1. Continuum Powerlite Manual

Epson 8350 Projector Replacement 13 posts. (we look at Epson PowerLite's here, usually 4650's or 4750W's or whatnot) so not really familiar with the models that are.

Continuum Powerlite Manual

Update: Went with the Sony HW40ES. Got it on sale for $1999! $500 instant rebate from Sony through end of month.
So... I've gotten [really] tired of my 4+ year old Epson 8350 blowing through bulbs at 1/4 the rated length [known issue].
It nuked first bulb in 400 hrs. Second one was at about 500 when the auto-iris blew up and they had to send me a whole new unit. That one did about 500 hrs and blew so they sent me a replacement and accidently sent two. First one was ~500 hrs, second one actually hit 1500 hrs which was amazing but still shy of the rated 4000 hours. Meh.
Looking for something to replace it with and budget is up to $2500. Pretty much shooting for around the same specs as the 8350 as I don't have a batcave so I can't really skimp too low on the lumens. I'm shooting a 110' 1.1 gain screen from about 14' right now.
The contenders, at least on the higher end, seem to be:
- Epson 5030UB
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/ ... V11H585020
- Sony HW40ES
http://store.sony.com/economical-full-h ... lectronics
Looking for anyone that might own either of these. The Epson is the same 3LCD I'm used to with the 8350 and is a little brighter but the Sony apparently has much better contrast due to LCOS. I'm not a projector guru by any means and, as noted, don't have a batcave, so something that will tolerate some ambient light is essential. The only other must-have feature is lens shift h/v which most projectors seem to have anymore aside from the low-end ones.
Primary use? Movies and gaming.
Thoughts? Other models to look at?
Thanks

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