Those of your who are regular readers of our reviews and articles should find this helpful. This particular section, however, is written primarily for those who are new to ProjectorReviews.com and new to home theater projectors.
Welcome! This 2010 edition of our 1080p Projector Comparison report has been renamed the Home Theater Projector Comparison Report - 2010. It is once again, rather massive. This report, I should note, is still restricted to today's 1080p resolution home theater projectors. We do not include 720p projectors, as there are relatively few new 720p projectors hitting the market. To assist those not familiar with our site, or for that matter, our projector review layouts, and writing style, this guide should prove to be helpful.
The topics covered are:
- What's in this Report
- Defining your expectations: Are you an average consumer, enthusiast, or purist
- Understanding your room environment in selecting the proper projector equipment
You'll find the writing style of the report to be long on explanations. As you get the hang of things you will be able to scan though some content quickly. Because of the many sections here, and the overlapping effects of some features, you may find somewhat similar, fairly in-depth, explanations of the same feature, on the same projector. A good example are the discussions about Creative Frame Interpolation. (We'll explain that to you elsewhere.)
While my writing style can be a bit rambling, I do pay close attention to word crafting so that you can understand subtle differences. You should get different feels from phrases like very good, really good, impressive, especially good, rather excellent, excellent, and others.
On a personal note:
Much of this report is subjective. You are reading my opinions as to how these projectors look and feel, and my take on which are best. I realize some people get to see one, maybe two projectors "live" before buying, and most who buy on the internet buy sight unseen. With that in mind, I take my reviewing seriously. I get to watch each one extensively and play with it at length. From that, I draw my conclusions. Because there is subjectivity, my opinion isn't fact, but I do get very positive feedback from almost everyone that emails me. Those who bought based on the information I provide, tell me I'm hitting the mark. I wouldn't have it any other way! Of course, as I tell you all, unless you are on your 2nd or 3rd projector, you will almost certainly find today's home theater projectors end up looking a lot better in your home, than you imagined!
As I like to say when people ask me what I do: "I pay myself a bunch of money to sit home and watch movies and football games (HDTV)". Well, it's obviously not that easy, but it works for me. (And bunches of money aren't huge amounts, nope like bushels or wheel barrels or tractor trailers full.
What's In This Report
This is as good a place to start, as any.
Organization: This report considers about 30 1080p home theater projectors.
The 30 projectors consist of:
- 26 have full reviews
- 2 additional projectors that are almost identical to ones reviewed, but for a couple of extra features (the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB info is based on the almost identical Pro Cinema 9500UB, and the Pro Cinema 9100 performance and positioning are based on the Home Cinema 8100..
- 1 projector in mid-review - the Mitsubishi HC6800. It's calibrated and I've been watching it, but the review will follow this report
- 1 projector mentioned briefly, that I felt important to mention, even though I was not able to get one in for review. (Samsung SP-A900)
Projectors are organized into three tiers, or as we call them Classes
Entry Level Projectors |
Under $2000 |
Mid-Priced Projectors |
$2000 - $3500 |
Premium Priced Projectors |
$3500 - $10,000 |
|
Awards are issued in each of the classes. The awards are:
Best In Class, Best In Class - Runner-up, and Special Interest
Pricing is based on estimated "street price" from authorized dealers. We say authorized, because once in a while you may see what seems to be a price ridiculously lower than everywhere else, from a non-authorized dealer. Remember - "let the buyer beware". If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
There are NINE sections to the review, excluding this guide:
Home Page of the 1080p Projector Comparison Report
This page provides additional guidance, and offers information in three topics:
- Overview: General information to get everyone started (including some basics from this page). Also in this section:
Projectors listed by price Class, with direct links to the individual reviews, and to each projector's Specs page in our database
- Highlights: A paragraph or two, highlighting key aspects and features of each projector, organized by Class, and listed alpabetically
- Special Features: Discusses a number of special features found on different projectors, such as dynamic irises, creative frame interpolation.