# Projector help - Sony vs Panasonic vs Epson



## natethegreat

Hello all,

I have been finishing up my basement and getting ready to lay carpet. The last couple steps took a little longer than I expected so all of my projector research is now 6 months old. I know a lot can change between now and then. I have been told that the Sony HW30AES SXRD is the way to go for projectors under $3000. Would anyone recommend anything else? 

I will be using the projector for 40% movies, 50% tv and 10% video games. My theater is in a light controlled room, so I can get it very dark. This will be going on a 120 inch screen. 

When I google “top 10 projectors”, I get the Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 5020Ube and the Panasonic PT-AE8000. Are these newer models a better choice now than the Sony, or does anyone have any others I should consider? Or does anyone know what the difference I would be getting between the 3. 

Thanks!


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
I really think the SXRD is the way to go. JVC uses the same technology and I would recommend them every bit as much. Where SXRD/D-ILA excels is with Black Level and I really have not watched anything else that comes close to the inky black of CRT front projectors.

I highly recommend checking out the professional reviews of the Sony and JVC's. The Epsons are quite popular and they have many models for under $3000, but I just do not think DLP or LCD comes close.

Here are some reviews:
http://www.hometheater.com/content/sony-vpl-hw30es-3d-sxrd-projector
http://www.digitalversus.com/video-projector/sony-vpl-hw30-p11706/test.html
http://www.projectorreviews.com/sony/vpl-hw30es/
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/test-report-sony-vpl-hw30es-3d-hd-projector

The 4K Sony VPL-HW50ES is available for $3999 and offers better Contrast Ratio, aforementioned 4K, comes with 3D Glasses, and can display up to 150 inches (HW30 130) 
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VPLHW50ES-3D-Projector/dp/B009GG08KQ
Cheers,
JJ


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## Andre

+1 for checking out reviews as Jack suggested. I personnally lean towards the Panny for its ability to switch from 16:9 and Cinemascope internally with its lens memory feature. However, this is mute if your not considering going to a cinemascope sized screen.


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## hjones4841

For what it is worth, I have not had good luck with Sony projectors. Two out of two (VPL-HW10 and most recently VPL-HW15) have had failures in the HDMI input board. On the first one, Sony claimed they could not get the board even from Japan (I waited on it for 3 months) and they replaced it with the VPL-HW15 under my extended warranty. Two weeks ago on the '15, HDMI had sparklies on any 1080i, but would play 1080p. HDMI 2 would play 1080i but not 1080p. I did not even try to get it repaired, since Sony considered the warranty fulfilled when they replaced the original VPL-HW10.

It was very hard for me to give up on Sony since almost every TV in the house is Sony and has been for many years, but I purchased a Panasonic AE-8000 and installed it last week. Incredible performance and perhaps it will last longer than 2 years.

I did get a chuckle out of the local repair facility that Sony sent me to for the VPL-HW10. It was an appliance repair place and the service man told me that he had never seen a projector like that one.

There must be something wrong with Sony's suppliers of the HDMI I/O components. Many owners of the Sony blu ray 400 disc changers have had HDMI output boards fail, only to find out that Sony can't get that board either. (Check out the Sony blu ray changer forum on AVS.) That happened to me as well. I had a HDMI board fail on my Sony BDP-CX7000ES blu ray changer. I sent it to the El Paso repair center. They sent me a replacement changer, saying that they could not get the board.

Again, it is very hard for me to "trash" Sony gear, but my choice for a replacement projector was the Panasonic. It is very bright and from my few times of viewing 3D, I would not want anything with less output. You may wish to check out Panasonic's US rebate, good until 12/31. Two pairs of medium size 3D glasses, an extra year's warranty and $100 rebate. They claim it is worth $499.


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## ALMFamily

For me, it would be between the Sony and the Panasonic. I chose the AE7000 when I was searching as I have done a 2.35:1 screen and having the internal switching of picture size is a definite plus for me. My only complaint with the AE7000 was the lack of lumens for 3D - it really drops in brightness when you switch - but early reviews of the 8000 suggest they addressed this issue.

That said, JJ has never steered me wrong so it would be a close call for me between the JVC and the Panny.


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## hjones4841

There still is a significant drop in lumens on 3D on the 8000, but this is my first 3D PJ, so I have nothing to compare it to. As I said earlier, I would not want a projector with lower light output if I was interested in 3D. BTW, jury is still out for me on 3D. Nice effect, but I am beginning to believe I am susceptable to eye strain from it. Not surprising, any type of strobe or flickering lights really bothers me.


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## Todd Anderson

JVC is a good one for sure. If you are installing a 2.35:1... I'd look closely at the JVC and Panny. If not, keep that Sony in there!

The new Sony, the 50, can be had for close to 3K. A buddy of mine just got one from the same guy I bought my RS45 from for about $3200.


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## cr136124

hjones4841 said:


> There still is a significant drop in lumens on 3D on the 8000, but this is my first 3D PJ, so I have nothing to compare it to. As I said earlier, I would not want a projector with lower light output if I was interested in 3D. BTW, jury is still out for me on 3D. Nice effect, but I am beginning to believe I am susceptable to eye strain from it. Not surprising, any type of strobe or flickering lights really bothers me.


