LCD projector buyer's guide

Buying your first LCD projector can be very daunting. There is a lot of confusing terminology and concepts that you are bombarded with as you try to make your decision. However as always the best way to start looking for the right LCD projector is to have a good think about what your requirements are.

Are you only planning on watching DVD movies? Do you want to use it with a computer? Do you need portability? Will you be using the projector with high levels of ambient light?

Once you know what you will most likely use the LCD projector for it's time to set your budget. Basically your either looking for a basic SVGA projector under $1000, a widescreen LCD projector just over $1000 or an XGA projector around $2000. If you really want the best you can spend $4000 plus on WSXGA LCD projectors that will display super high resolutions in 16:9 format.

16:9 or 4:3 native aspect ratio

Some projectors like the Toshiba TDP-MT500 only support a native widescreen format (1024x576 resolution). This means they are much more suited to watching movies than regular TV or computer video card output which is generally in the 4:3 aspect ratio.

Most budget LCD projectors under $1000 are 4:3 and are designed with presentations in mind. However these projectors are really good for home theatre applications and often have inexpensive and long lasting lamps further endearing them to people who want cheap running costs. Since these inexpensive projectors will project an image from 60"-120" even with black bars at the top and bottom (16:9) the image will be much larger than any large screen TV set you can buy for under $1000.

Of course these cheap projectors are fantastic when hooked up to your computer, however you'll have to put up with low resolutions (800 by 600) in your games.

Do I need a screen for my projector?

Basically, long term you do. However you can get away with a smooth white wall to start with. In fact I recommend this if your not sure how large you want your screen and how far you can site from it. Having a large image can look good but if you're too close to it can look bad since you see all the pixels and artifacts.

A view distance of twice the width of the screen is a good rule of thumb but everyone has their own personal preference and it would be wise for you to experiment before you buy a screen with different setup option in your home theatre room.

Ceiling Mountable

The large majority of projectors are ceiling mountable, but verify that this feature exists. Also, you must verify that a ceiling mount exists as an option for this product.