Sony VPL-HS51 Cineza LCD Front Projector
No problems after nearly a year.
I find the previous review strange, because it was the same sort of lamp-replacement runaround from Infocus that prompted me to switch brands from Infocus to Sony nearly a year ago. I guess I must assume that similar problems affect several, possibly even most brands. <br /> <br />Note that this unit has a \\"high altitude\\" setting.  I'm at around 5000ft and I did enable that option during initial set up.  It causes the fans to run at a slightly higher speed for more effective cooling at altitude, resulting in just a bit more noise, but nothing compared to my old Infocus.  I imagine that high altitude operation without using the setting might lead to premature failure, whereas running the high altitude setting at lower elevations might actually keep things cooler and possibly even improve longevity.  Just a thought.  Stable power is also important for front projectors.  I have my unit on a good quality power conditioner/UPS to protect against any spikes or brownouts. <br /> <br />In any case, I've had the unit nearly a year and have been pleased with its performance.  Image quality is excellent, especially when using the HDMI input.  It's seen extensive use (somewhere over 2000 hours, I haven't checked lately) and I've only had to replace the air filter thus far.  The unit came with a spare filter in the box.   <br />The VPL-HS51 was a truly exceptional product a year ago, though now there are a few other similar/comparable units on the market, and some people are starting to look at moving to 1080p with the advent of Blueray and HD DVD.  Even so, I personally feel no need to upgrade in the short term and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this projector to anyone who will be satisfied with 1280x720.  If you run large screen sizes (e.g. larger than 80\\"), have a short viewing distance, and good eyesight it probably makes sense to go for 1080p even if it means waiting a little longer to make a purchase, but otherwise I think most people would be happy with 720. <br /> <br />There are plenty of excellent reviews of the VPL-HS51 on the web already so I won't go into great detail here, but in short, I'm completely satisfied and haven't had any problems whatsoever. <br />