ShallowHal

Does anyone have any idea if the 4805s sold by infocus on eBay are actually refurbs (as advertised), or possible new market dumps like the Staples BF deal? Their seller ID is "infocuscorporation".

I know it's a longshot that anyone here knows, but I'm looking for one of these soon and would love a deal.

X

Many, if not all of the Staples BF deal were refurbs.

Mine happened to come with all the accessories that a new one would have as well as a new bulb but it looked like there was a tiny bit of use on the case of the projector.

People are speculating as to why there would be so many refurbs. It's possible that they are all made of odds and ends of new and used components remaining in inventory as they end manufacture of the model and can't be called new. Or perhaps some new ones were thrown into the batch with only a refurb warranty to allow a lower price.

ShallowHal

Thanks for the info, X. It could have been wishful thinking that it was new for alot of people, I guess there's no way to tell.

I'm kicking myself for not grabbing one, I didn't think it could work in my current place, but with all the great reviews I'm going to make it work.

kneijst1

I got one of these recently off ebay with a free screen(still yet to unpack and install) and it is awesome! It came relatively fast. I guess my only problem is that it didn't come with the remote, but I emailed their support and they replied the same day saying they would send me one (which I should receive any day). This is definitly the way to go on a budget as opposed to an expensive LCD TV.

Sdallnct

I have nothing to back this up, but I think a lot of these are customer returns with nothing wrong with them. There are a lot of people out there who think having a PJ would be cool, but then don't want to spend the time effort, money to do it right (get the proper connections, hide them, screen, etc etc).

Again, just a guess, had a buddy do that. He saw mine, then after about 15 days thought he was in over his head and returned it.

Fielding Mellish

When Costco did a $500 price drop on this unit, a huge numbers of owners returned their 4805's and exchanged them for "new" projectors. Just to take advantage of the savings.

I wouldn't be surprised if that alone didn't leave InFocus with thousands of units as "B" stock.

Spiky

Also, there were far more of this PJ made than any other model in history, I believe. You'd have to find actual numbers and look at percentages for a real comparison.

sdcrym

I'm a bit confused about the specs of this projector. One part of them talks about HD resolutions like 720p, etc., but further down it says it displays only in 480p. Are those HD resolutions only referring to signals that it can accept?

Spiky

Exactly. Output is only 480p, input is several different possibilities. Same for most HDTVs.

Sdallnct

I believe the is exactly the same as my X-1, that it will accept just about any signal but output it to 480p. I mention this as I recently got an HD OTA receiver is the pic is awesome! Obviously would be better if the PJ was tuely HD, but I'm very, very impressed by the PQ I get out of this set up especially given the size image.

X

I'm actually surprised that it so happily accepts some of the strange resolutions I already have set on my HTPC via VGA. I'm going to try out pixel perfection via DVI as soon as I get a DVI/M1 converter or cable.

sdcrym

So is it foolish of me to think that it's a waste to spend so much money on something that can't output in HD? I'm still stuck with a 27" standard CRT, but if I were to spend almost $1000 on an upgrade, I'd either want to spend a little bit more to get HD or wait a year or so until an HD projector dropped in price. I'm just curious.

X

$500 didn't seem like so much money to me, especially considering it appears to be improving upon and probably replacing the $4700 RPTV I've been using. I don't have HDTV though and really haven't had much of an interest in it, even after having tried it.

ShallowHal

Can a mod please chop off the e in Infocuse for me? Damn keyboards, I don't spell check these things.

sdcrym

ok, that makes more sense. I looked around after seeing this thread and only saw it for twice that amount. I guess I missed the deal.

Sdallnct

I know I will likely get flamed and considering I have nothing that shows true HD you might take this with a grain of salt, but I'll say it anyway...

IMHO, HD is just letters. That is all. If you like the picture, enjoy your system, that is all that matters. A prime example is that there is a ED plasma (Panasonic I think) that often gets better reviews that many (most?) HD plasmas. Another example, a friend spent $3,000 on a HD TV yet has no HD content what so ever. Yea he has a DVD player but an older non-progressive scan model. Yet is brags and brags about having a "true HD TV". Heck you go over to AVS or some of the other Home Theater sites and there is arguement going on if a given sets are actually HD or not! The box may say it is...but...

It is just there is more to the enjoyment of a system then a couple of letters.
Sure I guess all things being equal HD is "better". But rarely if ever are all things equal.

If you like, go for it. Now having said all that, when the bulb eventually blows in my X-1 will I get a HD PJ? Maybe, probably, but I got at least 18 months and I have no thoughts of upgrading till it does blow.