Confused - Lamp or LED - To 3D or not to 3D

[jsanand]

Well must say it was diplomat's thread on ACER K130 that seeded this bug of buying a projector. Till then, never thought that projector is financially feasible (in terms of stories heard on lamp life) as well as their viability in an apartment without much dedicated space for a projection of content.

Now that the bug has bitten me, unable to decide on a projector.

Key requirement factors
1. Room size - 12' x 16' (No exclusive space for projection - a plain wall will be used initially for projecting content)
2. Purpose - primarily watching movies
3. Light penetration - I am not sure if I will be able to secure a fully pitch black room. Some form of light penetration will always be there
4. 3D content required - well not exactly, but the idea of viewing 3D on large projection is tempting
5. Lumen/brightness required - not sure
6. Usage pattern - may be 3-4 hours at stretch, 3-4 times a week
7. Resolution required - MAX 720P for the moment. Low my plasma against any 1080p LED.
8. Short Throw - yes as in a small room it will help me get the biggest possible picture


I have read a lot of debate on LED/LAMP based projectors so life of a lamp is not a factor.

Key worries
- will a lamp based projector cause too much bright light that ambient light may distort the viewing pleasure
- will lack of bluray 3D support and soft focus issues associated with LED projectors spoil the fun of it

Key projectors shortlisted

Lamp based
1. Viewsonic PJD5134
2. Viewsonic PJD5533w
3. BenQ W710ST (read some very negative reviews on this PJ)

LED based
1. ACER K330 (soft focus, no 3D support minus a pc!)
2. LG PA70G (focus issues)
3. Viewsonic PLED W500

All of the above have been identified from Amazon and I am on a short trip in Canada so will be having them shipped from US.

Request help on finalizing one...thanks in advance friends!

(P.S. right now inclined on K330 and PJD5134)

 

[sash]

My experience on 3D. Before i bought my PJ, i thought i'll watch a lot of 3D. I have tons of 3D content - almost all the 3D movies released. The projector does a great job of rendering the 3D too - no issues on that either.
But reality is i have barely watched any 3D. I didn't complete even a single movie - for some reason it seemed to be a hassle. I get bored with it really.
So for me 3D is a feature that i could have ignored.

 

[robovind]

I agree with the previous post. Before the purchase thought of watching all my collections in 3D in huge screen but to my dismay I have bad experience with active shutters - may be subjective. Needless to say the quality of 3D with huge projection is awesome but not even completed a full movie. Now sticking with passive 3D with compromised res. and happy eyes.

 

[007india]

what ever may be the purpose you use, unless there is 95% darkness in room, LED is ruled out, only lamps will help. Because, watching an image from LED with external light is like watching a LCD TV with window glare. Lumens is always there to get a good picture especialy when you incline towards movies and you don't have a proper screen too.

most projectors offers 3D via PC only, check this point while shortlisting a projector. For this you need to have enough 3D titles which usually comes in BlueRay and might be played in PC which needs a BD player and computer should have a HDMI port from which you will connect to projector. I can say unless you have some 25 3D titles, please don't give enough importance for 3D. Also screen must be a reflective one (suitable with a fixed screen) and proper 3D glass.

Think over.

Key requirement factors
1. Room size - 12' x 16' (No exclusive space for projection - a plain wall will be used initially for projecting content)
2. Purpose - primarily watching movies
3. Light penetration - I am not sure if I will be able to secure a fully pitch black room. Some form of light penetration will always be there
Request help on finalizing one...thanks in advance friends!

(P.S. right now inclined on K330 and PJD5134)

 

[prosenjit]

Also screen must be a reflective one

you forgot to add NOT i belive...
as pj screen shd be a non reflective one

to op..why not considering epson 550..latest launch..epson india warrranty..enough enough lumen can perform in a tube lit room perfectly..52k..3d ready..throw is perfect for your room size..well its a 3 lcd ..if you have set your mind for dlp..then yes its a nono
and flat white wall is quite good than cheap screens..

 

[just4kix]

A serious HT enthusiast should never consider LED projectors, at least not yet. Unless the budget is a big problem. LED projectors suffer from:

- low brightness
- short throw
- no lens adjustments

Having said that, bulb projector is the way to go.

