Old thread, but revisiting as I prepare for Hauntfest 2K14. My cheapo little $365 chinese projector with the replacement RGB unit that Goldenstar shipped to me free of charge is still rockin', and has been used at at least 10 house parties (5+ hours each), as well as several "just having some friends over" events. I'm not at all disappointed by TTL or 20k scanners. I'm sure 40k and Analog modulation with perfect beam characteristics would be that much more impressive, but for house parties this little thing rocks.
I'm really disappointed that Goldenstar seems to have mostly discontinued their more inexpensive projectors. I was thinking about picking up a second for outside projection of animations on to the front of my house. Have any other chinese manufacturers popped up?