I was prepared to buy a Sanyo PLV-Z1 in the beginning of this year until some financial problems. Since I needed some way of watching movies temporarily, I picked up a 27" TV - Quite a step down...

This thread has me foaming at the mouth for a projector again I am really happy to see the PT-L300's price now that it is available to the US. I hope it drops a little more in the upcoming months, because I'll be back in the market for a projector when I get out of college at the end of this year. I can't wait

Am looking into getting the Panny PT-L300U and just wanted to get some recommendations as to online stores to buy from as well as where to get replacement bulbs (when the time comes that a new one is needed)? Thanks in advance.

Well, I bought a Panny PT-L300U a couple months ago, and I must say it was the best purchase I've made in quite a long time. Watching movies has become a totally different experience. The picture is even better than I thought it would be. Very clear, crisp, and colorful. And depending on the DVD can look even better than what you see at the movie theaters.

I'm projecting on a 120" widescreen DaLite HCCV portable screen. The combination of this screen with this projector produces a phenomenal picture.

I looked at the PLV-Z1, and the Sony HS10 before buying the Panny, and I feel I made the right choice for me. Any of these projectors will make any person extremely happy, but the Sanyo had a little too much screendoor for my liking, and the HS10's black levels were not as good as the Panny, also it was about $600 more than the Panny.

I bought my projector at VisualApex.com. At the time I paid $1,849 for it, so maybe it's cheaper now.

Good luck, and if you have any questions about the projector, don't hesitate to ask.

- DB

just a note...CEDIA is right around the corner and word is that there will be some big announcements regarding new models and superb pricing. the replacements to the L300U, HS-10, Z1, and X1 are literally about 3 months away. obviously there are always better models arriving but if you don't have to buy today you might be well served to hold off a few weeks. even if the new models are out of your price range...or too far from shipping, you might start to see the current crop drop in price once the announcements are made.

This thread is making me consider purchasing a projector. I'm still in the learning stages about them, so I have a pretty basic question. Can the PT-L300U function as a HDTV monitor? If not, what's the next step up money-wise to one that will?

Check out the sharp xvz90 it to can now be had for under 2k

yes, and no. while it can accept 1080i and 720p signals, it's native resolution is only 960x540...a resolution that falls somewhere between SDTV and HDTV. if you must have HDTV the step up would be the Sony HS-10 which has a native resolution of 1366x768 and also has a DVI input which supports HDCP. some, however, feel that the Sony lacks black levels and shadow detail found in other comparably price projectors.

the one thing you will definitely learn while researching projectors is there is no such thing as a perfect projector. decide what features are most important to you and see the models you are considering in person before you buy if possible.

Even though it can't display the full resolution of HDTV, the L300U is supposed to at least be very "HDTV friendly" because it scales perfectly to 1/2 of the horizontal and vertical dimensions of HDTV's 1920x1080.

Because of that you can probably get away with not needing a computer or external scalar to do a nice job with those signals.

If you plan on watching a lot of HDTV, definitely check out the Sony HS-10. I watched the Pannie 300 and the Sony back to back under controlled circumstances and everyone in the room found the Sony much better for HDTV.

i watched the super bowl in HD on the sony HS-10...and it looked fantastic. dvds, however, only looked average.