I am debating buying one of these along with a USB TV tuner instead of a flat panel television. I have already heard that the limiting factor is the bulbs blowing out, but with all the travel I do, lugging a big television monitor around is not ideal and this will be the last television set up I get for a while (2-3 years if not longer) so I am prepared to spend some money but not on crap. Can anyone make some recommendations? I was thinking about getting a BenQ W500.

If durability and portability are important, LCD is probably your best bet.

I'd have to agree, a smaller LCD is going to be better than the projector -- they're fairly sensitive to impact and vibration, etc, plus the likelihood of the light source failing. My friend is the head of the VA's tech department back home and he gives some of those out to blind people so they can magnify reading material or video onto their walls: the picture quality is good, better than a CRT, but requires significant adjustment to get it to look right on every surface you project onto.

So buy exactly what I don't want to buy. A projector I can at least put in a Pelican case and send on to my next post or put on board the aircraft. A larger LCD panel is something I have to buy in country online, have shipped for a grip of money and then re-sell during turn overs for a huge loss.

I already have a 19" wide-screen monitor. Its senseless to spend money on something just slightly larger unless the one I have breaks.

We use one here at the office, but it's not a daily use projector. It's good for quick set up when we need to hook up a laptop in an office. The picture quality is decent. We let the attorneys take the projector with them as needed, and we have yet to have any issues with the bulb either from usage or the device being shaken.

It's not what I'd want to use for my every day viewing, but it's not bad at all. The fan in the projector is somewhat loud, and it does put off a good amount of heat.

So buy exactly what I don't want to buy. A projector I can at least put in a Pelican case and send on to my next post or put on board the aircraft. A larger LCD panel is something I have to buy in country online, have shipped for a grip of money and then re-sell during turn overs for a huge loss.

I already have a 19" wide-screen monitor. Its senseless to spend money on something just slightly larger unless the one I have breaks.

I have a pelican case for my 24" monitor that we use on shoots. They make pelicans for all sorts of sizes.

IF you do get a projector you are pretty much gonna need to ship it the same way they do from the factory. Take the bulb out and pack it down tight.