Practical guide for buying projectors (3LCD or DLP/4K or not?)

We still do have expert sales people, but with how busy things have been in-stores, they often do not get the opportunity to participate on the community forum. That said, we do still have those of us here at our corporate office as well as your fellow Micro Center customers that may be able to help answer questions such as these.

I don't have too much experience with projectors per se, but I am confident in my understanding of pixel density on standard displays that I should be able to help somewhat with these questions.

When it comes to determining whether a higher resolution will be of use, it depends on a couple different factors. One is going to be the size of the screen (or in this case, projection canvas) as well as your sitting distance from the projected image. You've already addressed the projection canvas size of 72 inches diagonally, so the last determining factor is to determine how closely you and the other viewers will be to the projected image.

With a 4K projector on a 72 inch canvas, you'd essentially have a pixel density of 61.19 Pixels Per Inch whereas a 1080P projector would have a pixel density of 30.6 Pixels Per Inch, roughly half that of a 4K projector. Whether or not you'll notice the difference in pixel density depends entirely on the sitting distance from the image. If you are sitting close to the image, you'll definitely be able to discern the difference between the density of pixels, but if you are sitting further away from the image, you likely won't notice the difference as the edges of the pixels blur together further away. There is a handy calculator that can help you determine this information: https://stari.co/tv-monitor-viewing-distance-calculator. For 1080P at 72 inches, most users with 20/20 vision will begin to notice the difference in pixel density if they sit within 9.5 feet of the projected image. Sitting further away from this distance, users likely won't be able to discern between 1080P and 4K. For a 4K screen, users sitting beyond 4.6 feet will be able to take advantage of the improved pixel density.

For the question on the bulb being new in a refurbished unit, that is something that I unfortunately do not have the answer for. As Ian mentioned, our staff on this forum are not located in the retail stores but rather our corporate office which is why we are able to assist customers in this medium while those in-store are able to cater to the needs of those physically present. That said, Ian's offer to get your information over to a knowledgeable sales rep would definitely be ideal for a question such as this.

Lastly, the question involving the difference between DLP and 3LCD is something I can answer a bit on, but I'd still recommend speaking with someone far more knowledgeable in this specific area. That said, what I understand about DLP and 3LCD (or just LCD projectors in general) is that both have their unique advantages and disadvantages. LCD is better suited towards lower power, more portable designs while DLP typically offers better image quality (higher resolutions due to number of mirrors and overall design), better color range (can offer better "true black" values than the washed out gray often produced by LCD projectors) and overall better projection uniformity compared to that of LCD projectors (less shaking, uniform colors across the projected image, etc). LCD projectors are often less expensive and can offer higher lumens for a brighter operating environment, but I'd definitely prefer a DLP personally if cost was not a concern and I could adjust my environment to better accommodate one.

If you do plan to stop by your local Micro Center store, I am sure you'll be steered in the right direction. If you have any further questions in the meantime, we'll be happy to assist in any way we can.