This isnt the place for real P[rojector info, check out Hometheatershack.com Projectorcentral.com AVSforums.com or projectorreview.com for more video oriented focus.
I own the Panasonic PTAX100U and a used unit can be had at your budget, it looks great. The are many 720P models you could afford but not yet 1080P.........your almost there but not quite.
Make sure you have a room you can control the lights and that you dont need to turn this thing on and off many times per day as thats not what these things were made to do, use a regular monitor for that. Bulb cost is an issue to consider also, every 2000 or so hours its gonna cost a few hundred for a new bulb. How do you plan to mount unit?, if ceiling than DLP or LCD is fine but if you cant do it in center of room and need some room to adjust things from say a shelf, table or whatever LCD is better option because of lense shift. Blacks are better on DLP but DLP can show some "rainbows" at times and DLP can have a dimmer bulb and harder to see in anything but the darkest rooms. Plan on atleast a $100 for a manual pull down budget screen (mine is 90in and cost about that) a wall can be used aswell if its white..duh.
Dont forget wires of longer length are needed to wire this to your AV gear.......it can easy be 20ft away from your reciever and stuff.
I am just rambling off random thoughts so excuse the A.D.D. but what you really need to do is poke around those sites I listed earlier, then compare models with tools those sites provide and PM me if you have any other questions, I am not the premier expert but own, study, and have a good experience with them. In close I will say Projectors rock and many are still um-aware of how cheap these can be picked up for, there is nothing like a great flic, game or concert via a huge ass screen........not to mention its out of the way for a great audio foucused room.
I own the Panasonic PTAX100U and a used unit can be had at your budget, it looks great. The are many 720P models you could afford but not yet 1080P.........your almost there but not quite.
Make sure you have a room you can control the lights and that you dont need to turn this thing on and off many times per day as thats not what these things were made to do, use a regular monitor for that. Bulb cost is an issue to consider also, every 2000 or so hours its gonna cost a few hundred for a new bulb. How do you plan to mount unit?, if ceiling than DLP or LCD is fine but if you cant do it in center of room and need some room to adjust things from say a shelf, table or whatever LCD is better option because of lense shift. Blacks are better on DLP but DLP can show some "rainbows" at times and DLP can have a dimmer bulb and harder to see in anything but the darkest rooms. Plan on atleast a $100 for a manual pull down budget screen (mine is 90in and cost about that) a wall can be used aswell if its white..duh.
Dont forget wires of longer length are needed to wire this to your AV gear.......it can easy be 20ft away from your reciever and stuff.
I am just rambling off random thoughts so excuse the A.D.D. but what you really need to do is poke around those sites I listed earlier, then compare models with tools those sites provide and PM me if you have any other questions, I am not the premier expert but own, study, and have a good experience with them. In close I will say Projectors rock and many are still um-aware of how cheap these can be picked up for, there is nothing like a great flic, game or concert via a huge ass screen........not to mention its out of the way for a great audio foucused room.