UltimateAVmag.com: Buyer's Guide: Video Projectors: Premier Choice

	UAV Recommends. These components offer outstanding performance that is just short of the Ultimate, but still worthy of consideration for your system.


	BenQ W10000 $5,999 (Est. Street Price) 1920x1080 single-chip DLP One HDMI input Manually adjustable iris Motorized zoom, focus and vertical lens shift Accepts 1080p/24 signals Very short throw distance The Skinny: This 1080p DLP offers a compelling blend of powerful light output and deep blacks. It's not the best we've seen with the latter, but with all that light output the image still has excellent contrast thanks in part to its adjustable iris (static, not dynamic). This makes this projector the choice for those of you who want to go larger than life with the screen size-this baby has the pixel count and the light output, and a bigger screen will drop the black levels some too. The detail and color are terrific, with a pleasant lack of phosphorescent greens. Presumably due to the high light output, rainbows are a little more persistent than the best single-chip units we've seen, and the gamma lacks punch in the low to middle grays. A very solid effort that's only compromised by the intense competition in these lower price points.
	Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080p $3,999 1920x1080 three-chip LCD One HDMI input Dynamic iris for deep, rich blacks Vertical and horizontal lens shift Accepts 1080p/24 signals The Skinny: This Epson projector does so many things right! Although it's softer than some of the other 1080p projectors out there, and has low-ish light output, it also has excellent blacks and (especially after calibration) realistic, natural-looking colors and a rich, film-like image that we like a lot. It even looks pretty darned good right out of the box. If this PJ were just a ahir sharper, it would be at the top of its price category, but as is it's still an easy recommendation.
	Panasonic PT-AE1000U $5,999 1920x1080 three-chip LCD Dual HDMI inputs Dynamic iris for deep, rich blacks Vertical and horizontal lens shift Accepts 1080p/24 signals and displays them at 72Hz The Skinny: Another legit choice in the growing category of affordable 1080p front projection. This Panasonic offers a great degree of adjustability and excellent balance in performance with terrific blacks and contrast, superb color, and a silky smooth and naturally detailed image. Although it absolutely requires a calibration to look its best, and the light output is on the low side, this is a compelling choice in 1080p front projection that often sells for so much less than its official MSRP that we cosnidered putting making it a Budget Choice pic.
	Sony VPL-VW50 "Pearl" $5,000 1920x1080 three-chip SXRD Dual HDMI inputs New, advanced dynamic iris for deep, rich blacks Vertical lens shift Accepts 1080p/24 signals and displays them at 96Hz The Skinny: The Pearl is here because of its performance, not its price tag. It's not as sharp or crisp as the 1080p DLPs, but its blacks and contrast are the best there is, and it produces a sumptuous, natural image with any source. It not only has no weaknesses, its so stong across the board we recently tagged it Best Value of 2006 for offering this level of performance at a price that opens up the top quality projection market to that many more people, which is a considerable triumph!
	Sony VPL-VW100 $10,000 1920x1080 three-chip SXRD One each HDMI and HDCP-compatible DVI inputs Dynamic iris adjustment for deep, rich blacks Vertical lens shift Color point adjustment The Skinny: Sony shook up the industry by introducing this three-chip 1080p projector at a lower price than one can get a top-line, 720p single-chip DLP. In fact, the "Ruby" has a newer SXRD chip set than Sony's own $30K flagship, the Qualia 004, and it offers a dynamic iris for blacks that are far superior. In fact, the blacks and contrast of this projector set a standard among digital designs, no matter what the price. Although this projector has a few quirks, it's a must-see for anyone looking for a top-notch projector.