living room is quite large where I think a 100" screen would look nice. Currently the 42" vizio lcd looks small compared to the wall.

how much light control is necessary? It will be by sliding glass doors. In the day the room can be darkened considerably, but not completely.

Any recommendations where I can start? Don't know much about projectors.
It will be used for everyday stuff sports, movies, xbox and some tv. I mostly use it in the evenings as well.

TIA.

Depends on first how much you want to spend. I have an Optoma 739 DLP and it is a nice budget player. Bought new for around $1000. I don't have HD so there was no need to go for a 1080i/p unit. Do you have HD?

How much do you want to spend? You can get a 1080p projector for under $3000 these days. Or you can get a hell of a 720p projector for $1000-1500.

Given your situation, I'd suggest popping for a 61" plasma or larger RPJ DLP/LCoS. You will still get a superb picture, but won't get a pissy image during the day.

It's nice to be able to watch with the lights on sometimes... and picture quality of low resolution sources is sometimes so bad that you'd rather watch it on a smaller screen.

Personally, I have a 42" plasma for normal viewing in the family room, and a projection setup in another room. It's great for movies, games, sports, and some HD viewing... but it's also nice to have the TV on downstairs with people over to watch a baseball game and not have to turn the lights off.

You don't need to have separate rooms to make this work, either... but a wall mounted LCD/Plasma, and a motorized screen that comes down in front of it.

do you do all your regular tv stuff on the projector too?

watching is during the evenings. The only time I would ever get to watch during the day would be on a weekend afternoon, which is rare.

How bad is projector quality in the day? I was under the impression that even in the day you can get a pretty bright/clear image without complete blocking out of the light.

I understand there might be some situations where it might be a pain, but if most of the time its just going to be awesome to have the projector, I think its worth it.
I always have the regular TVs in the bedrooms.

However if you think that its going to almost unbearable a majority of the time, then I might have to reconsider.

You're going to want a bright projector. The Panny AX100U is probably your best bet, as it actually adjusts based on ambient light.

Screen choice also has a big impact on how enjoyable the image is during the day.

I have a 50" plasma mounted on wall, with a 110" screen on motorized mount which I can drop down in front of plasma. Really glad I did that combination, although very pricey. Also, FPJs require very light-controlled environment.

My front projector is primarily for movie viewing only. I am going to add a 42 plasma for more regular viewing.

Lumens? contrast ratio?

but that would be a bad choice for you, as it's not on the bright side.

Deciding factors:

Decision one: pick a technology. LCD, DLP, LCoS/SXRD. That will narrow things down greatly.

Resolution.. 720p or 1080p.

Color accuracy and black level/contrast ratio. You have to read reviews and demo for yourself. The specs aren't a good comparison.

Brightness (lumens) are incredibly important in a brighter room.

The Panny AX100 is great because it has plenty of light for modestly lit rooms, but it can adjust (automatically) up and down based on the ambient light.

if you use a high contrast, high gain screen you will be able to get a decent picture. with controlled light, you will have a fantastic picture.

most home theater projectors have low lumen output, and the higher resolution you go the more costly it will be. Id recommend a 2k lumen projector to help out with the viewing, and I wouldnt worry about how high the contrast output is.