Important Home Projector Features to be considered
Your budget will mostly decide the projector but within those constraints, the following order should be your choice of emphasis:

• Contrast Ratio: Choose the projector that has high (native) contrast ratio. Choose a projector that has at least 3000:1 native contrast ratio. The higher the contrast ratio, the more expensive the projector will be.
• Brightness:After paying due consideration to contrast ratio, choose a projector that has got good brightness. A minimum of 600 ANSI lumens should be the benchmark.
• Aspect ratio: Since you will be using the projector for watching cinema, choose the native 16x9 aspect ratio. I will not recommend the 4:3 aspect ratio - leave that for the boardroom.
• Native resolution: This is another very important factor. If you can afford it, absolutely aim for full-HD 1080p (1980x1080) projector. Otherwise you can settle for near-HD or 720p (1366x768) projector. But do not think anything below, e.g. VGA (640x480). It will be sheer waste of money.
• Zoom lens: The zoom lens gives the flexibility to adjust the picture size depending upon the projection distance (aka throw distance). A zoom factor or 1.2:1 lets you adjust the size by 20% only. So choose a projector that has a zoom lens of 2:1.
• Lens shift: This is a very important feature. Lens shift (horizontal or vertical) allows the projection image to be displayed correctly even if the projector is not horizontally or vertically aligned to the projection surface. So there is no need to move the projector but the lens shift does the job.
• Keystone Correction: If the projector is not pependicular to the projection surface, the projected image appears like a trapezoid instead of a rectangle. Keystone correction is a feature that lets you correct the trapezoid form to some extent. Keystone correction is always a vertical correction and digital in nature. Keep in mind that applying keystone correction results in a loss of detail and sharpness, but it can be invaluable when your projector cannot be set up perfectly square with the screen. Keystone correction is nice feature to have but not at all recommended to use - funny but true.
• Lamp Life: A projector uses a high power lamp to project the picture. This is the most imporatant component of the projector. Choose a projector with long lamp life like 3000 hrs. or so. 3000 hours is a really long time. If you watch your projector daily for 3 hours, you will 1000 days or nearly 2.75 years. And this is virtually not possible. You are more likely to turn on the projector for no more than 8 hours per week.
• Fan Noise: A projector has a built-in fan that cools the lamp. High fan noise will be a great irritant especially because, the projector is most likely to be near your sitting position. You will not like any (loud) humming sound to disturb your dialogues. Hence choose a projector with low fan noise.

Regarding 3D:
All 3D projectors use active 3D technology, as far as I know. I have heard some passive 3D projectors but these are believed to be extremely expensive. I have not read any review of such (passive 3D) projectors. So there will be a 3D glasses and their cost to be factored in. 3D projectors are costlier and one must determine for self whether the '3D' part will be used, and if yes, by how much or if at all.

 

[jsanand]

you forgot to add NOT i belive...
as pj screen shd be a non reflective one

to op..why not considering epson 550..latest launch..epson india warrranty..enough enough lumen can perform in a tube lit room perfectly..52k..3d ready..throw is perfect for your room size..well its a 3 lcd ..if you have set your mind for dlp..then yes its a nono
and flat white wall is quite good than cheap screens..

Prosenjit,

I will be buying the projector in USA (mostly from Amazon). In INR the max budget is INR 30K (even this was approved after lot of application refusals by the home finance minister ) So Acer K330 and Viewsonic ones that I listed were the ones which were in the budget. Epson EH TW550 strangely was not listed by Amazon or NewEgg for sale.

 

[jsanand]

Thanks Jut4Kix for such a detailed response. This text of yours will help a lot of us Hifivians who are looking for a projector. My 2 cents where in I will need your support.

A serious HT enthusiast should never consider LED projectors, at least not yet. Unless the budget is a big problem. LED projectors suffer from:

- low brightness
- short throw
- no lens adjustments

Having said that, bulb projector is the way to go.

Yes Budget is a big issue...in these days of high inflation, expensive jewelry and more so expensive clothing, getting even Rs 30K approved from Home Finance Minister was a daunting task. Plus honestly, this projector is not going to be a part of a serious Home Theater...just a make shift HT arrangement as I stated in original post. Will not be fixing or mounting the projector at one place.

