I need help picking a projector that's right for me!

That is an easy question to answer! You need a short throw projector. The problem you will have is getting one in your price range. The best out there that I know that is close to your price range is an Optoma PRO450W which can be found for about $525.00. Try consignia.ca, they sell it for $539.00 new with a full 1 year warranty. It will project a HUGE image from 11' of 221 inches so another foot would be even bigger. There is no prjector which will fill a 20' foot wide screen from that distance, but a short throw projector will be HUGE!

Of course if you are willing to spend more money there are other short throw projectors out there. Just search for short throw and see what you can find. The Optoma PRO450W is, I am almost certain, your best choice though because it is 720p, short throw, close to your price range, and is known(in its original name the GT700) as an excellent projector for gaming and movies.

Good Luck and let us know what you choose.

Also remember that the bigger the image, the bigger the pixels. At 7-8ft I can see pixelation on a 120in image from my 720p projector. If you could fill that ginormous screen, it probably wouldn't look very good from a 12 ft seating distance.

Sure it supports 1080p signals! It is not native 1080p and therefore will be a maximum of 1600x1200 and it is native 1280X800 and is known, all over youtube in its various forms GT700 GT720 GT750E PRO450W, of being great with a clear picture, even at short seating distances. If you want bigger than 100 or so inches you cannot go any other way than a short throw. And because of that fact, you will be limited to 720p because there are no 1080p short thorw projectors on the market as of yet. ( At least that I could find )............Seeing pixels can be an issue, but it is much more relevent with LCD based projectors. I have a native 4:3 DLP based Dell 2200mp that is 10 years old and you can walk as close a 4 feet or so to without seeing any SDE( screen door effect) pixels. If someone can come on here and tell you of any other way to achieve a large screen size to fill out your screen for around $500.00 with 1080p I will be on my way to the same place as you to buy one.

No it surely is not. It is native 4:3 which means it is not native wide screen and will have to convert incoming HD signals and is not a home theatre projector. It will give you a big image because it is a short throw projector, but that is where it, "meeting your needs", ends.

In many cases you can research and surf forums endlessly to find a suitable projector, but in your case there is really a severe shortage of options. This is good though because you can simply choose one of the few. Each manufacturer might have a short throw projector, but not many posess the specific ability to play HD in 720p with a DarkChip 3 DLP. Trust me, if you want a big image at a short distance that is HD and affordable, the Optoma line is your best bet.