How much should you pay for your projector

The main factor when anyone is looking at buying a projector is how much will it cost. This price range of a projector really reflects on the quality of the projector you will be getting. For anyone looking for a barebones home theater projector you will see a cost generally around $500 to $1000. This is a huge improvement from just 5 years ago when projectors starting price were around $2000. As projectors become more mainstream the prices have dropped dramatically. It is no longer a luxury item that is only affordable to the super rich and businesses, but now is a mainstream item that you can now buy a projector at almost any electronic store.

If you take a quick look over to Amazon.com you will see a long list of projectors that cost around $500. In fact 9 out of the top 10 projectors cost around $500! This is what confuses a lot of people when they are buying a projector. They often see deals like these and wonder why I should spend more on a projector when I can buy one for $500. Well for one thing a $500 projector is not really meant to be used as a home theater projector to display movies and definitely not blue ray. Almost all of these projectors have a native resolution of 800x600 for presentations. The entire projector is made for businesses to use for slide shows, not to play movies. So yes you can buy a $500 projector, but will you be happy, probably not.

The next main price range for a projector is usually around $700 to $1200. This is where you get into the really nice 720p (1280x720) projectors. They are actually designed to be used as a home theater projector. With this price you will see a lot nicer specs on the contrast ratio, lumen output, etc. The big improvement though is you now have an HD projector that can play movies at their native resolution of 1280 x 720. You will be amazed at how nice it is to see a movie on such a large screen and it look so good. These projectors will be able to run everything very smoothly from HD television, to watching DVD’s, and they are even a pretty good blu ray projector.

For a top of the line projector expect to spend $1200+. These are when you truly get to see the almighty power of a home theater projector. You will be watching a movie with your jaw dropped because of the true beauty of the picture being displayed. At this price range lighting and screen size will almost never be an issue because of the high lumen output. You will also notice a cleaner, darker, and crisper image that matches the quality of many high definition televisions. The main difference though is you will be able to play movies at 1080p. The fact is 1080p is not all it is cut out to be in home theater projectors. The true difference with 1080p is when it comes to watching blu ray movies. Blu ray is the only thing that truly broadcasts at 1080p. Make sure to check out our article to hear more about 720p vs 1080p. So if money is not an issue and you want the best image then this is your price range.

The last thing to remember when buying a projector is there is other expenses you need to consider. For one thing a projector uses a projector lamp that does not last as long as your average tv. An average projector lamp lasts around 2000 hours and costs around $400. Now this 2000 hours is when you almost have to replace it because its lumen output will become worse and worse as time goes on.

Another thing you need to consider is a projector screen. Yes you can just use a wall to project your image on, but if you want a better image you should really consider buying a projector screen. For more information check out post: what to look for in a projector screen.

I hope this helped feel free to leave a comment if you have any more questions.