Need help buying home theatre projector???

[Newf]

anyone here work at a electronics store in canada that is a authorized Infocus dealer?

I was going to get a screen play 4805 projector for my birthday coming up this weekend. I had it ordered and everything, and the damn place I was getting it contacted me today and realized that they can't sell them...not allowed.

ARG

anyways, I'm having troubles finding a spot in canada ( has to be canada for warranty issues) that sells these PJ's.

If anyone on board has any links to sites, works for a store, etc, HELP

 

[Greg S]

anyone here work at a electronics store in canada that is a authorized Infocus dealer?

I was going to get a screen play 4805 projector for my birthday coming up this weekend. I had it ordered and everything, and the damn place I was getting it contacted me today and realized that they can't sell them...not allowed.

ARG

anyways, I'm having troubles finding a spot in canada ( has to be canada for warranty issues) that sells these PJ's.

If anyone on board has any links to sites, works for a store, etc, HELP

I can probably get hold of one for you but my company isn't a Canadian dealer so it may not be great for warranty work. Just a recommendation I would go witha better projector if you are really planning to use this for home theater use. Look at the resolution it os only and EDTV projector so any high def you sent to it is going to be getting dummied down an with HD DVD set to release this upcomming Christmas you will really be limiting yourself in the future. Save up about twice the list price of the 4805 and you can get a better unit that truly is HD.

 

[1sty]

I might be able to get them. However, with 750 ANSI that room better be pitch black and the screen only a 30" diagonal.

Also, infocus is usualy just a clone of another companies projector. With some diggin you may find out who this on mimics and just buy the original.

 

[noclue119]

http://www.projectorcentral.com/

i was looking at the

NEC LT245 or
BenQ PB7200

because i care about the lumens. I'm using it in my new loft which has a lot of light. so both had to be over 2000 ansi

 

[Newf]

guys, read up on the 4805, you'll be surprised. One of the best rated pj's on the market and often at the same level of pj's twice it's cost. through my researching pj's on the net I have learned that lumen ratings isn't what I first thought they were. Business pj's might have xga, and 2000 lumens, but you'll be watching a really washed out image, with no quality blacks/whites.

the only other one I was looking at was the Panasonic AE700. But here in canada they are way overpriced at over 4 grand.

And 92" is it's optimal size. Although a lot people run them at 110 and up. I'll be at 100"

My room is dark anyways.

 

[Newf]

btw, anyone looking for stuff like this

www.avsforum.com

great spot to learn a s*** load of things

 

[Micah]

I have the Infocus 4805 with the Infocus 76" pull down screen (draper).

It's great - but ambient light needs to be diminished in the room for it to look excellent. DVD playback is best - HDTV looks great too. Standard TV really shows a limit in the source when you get too large. Even at 76", which is relatively small considering what the projector can throw, you do start to see severe drop off in quality compared to HDTV and DVD (progressive) playback.

www.costco.com has the Infocus 4805 with the 76" Screen for about $1000. That's where I got it. Lifetime Return Policy rules!

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

I've had a runco VX-5000d for a little while. I love it. We used to have a inFocus..it was ok, that was one the DLP projectors first came out on the scene. I would suggest runco's over most anything else.

 

[Newf]

Well, I'm starting to build a little theater if you will downstairs. I need a lot of stuff. Besides tearing down walls, building room etc, I still need a screen, upgrade my stereo and so on. So, the idea here is to get a cheaper projector for now, hvae money for other things, and next year hopefully there will be affordable 1080i projectors and I'll "upgrade" since I'll have more money then

 

[1sty]

Maybe I am just warped since we don't typicly bother with anything under $4K but a $1500 projector is going to be weak. I'd much rather have a projection TV for that or LCD TV for that money. It will be a smaller display but better in detail and brightness. Not to mention, so long as its not plasma, the maintence on it should be alot lower. The problem with small projectors is the bulbs don't last all that long and they aren't cheap.

ANSI simply measures light, not an image, on a screen with the projector focused to the maximum apeture. So, yes a proj could be rated at twice the lums but not be very bright, however most will be.


As for the screen, I am a Da-lite dealer and can get draper aswell. I'd opt for the on wall button style screens as they stretch enough to make a great surface, are cheaper, and have nothing to break, fade, or warp over time. Also, Sherman Williams make a screen paint thats not to bad.

My company is using the stretch screen in Boston Private Bank and Trust right now and a few of the New Hampshire State police distance learning rooms decided to use the paint.

 

[Newf]

Maybe I am just warped since we don't typicly bother with anything under $4K but a $1500 projector is going to be weak. I'd much rather have a projection TV for that or LCD TV for that money. It will be a smaller display but better in detail and brightness. Not to mention, so long as its not plasma, the maintence on it should be alot lower. The problem with small projectors is the bulbs don't last all that long and they aren't cheap.

ANSI simply measures light, not an image, on a screen with the projector focused to the maximum apeture. So, yes a proj could be rated at twice the lums but not be very bright, however most will be.


As for the screen, I am a Da-lite dealer and can get draper aswell. I'd opt for the on wall button style screens as they stretch enough to make a great surface, are cheaper, and have nothing to break, fade, or warp over time. Also, Sherman Williams make a screen paint thats not to bad.

My company is using the stretch screen in Boston Private Bank and Trust right now and a few of the New Hampshire State police distance learning rooms decided to use the paint.

1sty, I may hit u up for some prices on screens. I can imagine what shipping would cost though.

I got the pj I think. Just have to do one final thing tomorrow. 1400 Canadian, shipped. not bad. I got it under educational pricing, even though it's not.....don't ask. Now I got more money for other things.

