Buyers Guide to New Home Theater Projectors Launched at CEDIA 2008 - Part 1: Low Cost 1080p Projectors

Low Cost 1080p home theater projectors: Epson Home Cinema 6100, Panasonic PT-AE3000U , Mitsubishi HC6500, Sanyo PLV-Z700

1080P New Home Theater Projectors - Most affordable
1080P New Home Theater Projectors - Mid-Priced
720p New Home Theater projectors

9/11/2008 -Art Feierman

New entries from the "Big 4" of 3LCD home theater projectors: Panasonic, Epson, Sanyo and Mitsubishi. Each has introduced a new projector that ups the performance compared to last years' entries. In this case, keep in mind that the Mitsubishi Diamond, the HC6500 (great - two names for one projector), isn't their entry level 1080p projector. We recently reviewed their lower cost HC5500. I've also included in this discussion, the Sanyo PLV-Z700 announced a few weeks ago, but not shown at CEDIA, since it is a direct competitor to these others, as is the well established Sanyo PLV-Z2000 which remains in the line-up, but, with better specs than the PLV-Z700 for a higher price. I should also mention that that there are rumors going around, online, about a PLV-Z3000, as Sanyo's top of the line, but that may, if it exists at all, be months away.

The Mitsubishi and Panasonic PT-AE3000U are going to be more expensive than the Epson Home Cinema 6100, which has an MSRP of only $1999, and the Sanyo PLV-Z700 (MSRP of $1995). The Epson and Sanyo are now, at least based on list price, the lowest cost of all the 1080p home theater projectors to date.

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Each has particular strengths, and, I assume, weaknesses, compared to the other two. The Mitsubishi, like its predecessor, the HC6000, should have the sharpest image, and the others should be close behind. The Mitsubishis will be the quietest in terms of audible noise, but all are pretty quiet. The Mitsubishi HC6500 also has the advantage of the longest lamp life rating in low brightness mode - 5000 hours - which reduces the cost of ownership. Technically, the lower cost Mitsubishi HC5500 - recently reviewed more closely fits in this group, from a price standpoint, so I've touched on both.

The Panasonic PT-AE3000U is improved over the PT-AE2000U (currently the best selling 1080p projector), in contrast and black level performance. I saw a side by side between their two models, and the improvement is very visible. The Mitsubishi HC6500, with its improved iris should also show improvement, as will the Epson Home Cinema 6100, compared to the older Home Cinema 1080 (not the Home Cinema 1080 UB).

Of this group, only the Panasonic, is offering frame interpolation to pretty much eliminate motion blur, although the next projector up in the Epson line, the 6500 UB, also offers frame interpolation. I'll be posting an article very soon, regarding this "new" capability.

Please note, I've already mentioned these projectors in a series of recent blogs (click on the models to go to the blogs):

PT-AE3000U
Epson Home Cinema 6100
Mitsubishi HC6500 Diamond
Sanyo PLV-Z700

Of the four projectors, only the Epson Home Cinema 6100 offers up manual zoom, focus, and lens shift, whilte the other three are fully motorized.

This time around, Panasonic has taken new advantage of their motorized lens by allowing a lens setting memory that can be used to simulate use of an anamorphic lens, for those wanting to go to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio screen for true Cinemascope without letter boxing. Basically, it zooms and stretches the image, to maintain the proper aspect ratio to fill that screen. I'm very excited to see how that works in real life. I saw the feature demo'ed but didn't get a close look at the controls.

Epson, since this is their entry level of 4 new 1080p projectors, has saved some nice goodies for the higher end models, but should prove to be visibly superior to the Home Cinema 1080 it replaces.

The Mitsubishi HC6500, is the most expensive of the group (or so I assume from the list prices), but not likely to sell for that much more than the Panasonic PT-AE3000U. The HC6500, with its new improved dynamic iris, and LCD panels, should definitely improve upon the older HC6000, which has been a very good, and very popular projector in its own right.

Of all of these, the Panasonic PT-AE3000U is the only one with a spectacular contrast number, 60,000:1. All the others fall between 18,000:1 (Epson) and 10,000:1 (Sanyo Z700). Based on that, it should have the best black levels. Certainly the difference between it, and the PT-AE2000U (U stands for US version), in black levels is quite visible, and the older PT-AE2000U was pretty good, in this regard.

