helllp Should I buy the GT750? I'm new to PJ's

What's your budget?

Screen size?

Throw distance?

The GT750 does not have a zoom lens, so that's not good.

I can't recommend anything if you don't answer my questions.

I was going to make this same topic so I may as well just hijack this one.

I'm almost sold on GT750e based on what I've read. I know it's the right size/distance for the room (not sure about ceiling height). I'm also new to pjs so some general questions.

Something I've never seen brought up anywhere: How is the startup time? I've heard elsewhere some projectors can take a full minute to start up, which would be a serious drawback.

Lighting is another concern. Supposedly this is the brightest projector you can get for the price, yet just judging by pics/footage I've seen it seems to look downright unacceptable with any light in the room. I'd be using a room with no windows so sunlight would be no problem, but I'd at least like to be able to use it under some relatively dim light at times.

A major noob question on projection: Why project onto a white surface rather than black? Wouldn't black, y'know, improve the black levels? or would that be at the expense of destroying the whites?

And would it look good just projected onto a clean, light grey-ish wall, or would a special screen or paint make a huge difference?

I just threw up my tripod screen and turned on my gt750. I recently acquired a hd-dvd player with a bunch of movies at a great price so I decided to give the Hulk a spin. I turned off all the lights but the ceiling and walls are white so I have the reflections other people fuss about. I have my computer on, so my 24 inch screen is shining. I flipped on the desk light for good measure. I have the lights in the bathroom on and the door ajar and the other adjoining door open with the lights on in that room.

Even after all that I have no problem with the image. It's like watching tv. Since I'm watching on my portable 60X60 screen, I have the projector about 43 inches away to fill the width of the screen. I think it's a fantastic projector.

Oh geez... Disregard most of that stuff I said about lighting. Apparently I'm such a noob that I forgot how light and darkness even works.

A projector will be no good to replace my TV for casual daytime viewing. I still want one for 3D games and movies though and this seems like the best bet.

I currently only have the Optoma BG-ZD101. I just ordered the SainSonic SSZ-200DLB, but I won't get those until the weekend. I wear no line bifocals, and the Optoma's worked fine for me despite my wonky vision.

For myself I know this is the only pj with all the features I want, but still, a lot of potential issues. Black levels, digital keystoning, reflected lighting, rainbow effects... It still seems like a gamble for something with no way to try before you buy.

True, but that's the risk with almost all projectors -- you have to buy before you try. Just find a retailer with acceptable return privileges if you don't like the unit.

There are some used ones available from Amazon.

Compared to the Optoma's they are lighter weight and fit over my glasses better. I watched about 10 minutes of Finding Nemo 3D. I feel the Optomas diplayed a better image but the SainSonics were still good. A great option for extended your glasses collection.

I got a factory furb from Buydig for well under $500 after searching for a good promo code. Seems perfect, I mean seemed in brand new condition when received.

I am loving this thing so far. 2D performance was massively improved over my GT700 I had before.

Okay, I ended up getting one of these and I'm pretty impressed. It's mostly what I was hoping for. Looks great just projected on my light grey wall. I can see the RBE sometimes but it's not a big deal to me.

What is kind of a big deal is the reflected lighting. This is nothing like watching a TV with the lights off or being in a movie theater. When the projected image is bright the whole room lights up, and of course that washes out the image. It's not that much of a problem in 3D but I'd still like to use it in 2D at times... so what are my options for dealing with this? Drapes? Paint? Would just having one of those black borders help a lot?

I'm also a bit disappointed in the glasses that came with it which do display a lot of crosstalk unless you tilt them downwards a bit. I may try and modify them somehow so they stay tilted.

Other than that I'm satisfied and intend to keep this, especially seeing as there aren't really any alternatives for short throw 3D projectors.