been using a front projection setup for several years now, starting with a serendipitous purchase of an NEC LT150 that was a "price mistake" find. After getting it and figuring out how to mount it, put up a screen and run cables in the ceiling with a friend's help, I've been hooked on the true theater type experience that a projector provides. It was a dim, loud, business class projector but still a thrill to have a 100" picture. I upgraded over the years to a brighter NEC business projector, then finally entered real home theater projector land with a 1080p Optoma HD80. At the time, the HD80 was one of the best bang for the buck projectors ever made, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. One of the things that bugged me with the NEC business projectors was the dreaded DLP "rainbow effect", and with the HD80 that was minimized enough that it never really bothered me. I'm fairly sensitive to it, apparently, and could force myself to see it on the HD80 but only by unnatural things like shaking my head.Unfortunately after 2 1/2 years the HD80 died, and I decided to look around for new models since 1080p has become the standard, and less of a premium feature. The Benq W6000 was high on my radar because it's one of the very few moderate priced DLP models that includes lens shift. Its brightness is another attribute I liked since I have a "living room HT" without full light control, and the extra brightness is great for those afternoon football games. I ended up buying an Epson 8100 LCD unit locally, and the W6000 here, and compared them (eventually adding a Sony SXRD model to the mix to hit all 3 major projector technologies). The Benq lived up to its billing, producing a very bright, dynamic picture. After some tweaks to the initial base settings, I was pretty happy with the overall picture, colors, black level etc. As another reviewer noted, Dynamic Black seemed to cause a little to much iris noise so I also turned it off, and didn't notice much difference in the overall picture. But one problem came back... rainbows. The color wheel is actually only a 4x speed, as opposed to the 6x speed that the HD80 used. In addition, extra brightness seems to make ANYTHING more noticeable, rainbows included. After a couple of weeks, I just couldn't live with it and ended up returning it. If you're not sensitive to this artifact, the W6000 is a fantastic projector. I really, really wanted it to work for me but ended up paying more for the SXRD unit (Sony VPL-HW15). (I wasn't overly impressed with the Epson 8100, though it's a lower priced model so not a really fair comparison - I wish I'd been able to find an 8500 to try instead.)

Much Better than my old Sony VPL-HS51

by Greg from Iowa City, IA United States on 2010-01-28
I set this up last night. I made no changes to the color. My wife, son and his friend each were blown away by the better picture than we had with our Sony. Brightness is a key issue for us as our screen is 215 inches diagonal.

A Most Frustrating Mixed Bag!!!!

by E. Milan from So. Cal. USA on 2010-01-25
I purchased this projector earlier in January directly from Benq. Upon initial physical inspection I'd say this is a large projector, a little plasticky and funky looking with a mostly black box a dark purple shinny insert and the unneserarily oversized lense attachment for zoom/focus....ok now for the real disapointment..as previously reviewed everywhere you need to spend a bit of time 3:30 hrs in my case to dial in all the colors properly...once that is done..."WOW" what a beautiful picture, in one word "Awesome", when compared with the LCD it was replacing. At once I noticed the LOUD fan noise..this unit sits directly above the front row of seats which is "my sweet spot", not to mention the misterious BUZZ sound that I identified as the Dinamyc Iris....Yes everytime the picture fades to black or dark scenes...ZZIIIPPPP...I found out the way to get rid of this distraction was turning dinamyc black off doing this affected the black levels and the pop factor in the picture, however not in a major way....but still... I could not enjoy a quiet night movie with all that racket!..my honest opinion is that for $2500.00 even though the picture was great, it is not worth the annoyance cause by it's noisy behaviour...so back to benq it went. I would find it hard to recommend this projector based solely on it's picture quality...there is more to a good projector than that....in my opinion.

Description

Not Good for Presentations in light conditions

Features

• Support 1080P/1080i/720P Signals, Native Resolution 800*480;
• Aspect Ratio: 4:3 and 16:9 adjustable;
• Input jacks: HDMI, Component Video, VGA, AUDIO, TV(analog), Compatible with DVI;
• All in one projector! Can be used with TV, Sky, X-box, X-box 360, PS2, PS3, Wii, PC, Laptop, Satellite/Cable;
• Lamp life is 6000 hours on average;

Reviews

Great Value!

by GrahamGannon&Company,llc. from Chicago, IL on 2010-08-27
You simply can't beat the performance for the price. Great everyday projector for the Kids or home use! While it might lack just slightly from the performance especially in bright conditions that "DLP" or High end LCD ($[...] or more in cost)units may deliver. The up front savings as well as the low, low replacement cost of the bulbs (about $[...] bucks in stead of the HUNDREDS a DLP replacement bulb will cost)makes it a really great choice!

