I have been thinking about getting a projector for quite some time now.. however I only want to spend about 2k at the most.. and don’t really know what kind to get. I’ve done a good amount of research, and the best value that I have seem to have found is the view sonic projectors that newegg.com has, the view sonic have all the inputs that one would want, s video, composite, ect ect.. but on other ht boards, no one seems to bring up the view sonic brand?


So for those of you that do have a projector what kind did you get? Thanks for the info guys.

Go to www.avsforum.com (projectors section), tons of info there. If you're looking for a good proj under 2K budget I would go for nec HT1000. I've seen the demo of this unit and it is a great proj for its price. High contrast ratio and excellent colors.

-twelly

Dakkon,
you may wish to also check out Projector Central. Lots of good info here.

i just finished my research on projectors and I am currently waiting for the infocus 4805 to come out as the succesor to the vaunted infocus X1.

If you want to spend under 1500 look at the 4805, and Benq6200. The optima H30 looks good as well.
under 1000$ look at the X1, which is by far the most popular projector. The benq6100 is supposed to be good as well.

The 4805 is the first sub 1500 projector that is 16:9 native. give me a pm and i can tell you where to get it cheap.

also the AE300 and AE500 are supposedly good.

i recommend waiting until june for te 4805 will come out at which point review upon review will look at this projector. Since its the price point succesor to the X1 there will be a lot of scrutiny focused upon it.


Also, dont buy a proj from newegg. That is where i am buying a computer from(newegg.com is loading in the background as i type this) BUT they are not a authorized online reseller of projectors.

As for the 4805, crutchfield.com and tvauthority.com are authorized online resellers

check out avsforum and projectorcentral as well

Aren't the replacement bulbs for those quite pricey? And, they don't seem to last long.

from what people say, a bulb will last about 1 year, and they cost from 200-400$ ill pm you in a bit bro. thanks.

Most projectors run 2000-3000 hrs..so it depends how many hours a week you run it. I had the my old X1 for 10 months and only ran it 300 hrs.
In your price range you have the Infocus X1, Benq6100 and the Optoma H30. Don't for forget to make sure they projector is relatively quiet. Infocus is notoriuos in having great quality pictured projectors but the fans they install are fairly loud.
What you want to look for is a projector with high contrast ratio. That will give you the best picture quality. For your price range you will only afford a 800x600 projector. The link posted above by other users are the best places to get info. Here is another. http://www.projectorcentral.com/projector-reviews.cfm
Check my links below my sig for my projector shots.

To add here are recommendations for your price range. You might to be able to go for the higher models since my recommendation was based on canadian dollars. ie a sweet Benq 6200 is in your range.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/recommended-home-theater-projectors.htm.

I bought the Panasonic 500. It's been great. I hear some sites are offering this unit with an extra bulb, at 1999.00. If you are interested in the 500, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

I am no video expert, but my friend recently bought the relatively inexpensive BenQ 6100 (she paid about $900). I went over there to check it out and watch a movie....she was just using a bed sheet for a screen. In a word: impressive!

It was impressive enough to make me think that FP is the way to go.

First of all, definitely check out ProjectorCentral's recommended list. They have some great reviews and comparisons. Also, you have to go over to the AVS forums. Everything you could want to know can be found there.

I picked up an X1 last year and, at least at that time, it was pound for pound the best bang for your buck. But, as usual, technology changes rapidly. Instead of giving you actual PJ recommendations, I will give you some advice from someone who spent a lot of time researching/obsessing over this.

First of all, your viewing habits are extremely important when considering this decision. For example:

If you watch primarily DVDs, than a simple 800X600 will do the trick. Present DVD format limitations cannot take advantage of the higher resolutions. I did a side-by-side w/ a Sony HS10 and kept up with it....on movies. The Sony still had a somewhat better picture, but definitely not worth triple the pricetag of the X1.

If you watch HD material, then you need to at least look at the 1/4 HD projectors or spend more on at least XGA resolution. My X1 still handles HD, but it can't reproduce the level of clarity that the higher resolution PJs can pump out.

If you watch primarily TV, then you're screwed no matter what. I've never seen normal TV look that good on a PJ.

If you watch primarily widescreen, then you might consider a widescreen format PJ. I stuck w/ the 4:3 projector in order to retain the full width of my screen, rather than having black bars inserted on either side during 4:3 material.

