Quick guide to buying a projector
Profile: Movie buffs and avid gamers Type: Home theater projectors Est. Price: S$3,000 (US$2,208.76) and above These days, people turn to projectors when setting up a home theater system simply because it is an affordable large-screen alternative to plasma and LCD TVs. Compared with getting an S$5,000 (US$3,681.26) 42-inch plasma display, a movie projector can be had for half the price and is capable of projecting an image more than twice the size. Typically, it also supports widescreen projection, a high contrast ratio and a wide selection of video input ports.
Shopping specs  Brightness
Contrary to popular belief, the optimum amount of brightness required for home theater projectors is usually lower compared with those designed for presentations in the office. The reason is simply that most people watch movies in a darkened room environment where good images up to 100 inches across can be produced with just a 1,000 lumen projector. Resolution
Most movie projectors in the market today are 480p model which should provide more than sufficient resolution for the mainstream crowd to use for DVD movies, regular TV broadcasts and the occasional console game. There are higher-resolution projectors out there but they won't make a difference in image quality unless you are receiving High Definition Television (HDTV) signals. DLP over LCD
DLP technology is usually preferred for movie projectors because of its high contrast ratios which produce images with richer blacks. In addition, DLP projectors are widely recognized for their smooth video quality and less visible pixelations over their LCD counterparts. Aspect ratio
The majority of home theater projectors offer 16:9 aspect ratio as most movie buffs buy a projector in order as to watch widescreen DVD movies in their full 16:9 cinematic glory. However, if you're using the projector mainly to catch TV broadcasts and movies in the standard 4:3 aspect ratio, it may be worth looking at non-widescreen projectors. Other nice-to-have features
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