hello, i have a hitachi cpx-260. i didn't care for hd when i bought it about 1 year ago but i just bought a ps3 and hooked it up to the projector. video games and movies look hd. i'm now addicted to hd video and sound. i know it looks good now but it's not "full hd" and it bothers me.

i live in japan (military base) and there's no hd programming but i'm moving back to the USA soon (september) so should i get the mitsubishi HC5000u projector which is about $2k or a Samsung HL61A750 61-inch 1080p LED Powered DLP HDTV?

the HC5000u seems like a good buy and a nice upgrade. the samsung hdtv is only $1500.00 and it won't ever need a bulb replacement. but the screen will feel small compared to a projector screen.

so my question is do i get a hd projector so i can have a huge viewing screen but have to replace the lamp every 2 years or get the samsung and keep it untill the ultraHDhits the shelves? i'm thinking about getting......both.

The projector now. They look great, are nicely transportable when you move, and nothing that comes out anytime soon is going to make today's projectors look bad. 1080p projectors are entering their prime, so its time.

I had a Mits HC5000. It was a good projector but slow iris was quite noticable when gaming , not too noticeable for movies. If you buy in Japan you will not have the US warranty when you move back to US. The panels on my HC5000 went bad after about 2500 hours in 1 year, Mits replaced the entire optical block. To do that out of warranty would have cost an arm and a leg.
The US pricing is very competitive. Have a look on the web and you'll often find projectors have better prices in US than in Japan, with a few exceptions. I would suggest keeping an eye on the BenQ W5000, which is priced just over $2000 after rebate. The price may go even lower in Sept when the new 2009 models are announced.