Projectors - Advice

[mykeparker]

Hi,

I currently have GB-PVR on the MVP on my TV, all fine and been loving it. I am in the process of getting an Xbox360, which is HD compatible. What I really wanna know is would GB-PVR and the Xbox360 actually look good on a projector or is it worth forking out for a HD TV?

Any model suggestions would help too, I know little about projectors and not much more about HD Tvs. I also hear you can get HD Projectors what are they like?

Any help would be good. I'm willing to spend a decent amount of money if it makes a lot of difference on the picture quality. Thanks in advance all!

[BoomerBrian]

I have a Sanyo PLV-Z1. I bought it from bhphotovideo.com for $500. It's native resoultion is 1/2 HD so it scales HD content very well. My friend also has one as well as an Xbox360 and it looks awesome! His screen is 140" which is awesome when playing 4 player Call To Duty. The Z1 is an excellent entry level projector. It really depends on how much you want to spend. Be aware that most projectors under $10,000 are not true HD. When they say HD they mean that it can take an HD signal and scale it. You will just need to be sure you check out the native resolution.

[nurowolf]

I have the Sanyo Z2. Its native resolution is 1280*720.

TV and XBOX 360 look fantastic

The Sanyos are one of the most affordable - yet highest quality.

However skip the Z3 model - not very good.

My money is on a Z2 (great price these days) or go for the Z4 - it has amazing quality - but a bit more pricey.

[haripj]

Don't forget the Infocus models, either - they have great HD projectors (both DLP and LCD), and their products range from "cheap" (~$800) to rather expensive - depending on what you want. I have an Infocus SP-5000, and I just love it.

[velocityboy]

I have an InFocus lp755, 1024x768 native. I run everything s-vid through an Onkyo TX SR502 receiver. Xbox, MVP, DVD player, Dreamcast -- All look great. I'd go up to component with the DVD and Xbox but my Onkyo won't do upscaling and the LP755 lacks component input. (has VGA, s-vid, rca) but since it only cost me $300 with low bulb life I don't reallt mind.

[nurowolf]

I didn't know the InFocus had models at that price point.

Certainly - if you have the money - the top end InFocus are the best on the market - but man do they hurt the wallet.

I haven't seen the less expensive infocus models in action. The only part that would concern me is the native resolution is generally either an SD or computer resolution, rather than a HD resolution.

As a consequence everything you watch will be scalled by the projector (or computer).

Typically a Native resolution that matches what you want to watch is the best - failing that - the next best advice is the larger the resolution the better (as long it complies with current standards).

Ie - that is look for a native resolution of 720p (1280*720), or 1080i. If your wallet can afford it - look at a model that supports natively 1080p (be warned this is serious cash)

Make sure that the prjector also has a good scaler built in. Because no matter what you do you will end up doing some scaling on some material.

Good luck.