# When is it time to Upgrade?



## gregsdouglas (Feb 20, 2013)

Curious if anyone has thoughts on this. I have a dedicated, mostly-light controlled home theater in my basement. I just replaced the home theater speakers (RSL 7.2 system www.rslspeakers.com) and receiver (Onkyo TX-NR929,) wondering if it is time to do it with the projector. I currently have the BenQ W500 (720p) projector. It was purchased for $1000 (CAD) about 7-8 years ago.

I'm on my 4th lamp now and really haven't had any problems with it, other than I wish it were brighter - I cannot completely block all ambient light from upstairs during the day -there is no door at the bottom of the stairs so some light comes in when I watch movies during weekend daytime. It is great at night as far as brightness goes - no complaints there. The projector is 12 feet away from the 100" 16:9 fixed mount screen. I really can't go much bigger on that wall - I can go as big as 110" @ 16:9 before needing a demolition team for a basement addition...

Its only a 720p projector, but that's all I've ever had. Now that I've upgraded to Blu-ray, I'm wondering if I'm "leaving pixels on the table," so to speak. Is it worth upgrading to a newer, brighter, better-contrast-rated PJ or would the difference not be that dramatic?

I always try to keep things like this in context - using the example of shopping for a TV at the electronics store: when looking at 5 or 6 big screen TVs all lined up side by each, it is easy to pick out the one that has a little better picture (usually completely subjective, but obviously they all have their differences.) It would be easy to think I would automatically prefer Brand A over Brand B based on that comparison, but once I get the TV home, there's nothing beside it to compare with, so very-likely any or all of them would be great.... That's kind of what I'm worried about when forking out cash for a new projector, replacing one that isn't broken....

Any thoughts? Any guidance? The new BenQ W1500 looks good, but if I'm going to upgrade, I want to get something that will actually make a difference (without shelling out $25k for a 4k HD unit...) Maybe I just wait until the BenQ packs it in???


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## jimbodude (Jul 26, 2011)

It is all about personal preference... and how much go want to spend. 1080p will make a significant difference for just about all projection sized screens, no doubt. Also, are you actually looking for brighter, as is combatting ambient light, or higher contrast ratios, as in deeper blacks? In my experience, the latter is much more important and noticeable.


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## chaluga (Mar 5, 2013)

Projectors have made huge strides in seven years. A 1500 dollar Epson would blow your projector out of the water . Upgrade time


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## gregsdouglas (Feb 20, 2013)

Well. I'm convinced. Yeah, the biggest noticeable problem is daytime viewing with ambient light. I'm assuming it is a brightness issue, mine is at 16fc with a new lamp on a 100" screen from just under 12'. Could be Contrast - likely is both. Hopefully doesn't take me too long to come up to speed again, but there seems to be great options for 1080p projectors in the $1500-$2000 range from Epson and BenQ. Time to school up I guess. Thanks!


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## gregsdouglas (Feb 20, 2013)

Just did some reading while trying to research projectors and came across an article suggesting that with a 100" 16:9 screen with my head positioned at 12' distance from the screen hat I would seem to get the "full benefit" of a 1080p projector, even a 4k. 

Was an interesting chart, thought I would share it as it seems to put things in perspective in terms of "when and if" someone would get a tangible benefit from moving to a higher resolution projector. 

http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter/

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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Do you have any dealers that will let you bring some home for demo?


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## gregsdouglas (Feb 20, 2013)

not that I'm aware of. This is my concern: replacing a 720p system that works with a brand new 1080p system that doesn't make any visual difference, and having to explain my actions to the wife....


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Ask around see if its available. As for seeing the difference at 110" you should.


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## gregsdouglas (Feb 20, 2013)

Went to the local a/v shop this aft. 

They had 2 projectors set up for demos. Panasonic 8000, Epson 2030. Both looked ok, but I'm not convinced they are remotely configured properly. 60" plasma in the same room was literally night & day better. Not even the same league - PJs didn't even look like HD next to the plasma. 

Left there more confused than anything. Wasn't thinking of spending $3250 on a projector upgrade either. But the Epson 2030 was hard to differentiate from my home projector, not that I can snap an exact photo in my head to compare them. They could order me an Epson 5030, sight unseen for $2750 including a spare bulb and 2 sets of 3d glasses.

-Granted, a poorly light-controlled (yet sort of darkened) show room is not an adequate comparison to my home theater... Argh!

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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Anytime you ask "is it time to upgrade" on a HT forum, the answer will always be "YES" regardless. 

Seriously, when I upgraded from a 1080i NEC to a 1080p Sony, there was a huge difference. Of course, much of it was increased contrast, but there was a very noticeable improvement in resolution as well.


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## gregsdouglas (Feb 20, 2013)

Yes - and it looks like the most likely candidate would be the Epson 5030UB projector. That would mean going from 4000:1 up to 600,000:1 contrast. The absolute only concern is WAF of the added expense if she sees no difference. 

Ah well. The store has a good return policy. Just have used it before and don't want to be "that guy" - especially with football playoffs coming up.... A lot of people "buy" new TVs before the game, then have a change of heart Monday.

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