Honestly i think projectors are as good as they are going to get with current technology...
I spent months researching and talking to different owners before i bought my projector..
http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_ax100.htm
It got really good reviews pretty much from any company/reviewer... Best part about this projector it has the biggest list
of acceptable signals, it will be good for any current technology out on the market or in next 5 years.
The next step in projectors will be the LED projectors but that is at least a year or two away. You can have plenty of movie/pron nights on the current projectors before the new ones come out, at which time yours will still be great and bulbs will drop in price down drasticly so you might as well keep it for few more years until the LED ones drop down in price as well.
From reviews i read is that there is a chance for them to make a LED replacement for current bulbs as well at which point they will never need replacements pretty much, just buy the updated LED bulb and throw your old one away, at least thats what i heard from the Panasonic Rep who has already seen some tests with LED projectors.
-E