The prices for projectors has fallen as rapidly as quality as risen. These days you can get a projector for under $1,000 that is better than $5,000 projectors from a few years ago. So in reality, it's reasonable to think about getting a projector instead of a new TV.

Or maybe you're looking for the ultimate upgrade for when you finally get that kidney sold on Craigslist. Either way, projectors are awesome.

Despite being the primary video reviewer for two major publications, I haven't owned a TV in eight years. Instead, I do all my TV/movie watching and console gaming with a projector on a screen.

The benefits are obvious. My TV is 100 inches. I mean, what else is there? The characters in LittleBigPlanet are the size of my head.

Using a projector as your main TV, though, takes a few concessions. For one, projectors really can't be used in a room with any ambient light. So unless you can black out the room really well, a projector is hard to use during the day. They're also rather noisy and generate a lot of heat. In a small room they'll heat it up pretty well before your movie's half over.

You can mount a projector to a ceiling, but I've always just used a stand towards the back of a room.

The biggest question is a screen. I highly recommend getting a screen. The image will be brighter, smoother and all around better. Unfortunately this increases the price of the system rather considerably. You can always add a screen later, so if for now if you just want to shine it on a white wall that's fine. Just make sure the wall is as smooth as you can make it.

One trick that's worth trying is using photographer's foam core (white board). This is reflective, smooth, and cheap. In a pinch it makes a great screen.

In the sub-$1,000 price range, most of what you'll find is repurposed data projectors and 720p video projectors. Honestly, these are fine. The color won't be as accurate with the former, and you won't be able to go as large with the latter, but seeing as we're going after size over picture quality, I wouldn't worry about it. I sat about 7 feet from a 100-inch screen for years with 720p and was never bothered by it.

A few brands I've reviewed and have had good experiences with are Optoma, ViewSonic, Epson, Vivitek, InFocus, and of course the big brands like Sony, Sharp, and JVC.

Going up in price pretty much always means a better, brighter picture. Lumen ratings (overall light output) are often bollocks, but in broad strokes may help you a bit. If one projector is 1000 lumens and another is 1100, it's a safe bet they're nearly identical in terms of light output.

One other cost to consider is you'll need to run a pretty long cable to reach from your equipment back to the projector. But if it's HDMI, this shouldn't cost too much.

Oh, and of course, you'll need audio.

Watching TV, movies and games on a 100-inch screen is as awesome as you'd expect. The beauty is, it shouldn't cost you much more than the price of a new TV to get it.

Just something to consider.