warmish deal: lumen labs first production projector $500 and free shipping..

[The Stigenator]

http://lumenlab.com/store/

I bought one on a impulse buy i hope its a good one.

 

[The Stigenator]

bump.. any comments?

 

[conehead433]

If you can live with 854 x 480 resolution it's a pretty good deal expecially considering how cheap new bulbs are ($30).

 

[mrrman]

not bad but no HDMI...not for me

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'd be more likely to get something like the one in this deal
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1955978&enterthread=y

 

[dew042]

I see the 600:1 contrast as really poor.

dew.

 

[The Stigenator]

you know it concerns me.. so much to cancel the thing and maybe go for the toshiba at BB for BF..

also the low native resolution is of concern.. if it can do 1024x768 max how the heck can it do HD .. even basic 720P is 1280x720 and 1080i is 1366x768.

So should i cancel, it hasnt shipped yet.. otehrwise i have to get it here, test it and return in and take the 15% Restocking hit, which i really dont mind, its only 75 bucks.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
you know it concerns me.. so much to cancel the thing and maybe go for the toshiba at BB for BF..

also the low native resolution is of concern.. if it can do 1024x768 max how the heck can it do HD .. even basic 720P is 1280x720 and 1080i is 1366x768.

So should i cancel, it hasnt shipped yet.. otehrwise i have to get it here, test it and return in and take the 15% Restocking hit, which i really dont mind, its only 75 bucks.

It's going to scale everything to 480p. It can accept higher resolutions, but you're going to get 854x480 in the end no matter what the input is. 480p is a great resolution for displaying 480i DVD content, but it's a bit lacking for use as a computer monitor. Gaming will work find on it, but anything with text is pretty much going to suck unless you like 854x480 for a resolution

480p is pretty much the standard res at this pricepoint though. ~$1000 will get you a decent 720p projector so you can really get HD.

 

[iseestars]

I've been looking more seriously into buying a projector this BF and have been educating myself on them. From what I've learned:

1) Color and contrast generally are much more important than resolution. There's 480p's with much better picture quality than 720p projectors.

2) You pay a lot more to get the next step up. If you're looking for something that's a similar price, the 480p unit will probably be higher quality, whereas the 720p unit for a similar price will look worse.

3) If you are mainly going to be watching movies and playing video games, it probably won't matter that much that it's only 480p. It down-converts your higher-res HD (720p, etc..) to 480p, but the source is still the same size. So for video games, you will still be able to see more at once (just slightly worse sharpness etc..). The real problem comes into play with text. You can't use a 480p as a computer monitor. Also, 1080p source material is pointless to try and show on this (versus 720p) as you will get no benefit.

So depends mainly on your needs and wants. If you have a dedicated computer monitor and you won't be upgrading all your movies to Blue-ray or HD-DVD anytime soon, it's safe to say you should look for a 480p projector with better quality. If you're looking to show text/presentation style purposes, you'll want at least 720p, even though it will be slightly worse.

There's various deals going on for Optoma and Infocus projectors for around this price, although replacement bulbs will be more expensive. These are higher quality and 480p (sorry for the typo) projectors.

The one thing nice about this one is that the bulbs are really cheap. It's a tradeoff nomatter what you choose.

 

[dew042]

Originally posted by: iseestars
I've been looking more seriously into buying a projector this BF and have been educating myself on them. From what I've learned:

1) Color and contrast generally are much more important than resolution. There's 480p's with much better picture quality than 720p projectors.

2) You pay a lot more to get the next step up. If you're looking for something that's a similar price, the 480p unit will probably be higher quality, whereas the 720p unit for a similar price will look worse.

3) If you are mainly going to be watching movies and playing video games, it probably won't matter that much that it's only 480p. It down-converts your higher-res HD (720p, etc..) to 480p, but the source is still the same size. So for video games, you will still be able to see more at once (just slightly worse sharpness etc..). The real problem comes into play with text. You can't use a 480p as a computer monitor. Also, 1080p source material is pointless to try and show on this (versus 720p) as you will get no benefit.

So depends mainly on your needs and wants. If you have a dedicated computer monitor and you won't be upgrading all your movies to Blue-ray or HD-DVD anytime soon, it's safe to say you should look for a 480p projector with better quality. If you're looking to show text/presentation style purposes, you'll want at least 720p, even though it will be slightly worse.

There's various deals going on for Optoma and Infocus projectors for around this price, although replacement bulbs will be more expensive. These are higher quality and 720p projectors.

The one thing nice about this one is that the bulbs are really cheap. It's a tradeoff nomatter what you choose.

So, what BF projector have you decided on?

dew.

