Front projectors for a grand

For the ultimate big screen, you can't beat a front projector paired with a screen stretching 100-plus inches diagonally, about twice the size of most plasma and LCD TVs. With some 1080p projectors now selling for $1,000 or less—a fraction of what most cost just a year or two ago—and screens and sound systems available for several hundred dollars each, a top-notch setup can actually cost you less than you'd spend on the largest flat-screen TV.

Bang for the buck

We asked our resident TV experts, led by engineer Claudio Ciacci (who has enjoyed a front projector at home for more than 10 years), to check out two of the first $1,000 1080p projectors to hit the market: the Optoma HD20 and Vivitek H1080. Both delivered a lot of bang for the buck.

The Optoma had very good to excellent HD picture quality, with excellent detail and satisfying brightness, color, and contrast. Minor flaws included jagged edges in film mode (when playing 1080i film-based content, but not 1080p) and less than ideal black levels. But it's the best under-$1,000 projector we've seen, rivaling models that cost three times as much.

The Vivitek did respectably, with very good HD picture quality, but it didn't quite match the Optoma for overall brightness, color, contrast, and resolution. Like the Optoma, its black levels were good, not great. On the plus side, it was quieter, with better connectivity and accessories.

What a higher price gets you

How do these low-priced projectors stack up to a $2,000-to-$3,000 model? The best of the pricier units offer excellent picture quality, with brighter images, stronger contrast, and deeper black levels. Most have a better zoom lens, allowing more flexibility in where you can place the projector, and a horizontal and vertical lens shift that lets you center the image on the screen without using keystone correction. (That "squares up" an image projected from an off angle but can reduce resolution.) Many also have an auto iris control to improve black levels. Still, it's hard to beat these projectors, especially the Optoma, for value, and they're smaller, lighter, and more portable than the big boys.

The Optoma and Vivitek are single-chip DLP projectors, so they're susceptible to the so-called rainbow effect—a flash of color some viewers notice mainly when moving their eyes across bright objects on a dark background. It isn't obvious to everyone, but once noticed, it can be annoying. Our tester saw it somewhat on the Optoma; on the Vivitek, it was very noticeable and distracting in some scenes. Some expensive DLP projectors use three chips, as do LCoS and LCD models, none of which produce rainbows.

Not ideal for everyday viewing

To enjoy the best picture quality from a projector, you need a dark room. Any light that falls on the screen reduces contrast and washes out the picture. Thus a projector is more practical for evening movie watching under controlled lighting than for everyday viewing.

You can vary picture size by moving the projector closer to the screen or farther back, and adjusting the zoom and focus control. As you move the projector farther from the screen, the image gets larger but dimmer. We've found an image of about 110 inches to be the sweet spot for impact and brightness for projectors we've tested. You would place the Optoma or Vivitek 12 to 15 feet away to fill the screen, then sit about 14 feet away (a bit closer with the best HD content, such as a Blu-ray disc) for the best viewing. With a smaller projected image you can sit closer.

Projectors don't have TV tuners and most have no speakers (the Vivitek has a small speaker for monitoring audio). Expect to replace a projector's bulb every 2,000 to 3,000 hours, for about $350.