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Strengths: very versatile, great image quality, best-in-class warranty, excellent documentation, advanced tweaking capabilities, user-friendly remote, no "rainbow effect" problems, excellent value for the money
Weaknesses: not a "true HD" (1080p) projector, more pixel structure than a DLP projector, can't lock zoom / lens shift settings, can be a bit noisy, depending on mode and projector placement
Summary: There are already several expert reviews available, so I will focus on a few details that I haven't seen addressed anywhere.
This projector can be used in almost any situation thanks to the amazing brightness, zoom (2.1x) and lens shift (1x hor, 1x vert)! Note that the lens shift mechanism describes a disc, not a square (you can shift the projection completely horizontally OR completely vertically, but not maximize both at the same time). Another small nitpick is that you cannot physically "lock" the current settings
and the dials do "give" a little bit.
The exhaust fan is cleverly placed in the front and slanted to the right, directing the airflow away from the projection path while at the same time preventing hot air getting trapped around the projector. Thus, if you can place the projector to the RIGHT of the sitting area, the noise level will be substantially lower.
The HC720 allows you to select 5 different projection modes. Each mode's settings can be extensively customized and easily stored and recalled. However, only the "theatre black" modes are very quiet. In all other modes (which are substantially brighter), the fan runs much faster. Interestingly, fan speed is probably the only thing that cannot be adjusted in the settings!
What surprised me a little is that although the image can be tweaked in any imaginable way (well described in the manual) and the remote sports a dedicated "pattern" button, the projector only comes with ONE such pattern (useful to adjust sharpness and image geometry but not much else). If you really want to objectively optimize the image quality, a dedicated calibration DVD (AVIA, DVE, GetGray...) is a must. Having said that, the OOTB settings are almost perfect for the "theatre black" mode, which is the mode you are most likely to use to watch movies anyway. The "dynamic" and "living room" modes however definitely profit from some fine-tuning.
Epson's customer service is legendary. If you have a problem with this projector give them a call and they will send you an overnight replacement! You then return your faulty unit, never to be seen again - and this offer is valid for TWO YEARS after the date of purchase! As a side note, I was also pleasantly surprised by Epson's relatively quick turnaround time for mail-in rebates. I got my $100 and the free replacement lamp less than a month after I bought this projector from Visual Apex.
In my setup, the projector sits on a 4' cabinet and projects an approximately 125" image (16:9) to a cream-colored wall 15' away. I have a manual 100"projection screen but stopped using it - to my eyes, the image on the wall looks just as good (and it's less hassle!) There is a small "staircase effect" but I only notice it if the image is paused.
Finally, a word about resolution. The HC720 is not a "true" HD projector, it's native resolution being 720p (or 1080i), not 1080p. Does it matter? My personal answer to this question is NO. I think that the only situation that would call for a (much more expensive) 1080p projector is if you MAINLY watch NATIVE 1080p content (e.g. BluRay discs - HDTV signals are broadcast as 1080i!). The quality difference between upscaling standard definition to 720p or to 1080p is IMO not worth the price difference.
However, I would STRONGLY recommend to hook up an UPSCALING DVD player to this projector, using HDMI if possible! If your DVD player does not upscale to 720p, do yourself a favor and ditch it. Less than $100 can get you a good upscaling DVD player and the difference in quality is truly stunning. 480p to 720p makes a much bigger impact than going from 720p to 1080p! Also note that the HC720 can accept 1080p input (it will simply scale it down), so it can deal with the occasional HD content anyway.
The bottom line: all the "weaknesses" I listed above are actually rather details that should not prevent you from buying this projector. In a single word, the HC720 is AWESOME. Read some of the glowing expert reviews, realize the amazing deals that can be found for this projector, and you won't be able to resist... what are you still waiting for?
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