Projector Reviews

In the past few months we've seen a revolution in the video projection business. A revolution no one expected. The prices of home theater front projectors have been dropping nearly as fast as flat panel displays.

CEDIA 2006 was something of a riches to rags story. We saw many three-chip 1080p DLP projectors announced at prices that were ridiculous and embarrassing, stretching into the many tens of thousands of dollars. And they were introduced with straight faces. Granted, these are high light output designs that can drive enormous screens. But I didn't find these many of these designs particularly interesting. Too many recently announced projectors appear to be aimed at the ultra-wealthy sliver of the market, and don't back up their high prices by offering technical innovation that can't be found in more reasonably priced models. About the only things these announcements did was to make the $15-20K single-chip DLPs seem like they aren't quite as hideously over priced!

When 1080p home theater projectors were introduced a year or so ago, a funny thing happened on the way to the party.

The Sharp XV-Z20000 is the third 1080p single-chip DLP projector to pass through our doors. At $11,999 it bucks a growing trend to less expensive, high resolution projectors. But it's far lower in price than competitors such as the $20,000 <A HREF=" http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/506marantzvp11s1/"> Marantz VP-11S1</A> or SIM2's $15K <A HREF="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/firstlookvideoprojectors/506sim2ht3000/">
HT3000</A>. And it offers a lot for the money.

• $4,000 (MAP)
• 1920x1080 three-chip LCD
• Key Connections: Dual HDMI inputs

Sure, 1080p is getting all the buzz, but even the cheapest 1080p displays are still really pricey. For example, the lowest-priced 1080p projector is 4.5 times the price of this little Optoma. The HD70, while "only" 720p, has a distinction all its own that makes it one of the coolest products to come out in months: It's the lowest-priced HD projector ever.

• $5,000
• 1920x1080 threee-chip SXRD
• Key Connections: Dual HDMI inputs, two component inputs, one RGB on 15-pin DSUB, one Ethernet