Audio Video News

For the DIY home theater aficionado, today will surely rank among the greatest days in history. That’s because August 3, 2009, marks the announcement of the first 1080p video projector priced less than $1,000.

Vivitek’s H1080FD projector delivers full 1080p resolution and retails for a suggested price of $999. That’s half the list price of the Sanyo PLV-Z700, the next-least-expensive 1080p projector we’ve seen. Now even hardcore cheapskates needn’t sacrifice resolution to save a buck.

We’re happy to see Vivitek didn’t strip the H1080FD of every last feature in order to hit the price point. The projector includes such luxuries as dual HDMI inputs, RS-232 control, and a 12-volt trigger output to control a motorized screen. It also has a fan rated at a quiet 29 dB, and a lamp rated for 3,000 hours of use.

Of course, we can’t say how well the H1080FD will perform. Vivitek rates the contrast ratio at 5,000:1, which is fairly low for a manufacturer spec. (The real-world measurements we perform at Sound & Vision almost always produce considerably lower results.) However, it uses Texas Instruments’ DLP technology, which generally delivers a fairly deep black level.

With budget projection screens readily available for less than $200 on eBay, you can now assemble a real big-screen home theater video system for less than $1,300 including the mount and HDMI cable.

The H1080FD will be available this month.—Brent Butterworth