Where can I get a good projector for around $1000, I've found some that are about 3500 lumens.?

Question

I have used the optoma brand projectors before and I know that you get what you pay for, but what is the best bang for the buck and where/what site can I get it from?

Answer 1

It all depends what you will be using the projector for.  If you want it for home theater then you only need ~1000 lumens if you can control the light in the room.  If you can't control the light then look for something ~2000 lumens.  Any projector rated at 3500 is probably a presentation projector and a poor choice for home theater.  Presentation projectors have sub-par blacks and poor video processing.

Take a look at the following sites for reviews and info on a variety of projectors.  You can get a nice 720p projector for under $1000 (Optoma HD65 or Mitsubishi HC1600 for example)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisp...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/

Answer 2

The reference to 3500 lumens is deceiving since that's probably the rating for unprocessed slides; not video movie processing which is much lower.  Here's the current best bang for the buck [under $300] from amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Infocus-Screen-Pla...

Again, the older Infocus SP4805 is still the standard for 480 DVDs and HD video/tv viewing.

Good luck!