Sony's HS-51A is now a lot less expensive, and is LCD powered for those bothered by rainbows, but the Sony is relatively dim, and although a very good LCD projector, also has some minor issues. There are also a number of Darkchip2 powered DLP's spanning the range from under $2000 like the BenQ PE7700 or Optoma's own HD72, up to $5000+ featuring projectors from Marantz, DWIN and other premium brands. Yamaha also has its more expensive LCD projector which we would like to review, but it too, is far more expensive. The Optoma HD7100, again, sells for under $3500, making it the bargain of darkchip3 DLP's out there.
Congrats to Optoma, for another in a consistant string of excellent home theater projectors. I can't wait to get my hands on the far more expensive 1080p resolution HD81 scheduled for this summer! If it even performs only as well as the HD7100 plus offers the higher resolution, it will be truly impressive.
To summarize - if I had a $3500 or less budget for a home theater projector, and if the Optoma HD7100 is compatible with my theater room (placement wise), it would absolutely be my first choice of all the projectors I have reviewed!