Sharp XR-30X Compact DLP Projector

[I've been an Ed. Tech. for 37 years] Dang this Sharp XR-30X DLP projector I just bought! I got it for our elementary school's auditorium gatherings because our 3 other projectors are getting rather popular for classroom use lately. So I set it up with a couple of the others...and, well, now I'm gonna have to go buy MORE of 'em 'cause the Sharp makes the rest of our projectors look so OLD! And for $600! I now know why a projector's contrast ratio is a more prominent spec in website stores. It definitely makes the Sharp, uh, sharp! But its high contrast also does NOT affect(negatively), as so many other video projs do, its color range or intensity or the natural appearance of skin tones. And the remote is so complete there's even a menu for troubleshooting. How many other proj remotes offer that? I used it at a large(600) PTA gathering this past weekend, and during the next few days I had several teachers come up to me and ask where they could get one! Suffice it to say I am highly pleased with it!

I am the lead installer for a company that installs RealHomeTheaters, so hopefully my experience can be of some help.

This projector has a 1024x768 resolution which is a 4:3 ratio. So, in 16:9 mode (widescreen) your effective pixels will not be true HD. Also it has no HDMI inputs and with today's technology HDMI is a must have.

For home theater consider a Mitsubishi HC1500 or a Panasonic PT-AX200 be sure to read my reviews on them too.

Hope this helps get your RealHomeTheaters off the ground!

I have been using this projector for classroom Power Point presentations and it has been great. It works fine in a well lit environment, although if you have very detailed graphics or want richly saturated colors you may have to dim the lights. It has been easy to use and I have had no issues whatsoever. For the price it is a very good buy.