Gina,

Yes, the picture is THAT bad. Imagine watching TV through a magnifying glass. I'd be leary of buying a projector on E-Bay. If you purchase a CRT projector with burned-in CRTs you get a worthless piece of junk. Go to AVScience.com, hometheaternet.com, hometheater1.com, boysofthunder.con, etc. The prices are higher but you will be purchasing from reputable dealers and will get up to a 1 year warranty. Good luck.