What is a good quality projector? (1 Viewer)

I am looking to buy a projector and wanted to ask some of those that own them what would you recomend at a price range around $500. Also is there a screen better than others. Thanks Everyone

There are no projectors I would recommend for $500. The least expensive projector I would consider is the BenQ 1070 and it's about $800. You may find used projectors at your budget, but they are not likely to be good options for a "home theater" application - and I still would not recommend that.


When shopping for projectors, you can't just "pick" one that fits your budget - you also need to consider your room geometry, intended seating distance and desired screen size. Depending on what those three criteria are for you, your choices are likely to be even further limited.


Regarding screens - there are always screens that are better than others... for certain viewing conditions (what are yours?). If budget is tight, your best bet may be to build your own or paint the wall. You can achieve screens using either of those techniques for less than $100.

Well if i am going to buy a projector I dont want to buy something that will be a waste so I would definitly spend the money to buy something that will be adequete. I would like to get a screen that is 120 inches if the room allows it or 100 would be fine as well. You see alot of different brands out there and I dont know much about projectors and just need pointed in the right direction in products that perform.

I dont know the exact dimentions of the room but it is long and I plan on put the screen on the far narrow wall so that i can have seats in the middle of room and maybe like bean bags in front of those. The one issue is that wall has a window and i want to put the screen over that.

You have to cover that window, completely.

Is this a living room? Basement? Spare bedroom?

There are screens that only work in a "bat cave" environment(StudioTek 100).

There are screens that are meant for bright rooms called "light rejecting screens"(Black Diamond).

Give us nothing to go on, we can offer no advice.

It is a bonus room that is a pretty decent size upstairs. Obviously I would cover it to acomadate the screen. Sorry this is all new for me just been looking into it the last day or two because we are buying a house and I finally have a spare room to make a movie room

How much, individually, are you willing to spend?

Projector? $1200-$1800 price will cover the gamut if the room is not bright. $2000 minimum if the room is bright(brightness costs money).

Screen? You can paint a piece of plastic for under $300, including the plastic...or spend thousands. Keep in mind, if done right...this money needs never to be spent again. A screen will last as long as your desire to use this room for movies.

AVR/components. Basic AVR with a gaming console/Roku/BD player? AVR equipped with audio streaming options and the ability to feed other rooms?

Speakers? 5 speakers and a sub? Full complement in an Atmos array(11 speakers and sub)? Your speakers and screen should be a COMBINED 60% of the budget...cause the speakers and screen should NEVER HAVE TO BE PURCHASED AGAIN.

This can be achieved, all in, for $2000....or $20,000.

But just "what's a good projector" won't get anywhere. You could purchase a basic Epson 8350 and be happy with that.

Or...you might want 3D...
Or you might want the best picture possible at $4000(JVC, if one will work, based on room environment)

Basically at this point I would like to get the projector and a screen and my budget is probably little over a thousand dollars. Eventually I would like to do speakers but will have to use my sony soundbar and subwoofer for right now. I will definatly close the window off to where there is no light in the room. I will most likley have my Xbox one and directv run through it. But really I just was wanting to get feedback to the better projector because you mentioned the Epson 8359 and the previous commentor mentioned BenQ 1070 and as far as the screens when i look i see cheap screens for around $200 and just wondering are they worthless. Thanks for your help and sorry if i am not being thorough with what i am asking.

BenQ is DLP.
Epson is LCD.

Since you game...BenQ. But that is a low end DLP. Google "DLP rainbow".

Maybe you won't notice.

Cheap LCD suck for gaming.

as far as the screens when i look i see cheap screens for around $200 and just wondering are they worthless.

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I installed my first projector about 10 years ago and went with a DIY screen because I couldn't decide what to buy. I'm on my 2nd projector now and still using the same screen.


Because of the projector mounting location, I needed one with both lens shift and zoom so my first was a Panasonic AE900U. I needed the same features on the one I bought earlier this year and started comparing specs to the old Panasonic. I found that the Epson Powerlite 8345 beat the old Panasonic in almost every category and was on sale for $750 from Amazon. Using the same Premier Mounts kit, it took about an hour to install.


