Need Some Advice regarding Projectors...from you Experts

[TonyMontana]

I have very little knowledge of projectors and what kind of specifics I should be looking for..........and was told this was the place to come to fine the most knowledgeable people in this field.......hope you can help me out.

Anyways........I've been offered a Epson EMP-810 for $650 canadian......

It's got ........

- LCD projector with a native XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution
-2,000 ANSI lumens
-VGA, DVI, S-Video and composite inputs
-USB inputs

.....and i have NO clue what most of this means............especially the lumens.....


I would GREATLY appreciated any advice you guys could give me on this.......If it's a good purchase.......things to be wary of......things I might want to buy for it...........things I may need..........info on bulbs.......etc etc..


Thanks in advance gents...........

[Edit : Please avoid double posting. Thanks - Admin]

 

[BMXTRIX]

Well, the first thing to do is take some time researching about projectors. There is some good info here and there is one additional site that is a must read. Several hours can be spent reading their articles.

www.projectorcentral.com

A list of questions for you now:

1. How do you plan on using this projector (home? business?)

2. What type of environment is it going into?

3. Is the room 100% light controlled?

4. Are you prepared to pay $300+ for a new bulb right away if the one in it fails?

5. Do you plan to watch DVD? HDTV? Regular TV?

6. Do you have a surround audio setup?

7. Is your budget completely limited?

This projector:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_810P.htm

is designed 100% as a business projector. The DVI input doesn't mention that it has HDCP decryption which is a security measure to keep you from copying HD material. If the DVI input doesn't have it, you won't be able to hook up a upconverting DVD player or HD cable via DVI. This is bad if you want to use this primarily for home theater.

Lumens are a measure of brightness. Home theater projectors typically run about 1,000 lumens and far less after calibration, in a home theater. When you are in a completely dark room, a really bright projector doesn't matter that much.

What does matter?

Contrast ratio.

The newest batch of LCD HD projectors are specified at about 5,000:1 contrast ratios. The one you are looking at is 400:1 That is the maximum achievable difference between the darkest black and the brightest white.

To say things have progressed since your projector was manufactured for the first time (Aug. 2001) is an understatement.

My opinion? No, I wouldn't get it unless I was desperate for something for my office at a good deal right now. For home, I would save up a bit more for a Optoma H31 or InFocus SP4805 at the very least. If I could swing it then the Panasonic AE900 and the Sanyo Z4 which will be released in about a month should be totally killer for home use.

As I said, spend a few hours reading the sites here and at Projector Central. You can always ask for clarification as things go along.

 

[RLA]

........I've been offered a Epson EMP-810 for $650 canadian

Have to agree with BMX
this would not be a good choice for HT applications I would take the Infocus 4805 or Optoma H-31 over this projector in a heart beat Now if $650 is your max limit for the projector look for a referb Infocus X-1 It would also be a better choice even though it is 800x600 resolution.
My advice Run away from that deal

 

[majorloser]

My advice, don't buy a used projector unless it's a GREAT deal. You'll probably have to buy a new bulb. If you plan on using the projector for home theater look for a WXGA unit. This will give you a native 16:9 picture. I just got rid of my Yamaha DPX-1 (XGA) for a Optoma H78-DC3. At 3 years old the DLP formatter for the Yamaha failed, and it wasn't a cheap projector. That's basically the DLP's brain.