JVC and Epson remain the projector brands to beat at the What Hi-Fi? Awards

[What Hi-Fi?]

Looking to super your screen? We have three winners in our best projector category at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2021.

JVC and Epson remain the projector brands to beat at the What Hi-Fi? Awards : Read more

 

[abacus]

For me personally I consider any consumer projector over £5000 that does not have a laser light source to be a complete and utter rip off in 2021, so I don’t consider the lower 4K JVCs should have any form of buy or recommended badge at all.
As to the Epson’s mentioned then they should always be on the list when comparing projectors, as while they have some disadvantages compared to DLP projectors, they also have many advantage.

Bill

 

[Arron]

For me personally I consider any consumer projector over £5000 that does not have a laser light source to be a complete and utter rip off in 2021, so I don’t consider the lower 4K JVCs should have any form of buy or recommended badge at all.
As to the Epson’s mentioned then they should always be on the list when comparing projectors, as while they have some disadvantages compared to DLP projectors, they also have many advantage.

Bill

That is very much a personal opinion. I get through 2000-3000 hours of lamp life each year. Lamps are an essential to me.

 

[abacus]

If you use your projector that much then you will typically need to purchase 10 lamps over 10yr (Which depending on projector can be very expensive), whereas the laser based units will easily cover the 10yr without needing replacement, thus will probably be cheaper in the long run. (Laser light sources last at least around 10 times longer than a lamp)
Laser light is also usually brighter and more consistent over time so less calibration is required over time, whereas lamp projectors need calibrating at least at every lamp change but usually more. (Obviously how accurate you want the picture to be during a projectors lifespan will determine this)
The above is as I mentioned in my first post why I personally consider any projector over £5000 without a laser light source is a total rip off in 2021.

Bill

 

[Deleted member 196519]

For me personally I consider any consumer projector over £5000 that does not have a laser light source to be a complete and utter rip off in 2021, so I don’t consider the lower 4K JVCs should have any form of buy or recommended badge at all.
As to the Epson’s mentioned then they should always be on the list when comparing projectors, as while they have some disadvantages compared to DLP projectors, they also have many advantage.

Bill

Agree. 👍

 

[Arron]

Lasers are still lamps. Those lamps degrade over time. They don't fire lasers at the screen (which would be dangerous) they fire them at a phosphor.

Let's go with an average use of 2500 hours a year for me. That means a laser projector would last ~8 years. In year 8 with a lamp based projector, I can put a new lamp in and it's as good as the day I bought it. Alternatively, I can have a pile of useless junk that cost £5000+ and is now worth £0.

 

[abacus]

Lasers are still lamps. Those lamps degrade over time. They don't fire lasers at the screen (which would be dangerous) they fire them at a phosphor.

Let's go with an average use of 2500 hours a year for me. That means a laser projector would last ~8 years. In year 8 with a lamp based projector, I can put a new lamp in and it's as good as the day I bought it. Alternatively, I can have a pile of useless junk that cost £5000+ and is now worth £0.

It would last about 10yr with your use (Which is higher than most users) and by that time projectors will have moved on significantly, so any projector will be pretty much worthless, and while you could put your 10th lamp in (You could also change the laser light source) you could buy a budget projector that would blow your old higher end projector away, so would there be any point in putting a new lamp in. (Look back at high end projectors from 10yr ago and they fall short of today’s modern budget projectors in virtually every measure)
As I mentioned in my previous post lamps do not have the consistency of a laser light source over time. (The dimming curve of a laser light source is more predictable which means it is easier for the software in a projector to adapt to it over time thus requiring less calibration)

Bill

 

[Arron]

It would last about 10yr with your use (Which is higher than most users) and by that time projectors will have moved on significantly, so any projector will be pretty much worthless, and while you could put your 10th lamp in (You could also change the laser light source) you could buy a budget projector that would blow your old higher end projector away, so would there be any point in putting a new lamp in.

No. My Panasonic 3000 cost £2200 in 2009 and was still the equal of projectors at about half that when it was retired last year.

(You could also change the laser light source)

Not aware of any laser projector that has a replaceable lamp. They'll get there eventually but the laser lamps are currently about 50% of the cost of the projector.

As I mentioned in my previous post lamps do not have the consistency of a laser light source over time. (The dimming curve of a laser light source is more predictable which means it is easier for the software in a projector to adapt to it over time thus requiring less calibration)

Laser lamps are colour-consistent but dim over time. The life of a laser projector is normally measured as its time to the lamp reaching its half-way point. In other words, if I bought a 20,000 hour laser projector that started at 3000 lumens, in year 8 it would be down to 1500 lumens.

Like I said, your original comment was a personal one. Lasers are fine for light-occasional use but for a moderate-to-heavy user like me they're a waste of money.