As title, I want something for TV and gaming, iv been looking at the optoma range, are these any good they seem a good price? Any advice on what to look for 2nd hand?

I’ve been using an Infocus IN78 for 8 years now for film/gaming and it’s still on the same lamp. it is very good quality and easy to set up. They seem to sell for very little now (along with the rest of the IN range) so that might be worth a look. Lamps are around £120 when/if they go pop.

Ive had an Optama 720p and it was so good when it came to upgrade time I got one their 1080p models~ (hd230x).

Both are great. Lamps lasted way longer than claimed (following the shutdown procedure) and genuine replacements are about £120. Beware of fake lamps on ebay – find an authorised dealer.

Buying second hand: the main thing to be aware of is that the lamp hours can easily be set back to zero so assume everyone selling one has done it and budget for a replacement lamp in the near future.

another optoma here – hd20 (1080p) for me. Had it about 4 years now, watching a film on average every couple of nights, and the lamp is still going strong. really good picture quality too. Haven’t used it for gaming, so can’t comment on that.

Downsides:
– the fan is on the loud side (but I only really notice it in really quite bits of films, or when someone points it out)
– not a great deal of optical adjustment possible, so you need to be spot on with your mounting position, angle and distance.

Dave