Why You Can Trust CNET Get an Epson MegaPlex HD projector for $349 shipped
This portable, iDevice-friendly model quickly turns any room into a sweet big-screen theater.
True story: during the break I did a little basement remodeling, the idea being to give my kids a more teen-friendly hangout space. The work included painting an entire wall a light color so I could point a projector at it, thus allowing for big-"screen" movies, Xbox and the like.
The projector I own? The very one that is today's deal. It's kismet!
For a limited time, Epson is offering the refurbished MegaPlex MG-850HD 720p 3LCD projector for $349 shipped. Original price: $799.99!
The MegaPlex is a self-contained home theater, offering loud built-in speakers, a carrying handle for easy transport from one room to another, and a dock for 30-pin Apple devices. Yep, you've just found the perfect home for that secondhand iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
By connecting one of those devices, you can project any videos you've purchased from iTunes . It also works with Netflix and YouTube, though unfortunately most other streaming apps (Hulu, HBO Go and so on) don't support this kind of video-out.
Thankfully, the projector also has VGA and HDMI inputs, so you can connect just about any other source (game console, DVD player, Android device, laptop) to greatly expand your viewing options.
Whatever your source, you'll get 2,800 lumens' worth of brightness via a 3LCD engine. That's pretty solid, and the 720p native resolution gives you a true HD experience. It's not 1080p, obviously, but typically you have to spend at least twice as much to get that resolution. Trust me: this is great for casual movie watching, and especially awesome for Xbox games and the like. The built-in speakers are a huge convenience.
CNET hasn't reviewed the MG-850HD, but PC Mag awarded it an Editors' Choice, and a writer you may know had mostly favorable things to say about it as well (keeping in mind it was a few years ago and the Apple landscape has changed a bit). Amazon customers rated the MG-850HD 4.6 stars out of 5. Suffice it to say, this is an amazing deal on a powerful projector. Definitely worth a look.
Bonus deal: Tablet Monday? Eh, why not. Prices on Windows tablets continue to plummet, as evidenced by this Walmart rollback deal: for a limited time, you can get the Nextbook 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet for $99 shipped (plus tax). It features 16GB of onboard storage and a bonus 16GB microSD card, though you can also pop in cards of up to 64GB. Of particular interest, the tablet comes with one year of Office 365 Personal, the license for which includes one tablet and one desktop. That's a $70 value by itself.