Infocus X1 $772 @ Dell Home

[NxC429]

Dell has a sale on the Infocus X1.
$1,001.95 - auto 10% = $901.76 - 100 rebate - 30 coupon = $771.76

 

[sat4fun]

Is this Home or SB? Almost getting down to my $750 delivered SB deal from last November. Granted there are better projectors, but the X1 is the king of the low end. I love mine.

 

[Woody419]

I'm tempted, but I need a screen too. What would you recommend? All I would need is an 80".

 

[SimMike2]

The X1 is very popular. Since there are so many of these things out there, the potential of getting bargain priced parts, namely bulbs, is better than with less popular projectors. All things being equal, it is usually better to choose the more popular model of anything, cars included. This means getting replacement parts and service should be easier. This is an intagible you should consider when choosing projectors.

Also closely look at warranty and bulb life. The X1 is serviced by Infocus who are excellent with warranty work. A Dell projector will usually have a shorter warranty and much more iffy service.

I love my X1, which I've had for a year. I still have less than 1000 hours on the bulb, so the bulb should be good for 4 years.

In the past, BH Video had pretty good prices on screens. I got a Da-Lite 70" wide screen that hangs from my ceiling for under $100 shipped. This 70" yields an 87" diag 4:3, and an 81" diag 16:9.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&amp;A=details&amp;Q=&amp;sku=15137&amp;is=REG">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?

O=productlist&amp;A=details&amp;Q=&amp;sku=15137&amp;is=REG</a>

Go to BH Video and put Da-lite matte in the search box. Sort low price first. Many of the low cost are just screens, which you could tack to a wall. The ones that pull down or have a stand cost more.

 

[SimMike2]

Here is a matte white high contrast for about $20 more.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&amp;A=details&amp;Q=&amp;sku=293039&amp;is=REG

Don't be fooled by the "only 70"" size. This is actually a decent size for small to medium size rooms, yielding 81" 16:9, which is massive compared to $6000 50" plasma.

Here is an 84" wide for around $130 shipped.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&amp;A=details&amp;Q=&amp;sku=15142&amp;is=REG

I adjusted the amount my screen hangs from the ceiling, so now I can roll it up a few notches and effectively mask for 16:9. This eliminates the subtle light-spill, at least on the bottom of the screen. Roll it up another notch and it comes close to masking the bottom for widescreen movies. This is a simple way to at least mask half of the subtle light spill which bothers some people. The light spill only bothers me on poorly lit movies, or bad DVD transfers.

Keep in mind that if you order these, they "drop-ship" from Da-lite. So BH always e-mails you back and says they are "out of stock." Not to worry, they are never actually in-stock at BH. You will shortly get another e-mail saying it shipped. They will ship pretty fast from Da-lite.

 

[Woody419]

Cool, B&amp;H keeps sending me catalogs since I bought my tripod from them. I'll check them out. Thanks.

 

[SimMike2]

If you want HDTV or progressive scan output from your DVD (which I prefer with my JVC DVD player), you need a VGA to component adapter. Buy.com has them fairly cheap.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10342823&amp;loc=101&amp;hdwt=30506&amp;sp=1

Comcast cable boxes send HDTV via component cable.

 

[sat4fun]

Originally posted by: SimMike2
If you want HDTV or progressive scan output from your DVD (which I prefer with my JVC DVD player), you need a VGA to component adapter. Buy.com has them fairly cheap.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10342823&amp;loc=101&amp;hdwt=30506&amp;sp=1

Comcast cable boxes send HDTV via component cable.

Grab this ONE also while you are at it. Need this one if you want to use the Faroudja.

I suggest that you get a Zenith 318 dvd player, very nice.

 

[ponyo]

Very good price on great budget projector. Really gives you theatre experience in your home.

 

[EvilYoda]

man, what an insanely low price...I'm tempted to buy one just to dick around with it until I can afford a better projector.

 

[SimMike2]

I have the S-video to component adapter, but I don't use it. I prefer the straight progressive scan output of my cheapo JVC connected via the VGA adapter. Sure this bypasses the Faroudja processor, which only works on the video side, but I find that quality DVDs, like most new ones, look best when they are just shot straight to the projector. Other people will disagree and think the Faroudja processing is always good, but in my opinion it is just one more conversion from analog to digital that can hurt already pristine DVD video.

Where the Faroudja shines is with regular TV connected via either the S-video or RCA video jack. The regular TV picture is surprisingly good with this projector.

