LCD Projector

I have a Sony VPL BW7 WXGA i bought recently for about 650$. Excellent picture quality, worth every dollar.

Thanks Economist. Seems it is reasonably economical

Depending on how long you are willing to wait, prices might get significantly lower.

I've recently seen two gaming projectors on sale for under $100. One of them used LCDs as a light source. The limitation on one was that it was a 480x240 pixel picture--the other was the same or close to that--not really quite good enough for old non-high definition TV.

You asked about bulb life--that is a good question to ask (along with replacement bulb cost)--they used to be very expensive. I would check before buying any projector.

Oops, I meant to say "one of them used LEDs as a light source".

Hmm, but now that I've had occasion to go back and look at the (specs on the) one that I thought had an LED light source, it appears I was wrong. Maybe it was the other unit, but I suspect I was just wrong--it's hard to imagine an LED source putting out enough light for a projector.

If I remember correctly, there are two usual methods. LCD and DLP.

The LCD is similar to computer screens, the DLP uses thousands of tiny mirrors and are generally cheaper to purchase. The DLP system is slightly more robust I am told......

You need around 1600 lumens or more for a reasonable picture in a lit room, though a dark room is always better.....its the Lumens that change the price upwards....the more you can get, the happier you will be with the picture...

Do remember that both systems need a cooling down period with the lamp off and the cooling fan still running to get rid of any latent heat before it damages the system. Do not let children use it unsupervised (of ANY age!!)

There is a built in temperature monitor that will shut the fan down once the lamp and the immediate area are properly cooled off....

Do some research about both the projected life of the lamp and the cost of a new lamp. New lamps often cost almost as much as the complete video projector....

LCD projectors have come down significantly in price. There are quite a few good ones out there. Lumens give you the max brightness and contrast ratio tells you how well they display the differences in brightness in the picture. The biggest issue in longevity is the price of the replacement bulb. You will find that most projector bulbs cost so much that in most cases its cheaper to replace the unit than replace the bulb. The other thing to watch is to shut them off correctly so the bulb doesn't cook the unit. Don't turn them off by unplugging them. They have a cooling cycle when shut off as recommended. That gives you max bulb life for the unit you buy. If you plan on running it a lot, you'll find units above $500 will last much longer than the lesser priced ones, but check the price of the bulb first!

May I point out in a friendly manner that basically the same post was made almost 3/4 of a day before yours:-

12/18/2010 11:15 AM Post #4 - First Post

12/19/2010 3:24 AM Post #5 - Your Post!!

Thanks Andy for pointing out. I did not notice that