Home Theater geeks, I need your opinion

I\'m eyeing this projector, and it seems pretty kick ass for being under 1500 bucks, what do you think, and opinions?;

The Dell™ 2300MP Projector is an ideal combination of high brightness and XGA resolution. With 2300 ANSI lumens (max)1 brightness and a super high 2100:1 (full on/full off) contrast ratio, the Dell™ Projector projects bright, captivating and stunning images from anywhere in a mid-sized room. This advanced projector features DLP™ DDR technology powered by the DDP2000 and native XGA (1024x768 pixels) resolution with auto sync to UXGA for sharp, clear projections. With 1.2x manual zoom and manual vertical keystone correction, the Dell™ 2300MP helps you project that perfect picture. It provides incredible connectivity with support for PC, multiple video and RS-232 inputs and a full range of television and video standards — including NTSC, PAL, SECAM and HDTV (480i/P, 576i/P, 720P, 1080i). To preserve lamp life and improve acoustics, an Eco-mode is available which allows 2500 hours of life from the lamp, and a sound level of only 34 dBA. The multi-language On-Screen Display (OSD) allows image adjustments and the ability to change a variety of settings. Sporting a ventilation-optimized design, the Dell™ 2300MP Projector easily blends into conference rooms, classrooms, and homes. It comes complete with a sleek hard carrying case which allows easy, no hassle transportation from room to room and a full feature IR remote control for those times when you need to be in a different part of the room from the projector. The Dell™ 2300MP Projector is backed by a limited warranty2 with Advanced Exchange service3 available for 1 year.

Tech Specs;
   Depth: 8.1"    
    Features: 1.2x Manual zoom, Monitor loop-through, Manual vertical keystone adjustment, Multi-language On-Screen Display (OSD), Medium and small area projection    
    Height: 3.6"    
    Weight: 4.7 lbs    
    Width: 10.9"    
    Analog Video Format: HDTV, Composite Video, S-Video    
    Cable(s) included: 6.56 ft S-video Cable, 5.9 ft VGA Cable (D-sub to D-sub), 5.9 ft D-sub to YPbPr Cable, 2.6 ft mini pin to mini pin Cable, 5.9 ft Composite Video Cable, 5.9 ft RCA to Audio Cable    
    Color Support: 16.7 Million    
    Compliant Standards: NTSC, NTSC 4.43, PAL (B/D/G/H/I/M/N), SECAM (B/D/G/K/K1/L) and HDTV (480i/P, 576i/P, 720P, 1080i)    
    Connectivity Technology: Cable    
    Device Type: Projector    
    Dimensions (WxDxH): 10.9" x 8.1" x 3.6"    
    Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight: 10.9" x 8.1" x 3.6" / 4.7 lbs    
    Environmental Parameters: Temperature:- Operating: 41°F to 95°F, Storage: 4°F to 140°F; Humidity: 80% (maximum)    
    Image Brightness: 2300 ANSI Lumens    
    Image Contrast Ratio: 2100:1 (Full On/Full Off)    
    Image Size: Adjustable from 24.6" – 295.3" (Diagonal)    
    Included Accessories: IR Remote Control (with battery), Hard Carrying Case, Cables (S-video, VGA, D-sub to RGB, Composite, RCA to Audio)    
    Lamp Type: 200-watt, user-replaceable P-VIP lamp; 2000 hours (2500 hours in Eco-mode)    
    Lens Aperture: F/2.4 - 2.7    
    Max Resolution: 1024x768 Pixels (Native), Autosync up to UXGA (1600x1200 Pixels)    
    Max Sync Rate (V x H): 85 Hz x 70 kHz    
    Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 1 x VGA in (D-sub), 1 x VGA-out (monitor loop-through), 1 x RS-232 mini-DIN, 1 x USB, 1 x Composite Video, 1 x S-Video, 1 x Audio    
    Power: Universal 100-240 VAC    
    Power Consumption Operational: 250 Watts (at full power)    
    Projection Distance: 3.9 ft (1.2 m) – 39.3 ft (12 m)    
    Sound Emission: 38 dBA (normal operation); 34 dBA (eco-mode)    
    Speaker(s): 1 x 2W speaker (internal)    
    Technology: Single chip DLP™ DDR technology    
    Type: Micro-portable Projector    
    Keystone Correction: ± 16° (32°

it\'ll be used mostly for DVD\'s and for HDTV (with an HD tuner of course)

[videoholic]

Front projectors kick ass if you are in a dark room.  

