Projectors Reviews

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Projectors Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Projectors Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. Projector Central.com	Highly Rated Home Theater Projectors Editors of ProjectorCentral.com As of Dec. 2007		ProjectorCentral.com reviews lots of projectors in detailed single-product reviews that often compare the reviewed product to similar projectors. In addition, the site conducts occasional multi-projector roundups and head-to-head face-offs. Projectors are rated from one to five stars in performance, features, ease of use and value, and top-scoring projectors make their way to a list of Highly Rated models. The best projectors of all earn Editor's Choice Awards. Three current models -- the JVC DLA-RS1U, Optoma HD80 and Mitsubishi HC1500 -- share this distinction, and several other projectors earn five-star ratings for value, performance or both. In addition to reviews, this site also features some interesting articles and buyers' guides.

Projectors Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Projectors Ratings Comments on Reviews

2. ProjectorReviews.com	Home Theater Projector Reviews Art Feierman As of Dec. 2007		ProjectorReviews.com is another prolific projector reviewer. Testing is comprehensive and the detailed discussions are well illustrated. Pros and cons are listed, and a bottom line assessment is made. Most reviews include head-to-head comparisons with each projector's closest competitors. On the downside, the site lacks ratings like those offered by ProjectorCentral.com. In addition, while the best products are given a Hot Product rating, many projectors seem to qualify. Two articles -- Best 1080p Home Theater Projectors and The Hottest Home Theater Projectors -- were helpful when written earlier in 2007, but are now a little dated.
3. CNet.com	Editors' top home-theater projectors Editors of CNet.com Nov. 15, 2007		CNet.com is a great place to find well-detailed, in-depth reviews of home-theater projectors. Each projector is subjected to a battery of standard tests, and the editors do a good job of dissecting practical and technical pluses and minuses. Top-rated projectors make it to this list, and a select few receive an Editors' Choice rating, designating them as a top choice for performance, value, etc. The site has taken a small tumble in this update's ratings because CNet has tested far fewer projectors of late.
4. Sound & Vision Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Shootout: Three Budget HD Front Projectors Al Griffin June 2007		Sound & Vision magazine continuously tests home-theater front projectors in highly detailed single-product reports and multi-projector shootouts like this one, which looks at budget priced 720p front projectors. According to Al Griffin, 720p projectors are now an "incredible deal." In this comparison, both the Sanyo PLV-Z5 and the Sony BRAVIA VPL-AW15 perform well, but the edge goes to the Sony. Both projectors use LCD technology and had some image defects, but the VPL-AW15 delivers great blacks and is a value, garnering it one of Sound & Vision's Certified and Recommended awards. The Planar PD7060 is a DLP projector that has its strong points, but performance "pales" overall compared to the other projectors in this shoot out. Sound & Vision magazine also does detailed single product reviews; the Mitsubishi HC4900 and Optoma HD80 earn recommendations in recent reports. Older recommended projectors include the Optoma HD72, Sony VPL-VW50 and JVC DLA-HD1. The reviews are detailed and easy to read.
5. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	Front projectors: Bring the theater home Editors of Consumer Reports June 2007		According to the editors at Consumer Reports magazine, front-projection TVs are a great way to get a true theater-like experience with a screen that measures 100 inches diagonally or more and with an image quality on a par with the best plasma TVs. The editors note that while front projectors are missing some important features, such as a tuner, their lack of a fixed screen means that you can adjust the image size to fit your room. On the other hand, most need a dim or dark room to look their best. In the magazine's latest update, 13 HD-capable projectors are ranked. The rankings are created through competent and thorough testing, and each recommended projector gets three paragraphs of discussion outlining highs and lows. However, none of the other projectors get any discussion at all. Although this update was not done too long ago, a few projectors are already discontinued.
6. Ultimate AV Magazine	Buyer's Guide: Video Projectors Editors of Ultimate AV As of Dec. 2007		The editors at Ultimate AV magazine cover home-theater projectors in comprehensive single-product reports. Each report has lots of details for the technically inclined. While projectors are not compared directly to each other, recommendations are made in the site's Buyer's Guide, with top-performing projectors called Ultimate Choices (followed by Premier Choices and Budget Choices). One negative is that several discontinued models remain on the lists.
7. Home Theater Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Buyer's Guide: Front Projectors Editors of Home Theater magazine As of Dec. 2007		Home Theater's front projectors buyer's guide lists the projectors that the magazine's editors feel are the top picks currently available and includes a primer to help users before, during and after their purchase. Each listing includes key specifications and features, along with a brief write-up on why each projector was selected for this list. In addition, links lead to full reviews. Unfortunately, those reviews do vary in quality. Some are fairly detailed, providing the results of bench testing and numerical ratings in areas such as performance, value, ergonomics, features and build quality. Others, however, provide little beyond a comment and a list of features.

