Cheapest projector TV worth getting?

[dibbs]

One of my insane roommates just informed me of a deal being run for 129$ for a projector TV at a local store, almost too good to be true but he saw it and talked to the salesperson about it. In stoke we've already rearranged the furniture etc. to accomodate this new toy.

Well, just checking the website, the pricetag is 1,299.00, YEA. He swears the lady was telling him 130 too, but who knows.

Now we want a projection TV. What is the cheapest one that would be worth getting?

[webgator]

Build your own with much better quality. My dad's neighbor built one with plans from this site and it rocks! Excellent forum with lots of great info and pics.

http://www.lumenlab.com

[astroglide]

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Build your own with much better quality.

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i think if this were the case we would already be inundated with companies selling "diy" projectors to the mainstream. they've been around for some time. when i looked into them i recall problems such as signifigant heat output, extremely slow lamp startup time, low lumens, etc. not that it's a rip-off or that it shouldn't be considered as an option. from what i read it looked far from equal, much less superior, and i suspect if that had changed the world would have noticed.

[Blarg]

I've read that the bulbs are very costly, so you average out spending hundreds of bucks per year on bulbs even if nothing goes wrong, i.e., short-outs, bad bulbs, whatever.

I believe the business about heat. Projectors can get very hot.

[webgator]

Heat output is the biggest concern, that's why you use fans! As for being low lumens, that may have been the case when the DIY's started out, but after seeing one in person I was truly amazed at the clarity and intensity of both color and light! Besides, the bulbs used for these setups are 33,000 lumens...hardly dim by any standard! I know some of the older and present "cheaper" setups want you to just use a TV and send that image through a fresnel lens, which will produce a far inferior image when compared to a the bulb's light directed through a 15" flat panel monitor then projected on the wall.

As for the cost of bulbs, they are about $50 per bulb and last about 20,000 hours. Plus everything you need can be bought from the above website, including tech support.

Either way I am exploring this option and will probably build one just for grins. If I decide to I will post here for all to see.

Some of the pics posted in their Project Gallery are just mind blowing! Here's one example http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index...=7739&st=0