So, what we have here, with this group, looks something like this:

• Epson Home Cinema 6100, Sanyo PLV-Z700 will be the two low price leaders. That should be followed closely by the Mitsubishi HC5500, then the Panasonic PT-AE3000U, and finally, the most expensive, the Mitsubishi HC6500.
• The Panasonic, most likely will have the best black level performance, with the Epson, the Sanyo Z2000, and the Mitsubishi HC6500 not quite as good. The Sanyo PLV-Z700 and the Mitsubishi HC5500 will likely be the weakest of the field. That said, even the least of these provides pretty respectable black level performance, and can most likely outperform any of the 720p projectors, in this regard.
• In terms of brightness - in brightest mode, I expect the Epson to be at the top of the list, with the Panasonic, and perhaps, the Mitsubishi HC6500 next, and the rest a step down.
• Brightness in best mode, is much harder to guess at. The Mitsubishi HC5500 (reviewed) pumps out almost 650 lumens, and that may end up being the brightest of the low cost 1080p projectors. The HC6500 (based on the older HC6000's measurements), and the Panasonic PT-AE3000U will probably be pretty similar, sharing the 3rd and 4th slots, with the Epson likely in second, but only slightly brighter than the Panasonic and Mitsubishi HC6500. Sanyo, never known for bright projectors should be at the bottom of the pack
• Placement flexibility. While the Epson (2.1:1 zoom ratio) has a slight edge on the Panasonic and the Sanyo projectors (they all have 2:1 zoom ratios). No real difference, between them all. The Mitsubishis though, are more limited, with the HC6500 having only a 1.6:1 zoom (not bad), and only 1.2:1 for the HC5500 (as limiting as it gets, and the same as most DLP projectors have). All have adjustable vertical lens shift, and all with very good range, except for the Mitsubishi HC5500 which is more limited, but not a big issue. The HC5500 lacks horizontal lens shift, while the others all have it. Horizontal lens shift means you can place the projector off-center, from left to right, if need be.
• Audible noise levels - traditionally, 3LCD projecors (all of these) are quieter than DLP models, but the range varies. The two Mitsubishis are virtually silent, and the Sanyo projectors and the Panasonic are not far behind. The new Epson should be a small step up in noise levels, but should also be noticeably quieter than the Home Cinema 1080 it replaces. Even the older Epson was not bad, although it makes enough noise at full power, to bother some. Bottom line - audible noise should not be an issue with any of these.
• Green: Energy efficiency: There won't be much variation here, either. All of the projectors use lamps between 160 and 200 watts. You can argue that those with 200 watt lamps will use 25% more electricity, but they are likely to also be the brighter ones. If that holds, then running any of them in low power (often called eco-mode), will reduce the wattage to the lamp by 20-25%, bringing reasonable parity in both brightness and power consumption. If you end up with a brighter model, but that allows you to run at low power, then you also get more hours out of your lamp, saving you even more.
• Frame Interpolation, to eliminate motion blur: Only found on the Panasonic PT-AE3000U, of this group. A number of more expensive 1080p projectors, however are using this technology, including the Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB, which shouldn't be that much more expensive than the PT-AE3000U.

 

OK, that's enough for this segment. I think it's safe to say, that all of the new projectors will be reviewed by me by early November, although the Epson - not due until December may not be available. On the bright side, Epson does also have a Pro version; the Pro Cinema 7100, which is almost identical to the Home Cinema 6100. The "big" difference is that the Pro version is ISF Certified and has two additional memory areas (for ISF calibrators only), and, I think, support for an anamorphic lens. Since the Epson already has 9 or 10 user memories, not a big deal. If I can lay my hands on the Pro Cinema 7100 before the Home Cinema 6100, I'll review it, and that should tell you what you need to know about the Home Cinema 6500U.

This group and the next more expensive group, make up the bulk of the market, and thus, these projectors and those selling for more than these, but under $6000 are my top review priorities.

Next we'll consider the "more expensive" projectors. In this Buyer's Guide to Home Theater Projectors, I'm going to limit the conversation to models that sell for $8000 or less.

1080P New Home Theater Projectors - Most affordable
1080P New Home Theater Projectors - Mid-Priced
720p New Home Theater projectors