Projectors Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Projectors Ratings Comments on Reviews

8. The Perfect Vision >> Details/Subscribe	TPV groups the best HDTV’s of 2007 Charlie Robb Oct. 10 2007		The Perfect Vision publishes lots of individual model reports and occasional multi-projector roundups. The reviews are fairly detailed and ratings are assigned for picture quality in HD and standard definition, features, connectivity, value and more. This landing page compiles what Charlie Robb describes as the most highly regarded HDTVs of all technologies, including front projectors. Some of the HDTVs make the list based on their performance, others on their value. Unfortunately, you need to read the individual reviews to see which is which, and there's no way to see which front projector is best overall.
9. Audioholics.com	Featured Projection Reviews Editors of Audioholics.com As of May 2007		Audioholics.com concentrates on high-end gear with reviews that are pages long and include lots of technical details, test results and photos. Projectors are occasionally compared to each other, and ratings are given for performance factors (including detail and resolutions, color reproduction, contrast and black levels and more) as well as practical issues such as features, ease of setup, build quality, ergonomics and others. Overall value and performance ratings are provided. There are no specific recommendations made as to which projectors are best, but editors do recommend some sample home-theater setups. Unfortunately, most of those recommended systems have not been updated in six months or longer, so they are not as useful as they could be.
10. HDTVExpert.com	Projector Reviews Peter Putman As of Dec. 2007		HDTVExpert.com is the creation of Peter Putman, HDTV author, editor and consultant. The site is written blog-style, which makes it a little difficult to use. In addition, projectors are covered only in single-product reviews and are rarely compared to each other. A visit is worthwhile, as the reviews are both technically detailed and easy to read. The site is also packed with tutorials and other information designed to help readers better understand the world of HDTV. Among recent reviews, the Sanyo PLV-Z2000 offers great performance at a nearly unbeatable price, but image processing is a weak point. Mitsubishi’s HC6000 is also an impressive performer, but suffers from a "minor" color issue.
11. Big Picture Big Sound.com	HDTV Televisions and Projectors Joe Lozito As of Dec. 2007		Big Picture Big Sound calls itself, "the site for home theater and movie reviews," but does not review as many front projectors as other sites. That's a shame, because the quality of the reviews here is excellent. There's a lot of technical information here, but it’s clearly written. Bench and viewing tests are conducted, and the results are completely reported. Star ratings are provided, but given the dearth of reviews and the lack of direct comparisons with other front projectors, there's not enough context here to give those any weight or meaning. Both the Panasonic PT-AE1000U and Sanyo PLV-Z2000 get perfect scored.

Projectors Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Projectors Ratings Comments on Reviews

12. Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity	Video Display Reviews Editors of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity As of Dec. 2007		This is a site that aims squarely at the technically sophisticated user, and its projector reviews are loaded with lots of information, including detailed test results and ratings. For the less technically inclined, however, the site is a little maddening to use since projector reviews are grouped with reviews of other types of display devices. In addition, there's no way to tell which reviews are recent without clicking on them, and long-discontinued projectors are seldom deleted. Finally, projectors are not compared to each other or ranked in any way.
13. AVSForum.com	Display Devices Contributors to AVSForum.com As of Dec. 2007		AVSForum.com is a very active user-to-user discussion community that includes two forums dedicated to entertainment projectors -- one for those over $3,000 and one for less expensive projectors. Both forums are chock full of information, including projector specifications, features, problems, fixes, amateur ratings and more. Some of the threads are lengthy, and a few even contain thousands of posts, so be prepared to spend time when looking into a particular projector. The site also features industry news, press releases and other tidbits.
14. Amazon.com	Home Entertainment Projectors Contributors to Amazon.com As of Dec. 2007		Amazon.com has made a few improvements, making this a better place to get user-written reviews of front projectors. For one, entertainment projectors now have their own category instead of being lumped in with business projectors. Secondly, the site has added the number of reviews each product has received to the main landing page, which makes it easier to see if that five-star rating is the result of lots of user feedback or just one owner. Finally, on products with considerable feedback, Amazon.com lists both the most helpful (as determined by readers) favorable review and most helpful critical review. A lot of discontinued projectors are listed, which slows down browsing, and some projectors haven't been reviewed. Still, this is one of the better owner-written review sites and a good place to gather real-world opinions on how well products perform.

Projectors Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Projectors Ratings Comments on Reviews

15. Epinions	Multimedia Projectors Contributors to Epinions As of Dec. 2007		Epinions offers the same advantages and drawbacks as the owner-written commentary found at Amazon.com. Its major drawback is that most current models have even fewer reviews. Its major advantage is that the reviews tend to be longer and more detailed then those at Amazon, which make Epinions an interesting place to check when you have narrowed your choice down to a couple of projectors.