# Need a projector, budget $3000 - $6000



## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

Hey guys and dolls, greetings from my humble half-made man cave.

Today I bring a question of great significance to the building of my home theater: what projector should I purchase. The only rule in your response is NOT to reply with anything over $6000. So far, I only have to recommendations on my very short list: JVC DILA 1080p 3D projector and Sony 6030UB projector.

Please add your favs so I can start focusing on other things like building the home theater!:rofl2:

Thanks in advance!

With much appreciation,

Matthew


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Are actually building this room or are you outfitting it?

What kind of screen/how big?

Room size/lighting?

What way to your rafters run vs screen position parallel or horizontal?

How tall are your ceilings?

Is their access over the room to run wires?

All this matters not only for the projector but also for speakers and control. 

That said I really like the JVC, Sony, and Epson projectors. Epson has great lens shift without the need for keystone.


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

rab-byte said:


> Are actually building this room or are you outfitting it?
> 
> What kind of screen/how big?
> 
> ...


Hello rab-byte,

1. The home theater room, along with the rest of the basement will be new construction.
2. Draper 106" screen, 16:9, fixed
3. Room is 20 x 21 but, and this is important, it opens to another room spanning 18 x 19. As far as lighting is concerned, it will be wall controls with a combination of recessed and track lighting
4. Rafters run horizontal to the screen
5. Ceilings are 8' 6"
6. Yes, there is access as the ceilings are unfinished

I keep getting mixed reviews on Epson: some like it others tell me JVC is the way to go. In fact, JVC will be introducing a new projector called the x-500 in the middle of December. Initial reports indicate a price point of $5995 and a great projector quality all the way around.


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

Once I question Epson, I find this little tidbit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/projector-reviews/best-of-home-theater/prweb10608359.htm


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Hop onto projectorcentral.com and use their throw calculator to figure luminance and throw distance based on your screen. This may help you eliminate some projectors depending on if you want the projector over head or slightly behind you. 

You'll want the projector to be in-line with the top of your screen so depending on how far up the wall you want the screen you may find a long pole is needed for mounting, or that you'll utilize lens shift. 

Pay attention to distance as having the projector too far will yield less light and too close may produce hotspots. 

Horizontal rafters are a good thing as you'll be able to keep the projector centered on the screen. 

Having a fixed screen means you don't have to fret about a trigger to drop the screen. 

Side note:
Think about running romex from you projector location to your equipment stack. Terminate the end at the stack as male power and the end at the projector as female. Doing this will let you keep the projector on the same power center as your equipment (single ground) and allow you to put it in battery backup so bulbs can cool properly in the case of a power outage.


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

I've heard nothing but good things regarding the Epson 5030.


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

mechman said:


> I've heard nothing but good things regarding the Epson 5030.


I have heard the same. In addition to that, many people have told me a great screen is crucial to a great picture!

~Matthew


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm a huge fan of Screen Innovation's Black Diamond screens. You pay more for them but in low to moderate light they still look good and in a darkened room they scatter less ambient light so the room stays darker.


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

rab-byte said:


> I'm a huge fan of Screen Innovation's Black Diamond screens. You pay more for them but in low to moderate light they still look good and in a darkened room they scatter less ambient light so the room stays darker.


rab-byte,

I will definitely look into them. What is the best site for pricing these?

~Matthew


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Go to their site and you'll be able to find authorized retailers.


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

I really like these screens! Especially the Black Diamond Zero Edge™ G2 2.7. What color do you recommend?

~Matthew


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## onedayiwillbedone (Dec 20, 2011)

I have had my Epson 6020 for almost a year now has just over 900 hours on lamp and love it. Place i purchased it gave me an awesome deal plus comes with 2 pairs glasses, another lamp and mount. Matched with 120 inch screen from Jamestown highly recommend them as well. I searched and demoed different brands at all price ranges but preferred Epson for the price and features. Would suggest you demo all you can and also my Epson was under 2900 I thank it was actually 2700 new but cant find receipt. I am a repeat customer at a high end store and the more you shop and build relationships the more likely they will take care of you. Enjoy your shopping and demoing it can be stressful and time consuming but oh it was a lot of fun.


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

onedayiwillbedone said:


> I have had my Epson 6020 for almost a year now has just over 900 hours on lamp and love it. Place i purchased it gave me an awesome deal plus comes with 2 pairs glasses, another lamp and mount. Matched with 120 inch screen from Jamestown highly recommend them as well. I searched and demoed different brands at all price ranges but preferred Epson for the price and features. Would suggest you demo all you can and also my Epson was under 2900 I thank it was actually 2700 new but cant find receipt. I am a repeat customer at a high end store and the more you shop and build relationships the more likely they will take care of you. Enjoy your shopping and demoing it can be stressful and time consuming but oh it was a lot of fun.


onedayiwillbedone,

The Epson 6020 seems like an excellent choice for the price. I read a great review on Home Cinema Guru as follows. Forgive the length but I like to include the text instead of embedding hyperlinks.

"I had the opportunity to work on an Epson 6020UB projector today. I have to say this is the best LCD projector I have seen to date. It was reasonably sharp and was capable of very good color and light output.

With 90 hours on the lamp it output a little over 500 lumens at D65 white point on the ECO setting at about a 2.7 throw ratio. This is excellent for a machine of this class. The sound level was low on ECO, but pretty loud on high lamp.

After some adjustment it could come very close to Rec. 709 color and gamma performance.

The panel alignment from the factory was very poor. The user menu does have considerable adjustments for this that corrected the problem very well such that it was sharper than a Sony VPL-HW50ES that I worked on recently.

3D had a very slight amount of ghosting, but in general was excellent for a product in this price category.

Motion handling with this product also looked very good when adjusted properly.

Black levels and ANSI contrast with the auto iris off were excellent.

All in all I would highly recommend this product to anyone considering a front projector under $4,000 that can live with less sharpness than a DLP and better blacks than DLP.

I will definitely put this projector on my short list of ones to check out. ***EVERYONE please continue to post your recommendations so everyone can glean your experiences. 

~Matthew


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## MLGamer (Feb 10, 2013)

I am now officially leaning towards the Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 6030UB. Picture quality looks great and the price is right at only $3,498.99. This, combined with a black diamond screen, may just do the trick.

~Matthew


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## onedayiwillbedone (Dec 20, 2011)

Wow better contrast, better lens, and more efficient than my 6020 yes, should be a great choice. Also the lens shift is great our projector is about 30 inches off center of screen. Fan noise on normal is noticeable, but my ceiling is only 7 feet tall and projector is just 5 feet behind us. I leave it on eco I dont here it and know one has made any comments to date.


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