Sam says LCD sucks for gaming and the Epson is a 3 panel LCD. I don't even have a game system to test it with.


I a very rare trip to a real theater on Wednesday and noticed that my picture is as good if not better than the new all digital theater down the street from me.

My main focus for the projector would to be to play movies and watch sports. I would have an xbox one connected but honestly I dont play a whole lot but i guess i would want something that could I could if I wanted to. So Robert would you suggest maybe with Benq since its a DLP. Also for the screen what did you use for the screen itself because I have seen people use a couple different types of material.

If you are doing minimal gaming then I'd get whatever works for your budget. I did hook a Playstation to my old Panasonic for about an hour. It looked great. Lag time comes into play with the FPS games. It's not an issue with movies and sports.


My material was blackout fabric from Hancock Fabrics. You can get it at Joann's as well. The total price for my screen was about $75.


The picture below is my frame. It's made from 1x2 poplar from Lowes. The boards are joined with metal L brackets.The 2 "V" braces are set back about 2mm (used washers for spacers) so they won't touch the actual fabric. The frame is held on the wall by a French cleat. That allowed me to slid it back and forth to perfectly center it on the wall.




The border is made from door casing and decorative "squares" in each corner. I can't remember their real name. But what I did was determine the size of the screen I wanted (103"). Using the 16x9 ratio, I determined the height and width and cut each border piece to length. I used some 1/8" hard board on the back of it on each corner to glue everything together. Based on the boarder width/height, I made the frame 2" taller and 2" wider.so I would have a 1" all the way around the frame to attach the border to. It is just brad nailed.




There's the decorative square in the corner. I know the aisle they reside on at Lowes but not the name.

Nice Polk SDA there Robert.

Polk? In which picture?

I'll just throw out that while everyone's experiences can be a little bit different, and while some projectors are better at some things than others, I've never had any complaints about the gaming quality on my Epson 5030 projector, which is a more advanced version of the 8345. I don't play games myself but my girlfriend uses her PS3 on it, and has never had an issue. So if you see an Epson you like, I wouldn't immediately reject it out of hand just because it's an LCD. There may be some more experienced gamers than me though that might be able to offer a more detailed opinion.

Ya I would just like it to be able to if I wanted to play something, I kind of am leaning towards the BenQ W1070 mainly because someone mentioned on here and someone from my work has it and has been pleased with it. Also screen wise was looking at Silver Tickets 120" screen that is on Amazon for about 250 but from what Robert made at around $75 is pretty nice. Does anyone have any thoughts on the particular screen I mentioned or the BenQ projector? Thanks everyone for their comments it really does help to hear all the different things that you guys do to help me get an idea what to look at.

Robert_J said:

Polk? In which picture?

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The pics with the twin tweeter/midrange.

Using my phone, didn't blow up the pic.

Apparently not SDA....

It's a DIY design from back in college when I was poor and louder was better. The horn tweeters and mids are from Pyramid. I had a wholesale account and they were the cheapest things I could get. The 12" bass driver is a replacement Klipsch Heresy model. The frat I was in fried another member's Heresy woofers during our annual Jungle Party. As treasurer, I called up Klipsch and had them send replacements. I paid for mine out of my own pocket. The frat picked up shipping for all 4.

titan27 said:

Ya I would just like it to be able to if I wanted to play something, I kind of am leaning towards the BenQ W1070 mainly because someone mentioned on here and someone from my work has it and has been pleased with it. Also screen wise was looking at Silver Tickets 120" screen that is on Amazon for about 250 but from what Robert made at around $75 is pretty nice. Does anyone have any thoughts on the particular screen I mentioned or the BenQ projector? Thanks everyone for their comments it really does help to hear all the different things that you guys do to help me get an idea what to look at.

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The BenQ was on my short list but like I said earlier, I needed both zoom and lens shift. Have you picked out a mounting location? Will it work with the projector you have tentatively chosen? Most of the big projector sellers have a distance app so you can see if it works before you buy.

I am going to hang it from the ceiling which from the spec that the site gives is a little over 11 feet which would easily work in the room im thinking. I would probably have to have my electrician friend put in an electical outlet in the ceiling and a hdmi one as well. Would you recomend the universal mount that they sell on amazon?