druryd

I have been debating between buying a RPTV or Projector for about the last month now. I have finally decided to go with the projector and would really appreciate some recommendations from others. I've been looking at the Infocus X1, so if anyone has that projector your opinion would be greatly appreciated. I have a budget of about $2500 and would like to spend $1500 or less for the projector.

Josh Z

I recommend you start by reading some articles at Projector Central.

You might also want to peruse the Digital Projectors Under $5k board at AVS Forum, as a lot more projector-saavy people hang out there than here.

MikeMay

The X1 is a nice bargain and give a great picture. I don't own it, but check out AVSForum in the digital pictures under 5000 section where there are tons of posts about it daily.

I recommend buying from a place you can return it to without hassle, or demoing it first. Some people see rainbows or experience headaches from DLP projectors. This doesn't happen to everyone, but for some it makes the experience unbearable. If you're one of them, you may want to consider the Sanyo PLV-Z1 LCD Projector. It's currently about $1200. Another slightly more expensive alternative is the Panasonic L300U. LCD projectors have their own issues (potentially stuck pixels, etc).

I'm sure whatever route you go with, you'll be happy.

steebo777

I have to put in a vote for Sanyo PLV-Z1... but that's because mine just arrived today

After all of my research though, the Z1 still seems the best to me for a

Brian Shannon

I would shop around and be patient. Prices should be dropping and some may be looking to sell their projectors to upgrade. As suggested before try AVS forum.

Good luck.

gotapex

It depends on your home theater room. How's your ambient light control? How big is your screen? How wide of a viewing angle do you need? Will you be watching mainly 4:3 or 16:9? What's the resolution of most of the stuff you watch?

Also, projector/technology specific... Do you experience dlp headaches? Do you see rainbows with DLP's (and if so, at what colorwheel speed)? Is contrast the most important thing to you? Shadow detail? Punchiness? Film-like picture?

broadwayblue

if you can hold off for a little bit longer there are supposedly great things coming to the front projector market in September. prices will be dropping big time if the rumors are true.

druryd

Thanks for all the great suggestions, perhaps I will hold off until september, I'm just getting a little impatient (my 35" Analog TV just isn't that great with widescreen DVDs. To answer some of gotapex questions ambient light control is not a problem the room I intend to use is an extra bedroom, it does have windows but I almost never view movies during the day. I was planning on a 60" x 80" screen the projector will be 12 to 12.5 feet away. View angle is only 10' the room is 10' x 15'. I watch a combination of 4:3 and 16:9 with my DVD collection being about 25% 4:3 and 75% 16:9. I would be watching only DVDs at this point. I planned on buying the X1 from my local Best Buy, but they don't have a functional display, so I don't know if I see rainbows on DLP or not.

ckolchak

i'm looking to upgrade from my 2 yr old pj now, and everybody is saying this is a bad time...wait for CEDIA and September.
i'm not totally sold on the idea that September will bring massive price shifts and revolutionary changes, but its generally accepted that the longer you wait, the better the quality and the lower the price.
but in that price range- you aren't going to be getting a projector with a Mustang chip ...not even after September.

i've heard nothing but good things about it, but the thing keeping me from picking up an X1 as an interm solution, is the resolution.
i believe that is 800x600.
i already can see screendoor/pixel structure at times on my XGA (1020x768), and that prevents me from blowing the picture up as large as i really would like (91" wide at 12' viewing distance is what i want. 76" (or less) wide at 12' is what i commonly use).

80" wide from >13' back would be hard to take w/ 800x600 resolution.
if its your first pj, most likely you would be blown away by the sheer size and quality for a while, but eventually (3 months? 6 months? a year?) you would probably be disappointed in the digital appearence due to the more obvious pixel structure.

druryd

Thanks for the info ckolchak, The whole waiting thing reminds me of buying a pc, there is always something better on the horizon, but at some point you just have to jump in. I thought I read somewhere that DLP eliminates the screen door effect and only LCD had problems with it, is that not true?

Brian Shannon

Eliminate, no. I can sometimes see the grid from my Sharp XVZ-10000K projector on certain movies, in certain light at about 6 feet. I sit back about 11 feet. The biggest problems from DLP projectors are people that are sensitive to rainbows and headaches. I have never seen a rainbow with mine and I do not get headaches and my longest viewing session so far was 6 hours.

ckolchak

That used to be very true.
the rap was that LCDs had better colors but poorer/weaker black levels and a lower fill ratio (so you would see the grid between the pixels more easily)
while DLPS had better fill and produced blacks better, but were weaker on colors.
the NEC lt150 was one of the first dlps to start changing peoples mind about dlps and color.
it was beautiful.
since then the gaps have closed on both sides, but i think more so on the DLP side (of course i could be biased).
blacks have defintely started to get better on the LCDs.

probably moreso than screendoor at this point, the reason i'm not interested in LCDs is some reports of panel failure in the long term (but i havent investigated this issue so take take as a starting point to look into).
all i know is, i used to see LCDs in stores, and while the thought of a big picture was cool, nothing i saw made me tear my hair trying to figure out how i could afford one.
i did have that reaction when i saw my first DLP, and the image from that $17000 Runco, was not far off from what i was able to get with a significantly cheaper LT150.
rainbows were a concern, and i saw them frequently at first, but my eyes and brain eventually acclimated to the phenomenon and its not an issue at all now.

yeah.
that's so true.
i've got a big headache thinking this out. theres a pj out now, it's discounted well off its initial msrp, it has a $500 rebate and it hits all the criteria of what i wanted to replace in my old pj-save for one thing-
resolution.
i've got an XGA now and i really wanted my pj to be at least a WXGA so i could go really big.
seems a lot of people over on avsforum believe that prices on those will hit the $3-4K range by the end of this year.
that isn't carved in stone though, an sept. can roll around and still disappoint a lot of people.

disappointment is bound to set in at some point no matter what is bought.
even that WXGA is going to be seriously outclassed in a year with advances from Sony and others.
for that reason i'm tempted to just go with something that hits the most right notes now, and is do-able pricewise, but i'll probably drag the process out a little, hoping for some more info on whats to come in the mean-time.

ckolchak

just to add,
if i could get the PJ that Brian has in Nov/Dec for $4K, then THAT would be worth waiting for.
in fact, short of that, i don't see much good reason to wait.
prices will always drop so it doesn't really matter when you buy, 6 months later there will be a rebate and people will be drooling over whats rumoured to come out a few months later.

I could live with screendoor at 6'.
its seeing pixels at 12' on a 90" wide screen that is disappointing.

Brian Shannon

Given the fact that the 9K has yet to reach that point I doubt the 10K ever will. To my eyes I am impressed with what I have and that is all that matters to me. There will always be something better.

ckolchak

Brian,
what size screen width are you using with that 11' distance?

Brian Shannon

I am using a 100" Dalite HCCV screen. My theater can be seen at my sig line.