Introductory Prices For Home Theater Projectors
How much should you pay for a home theater projector? You should be able to find a home projector with acceptable SVGA or more-acceptable XGA resolution for under $2,000. Any of the projectors you find at this price point will offer all the features needed to make your den into your own private screening room.
Projector Lamps For Home Theater Projectors
Projector lamps for your home theater projector will be something you need to keep in mind as they are expensive. They can run you anywhere from $200 to $1000, with an average price of about $350. Life span can be anywhere from 1,000 hours up to 4,000 hours. When you make the purchase for your new home theater projector make sure you are aware of the life and cost of the lamp your new system will use. This may actually become a determining factor in the choice you make, since the replacement cost for lamps are all part of the overall investment for your projector.
Accesories For Your Home Theater Projectors
Now that you've purchased your home theatre projector what else do you need? Most likely you'll want to mount your projector on the ceiling, but it usually does not come standard with the system so you¡¯ll want to buy a separate kit for this. And if you're going to get a home theater projector, surround sound is a must. Investing in a 5.1 digital surround sound system will do wonders for your home theater. You will have to connect it all together so make sure to think about wiring and how to hide those wires using something like wall stripping. With this in mind, you're sure to have a great theater experience.
What Home Theaters Mean
The first thing that comes to mind for many people when they think of home theater systems is movies. However, there are many other things that can be enjoyed if you have a home theater system. If you like playing games, your gaming system can be connected to the home theater system, offering great surround sound and picture quality when playing. If you're someone who likes showing slide shows to friends and family members, hooking your computer up to the home theater system is not difficult, and can give you a viewing experience you never knew possible.
Price Comparison On Home Theater Projectors
Prices for you home theater projector will vary with the features and quality you're looking for. An introductory projector with the novice in mind can cost under $1,000, but one with solid resolution and brightness will run you around $1800. For those of you with a designated home theater and must have all the features and the best quality available, you find pricing to be at about $3000. But high-end systems go as high as $9,000. Because pricing varies dramatically, you can comparison shop for systems yourself using the Internet as a tool, by visiting comparison and review Web sites.
Sound And My Home Theater Projector
One of the main reasons to have a home theater projector is to have the best theater experience possible, to make it feel like you're really at the theater. Most projectors come with an analog speaker built in which will leave you sadly disappointed if this is all you have to work with. If you're going to invest in a home theater projector, then surround sound is a must. You¡¯ll want to look into a surround sound system, preferably 7.1 for the best possible sound quality. This means you will need to invest in a stereo receiver that is Dolby digital capable, preferably 7.1. And then you¡¯re going to need speakers, which you can purchase as a group or one-by-one, as needed. Of course, this is going to add a lot more to the overall cost of the home theater. But if you want the full experience, it is necessary.
Casio Home Theater Projectors
Casio projectors are geared toward business and educational purposes, but can be adapted for home use. If you're looking for a versatile home theater projector that will offer you the ability to make presentations by day and show movie clips and photo scrapbooks by night, you might consider Casio. Consider the XJ-560 or XJ-360.
Leading Brands For Home Theater Projectors
There are many different brands of home theater projectors, and some are more popular than others. However, most name brands will have what you are looking for to make a great home projector experience. The home theater projectors that are not as popular as others will probably offer the same benefits a more popular brand might, but at a less expensive price. Leading Brands: Mitsubishi, Toshiba and Sanyo projectors.
My First Home Theater Projector
There are lots of different home theater projectors available but it can be overwhelming if you've never had one and don't know what you're looking for. Most of them have similar features and your pocket book may decide what system you get, although there are systems designed for newcomers. The Epson PowerLite 76c, the Microtek CX6, the Hitachi CP-RX60, and the Sharp Notevision XR-10X all receive solid reviews with the novice in mind and are priced under $1,000. But remember to check the brightness rating (lumens) as well as the resolution, so that you don¡¯t shortchange your viewing experience in exchange for saving a few bucks.
Lighting And My Home Theater Projector
One of the most frustrating things about a home theater projector will be the lighting in your home. Sunlight tends to fade the lighting quality and will make blacks look grayer. Keep in mind when purchasing a home theater projector that you'll want to be able to install it in a room which you can control the lighting, whether it be natural or electric lighting. If that¡¯s not possible, try using dark blinds or curtains, or projecting away from the light instead of toward it. Of course, higher-gain screens and brighter projectors will make a difference, too. But be prepared to pay more, sometimes a lot more for those features.
Toshiba Home Theater Projectors
If you're new to projectors and are on a budget, consider the TDP-MT200 for a well rounded product offering valuable features, but not too many to make you overwhelmed. This Toshiba projector is easy to use as well. If you have a little more money to spend you may want to go for the TDP-MT500 because of the added features, although it is meant for advanced users. If you're a home theater guru and money is of no concern, you're going to want the TDP-MT800 for maximum features and performance. It doesn't get any better than this.
Mitsubishi Home Theater Projectors
Mitsubishi offers two new wide-screen, high-definition home theater projectors. Mitsubishi projectors offer introductory pricing, but offer some high-end features that will make your home theater a true screening room. The HC3000U offers high-definition resolution (WXGA) and 1,000 lumens of brightness for about $2500. Add another $500 for the HD4000U and you can double the brightness to 4,000 lumens.
Wiring And My Home Theater Projector
Wiring is probably the most difficult issue to overcome with your home theater projector. The projector is behind you and usually mounted to the ceiling and your sound system, cable box, DVD or any other electronics will most likely be in front of you. Because of this, many wires need to be connected and hidden. You'll want to hide the wires inside your walls if possible, but that can be time consuming and expensive. An alternative is to use wall stripping which will cover the wires on your walls and camouflage with the wall color, these strippings cost only a few dollars. Keep this in mind when purchasing your new home theater projector and make sure you ask if there are any other options recommended by the manufacturer efore purchasing.
Home Cinema Projector Screens
Screens make a difference for home theater projectors. Everything from quality, resolution, brightness and glare will be affected. You also want to keep durability in mind. Here are some tips for purchasing a home cinema projector screens:
* If you¡¯ve invested in a widescreen format projector, you need to get a widescreen screen, too.
* If space is limited, consider a portable projection screen that rolls into the screen case, or a traditional tri-pod screen that can be folded up and put away.
* Consider screen gain ¨C how much light your screen can capture ¨C especially if you¡¯re going to be dealing with ambient light in the room.
* Consider a gray screen for improved contrast.