Recommendations for a mid-range projector

[ZenMonkey]

My friend just moved into an apartment and asked me to recommend a projector. My knowledge of projectors is all 10-15 years out of date, so I'm turning to you fine folks. Can you recommend some mid-range projectors to me?

[TheFlyingTraut]

Couple questions to start off. How big is the room/space? Lighting conditions? Budget for projector and screen?

[ZenMonkey]

22 minutes ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

Couple questions to start off. How big is the room/space? Lighting conditions? Budget for projector and screen?

The room is fairly dark, or can be made dark, it should be about 12 feet from projector to wall, and she plans to paint the wall and project directly onto the wall, if that makes a difference. There's a hard cut-off at $800. Thanks

[circeseye]

yeeesh..unless that wall is smooth then painting it will not be good enough..wall texture will show (unless she's not worried about that)
but heres a few tips just in case
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/prepare-wall-surface-before-painting-projector-surface-42797.html

 

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/everything-you-need-to-know-to-140317
 

also consider this..shes in an apartment..she may not be allowed to do that kind of changes to it without getting in trouble (like painting the wall in the first place)

[enigmakahn]

Personally I've done it both ways, while it does look better on a screen, i would say most people won't notice or care, especially if you have a half decent projector, that makes a bigger difference that a screen ****provided the wall is flat and fairly close to white****

as for projectors, i really like Benq, they are cheap but reasonable quality

https://www.amazon.ca/BenQ-MH530FHD-Lumens-Theater-Projector/dp/B071VT7LPC/ref=asc_df_B071VT7LPC/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292938923501&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2772624802407433438&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061282&hvtargid=pla-624035838167&psc=1

this is the updated version of the one i had, just be careful, a lot of projectors will say 1080P, but what they mean is they support 1080P down scaling to their native resolution, so always double check what you are getting is what you actually want