I am assuming your old Panny was a LCD projector so switching to DLP may be a bad idea. The LCD Epson 3100/3700 are on closeout at least here in the US and are about half your budget. With the extra $ you should invest in a HTPC with a decent GPU capable of running MadVR for the best available up-scaling processor for dirt cheap.
"Smart enough to know better, to old to care" ------ Dedicated Bat Cave Home Theater, JVC RS49U/Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector, 110" 16:9 Jamestown screen with variable power masking for CIW 2.50:1 to 16:9, Marantz 7009 with 7.1.4 Atmos with Ohm mains,3 DIY Subs (2 15" (1 ported, 1 sealed and a 12" 4th order bandpass), 1 DIY butt kicker, Custom Built HTPC, 18TB DroboFS NAS