Optoma ml500. anyone who owns 1

I used one with a da lite 2.4 HP screen that was 119in. To me the projector was not as sharp as i wanted it to be in the first place, but it was acceptable. I would go over 106in without a HP screen. Its very doable up to 140in with a HP screen and up to 92in with a basic white matte screen

It would be too dim for my taste, unless the room is dark colored. But I'm sure many use it with 100+ white matte screens

I say go for it, you can get a 100in Elite pull down screen for $80 the last time i checked for one

I had the Optoma ML500, then I switched to the Acer H5360 which cost me $400. I prefer the Acer because the lamp life is long at 5000 on eco mode, and the picture is so much brighter. The ML500 gave me 380 lumens, while the Acer is at 1500 lumens at best mode and its 3D. A big difference, IMO. I also have a $8K JVC RS55, and I still liked the picture quality of my Acer. I use it has my PC monitor, for cable, PS3, etc... Except when I'm watching blu rays or 3D blu rays, since my JVC is in another league. But surprisingly, it does well with 720p scources compared to the JVC. The Acer H6500 is $800 and rated at 6000 on eco mode, plus its 1080p. The Viewsonic Pro8200 is another $800 1080p projector with a 6000 lamp life.

The thing about using Eco mode is that it will be best to keep the screen size under 100in if you want to use eco mode for the extra long lamp life or get a HP screen. I have both, a neutral screen that is 100in and a HP screen that is 119in. Its like the best of both worlds. You can always find deals on used screens, which are good to buy IMO. I bought like 5 used screens and never got burned doing so. You can probably find a HP pull down screen for $200 used but it will cost you 500-600 new. I personally think the HP screen is the best screen and many use them with projectors that are $20K+.

Here is pictures from my Optoma ML500 with the Da Lite HP 2.4 screen

Here is from my Acer H5360

I know the Acer I have is about $150, but I don't know about the other ones.

If you want to maximize your $1000 budget, I say get one of the 1080p projectors and a nice screen. I have a Favi screen and I don't really like the material and its cheaply made. The best screen I have is the Screen Innovations 4K screen, which is a $2000 screen and its just made beautifully. But I still prefer my Da Lite HP screen over the SI screen. I also have a Carada screen, which is a really nice screen also