Description

The native 1080p EH1020 DLP projector unleashes the power of your presentation to engage your audience with stunning graphics, high-resolution images and razor-sharp presentations. Lightweight at 6.4 lbs. and bright at 3000 ANSI lumens, the EH1020 is loaded with a wide range of convenient connectivity options, including HDMI. The EH1020 transcends the ordinary to deliver extraordinary projection performance.

Features

• 3000 ANSI lumens
• Native 1080P Resolution
• 2400:1 contrast ratio
• 10.7 lbs
• Max lamp life: 4000/3000 hours (STD/bright)

Reviews

Everything I needed in a projector

by E. Robateau from Belize City, Belize on 2010-08-21
I purchased this for a moderately size conference for both power point type presentations, and DVD presentations, and we also have cable TV analog and digital hooked up to it via HDMI. We also have ambient light in the room, so I was a bit concerned about the brightness. What I can say is:- I am really pleased with the brightness of the projector. I can see any image with the lights on and shades open and it is still about on halfway brightness setting. - HDMI input is a must... the quality you get is uncompromising for video and digital inputs. - You have to use VGA connections for a PC, and not SVGA, because the quality different is great. VGA on this is crystal clear.... SVGA...you get a big decrease in quality, but it is not the projector's fault. SVGA by definition produces lower quality.Very please with this project and recommended it for both data and video applications.

Description

For unmatched resolution and color quality in a professional digital data projector, look no further than the Optoma TX1080. With native 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution and a DLP® chipset plus BrilliantColor technology from Texas Instruments, the TX1080 is the consummate projector for demanding business or home theater use. Offering network management functionality and a multitude of connectivity options, the TX1080 also features native pixel matching with any PC resolution and is one of the brightest HD projectors for any corporate environment

Features

• Native HD (1920x1080) resolution
• Presentation friendly IR remote with USB mouse function and laser pointer
• Features Texas Instruments 1080p DLP chipset and BrilliantColor technology
• Extensive connectivity such as HDMI, DVI, VGA, s-video, composite
• Control projector remotely via network connection or serial commands

Reviews

Highly Recommend!

by DJ from Montana, USA on 2010-05-19
This unit is installed in a theater setup and the bright, crisp, high-definition presentation quality is superb. It is also worth noting that the filter-free design prevents the need (since it is ceiling mounted) to climb up a ladder and maintain the unit as other models require. Overall, everyone including myself is very impressed with this projector.

Pleased

by Peter V. from Denver CO on 2010-04-20
Movie night at the house is now much more exciting. I watched Avatar on bluray and it was stunning!Pro : Picture quality, everyone loves it. 1080 Is incredible.Cons : I will need purchase blackout curtains to effectively watch this during the day. The auto input search changes faster than my cable box can negotiate the resolution and speed of the HDMI connection, I do not have this problem when connecting my PS3 (bluray) to it.I resolved that by turning it off. Also the projector requires the screen to be a good distance away, for my 100 inch screen its a little more than 15 feet. Carful planning of the location of your bluray player and sound system is required. I have a 25ft HDMI cable and that works, but I tried going 50ft and that didnt.I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, if you love watching HD movies at home its a must.

This is a great projector

by Tod Frank from Costa Mesa, CA on 2010-03-21
This is the best projector I've owned so far. It is bright enough to work well in ambient light. It looks great with my AT&T U-verse HD and my Blu-ray disks. I just wish projectors used universal ceiling mounts. I purchased a mount for this projector and adapted it to fit the mount already in my ceiling.

Description

PROJECTOR- VIEWSONIC PRO8100 1080P

Features

• State-of-the-art engineering provides unmatched clarity in video entertainment.
• Full 1080p HD resolution, a C2Fine liquid crystal panel produce immaculate HD images.
• Silicon Optix Reon-VX high-performance video processor with HQVTM Hollywood Quality Video) ensures precise HD movies, videos and sports.
• Provides sophisticated color tuning, including 33 levels of gamma correction, 3D color management and auto contrast.
• Includes two HDMI 1.3 and two component video inputs for full component connectivity.

Reviews

Going back

by M. Stringer from on 2010-06-12
I bought this and the green vertical banding is terrible. I did some research and found that nearly every pj ships with this issue. Viewsonic should be ashamed to sell such bad equipment. Mine is going back...

