# Cheap projection



## jared555 (Dec 8, 2008)

What kind of projector would probably be the best value/money in terms of both initial price and bulb replacement under around $1000? Quality is not a critical factor. The primary use will be for video games with occasional movies.


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## venuetech (Dec 8, 2008)

infocus has a number of nice units 
stay away from the small "road warrior" units as those small/lightweight features add cost to both the unit and replacement lamp. 
i would shop for such a unit by lamp life/replacement cost as the primary consideration.
and then look at over all weight/size

When you do get one the life will be greatly extended by careful packing every time you transport it.


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## TheDonkey (Dec 8, 2008)

Also, if 2 projectors have similar bulb life/light weightness, go for the one with a larger contrast ratio.


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## mnfreelancer (Dec 8, 2008)

The lowest-end projector my company uses is the NEC VT590. It is an LCD projector with a light output of 2000 lumens. We use them as our "drop and forget" projector primarily. Let me put it this way: we've got 5 of them and I've only ever re-lamped one and they are out almost every day. They can take a beating. We have them in soft cases even yet they survive being transported along-side ATA cases every day. If you want a little more umph in the same form factor the VT700 has even more light output.


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## museav (Dec 9, 2008)

What is the application? Is it going to be used primarily in one location or travel a lot? How large an image? What is the environment (ambient lighting, etc.)? What projection screen surface?

While people focus on lumens output and contrast ratio, these can be almost irrelevant in some applications, for example if you have higher ambient light levels on the screen then the projector contrast ratio may not really matter. And differences in projection surfaces, their 'gain', can double or halve the image brightness so a lower output projector with a higher gain screen might appear brighter than a higher output projector with a low gain screen. On the other hand, factors such as zoom range, keystone correction, noise levels, etc. are factors that may be relevant but are often overlooked. These can affect the usability of the projector such as where it can be placed, whether the operation is intrusive and so on.

The application can also be a factor as the warranties for some projectors aimed at the home theatre market exclude any commercial or industrial use, in effect anything other than consumer/residential use. You might also look at how repairs or replacement is handled, do you pay to ship it to a service center and wait for some unknown period or do they provide a replacement or gurantee a turn around time?


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