[Trogdor2010]

I hope this doesn't hurt, but I would suggest getting a front projection set (I know this is a rear projection set, but from your suggestions I just want to help) and there are alot more manufacturers making front projection sets (DLP, LCD, LCoS or SXRD/D-ILA which is basically LCoS) and many cost no more than a Rear projection set (By the way, the 82 inch Mitsubishi cost $4199). They use a bulb source to light up the image, just like rear projection sets, cost just as much to replace the bulb as rear projection sets (average price is about $299-$399) and is the most cinematic way to watch your programming (movies, TV, games, etc...), I must point out a couple of things, the average bulb may not last as long as some rear projection sets (but Bulbs on rear projection sets don't last so long either), the average bulb life for a projector is 2000 hours (unless notified otherwise, check info for bulb life on the projector), some people complain about the brightness of the projectors when shown in Daylight, but I would suggest decreasing the size of the projector with the zoom, and it would appear just as bright as a television screen (brightness of the projector vary so check info on the Lumens and an important note, check for lumens the projector can produce in it's best mode). Personally I don't like watching movies with ambient light anyways, and if that is what you mostly do with your TV is watching movies at night in the dark, I'm sorry, but in my opinion I think it makes buying a TV irrelevant, but I understand some people wanting to keep their TVs. you will need room for the projector for it to project the image (It is an issue with small zoom lenses on DLPs), but the majority of living rooms have about more than 15 feet of room making it pretty easy to fill a 100 inch screen, and some LCDs and LCoS can fill a 100 inch screen from 10 feet away. If you can give me info on the size of the room I can suggest a projector for it's zoom. The projector manufacturers in home theater for DLP are Infocus, Optoma, BenQ, Marantz (expensive though), Sharp and Mitsubishi (720p model very cheap though), for LCD is Sanyo, Epson, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Sony (720p), and Viewsonic, for LCoS is JVC and sony. prices vary, but cheap 1080p models are availible, the Infocus X10 DLP 1080P projector sold from tigerdirect.com cost about $1300 and is a great value, but if you are a black level fanatic, I would save up for an LCoS model from sony or JVC, Sony's cheapest LCoS projector (Sony VPL-HW10) cost about $3500, but you can find cheaper prices for their LCoS projectors however (you may want to make sure the dealer provides a waranty, otherwise if it breaks, you will need to pay for repairs). JVC projectors cost more, but have superior native contrast and have the best blacks for a projector under $10,000, though the RS-10 cost $4999, you can find it for cheaper prices (but again check for waranty). If you want great contrast but don't mind it being an LCD and want it cheaper, look for projectors from panasonic PT-AE3000 ($2499), the Epson 6500UB ($2999) and the Sanyo PLV-Z3000 ($2300) are great values. Well I don't think I have enough time, but let me know in the next post if you want to know more.

If you are still not buying into front projection. There are some cheap rear projection sets on Amazon.com, some are less than $1500, one about that for 65 inches.