kvrdave

Had electricians doing work, and didn't turn the unit off. I am sure when they flipped breakers that it popped the lamp.

So.....new lamp is $300 shipped. Should I do that or upgrade? Any great upgrades to look at?

Y2K Falcon

I sure like putting out 1080i on my 4850. Of course, you don't get OTA HD in Podunkia.

Wow. That sounded geeky.

AGuyNamedMike

I recommend that you upgrade, and box up the X1 and ship it to me.

Pistol Pete

There's an idea. Upgrade and give the X1 to a friend who may not be able to afford an HT otherwise. For the $300 he pays for the lamp, he can get started in the HT game. You could be the home theater Johnny Appleseed of King Valley.

Dead

Replace it you cheap @$*%)@#!!!


If mine died today, I'd very seriously consider picking up a 4805 from Tiger Direct ($799 after rebate).

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=I427-1060

kvrdave

I thought about that, but I really like the 4:3 aspect of the X1. I use it mainly for regular tv and internet, and when I do watch movies, I don't mind the black bars at all. Don't notice it, actually.

And I worry about the 750 lumens of the 4805.

Dead

I've read that even at the 750 lumen rating, the 4805 is actually brigher in "video mode" than the X1. So that doesn't worry me too much.

If I was really in love with 4:3, that might be a problem though.

Y2K Falcon

Isn't the man room underground? Why would you worry about that...

Spiky

I have to use an ND2 filter to cut my lumens in half. I have a Toshiba that is very similar to the 4805 in actual light output. From what I hear. Most people tend to have TVs of any sort way too bright, hence the headaches.

The marketing ratings for contrast and lumens are fiction. Some are low, some are high, none are accurate for YOUR room. Except maybe by coincidence.

Numanoid

I hear you. I'm running with an old Sharp XG-3000U and am looking to upgrade (even though this baby still looks great). I've mulled over the 4:3 vs. 16:9 issue in my head and I realize that 90% of what I view is 4:3 (Internet, TV, old movies). Also, when I do view recent DVD movies or whatever, the black bars from a projector just become part of the wall to me. My current 4:3 screen size is nearly 100" (filling nearly the entire wall), I don't think I could handle the screen size reduction that a 16:9 projector would cause.

So what are the hot 4:3 native projectors out now?

kvrdave

Because I am addicted and could not wait, I had a replacement bulb overnighted and it is here. A question for another day.

A few things of note....my color wheel was incredibly dirty. If you have one, it looks like it is not a bad idea to clean it on occasion. I would bet (and will confirm tonight) that I lost 30% brightness as a result.

As for hot 4:3 projectors, it has looked like the Dell ones are probably the way to go. I looked at those hard, but no big sales, so I will wait.

Sdallnct

I think I'd replace the unit as well, but you did the buld. At least you are back enjoying. When mine goes, I'm upgrading.

If I remember correctly the instructions with the X-1 say you should clean it every 250 hrs or so. More often if it is used in a dusty place.

kvrdave

I don't think I notice any difference having cleaned my color wheel. Seems odd, considering how dirty it was. Also, I believe I have managed two dust blobs. We are redoing the kitchen and the sheetrock is going up next week, so I will probably wait until they are done and then clean it again, and see if I can get rid of those.

mbs

I finally convinced myself to buy a 4805 today, but the price at Tiger is now $899 after rebate. The InFocus rebate ends at the beginning of the month.

This is still a decent price, but can we expect the price to go further down in the next month or two? And what is the chance of seeing another InFocus rebate?

Should I purchase now or wait another month or two (I'm not sure if projectors are like PC hardware where the prices are always dropping and waiting a month or two can save some coin)?

Anubis2005X

Hey MBS,
I'm an owner of a 4805 as well. I bought it in May, and they had the rebate ending around June. So, I'm pretty sure it's just a continuous rebate that keeps getting renewed. I'm not sure how much the 4805 is going to change in price. Infocus will probably announce a newer model to replace the 4805 (high def DLP? sweeeet), and then you'll probably see the 4805 decrease even more in price. Please note though that projector bulbs are at least $300 usually, so most likely it's going to hover around a certain price, even after it's replaced, must like the X1 did when the 4805 came out.

mbs

Thanks for the info, good points all around. I'm still debating what to do, I guess I spent a little too long researching it and should have impulse bought it when it was $799 (after rebate).

Lesson learned: impulse buy more often.

Numanoid

A couple of days ago Woot.com had the 4805 (refurbished) with a screen and the Matrix DVD super set (that monster box with the Neo bust) for $699 total. So they are still around and going down in price. Woot has them up at least once a month, so keep an eye out if you're willing to wait a little longer.

Roto

I'm probably too late to this thread, but I say upgrade and keep checking woot.com for that deal if it interests you. It's refurbished, but I think they offer a one year warranty for another $80.

I'm going to be in the same boat with my X1 in the near future. It has over 3000 hours on its lamp. I would consider buying another one except for the colorwheel noise issue. It's a common problem with the X1 that the colorwheel could start making a buzzing noise. I eventually got mine repaired before the warranty expired. Now about 6 months later I've heard the noise a couple of times. It went away after a second, but that's how it started before until several months later it was constant.

My warranty is now over and if I had to fix that noise again it would cost about $600 because they replace the entire optical engine for some idiotic reason. $600 could get me another X1