Infocus product line (1 Viewer)

[John_Q*]

I was just browsing Infocus's web page a few minutes ago and was wondering how the X1 is so cheap compared to all their other products. If you compare features, the X1 seems to always have better features than the rest, while still being cheaper. This obviously excludes the high-end models that cost many times what the X1 does.

So I'm planning to buy an X1 in the next few days (unless anyone has any other recommendations for less than $1300! - no LCDs). The room I'll be using this thing in ends up with the projector 19' from the screen. According to the calculator, this means a 100" wide screen. Anyone have any suggestions where to find a 100x100 screen?

 

[mark alan]

That is way to large for the X1 (or any entry level projector). With the relatively few pixels available, I expect that the picture will not look that good. For my Z1 and a 6' wide screen, I get about 86 pixels/square inch. You would have about 64. That is about what I get if I zoom a non anamorphic movie to fill my screen. Typically, that creates a very bad picture.

I would look at a ceiling mount to move it closer and try to get to about a 60x80 picture.

BTW, whats wrong with LCD projectors? I love mine.

 

[John_Q*]

The problem with going closer than 20' is that I would have to mount the PJ on the ceiling. I'm in a rental townhouse and that's a no-go from my landlord (the guy is anal).

As far as the image quality goes, I think it will be alright. I've been "borrowing" an epson emp-70 from work and it's been doing a good job. I imagine the X1 will only be better since it's DLP and has Faroudja.

My only beef with the Epson is the reason I won't buy LCD: I don't like how it looks in fast-moving scenes. The blurring from the LCD is hard on my eyes. Basically it's the same reason I don't like playing video games on LCD monitors.

 

[mark alan]

I can't find that epson model, but you need to look at resolution and brightness of the epson vs the X1. If the epson has higher resolution and brightness, it will throw a better large image.

I have no blurring with my Z1, at least with movies. Never tried it with a game system, but I don't see why it would do it then.

 

[Doug_H]

I have the X1 set up at 96' diag and the picture is nothing less than amazing. 100" is well within it's limits and I have seen 120" with good results although you would probably be happier at 100".

The X1 has rewritten everything we used to think about PJ price points and what a 800x600 PJ can do. The X1 was alos priced at $2000 just a few months ago.

You have 30 days to decide if the X1 works for you so there is no risk in trying it. At the price it is offered you really can't go worng. Be prepared to be blown away watching HD and DVD with this unit. It is amazing.

 

[mark alan]

Yea, but he said, 100" wide, which would make it 125" diagonal. That is awful big for any entry level projector.

 

[Doug_H]

Mark

Sorry, I was thinking diag. Yes that would be at the limits of the PJ.

 

[John_Q*]

I can't find that epson model, but you need to look at resolution and brightness of the epson vs the X1. If the epson has higher resolution and brightness, it will throw a better large image.

The Epson I was playing with is no longer in production. It's 700 lumens (vs the X1's 1000). I can't find a reliable source on the resolution. It seems to be 600x800, but also supports 1024x768 somehow as well. Who knows.

In any case, the brightness of the X1 is almost 50% better than the Epson's. I was very happy with the Epson at 115" diagonal, so I imagine I will only be happier with the X1.

How important is contrast though? The 2000:1 contrast of the X1 is very hard to compete with (especially since LCDs generally seem to have less than 1000:1).

As far as the blurring goes, a perfect example was the intro to Fellowship of the Ring, when the camera was zooming and panning around the map of the Shire. The Epson was blurring the words so badly that it hurt my head to try to read them when they were moving. Same thing was true in combat scenes when the camera was panning around. Is this an LCD thing, or would it have been because I wasn't using progressive scan?