There is a lot to consider when making this type of choice. In my case, I had to take into consideration my ongoing basement finishing project with it's associated expenses. Given that and the fact that I could get an X1 for $900, made my mind up for me. However, in your situation, you may be willing to go to that next level, which is definitely attainable for sub-$2K (XGA and/or WXGA - Z2/L500U/PB6200). Regardless of the financial aspect of your decision, I would suggest that you focus more on things such as aspect ratio, primary source material, DLP vs LCD, etc. These things make the decision even harder, but it will help you to clarify what exactly you are looking for in a projector.

Good Luck

thanks for your replys, the source, will mainly be dvd's and possibly regular tv, i don't know that i will get HD service, as there is still a very limited selection... i think that i will wait like a couple of you have said, and see what is around the corner as it were... possibly get something much better for the same amount of money...

TurboDog1, thank you for your input i dont know that i ever though of it like you put it...

It gets even trickier because of the fact that it's not easy to test-drive the various projectors. I think that part of the popularity of the X1 and some of the other sub-$1K PJs is the fact that you can pick them up at BB or C.City. Getting to see the other players can be a bit trickier. If you're lucky, you run across a shootout in your area listed in the AVS forums.

Before I go, I'm going to stir things up for you a bit...

You can very easily wait forever for that perfect projector within your budget. Just like computers, this will never pay off, because the technology is continually outdating itself. Don't get me wrong, as I'm not suggesting that you buy before you're ready. However, if you are indeed ready to make your purchase, I am suggesting that you not get caught up in waiting too long for that perfect PJ, because that could end up costing you a lot of actual viewing enjoyment. In my case, if I had waited until my basement was done and the technology had changed, it would have cost me a year of stellar viewing w/ my X1.

Good Luck

For regular cable TV have you tried using an external scaler like the IScan or the Viewsonic. Normal TV is definitely watcheable even on the X1 and a scaler.
All the lower pictures in my X1 are standard cable with a Viewsonic TV tuner.
http://www.spacelofts.com/x1/

Picture can be better because this is standard out of box colors without calibration.

FYI

Resolutions

HDTV = 1920 x 1080
DVD 16:9 = 720x480
DVD 4:3 = 720x360
Laserdisc = 560 x 360
analog TV standard cable TV = up to 460x360 but can be less
VHS = 300 x 360

So even with the 800x600 under $2000 budget PJ you don't even optomize the DVD resolution
TV Resolution would have a lot of artifacts when blown up with a big projector image to fit a resolution of 800x600. You would need a video up-scaler to increase/clean up the signal. The external Viesonic TV tuner or DVDO I-Scan line doubler does a good job. Also some projectors have a great built-in scalers such as in the X1. If your not planing to watch much HDTV you are fine with any of the projectors recommended by the users above.

thanks for the great replies guys, i think this thread will help people out a lot, many of you have given great input, with a lot of hard facts that people can reference, i know it has helped me out...


TurboDog1, i am kind of forced to wait, im in the navy, and am currently in school for the next year or so, and i currently live on base, my room is .... 10X10, thats with a bed, computer desk, and entertainment center, so at the moment, i dont "Really" have room, my room is probably smaller than most of your bed rooms, but its the military... and its free! so more money for cool stuff like, epic 60... actually in my current room, i can only use 1 qs8... my other room was lager, but i had a roommate back then.... anyhow, i think i am rambling...



back to the point at hand, realistically the soonest that i would make a purchase is 6 months i believe... in 6 months i move off of base, for the completion of my schooling, then when i go to a boat, i will most likely live off base, and will get to "chose" where i live..

Been there; done that (Army). Thanks for your service. Stay safe.

Dakkon,

Yes, thanks for your service.

Given your situation, most definitely wait on the PJ. In the meantime, start trolling around the AVS Forum's projector forum. You will learn more than you need about the different projectors and what suits your situation. Truthfully, many PJ enthusiasts will tell you that they took the plunge on their projectors based mostly upon all the different posts in that forum. With very limited access to the different projectors, that forum is most often the best source of information about projectors.

Good Luck.

saturn whats up with your web host, that is hosting your images??

also what view sonic unit are you using?