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Televisions<br />
Projectors<br />
If you really want to feel like you’re in a theater, you’re gonna need a projector<br />
(and a big-ass room). Luckily, you can have a sweet one for about<br />
three grand. Or, spend $25K and achieve movie-watching nirvana. —C.C.<br />
EDITORS’<br />
PICK<br />
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080<br />
$3,100 • epson.com<br />
At first the picture was a tad dark. But after cranking up the brightness and<br />
contrast, it looked every bit as good as any LCD or pla<strong>sm</strong>a we tested—and<br />
almost as good as projectors clocking in at many times the price. We also appreciated<br />
its two-way lens adjustment, which simplifies off-center and shortthrow<br />
installations. But what really kills is the price: $3K for righteous 1080p.<br />
WIRED Simple, useful menu system. Excellent video processing, which<br />
means a great picture from just about any HD source. Quiet.<br />
TIRED Cream-colored case looks like a relic from an ’80s boardroom.<br />
Thankfully, it’ll likely end up ceiling-mounted and out of sight.<br />
Meridian D-ILA1080 MF1<br />
$25,995 • meridian-audio.com<br />
Like a Shelby Mustang, this projector starts life as a stocker (from JVC). Then<br />
Meridian soups it up with a Faroudja outboard video processor and tunes it to<br />
perfection by color-correcting its three LCDs pixel by pixel. It even ships with an<br />
“optimization report” from the tech who hand-tweaked it. The result: pleasingly<br />
accurate color and spot-on performance from any HD video source.<br />
WIRED Full-res HD (1080p). Aced every single one of our video-processing<br />
tests. Picture looked clear even four feet from our 110-inch test screen.<br />
TIRED Offers single component and DVI inputs—and that’s it, no HDMI. But<br />
if you have the roll to score this rig, you can afford a digital switchbox, too.<br />
Sharp XV-Z20000<br />
$9,000 • sharpusa.com<br />
Sharp’s flagship DLP home-theater projector delivers what you’d expect for<br />
$9K: a bright, clean picture, noticeably <strong>sm</strong>oother than most 1080p projectors we<br />
tested. Color wasn’t perfect out of the box, but with easy-to-navigate menus,<br />
which offer more adjustments than any other projector—or TV—in our test,<br />
we quickly fixed it. It’s <strong>sm</strong>art, too, handling off-kilter HD sources with ease.<br />
WIRED Image looks great even at arm’s length. Separate picture-setting<br />
memory for each input, of which there are plenty. Remarkably quiet.<br />
TIRED Overly simplistic remote buries basic functions beneath several<br />
menus. Similar-quality LCD light-thrower costs much less.<br />
ViewSonic ViewDock PJ258D<br />
$999 • viewsonic.com<br />
Despite its 1,024 x 768 native resolution and packaging boasting that what’s<br />
inside “supports multiple HDTV formats,” the ViewDock offers only component,<br />
composite, S-video, and VGA inputs. That means no HD for you, Hoss. But if<br />
you’re looking for a projector that can have some fun, you’re in luck. Drop your<br />
iPod into the built-in dock and play iTunes videos on the big screen.<br />
WIRED It’s light, portable, and comes with a carrying case. Football games and<br />
iTunes downloads on the wall—this would make the perfect frat-house player.<br />
TIRED 4:3 aspect ratio. Video-processing power? Nope. Projector remote will<br />
control docked iPod, but interface is counterintuitive.<br />
WIRED TEST<br />
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