July 25, 2005

Wanna Buy a $10,000 Home Theater Projector for $3,000?

Just two or three years ago, a 800-1000 lumen, 720p native resolution, 2000:1 contrast ratio DLP™ projector would have cost you around $10,000. We can now offer you one for just $2,999 with a three-year warranty to boot. If you have been biding your time for the prices to drop, it's time to start paying attention again.

Lower Prices on DLP™ Home Theater Projectors

Low price, high-resolution, LCD home theater projectors have been selling like hotcakes for the past year, as their prices have approached the $1,000 mark (see Sanyo Z2). But high-resolution DLP™ projectors are among the most significant price reductions to date.

A look inside DLP™ technology

More about DLP™ Projection Technology

DLP™ front projectors come in two varieties: single-chip and three-chip. Projector People carries primarily the single-chip variety, which compile the majority of DLP™ projectors sold. Three-chip DLP™ projectors cost significantly more, pricing them out of the average consumer's pocket book.

Inside the single-chip DLP™ projector is a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) which has up to 1.3 million tiny mirrors (depending on resolution) each representing a single pixel. These mirrors tilt back and forth, deflecting light as indicated by the source and create an image by reflecting the light of the lamp. Color is produced by a fast-spinning color wheel that alternates the light hitting the mirrors in red, green, and blue.

Popular High-Resolution Home Theater Projectors Compared
Specification Optoma H77 (DLP™ - HD2 plus) Optoma H78 (DLP™ - DC3) Panasonic PT-AE700U (LCD)
Resolution WXGA-H (1280 x 720) WXGA-H (1280 x 720) WXGA-H (1280 x 720)
Brightness 900 lumens 800 lumens 1000 lumens
Contrast Ratio 3500:1 4000:1 2000:1
Regular Price $2,999 $3,999 $2,199
Warranty 3 years 2 years 1 year

Comparing DLP™ Projectors

When comparing DLP™ projectors, you will want to understand the two critical components: the type of DMD chip and the style of color wheel used.

DMD Chip

Texas Instruments is the sole manufacturer of DLP™ chips, and is the brain-trust behind DLP™ technology. You will most likely find one of three different kinds of chips in a new DLP™ home theater projector. The brand new DarkChip 3, HD2 plus or the original HD2. The newer chips will have the highest contrast ratios, at approximately 4000:1 (Optoma H78). The HD2 produced contrast ratios around 2500:1, and the HD2 plus as high as 3500:1 (Optoma H77).

Color Wheel

Color wheels are broken into segments. Early DLP™'s had 4-segment wheels with red, green, blue, and white (RGB-W) while newer projectors (like the Optoma H78) can have as many as 8 segments with 2 windows of red, green, blue, and dark green. The newer color wheels allow for brighter images while maintaining DLP™ color saturation.

Our most popular Optoma projectors are among the best DLP™ values on the market. Consider some of the following features in our two most popular Optoma projectors.

  • Eight-segment Color Wheels (Red, Blue, Green, Dark Green x2)
  • 3500-4000:1 contrast ratios (DarkChip 3 and HD2 plus)
  • 3,000 hour lamp life
  • 3-year warranty on H77 (third year offer exclusive to Projector People)
  • High-altitude sensor for improved lamp life in high altitudes
  • Advanced cooling systems for quieter operation and cooler chassis

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July 14, 2005

Panasonic PT-L500U Home Theater projector

Steve Perry, Panasonic PT-L500U owner since February 2005 says...

"We really love the theater and have been buying widescreen movies ever since it was completed. Even the guys at the home builders supply yard have been keeping track of my progress and want to check out the theater. They sort of feel like they had a hand in its creation since I bought all the wood there! People who have visited don't have a clue when they walk into the theater how impressive the image is going to be. Many have been "converted" to home theater fans...

Click here to view full showroom.

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July 06, 2005

Let Your Light Shine

Ambient Light, Brightness, and Color

Just a few years ago, a projector was considered 'ultra-bright' if it was able to produce 1000 lumens of brightness. Now 1000 lumens has become a benchmark for a value projector. A 1000 lumen projector can still produce images that are visible in a room with the lights on. However, it typically takes a brighter projector to make the colors 'pop' the way they do when the lights are turned off. Contrast ratio can also impact the boldness of color, but brightness often reduces the effects of high contrast. Projectors that are both bright and high contrast generally cost more than the value models.

New 'Daylight View'™ Technology Provides Better Color with Fewer Lumens

Panasonic has taken an innovative approach to dealing with ambient light and 'washed-out' images. Rather than making a brighter or higher contrast projector, which greatly increases the cost, they have focused on making the image appear brighter, with richer colors, by optimizing the 'color space' produced. This ingenious (and patented) process called Daylight View™ delivers a 50% improvement in perceptible image performance without dramatically increasing the cost.

How Does Daylight View™ Work?

The Daylight View system uses three essential components to compensate for washed out color. They include: an Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) which measures the amount of light in the room, a Daylight View™ Circuit that computes the best color adjustments, and smart LCD panels that respond and produce the adjusted colors onto the screen.

The patented process detects room light and electronically adjusts the colors displayed by the projector to give the image more pop, delivering a 50% improvement in image performance. Colors deepen, appearing richer and truer to the naked eye. The circuitry also adjusts the white point to compensate for both the blue cast of fluorescent and yellow cast of incandescent lighting.

Working for the Weekend

Many business projectors make their way home for the weekends. Front projectors may fair well under the florescent lights at work, but nighttime is a better time to host your big screen projector party, as most business projectors are not bright enough to display giant images in a room with sunlight. You should also note that when displaying video, your actual lumen output may vary from manufacturers specified levels, due to the lower luminance output from video signals. Variations differ from projector to projector, so contact a Projector People representative to find out more.

Brightness Guide

For a general brightness guidelines, check out our Projector Brightness Guide which is complete with suggested lumen ratings for various screen sizes. For more information on projectors and brightness, contact a Projector Expert today.

Panasonic's Daylight View™ Technology is available on their LB20 and LB30 series line of projectors including the Panasonic PT-LB20U

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