Brigada participant, John, would like to know if anyone has found the best and least expensive data projector for use church services and mission presentations. He’s leaning towards an LED as opposed to a LCD or DLP version because of the cost of a replacement bulb. For his part, he’s in Mexico so any U.S. unit would work. But others might like to know if there are particular voltage expectations. If you have a recommendation/source, please click “Comment” immediately after the web version of this item. Thanks in advance for your review.
There is an LED data projector manufactured and sold by a Singaporean company called Innovative and comes in two models. Don’t know if price is cheap or not but starts at 750.00 Singapore Dollar upto 1500.00 SGD. It can enlarge upto 100 inch screen and works pretty well. I am using the 750.00 dollar and am happy with it, had it now for almost a year and have not needed servicing. Can project directly from Ipad or iPhone also.
We recently bought a Casio XJ-A245 projector. It is a DLP projector that uses a next-generation 22,000-hour rated Laser-LED lamp. It is relatively light and nicely fits in a laptop bag. It can be a little pricey, especially if you’re going for the WXGA resolution, but worth every penny. The projector is 110/220V compatible. We found the 2500 lumen light source to be acceptable even in fairly bright situations, though the colors washed out then. The two reasons we bought this projector are as follows:
1. No lamp replacement. It lasts as long as one of those flat-screen LED TV’s, which with normal one or two-day-a-week use should be around 10 years. Even if you use it for 8 hours every day, it should go for about 6 years before needing a lamp replacement.
2. It is not susceptible to breakage when the power goes out like the ones using the conventional light bulbs (and the power goes out a lot where we are). That way you’re not worrying if your projector is going to come back on when the power comes back.
You can read more here: http://www.casio.com/products/Projectors/Slim_Projectors/
One of the more interesting ones is a reconditioned Optoma 1000 Lumen LED projector for only $429. At Amazon, the new version cost $700 and the reconditioned version cost $600
Now, if you are ok with the “reconditioned” nature of the projector, I think it’s a good price.
Here is the link for the reconditioned version
http://www.woot.com/offers/optoma-1000lm-wxga-led-projector-7?ref=cnt_wp_8_7
And here is the link for the new version at Amazon.
http://smile.amazon.com/Optoma-ML1000P-Lumen-Portable-Projector/dp/B00GGGQG5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409935062&sr=8-1&keywords=optoma+1000+lumen
And the reconditioned version sold by Amazon
http://smile.amazon.com/Optoma-ML1000P-Projector-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B00MFW1MW6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1409935062&sr=8-2&keywords=optoma+1000+lumen
The BenQ W1070 under $700. reconditioned. At the link below for $599.00
Of course not sure what your requirements are but most seem to think this is a best buy even at new prices. Of course the Optoma is ultra-portable. I guess it depends on size vs. quality, but these are two of the best out there right now under $1000.
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-1000-projector/
http://www.dealslist.com/blog/599-99-today-only-benq-w1070-2000-lumen-1080p-digital-home-theater-projector-factory-reconditioned/
http://shop.benq.us/w1070-1080p-home-theater-projector.html
http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-W1070-1080P-Theater-Projector/dp/B00A2T6X0K/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1410054045&sr=1-1
If portability is a priority over quality (That means size, weight, and power use). the Optoma takes only 145W max (with full brightness and speakers on) compared to the BenQ’s 353W. This is a big deal in some country’s less-than-satisfactory condition of electricity even in big cities.
Personally, I like the BenQ since the picture quality is higher, not to mention that it supports full HD resolution (the Optoma only supports widescreen). But the BenQ is designed for semi-permanent place such as at home or office, while we need something much more portable. Thus, we chose the Optoma.
We have found the Viewsonic PJD 5134 to be an exceptionally good projector for the majority of applications where electrical power (either 110v 60Hz or 220v 50Hz) is available. It has 3,000 lumens, a very high contrast ratio, long lamp life and a 3 year warranty. We have placed scores of
projectors with ministries all over the world. You can see complete details on http://www.amazon.com. The cost varies from $330 to $350.
Another nod here for “best of” type reviews at http://thewirecutter.com/
That said, we recently purchased an Optoma short-throw projector that we’re real happy with for events in small spaces: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EB1ODNO