Picking a general purpose HT projector (1 Viewer)

[ChrisKen]

OK, I've read thru about 1000 threads on the Infocus 4805 vs 5000 and each has its proponents. Most people say that if the room is dark pick the 4805, otherwise if you have some light pick the 5000 (more brightness).

Fair enough. But after reading thru the threads dealing with HDMI, HDCP and DVI (sheesh! I thought component video was good enough!) and then top that off with 480p/480i/720p on up, I see the 5000 has the true advantage there, yes?

Meaning, the 5000 can output at 720p, which is actually HDTV resolution (not the best but not 480p like the 4805).

I will watch 16:9 movies, from DVD, which the 5000 can handle. But I will also want to watch HDTV via over the air broadcasts (so I need a seperate HDTV tuner as well).

For the extra $200-300 , wouldn't the 5000 be the better choice (since it displays true HD 720p output?) ? Or does the 4805 do something that I missed here?

Is this the whole "4805 displays better blacks in a dark room" thing ? I guess I don't fully understand that either. I'll be making my own screen, so with the brighter 5000 I'd pick a "greyer" screen color, right?

I can make this dedicated room pitch black if needed, but watching football in the pitch black isn't exactly "fun". Then again, HD football will only be 30-40% of the usage, the rest being DVD movies which I love to watch in the dark (or with very little light for food/beverages).

I'm stumped, but find myself leaning towards the 5000 over the 4805 after reading up on them...

 

[ChrisKen]

Maybe I should re-vise my question.

Will the 4805 be able to display HDTV signals at 80" and have them look better than CRT non-HDTV? Or is it worth it to get the 5000 for this task, and leave a little light on while watch DVD movies ?

 

[Jon_Liu]

the 4805 handles HD signals beautifully. While having a higher resolution PJ would help even further that, the 4805 is sure to impress, regardless. Both projectors are pretty good, and for the pricepoint both are worthwhile, in my opinion. I went from a Mitsubishi 55" CRT HDTV and was very impressed with the 4805.

I have a 4805 for sale in the Hardware sale forum with the 33' M1 to DVI for $750 if you are interested in a very slightly used one.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=250927

Maybe that'll have you consider a 4805 more but, if it really bugs you to get a higher resolution projector, I'm sure that the 5000 will be a good purchase as well!

 

[todbnla]

See my pic below of an hd feed on my 4805
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/gall...serialNumber=2

I have a few more 1080 pics on my ht site here....