Important Home Projector Features to be considered
Your budget will mostly decide the projector but within those constraints, the following order should be your choice of emphasis:

• Contrast Ratio: Choose the projector that has high (native) contrast ratio. Choose a projector that has at least 3000:1 native contrast ratio. The higher the contrast ratio, the more expensive the projector will be.
• Brightness:After paying due consideration to contrast ratio, choose a projector that has got good brightness. A minimum of 600 ANSI lumens should be the benchmark.

• 
  
  Acer K330 was shortlisted basis these parameters alone. Contrast 4000:1, Brightness 500 lumens (less than 600 - agree). But the movies will be watched only at night and only interference will be light passing through curtains from other rooms.
  
  

  [*]Aspect ratio: Since you will be using the projector for watching cinema, choose the native 16x9 aspect ratio. I will not recommend the 4:3 aspect ratio - leave that for the boardroom.
  [*]Native resolution: This is another very important factor. If you can afford it, absolutely aim for full-HD 1080p (1980x1080) projector. Otherwise you can settle for near-HD or 720p (1366x768) projector. But do not think anything below, e.g. VGA (640x480). It will be sheer waste of money.

  
  Aspect ration native 16:10 for Acer and 16:9 for PJD5533W so PJD 5134 is ruled out. Resolution 1280 x 800 for above remaining in the list.
  
  

  [*]Zoom lens: The zoom lens gives the flexibility to adjust the picture size depending upon the projection distance (aka throw distance). A zoom factor or 1.2:1 lets you adjust the size by 20% only. So choose a projector that has a zoom lens of 2:1.
  [*]Lens shift: This is a very important feature. Lens shift (horizontal or vertical) allows the projection image to be displayed correctly even if the projector is not horizontally or vertically aligned to the projection surface. So there is no need to move the projector but the lens shift does the job.
  [*]Keystone Correction: If the projector is not pependicular to the projection surface, the projected image appears like a trapezoid instead of a rectangle. Keystone correction is a feature that lets you correct the trapezoid form to some extent. Keystone correction is always a vertical correction and digital in nature. Keep in mind that applying keystone correction results in a loss of detail and sharpness, but it can be invaluable when your projector cannot be set up perfectly square with the screen. Keystone correction is nice feature to have but not at all recommended to use - funny but true.
  [*]Lamp Life: A projector uses a high power lamp to project the picture. This is the most imporatant component of the projector. Choose a projector with long lamp life like 3000 hrs. or so. 3000 hours is a really long time. If you watch your projector daily for 3 hours, you will 1000 days or nearly 2.75 years. And this is virtually not possible. You are more likely to turn on the projector for no more than 8 hours per week.
  [*]Fan Noise: A projector has a built-in fan that cools the lamp. High fan noise will be a great irritant especially because, the projector is most likely to be near your sitting position. You will not like any (loud) humming sound to disturb your dialogues. Hence choose a projector with low fan noise.

Regarding 3D:
All 3D projectors use active 3D technology, as far as I know. I have heard some passive 3D projectors but these are believed to be extremely expensive. I have not read any review of such (passive 3D) projectors. So there will be a 3D glasses and their cost to be factored in. 3D projectors are costlier and one must determine for self whether the '3D' part will be used, and if yes, by how much or if at all.

Again 3D was tempting option - but will let go off that temptation. Have used lot of projectors at work so never found any of them to work with keystone adjustments - it is only pile of papers, books, cards that help.

Coming to short throw - that is a need, I need a projector that can give me 60"-70" diagonal image in least possible distance so when I compare the remaining PJs in the list K330 and PJD5533W, K330 seems to win.

 

[Amarendra]

I think the US model is called Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 750HD. It can be found on Amazon if you search by Epson 750 Hd. The price is US $ 800 and boasts of 3000 lumens

 

[just4kix]

Thanks Jut4Kix for such a detailed response. This text of yours will help a lot of us Hifivians who are looking for a projector. My 2 cents where in I will need your support.

Thank you. I am glad to help out.

Yes Budget is a big issue...in these days of high inflation, expensive jewelry and more so expensive clothing, getting even Rs 30K approved from Home Finance Minister was a daunting task. Plus honestly, this projector is not going to be a part of a serious Home Theater...just a make shift HT arrangement as I stated in original post. Will not be fixing or mounting the projector at one place.

