$1500 projectors any good? (1 Viewer)

[Christo Ramo]

I have looked around and found that some projectors can cost near $5000. Are many people using the cheaper ones? What kind of specs should be taken into consideration as mandatory? Is a $1500 projecter good for everyday use?

Thanks.

 

[TheLongshot]

Most certainly. There are a lot of people enjoying their Infocus 4805, which for a cheap projector is pretty good. The Panasonic AE700 is probably the best bang for the buck out there, if you want a higher rez projector. The Sanyo Z3 is also well thought of.

Browsing here or AVSForum, (or www.projectorcentral.com) you can get a good idea of what is good in the low end. It is pretty amazing how far things have come the past couple of years.

Jason

 

[Greg Bright]

I just saw an ad for the Panasonic 500 below $1500. I've had mine for a year, and it's been great.

 

[Jack Ferry]

I think the image I get from the 4805 looks as good or even better than some of the $5000 projectors I've seen on display at Tweeter and similar places. Obviously part of that is due to differences in lighting control, calibration, etc. Still, the bottom line is that supposedly low-end projectors can be a terrific way to go. I definitely prefer it over something like a tiny 60" plasma for $10,000 or so.

 

[Jack Ferry]

Just realized we skipped that part of your question. If you want to sit any closer than 1-1/2 times the width of the screen, you may need to go with a more expensive higher resolution projector. Still, I don't think most people would want to sit that close anyway.

If it's still available, you may want to try InFocus' free 10 day trial of the X1. I tried it and it convinced me that the X1 or 4805 would work fine in my home theater.

 

[Christo Ramo]

Well my hometheater room is 10 feet wide and 20 feet long. I was planning on getting a 40 in sony but it has been taken off the market, but the hole in the wall will fit it. I have been on the fence about the 36" because I have a 32" Sharp in there right now.

What size screen would you guys recommend for my wall, I don't mind it being bigger than the opening. Even if it was an 8' screen (wow, if you could see the smile on my face) I would get a kick out of playing a mulitplayer xbox on that!

Also what resolution would be considered "near" tv quality.

As far as everyday use, is this recommeded or do you guys run regular tv's in conjunction.

 

[Jack Ferry]

I don't see any reason why you can't get your 8 foot screen in that room with a $1500 or less projector. (I went with a 7 foot screen in a roughly 13 x 20 room.)



I use a regular TV in the living room and bedroom for viewing news, reruns, and similar stuff that I'm not paying much attention to. If I'm going to sit and actually watch something, then I head to the theater and use the projector. (No separate TV in there. Well, actually, there's one backstage, but it stopped working a few weeks before I finished the room.)

 

[terence]

I don't use my 4805 everyday but i do watch a lot of tv and movies over the weekends on it. Sometimes when i have time i will watch tv a few days a week, and prefer the big screen. So far i have little over 600 hrs since september, and love every hour put on it.

 

[drobbins]

I have a 4805 projector and I think the picture is awesome My room is only 14' deep and the screen is 91". Ours is a dedicated theater and we use it 5 out of 7 days a week for a movie or games. Not much TV due to its location. If you have windows you will need to control the light.Basement Theater

 

[Philip Hamm]

My projector was less than half that price used and it's fantastic.

 

[Christo Ramo]

Well the infocus 4805 it is! What kind of connections can it handle on the back side of it. Does it do HDTV? Does it have faroudah (how ever you spell in - lol!)? S-Video (how many)? Composite and/or component? Thanks guys!

 

[terence]

You will love it Chris! Here is the back panel of the 4805.



4 video inputs, including:

• 1 composite video
• 1 S-video
• 1 HD-compatible component video
• 1 "M1-DA" (compatible with DVI-HDCP, RGB analog, or component analog signals — each requires an adapter cable)


It uses a Faroudja DCDi De-interlacer: The enhanced Faroudja DCDi FLI2200 video processor produces clear and artifact-free images without the jagged lines you'd see on some large-format displays. DCDi includes video noise reduction and film source detection with 3:2 pull down.

The 4805 is compatible with SDTV (480i, 576i), EDTV (480p, 576p), and HDTV (720p, 1080i including HDCP) video signals. The projector's built-in scaler converts all signals to its native resolution of 854 x 480.

 

[Julian Reville]

Hmmm, I'd really like a 4805; but.... is it worth the extra money over a refurbed 4800? They are available for about $699. What's the best price around for a 4805?

 

[Christo Ramo]

What is that sound out port. Is that a digital coax out?

That looks like an awesome projector. Has anyone ever made a motorized encloseure in the ceiling to have it drop down? Man this is going to be awesome.

I have check a popular auction site for some prices and it goes for around $1300. Did some searches and found it $100 cheaper. What sht story with the 4800?

edit

What is the deal with the lens - one said 750 hours? How long do they last and how difficult is it do get it replaced. How much does that cost?

 

[Sami Kallio]

No, it won't do HDTV. You can feed it HD source but it will convert it down to its native resolution.