What's the difference in these projectors? (1 Viewer)

[Rob Brown III]

Hi all! I'm new to this board so let me give you a little background on myself.. I'm 33, just bought a new house (will be ready in June) and expecting our second child in August.. I'm really excited that my wife is going to let me build a home theator (and I will be posting more questions about this later).. so I started to look for DLP projectors under $1300 and found 3... seems like a lot of people have the X1 but I was wondering if you could explain to me the major differences between these 3 projectors and tell me which one you would buy.. thanks!

Infocus X-1
Inforcus Screenplay 4800
BenQ PB6100

 

[Sheldon-m]

i think the x1 and the 4800 are the same. i have not seen the BenQ. I have the X1 and it is great. I use it for sports,dvds, and my Xbox. it is a good projector. You need do little research and set budget. I like the X1. go to best buy and buy one. If you don't like it
take it back

 

[Benson R]

the 4800 has a different firmware then the x1, but hardware wise it is the exact same pj. The 4800's is already configured with hometheater in mind. You can flash the 4800 firmware onto an x1 with an easy to find hack on the internet. I did this and feel that the picture I get out of the box with the 4800 reaches a level I couldnt achieve no matter how much I tried to calibrate the x1.

I havent seen the BenQ but I know it gets high marks over at the avsforum, perhaps you want to read some threads over there. It supposedly is a little brighter then the x1 and has a faster colorwheel which many claim elminates problems with rainbows that they had with the x1.

Another option you might consider is waiting until the infocus 4805 is out. I think it is supposed to retail for under 1300 and it has a faster color wheel and I believe will be 16x9 native.

Anyway could luck on your purchase.

 

[Rob Brown III]

Thanks for the info guys! Guess I'll wait and see how everyone likes the 4805!

 

[Todd^B]

I have done most of my research on projectorcentral.com They do give alot of info and user reviews to see how the projectors have worked for them.

One thing I noticed in alot of the reveiws for the X1 was that alot of people were seeing rainbows. I would definitely view one before purchasing if possible.

I was thinking about the X1, but decided to look for a higher priced projector, hoping for better quality. Still searching.

 

[LouAR]

Rob,
Don't forget to look at throw ratios (distance between projector and screen). This distance affects the size range of the projected image. Without a dedicated space, I had to place my projector a bit farther away than most projectors would permit for the screen size I could accommodate. This forced my projector decision to the Hitachi Home 1. I just received it last weekend and love it. WHile I am still waiting for my real screen to arrive, I have temporarily hung sheets and even that gives a huge WOW!!

My throw is 15.5 feet to a 96" screen. No other projector could project an image that size from that distance. All others projected a larger image and needed to be closer to get this size.

The Hitachi is an LCD as compared to the DLP units you are looking at so far. There can be screendoor effect with LCD but rainbows are not an issue. Screendoor dissappears with proper seating distance.

Projectorcentral.com lists most projectors and also posts a projection throw calculator for almost every projector so you can verify distance and image size for almost every projector.

Good luck and enjoy - it's worth it!
~ Lou ~ FP - WOW
PS. I think all of the projectors you are listing are native 4:3. Depending on your intended use, you may want to consider the alternative native 16:9. If you intend to watch TV through your projector and play video ganes, the native 4"3 is probably better. I only use mine for DVD and HDTV (when it comes here) so I am happy to have native 16:9 - just a bit more food for thought.

 

[Rob Brown III]

LouAR,

My plan is to watch DVD's, play X-box and once in awhile watch HDTV (like for Super Bowl).. so I would rather get the native 16:9.. so I'm going to wait until the 4805 comes and and see if I like it. I took some meaurements in my basement.. and looks like I'll be working with 15X14 foot area.. so after I finish the baement it will probably be 14X13 or somewhere near there.

I was going to buy a 96" screen as well but since the closest chair will be about 9 feet from the screen, now I'm not sure how big of a screen I need. As a new HT person, I was thinking "bigger the better"... but after reading all the posts, I'm not sure if a 96" is right for my room size.

And... I don't have too much money to spend right now.. I'm looking at $2200 for projector, screen, receiver and speakers. Thats why the 2 projectors under $1000 appealed to me. I just want a "nice" HT system for now and I can always upgrade later.

Thanks for the advice!
Rob

 

[LouAR]

Sounds like you are taking a good approach. Given your room size, the Hitachi may be a bit too long a throw. It's a really nice first FP. Got mine from Newegg.com for $1,199.

There is a formula for calculating screen size by a formula of seating distance. Now, I do not remember if seat distance should be 1.5x screen height or 2x (I may not even have that part right - I over researched and suffer a bit from info overload). I suggest you enter "throw" or "throw distance" into the search within this forum (Display device, here) and also in the AVSforum (under $3500): http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forum...php?forumid=68 Read the posts and you will very quickly get a handle on how to calculate the best screen size. You can also go to dalite.com and there is a section to help you choose screen size, materials, etc. Then you can compare that to the info available here and in the screens forum at AVSforum.

Good luck and enjoy your theater, I know I am!!!
~ Lou ~ FP - WOW!!!

 

[Eric Hahn]

If you can check out the 4805, I would wait, sounds like a great pj, if you cant wait, tops in my book right now is the optoma h30, big thread going on right now at avs, I checked out the x1, didnt see any rainbows,

I did get eyestrain, but it could have been from checking out everything so close and trying to find faults, I didnt, that said I also checked out the panisonic l300 and it was just as nice and looked good on hd, I did not see the x1 on hd. I did notice screen door, but I was not close to 2x the screen width......

o yea, and the throw is different an all I have mentioned, it may make a differance, the 6100 has a longer throw=smaller screen in a tight space, and the lcd's seem to have a shorter throw than the x1, just my .o2

 

[Douglas_H]

Rule number 1.
If possible, see them for yourself, properly setup.
Rule number 2.
Your room config and light control are a huge factor.
Rule number 3.
go to AVS Forum
and read, read, read.