 

[iseestars]

I'm going to try my luck on teh Optoma DV10 at CC. If I can't get that, I'll probably grab the infocus in72 that's onsale from infocus's website for $599 (with free screen, if I remember right). These are both 480p

The one from this thread actually looks pretty nice, I would get it if people had more experience with it. The contrast you can't pay that much heed to because most companies exaggerate their contrast levels to sell more or more accurately, use bizarre settings you would never use in real life because it would look horrible. It gives them higher contrast rating, so they post it that way.

Also not so confident on the warranty for it since the company is very small... but I wouldn't discourage someone from getting this one if they want to try it. $30 for a replacement bulb is 1/10 the price from major projector manufacturers. For a $500 projector, that's ridiculous to be paying nearly the price of the thing for replacement parts. If I can't get the Optoma, I may wait and see if anyone bites on this and can tell us a little about it, before I go for the Infocus.

Also, I'll add another also just to be long-winded. No seriously though, if you get a BF projector, try to get an extended warranty on it. It is almost guaranteed if you use it regularly that your bulb will die before 4 years and the warranty will cost you half the price of a replacement bulb. Make sure the warranty covers the lamp too before you buy it

You CAN get decent 720p projectors for less than $1000, but not $500 - not yet. For around $700-1000 you should be able to find a good 720p projector though. Optoma HD70/72 seem to be good 720p projectors, if you can find them on sale.
Infocus SP-5000 is ok, but a crap-shoot. Some people loved it others hated it and said the color was awful. Seems like maybe inconsistent production quality. Those are just the recently onsale ones I saw posted. Check avsforum on any that you're looking at. Make sure the reason it's so cheap isn't that it's just a much worse quality 720p projector.

 

[iseestars]

Based on what I've read so far... this is ok for a side-projector where you don't care that much about the image. Still nothing certain tho... so it could be better than that. No one so far has posted fully calibrated pics of it in action on avs, so it's still a crapshoot if you get this. Bulbs are cheap, and that seems to be the main selling point of this.

There is also the Infocus IN72 right now for $450 AR with a free screen.
More expensive bulbs tho. Tossup for me between IN72 and the Optoma DV10

 

[funboy6942]

This would be something I would consider getting for my kids. They dont really care what an image looks like and at 6000 hours on the bulb that costs just $30 would be perfect for a kids room IMO.

 

[Squalish2357]

This is a DIY projector design taken to production level with commodity parts - it is almost as different from other LCD projectors on the market as they are from DLP projectors. It is quite a bit closer to having a normal LCD screen, in use.

The company grew from a supplier of plans to build projectors, and they are extremely well regarded - they've done things like voluntarily recall entire production runs because focus was slightly off, at great cost. I've been a member of their (now free) forums for a while now.

--------------------------------

Contrast on production projectors has been rising very fast recently.

However, this is mainly due to improvements in the dynamic iris and therefore dynamic contrast (a black scene after a white scene), not ANSI contrast (a black shape next to a white shape), which has stayed about the same. This LCD has no dynamic iris, and will give you the same black level on a normal scene with shadows as it will give you on an all-black frame. IMO, dynamic iris's are overrated.

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This is a DVD and standard definition TV projector - a pretty good one. The price is a big standout (more than competitive with low-tier refurbs), but the bulb cost is simply, almost zero compared to competitors. The HUGE hidden price in projectors is that you normally have to pay $300 every 2000 hours or less of watching. Getting a new bulb every six months is not uncommon. This is where projector companies make their money, in proprietory bulbs.

This projector will make a blu-ray or HDDVD look DVD-quality. It is not a full HD display. If you're buying it for HD, you're an idiot.

Most of us, however, still have huge DVD collections, and still watch cable TV. And we wouldn't mind a wall-sized display.

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What I would do:

If you can't afford to spend $5k on a 1080p projector, simply put off blu-ray for a year or three. The projector market is one of the fastest moving tech markets in existence right now - a new product takes 'top dog' status for a given price range every 2-3 months. Buy this now, use it for all your standard definition needs on a 100 inch screen, and expect it to last until 1080p projectors get into your price range. While 720p currently has a majority of sports-TV channels, I wouldn't plan on dropping the equivalent of a used car on anything less than 1080p considering movies, non-sports TV, and obsolesence. The market is clearly trending towards 1080p standardization eventually.

In 2-3 years blu-ray vs HDDVD will be settled, HD will be in the process of taking a majority-share of cable/satellite networks, cablecard 2.0 will be here, and 1080p projectors will be in the sub-$2k price bracket....

In the meantime, buying this would let you enjoy a 100" screen for a pittance, and if you absolutely need HD quality now, pick up a much smaller wall-mount LCD for under $1000 to be cost effective.

 

[iseestars]

Not sure I agree with that logic. I'll use an LCD monitor or tv for productivity, but never for watching movies. DLPTV's in my view are the best, and have dropped to under $1000 now on sales. I would recommend that, but taht is thicker.

