I'm just wondering if anyone here is installing these and if they like them and if they prefer one over the other for any particular reasons. They seem like they are pretty good for the price point but I don't have any hands-on experience with them.

Have installed the 4805 and own one. It is a very nice projector for the $$. I have not personally used a 5000 yet, but have seen one and it looks comparable to other LCD projectors of the same $$ level.

The 4805 is a 480P DLP machine that will down res HDTV. The 5000 is a 720P LCD that will take high def signals. Both are good projectors for the money, but each has its drawbacks. Neither is tremendously fully featured. The 4805 has decent blacks and is bright enough, but is not a HiDef projector. It has all of the drawbacks of DLP like rainbows etc. The 5000 is BRIGHT, but has all the characteristics of other LCD projectors (banding, high black levels, screen door etc) For the price both are excellent.

Just my $.02

bob

I agree the Sp4805 is a great projector at its price point. The difference between the SP4800 and the SP4805 is the difference between night and day. We installed a 4800 in a customers bar and he loved it. Since then he has put a 4805 in another bar wiht the same screen and similar light conditions. Now he keeps trying to get me to make the 4800 look like the 4805. The chip used in the 4805 has greater brightness and better black levels than the original 4800. Also look at the Sp5700 and sharp projectors.

Mike

the 5700... Installed 6 had 6 problemed units. Failed lamp strikes to turning off for no reason. Sent them back to infocus who delcared them fixed only to have them die within a few days. Never had problems with the 7200.

Sometimes reseating the bulb in the 5700 made it work for a while. But then you have to take it down and mess with it. Then put it back up and reaim it. just my 2 cents.

SOunds like the units are dropped. I have had 3 X1 projectors one hsarp and two 5700's all fail to strike right out of the box. According to infocus the filament was broken on the infoucs and sharp never replied. Shippers need to realize that these small boxes ARE fragile. I alos received a Velodyne sub on friday, the corner was crinkled just a small bit. I didn't think too much off it. When I went to install it, It would not even power up. First velodyne DOA, which i guess is a god thing. Back to the point, I have had projectors bad out of the box, and almost everytime it was due to damage in shipping.

Mike

Went to an InFocus and Sharp session last week. The 5000 looked good compared to other LCDs in its range. LCDs seem to have the drawback compared to DLP that their picture will degrade over time as the light engine is not a sealed unit. Sharp announced an new 720p DLP priced at $4k that uses the same HD2+ chip and some of the same parts in their 12000 model. Forget the model number, supposed to be out around Thanksgiving.