Projector Help

[mommyoftwinfants]

I was finally given the ok to purchase a projector for our library and I have been searching for 2 months and have gotten nowhere. Does anyone have a theater setup. We have a very small library and will only be showing movies for about 20 people and we will also use it for the wii gaming days.
I am looking for any advice on what I need to get started.
I have a 1250 budget (which will include any cables or accessories I would need to buy). Thanks

 

[KKB]

The smartest buy is an LCD projector & laptop...nearly all new laptops play DVDs. Plus then this would open use for lots of other uses for using the projector with the laptop.
I just got a new NEC LCD in each of my media centers.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

How about sound? Would I need to buy a separate speaker system?

Is NEC a brand?

I honestly am clueless here. I have tried looking up my options but I really am getting nowhere, everywhere I find information it is by people who are very tech savvy and I have no idea about gray color and dp.

ETA we already have a laptop to use

 

[scrdofbugs]

We have a theater room. Our projector is a Sony Pearl. It is about 2-3 yrs old. We have Polk Audio 7.1 surround sound. We have a stationary screen that is approx 165" wide. We have 2 rows of theater seating. The back room is stadium seating. We have an xbox 360 and playstation 3 on it. My DH is the real tech person but I can try to answer qustions or ask him. We love our theater room and never go to the movies (except to take my daughter and her friends to see New Moon tonight).

 

[KKB]

My response is for a public/school library. The above post would seem to fit a personal theater room better.
NEC is a brand. You can get speakers very inexpensively to attach to the laptop. In fact, our tech dept was just sending everyone to Target as they found some good quality ones for $5/pr!!

 

[nd5056]

If it’s for a theatre only, you should look into a projector that can hook up directly to the DVD player
, like for example this one here:

Then, I’d look for a Home Theater System to pair it with:

That would do for a low budget theater.

 

[horseshowmom]

Also, I haven't bought one lately (so I can't speak to current prices), but the last projector I bought was wireless (meaning it doesn't have to be connected to the laptop or computer), and I LOVE it.

 

[mrzrich]

We've got an Epson Moviemate 60. We bought it mostly for outdoor movie nights and camping, but we've used it inside too. Its an All in one (Projector, DVD, and speakers) We aren't big techies, this does the job for us, although we will most likely be upgrading to external speakers soon.

http://www.amazon.com/Epson-MovieMate-V11H319220-Theater-Projector/dp/B002OEBMT8

A big plus for us when comparison shopping was the cost of replacement bulbs. They are much cheaer than other brands.

We've also got a very cool movie screen.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

We've also got a very cool movie screen.

MY boss would kill me if I got this, but don't think I haven't thought about it...

My response is for a public/school library. The above post would seem to fit a personal theater room better.
NEC is a brand. You can get speakers very inexpensively to attach to the laptop. In fact, our tech dept was just sending everyone to Target as they found some good quality ones for $5/pr!!

Yes it is for a public library.

 

[horseshowmom]

A big plus for us when comparison shopping was the cost of replacement bulbs. They are much cheaer than other brands.

I want to agree with this. I used to have a position where I purchased a lot of technology for our schools. Replacement bulbs can be a major budget killer. That's definitely an important comparison issue.

 

[scrdofbugs]

the replacement bulb on our Sony Pearl was around $250.00. The original bulb last about a 1 1/2 years. We use our theater room at least 4-5 times a week. We have a Onkyo receiver. Our Polk Audio speakers are: 2 book shelf (rear surround), 2 di-pole surround speakers (side surround), 2 tower (front), 1 center channel, 1 12 inch sub woofer. We use Playstation 3 for Blu Ray. We haev the X-box 360 new beatle rock band and it is very cool to play on the huge screen. I know ours is probably way more than what is needed for an office but I wanted to share.