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

Optoma HD81 vs BenQ W10000 and W9000

Again, I remind you that I never tested the W9000, or saw it in action in my controlled environments.

I'll start with the BenQ W10000 vs the Optoma HD81.

This is pretty easy for almost everyone. The recent, major, price move, by Optoma makes the previously less expensive W10000, a good $1500+ more than the HD81 on the street.

Since I consider overall picture quality between these two when properly set up, to be almost identical, people will be hard pressed to choose the BenQ W10000 soley on image quality.

Where the BenQ (shown below) has the real advantage, is placement flexibility. Even though its 1.15:1 zoom provides only a couple of feet of front to back placement range, it does have lens shift, and that will allow some to shelf mount. If, however you are going to ceiling mount anyway, then the tradeoff becomes simple. The BenQ's lens cannot be higher than the top of the screen surface, while the Optoma needs to be (depending on screen size) anywhere from over a foot to about two+ feet above the top of the screen. For those with low ceilings (8 feet or less), the Optoma just won't work, and for those with high ceilings, the BenQ is going to have to hang down an extra foot or more, which many may not like.

Overall the two are very similar in terms of brightness, so that isn't going to be a deciding factor.

Of course, with Optoma's move on price, I truly expect BenQ to counter soon, bringing the street price of the W10000 at least down below $5000, if not closer to the Optoma's under $4000.

The BenQ just has it ergonomically, with the better remote, and their 3 year warranty with 1st year replacement is slightly better than Optoma's straight 3 year warranty. For those that like to play with their projectors, the Optoma definitely has more control of the picture, and I should remind, that the BenQ has that Overscan issue, which has some work arounds (and if you have it pro calibrated, no doubt the calibrator can set it up so you can toggle overscan off and on. In simple words; the overscan should not be a deal breaker.

So, with current pricing, I have to definitely pick the Optoma HD81 over the BenQ W10000. Of course, that assumes the Optoma will work in your room. If/when the W10000 price comes down, things will change. If the two end up similar in price, then I believe most will/should choose the BenQ, for its flexibility, etc.

That brings us to the W9000, which is currently selling for about that of the HD81 or a little less. In this case, the Optoma wins in image quality, that Darkchip2 in the BenQ W9000 can't match the Darkchip3 in the HD81, so the Optoma should easily win in black levels, and that gives it a real win overall in image quality. I should point out that the W9000 is not ISF certified, so no ISF Day Night settings for the calibrators to create, but otherwise, no big deal, any good calibrator can do a great job with it.

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The W9000, of course will work in many rooms that the HD81 can't, thanks to the lens shift, so it may well be your choice if the HD81 won't work for you.

Conjecture: I'd expect BenQ to also adjust the W9000's price. If they are wise, they will place it well below the HD81, targeting the $3000 price point shared by Panasonic's PT-AE1000U and Epson's Home Cinema 1080.

Should that occur, then you have a lower cost projector, that, like the HD81 is very sharp, and more flexible in placement, and that will get it lots of buyers.

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