How To Buy a Home Theater Video Projector

Video projectors are a great solution to owning a big picture, without the big TV. Home projects have come a very long way in recent years, this means they look better than ever, have eliminated many past issues, and are actually affordable for the general masses to buy.

1. The first step in buying a projector is to know which type of projector you want. The two biggest and most affordable technologies are LCD and DLP.

   LCD projects have better color saturation, brightness, and display much more detailed images. DLP on the other hand show less pixelation on the screen, and are actually much, much smaller and more portable. Depending on whether or not you plan to move your project often, that should determine whether you will want a DLP, or an LCD projector.

   However, there is a third new technology called LCOS. LCOS provides much higher resolutions, but is also much more expensive, and the lamp life is very limited, meaning expensive replacements.

2. When purchasing a projector, you also have two very important things to consider: Resolution and Brightness. For Brightness, you will need to determine how many lumens your projector should be. This can range from hundreds, to multiple thousands. Determining a good lumen count is a very challenging process, and something you should ask a professional, because each case is different. However, brighter is usually better.
3. Brighter projectors allow you to see better when there is more external light in the room. If you are planning to be in a small office setting, you will get by fine with 1,000 lumens, but if you are in a large room or school auditorium, you should be looking for a projector with, at the very least, 3,000 lumens. After all, too few lumens for a certain setting is typically what gives projectors a bad name.
4. You should also consider the weight of a projector. If you are going to be mounting a projector, and leaving it, you can probably go for a heavier projector weighing 8 or more pounds. The bigger a projector, within reason, means you will be paying less. 6 pound projectors are also very cheap, and these are probably the best priced units for traveling with. Anything around 4 pounds or less will get very expensive. 6 pounds is not too heavy, and should be very easy to carry around in a shoulder bag.
5. Chances are you will want a projector with a zoom lens. Basically, a zoom lens amount of 1.3 would translate to 30%. You probably want a projector that has a decent sized zoom rate of at least 50%. This will make things easier when setting up your projector and adjusting it. It will also allow your projector to be in closer proximity to the actual screen in a small room.
6. Finally, one of the most important things to consider is warranty, often one of the most under thought. Your projector is probably going to be expensive, so you need to know how long things will last, and how much you are going to be paying for them when they break. Projector lamps, especially, can and probably will break at least once in the lifetime of your projector. You should know how long your lamp should last, see what kind of warranties you can dig up, and also check to see how much it is going to cost you to buy a new one.

Now that you know what you are after, shop around a little. Stick with well known companies, as these will give you quality projectors at great prices, and probably will have a safer warranty deal. Check around in major retailer stores where they will have many projectors to compare, or shop online to see if you can't pick up a used projector for a good deal. Just make sure you know how long it has been used, and how long it will be before you will be purchasing a new one.