Projector price discrepancies
Just like other electronics, projectors have major price descrepancies between mass market and boutique manufactures.
Panasonic, Sanyo, Epson, Optoma, etc. are selling 10's or 100's of thousands or projectors and have the R&D budget to bring the latest technology to market faster and cheaper. SIM is probably selling 100's or 1000's of projectors and their pricing reflects that difference.
A good analogy for receivers would be Denon and Yamaha vs. NAD and Rotel.
When you are ready to buy, also take a look at the JVC DLA-RS1U.