What’s new - what’s in the works, Mitsubishi HC3800 video clip, Epson etc.

Greetings all.

Just a heads up.  For the next roughly 3 days, I won’t be checking the blogs, and responding, sorry, but will try to catch up on the weekend.

In the meantime, I have just finished working on one of two videos.  The first one is now live on YouTube.

Basically it’s a 2+ minute teaser.  It’s a very short summary (humorous I hope) of our not long ago, Mitsubishi HC3800 review, a projector I really like a lot.  Click here:  The YouTube Mitsubishi HC3800 video summary of the full HC3800 projector review, is live. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Industry, New Projector Reviews, News, Opinion | 2 Comments »

Home Theater Projector Pricing Update - Epson Home Cinema 8500UB, BenQ W6000

Greetings all,

I’m taking a break from playing with the PT-AE4000 for some pricing updates.

As some of you know, there were two real surprises this fall.  First, Optoma introduced the HD20 at $999 (and Vivitek and BenQ also announced their 1080p $999 projectors).   This apparently caused great consternation Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in News, Opinion | 8 Comments »

Panasonic PT-AE4000 Home Theater Projector - A First Look review

Greetings everyone!

OK, I know a lot of folks have been waiting quite a while for this especially with the first online review of the PT-AE4000 published what is now several weeks ago.  And since I’m getting a whole ton of Panasonic PT-AE4000 vs. Epson UB questions by email, I’ll give you all my latest thoughts on that contest, throughout this blog.

As is usual, this is a “First Look” and not the full projector review.  I’ve been working with the PT-AE4000 projector since Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Industry, New Projector Reviews, Opinion | 6 Comments »

Panasonic PT-AE4000 Projector Announced Today: At $1999

Greetings all,

Well, the speculation is over, the US will get the PT-AE4000.

Panasonic's New PT-AE4000 only $1999

Most of the conjecture about why The Panasonic PT-AE4000 wasn’t announced at CEDIA is now meaningless.  Apparently some dealers have run out of the older PT-AE3000 already, so the thought that Panasonic had too many of those in warehouses proved to not be the case.  Panasonic says a change in strategy was involved.  No matter, it’s good finally know for sure, that the PT-AE4000 is coming to US.

As seems to be the trend this fall, the Panasonic PT-AE4000 is Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in News, Opinion, Products | 24 Comments »

Epson Home Cinema 8100 Projector - A First Look review

UPDATE: The Epson Home Cinema 8100 projector review has been posted.

Greetings all!

OK, this is probably a bit premature - even for a first look, but, hey, I’ve received a fair number of emails telling me: HURRY!  I need to know about the Home Cinema 8100, asap!

So, let’s start at the beginning.  The Epson Home Cinema 8100 projector is basically an upgraded version of the Home Cinema 6100.

The biggest news is price. The Epson Home Cinema 8100 starts out with a MAP (minimum advertised price) Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in New Projector Reviews, Opinion, Products | 28 Comments »

InFocus ScreenPlay 8602 Home Theater Projector - A First Look review

Greetings,

OK, getting an early look at the new InFocus ScreenPlay 8602 was much fun.  Before I get started, a quick note.  The Mitsubishi HC3800 home theater projector review will publish early this evening: Monday Sept. 28th, 2009.  In addition, I’ll publish my First Look blog on the Epson Home Cinema 8100 sometime tomorrow afternoon, if not sooner.  OK, back to the new InFocus 8602 projector:

Angle photo of InFocus SP8602 home theater projector

It was, however an early engineering sample.  In this particular case I didn’t feel we had enough control of the unit to do a full review, but it has been an educational, and encouraging experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in New Projector Reviews, Opinion, Products | 7 Comments »

Epson Home Cinema 705HD Projector Announcement - Review to come Later

OK, it’s Sept. 17, 2009, and someone has just announced a new 720p projector.  That’s the first one in quite a while, and the pricing is rather nice.  MAP pricing is $749.

The new model, of course, is the Epson Home Cinema 705HD home theater projector.

OK, it’s inexpensive, but perhaps more importantly, it really is designed as a low cost multi-use room projector. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in News, Opinion, Products | 8 Comments »

CEDIA 2009 - New Home Theater Projectors - Part 1

Greetings all,

Well, I survived CEDIA, once again.  I hate east coast trade shows (ok, I know the east coast people probably think the same about west coast shows).   It means an extra day, and while Atlanta was just fine, Denver was more fun, and, geez, what would it take to get the CEDIA folks to do Las Vegas, where hotel rooms would be dirt cheap (in Sept), and the partying, even better.

But, to business - or should I say home theater projectors:

T’was an interesting CEDIA show in terms of home theater projectors.  Not so much because of all the new projectors Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in News, Opinion, Products | 14 Comments »

BenQ W6000 Home Theater Projector “First Look” Review

UPDATE: The BenQ W6000 projector review has been posted.

The BenQ W6000 is one of 3 new 1080p projector offerings from BenQ.

Front view of the $2799 BenQ W6000 DLP projector

There’s a lower cost - $999 - W1000, which should also be shipping shortly, and a very expensive LED lightsource top of the line, due out in January/February ‘10 timeframe.  (Should be most interesting!!!)

But let me try to keep my focus - this blog is about the BenQ W6000 projector.

What’s the scoop?

The BenQ W6000 s a DLP home theater projector, with 1080p native resolution, and a street price that should be based on MAP pricing, of $2799. Since the BenQ is one of the first fall projectors to ship this year, it likely will hold pretty close to that price for the immediate future.

The most notable “spec” is the W6000’s brightness.  Even in the W6000’s best mode we measured over Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in New Projector Reviews, News, Opinion, Products | 19 Comments »

Epson Home Cinema 8500UB and Pro Cinema 9500UB Projectors - Details

UPDATE: The Epson Home Cinema 8500UB and Pro Cinema 9500UB Review has been posted.

Greetings all,

Time to share some info about the four new Epson 1080p projectors.  Not long ago, I got a briefing on them at Epson’s facility in Long Beach, CA (only 40 miles from here). I got a decent look at the Home Cinema 8500UB in action.  It will be replacing the 6500UB, in a couple of months or less.

I’ll start with the Home Cinema 8500UB, and then touch on the Pro Cinema 9500UB, it’s almost identical sibling.  The Pro is sold only by authorized local installing dealers, while the Home Cinema 8500UB is available through authorized online dealers as well as local ones.
These new projectors represent the 3rd generation of Epson’s “ultra-high” contrast projectors. That started with the original 1080 UB, which was replaced by the 6500UB and 7500UB, which, in turn will be replaced in couple of months by the new Home Cinema 8500UB and Pro Cinema 9500UB respectively.

The new Epson projectors physically look like the old ones.

The pricing, while not set yet, should be similar to the older models, and the official word Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in New Projector Reviews, Opinion, Products | 19 Comments »