Did you change the brightness level of the glasses? At first I noticed the image was way to dark versus my Samsung 51" 3D TV. So, I changed the 3D glasses brightness from Dark to Light and the results were much better while watching Prometheus (movie shot with several dark scenes).

Give it a try and hopefully it will improve your 3D experience a bit.


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## NBPk402

Andre said:


> +1 for checking out reviews as Jack suggested. I personnally lean towards the Panny for its ability to switch from 16:9 and Cinemascope internally with its lens memory feature. However, this is mute if your not considering going to a cinemascope sized screen.


Same here... I def want the Cinemascope size screen option without having to buy another lens. I personally would love to have the best blacks possible but would sacrifice them for the 2.35:1. Which means the Panny is my only option in the price range.


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## natethegreat

Thanks all for the responses! 

Here's the screen I have... http://www.jamestownhometheaterscreen.com/120_screenDiagonal.html

Does this change anyone's opinion on the projector? My room is pretty dark, I'm wondering if the extra lumens are necessary for me for 3d. 

I'm leaning towards better picture quality from the Sony or JVC over a brighter projector assuming the Sony and JVC work with the screen I already bought. Im not seeing any advantages other than brightness possibly in going with the Panasonic. 
Is the Sony or JVC so much darker than the others that I will have to watch everything in the dark or a mildly lit room? Just curious on how big the difference is, or if it really is only an issue when watching 3d. Because the only time I would watch 3d would be a movie, and that would be in complete darkness.

Thanks guys!


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## hjones4841

cr136124 said:


> Did you change the brightness level of the glasses? At first I noticed the image was way to dark versus my Samsung 51" 3D TV. So, I changed the 3D glasses brightness from Dark to Light and the results were much better while watching Prometheus (movie shot with several dark scenes).
> 
> Give it a try and hopefully it will improve your 3D experience a bit.


I have not since I read that changing to Light increases crosstalk. I will give it a try, tho, tonight. Thanks.


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## cr136124

hjones4841 said:


> I have not since I read that changing to Light increases crosstalk. I will give it a try, tho, tonight. Thanks.


Did you have a chance to try it? If yes, please do share your impressions about the impact on brightness and of course, if you notice a significant crosstalk.


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## ALMFamily

natethegreat said:


> Thanks all for the responses!
> 
> Here's the screen I have... http://www.jamestownhometheaterscreen.com/120_screenDiagonal.html
> 
> Does this change anyone's opinion on the projector? My room is pretty dark, I'm wondering if the extra lumens are necessary for me for 3d.
> 
> I'm leaning towards better picture quality from the Sony or JVC over a brighter projector assuming the Sony and JVC work with the screen I already bought. Im not seeing any advantages other than brightness possibly in going with the Panasonic.
> Is the Sony or JVC so much darker than the others that I will have to watch everything in the dark or a mildly lit room? Just curious on how big the difference is, or if it really is only an issue when watching 3d. Because the only time I would watch 3d would be a movie, and that would be in complete darkness.
> 
> Thanks guys!


The advertised screen gain for that screen is 1.2 - I do not think you will have any issues with any of those projectors from a brightness standpoint.


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## BabyHuey

I just recently purchased an HW30aes and cannot be happier. It is the first projector Ive purchased, but the reasons i chose it over the JVC and Panny offering was lower price on replacement bulbs, much lower lag time for gaming, and what seemed to be the best all-around projector compared to the jvc's and panny. 

The jvc seemed to win the battle in solely movie watching with less then stellar 3d compared to the sony. Also, it had lower reliability with the bulb which, from what Ive heard, seems to have been fixed with a newer bulb. Had more lag time for gaming as the sony has a dedicated game mode, and the sony had a 3 year warranty instead of two. 

Downside of the sony is that you can do 2.35:1. If that is a primary concern of yours, then definitely opt for something with the necessary lens memory. 

For me, the sony fit the bill for my particular needs, but id imagine you will be happy with any of the pj's you pick.


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## hjones4841

cr136124 said:


> Did you have a chance to try it? If yes, please do share your impressions about the impact on brightness and of course, if you notice a significant crosstalk.


Not yet. Got Lion King in 3D yesterday, but have only seen a couple of minutes of it. I will change to the Light mode when I get a little viewing time and will report back.

I continue to be impressed with the Panny. Watched a couple of episodes of The Mentalist last night and the color accuracy and contrast were most impressive. I am noticing for the first time an impression of "depth" in 2D video, which I previously thought was other peoples' imagination. I suppose that the only explanation for that is better gray scale tracking as compared to my previous projectors.


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## cr136124

hjones4841 said:


> Not yet. Got Lion King in 3D yesterday, but have only seen a couple of minutes of it. I will change to the Light mode when I get a little viewing time and will report back.
> 
> I continue to be impressed with the Panny. Watched a couple of episodes of The Mentalist last night and the color accuracy and contrast were most impressive. I am noticing for the first time an impression of "depth" in 2D video, which I previously thought was other peoples' imagination. I suppose that the only explanation for that is better gray scale tracking as compared to my previous projectors.