I cannot comment on this. My recommendation is that rather than buy a compromise, not buy at all. At least that is a philosophy that I live by.

Acer K330 was shortlisted basis these parameters alone. Contrast 4000:1, Brightness 500 lumens (less than 600 - agree). But the movies will be watched only at night and only interference will be light passing through curtains from other rooms.

Lumens is too low. You will need a complete pitch dark room to enjoy at this brightness. My recommendation once again is - reconsider.

Aspect ration native 16:10 for Acer and 16:9 for PJD5533W so PJD 5134 is ruled out. Resolution 1280 x 800 for above remaining in the list.

The resolution is OK. But check whether the projector can receive 1080p signal at least.

Again 3D was tempting option - but will let go off that temptation. Have used lot of projectors at work so never found any of them to work with keystone adjustments - it is only pile of papers, books, cards that help.

Coming to short throw - that is a need, I need a projector that can give me 60"-70" diagonal image in least possible distance so when I compare the remaining PJs in the list K330 and PJD5533W, K330 seems to win.

This is where horizintal and vertical lens shift helps. The 60-70" image is not going to be immersive enough. You can buy an HD-Ready 51" TV such as Samsung 51F5500 (plasma) costing 72K that yields much better picture, sharper image, full 1080p resolution, 3D picture, a contrast that is at least 50 times better with black levels/shadow details that will be outstanding, can be watched during day time also (with controlled ambient light), etc.

Finally, let me tell you one more thing. A projector is not a replacement for TV. TV is versatile, projector is not. Plus you are saying that you will not be installing the projector permanently. So everytime, you will spend at least 15 minutes for setting up properly. The projector you are buying is low lumens. So you will need a pull-down screen with gain of at least 1.1 or more. Please consider all these factors. If I was in your place, I would opt for the TV instead. All the best.

 

[anm]

A serious HT enthusiast should never consider LED projectors, at least not yet. Unless the budget is a big problem. LED projectors suffer from:

- low brightness
- short throw
- no lens adjustments

Having said that, bulb projector is the way to go.

Important Home Projector Features to be considered
Your budget will mostly decide the projector but within those constraints, the following order should be your choice of emphasis:

• Contrast Ratio: Choose the projector that has high (native) contrast ratio. Choose a projector that has at least 3000:1 native contrast ratio. The higher the contrast ratio, the more expensive the projector will be.
• Brightness:After paying due consideration to contrast ratio, choose a projector that has got good brightness. A minimum of 600 ANSI lumens should be the benchmark.
• Aspect ratio: Since you will be using the projector for watching cinema, choose the native 16x9 aspect ratio. I will not recommend the 4:3 aspect ratio - leave that for the boardroom.
• Native resolution: This is another very important factor. If you can afford it, absolutely aim for full-HD 1080p (1980x1080) projector. Otherwise you can settle for near-HD or 720p (1366x768) projector. But do not think anything below, e.g. VGA (640x480). It will be sheer waste of money.
• Zoom lens: The zoom lens gives the flexibility to adjust the picture size depending upon the projection distance (aka throw distance). A zoom factor or 1.2:1 lets you adjust the size by 20% only. So choose a projector that has a zoom lens of 2:1.
• Lens shift: This is a very important feature. Lens shift (horizontal or vertical) allows the projection image to be displayed correctly even if the projector is not horizontally or vertically aligned to the projection surface. So there is no need to move the projector but the lens shift does the job.
• Keystone Correction: If the projector is not pependicular to the projection surface, the projected image appears like a trapezoid instead of a rectangle. Keystone correction is a feature that lets you correct the trapezoid form to some extent. Keystone correction is always a vertical correction and digital in nature. Keep in mind that applying keystone correction results in a loss of detail and sharpness, but it can be invaluable when your projector cannot be set up perfectly square with the screen. Keystone correction is nice feature to have but not at all recommended to use - funny but true.
• Lamp Life: A projector uses a high power lamp to project the picture. This is the most imporatant component of the projector. Choose a projector with long lamp life like 3000 hrs. or so. 3000 hours is a really long time. If you watch your projector daily for 3 hours, you will 1000 days or nearly 2.75 years. And this is virtually not possible. You are more likely to turn on the projector for no more than 8 hours per week.
• Fan Noise: A projector has a built-in fan that cools the lamp. High fan noise will be a great irritant especially because, the projector is most likely to be near your sitting position. You will not like any (loud) humming sound to disturb your dialogues. Hence choose a projector with low fan noise.

