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Home Projector Comparison Report: Summary

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Art Feierman
  1. 2012 1080p Home Theater Projector Comparison Report
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  12. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report
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  18. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012
  19. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012-2
  20. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012-3
  21. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012-4
  22. Class: Medium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $2000 - $3500
  23. Class: Medium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $2000 - $3500-2
  24. Class: Medium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $2000 - $3500-3
  25. Class: Premium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $3500 - $10,000
  26. Class: Premium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $3500 - $10,000-2
  27. Class: Premium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $3500 - $10,000-3
  28. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Calibrating Projectors, Settings
  29. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Calibrating Projectors, Settings-2
  30. Home Projector Comparison Report: Screen Recommendations
  31. Home Projector Comparison Report: Summary

Below find my final thoughts and suggestions. -art

View the Best In Class Awards page for a detailed summary of the winners, and why the won their awards!

All Home Theater Projectors Winning major awards in this report

Winners are listed by Award.  In the case of ties, they are listed alphabetically.

Entry Level Projector Class - Under $2000:

Best In Class, 2D: Panasonic PT-AR100 projector
Best In Class: 2D Runner-Up: BenQ W6000
Special Interest: 2D Value: Viewsonic Pro8200

Best In Class, 2D / 3D (tie): Acer H9500BD
Best In Class: 2D / 3D (tie): Epson Home Cinema 3010/3010e

Mid-Priced Projector Class: $2000 - $3500:

Best In Class (tie): Epson Home Cinema 5010
Best In Class (tie): Epson Pro Cinema 6010
Best In Class: Runner-Up (tie): BenQ W7000
Best In Class: Runner-Up (tie): Panasonic PT-AE7000

Premium Priced Projector Class: $3500 - $10,000

Best In Class: (tie): JVC DLA-X70R
Best In Class: (tie): Sony VPL-VW95ES
Best In Class: Runner-Up: Mitsubishi HC9000D

Projector Recommendations For Those Only Interested in Movies

These are projectors that are generally great for movie viewing, but for one reason or another, are less practical for watching other content. The key reason a projector make this group: limited brightness in brightest modes. That means the inability to handle any significant ambient light, since most people don't watch sports or most TV in a pitch black room. These projectors should have at least good black level performance. Almost all of these have "brightest modes" that are only average or below in brightness.

Projectors that are completely well rounded, and equally good at HDTV and Sports (requiring at least average "brightest mode" performance), are not included in this list.

Afterall, the best overall projectors are the ones that win our Best In Class awards, and don't need to be also on these additional lists, even though they should be good For example, the Mitsubishi HC4000 could be said to be very good at movies, but it is equally good at sports and HDTV. As a result it's not listed as a "movies only" projector even though it would serve well as one.

This is not intended as a comprehensive list, rather a good sampling:

  • Optoma HD20 (best of the sub-$1000 projectors, when it comes to blacks)
  • Mitsubishi HC7800D
  • JVC DLA-RS45/X30
  • Runco LS5
  • Sony VPL-VW95ES
  1. 2012 1080p Home Theater Projector Comparison Report
  2. 1080p Projector Comparison Report-2
  3. 1080p Projector Comparison Report-3
  4. 1080p Projector Comparison Report-4
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  10. 1080p Projector Comparison Report-10
  11. 1080p Projector Comparison Report-11
  12. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report
  13. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report-2
  14. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report-3
  15. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report-4
  16. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report-5
  17. Guide to the 2012 Home Theater Projector Comparison Report-6
  18. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012
  19. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012-2
  20. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012-3
  21. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Best in Class Awards for 2012-4
  22. Class: Medium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $2000 - $3500
  23. Class: Medium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $2000 - $3500-2
  24. Class: Medium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $2000 - $3500-3
  25. Class: Premium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $3500 - $10,000
  26. Class: Premium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $3500 - $10,000-2
  27. Class: Premium Priced 1080p Home Theater Projectors: $3500 - $10,000-3
  28. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Calibrating Projectors, Settings
  29. Home Theater Projector Comparison Report: Calibrating Projectors, Settings-2
  30. Home Projector Comparison Report: Screen Recommendations
  31. Home Projector Comparison Report: Summary

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