What home theater projector should I buy?

Question

I am looking at putting in a home theater. I think I have the seating covered. It will be in a dark room, and I want to buy a projector (they seem to be the best quality for the buck). I don't really know anything about them. Do I need a screen? How big (I'll be about 12 feet away)? What type of projector should I get? How can I know how good of quality a projector is? What is the display technology mean? What is the contrast ratio? What does the brightness mean (Lumens?)?

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!

Answer 1

If you are thinking of a true darkened-room home theater with a big screen (100" or so), then there are several front-projectors that will work well.  The best are the high-end DLP projectors from Sharp and Marantz, but they are very expensive.

http://www.projectorpeople.com/projector...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/SharpVis...

Next are the LCD projectors from Sony and JVC.  JVC is one of the best, but the Sony is good too for about half the price

http://www.projectorcentral.com/JVC-DLA-...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sony-BRA...

In addition, you should get a high quality screen from Stewart Filmscreen or Da-Lite.

Look at what is available on the projector central web site.

Answer 2

Sony XBR or Panasonic, seriously.  The higher the lumen number, the brighter.  Lumen = candle power.  You don't need a dedicated screen if you have a wall that is large enough, smooth, uniform and white-ish, you can go that route.

I recommend going down to your local electronics store that carries projectors and compare in person to get a hands-on experience and visual to greatly help in your decision-making.