The Hottest Home Theater Projectors: Our Top Picks for 2007

$5000 - $10,000 1080p Home Theater Projectors

Introduction
All-in-one home projectors
Lowest cost home theater projectors
Under $1000 home theater projectors
$1000 - $1500 home theater projectors
$1500 - $2000 home theater projectors
$2000+ 720p home theater projectors
Under $5000 1080p projectors
Over $5000 1080p home theater projectors

Best In Class: JVC DLA-RS1
Runners-Up: Optoma HD81, BenQ W10000
Special Interest: None Yet

Best of Class: JVC DLA-RS1 LCOS (D-ILA) home theater projector

I'll keep this short. The JVC RS1 is a breakthrough projector in overall performance. It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny. Thanks to re-engineering the LCOS design, the RS1's D-ILA chips (LCOS) produce contrast ratios unmatched by any other projector, whether using LCOS, LCD or even DLP. This is huge, as LCOS was, like LCD, considered poor on contrast. Amazingly the JVC claims 15,000:1 contrast, and that's without even having a dynamic iris, which is so heavily relied on by other LCOS and all LCD home theater projectors.

Seeing this image on the screen, was simply awesome. This tiny picture doesn't begin to capture the RS1's abilities: You can click on these two images for larger versions:

and, in case that doesn't impress you:

But enough technical mumbo-jumbo. To paraphrase: "It's the picture, stupid". Black levels are a magnitude beyond every other projector tested, and the result is eye-popping performance unmatched (at least under $10,000) It's quite possible that the $30,000 - $50,000+ 3 chip DLP's may match or outperform the RS1, but at 5 times the price, how many of us really care.

The RS1 is not perfect. It's sharpness is very good, but not the sharpest out there, still sharp enough to not be an issue. I say that with confidence, because, I, in particular, with my huge 128" screen and close seating distance (11.5 feet), consider sharpness to be a key issue in the selection of my own 1080p projector. It would be better too, if the JVC had HDMI 1.3 instead of 1.2, but only the Epson, so far has the improved HDMI revision. The JVC is also rather average in noise levels. But not noisy enough to be a problem, unless you need high fan power and are running in high altitude mode. (sorry Denver!)

Even standard DVDs now look drastically better, thanks to the black levels. They too, pop. I watched the standard DVD "Hunt for Red October" on it when reviewing, and was really surprised on how good it looked, and that's a very dark movie overall.

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The JVC, at $6295 is about the most expensive, since it is normally sold through local dealers so don't expect serious discounting. The BenQ W10000 should typically sell for less and the Optoma HD81 probably a bit more, both are actively sold online.

Earlier, I mentioned that the sharpness was not an issue, even for one as critical as I am. The bottom line, is, I am ordering an RS1 for my own home theater (to replace my BenQ PE8720, and hope to take delivery in the next couple of weeks. I guess that says it all. Well almost:

Truly Awesome! (Now I've said it all).

Runners-up: Optoma HD81 home theater projector and

BenQ W10000 home theater projector:

Two very excellent single chip DLP projectors, sharing very similar overall image quality. Both are very sharp (that tiny bit sharper than the RS1), have rich saturated colors and overall excellent black levels (not quite as good as the Sony, and definitely a step below the JVC).

From the Optoma HD81, from "Aeon Flux" (HD-DVD):

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After that, they have different strengths. The BenQ is about typical in inputs, but has lens shift for easy placement. The Optoma, by comparison, lacks the lens shift, but has an incredible selection of inputs compared to any of the other projectors, thanks to its outboard processing box (which also means less wiring to run). Of note, the procesor box is built by Gennum, one of the most highly respected image processing outfits. Gennum processing is also used by the JVC RS1 and Marantz's far more expensive projectors.

From the BenQ W10000, from "Phantom of the Opera" HD-DVD:

Neither projector offers much range in their zoom lens. The BenQ, though, will work in some rooms in a rear shelf situation, if the room/screen match up for the right distance. The Optoma needs to be ceiling mounted (or table top), as it lacks lens shift.

Both of these projectors really do produce a really excellent image, and, important to many, they are the two brightest. For those fighting a little ambient light, they have an nice advantage. I should point out that the JVC easily matches their brightness in best mode, but when you need lumens for ambient light, the JVC can barely reach 900 lumens in Dynamic mode, while these two projectors can be 20 - 30% brighter, and that means a screen size or two larger. I could certainly live happily with either of these two projectors, if I hadn't seen the RS1.

Introduction
All-in-one home projectors
Lowest cost home theater projectors
Under $1000 home theater projectors
$1000 - $1500 home theater projectors
$1500 - $2000 home theater projectors
$2000+ 720p home theater projectors
Under $5000 1080p projectors
Over $5000 1080p home theater projectors