Cheap projector recommendations

[h2w]

Hi, im thinking about getting a projector. Will be going in a reasonably sized bedroom where there is currently just a 26" HDTV.

Will be using it with:

PS3 (use this as my tuner/pvr with playtv and 320gb hdd)
360
Wii
and DVD

Currently have surround sound, but think i'll need to get a good av receiver to handle all the connections to the TV and projector.

I guess my budgets around £400-500, which i dont suppose will get me a HD projector. As you can probably tell i dont know much about them so hope you can help!

 

[gunark]

Hi, im thinking about getting a projector. Will be going in a reasonably sized bedroom where there is currently just a 26" HDTV.

Will be using it with:

PS3 (use this as my tuner/pvr with playtv and 320gb hdd)
360
Wii
and DVD

Currently have surround sound, but think i'll need to get a good av receiver to handle all the connections to the TV and projector.

I guess my budgets around £400-500, which i dont suppose will get me a HD projector. As you can probably tell i dont know much about them so hope you can help!

There are some around that price I'm sure (bit out of the PJ game, happy with mine) but my advice is to consider 2nd hand too. As long as you know the hrs on the bulb you can make an educated guess as to whether it's worth it or not. This way you could get a second hand 720p PJ like a Sanyo Z series and a cheap screen like an Allcam for under £500, maybe under £400. Most of the sellers on the (pretty busy) TV and Projectors For Sale forum should be decent and knowledgeable. As ever though, caveat emptor!

 

[sgt_raffie]

I got a nice sanyo z3 off here second hand and it bril (and defo was within Your budget). As stated before - If You can be sure on bulb hours and condition I see no reason to miss a good second hand opportunity. TBH 75% of my AV stuff is second hand and I never had any problems yet.

 

[kdr1066]

I'm still very happy with the Optoma HD72i I bought 4 years ago, cost well over £1000, and a quick look through the classifieds here found one went for less than 300 quid recently, including a ceiling mount, and it was on a new bulb (which are nearly £200 alone). At those sort of prices, I'd just keep my eyes open for a bargain . And there's plenty of information on the forums here to research before you buy. Good luck.

 

[kbfern]

New you have a choice of the following pj's all are dlp which means you need to check whether rainbow issue is a problem for you or not.

Planar PD7010 at £449 (creative audio have a few b stock) these were a £1300 pj a couple of years ago.

Optoma HD700x or HD65 around mid £400's and Infocus X9 £500ish.

All these are 720p HD projectors and all will give you a superb picture for the money.