Well, about 6 months ago I registered on this forum looking for some recommendations on which projector I should buy for my home cinema. http://www.bigscreenforums.com/forum_topic.cfm?which=12554 Well, I bought one and I think it's only fair to share my experience. Although it was a real pain to get the BenQ W500 at my location, I went with that one and waited for almost a month till I got it. That was around New Years and it's now mid June so here is my review of the projector I bought. Benq W500 ----------------- Native Resolution 1280 x 720(16:9), HD ready Projection System 3LCD Brightness 1100 ANSI lumens Lamp 140W, 2000/3000 hours (Normal/Economic mode) Contrast Ratio 5000:1 http://benq.com/products/Projector/?product=1055&page=specifications# I can't possibly imagine what more to ask for from a projector! I'm one of those people that get used to the idea of having some new gadget in my home pretty quickly. Doesn't take much time for me to just walk by my new PC, laptop, digital camera or whatever in my room and just treat it like another "thing" I have. Not this thing though! I've been using it for 5 months now and every time I turn it on or just walk by it, I admire it and feel excited. I don't know what all the fuss is about those high-end, top shelf products that cost x2...or even x3 times more than the BenQ W500. I admit, it's my first projector and all the ones I've seen in action before it were "business class" ones (not HD, used for presentations in a light room or smth) and haven't seen some SONY monster doing its thing but.. never the less, I can't be more happier with my BenQ! Here are the conditions that I use it in: - Watch BluRay movies - Pitch dark room, no light what so ever! - Diagonal screen size is 3m - Project on my white wall directly (No special screen or 10% gray wall) - Dynamic IRIS system ON - No optical or digital zoom - Front/top projection - HDMI cable connection with my laptop (ThinkPad SL500) - Watch from a distance of about 4m from the screen - ECO lamp mode (I've watched about 90 movies on it so far and spent ~200 ECO hours on the lamp) If you're planning on using it in these conditions, I can recommend it and promise you an experience as if you're sitting in a movie theater. Downfalls: - Haven't tried the digital zoom but the optical one blurs the edges of the screen a bit. Not noticable while watching movies but I can definitely see it on the desktop screen (ex. Hard to read the Windows clock which is in the bottom right corner of the taskbar). Problem went away once I un-zoomed the lens completely. Bottom line, if you have money to buy some high-end home cinema projector with a 15 000:1 contrast ratio or whatever - BUY IT, although I can't imagine what more should one expect from a projector. But if you're on a tight budget (like I was) this is the thing for you! Have no doubt about it, the BenQ W500 is an extraordinary projector for home cinema purposes! Cheers, Alijans P.S. Will post back to confirm (or deny) the ~3000 ECO hrs on the lamp life as soon as I spend it (hopefully in a long time).

hello everyone, I have recently been thinking about getting a home theater setup for my room and I decided to buy one. The projector is a BenQ W500, and the screen is a AccuScreen 119" Manual. For sound I am going for a Yamaha 5-Disc Home Theatre In A Box. Now, about my room... It is 8' Height, 16' 1" Length, and 12' 2" Width. I have a window in my room that I can easily block by using my curtains and a light adjuster which can make my room completely dark. My biggest concern is the fact that I have an air conditioner with my room light, and it is in the middle of the room. You can see the pictures I have attached in this post so you know what I mean. For 119" I need to have my projector 14' 1" away from the screen correct? so my questions are: Will I be able to successfully add a home theater setup in my room? Will I have any problems with my air conditioner/fan on the middle of my room? Has but not least... are the products I am buying good for a first-time purchase? quality, etc... Thank you all