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General discussion

SIRROUNDSOUND PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEW

Sep 11, 2005 8:31AM PDT

Iam going to wait buying my Sony VPL-HS51 projector until I hear from you. Problem is you cant view $3500 projectors in the home theater stores The cheapest projector Ive seen cost more than $19000 clams. Plasma sets look like a picture on the wall and rear project sets look like a big ugly box with a picture in it, It seems like a true movie theater experience is projector and screen Thats what I love about hi-def you can go as big as you want and still get an awsome picture Iam crazy but after a while my 65" SONY just looked tiny ha.ha stewart norrie

Discussion is locked

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There has to be a few places to go and see.
Sep 12, 2005 5:07AM PDT

Even Tiger Direct's warehouse location near me has a small inexpensive projector on display. I would call around to a few stores (big and small) and ask what projectors they are displaying.Back when I was in retail we displayed projectors from 3k to 33k.

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Tiger Direct's warehouse location near me
Sep 12, 2005 5:39AM PDT

If it's the one in Naperville Il. it's not a good setup, which is the problem in so many places.
Fry's,BB,CC and Microcenter have them, but very poor setups to do a good evaluation.
It's just so mush easier to display and sell a Plasma or DLP, LCD rear projection TV than a front projrctor LCD.
If you go to Costco and Sam's Club where the TVs are setup on the floor under the bright lights and they still look good! Costco has a LCD projector but no one can see the image because of the overhead lights.
I will try to see if I can find one on display some where. John

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projo demo
Sep 12, 2005 1:39PM PDT

Unfortunatly your playing in a territory ($) that I haven't dealt in for years, so I am not sure who shows what. What I do know is that even epson lcd's get used by integrators out there, so buying based on spec's (much like buying computer hardware) has become a common approach. Projector central (web site) is likely the best public resorce for basic information about projectors that are available, and they offer many compairasons.
Another brand to keep in mind would also be mitsubishi, I am sure they now offer a few models that are budget priced. I have used Mits before in commercial applications and had great results. The next thing, once you have selected a projector, would be to choose a screen. Da lite screens used to have a screen selection tool, not sure if it's on line. It would ask about projector spec's, and room information, screen size etc, then recommend screen material to fit the set up.
Good luck, and happy hunting.

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PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEW
Sep 13, 2005 2:21AM PDT
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It's a question of what makes you happy.
Sep 13, 2005 2:57AM PDT

all the reviews I've read about your sony projector make it sound pretty good.

I used to make an analogy for my customers... everybody wants a corvette for ford escort price. They both do the same thing. Get you from point A to point B. One is just a heck of a lot more fun to drive !

You are comparing corvettes to ferraris... if you got the money and the extra bit of performance is worth it to you, then get the system that costs 10 times more. But then there's the screen to think about, and the lighting, and the seating, and the sound, and the acoustical treatments in the room, and the automation to drop the screen, dim the lights and start the popcorn maker. Don't get me started about the choices of pop corn makers !

Yes, I'm being a bit glib but refer to the reviews that have been posted like this one...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/sony_vpl-hs51.htm

The problem I found when I buy audio equipment (Hi, my name's grim... I'm an audioholic) is that a month later I see something else and shout D$%& IT !

You yourself said it in a different thread... get a pro you trust. Get references and follow up on them (don't just look at the installers picture album). Or tells us what your budget is... that way we can suggest other choices we have recently seen that may be cheaper and better. There is always that little gem out there that no one knows about at first (outlaw audio and energy speakers still don't get enuf buzz in my opinion).

First off. What's your budget and is it just for a projector and screen ?

grim