Best Buy

by Heather R. Dailey from on 2010-05-31
I'm blown away by the value of this product. There is a website still selling this thing for 5k. It's much more than I expected. The actual picture is as good as my 50" plasma. Of course the blacks arent as good, but for a projector it's fantastic. It wasn't hard to setup. The remote has a backlight,very nice.

Great if you get one w/o HB

by MKT from OP, KS on 2010-05-04
As others have said, this is a fantastic PJ if as the title says, you get one w/o horizontal banding. Unfortunately it appears that most of the late 2009 and most 2010 builds have it. Some have gone thru three units w/o getting a good one. While ViewSonic says they're working on the problem, it's not apparent to the consumer.But there's a three year warranty and their Express Exchange program, so if you can put up with returning units 'til you get a good one, it's certainly worth it.The only complaint I have is the menu system to change settings is not very user friendly. But once you have the PJ dialed in, you don't have to deal w/ it much.

If you want a projector, buy this one NOW!

by C. Harrington from on 2010-05-02
UPDATE: As I mentioned below, I had an electricity buildup issue with my first unit. I exchanged it, and the second unit works PERFECTLY!I just switched from a Panasonic 900 720p to the Pro8100. It is ceiling mounted about 11 feet from the screen for a 100 inch image, and the picture is absolutely amazing! To my personal taste, a 1080 picture should be sharp, to create depth in the picture. I spent a lot of time over at another website [that you can find by googling the phrase "projector reviews"] comparing the screen shots of the Pro8100 to several other models costing between $5,000 and $10,000, and IMO, the Pro8100 looked better than all of them. This PJ puts out a 100 inch image that is nearly indistinguishable from my 46 inch Samsung.CAVEAT: My unit has the same issue with electricity buildup that some others have reported. If you do not turn off the electricity of your sources or the PJ (as opposed to leaving them in standby), then when you next turn on the PJ you will see streaks in the image for the first 15 minutes or so the PJ is on.One other thing. The menu takes a while to get used to, since there are lots of settings to tweak. Once you do though, the PJ is more versatile than most because of all the adjustments that can be made.

