$700-$800 projector worth it?

The plasma will have significantly better picture quality. Also, a TV can be turned on and off repeatedly over the course of a day. You don't want to do that with a projector as you will burn out the bulb faster; or shatter the bulb by turning it on when not properly cooled.

My LED projector can be turned on/off as needed like a TV. The plasma TV will best my projector image quality in terms of resolution and contrast, but the 100" size of the projected image trumps that, at least for my household usage. The $450 price tag of the projector (LG PA70G) was nice as well for such a large image. If you already have a TV and have a light controlled room such as a basement, I say get a projector. Having a TV in my bright living room and the projector in the basement, the two complement each other well. The large image size of the projector adds a whole new level of fun to watching movies and playing games. Problem now is I have to fight my kids on the weekends for projector time, lol.

I think the viewsonic pro 8200 may be worth it if you can catch one at the $700 sale price. Current price is around $800 I think. It won't have built in 3D, but image wise, and on a 120" screen it'll be twice the size of a 60" tv. I think alot of people have been happy with 'em.

If you can up your budget another hundred you could get a refurbed Epson 8350. Good blacks, accurate OOB color, and great placement flexibility. Some people have had issues with them, but if you do, Epson will keep sending you a replacement till you get one that suits you. I've been fortunate, the refurbed unit I received from Visual Apex seems to be problem free, knock on wood, and the picture is AWESOME.

Do you plan on using the projector as a tv? Or do you plan on using it a few times a week to watch the occasional movie?

If you plan on using it as a tv I would get the plasma and one of the many $500 led projectors to get your feet wet, k330 LG pa70G and so on.

Bulbs for regular projectors are around $300 each and never seem to last the 3000 or so claimed hours.

I wouldn't recommend a led 720p as you can do better with your money, unless you really need it to function as a tv regarding power on/off constantly. Some good breakdown advice. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1391476/coderguys-top-projector-picks

Power cycles will make the bulb burn out sooner, but 30 mins should be fine. 15 mins or less, maybe not. I use my pj as my main tv, watching it 2-5 hr stints almost daily. Consider you will need to buy a new bulb sooner, if you'll be watching it more than an occasional movie.

That info is not correct, the epson 8350 and pro8200 are about the same on black levels. Epson has more expensive models that do have better blacks.
The problem with the epson 8350 is that it has many problems, short bulb life, iris issue, convergence issue, dust blob issue.
And did you notice the guy that recommended it say, you might have to return it many times, and you get refurb.

And why get refurb?

At least with the pro8200 you are getting it NEW, has 3 year warranty and is cheaper than NEW epson 8350.
Also the pro8200 has 20 watts of internal speakers and comes with carrying case, and you can use it in many lighting conditions.
It is true the epson 8350 has lens shift, but that is just for someone who can't go straight back from screen and mount it. They have to be to one side of the room.
The epson 8350 is heavy, big unit, and the pro8200 is smaller, lighter and more portable.

Put it this way, you are lucky if you get 1,000 hours on bulb with epson 8350, with expensive bulb replacement.
Compare that with 6,000 hours on the pro8200 with 200 dollar bulb replacement.

Read amazon reviews on both and look in this forum room for epson 8000 issues.

The thing is, do you want a epson with known problems that for 2 years epson will keep replacing because of all the issues, or one that is more reliable with long lasting bulb life and 3 year warranty. And 300-400 dollars cheaper (new unit to new unit comparision).

There are other models to look into, keep researching and ask more questions.

Both are good units, but, after 2 years, it would be expensive to fix the epson or replace bulb every 1,000 hours at around 300 dollar a pop. Think about it.
Now some people get lucky with epson, but , even many that like epson, don't like having to replace them so much.

p.s. I own both a LG pa70g led PJ (399 dollars) and pro8200 (650 dollars) . Both are great for me. In my bedroom at night the pa70g works on about 80 inch screen, and I can turn it on and off anytime and get 30,000 hours on LED's.
The pro8200 I use in more lighting conditions on bigger screen sizes. For example, I went to my friends house a few months ago when I first got my LG pa70g , and took both PJ's to game on. But we couldn't use the pa70g because during the day, even with curtains closed the picture looked too washed out. The pro8200 looked great and we played on that PJ split screen. If I was gonna use it for group football games or multiplayer gaming/ blu ray movie watching, the pro8200 is awesome. For alone viewing in bedroom, at night in dark room, the pa70g is nice for quick on and off.
Edited by rgtaa - 3/14/13 at 5:00pm

Hey rgtaa, sticking up for the dog you have in the fight eh?

To the original poster- If you have the option to ceiling mount your projector, by all means look into a dlp model. But consider this- it doesn't do you much good to have smaller and more portable if you have to ceiling mount the projector in order to get it to work for you. That's why I recommended the 8350. The lens shift makes it so much easier to place when you don't have the ceiling option. That's when big and heavy has it's advantages in knowing that it's solidly planted on my shelf and won't budge. I don't know anything about the Viewsonic's picture quality, but if it compares well to the 8350, it must be a hell of a machine. Good luck to the op for whatever he gets, because there's a wow factor to any projector that even the biggest flat panel can't match.

The w1070 is more than likely going to be the best image under $1,500. I've never seen one, but I do own the Benq w7000 which is pretty similar. I've seen most of the sub-$1500 projectors except the w1070, I will go take a look at one probably next week if I can find a place near me that has one on display, but I expect it to look about the same as the Benq w7000 I already own. I also own the Pro8200 still and the JVC RS-45 as well. I've owned a bunch of these units and have lots of experience with the Epsons.

The Epson 8350 does do better blacks than the Viewsonic Pro8200, but the problem is at these black levels it isn't quite to the sweet spot yet anyways, so I really wouldn't purchase a sub-$1500 projector based on blacks anyhow, because the blacks are not going to be that great on any of these compared to a JVC or something. The w1070 black levels should be pretty close to the Epson 8350, the w1070 will have better blacks than the Pro8200.

The w1070 is the best deal I've ever seen on a sub $1500 projector judging from what I know about it, it's a new jump in quality for low-priced units, I don't think you can beat it anymore at this price, it has left the other ones behind.

Especially when you consider that on the street the W1070 is only a couple hundred dollars more than the 8200.