Regarding 3D:
All 3D projectors use active 3D technology, as far as I know. I have heard some passive 3D projectors but these are believed to be extremely expensive. I have not read any review of such (passive 3D) projectors. So there will be a 3D glasses and their cost to be factored in. 3D projectors are costlier and one must determine for self whether the '3D' part will be used, and if yes, by how much or if at all.

this is a very good list. Also - keep in mind, even reviews can be grossly misleading. Brightness can fall by a huge amount under various zoom. read through the thread on avsforum for the projector you want to buy. Some projectors may have dark corners for example. Some projectors may flicker a lot.

 

[diplomat]

sorry for bugging you for plunging into big screen arena.
I completely disagree with the fact that LED Pj are not of short throw type.
Benq led model is of ST and already owned by Saket, which he has reviewed in HFV.
You have 16ft for projection, which is nice enough to get you more than 100 inch diagonal by default for ordinary type. Short throw will push you out of wall boundary for that distance.
But I still recommend ST as the lumens will drastically decrease with projection distance for LED. You may use the PJ near to your screen for desired size, but will have lots of lumens advantage, which is precious for LED.
Look for Benq models before deciding. For budget constraint, certainly LED is best choice and believe me, you will never regret your decision.
I do agree that U need to put bit extra effort in darkening your room, otherwise best enjoy at night.....

 

[rajadeep]

Ok so I have a few questions for u before I can give any suggestions
1) Is this projector going to be used as a replacement for buying a TV... If yes, then please drop the idea right now & buy a decent TV like Just4kix suggested... An exeption to this is if u have a smaller say 32in TV for normal watching & u want a bigger display then instead of upgrading ur TV to a 46-50in size, you could buy a projector to give you that fantastic Big Screen exp(which would actually be 4 times bigger than a 50 inch plasma)
2) Are u gonna pick the projector up from the US or are u gonna buy from the US & then have it shipped to Canada... If u are returning from the US then its fine but if u are carrying or shipping the projector into canada there is the additional shipping cost & sales tax(I think its called HST in Canada) to consider... Depending on which state you are in this tax rate could vary from 5%-18%(18% is charged in Ontario, you will have to look up the tax rate of the state you are shipping it to)...
3) Next is LED vs Lamp based... Hmm now it is a dicy issue with both sides have a strong set of supporters... Normally what it comes down to is price... One of the main reason that LED projectors are popular on this forum is that many good LED projectors are available at extremely attractive price points here in India... What that also means is buying LED from the US & carrying it to India makes less sense... Take the example of the Acer K330 that you like... It is normally priced around $510 in Canada(US also is about the same pricing)... If u do a simple currency conversion the amt in rupees is 28k... Now this is not even considering the sales tax you will have to pay in Canada(upto 18%)...If you are in toronto then the final price including tax is around 33k... Now the pricing of the K330 on Flipkart is 37k... So basically you are saving a few thousand & losing out of warranty... Now bulb based projectors are a diff issue all together... They are extremely high priced in India(barring a few brands like Epson which are very well priced in India)... So Importing might make sense in this case... One projector I would suggest you look at is the Optoma HD66... It is a 720p projector with pretty good performance... Amazon.com ships it to Toronto Canada for $582... My good friend FM Santy owns this & I can personally vouch for the PQ of this projector...
4) About 3D:- Well I am not a big supporter of 3D in its present form... Even if you forget about the pros & cons of 3D, for the budget conscious 3D is a big no-no... 1st of all the projectors u have shortlisted are not natively 3D but rather "3D ready"... They all need specific set of conditions to display 3D content... Some require a PC with a Nvidia graphics card while others require a convertor box which again costs an additional $150... Then there is the cost of the Glasses... All in all I feel 3D is not really worth it for the extra costs involved...
5) Finally if u bump up your budget to 40k you can get a pretty good deal for a HD20(manufactured refurbished) in canada from canadacomputers.com... This in my humble opinion is the best Bang for buck projector u can buy in Canada... The PQ of this projector is unmatched in the budget category & this is one purchase you will not regret...
Below is on of the many youtube reviews of the HD20
Optoma HD20 Review - Gaming, Movies, iMac (Computer), even iPhone 4S!! - YouTube


Here is a video my brother shot of the HD66 in action during our visit to FM Santy's house

Santy's HD66 & DIY Screen with LED lighting - YouTube


I hope this post was helpful to you...

