Pricing and Ongoing Costs

Projector Pricing:

The price for projectors ranges from $1,300 - $90,000 with 75% of the projectors falling somewhere between $3,500 - $20,000. However, as we discussed, resolution and brightness in particular can dictate the price of a projector, as can its size. You should be able to find an acceptable SVGA data projector with a list price of less than $4,000. Higher quality projectors cost between $5,000 and $10,000 with much brighter portable units ranging beyond $10,000.

Ongoing Costs: lamp life

LCD and DLP projectors typically have a lamp life of between 1000-2000 hours. This is actually the lamp's "half-life", which is the point where the lamp is half as bright as it was new. The lamp will still work at its half-life, but it will continue to gradually lose brightness. Longer lamp life means less expense in maintaining your projector.

If you are planning to use your projector to replace your current television, lamp replacement cost should be factored into your purchase. Replacement lamps run approximately $200-$400. Some of the more expensive and larger projectors require a $2000 bulb-replacement bill.

Not to worry...If your projector will be used primarily for watching movies and special events, lamp life will not be quite as important. Watching movies for 10 hours per week means that the bulb will last you around four years. But you may still want to factor the cost of a replacement lamp into your purchase.