Light control is the absolute requirement for front projection, and to some level for rear projection. Any store you go into with rear projection setups (Mitsubishis) have them in the darkest areas of the store typically, and there is a reason for that.
Now, you have to understand, that the light engine that drives a rear projection TV is a PROJECTOR... (shocker!) So, if you think a rear projection TV looks good, then you will be very happy with front projection.
The biggest issue people have with front projection is that they think they can watch them with light coming through windows, or that they can get perfect results with a lot of light in the room, or even white walls and white ceilings. While you can get GOOD results, there's a vast difference between good and great, and front projection is capable of [strike]excellent, movie theater rivalling, quality[/strike]
totally annihilating the best theaters in your area, including the expensive DLP theater, the even more expensive IMAX theater, I mean just wipe the floor, are you freakin' kidding me you'll never go to the theater again.
The key is $50 in dark paint. Not black (necessarily) but a dark color that you choose and the darker the better. Add a lot of zoned lighting to the room and you have a movie theater setup no matter what room you are in. If there are windows, get some blackout shades and some thick drapes to add to the mix.
That's for BEST results. Those are the type of results that will visually match a good plasma or lcd television and will exceed the quality of a rear projection display. Rear projection typically goes through a fresnel type screen and this actually degrades image quality. IMO, one of the worst images comes from rear projection, though cheap LCDs are actually the worst, the best LCDs rival the stuff Mits. is putting out. Front projection doesn't have to pass through a plastic screen so with a good screen you can really get stellar results.
With lights on, you start losing image quality rather drastically.
http://www.avintegrated.com/lighting.html
Above are some examples of light impact on a 106" front projection setup with a projector that is about 8 years old at this point and not as bright as the current projectors. I will likely re-shoot those photos at some point with my newere 1080p projector.
Anyway, your room, and your viewing habits (day/night/bright/dark/etc.) are really what determines whether you are a candidate for front projection or not. I'm a huge fan of front projection, but it is a simple fact that some people want front projection yet don't want to actually make a space for front projection, then complain when they get poor results.
