A newbie seeking advise on a projector

Gmood1,

Yes, the JVC's look real nice also. Saw the big JVC being driven by Fios about a month ago and was blown away. Now, if Verizion could get their act together in my neighborhood....

Yes, the fans in the Sony's are loud. I sit right beneath my Mitsu and I can not hear the fan while watching TV. The fan in the Pany was quite enough as to not be a distraction.

I own the Mitsu HC5500. I sold my Panasonic to Chad. I can say without any hesitation that the blacks on the Pany are better than the Mitsu. So, it's a tradeoff between the two units: more detail on the Mitsu, better blacks on the Pany. One advantage the Pany has over the Mitsu is the higher light output which makes daytime viewing much better even in a darkened room.

As for bulb life, there are many factors that determine it such as number of bulb cycles, temperature of room (too hot or too cold) ventilation and the possibility of buying a bulb made on a Friday. I've had bulbs that were rated to last 2000 hours go for over 3000. And, I've had bulbs rated for 5000 hours last 1200. My last bulb on the Mitsu lasted 1200 hours on low power setting and Chad’s last bulb lasted about 450 hours. Anyway, if you plan on watching your projector a lot, plan on at least one bulb a year and if you don't watch it a lot, plan on at least one bulb a year.

I've owned a Pany 500u, 700u, 900u, 100ax and the Mitsu over that last 6 years. In addition, I've had lots of experience with the big Sony’s. The big Sony’s have gorgeous pictures, but they are big, have lower light output and eat bulbs. YMMV.

Chad,

Sorry about the confusion.