Infocus Screen Play 4805 750 Lumens WSVGA Projector

Rating:
Summary: Just purchased the SP4805 and Love It!
Review: After a labor intensive literature search of tech-related website reviews of projectors, we settled on the SP 4805. After reading all the product reviews and comparisons, we narrowed our search down to only InFocus products -- the X1, SP 4800, and 4805. The X1a and X2 do not have the Faroudji processing, therefore eliminating them from our search (the X1a and X2 currently have manufacturers rebates, and without the special processing algorithms, I can see why they're on sale). The SP 4805 is a newer version of the X1 and SP4800; the SPs are "optimized" for home theater use versus business use.

If you're looking to buy near term, Costco has a deal right now where you can get the SP 4805 and a free screen (if I remember, it is a 72" screen) for $1224. This is the best price I've come across thus far. [...]

We paired the projector with a Yamaha receiver and Klipsch speaker system. We get an approx. 100" dia. image on our wall (you can set the projector to letterbox, 16:9, or 4:3) from about 15-20 ft away. I liked how easy the setup was and the companion instructions on use are straightforward. We hooked up our DVD player via component cables and the resolution is fantastic! (Of course, we had to test it with Lord of the Rings). If you're doing research on purchasing an overall home theater system without paying alot we were able to do it in under $2300 (projector, screen, speakers, receiver, and all cabling -- the cables are an additional cost that adds up).

I read alot about ghosting and other issues involving these type of projectors. I am not an expert in the subtle differences, though we do own an HDTV so I have become accustomed to the hi-res images. Given this caveat, I can say that the resolution and overall image quality is amazing. It is a true movie theater experience!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: The picture quality rivals systems that I've seen costing thousands more. I carry the 4805 in a briefcase from my southern cal home to the home in northern cal.

I project onto the screen it came with, however in my norcal home I project right onto a wall the is approx. 12' wide.

The wall is painted off white and has texture, however you can't see it. The picture is still crystal clear.

I am so hooked on the quality and ease of operation of this projector that I am buying a second one, so I can do a perminent installation.

Again!

A very happy consumer of the Infocus 4805

Rating:
Summary: Great for Led Zep Movies
Review: The vid quality is great. Yea vid res isn't really high, but for the money you need to spend alot to get high res and get good color and frame rates. There are some projectors that offer higher res for under $2000, but they are typically not suited for movie use. If you going to do buisness presentaitons maybe go with another. If the primary use is for home theater this is the way to go!!!! Although I did get this for buisness use and do presentaitons, it is somewhat weak in that use.


Oh yea... while your at it get the Led Zep DVD - looks great on this projector.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent machine
Review: We've had this projector for about a month now, having bought it unseen and untried based on high user ratings from another web site. Our viewing location is flooded with ambient light but this machine still throws a very discernable image even on the low-power setting.

With a distance of about 13 feet we get a 90-inch (diagonal) image (7 feet x 4 feet). We project on a panel of sheet rock painted white and have the projector sitting upside down on a board hinged to a wall just below the ceiling, supported by two pieces of chain to the front of the board. We're happy with the results using the supplied S-video cable.

If the remote is used to control the lamp, the fan always remains on, which is a bit annoying and my reason for only 4 stars. The low-power fan noise itself isn't bothersome during viewing. We have tried the high-power setting only briefly since we don't need it and it results in a noisier fan and decreases the life of the bulb.

The machine does produce some rainbow effect for people susceptible to it. We don't have experience judging the blackness of blacks or the whiteness of whites, nor some of the other technical aspects that videophiles might want to know about. We had an easy time hooking up an iBook to it though.

For the price of the machine and quality of the image we see, we feel this projector is a much better deal than a fixed-size TV of any sort.