I have one and used it in a room with a couple windows and I had to 95% block them out.  Heck, make that 100%.

By the way, a good screen costs more than this projector.

yeah, I know screen prices are insane, but for right now it\'s going on either a wall or low priced screen, and a good screen would be purchased later on.

For reference:

Dell 2300

Infocus 4805

The new "it" budget projector for HT geeks is the 4805.  Everything looks great out of the box, it has an onboard Faroudja DCDi vid processor, 4x speed color wheel, and hella-long-life bulb.  The Faroudja really cleans thing up.  I\'m blowing up NTSC cable to 80" and the vid processor makes everything so smooth and sharp at the same time, while de-interlacing effortlessly.

Downside: the resolution is only 854x480, the native resolution of DVD.

More res would certainly be nice but the popular saying is pixel count from far away is something that looks great mainly on paper, but in real life the jump from 480p -> 720p isn\'t as eye popping as you\'d think.

I admit I could be on the biased side since I have it, but it was after much research and user reviews that I made the jump from direct view to FPTV with this projector.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/infocus_screenplay_4805.htm

If I had the money I\'d buy viddy\'s old CRT or something like it, it\'s hard to get good blacks from any digital projector at this point, unless you drop $25k on the SXRD 1080p Sony Qualia, or a D-ILA from JVC.

And echoing vid don\'t forget the costs for long analog and/or digital cables, and a screen.  A popular choice is a $500 Carada, but there are even $200 options from Da-Lite.  I opted out for a DIY screen, but on my 3rd paint mixture, I wish I just held out for a screen.  And yes it still will look good on an eggshell white painted wall.

I figure I\'ll rock a DIY screen at first, and maybe invest in a high end screen later if I really feel as though I need one.  But after reading alot of DIY articles and how pleased people were, I might be happy with the DIY screen.

[videoholic]

I did mine on a white wall and it looked fine. It really depends on the room.  A white wall steals light from everywhere though and it washes out your image.  Screens are made to snag ethe light from your projector and make it brighter.
Do lots of research.

I\'d spend slighty more and get new LCD projector - with high res and all. Look at Panasonic PT-AE700 or Sanyo Z3. Hell, even Sanyo Z2 and Pana AE-500 are good and probably even cheaper now. With those you\'ll get high res and 16:9. Good stuff.

Yea it\'s all a toss up.  For those choices you\'d have to spend at least $500 more and have an even more complex screen solution since LCDs unfortunately have worse contrast ratios than DLPs.  They are still excellent projectors, definitely worth a look.  LCD technology isn\'t copywritten like DLP is so there\'s no monopoly, meaning less expensive models at the same resolution.

Just fyi here\'s a picture I took of 720p material on the 4805.

Just bought the 2300mp and got it for $999 w/Next Day shipping.  I found a $500 off coupon, that helped me make up my mind.

Can I get a woot for slickdeals?

[videoholic]

well you can\'t argue with that.  nice find.

I had to spend 2 hours on the phone arguing with people who had lovely un-understandable Indian accents, while having one women scream at me that the coupon didn\'t exist.  Finally I got an american dude who got it processed for me.  Damn outsourcing....

Gotta show you this Conan sketch where his co-worker had a problem with his comp, called up tech support and found out they are based in India, so he took his PC on a plane and was wandering around India looking for NBC computer support.  He finally found the girl and surprised her in person.

ps- nice price, hope u enjoy it

Now all I have to do is get my screen, HDTV tuner and 5.1 system, and I\'ll be a complete recluse.  Hopefully I ge this before next Tuesday...GTA SA at 7\' wide baby

question, the zoom.  Does the picture get worse the more you zoom?

[videoholic]

yeah.  Zoom suxors.  Pretty much any picture manipulation suxors.