InFocus 4805 TVAuthority Q&A (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Hillyard]

That's how I'm starting to feel, Jim. I'm going to get in touch with Kin and see about getting a nice and fresh new one - I think the peace of mind is worth the extra money.

 

[rob-h]

I have my 4805 19ft from the screen and using the zoom have a picture that is about 133 inches diagonal. My room has 0 light penetration from the outside. The image is clear, vibrant and sharp. I also use the low power setting. My first row is about 11 ft from the screen and no screen door is visable. It is visable if you get under 8ft.

 

[Holadem]

How can there be no screen door at 11ft from a 133in screen if I can see it on my 92-96in screen, 12 feet away, without my glasses (I am a bit near sighted, lost my glasses so I squint all the time now)? Not that it bothers me, but I can easily see it on subtitles and the like.

--
H

 

[Kevin Hillyard]

Anyone have any experience buying from PC Powerzone? They've got the 4805 listed for $941, and no mention of it being refinished or refurbished - their site claims it comes with a two year warranty on parts and labor.

I'd prefer to buy from TV Authority or another HTF sponsor, but $150 is $150 - pretty big price difference (and I can use that to buy a ceiling mount!)

 

[Kevin Hillyard]

OK, one more question about the 4805 - specifically the $100 rebate directly from In Focus.

Their rebate page on their website says:

"Effective Dates Valid on purchases made through May 24, 2005 - Aug 31, 2005

Your rebate confirmation form and proof of purchase must be postmarked within 30 days from date of purchase

ONLY PURCHASES FROM INFOCUS AUTHORIZED DEALERS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PROMOTION. Please note - products will be automatically registered with InFocus. Products purchased from Costco Wholesale and Costco Business Centers,Sam’s Club,and Shop at Home are not eligible."

How do I know if a company is an "INFOCUS AUTHORIZED DEALER"? Any suggestions, short of just emailing them and asking?

 

[Citizen87645]

How about a list of the unauthorized?

http://www.infocushome.com/deauthorized/index.htm

It's probably easiest to just call if you're not sure.

 

[Kevin Hillyard]

Great - thanks Guo Xiong. I guess I feel a bit better that PC Powerzone isn't on that list - but I've sent a message to In Focus asking about them specifically just in case.

 

[rob-h]

I swear I cannot see screendoor until 8 feet and that with my glasses on.

 

[Kevin Hillyard]

Little warning out there for anyone considering buying an InFocus projector from a dealer NOT listed on InFocus's "authorized dealers" list (@ infocus.links.channelintelligence.com/pages/prices.asp?sSKU=SP4805&nRGID=372).

I checked with InFocus about if a purchase from a specific website would qualify for the $100 rebate, and was informed that "Our minimum advertising price for the SP4805 is $1099 so if someone is advertising it online for less than this, the purchase would not qualify for warranty or rebates."

Kind of scary - considering your average consumer isn't going to try and look into this as much as I did, and while a website selling this projector might say it comes with the standard 2 year warranty, it sounds like it might not get honored.

 

[Frank Lee]

At the moment I am casting a 102" image on my wall. I sit back 14' from the projected image. Occasionally I can see the screen door effect. It is usually on bright white parts of a scene or when there is subtitles or text on the screen.

Rob, what kind of screen/wall are you projecting onto? I am wondering if whatever you are using is reducing the SDE on yours?

 

[Holadem]

Good question, I didn't think about the screen it self.

Mine is blackout cloth bought from Jo-Ann (sp?). The thing is pinned to the wall for now. Using the smooth side.

--
H

 

[GregoryP]

I just wanted to follow up on my complaint about the colors when comparing the 4805 to my old Toshiba TW40X81. After watching a lot of movies and performing a lot of tests over the past 2 weeks, I've concluded that the colors on the Toshiba are cranked up too high. I don't know the technical term for what I'm seeing, but the colors on the 4805 are excellent. I think I've just gotten used to seeing things incorrectly, so the change was disconcerting.

I'm now happy to join the ranks of satisfied owners. That Finding Nemo DVD is dazzling!

 

[Kevin Hillyard]

Well, I managed to score a 4805 - should be arriving on Monday - looking forward to checking it out! I had two questions that I'm hoping someone here might be able to help with...

I'm thinking of running not only the component cables through the ceiling, to get to my DVD player and Satellite receiver, which are in the front of the room, but a power cable for the 4805 as well - I imagine I could use a "regular" IEC power cord, correct? These cords and cables would be running alongside the existing speaker wire installed above my ceiling for the rear channels.

