That was a great post SutterCane. I thought I would comment on one aspect of your post dealing with DLP vs. LCD which I thought needed more balance. You state:
"It's not that I do not like DLP projectors. I've owned a few in the past, and they were all great projectors. I just don't favor them, for I don't find most of them to be worth their cost, if for no other reason then their lack of flexability.
Now they're fine if you don't have any setup restrictions, but a lot of guys have their theaters in basements, which usually means low ceilings. This creates a big problem with most DLP's because a good majority of them have very huge offsets, and very few of them have lens shift or a good zoom/throw range.
It's mostly do to these reason as to why I do not favor DLP projectors. That and unfortunately for me, I am sensitive to RBE (rainbows)."
Like a majority of people I can't see DLP rainbows so it wasn't a factor for me and I understand with advances in recent DLP projectors very few people can see this artifact. I regret that you are one of the few because on balance DLP has several advantages over LCD especially for dedicated HTs. To be fair both technologies have their strengths and weaknesses which are well documented and researched.
A concern I have with my LCD and LCos displays is that they are more subject to color shift and loss of contrast over time because of their greater sensitivy to degradation of the panels from heat. I don't have the link handy but research on the two technologies showed that at 2000hrs LCD displays showed deteriorating contrast compared to DLP units. The reason for this has to do with the compounds in the panels being more subject to organic chemical breakdown from heat stress particularly the blue polarizer. That's why many LCD displays including several I have owned show a shift to yellow and blue after one or two years. I recently purchased a sony LCos display hoping to avoid this longer term problem but my ISF calibrator tells me it will be just a susceptible.
Where I prefer LCD over DLP is in its greater lumens, sharpness, and heat efficiency. However in categories such as smoothness of image, contrast, and pixilation I would favour DLP. Colour rendition is pretty well a tossup between the two. If size of projector is a factor which it can be in some setups and for convenience DLP projectors are usually smaller and weigh less than the LCD projectors.
In considering these factors I have opted to use LCD/LCos displays in areas of high ambient light or for TV viewing. LCD dislays are generally brighter and work well in rooms where ambient light cannot be easily controlled. Conversely in my dedicated HT where I can control light easily DLP projectors work well, assuming like most people you cannot see rainbows.
With regards to setup flexibility that's the first time I have seen such a concern. Virtually all projectors I have viewed, DLP and LCD, or researched have varying offsets and zoom/throw ranges. In my HT I require a long throw of 20ft and there are numerous alternatives available. I have my projector installed near the ceiling without any noticeable image problems. All projectors have certain optimal working ranges and ProjectorCentral has several tools which one should check.
If going with DLPs a high gain screen is important to consider. Though for any projector, I believe the advantages of a high gain screen far outweigh any potential negatives and you have listed my favourites. Currently I'm using a 110" diagonal Vutec Silverstar which I like for its large viewing cone as well as the high gain. Most viewers remark the screen looks like a big plasma TV, which reminds me of the dangers of pigeonholing any of these technologies.
Price considerations aside, it really comes down to how you choose to implement them to take advantage of their strenghts and weaknesses.
