Sharp DT100 Home Theater Projector
See it at Amazon.com for $700.00Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First (5 out of 5)Great for DVDs
If your highest quality for input will be DVDs, this is probably your best value, even if you plan on upgrading later. The resolution on this projector is the same as the resolution found on DVDs. By the time you upgrade, the price of a high-end projector will have dropped by more than the cost of this one.
We don't have digital cable, satellite, or blu-ray -- just conventional DVDs and cable (with a TiVo), so it doesn't make sense to buy anything better. By the time we get any of those, high-end projectors will be much cheaper and/or new technology will be available.
Downsides:
- No digital input (No, component VGA is not "digital", as Best Buy salesmen will try to tell you. Only DVI and HDMI use a real digital signal.)
- If used as a computer monitor, you may need to choose your resolution carefully. (This may be true with any home theater projector; I don't know. 1440x900 didn't work for me, but 1152x864 did.) This projector's resolution is 854x480, so it probably isn't a good option for a computer projector, as the image will be a little fuzzy from downsampling. However, this goes back to my discussion about the quality of the input signal you expect to use.
(5 out of 5)Great Projector, but needs minor fix at high altitude
We bought this projector as part of a low cost home theater to put in our basement. It was easy to install and configure (we have it on a ceiling mount) and displays an incredible picture which is much nicer that I had imagined we would get in this price range. We paired this with a Pioneer sound system / DVD player and a home-made projector screen (instructions online) and now have a really terrific home theater for under $1,000.
However, after only 2 weeks the projector suddenly went dead -- bummer! So I took it to the closest authorized service center where the repairman took one look at the model and knew what the problem was. The projector needs a software upgrade at high altitudes to adjust the fan speed. Without the adjustment, the system will overheat and burn out a small component which is exactly what happened to ours. The service shop replaced the burned out part, upgraded the software, and assured us that this model would now run trouble-free for years to come.
We live in Colorado at 6,000 feet and are now again enjoying our Sharp projector. I recommend it highly, but if you get one (or are considering it) and live at high altitude, I suggest that you call your local Sharp service center and ask if you're likely to have a problem where you live. If so, take the projector in and get the software upgraded BEFORE it breaks. If you wait for it to break you'll likely to be without your projector for a while if they don't have the replacement part in stock.
(5 out of 5)Pleasantly Surprised!
Just starting to dabble in the home theater hobby, I was looking for a cheap projector to experiment with. This was the least expensive I could find, but WOW!! I had it hooked up to a mini-DVD player and an old set of computer speakers and I had an instant home theater in less than 15 minutes. I am not very technical when it comes to audio visual equipment. What a fantastic picture! Even with light coming into the room a movie is quite clear, but in the dark the image is amazingly clear and bright. Who needs a $2,000 plasma??? This is much more fun.
(4 out of 5)Easy to set up!
This was a good buy for projection of a 50th anniversary celebration for my parents. Clear picture in a 25'x30' area.
(5 out of 5)excellent projector 4 the cost
i recd the projector in a tmely manner waited for the construction of my media room to be done , then installed the projector on the ceiling , added cables , hung my 99 in screen . I made some adjustments to the projectors image on the screen i.e. focus and inverting the image and hooked up the componet cables to my home theater system, and wow! it was like i was at the movies ... The picture is great colors are vivid , this is a good choice for movies and having xbox 360 get together with fellas ...