I have an hitachi 51s500 rear projection and im looking at switching to a front projection tv. trying to stay under $2000 unless the quality is worth it.. any suggestions ? anyone know much about the InFocus projectors? good stuff or cheap crap?

The infocus SP4805 is an unbelievable projector for its price. It contains the new DarkChip TI Chipset. This unit does have the actual component video inputs which is an improvement to the SP4800's adaptors. I would not recommend taking this projector over 120" due to its low resolution. Contact Vutec or Dalite about a screen. You should be able to get a fixed 103" Screen from Vutec for about $750. The projector retails at $1500. Make sure that you get the right screen for your room. The more ambient light that you can control the better. Good Luck.

Mike

Go to AVS Forum. They have a forum dedicated to 'PJs under $3500 MSRP'. If you can't find everything you need to from that forum, it is your fault.

The 4805 is currently the most discussed PJ in that forum. And you could make a screen for under $100 that would be better than most purchased screens. Check out the Screen Forum as well.

Contact Gary Wasserson ([email protected] or 610-668-8000) . . . he's a local/internet dealer of projectors that has a great Audiogon reputation . . . and a friend of mine. Don't remember the brand(s) he carries, but he seems to be pretty current on these things.

I made my own 83" 16x9 fixed front projector screen for under $100 and the picture is fantastic! :-) If you are so inclined you could take advantage of some great cost savings by making your own.

I have owned the InFocus X1 for a year now. I would love to own the InFocus 4805. It is what I wanted all along in an entry level front projector. I have been and continue to be happy with the X1 however. If I had the money to upgrade I would move up to the 4805 without a second thought.

-Lowpro

Would love to see the specs on that home made screen! Sounds like an awesome project for a basement room for the kids--

please post the info!

I'm sure you all are going to shoot me for this suggestion, but it has really worked well for me and it's also HDTV ready for under $1,000. I purchased a Dell 2200MP projector:

The Dell™ 2200MP Projector features DLP™ (Digital Light Processing) DDR technology and a high 1700:1 (full on / full off) contrast ratio for vivid images. The projector’s built-in advanced motion adaptive hardware de-interlacing allows for superior picture quality. Preset and user defined video modes give you superb graphic and video settings. Supporting native SVGA (800x600) resolution, the projector provides incredible connectivity, with support for S-Video, Composite Video (RCA), Component Video and HDTV inputs. With only 37 dBA of sound output, it delivers extremely quiet operation. The projector includes a remote control and a hard shell carrying case, and is backed by a limited warranty2 with Advanced Exchange Service1 available for 1 year.

I am using this projector with a DirecTV HDTV with Tivo receiver (Hughes) and get an amazing picture.

The screen that I purchased is a Da-Lite Model-B with Controlled Screen Return (CSR) for about $250. and have installed it as a ceiling mount screen (100" screen) with a High-Contract Matte White finish.

I was amazed with the quality of the picture of this projector.

please tell me more about making a screen for under a $100 that's better than anything you can buy from screen manufacturer.

Fitnessguy919,

The screen you make for under $100 will not be better than any manufacture's screen like the grayhawk or the firehawk. Those so called screen for under $100 is just a plain fabric from a fabric store. A true film screen has optical and crystaline glass that is embedded on to the screen. If you notice, the blacks are black and reds are red and so on and so forth. Skin tones are richer and deeper.

In essence, the movie screen is the one who is going to carry your video. Since you are spending 2Gs (plus or minus) on projector, spend another $800 to $1000 on a great screen with professional installation (depending on your packages). If you want to get it right, do it right. Spend the extra bucks on screen. Your eyes and vision deserves better. Especially if you want to watch a Jenna Jameson movie, it is awesome. Double schwing!!

rga2k4

You should check out the Vidikron Model 40 for $8000 retail. On a lower budget you could also use the Model 20 which has the Matterhorn chipfor $4500.

These projectors are fantastic. This company is going to be a big,one to watch.

Good Luck!

Check out the SP5000 from Infocus for $1999.95. It has 1280x720 resolution, LCD projector, and is very bright. Could go with a budget Da-lite Cinaperm 92" for around $550.

Mike

Low bucks approach?

Recent job for a client included a SP5700 ($2,999.99) and a Draper "Luma" 92 inch, manual pull down screen ($165.00).

Pretty darn good imaging even from analog cable fed via composite RCA from VCR.

Last minute set up so the client could watch the ACC games. And he's happy.

There are better choices than blackout cloth. Read on.


True. Very important.


Not necessarily true. There are at least 2 kinds of paint out there that essentially make almost any surface into a great reflective screen surface. There is a (no kidding) vinyl bathroom wall board that is so close in texture and gain to .9-1.0 gain screens that it shocks people. Or you could buy screen material from the manufacturers and mount it yourself far cheaper than hiring it done. I even saw someone who made their own 4-side powered masking for thousands less than Stewart's masks.

For those on a budget getting a cheap PJ, getting a cheap screen is often part of the deal. Sure, there are plenty of people with a crappy DIY screen setup that thought they did a good cheap screen and haven't seen reality, but there are also plenty who put time and effort into some research and have great screens for minimal cash.

If you are spending $3k just to watch Jenna, you need help. Really.