I just ordered an Infocus In72 (got a killer price off at www.woot.com today). I probably should have started this thread before I ordered it but the damn impulsive buyer in me wouldn't stand for it. Anyway back to the subject. Anyone have any experience with digital projectors? Are they worth the purchase price? How is the experience and maintenance? I was thinking about getting a plasma but the digital projector I got was cheaper and I think it could really rock with a nice sound system. Anyway any advice would be helpful. Thanks alot.
I have a couple of NEC ones, and they are AWESOME as long as you can control the light in that room. How many lumens did you get? DD
I was so close to pulling the trigger last night when I saw it on woot. It's a pretty good projector for that price, you'll just have to put it in a dark room to get the best picture.
A projector and screen are my goals before Christmas this year. I am leaning towards one of those new Panisonic PT-AX100s. Right now I'm just trying to get the room ready (i.e. run cables and electricity to where the screen and projector will go as well as install some canned lighting). Here are some good places to go for projector info: Projector Central AVS Forums BTW, there is a thread on AVS about Infocus IN72 projector deals at Woot. Would that be you?
Thats me allright. Thanks for the info Chase. I still need to learn so much more about them. Like I said it was an impulse buy so I dont know anything about the maintenance as well as installation. I want to install my cable, and some gaming systems into it, is that very difficult?
Honestly I've never hooked up anything to a projector except a PC (I haven't actually purchased mine yet). But hooking a PC up is very straightforward: Just plug a SVGA cable into the SVGA jack and there you go. With regards to your cable, you need to see what kind of outputs your cable box has and see which one matchs the inputs on your projector - and then get a cable to match. For example if your cable box has an S-Video out and your projector has an S-video in hook them up with an S-video cable.
I was looking at getting a projector until I saw the running costs are pretty high with having to get a new bulb for $200-$300 every 1-2 years.
I own an older model Infocus 4805 and love it. Unfortunately I don't have a HD receiver for Rockets games but it's still great watching the Rockets in SD on my home-made 96" screen. Check out the DIY Screen forum at AVS Forums. That's where I learned to make my screen. Also monoprice.com has some great prices on a/v cables. Goodluck and I'm sure you'll be pleased with your projector.
Couldn't edit my prior post but you can see some pics of my setup from this old a/v thread: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=117879&page=8&pp=20. In total the screen material was less than $50.
I've been wondering if they will ever come out with LED projectors. That would make them silent and long lasting... I'm sure the initial cost would be high, and I'm not sure LED's are quite bright enough yet. But when they appear it'll be sweet. I've seen plenty of home made projectiors made from school type projectors and laptop screens... has anyone tried an LED version?
I agree with this for the most part. 854 x 480 is perfect for DVD movies, so it's a good starting point for getting your feet wet in "real" home theater. But, it's definitely not going to get the job done if you plan to watch High Definition content - especially sports. HD sports is a wonderful thing on a giant screen. Even frickin' NASCAR is awesome! It puts you right on the track as the cars rumble by. The combination of 5.1 surround and giant, sharp HD images will immerse you in the game. With football and basketball, it's like you're sitting in a luxury box looking out on the action (except your virtual luxury box will be closer to the game than a real luxury box). As for baseball, all the frickin' extreme close-ups can get old on the big screen. IMO, the best HD sporting event has been March Madness, the enthusiasm in the crowd noise just puts it a notch ahead of anything else. For me, March Madness by itself is worth getting an HD HT set-up. Anyway, excuse me for going off on a tangent. I just love HD. The bottom line is 852 X 480 will do a great job for viewing widescreen DVD movies. Wives, gf's, and family will generally all dig movie nights. It keeps your a$$ home and out of trouble (as well as providing quality snuggle time). Just don't tell them you'll be watching Pr0n and they will love it just as much as you. So it is a very nice start to HT. The downside is if you're a sports fan you will probably want ("need?") to get higher resolution to view CLUTCH CITY III in HD on the big screen .
1-2 years is pretty extreme. My projector's lamp has half-life of 3000 hrs in economy mode ... I've had my projector for 2 yrs now (total hrs lamp time I've burned is less then 500). Unless you're going to treat your projector like a TV or use it for gaming all the time, lamp life is not an issue. By the way, most of the new rear projection TV's also have to deal with lamp replacement due to 3-5 year half-lives, yet people are still snatching them up. By the time I need a new lamp, I will probably want to upgrade to a new projector anyway. Heck, laser projection technology is already here, and if successfully implemented and marketed, it would make lamp replacement a thing of the past.
From what I've read, they're not bright enough yet. Even if LED's become feasible there's probably better technology out there. I'm guessing laser projection will be the ultimate successor to the old light bulb: lasers should last for the life of the appliance and their brightness shouldn't decay over time. Heck, they also play cd's and perform surgery among other things.
Nice set up bro! The cool thing was I got the IN72 with a 72inch screen included for $733 including shipping and taxes (after the rebate). However I really like the curtains and the set up. I might just have to copy it.
That was a good deal on that projector and screen. I couldn't tell from the picture but is that screen 4:3 or 16:9? I went with a fixed screen because I have two air vents that would blow onto any roll up screen and cause it to move while viewing. Another thing is over time, rolled screens can begin to wrinkle and fold a little. I learned everything I needed to build my screen and setup from AVSForum.com. You can find my pics over at AVS starting here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=93780&page=35&pp=30 and the pages following that. Look for a post from "tat2boy." That's my username there. This is the thread where we use a laminate material found at Lowes for the screen. Goodluck and let us know how your projector looks when you receive it!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Epson-MovieMate...ryZ75416QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I found this online.....Ive been thinking about purchasing one myself but I dont know much about it. The thing about this model is that it comes with an 80" screen and stand. I know the resolution isnt HD..............but how would you rate the price and value of this? Theyve been going for around 700.00. It plays dvd's and cd's and its portable.
I know this is an old thread but I am interested in a projector. I got an ad the other day by Tiger Direct selling a Zenith Z52DC2D 52" 1280 x 720 / 720p Native / 2500:1 Contrast Ratio / HDMI / DLP TV with Integrated HDTV - for $899.99 and free shipping. I have looked everywhere for projectors with that kind of contrast and resolution but they cost alot more. Does anyone know anything about this particular tv and how good a deal this is? The bulb has 8,000 hours of lamp life that pumps out 500 cd/m brightness. Here are more specs: Display Area 52" Aspect Ratio 16:9 Contrast Ratio 2500:1 Resolution 1280 x 720 Signal Compatibility 480i, 480p , 720p , 1080i
