I just got one of those phone calls.... You know the ones.

The good friend who calls you for A/V miracles... Since you're the guy who knows...

Well, here's the breakdown...

My friend goes to church.. A nice little church.

They bought an Optima from Best Buy he says.

"I guess it doesn't have enough lumes?" he says.

"They said we need like.. I don't know.. 2500 or 3000 lumes or something like that"

"It's just for when we want to watch a movie or something."

I tell him projectors run from a couple thousand to tens of thousands, but "I'll see what I can dig up."

"Our budget's about $1500." he says.

I sigh.

Does anybody know where I can find a miracle projector?

Budget aside ... what's the closest anybody has found?

EBAY dude! Lots of low cost deals on the bay! Our church found an $8000.00 projector for $2500.00 slightly used. Radiorhea

I hate to burst bubbles, but you may also want to point out that they need to take into account the total cost of ownership... Do they know the lamp will need to be replaced? Do they know the cost of replacement lamps? Have they factored that into their budget? If they are only looking for a $1500 projector and you get an Ebay special, are they aware that the replacement cost of the lamp can very well be $500 - $900?

CANONPROJECTORS.COM

A church in my area called me today - wants the same thing. When you figure it out come install one for them too.

Da-lite Permwall Pearlescent High Contrast Screen, Low end infocus SP4805. Get a service contract that covers the lamp. We have put this combination in a few bars with great results.

Mike

Great... Great sandwich.

Try www.projectormall.com , I am not one for using companies like these however, when you need cheap and dirty, they are hard to beat. I found this, it is close but you may want to check yourself....
BenQ PB8220
Native XGA (1024 x 768) resolution, 2200 lumens bright, 6.8 lbs., DLP™ projector.
$1,699.00

By the way I do suggest to your friend to do everything in his power to keep light off of the screen, you can have plenty of light in the room, as long as it is not directly on the screen. You would be suprised what a little moving around or coving one window next to the screen will do.
Good Luck!!