1080p Budget projectors (1 Viewer)

[gcochran223]

my sony aw15 has served its purpose well with over 8500 hours of use in the past 4 years.bulb one lasted almost 6000 hours and ebay bulb 2 lasted 2500.its a 720p projector and at the time i believe i paid around a thousand for it and am hoping to stick right around that budget range but hopefully getting a 1080 this time.does anyone have some success stories with a projector around this range?
the room is 20x20, i have a 85"screen
75% of viewing is done at dusk or night and there are windows in the room
$1000 budget
hdmi 1080p preferably
if anyone has any suggestions i would appreciate it, looking online its so hit and miss and spending $2000 on a projector is an option at the time. any info is appreciated thanks, gordon

 

[Jim Mcc]

That's kind of a small screen. What's your seating distance? With a $1,000 budget, most of your choices will be DLP.
1) Do you want LCD or DLP?
2) What is your throw distance?
3) Are you going to ceiling mount it?

 

[Mr645]

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&sku=V11H373120-N
Or watch for other deals on the Epson clearance center.
Just a suggestion

 

[gcochran223]

i have a 14ft throw distance for my 85" screen, projector is mounted in the rear of the room via celing mount. i think a DLP projector is more into my budget than LCD. i do like the epson projector reviews i am reading.the only other projectors i ever installed or used was a sony because we were a dealer at the time, now im with a different contractor. does anyone have experience with Viewsonic?i am a firm believer of "you get what you pay for" so the bottom of the barrel isnt too appealing. if it came down to it a 720 would be fine due to i dont pay extra for the bluray dvds therefore its usuallu 480 i believe,the only plus to 1080 is HD cable when there broadcast in hd.

 

[Jim Mcc]

I checked the "Calculator Pro" at Projectorcentral.com with your 14' throw and 85" diagonal screen. The cheapest DLP is $1,499, the Benq W6000. The cheapest LCD is $1,299, the Epson 8350. The problem you have is the small screen size from that throw distance. If you had a larger screen, you would have more options. How far do you sit from the screen? The Viewsonic Pro 8200 is a popular projector, BUT the smallest the image can be from 14' is 90" diagonal.

 

[gcochran223]

yes i wanted a larger screen on the opposite wall, but the furniture layout wouldnt work and the opposite wall has a french door and that killed my screen size. my projector position can be moved forward or backwards. its 14 to the lense and i could probably go back to 16.5". seating is right below the projector at 14-15 feet.

 

[Jim Mcc]

You need to move the projector closer to the screen, not further. For DLP's under $1,000 you have 2 options for your 85" screen.
1) Viewsonic Pro 8200 - Lens must be between 8 ft. 8 inches and 13 ft. 3 inches from screen
2) Optoma HD20 - Lens must be between 9 ft. 3 inches and 11 ft. 1 inch from screen
I would go with the Pro 8200 in your situation. Check out the review here and at Projectorreviews.com

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Viewsonic Pro 8200

For a real crappy PJ, it looked quite good for 3D. I would not use it for 2D viewing though.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Viewsonic Pro 8200

For a real crappy PJ, it looked quite good for 3D. I would not use it for 2D viewing though.

For a "crappy" projector, it got good reviews at Projectorcentral.com and Projectorreviews.com. It wouldn't be my first choice in projectors, but that and the HD20 are the only 2 DLP's that will work under $1,000.

 

[gcochran223]

i did a little more research on the 8200 and it seemed to get decent reviews from some manufactor websites, worst i seen was compaints about the two speakers, which i can handle that.thanks for your help.