If you must have HD now, I would say, go for the Optoma HD70 projector or the Mistubshi 1000u I think it is. Those both are around $1000 or less on sale. Try to get them from a B&M store and get the extended warranty. For 4 years, you get 2 free bulb replacements that way for $100-150 more. That ain't bad.

 

[The Stigenator]

Squalish... i want to get it for DVD/TV watching and computer hookup. Not so much for anything else - i am not bothered about HD. I got lots of videos and i would like to view the videos on the big screen projected.. which is where the concern is coming up.

If it down converts 1024x768 to 480p it would mean that my videos might look worse than it does on my laptop. My laptop maxes out at 1024x768.. its a basic laptop that i have had for last 3 years its rock solid and i want to use it as a external display.

Yeah i know lumen labs did DIY i am on their list so thats how i got notified.. but i still dont know.

As for the BF deal, i was going to go with teh BB toshiba Business projector but it seems that that unit doesnt have component.. and i want component. It has RGB for the computer, and it has a native of 800x600 which is slightly better than lumen labs one. I dont know if i should just plunker down for a expensive unit. I am kinda on a tight budget.

 

[Squalish2357]

What kind of videos?

A standard definition 480p DVD or 480i TV signal (or rip) will play perfectly on this, with no loss of quality - at its native resolution. As a computer display it fails - 480 lines of resolution hasn't been acceptable for 15 years or so, browsers are built expecting more, and computer games look like trash. But for DVDs and standard definition TV signals (and hell, throw in your standard-def console games) it should work just as well as any higher resolution projector, at a much lower price per hour.

 

[cremefilled]

Lower resolution does give more screen-door effect, even when viewing 480P or NTSC sources.

Upgrading my DLP projector from 800X600 to 1024X768 a year ago was a big difference. Smaller individual pixels at the same view-distance makes it much cleaner. A lot of people scale their DVD output now, also, via an upscaling settop or computer.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Squalish2357
What kind of videos?

A standard definition 480p DVD or 480i TV signal (or rip) will play perfectly on this, with no loss of quality - at its native resolution. As a computer display it fails - 480 lines of resolution hasn't been acceptable for 15 years or so, browsers are built expecting more, and computer games look like trash. But for DVDs and standard definition TV signals (and hell, throw in your standard-def console games) it should work just as well as any higher resolution projector, at a much lower price per hour.

Mandatory comment on how DVDs are 480i

 

[araczynski]

i've been a lumenlab member for a few years myself. i built myself one of the 1280x1024 projectors from all the great online plans/parts/help they provide. its a beast, but you will not find that resolution NATIVE on a projector for anything under $5000 or so. most will scale that resolution and display it in 1024x768, but quite frankly that looks like crap for pc gaming. it cost me about $1000 to build for all the materials/parts. but that includes some nice tools that i got an excuse to buy in the process

don't doubt their warranty/support for a minute, they're top notch.

as for the prebuilt projector itself, 480 is great if you're going to be playing the Wii or any of the previous consoles, and watching regular dvd's/movies.

if you plan on using it for the 360/ps3/pc, don't get it.

the whole point of this projector is the replacement bulb, you will NOT find a $30 replacement bulb on a projector ANYWHERE, try $300 minimum typically. you'll get higher resolutions, but don't forget that you'll bleed everytime you need to replace the bulb on a regular projector. and also don't forget that the quoted lifespans of projector bulbs do not mention the fact that bulbs tend to start dimming somewhere during half of their life span. you do NOT get the a full USEFULL lifespan out of a projector bulb.

but like i said, for xbox/wii/ps2/dvd, this is a no brainer, don't waste your time with other projectors. IF you plan on doing PC/360/PS3, DON"T get this, you won't be happy.

 

[The Stigenator]

well its on its way.. i was going to do the BF deal at BB.. unless i see something more appetizing.. looks like i am going to have to rethink this projector.. but i will give it a test out since its on the way and i still will get hit with a 15% restocking..

which isnt too bad i dont mind the 75 bucks.. i can get it shipped back for free thanks to my friend who works for UPS.

 

[iseestars]

Please let us know how it works out for you

I'm considering getting one of these for the rents who'll pretty much only be watching 480i dvd's and sd tv.

Are the bulbs proprietary or are they something we can buy in any store?

 

[Bekker]

I think this is potentially outstanding for normal TV and DVD viewing and wish I could afford it. The $30 bulb makes the deal undoubtedly. I do have a question though ... there is no mention of lumins and all the pics used in the product description appear to have been shown in almost or total darkness. Is there any measure of lumin available or if not, how bright is the image. I have no interest in buying one that must be used in a dark room.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Why not buy a 32" LCD tv for $500?

 

[iseestars]

You can run a 40" or 50" image or even 100" off a projector. That is why. Can you do that with an LCD TV?