My question is this - is this a bad idea? Should I expect to get interference in either the component cables or speaker wires because there's a power cable running right alongside of them? If I'm going to send them all through the ceiling, I don't have much of a choice, with the way my basement is set up. The other option would be to just run the power cable along the ceiling and down the wall, not trying to hide it inside the ceiling - but obviously that's not as "pretty".

My other 4805 question is, how much room should I allow behind the unit, in a ceiling mount situation, for airflow? I've got a dropped I-beam that I'm going to be dealing with behind the pj, so I'm wondering what a good distance to leave between it and the 4805 would be. I would like to have it as close to the I-beam as possible, giving me the largest image the room will allow, but I certainly don't want to trade size for decreasing the life of the bulb due to poor air flow.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[RussPang]

I wish I found this site 2 days ago.

After reading about the 4805 at epinions I decided this was for me. My Mistubishi 42" HDTV just went out and I wanted to look into PJs, from the reviews it seemd the 4805 was a great unit. One of the reviews mentioned it for sale on HSN so I bit and bought.

This is going in my bedroom and I'm looking for a motorized ceiling screen 72" diag. The pj will sit on a shelf in a built-in unit around the bed.

Now I have a tech question. Would it be OK to mount the projector in an enclosed space with only a hole for the lens? I'm thinking I could install a fan/vent in the ceiling inside the box. This would certainly help keep the fan noise down, eliminate heat in the room, but would it harm the pj in any way?

 

[Kevin Hillyard]

RussPang - sounds like you need a "hush box" - do a Google for "hush box home theater" and you'll probably find a ton of information.

 

[Dan M]

'Turn on and off only when necessary.

Turn off properly.'

could you elaborate on this please? Exactly what is the proper way to turn off the projector?

thanks

 

[James Phung]

If you plan on shutting off the projector for the rest of the day/evening, then flip the switch to turn it off. If you plan on turning your projector on again soon after you turn it off, power down with the remote so that the fan will cool down the lamp and prepare it for another strike. It's bad to strike the lamp while it is still hot.

It's recommended to perform the hard switch off so that the lamp can cool down naturally rather than having to be forced to cool down with a fan.

 

[Evan M.]

Kevin, I am certainky no electrician but I think what you want to do with the wires through the ceiling would be fine. If you are worried then maybe try to space them from each other a bit but in all of my reading about the 4805 (and it has been A LOT of reading) I have never heard this as being a problem at all. To be honest I think most people with a ceiling mount have the same exact setup. What you can do is maybe shoot infocus and even an electrician a quick call to see what they think. I might do that to stay on the safe side before you do all of this wiring.
As for the space behind the projector.....I would say about 1' should be fine. As you know the projector blows air through the the front and "collects" air in the back and side. It is a lot more essential to have good airflow in the front of course but a foot around the other parts of the unit should be fine.......plus I think this is what Infocus says......
Best of luck to you.

 

[frankinG]

Rob. Every projector I have owned has always looked better when I fed it an interlaced signal. The scaling in most modern projectors is superior almost all outboard dvd players.

 

[DanThomas]

I have some questions regarding the 4805, and projectors in general. Some of these questions may have been addressed elsewhere in this thread, but if they have, I haven't found them.

About 2 weeks ago I bought a Sony KDF-60WF655 60" LCD rear projection HDTV. Its picture looks great, but I'm worried that the picture is still too small. It still doesn't feel like a theater, if you know what I mean. I have 30 days to return it for a full refund.

So the first question is, how do you think the picture from the 4805 would look at about 100" diagonal from about 14 feet, compared to my 60" Sony? I'm just looking for people's opinions -- I know that "my milage may vary." Let's pretend optimal conditions like no ambient light, and a good screen.

One thing I'm not crazy about with my Sony is watching SD TV. I wish the picture could be a little smaller, actually, because SD doesn't look all that great. How do you think I'll feel about watching SD on the 4805?

There's no tuners in the 4805, right? So I would have to drive it from my cable box, which is a Moxi DVR. Anyone know of any problems with this setup?

If there's no tuners, then there's no PIP, right?

I'm sure I'll come up with some other questions but this is a start. All comments are appreciated!!

-Dan

PS: I've read a lot of good things about the 4805, so that's why I'm asking about it. Since the Sony cost me $3199 plus tax, the 4805 would obviously save me a lot of money. However if I'm willing to spend this kind of money, should I consider a higher-end projector? If so, which one?