Lots of features, but quality control problems and poor blacks

by David Indech from Atlanta, GA on 2010-05-01
The Pro8100 was sold at first only to professional home theater installers in mid-2008 at an MSRP of $5000. It has since become directly available for around $1200, and has become a popular forum recommendation as a result. It competes with, in ascending price order, the Optoma HD20, Mitsubishi's HC3800, and Epson's 8100.I've had three Pro8100s over the course of a month, all from Tiger Direct and manufactured in February, 2010. All of them have shown moving horizontal scanlines visible from 16' away from a 155" screen. No other projector does this, and the intensity of the banding has varied with each unit. With two of them, it was visible only with rapid onscreen movement or very bright areas. With the third, it was always visible and annoying. It's unclear if this issue will ever be resolved. Viewsonic no longer makes home theater projectors and their support does not acknowledge this issue.I ultimately replaced it with a Mitsubishi HC3800, a DLP projector with far less placement flexibility, but superior image quality. The comparison, side by side with a variety of reference HD material and computer test patterns, was illuminating.The three most important specifications of any projector are lumen output, ANSI contrast, and absolute black levels. Lumen output dictates how well the projector will handle ambient light and large screen sizes without washing out or becoming uncomfortably dim. ANSI contrast measures dynamic range, or the brightest and darkest colors the projector can display at the same time. The 'punch' of a picture with bright lights and dark shadows is heavily dependent on ANSI contrast. Lower ANSI numbers imply a flatter image with grayer blacks. Finally, low absolute black levels ensure that in completely dark scenes, black appears black and not a dark slate.Beyond image quality, certain features aid in placement flexibility. A generous zoom range allows the projector to display a range of image sizes at a particular distance, or the same image size while moving the projector. Lens shift allows the projected image to be moved without moving the projector or incurring keystone distortion. These features are more common in LCD projectors than DLP. The Pro8100 has extensive motorized shift and zoom. The motorization is helpful if the projector is placed in an inaccessible location or constantly switching aspect ratios. For the comparison with the H3800, my screen is 12' x 5', white, and with a gain of about 1.25.Brightness:The HC3800 is capable of going brighter than the Pro8100, even in low-lamp without Brilliant Color. Brilliant Color seems to kick up brightness quite a lot without having any negative effects on color or black levels. It seems to enhance all the 'off' colors (i.e., not a primary) and leave the primaries alone. While I found the Pro8100 wanting for my screen even with full lamp, I see no reason to ever use full lamp on the HC3800. In high-contrast scenes, the Pro8100 seems to near the HC3800's brightness, but only because it's projecting a dull gray relative to the latter's black.Color:Color gamut seems about the same. Color accuracy goes to the HC3800. I've spent probably ten hours just messing with the Pro8100 to get it closer to the calibrated LCD I use with my computer. The closest I ever got was with Art's settings from Projector Review, but they're just borderline acceptable for a very large screen in pitch-black viewing. While it's possible to use the same LCD calibrator on the projector, I really shouldn't need it to get a neutral picture. I'd go so far as to say that it's impossible to achieve with the projector controls alone. That said, before I compared the HC3800 side by side, I thought Art's settings were quite good and the best yet for the Pro8100.Noise:At equivalent brightness, the two have similar noise levels. My observations depend on where the projectors were placed.Sitting two feet from the projector on the floor: The Pro8100 has a bit of whine to complement the fan whoosh. The HC3800 has a slightly stronger whoosh and a subtle, but much higher pitched overtone. Neither are especially quiet. Even the Pro8100's low-lamp mode, which is a level again softer than the HC3800, is noticeable in quiet scenes if the movie isn't particularly involving. On full lamp, the HC3800 is objectionably loud.Sitting on the floor with the projector ceiling-mounted: The Pro8100 is essentially inaudible in low lamp and quiet at full lamp. The HC3800's overtone is audible at all lamp settings, but rarely distracting. Full lamp is acceptable for engaging movies.Sharpness:Definite edge to the Pro8100 here. I consider the Pro8100 about as sharp as a projector can be. My particular HC3800, with the 2.35:1 crop pushed to the very top of what's almost certainly an inferior lens, isn't quite as sharp. The 2 ticks of keystone correction I have to use also add a very subtle softening to text, though seem to have no effect whatever on movies. The Pro8100's keystone controls are similarly excellent, though they shouldn't ever need to be used.Menus and features:Every function in Mitsu's menus appears to work as expected. Not so much the Pro8100; most of the advanced functions harm the image. The advanced gamma controls are particularly egregious, causing posterization. The HC3800 is much better here.The HC3800 also has a useful feature that changes the aspect ratio with a button on the remote. For example, I play movies on my HTPC from within Windows, but my screen doesn't use a 16x9 aspect ratio. With the HC3800, I can set the zoom to fill the 2.35:1 width (cropping the top and bottom of Windows), and then press the Aspect button to get a downsampled 16x9 image in the center of my screen. The image quality in this mode is very good, easily enough to watch a 16x9 movie, so there's no reason ever to touch the zoom or focus controls after the initial setup.In the same circumstance, the Pro8100 would have to be slowly zoomed out with the motorized controls. The benefit to this is that 16x9 movies use the full 1920x1080 resolution, whereas I'm only getting 1450x820 with the Mitubishi's downsample mode.Black levels:Significant difference. The Pro8100 projects a slate gray. The HC3800, something very close to black. Even with the Pro8100 in low lamp in a pitch black scene that'd theoretically favor its dynamic iris, it's still not as good. I was shocked when I saw a space scene on the HC3800. For all three of my Pro8100s, I just assumed that a vaguely washed out picture was as good as it got.ANSI contrast:Huge difference. Huge. The HC3800 looks like a movie theater. The Pro8100, no. The difference isn't as evident on scenes that have few shadow tones (the blue castle fireworks intro on Disney movies) or are almost exclusively dark (the castle assault in Two Towers), but the rest of the time, it's no comparison. While I can definitely say there were particular scenes I enjoyed on the Pro8100, the HC3800 is consistently excellent everywhere.Build:The Pro8100 is large, heavy, pretty, and impressive. The HC3800 is small and light. Build quality is the same. The both have shiny black plastic, no creaking parts, and a general heft. The HC3800's zoom and focus controls are smooth. Focus has no play. Zoom, very little. The Pro8100's lens is centered on the unit. This makes setup easier. The HC3800's lens is offset 2.5" off the centerline and angled inward. This last bit is annoying, it's almost a trig problem to get the lens exactly perpendicular to the screen center unless you have a flexible mount.The Pro8100 has a heavier and more substantial remote with a rubber backing. The HC3800's remote feels cheaper by comparison, but nice enough.Summary:If the Pro8100 was once a $5000 projector, it's irrelevant. You really have to value sharpness, motorized controls, and placement flexibility to choose it over the HC3800's vastly superior picture, contrast, brightness, black levels and color accuracy. Given the quality control problems that appear to have afflicted most units recently shipped, I can't recommend the Pro8100 to anyone. Epson's 8100 offers similar zoom and lens shift (though unmotorized) for installations that would be difficult for the HC3800.