 

[vinay]

If the projector is of a good brand and is handled well in all respects then the adverse lamp issue will be rare keeping in mind that such rares are in everything be it humans, machines and so on.

Around 99% of the projectors will be in a apartment and in most cases the dedicated factor will not be available yet to have a projector in these situations is very easy especially if one is ready to accept a viewing distance of 4 feet onwards. There are people who like a 6 feet distance while many may want a much longer distance.

About the pitch black room that should not be a issue because in most cases people watch a movie in evening while even if there is some in-direct sunlight during the day watching, it will not hardly hamper the viewing experience, at the most one will have to use black liners behind the existing curtains etc.

All the best.

V.

Well must say it was diplomat's thread on ACER K130 that seeded this bug of buying a projector. Till then, never thought that projector is financially feasible (in terms of stories heard on lamp life) as well as their viability in an apartment without much dedicated space for a projection of content.

3. Light penetration - I am not sure if I will be able to secure a fully pitch black room. Some form of light penetration will always be there

 

[vinay]

It is not much of a problem even if there is low light keeping in mind the following and other factors.

• The light at side walls will hardly be a problem especially if they are not the usual white color lights.
  
• If lights are around 5 feet away from screen, all the more good.

Indeed if there is a good screen and projector all the more lights can be used with most ease while watching movies via projector.

While it is true that more darker the room it will be better but if one is a regular projector user for too many hours of the month then it is also good to watch some of the content with in-direct lights.

V.

what ever may be the purpose you use, unless there is 95% darkness in room, LED is ruled out, only lamps will help. Because, watching an image from LED with external light is like watching a LCD TV with window glare. Lumens is always there to get a good picture especialy when you incline towards movies and you don't have a proper screen too.

 

[vinay]

Very true.

V.

A serious HT enthusiast should never consider LED projectors

 

[vinay]

It is true probably that one does not use the projector for more then 8 hour a week.

On the other hand there will be a few people who will use the projector up to 20 hour a week as they daily need some content to watch and if they are busy during watching session then they will waste up to 20% of the bulb usage because of movie pause etc.

Indeed the fan noise of projector can be a big issue especially if it is near sitting area and all the more worse if air condition is not there.

However if the projector is ceiling mounted and is around 5 feet away from the sitting area then a lot of this noise is cancelled while if the room has an air condition then projector's fan noise is not at all heard.

So it is rightly suggested that to choose the projector with lower fan noise.

V.

[*]Lamp Life: If you watch your projector daily for 3 hours, you will 1000 days or nearly 2.75 years. And this is virtually not possible. You are more likely to turn on the projector for no more than 8 hours per week.


[*]Fan Noise: A projector has a built-in fan that cools the lamp. High fan noise will be a great irritant especially because, the projector is most likely to be near your sitting position. You will not like any (loud) humming sound to disturb your dialogues. Hence choose a projector with low fan noise.
[/LIST]

 

[jsanand]

Ok so I have a few questions for u before I can give any suggestions
1) Is this projector going to be used as a replacement for buying a TV... If yes, then please drop the idea right now & buy a decent TV like Just4kix suggested... An exeption to this is if u have a smaller say 32in TV for normal watching & u want a bigger display then instead of upgrading ur TV to a 46-50in size, you could buy a projector to give you that fantastic Big Screen exp(which would actually be 4 times bigger than a 50 inch plasma)

Thanks Rajadeep for putting in so much of effort and detailed queries plus suggestions. Was busy at work so couldn't respond earlier.

I have an existing 42 inch Plasma and no this projector is not going to be a substitute for buying a big TV. Primary usage will be watching movies.

2) Are u gonna pick the projector up from the US or are u gonna buy from the US & then have it shipped to Canada... If u are returning from the US then its fine but if u are carrying or shipping the projector into canada there is the additional shipping cost & sales tax(I think its called HST in Canada) to consider... Depending on which state you are in this tax rate could vary from 5%-18%(18% is charged in Ontario, you will have to look up the tax rate of the state you are shipping it to)...