I am waiting for one more quote on a panasonic ae700, which is what I really wanted, but it's 3700+tax here, and I can use that other money for amps/speakers and so on right now. next year, I hope 1080i dlp's are out, and then I'll spend the $$$ to get a real good pj

 

[Greg S]

I'm with 1sty on projector quality but then again like him I'm spoiled as I spend all day looking at a Sharp 12000 projector, so we're not really comparing product in the same range. I'm just not a fan of LCD projectors, too much screen door effect for me. If you are building on a budget I can understand going with the 4805, for the price it's a good unit. I wouldn't worry too much about lumens if you are going to have a dedicated room, the Sharp we display at work only has 900 lumens output but a 5500:1 contrast ratio and we have a dedicated room that can be totally blacked out. Spend some money on the screen as it is a very important part of the image equation, I'm partial to Stewart Filmscreens, but Da-Lite and Draper make some good product as well. If you don't need high gain the Stewart Grayhawke is phenominal but it only has a .95 gain so you don't get a lot of light bounce back. again if it's a dedicated room go with a fixed screen as you'll be wasting money on a drop down or motorized unit. If you want motorization do it with the curtain to go in front of it. Coolness factor for less price.

 

[1sty]

Yeah, and buy an AMX or crestron system from me


mmmmm. modero

 

[Newf]

well, I got it, it's temporarily setup in another room while we do the other. It's only at just over 80" now, but here are some quick screenies on the mod'd xbox at 480p(using the famous hex edit to achieve that). It'll be bigger in my dedicated room, and I still have no screen. this is on a plain white semi gloss bad painted wall.

I'll let them speak for themselves. I am VERY VERY happy with this picture. After using many business projectors at almost 3 times the lumens, I am amazed at what this little budget projector is putting out.

excuse the lack of a tripod and my shakey hands

The camera does no justice as it adds a little white, and takes away some color, but you get the point.

pics taken from 8 feet away.

P.S. I have seen no rainbows on this pj at all. Nobody that has seen it has.

 

[Micah]

I might be able to get them. However, with 750 ANSI that room better be pitch black and the screen only a 30" diagonal.

Also, infocus is usualy just a clone of another companies projector. With some diggin you may find out who this on mimics and just buy the original.

dude, - what the heck are you talking about?

I have the infocus 4805. I doubt it's a clone - or else that would have been mentioned somewhere else. www.tomshardware.com has it reviewed in their projector roundup, and it got pretty good reviews - only thing they hated really was the fan noise. I'm currently projecting a 78" image. The day I got it I took it to a friends house with a large room and had it up to about 120". Also, the room does not need to be pitch black. I have a 76" screen, and the screen definitely helps, but even on a white wall, it's not bad at all. It won't compete with sunlight, and don't have any direct light in the room. Other than that - it's fine.

In fact - if anyone is in the South Amboy area and wants to check it out - let me know.

 

[Micah]

P.S. I have seen no rainbows on this pj at all. Nobody that has seen it has.

I've seen them. During scrolling white credits on a black background turn your head in one direction while switching your eyes gaze to the other. You'll see them. If that doesn't work - load up the THX optimizer (star wars) and go to the test with the white circle - simply sweep your eyes around the screen - you'll see it.

If you don't - awesome, but I do.

Still, it's not bad, you really have to work to see the rainbow effect. Contrast and blacks are excellent. For the price - an LCD couldn't touch a DLP.

 

[Newf]

I've tried my best to see them, but i can't. I've even had others try to see them, they can't. I've got

And infocus is one of the BEST names of projectors on the market. I left the Clone comment alone as I know the difference.

Those pics above are with a lamp on behind me, the projector in low power mode. The room does not need to be pitch black, also nonsense. When you start reading up on projectors, you realize that lumen ratings are about as useful as wattage ratings. It's a reference point, and not the actual real output that the product delivers.

For example, the panasonic ae 700 is a 1000 lumens projector. Mine is a 750. But when tested ( projectorcentral.com) the 4805 is actually brighter by 50 lumens even in low power mode.

 

[tradr11]

I have an infocus 4805 I bought about 2 weeks ago and I've been very impressed for the money, the thing is so light and portable for the picture size it puts out.

I also am just projecting video on the wall at the moment, somewhere around 90", projectors don't seem to depreciate much so I'd rather spend ~$1200 now then $3000, when projectors will drop in the long run while technology improves..

I love this thing, just need to get one of those unlimited movie memberships somewhere

 

[1sty]

dude, - what the heck are you talking about?

I have the infocus 4805. I doubt it's a clone

That may be not be. However many of there stuff is and damn near all of the proxima stuff was. Keep in mind few companies actualoy make them. Most are resellers to some extent that just tweak a few things or buy a different board or two. Sometimes you can't tell because the specs can be different and have a different chassis. But as a program of Buisness AV systems, the RS-232 codes of some models are either identical to other brands or atleast similar. Some proxima and sanyo proj's use identical codes. I have even called some manufacturers to get ther codes and they told me to call the actualy manufacturing company. This happend to me once with JVC and they told me to call Sony.

 

[1sty]

I have an infocus 4805 I bought about 2 weeks ago and I've been very impressed for the money, the thing is so light and portable for the picture size it puts out.

I also am just projecting video on the wall at the moment, somewhere around 90", projectors don't seem to depreciate much so I'd rather spend ~$1200 now then $3000, when projectors will drop in the long run while technology improves..

I love this thing, just need to get one of those unlimited movie memberships somewhere

I don't know about that one. Today we are installing 3500 lumen projectors that are the same pricethat 2000 lum projectors where only 2 years ago.


On a side subject, I always find it wierd that 4 different consultant firms in my area all ALWAYS spec the same product. Here, the NEC MT-1065 is the proj of choice for board room/class room applications.