We’ve been getting lots of questions about when the new $999 projectors will be in stock here at ProjectorPeople.com. Here’s a very quick review of when we expect to receive our first/next shipment* of three new sub-$1000 1080ps from BenQ, Optoma, and Vivitek. (Updated October 5th, 2009)

You can check out our complete selection of 1080p Projectors here.

[ Repost of our Projector People Post Business Edition Tech Newsletter ] If you’ve been shopping on auction sites for a low priced projector, it’s time to wise up. Right now you can get a new projector for the price of a replacement lamp or a dim old clunker on an eBay. But how do you know if you’re getting a deal with your low priced projector? Here’s what you need to know..

Business Projectors Under $999

So what are your options now for under $999? You can expect to find a wide range of options under $999 these days. Just to give you an idea of how far your money can go, here are a few of the specification ranges you can expect for your business projector dollar. You can also do your own product filtering using our Projector Finder tool. It will help you search by resolution, brightness, price, and a number of features.

What You Get For $999 or Less

So that’s a quick look at features to expect in a $999 projector today. If we haven’t covered something of specific interest to you, call a Projector Expert for more information. We have over 100 options in sub $1000 projectors. In fact, our projector options at $999 were so vast, we created a Projectors Under $699 page for the serious bargain seeker.

Pico Projectors

These are a category of projector that did not exist until a year ago. These tiny low-priced projectors lack the brightness of a true presentation projector, but they may be the direction of presentations future. They range around $200-$350 and they are small enough to fit in your pocket, though they will be a touch bulky in your tight pants. Here’s a list of pico projectors we sell.

New Home Theater Projectors Under $999

And if you haven’t heard the news yet, there are some true HD (1080p) home theater projectors coming soon. These new $999 home theater projectors make front projection a more affordable option for restaurants, sports bars, and other entertainment facilities. There is also an opportunity for those who have slipped behind after the digital transition to get up to date for less.

Vintage Projector People Deals

Just for fun, let’s take a look back at what a similar projector would have cost you a few years ago. We’ve run a number of stories about how much brighter, cheaper, and better projectors are now compared to “just a few years ago” so here are some examples for you. Each of these examples below were (I promise) competitively priced projectors at the time of the deal.

October 1999

April 2001

June 2004

January 2007

The Good News

Will projectors cost $300 in 2 years? Moore’s Law would indicate “yes”. But “maybe” is always a safer guess. The tiny pocket projectors on the market today are very cool, but they are not even close the brightness and performance of today’s presentation projectors. New laser projection technology, or improved DLP and LCoS pico systems may make pocket projectors the wave of the future. But we won’t know how much they will cost until they are fully developed. So, barring the sudden emergence of a new technology, low-priced LCD and DLP projectors really can’t get much cheaper. And if you’re in the market for a projector, your dollar is going farther than ever before. And that’s good news.

As always, if you have more questions about our business and home theater projectors under $999, please contact a Projector Expert today! Scene from Wall-E on the new Optoma HD20 projector.

One of our Projector Experts took the new Optoma HD20 home for a trial run. The setup was not fancy. Rich just used his existing home theater’s pulldown gray screen and played a few Blu Ray movies for the wife and kids. Below are a few photos he took to share with you and some thoughts from Rich on the performance of the new $999 HD projector.

Rich says :

I took home the HD20 last night for a test run. We watched the 5th Element on Blu-ray. Wow! This thing is crisp! Very Sharp. Colors look decent, flesh tones are nice. I found the Cinema setting with Graphic gamma setting the best black levels and color combination. With the lamp on econo mode it’s almost silent and the black levels improve. Good flesh tones on the Optoma HD20. You see freckles and subtle changes in skin color. More flesh tones. 🙂 But a nice rich black with some visible details on the neck. Red can sometimes be a problem for a DLP projector, but this is a natural red and pink. Also a lot of detail in color. BrilliantColor seems to work well on this projector.

The menu is very limited and I couldn’t find a way to save different presets. It’s not in the same league as the $2000-$3000 units. But for $999 it’s actually a great bang for the buck. Oh and you must get a Blu-ray player!

Optoma HD20 Quick Specs

Here are the manufacturer specifications for the HD20. It’s just the basics. Click here for more specs. The HD20 can produce an image of up to 300-inches and comes with a backlit IR remote control. It is one of the first true HD 1080p projectors to be released at a very aggressive $999 price point.

Want Your Own Optoma HD20?

You know we’ve got ’em. You can find more information about the new Optoma HD20 here, including the full specs, some pictures of the product, and manufacturers data sheet.
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