What to look for when buying a beamer?

[Sjaak]

Hiya!

I'm looking to buy a beamer for home use - nothing too fancy. Budget is limited, let's say 4-500 max, preferably less. I've found all sorts of second hand and refurbished beamers but their lamp life is sometimes questionable, and they're often ancient with ****ty resolutions and no HDMI.

This is a somewhat affordable one I've found - what should I be looking for specifically? Reviews are hard to come by..

Cheers,

 

[don256us]

"Beamer" is the nick name we give for BMW cars in the U.S.

What I look for is lumens as it relates to the brightness of the room that I will be using. The darker the room, the less lumens you can get by with. Lumens, Lux and candle power are all generally related.

I prefer to stay away from the 4:3 aspect ratio as movies and modern TV are all at a wide screen 16:9 or better. It is also true that you want a unit that will accept digital input like HDMI or better yet, DP (Display Port).

I don't think that I've offered anything that you didn't already know. Just trying to get the conversation going.