I have an older Benq projector. It's a 720P DLP, I like it and I would buy another Benq. However, the new JVC's look tempting. I have a 135" da lite, be forewarned though... When your use to watching TV, or movies on a 100+" screen, your friends 60+" flat screen TV will seem quite puny.... I am having to "suffer" with a 60 rear projection DLP for the time being....
When i was using my 135" screen i was sitting around 10' away... I had a 96" image for a while, at about a 5 foot sitting distance.. the sizes were about comparable when sitting distance is taken into account..
How far away from your screen will you be sitting? Also, the Benq was a short throw projector which was nice for me since i was moving around quite a bit....
The one thing that i did not necessarily like about using the projector as my "TV" was that the room had to be blacked out to enjoy it, with a non-front projector product, ambient room lighting isn't an issue.
your price range covers products from panasonic, as well as Benq.. According to projector central the JVC product is about 3,500$... I had a buddy who had an optoma projector at the same time i got my Benq, my Benq had a much better picture than the Optoma..
By BenQ was circa 2004, so it has been a while since i have researched projectors, and the quality of the above brands could have changed since then.
Hope this helps.
