Why You Can Trust CNET Build a home theater on the cheap with this Epson 1080p projector for $400
The PowerLite Home Cinema 1060 is a crazy-good deal at this price, though it does have one limitation. Plus: A sweet Record Store Day turntable deal.
No audio-out? Oh, Epson. Thankfully, there's an easy workaround.
Big TVs have gotten awfully cheap of late -- you can still get a 65-inch TCL 4-Series Roku for $500, for example -- but if you want a seriously big picture, you'll need a projector.
Like this one: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the refurbished Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1060 projector for $399.99 shipped (plus tax). It sells new for $550. Update: You must be a My Best Buy member (free) and signed into your account in order to see this price.
Hang on... a refurbished projector? That sounds like a bad plan. What if the expensive-to-replace bulb gives out on day 91? Surprise: This is backed by a two-year Epson warranty, same as new PowerLites .
I couldn't help wondering if this was an error on Best Buy's product page, but if you look at Epson's own Clearance Center page, you'll see that all the refurbished items there carry a full warranty. Nice!
So, the projector itself. The PowerLite 1060 is a full-HD (that is, 1080p) model that uses 3LCD technology, which promises higher color light output than single-chip DLP projectors , while also avoiding the rainbow effect sometimes produced by the latter.
It comes with two HDMI inputs and built-in speakers, so you could set this up just about anywhere for an impromptu movie and gaming night.
Now for the bad news: The PowerLite 1060 has no audio-out option, which is kind of ludicrous. That means there's no easy way to pipe the sound to, say, a sound bar .
An inexpensive audio extractor helps solve the Epson PowerLite's only real problem.
But there is a way. From what I've learned, an inexpensive HDMI audio extractor (like this one, about $26) will give you both analog and digital outputs for connecting to external sound systems. In fact, this exact projector is called out in one of the customer reviews for this extractor: "Works wonderful," according to the customer.
Despite that issue, the user reviews for the PowerLite 1060 are overwhelmingly positive: 4.6 stars at Best Buy and 4.2 stars at Amazon.
If you've always wanted to watch sports and movies and play videogames on a ginormous HD screen, it's rarely been this affordable. Would a 4K projector be even better? Sure, but it'll be a while before you see one anywhere near this price.
Read more: The best home theater projectors for 2019
Record Store Day turntable deal
Tomorrow is Record Store Day. That means if you're into vinyl, head to your nearest record shop (yeah, they're still a thing) for deals and discounts.
Save $50 on the Fluance RT80, already one of the best turntable deals out there.
But start here: For a limited time, you can get the Fluance RT80 Turntable for $149.96 shipped with promo code RT80RSD.
The RT80 features a preamp, a diamond stylus and other things that are probably meaningful to audiophiles.
I'm not one of them, but the turntable has a 4.5-star review average from 165 buyers -- so apparently it's pretty good!
Read More: All the latest Best Buy coupons
CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest promo codes from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon and more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page.