Projector Suggestions?

[AirforcProductions]

Alrighty guys, I am new to projectors in general. I am heading back to school the end of next month, and instead of lugging a big screen TV in my trailer 400 miles or so I decided to get a projector. I have been doing some research but I am coming up short...My budget is 1-1.5k and I need a projector that is a jack of all trades, Full HD, plenty of connectivity options, and good for gaming as well. I am also looking for good screen recommendations. The room during the day will be moderately to very bright ambient light. The screen needs to be moveable and not mounted to anything. No motorized or pull down screens.
The projector will be situated at the back of the room some where between 15-20 feet from the screen. It will not be ceiling mounted, merely on a open shelving unit about 4-6 feet off the ground. From what I know, I will be able to get between a 90-115 inch screen depending on zoom and exact placement.
I plan on using this projector at night to watch movies off one of the many laptops in the apartment between me and the roommates, or off the Sony Blu-Ray player and my custom HTPC. Everything supports 3D but it is not a deal breaker. During the day light to moderate game use on high action games, think Need for Speed.

The Projectors I have been looking at (in order from most preferable to buy):
1. Epson Home Cinema 3010
2. Acer 9500BD
3. Mitsubishi HC4000
Honorable Mentions
4. Optoma HD33

My problems (Numbers refer to which projector I am talking about)
1. Massive input lag from what I have seen from owners, we are talking up in the 100+ms lag. Other than that this projector seems like a dream come true.
2. HDMI Blurriness, from what I have read, Acer is supposedly coming out with a firmware update, but I have not seen such thing. Also I cannot seem to find a definitive review that talks about input lag or lack thereof. Again minus these issues it is a dream.
3. This seems like a very good projector, but I am not so sure as it is a bit aged compared to the others. Not sure about input lag or ability to correct it.
4. This is the first projector I came across and I set this as a baseline. The problem I have seen are in customer reviews from Newegg Amazon and the like. Apparently the casing leaks a lot of light and its not put together well. Poor QC coupled with bad customer service make this projector a last resort if you will.

I appreciate you guys, the community always knows best. If you have another suggestion that I did not list here, feel free to list it and educate me as I have just stepped into the PJ scene. Any advice given I am grateful for.


-Airforc
Go 'Noles

 

[jcoultas98]

I have seen input lag on Epson FRPRO projectors. As you said, epson projectors are absolutely amazing, but they don't do well with gaming.

The Mitsu projectors are very very good, and are a commonplace in lit environments (bars, clubs, etc) Being DLP, they handle ambient light VERY well. The Previous HC3000 model did not have any input lag.

Optoma projectors are decent enough, but their entry level projectors are just that, entry. I ran into a few issues with them a couple years back. And yes, their cases do bleed light.

Another projector you should consider (and probably haven't run across) is the LG CF181D. It is an LCoS projector. I have seen a few of these things in use, and let me tell you how impressed i was. Very deep, and delicate blacks and shadow detail. LCoS deals with color very well, you get intense & rich color. It used to retail for around 2500 bucks, but they have lowered the price fairly recently to 1600.

http/www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=25373