Great budget projector

In looking for a projector to use in my home theater, I was overwhelmed. Lumens, contrast ratios, progressive scanning, resolution, it was all Greek to me. The more I read, the more learned, and I found that home theater projectors ranged from the thousand dollar range, to the $20,000 range. I had no idea what I wanted, but I didn't want to re-mortgage my house to get it!

That's when I discovered the Epson PowerLite 77c. While geared primarily for the board room, I found the features in this to be incredible for theater room applications...especially the PRICE.

Even on the low setting, the 2200 ANSI Lumens (brightness) creates an impressive image, XGA resolution is good (it is HD-compatible), the fan noise is almost null, and the decent contrast all combine for an impressive picture in a moderately dark room.

At just six pounds, the projector can be ceiling mounted, inverted, or even used in rear projection applications. Auto- and manual keystone allow the user to put the projector at virtually any angle and not have a distorted picture.

This projector measures about 13"x10"x4", so it's a little larger than many of the projectors on the market today, but if designed properly, the projector isn't going to be the focus of the room, so it doesn't make much difference.

The projector has a native aspect ratio of 4:3 (standard television), however it can be changed to project at 16:9 (widescreen) through a very easy to navigate on screen menu.

As with all projectors, one must consider lamp life and replacement cost. The manufacturer states that the lamp lasts 4000 hours on low brightness and 3000 on high brightness. With many other projectors, it is not uncommon to spend $400-$500 for a replacement lamp, but the lamp for the PowerLite 77c comes in at an incredible price of under $200!!

As I stated, this projector is not designed specifically for home theater applications, so there is some "light-bleeding" around the outside of the picture, but with some creativity and some electrical tape, this is easily remedied.