Man Cave Must Haves

It’s time folks!! We all have a TV in our Man Cave but how many of us have a nice wall projector for that great Cave Theater experience? Well it’s time to review a few of the beasts and see what all the outside world has to offer. I like to call it our own little slice of Man Cave Heaven.

A common misconception when it comes to projectors is they cannot get the resolution that a normal TV can get. This is not true at all. You can easily find quite a few projectors that get just as high of resolution as your favorite Big Screen TV (Full 1080p) at half the cost. Plus with the right environment you can get a picture that is twice the size of the biggest TV’s! One thing you do have to keep in mind when buying a projector is what kind of lighting do I have in my Man Cave? The reason you need to ask yourself this question, is how much light you have in the room WILL reflect on a projectors picture quality! Luckily most of us like our Man Caves nice and dark so it shouldn’t be to big of a problem. Next up are our reviews of some of the best projectors out there for your buck! Hit the read link for the rest of the story.

The first HD projector you get to lay your eyes on is one kick ass piece of equipment from the Man Cave gods! Let’s call this one the “Big Unit”, also known as Panasonic PT-AE3000U Projector which as you can tell doesn’t really have the same ring to it. Here are a few of the specs!

Street Price (USD) : $2,653 MSRP (USD) : $3,499 Brightness (Lumens) : 1600 ANSI Contrast (Full On/Off) : 60000:1 Variable Iris: Yes   High Brightness: ANSI Lumens:         ** Contrast Ratio:         **   High Contrast: ANSI Lumens:         ** Contrast Ratio:    60000:1 Audible Noise:      ** Weight: 16.1 lbs Size (inches) : (HxWxD) 5.1 x 18.1 x 11.8 Std. Lens: Focus: Power Zoom: Power, 2.00:1 Throw Dist (feet) : 11.5 – 19.7 Image Size (inches) : 60.0 – 200.0 Optional Lenses: No Digital Zoom:      ** Digital Keystone: Vertical Lens Shift: Horz & Vert Warranty: 1 Year Performance:   H-Sync Range: 30.0 – 70.0kHz V-Sync Range: 50 – 87Hz

Compatibility: HDTV: 720p, 1080i, 1080p/60 1080p/24, 1080p/50, 576i 576p, 625i, 625p 1125i EDTV/480p: Yes SDTV/480i: Yes Component Video: Yes Video: Yes Digital Input: HDMI Computers: Yes Display: Type: 0.7″ 3 LCD Native: 1920×1080 Pixels Maximum:      ** Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (HD) Lamp: Type: 165W UHM Life: 2000 hours Eco-Mode Life: 3000 hours Quantity: 1 Speakers:  No Max Power: 240W Voltage: 100V – 240V FCC Class: B Special: RS232 Port Status: Shipping First Ship: Oct 2008

Now for those of you looking for something with a great picture without the enormous price tag how about you take a look at this little guy! We call it “this little guy” hehe but for the sake of not getting sued over stupid jokes you can also refer to it as the  Optoma HD20 Projector.

Street Price (USD) : $999 MSRP (USD) :      ** Brightness (Lumens) : 1700 ANSI Contrast (Full On/Off) : 4000:1 Variable Iris:      ** Audible Noise: 34.0 dB Eco-Mode: 32.0 dB Weight: 6.4 lbs Size (inches) : (HxWxD) 3.8 x 12.8 x 9.2 Std. Lens: Focus: Manual Zoom: Manual, 1.20:1 Throw Dist (feet) : 5.2 – 32.7 Image Size (inches) : 40.0 – 300.0 Optional Lenses: No Digital Zoom:      ** Digital Keystone: Vertical Lens Shift: No Warranty: 1 Year Performance:   H-Sync Range: 15.0 – 91.0kHz V-Sync Range: 24 – 85Hz

Compatibility: HDTV: 720p, 1080i, 1080p/60 EDTV/480p: Yes SDTV/480i: Yes Component Video: Yes Video: Yes Digital Input: HDMI Computers: Yes Display: Type: 0.7″ DLP (1) Color Wheel Segs:      ** Color Wheel Speed:      ** Native: 1920×1080 Pixels Maximum: 1920×1080 Pixels Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (HD) Lamp: Type: 230W P-VIP Life: 3000 hours Eco-Mode Life: 4000 hours Quantity: 1 Speakers:  No Max Power: 308W Voltage: 100V – 240V FCC Class: B Special:      ** Status: Shipping First Ship: Aug 2009

For some more detailed reviews on some of the best projectors out there make sure you check out Projector Central! They have the best projector specs and reviews you will find outside of your Man Cave! If you wanna know what me and the Godfather use, leave us a comment! We might spill the beans…