Cool, please post your impression on trying different setups. 

Lion King 3D, uh? I'm heading out in a hunt for Finding Nemo 3D and let's see what else TRU have in store with the buy one get a second one 40% off deal currently running.

Cheers!


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## hjones4841

cr136124 said:


> Cool, please post your impression on trying different setups.
> 
> Lion King 3D, uh? I'm heading out in a hunt for Finding Nemo 3D and let's see what else TRU have in store with the buy one get a second one 40% off deal currently running.
> 
> Cheers!


I did a brief test on only two 3D blu rays last night (before my wife had to watch X-Factor:unbelievable. First, there is a definate difference in brightness between Normal and Light. It is not night and day, tho. On Light, the Panny looks almost as bright as my Sony VPL-HW15 did with the bulb on high. On Normal, as I mentioned before, the image is dimmer, but still very watchable. On Dark, I don't think I would be happy watching a movie. But on a smaller screen (mine is 102") it would likely be just fine.

From my brief test I used several scenes from 3D Lion King and Avatar, both of which have been reviewed as having very good 3D. On Lion King, there was slight crosstalk on Light, manifesting itself as halos to the side of image edges. Not really bad, kinda like edge enhancement when you turn Sharpness way up. On Normal, no crosstalk whatsoever.

Different results on Avatar. No visible crosstalk on either Light or Normal. There were several scenes where I thought something did not look just right on Light, but I could not put my finger on what I thought I saw.

So, at least from my short test, the amount of ghosting seems to depend on source material. It would be nice to have one button on the remote to switch between the two settings; I may be able to do that with a macro on my Harmony remote.

I did turn the 3D IR output from the projector from High to Medium. On High, the IR output was so strong that getting the Panasonic remote to control the projector was difficult. On Medium, the IR output was still adequate for viewing 11 feet back from the screen and remote responsiveness was improved.


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## cr136124

hjones4841 said:


> I did a brief test on only two 3D blu rays last night (before my wife had to watch X-Factor:unbelievable. First, there is a definate difference in brightness between Normal and Light. It is not night and day, tho. On Light, the Panny looks almost as bright as my Sony VPL-HW15 did with the bulb on high. On Normal, as I mentioned before, the image is dimmer, but still very watchable. On Dark, I don't think I would be happy watching a movie. But on a smaller screen (mine is 102") it would likely be just fine.
> 
> From my brief test I used several scenes from 3D Lion King and Avatar, both of which have been reviewed as having very good 3D. On Lion King, there was slight crosstalk on Light, manifesting itself as halos to the side of image edges. Not really bad, kinda like edge enhancement when you turn Sharpness way up. On Normal, no crosstalk whatsoever.
> 
> Different results on Avatar. No visible crosstalk on either Light or Normal. There were several scenes where I thought something did not look just right on Light, but I could not put my finger on what I thought I saw.
> 
> So, at least from my short test, the amount of ghosting seems to depend on source material. It would be nice to have one button on the remote to switch between the two settings; I may be able to do that with a macro on my Harmony remote.
> 
> I did turn the 3D IR output from the projector from High to Medium. On High, the IR output was so strong that getting the Panasonic remote to control the projector was difficult. On Medium, the IR output was still adequate for viewing 11 feet back from the screen and remote responsiveness was improved.


Thanks for your detail impressions. I just added few more 3D movies to test, problem is time to watch them :sad:

I did also experience the issue with the IR output and as you did, I simple switched to medium to resolve the problem. So, if people here is having issues using remotes while watching 3D movies, then you must change the IR output from strong to medium.

How about calibration? Are you planning to calibrate your projector? Or, are you just happy with the picture quality out of the box?


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## hjones4841

cr136124 said:


> Thanks for your detail impressions. I just added few more 3D movies to test, problem is time to watch them :sad:
> 
> I did also experience the issue with the IR output and as you did, I simple switched to medium to resolve the problem. So, if people here is having issues using remotes while watching 3D movies, then you must change the IR output from strong to medium.
> 
> How about calibration? Are you planning to calibrate your projector? Or, are you just happy with the picture quality out of the box?


I did a Calman5 calibration over the weekend and it make a definate improvement in grayscale tracking. When I get some time I will write up a full review; gotta figure out how to get Calman to export reports.


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## cr136124

hjones4841 said:


> I did a Calman5 calibration over the weekend and it make a definate improvement in grayscale tracking. When I get some time I will write up a full review; gotta figure out how to get Calman to export reports.


Cool! 

BTW - I just open a new thread for the Panasonic PT-AE8000U. 

So, if you can add your initial review there and your calibration results it will be great!

Here is the link:

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-theater-projectors/63778-panasonic-pt-ae8000u-us-version-pt-at6000e-european-version-owners-future-owners-thread.html#axzz2EJQISSra

Cheers!


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