So I have finally decided to go the projector route after deliberating a lot as to which route to take for big screen TV. I saw some good projectors out there but they were way too expensive. My budget for a projector is between $1500-2000.
My questions are:

1) How many minimum ANSI Lumens should the projector have?
2) What would be a good contrast ratio?
3) Does it have to have a DVI input or component inputs are fine for HDTV?
4) Is Bulb life always as advertised? (2000 hrs, etc.)
5) Can I use this to connect to my laptop?
6) Is ebay a good place and what brands on ebay?

I hope I can get some answers fast as I need to finish this project with a couple of other projects in the house.