In addition, I find the already small rainbow problem (which I don't even see anymore, especially when I stopped looking for it) is even less when watching progressive scan DVD. The only way to connect progressive scan is via the VGA adapter. The only way to input HDTV is via the VGA to component adapter. So my point is the VGA to component adapter is much more important than the component to S-video adapter. I think straight S-video cable from a regular DVD player looks pretty good.

 

[Phinance]

Go to sparco.com for the best prices/selection on Da-Lite screens. They have been $10 - 450 less than any other seller.

 

[JImmyK]

dude unless u have a 1200+ for a firehawk its much better to make your own permamnent screen:


All available from home depot:
MDF sheet of wood
primer paint
Gideon Misty Evening paint
Paint roller
and mounting hooks and clips.

no ripple effect, perfect perfect perfect for widescreen gives you a 110 inch screen which is also ideal for the x1, its near its upper bounds.

and looks amazing.

 

[VinLombardi]

According to Buy.com, this projector has a max res of 800x600 - is that correct? Not very good for HD, then...

 

[TekDemon]

Originally posted by: VinLombardi
According to Buy.com, this projector has a max res of 800x600 - is that correct? Not very good for HD, then...

That's why it's this cheap. But the quality of the picture is still quite good at 800x600. Not really HD, but still, it's pretty good.

 

[zzzz]

is the X2 better than X1?

 

[Woody419]

Originally posted by: zzzz
is the X2 better than X1?

From the reading I have done, the answer is Yes and No. The X1 is a multipurpose projector, the X2 goes back to its roots and is being sold as a business projector.

There are so many variables that the best way to find out is to do your own research. Here are some links to get you started:
X1 FAQ
AV Forum

 

[EXman]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
man, what an insanely low price...I'm tempted to buy one just to dick around with it until I can afford a better projector.

W3RD!

damn Might sell my $668 LCD get my CRT out and just have a neighborhood theater and charge admission to all the kids in the neighborhood! how long are the bulbs good for Hell could I use this as an everyday 5 hour a day TV?

Damn this is calling my name! EX EX EX buy me you putz!!!!

 

[EXman]

Originally posted by: JImmyK
dude unless u have a 1200+ for a firehawk its much better to make your own permamnent screen:


All available from home depot:
MDF sheet of wood
primer paint
Gideon Misty Evening paint
Paint roller
and mounting hooks and clips.

no ripple effect, perfect perfect perfect for widescreen gives you a 110 inch screen which is also ideal for the x1, its near its upper bounds.

and looks amazing.

Damn that look pretty crappy on my 16'x9' wall...

But that be alot cheaper and a fun couple hour job.

 

[Busithoth]

Wow. I've been enjoying my X1 for 6 months now, and love it to death.
I painted a wall of my apt white, but plan on getting a screen for it soon.

This is a much better price than I paid for it, and I can't sing it's praises enough.

Also, FWIW, it outputs VGA from my desktop at 1024x768 no problem.
very smart chip in these things.

 

[b0mbrman]

Ah crap...did this just expire on Monday or will it expire on Wednesday?

Because I'm adding it to my cart and I'm getting the normal price...

 

[forcemac101]

Originally posted by: SimMike2
If you want HDTV or progressive scan output from your DVD (which I prefer with my JVC DVD player), you need a VGA to component adapter. Buy.com has them fairly cheap.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10342823&amp;loc=101&amp;hdwt=30506&amp;sp=1

Comcast cable boxes send HDTV via component cable.

Do you think that this cable would work from a VGA port of a graphics card to a HDTV? I got a HTPC that I skimped on the video card and didn't get DVI, would love to know if this would work as a temporary fix to get a better signal to the HDTV?

 

[clarkmo]

Originally posted by: forcemac101

Originally posted by: SimMike2
If you want HDTV or progressive scan output from your DVD (which I prefer with my JVC DVD player), you need a VGA to component adapter. Buy.com has them fairly cheap.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10342823&amp;loc=101&amp;hdwt=30506&amp;sp=1

Comcast cable boxes send HDTV via component cable.

Do you think that this cable would work from a VGA port of a graphics card to a HDTV? I got a HTPC that I skimped on the video card and didn't get DVI, would love to know if this would work as a temporary fix to get a better signal to the HDTV?

You need a vga to component transcoder most likely but the best place to look is on avforum.com.

 

[b0mbrman]

It looks like I can't leave a message empty

 

[EXman]

So will this show progressive scan movies with that adaptor?