Also check on the costs of the replacement lamps - they can be pricey depending on the manufacturer.
Absolutely. And this is another strike against projectors vs TVs. Generally OEM replacements are about $100, sometimes up to $150 for conventional LCD/DLP projectors. There are sometimes generic bulbs available but don’t know anything about them. I have yet to replace my bulb thankfully. Typically the brighter the projector, the shorter longevity of of the bulb.
Also note if you’re buying a used projector, the advertised lamp hours may or not be accurate. The timer can usually just be reset in the menu system. Or the bulb may have been replaced and not had the timer reset.
There are some (legitimate, not $100) LED projectors available. Obviously it would be expected an LED light source would last far longer than UHP Mercury or Metal Halide bulbs and be far more efficient. That said, these LEDs usually cannot be replaced if they fail and such projectors are expensive to begin with.
That brings up another point. Another issue with projectors is they use a bunch of power. So much energy is lost to heat. Maybe it’s in my head but I swear my projector could warm up the fairly large room I had it mounted in. LCD TVs are far more efficient.
Also, just a note about DLP versus LCD. LCD risks getting the “screen door effect”, especially when projecting larger sizes, due to spaces between the LCD pixels. LCD representation is generally worse, especially with dark colors. I know Epson has resolved this color issue by layering 3 LCD panels.
DLP technology is very interesting if your don’t know how it works, especially in relation to the human brain. Long story short, you don’t really have “pixels” in the traditional sense and kinda of seamlessly mesh, so you don’t have to worry about pixelation.
In fact, one of of our smaller conference rooms has a Dell 1280x800 (16:10) DLP projector, but accepts 1080p inputs and you really can’t tell the native resolution is lower. If you’re watching a video the lower resolution is even significant.
In fact, they still sell projectors with SVGA, XGA, and WXGA resolution despite 1080p+ being the norm.
I checked the model here and it’s called a Dell 1609wx. Amazingly they’re $50-150 on eBay. OEM replacement bulbs are like $60. I will note it works well with the lights on. Seems like a really good deal, especially compared to the crappy new projectors available at that cost.
That said, I will reiterate unless you have a specific reason where a projector makes sense, as I had, I think the OP is better off investing in a 70” 4K TV which can be bad for $600-700 last I checked. Better resolution, better quality image, ambient light isn’t an issue, better efficiency, you don’t have to worry about replacing expensive bulbs, you don’t have to figure out an audio solution, you don’t need a screen for best result, etc. And if you want the setup to look neat, a projector mount, some sort of cable management, etc adds additional cost.
If the OP does go the projector route, I highly recommend the Logitech Harmony universal remote system ($100-150 and up) that allows control and programming from your phone and optionally a single remote. Having a separate remote for the projector, sound system, cable box, DVD player, screen (if electric), etc is tedious. Apparently Logitech is discontinuing their Harmony products but some stores still have them in stock.
