Digital Projector Recommendations?

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:35 pm

Anyone use one of these in lieu of a TV? Considering getting one for the fall - my dorm room has nice white walls and setting a projector up with my MCE shuttlebox would be most excellent.

I'm basically looking for good models, stuff that won't kill my wallet, maybe even good projectors I can find used...

TIA,
-DOKool

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:08 pm

I look at these every now and then, but haven't bought one (yet?). Part of the problem is that you need a good-sized room (or at least in one dimension) for these to be effective. And the cabling gets to be a hassle especially when an AV receiver is added to the system.

However, I know three people who swear by the old Infocus X1. Two of them were contractors who bought the X1 to use on remote assignments (convenient, easy to carry). Unfortunately, the X1 is off the market and replaced by the X1A and X2 which use a DLP circuit. I don't know what that means except it's supposed to be good.

White walls are not good surfaces due to texturing, but they'll do. One of these guys made a cheap screen by mounting a 12-foot closet rod across the entire room, then draping some white light-blocking cloth over the pole. I think he added another pole to the bottom edge to weight it down. Lots cheaper than a screen which can go for $300 and up.

If Costco operates in your area, they have been selling a combo pack - Infocus X2 plus 7-foot screen - for about $1100.

SephirothJenova · Post by **SephirothJenova** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:10 pm

InFocus is definitely your best bet. They can get quite pricey once you get up there though. I've been looking into buying for several years, because combined with my computer speakers it would definitely make a nice theater-type atmosphere for watching anime.

My suggestion is to search EBay, because you won't find a brand new one unless you're willing to spend at least $750. And those ones will only give you around 1100 lumens. I've seen some on EBay for $600 with around 2200 lumens.

Anyway, good luck. And PM me on what you find, because I definitely am interested in buying something good at a cheap price.

Sephiroth

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:12 am

Be careful buying used ones from eBay or anywhere else. You never really know how much they've been used, and their lamps are rated for only a few thousand hours. New bulbs go for around $300.