Until recently I had an old projector inherented from a university to use for movie nights, but after a rather expensive bulb change the picture started flickering and it is now pretty much unusabe. So I am looking for a new one.
Things I want:
- HDMI or DisplayPort
- A standardized bulb of sorts, if possible - changing the bulb in my old projector was very specific and therefore expensive
- Reasonable brightness - I want to project across the room onto a white wall
- Somewhat silent - we have the projector behind us watching movies, so it’s good if it’s not very loud.
- Available in Europe
- Affordable
Things I do not want:
- Smart functionality or any form of spyware
It doesn’t need to be super compact, but a smaller form factor is of course an advantage. Most importantly I just want a no-nonsense projector that does the job, is as repairable as possible if something breaks, and ideally doesn’t cost a fortune.
If there’s a projector that’s reliable enough that it can safely be bought second hand that would be great.
Edit: I would ideally not pay much more than €600, and I am not very picky when it comes to picture quality - I just want to watch some movies now and then without having to buy a piece of trash with Android on it. I want a projector because I don’t want a TV in my living room, not because I want a full-blown cinema experience at home. I’m sorry I didn’t make this clear right away!
Be sure to filter for three chip designs when going for a DLP based system. Nothing more annoying than color fringing and shifting on a single chip beamer. The Epson 3200 is a good suggestion.
Thanks! That’s very useful in order to know what to look for. The Epson 3200 seems to be a solid recommendation, but it doesn’t appear to be available in Europe and also seems to be a bit on the expensive side I’m afraid.
I think there is an European version, it’s the EH-TW7000. I’m not sure it’s going to get much cheaper and still be any good.
Thank you! It seems to sometimes be on sale for a little less than €900, which is a lot but if it’s the only decent alternative out there I might have to consider it.
It does have features like resolution well above full HD and support for 3D though, both of which are completely lost on me. But it seems you’re right there’s not much to choose from at a lower price range without opting in for a bunch of anti-features.
It doesn’t actually do anything above full HD. They use a pixel shift technique that kinda sorta gets a higher resolution. But it’s more of a gimmick. I would consider it a full HD beamer.