The top 3 home theater projectors
There is a common misunderstanding about home theater systems in that a particular brand or configuration will work equally well in any setting. Many owners of home theater systems buy one that is not really suitable to their environment and then cannot figure out why they are not getting that level of satisfaction they had expected. The reason for this is that knowledge about the key factors related to home theater systems is lacking. Many folks just make a beeline for them because they are the latest trend or because the neighbors have one. Consequently, they pay little attention to the various technologies and their advantages and disadvantages as well as which model will fit best in their home.
There are three things that play a crucial role in your home theatre experience. These are picture quality, sound quality, and acoustics. You cannot be much about acoustics except move into another room that is better. Sound quality depends on the speakers and the surround sound format. Picture quality depends on three things: basic resolution, video source, and brightness uniformity.
Native resolution
If you look closely, you will note that home theater systems will have codes like WVGA, HD, and WXGA-H. These codes specify different formats and hence different screen resolutions. Picture quality is directly related to resolution with higher resolutions offering more clarity and detail. The WXGA-H offers the highest display resolution of 1280x720, which is quite suitable for viewing High Definition (HD) content. Note that if you have a regular DVD player then it will run at 480 resolution so unless you are planning to get a HD-DVD you do not need a WXGA-H screen or television.
Video source
The video source will also affect your final experience. No amount of advanced technology can improve on a recorded signal of low quality. In fact, a low quality signal will only appear worse when it is amplified because the impurities will get amplified too. What this means is that the display resolution must be closest to the recorded resolution for you to enjoy the benefits. So watching a 480p-recorded DVD on a 1080p HDTV is not going to make it look any better and watching a 1080p HD-DVD will look like a regular DVD if the display screen supports 480p only. The only workaround this problem is by using a few models of video projectors that can factor in these differences before they project the image on to a projector screen. This is known as projector scaling technology and it is not available in all models.
Brightness uniformity
If you have ever seen an old laptop screen you must have noticed that the center of the screen is brighter and clearer than the outer edges. LCD and Plasma screens tend to suffer from a lack of brightness uniformity. This basically refers to the ability of the screen to show a common level of brightness all over the display area. This makes a more consistent image and is less stressful on your eyes. It is almost impossible to determine the brightness uniformity problem in new displays because the internal components are all fresh. You must read some technical reviews to find out what brand has the highest brightness uniformity. The uniformity rating that is reported by these technical reviews must be at least 85% of higher.
Here are the top 3 home theater projectors.
Mitsubishi HC5000BL
Mitsubishi HC5000BL is the lowest-priced 1080p model in the top 3 home theater projectors. The color quality in this video projector is very good and it has excellent de-interlacing and scaling features. The projector also features an electric powered 1.6x zoom and focus lens. The fan noise has a low decibel rating and is barely noticeable.
Sanyo PLV-75
Sanyo PLV-75 is a good wide-screen projector. It features 1950 ANSI lumens and also has an electric powered zoom and lens shift mechanism. This video projector is better suited for big home theaters and also makes a good installation in sports bars. The video projector supports the HD standard.