Will be sourcing it directly from and in USA and not to Canada. It is actually cheaper to buy in India than in Canada

3) Next is LED vs Lamp based... Hmm now it is a dicy issue with both sides have a strong set of supporters... Normally what it comes down to is price... One of the main reason that LED projectors are popular on this forum is that many good LED projectors are available at extremely attractive price points here in India... What that also means is buying LED from the US & carrying it to India makes less sense... Take the example of the Acer K330 that you like... It is normally priced around $510 in Canada(US also is about the same pricing)... If u do a simple currency conversion the amt in rupees is 28k... Now this is not even considering the sales tax you will have to pay in Canada(upto 18%)...If you are in toronto then the final price including tax is around 33k... Now the pricing of the K330 on Flipkart is 37k... So basically you are saving a few thousand & losing out of warranty... Now bulb based projectors are a diff issue all together... They are extremely high priced in India(barring a few brands like Epson which are very well priced in India)... So Importing might make sense in this case... One projector I would suggest you look at is the Optoma HD66... It is a 720p projector with pretty good performance... Amazon.com ships it to Toronto Canada for $582... My good friend FM Santy owns this & I can personally vouch for the PQ of this projector...

I am equally divided on front of LED and Lamp based projectors....Optoma HD 66 is what I was considering when I started the hunt, but almost every 2nd owner is complaining on the DLP chip in that model, with spots appearing on display...so shied away from it.

4) About 3D:- Well I am not a big supporter of 3D in its present form... Even if you forget about the pros & cons of 3D, for the budget conscious 3D is a big no-no... 1st of all the projectors u have shortlisted are not natively 3D but rather "3D ready"... They all need specific set of conditions to display 3D content... Some require a PC with a Nvidia graphics card *while others require a convertor box which again costs an additional $150... Then there is the cost of the Glasses... All in all I feel 3D is not really worth it for the extra costs involved...
5) Finally if u bump up your budget to 40k you can get a pretty good deal for a HD20(manufactured refurbished) in canada from canadacomputers.com... This in my humble opinion is the best Bang for buck projector u can buy in Canada... The PQ of this projector is unmatched in the budget category & this is one purchase you will not regret...
Below is on of the many youtube reviews of the HD20
Optoma HD20 Review - Gaming, Movies, iMac (Computer), even iPhone 4S!! - YouTube


Here is a video my brother shot of the HD66 in action during our visit to FM Santy's house

Santy's HD66 & DIY Screen with LED lighting - YouTube


I hope this post was helpful to you...

It was of great help indeed...the list now has 3 contenders at my end... Acer K 330, Acer H5370BD (based on projectcentral.com review and fellow FMs recommendation in other threads) and Viewsonic pjd5533w.

 

[k2max6]

Thanks Rajadeep for putting in so much of effort and detailed queries plus suggestions. Was busy at work so couldn't respond earlier.

I have an existing 42 inch Plasma and no this projector is not going to be a substitute for buying a big TV. Primary usage will be watching movies.



Will be sourcing it directly from and in USA and not to Canada. It is actually cheaper to buy in India than in Canada



I am equally divided on front of LED and Lamp based projectors....Optoma HD 66 is what I was considering when I started the hunt, but almost every 2nd owner is complaining on the DLP chip in that model, with spots appearing on display...so shied away from it.




It was of great help indeed...the list now has 3 contenders at my end... Acer K 330, Acer H5370BD (based on projectcentral.com review and fellow FMs recommendation in other threads) and Viewsonic pjd5533w.

Taken any decision yet ? I am also in the same boat and pretty confused.Also looking at LG PB60G.

 

[just4kix]

It is an individual's decision. But ...

1) having used to the benefits of lens shift, I will never ever buy any projector without horizontal/vertical lens shift.
2) unless the projector is a single-person alternative to a large screen TV, i.e., viewing for a single person and not a family HT room, on a temporary/make-shift screen, I would stick to bulb for now at least; if budget is the constraint, I will save today and buy tomorrow
3) single chip DLP projector can give rise to artificats such as the rainbow effect; I would go for multi-chip DLP, if choosing DLP over LCD
4) both DLP and 3-LCD technologies are excellent with no major advantages or disadvantages over each other