Excellent in every way, under $1,000 and cheap to run? An epic winner!! 5*

I'm no expert but I'll give you my layman's review in the hope that anyone needing guidance in the world of projectors (and in particular this projector specifically) might find the process a bit easier. Its all about image quality isn't it? Well, there are a few general details to consider when buying a projector that will affect the image: 1) Resolution: Now if you don't know about resolution I wonder which rock you've been hiding under for the past decade! I won't go into much detail here, but at a native resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p), we're talking full Blueray HD and it cranks it out no problem! One footnote though, with projectors don't be fooled. It's the NATIVE resolution you should be interested in as that's the projected resolution, not just what signal it can take and convert, so remember, look at the native figures. Many projectors state a resolution to oversell themselves which isn't their native resolution, be careful! 2) Luminosity: Arguably THE most important aspect of a projector; as depending on the environment of the projector, some are as visible as the sun on a hot summers day whilst others as as dim as the moon on a cloudy night. The question then is where are you putting it? The brighter the room, the higher the lumens you'll require to get a reasonable image. In this aspect I find the Viewsonic PRO8200 to be great. In my well lit room it's as bright as a TV (obviously this depends on image size too, the bigger the image the less light you'll be getting projected per inch so it'll be dimmer). My setting in my bedroom gives it a 75" screen and like I said, day or night it's very bright. Lights off in the living room covering one entire wall (over 200" I'd say) it's still bright enough to be enjoyed thoroughly. You can take the size anywhere from 30-300"! Look out for ANSI lumen values, it's the standardised unit so you can compare without a problem or bias, and at an ANSI lumen count of 2,000 for the PRO8200 you really can't go wrong. 3) Contrast and colour: I've not got much to say here so I've combined the two and as they're linked this also makes sense. Everyone wants great colour in their image that's what you get, if you're interested have a look at the exact spec details but all I know is the colours come out nice, I'm no expert :p The contrast describes the black and white. Well, more the deepness of the black in "contrast" to the white. So you can have an image that's not as bright luminosity wise but with a greater contrast the whites look brighter and the blacks darker, so it's a balancing act of sorts between contrast and luminosity. A contast of 4,000:1 is just insane and that's exactly what the PRO8200 provides! With the 2,000 ANSI lumens? 5*! 4) Throw, Keystone correction and Zoom: The throw is the size of the image dependent on the distance of the projector to the screen, if you want the calculator you'll find it on the Viewsonic website, but it gives a good distance to size ratio. The size is also affected by the zoom of the lens (naturally!) and the PRO8200 gives you a zoom of 1.5x which is a respectable amount, in other words you can make the image bigger by half by just tweaking the lens! The last thing that affects the projected image is where the projector's mounted. Floor? Ceiling? With a keystone correction of 20 degrees up or down, it's suitable for most rooms. 5) Bulb life: Bulbs wear out so you want a high bulb lifetime, and at 4-6,000 hours the PRO8200 wins! AND it's $1,000?!?Read full review