The Best 1080p Resolution Home Theater Projectors of 2007
04/25/2007-Art Feierman
Overview
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons
1080p Home Theater Projectors - Summary and Comparisons:
Click on these links to read more in-depth comparisons.
Panasonic PT-AE1000U vs Epson Home Cinema 1080
Epson Home Cinema 1080 vs Mitsubishi HC5000
3LCD: PT-AE1000U vs Home Cinema 1080 vs Mitsubishi HC5000
BenQ W9000 vs Panasonic PT-AE1000U
Sony VW50 Pearl vs Mitsubishi HC5000
Optoma HD81 vs. Sony VW50 Pearl
Optoma HD81 vs BenQ W9000 and W10000
BenQ W10000 vs JVC RS1
JVC RS1 vs Sony VW50 Pearl
JVC RS1 vs Optoma HD81
JVC RS1 vs Panasonic PT-AE1000U
Summary - The Bottom Line
Panasonic PT-AE1000U vs Epson Home Cinema 1080
I have been receiving questions about how these two stack up, since I posted the Epson review a couple of weeks ago. Even more questions came in, once Panasonic increased their mail in rebate to $1000, which effectively gave both projectors selling prices right under $3000, making them by far, the two least expensive 1080p projectors.
There is no clear choice between the Epson (below) and the Panasonic (right), different people will choose one or the other, and even those picking the same projector, may do so for significantly different reasons.
Both of these low cost 1080p projectors offer exceptional placement flexibility, featuring 2:1 zoom lenses and lots of vertical and horizontal lens shift, so likely placement will not be an issue with either.
The Panasonic is, in my opinion, the more "film-like" (natural seeming) projector of the two, but not by a great margin. Some of this may be attributed to their Smooth Screen technology, which softens the image slightly, but makes for an invisible pixel structure. By comparison, the Epson has a slightly "harder" look to its image, which may be due in part to it's pixel structure being almost visible. Overall, I favor the Panasonic for that smooth looking performance. The phrase that probably best conveys what I am trying to say is: "The Panasonic produces an extremely pleasing image."
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The Epson Home Cinema 1080 on the other hand, does produce a slightly sharper image. In addition, it has a huge advantage in terms of brightness. Many will choose the Epson over the Panasonic, just because they want a brighter projector, to fill a larger screen, or to handle the extra ambient light that most people want for non-movie watching, such as some TV, especially sports. Afterall, who wants to watch a football game in a completely darkened room.
And that's not all, Epson provides a 2 year warranty, with 2 years of overnight replacement, vs the Panasonic PT-AE1000U's. Of course you can buy relatively inexpensive extended warranties, which won't significantly shift the price balance.
Other features you'll have to weigh for yourself, such as the value of the Panasonic's learning remote, or their built in waveform generator, which those who like to "play" with their gear will no doubt love.
Without going to screens higher than 1.3 or 1.4 gain, I would recommend restricting the Panasonic to no more than 110" diagonal, and better still, 106" or 100". Those planning 92" or 100" screens will find the Panasonic has plenty of power for them.
Conversely the Epson can tackle screens of 130", with a normal projector screen.
My two cents. I prefer a slightly brighter image, to me, it's like listening to good speakers in a high end stereo store (where I got my start). Hook up two sets of speakers to switch back and forth between, but have one pair play just slightly louder, and listeners will pick that just slightly louder pair as the better speakers almost every time, even if they are perhaps close but not as good as the softer pair.
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What I'm trying to say, is that the extra lumens of the Epson even on the same sized screen will have appeal to some.
Bottom line: I really like the Panasonic for it's overall image quality and give it the edge in that regard, and it's total lack of visible pixel structure visibility is a huge plus. Still, I find the Epson to have a great many offsetting advantages, especially sheer "horsepower" sharpness, and warranty.
Folks planning on smaller screens, I would expect, will more often choose the Panasonic than the Epson. From a personal note, after weighing everything, I would choose the Panasonic if I had a dark room and a screen of 100" or less, and definitely would choose the Epson if I had 110" or larger. Because I watch far more than just movies, I'll need those extra lumens for my sports and HDTV. If, I was strictly concerned with just movie watching, I'd probably still go Panasonic at 106" and have a real debate with myself at 110".
Remember, your seating distance from your screen size, is a factor. If you like to sit close, you are going to be a little more aware of the Panasonic's sharpness, but, offsetting that, the pixel structure of the Epson will definitely become more evident.
Whew! One down....
Click on these links to read more in-depth comparisons.
Panasonic PT-AE1000U vs Epson Home Cinema 1080
Epson Home Cinema 1080 vs Mitsubishi HC5000
3LCD: PT-AE1000U vs Home Cinema 1080 vs Mitsubishi HC5000
BenQ W9000 vs Panasonic PT-AE1000U
Sony VW50 Pearl vs Mitsubishi HC5000
Optoma HD81 vs. Sony VW50 Pearl
Optoma HD81 vs BenQ W9000 and W10000
BenQ W10000 vs JVC RS1
JVC RS1 vs Sony VW50 Pearl
JVC RS1 vs Optoma HD81
JVC RS1 vs Panasonic PT-AE1000U
Summary - The Bottom Line
Overview
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons