Introduction There has never been a better time to take the plunge into a big-screen, front-projection home theater. Why, you ask? Two reasons: the products available have never been better in terms of picture quality and performance, and the prices have never been this affordable. A virtual plethora of front projectors are on the market in the $3,000 to $5,000 range, vying for your hard-earned dollars. The two technologies in front projection in this price range are LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and DLP (Digital Light Processing). I tend to prefer the latter over LCD, because DLP, when designed well, provides superior picture quality, due mainly to its better black-level performance, and its superior color saturation. Enter the Mitsubishi HC3000 1280 x 768 resolution one-chip DLP projector, which retails for $3,900. This projector utilizes the Dark Chip 2 DMD chip from Texas Instruments, a step down from the newer Dark Chip 3, which provides slightly better black-level performance. ...

Introduction Is the Marantz VP-12S4 the best single-chip DLP projector on the market? It is a question that has been asked many times before in many showrooms and many online home theater forums. The VP-12S4 at $14,499 is the latest and most expensive in Marantz’s line of VP-12 DLP projectors. The S4 builds upon the proven platform that has utilized the Texas Instruments HD2+ DLP chipset. The S4 uses the latest iteration, the DarkChip 3, which increases the fill factor by reducing the space between pixels. This chipset also features improved contrast and faster operating speed over the prior chipset (the DC2). Other major changes between the S3 and the S4 include the addition of a new lens option and a change from Faroudja to Gennum video processing. The VP-12S4 is a full-featured projector. In addition to the above described features, the S4 has three Konica-Minolta lens options to fit nearly every possible throw range, ...

Introduction The H79 is the latest top-of-the-line DLP projector from Optoma and one of the first on the market to utilize Texas Instruments’ new DarkChip3. The H79 is priced at $9,999, a competitive sum for a top of the line projector with the newest video chip technology. The DarkChip3 is the latest iteration in the HD2+ series of DLP chips and improves upon the prior Mustang chip by closing the gap between panels, making the reverse side of the panels more light-absorbent, as well as removing the dimple on each of the panels. Like the prior HD2+ series chips, the DarkChip3 features a HD-capable resolution of 1,280 x 720 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. These changes increase contrast and help the H79 obtain its reported 4,500:1 contrast ratio. It was not clear how this projector was measured to get such incredibly high contrast numbers, considering that many other top projectors costing many ...

Introduction I have been looking at getting a new, mid-priced video projector. My trusty old CRT, after years of service in my theater, is requiring too much maintenance from the technician. The InFocus ScreenPlay 7205 was first recommended to me by a good friend of mine who designs and installs ultra-high-end home theater systems as a worthy contender in the under $10,000 field of projectors. At the time of the recommendation, the 7205 was retailing for $8,999; the current retail price is now down to $4,999. The InFocus ScreenPlay 7205 is a DLP-based projector. If you are not familiar with DLP technology I highly recommend that you take a look at the www. DLP.com website for an excellent walkthrough of the technology. The 7205 features Texas Instruments’ HD2+ Mustang chip. Like all digital displays, this projector has a fixed resolution. The DLP chip features a resolution of 1280 x 720 and improves upon the prior HD2 ...

Introduction The home theater universe has been expanding geometrically ever since the video projector broke onto the scene, and it took another leap when digital projectors became available. The newer models gave us much higher brightness, easy installation and lower cost, but lagged behind on black level and smoothness of image. Since black level is crucial to a quality home theater display, the CRT projector remained the system of choice for affluent, tech-savvy enthusiasts. However, in the past year, digital video technology has advanced to the point that I decided to look for a digital replacement for the venerable CRT projector that has been heart and soul of my living room AV system. About 10 years ago, I designed a custom 100-inch rear-projection system for my living room, using a lenticular-freznel (rear-oriented) screen, driven by a DWIN HD-500 CRT projector. Thousands of hours of use now calls for a replacement. Searching through the products that might ...