A sub-$60 home theater projector on Black Friday?

Black Friday is usually a great time to pick up technology products at a rock-bottom price. But it's also a time where it's pretty easy to get snared by tech that looks like a good -- or even unbelievable -- buy, but whose performance means it's not a bargain at any price. One example that we gave in a post last week were tablet computers selling in the $100 price range, and sure enough, the Kohl's Black Friday circular that leaked the other day had a couple of those. The ad also featured the Discovery Expedition Wonderwall Entertainment Projector as an "early bird" special at just a penny under $60. We saw this one all over the place last Black Friday, and it looks like we are in for a re-run, as it was also included in the Staples Black Friday ad that leaked on Wednesday -- and for even less ($49.99). So, what's the deal? Can you really find happiness -- and anything regarding acceptable picture quality -- in a projector that's this inexpensive? Join us after the jump to find out.

Let's cut to the chase: Anyone expecting to get the performance of a typical home theater projector or a portable digital projector is in for a let-down. The specs are a giveaway. The resolution isn't exactly high-def; heck, at 480 by 240 pixels, it's not exactly standard def (720 by 480 pixels), either. Second, the light source is a common 50-watt Halogen bulb -- not the high light-output projector lamps used in most projectors.

So take that low-res image and blow it up to 90 inches (the maximum screen size promised by some sellers) and what do you get? Right. Given the lamp brightness, the quoted maximum throw distance of 6 feet seems a tad optimistic as well, even in a pitch-black room.

Those owners are ones that ignored the promises of this projector and instead dealt with its realities: Keep the room dark, the wall light (or tack up a sheet), and the image size reasonable, and, yes, it can deliver some viewing fun -- especially for kids for movies or videogames.

If you think that the Discovery Expedition Wonderwall projector is something you could see under the tree, there's not much need to get up early for it. While the price at Staples is a little bit better, the early bird at Kohl's wont score much of a bargain as it is for sale there right now for just $10 more.