Outstanding image, great value (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I spent WAY too much time trying to pick a projector as a first time home theater guy. I am definitely glad I picked the X1.When I first turned the projector on, connected it to my Apple Powerbook, and projected an image onto a DaLite High Contrast Matte Screen ($90), I was blown away. The image quality far exceeded my expectations. When I watched my first movie (Fellowship, played off of my Powerbook G4), I was again totally impressed. And I was being hyper critical because of the warnings of "rainbows." These are misnamed. There ARE brief, noticeable flashes of RGB color bands around some high contrast objects on some scences of movies, but it is not a problem. Believe me. I was annoyed ONLY because I wanted it to be perfect, but the image quality overshadowed any of the RGB issues. And others can't even see what I'm talking about unless I point it out to them. If your room is really, really bright, you will be disappointed, however. After all, this is why they turn out the lights at the movies!
Can't beat it for the price! (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I was looking for a projector to use for my home theater as well as something I could rent out(to recover my cost). About a week of research lead me to the X1. I was originally looking at the Epson Powerlite S1, but after reading several reviews on it about how pixelated it looked..most reviewers reccomended the X1 over the Epson. This led me to start looking at Infocus X1 reviews. I checked around several places and here at Amazon as well and all of them were very good. As you've probably already read, the main complaint everyone has had is the "rainbow effect". I probably would've never noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it when I got it home. You mainly notice it if you move your head after you've blinked. I know this sounds crazy, but that's when I've noticed it. It is not that big of a deal and most of your friends that you bring over to watch a movie will never even notice it! I haven't gotten the screen yet, had to order it, but even on my white wall it looks very nice even with some lighting on. It was much brighter then I expected! I have tried it with my PC connected to watch a DVD and also with my Sony DVD Home Theater system connected up with S-Video cable. The picture is about the same. I have ordered the adapter for the composite signal so that should make the picture even better. Hope this helps! I would definately reccomend this projector to anyone looking for a low price projector.
X1 is a fantastic Home Entertainment system (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I purchased the X1 just before Christmas (delivery in 36 hours!) to be the video source for my Home Entertainment system. I use a computer to supply DVD input and for computer games. The Xbox and game Cube are connected through the s-video input. I am projecting on a 84 inch diagonal white screen. Viewing distance is about 11 feet. DVD movies look perfect. There is no visible pixilation and blacks are close to true black (in film mode). Part of this is no doubt do to using a computer for the DVD input. I believe a direct s-video input may not be as good (I have not tried this though). The video game systems also look great. Four player Halo on a big screen has to be seen to be believed. I also have a TV tuner (Hauppage)in the computer and astonishingly, the TV image (at about 65 inch diagonal)is excellent. The only reservation would be that the light output is not great (especially in film or video mode) so you need to use it in a room that can be fully blacked out. The picture is much better than any rear projection HDTV's I have seen (of any size). For the money I doubt you could by a better picture for TV or DVD viewing. The native resolution is SVGA so Text is slightly ragged, especially when displayed in XGA mode. Again due to the SVGA native resolution computer games do not look as good as on high resolution monitor. I would therefore not recommend the projector as your only computer monitor or for large amounts of web surfing. Definitely recommended.
Good Projector (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I am writing this, because i made my decision mainly over the others opinions and i will be very happy if i can help others with their decision. I am not an expert but i can tell you that i am very hapy with the result. My wife was very pesimistic about the idea of buying a projector but now she is also accept that result is impressive. This is my first projector and i don't think i need an upgrade for a while. I'am using it mainly for dvd. I have a 100" screen. Colours and contrast are very good but there are minor problems with dark scenes. If you want to use X1 during the day you have to have a light control because this is not a projector you can use it in a bright environment. Seting up X1 is easy. Component video is deffinitely giving the best result but s video is also not bad. For component video you have to use a special adaptor and it was difficult to find when ý bought the X1. If you can not find it you can use a VGA to 5BNC cable (like me). It can accept progressive signals but you should decide whether your source or the procector's video processing is better. X1 has a Faroudja video processing and it is very good. I know the rainbow isue is a problem with DLP projectors (Specialy projectors with 2X color wheel like X1). But i am at the lucky side. I have more than 300 hours on the lamp and neither me nor My wife or any of my friends see any rainbows yet. I think, if you don't see the rainbows you can not go wrong with this projector. Result is perfect for the price. I think this was the best 950$ i spend for my home theatre. PS: you can find lots of useful information about X1 at http://members.shaw.ca/technut/x1faq (unofficial X1 FQA page)
THE GREAT INFOCUS X1 PROJECTOR (Rating: 5.00)
Review : Hi everyone, Each year around this time, your old friend Sam gets into high tech gear and explores the latest gadgets out there. This year I wanted to add big screen video to our bedroom to take advantage of watching more of the many, many DVD's I have amassed in the past few years. Why watch lousy TV programs when you can see a good feature and see it movie size? Well, I had NO IDEA what a REVOLUTION has occurred in video processing technology at a price ANYONE can afford right now. Those of you who have seen my eight foot projected picture at home will appreciate what I am about to tell you....you can have close to that great quality for DVD's, Cable TV or High Definition, or other sources for only $999.99 and all you need do is go to Circuit City and buy the INFOCUS X1 projector. Infocus is one of the leading manufacturers of projectors for industrial use and their sets are now being tailored for home use. Their products use the DLP technology (Digital Light Producing) and the latest Texas Instruments chip. This baby is smaller than a typewriter (about 5 by 10 by 12) and weighs only six pounds. The bulb will last for up to FOUR THOUSAND hours and is relatively cheap to replace. The brightness and contrast specs are actually better than my two year old six thousand dollar Sharp XV-9000 projector. It has lower resolution than some higher priced machines, but still enough punch to make any DVD look great for picture sizes up to nine feet. It even has a small speaker and amp built in so you don't need to hook up a sound system, which is especially handy if you want to carry it out anywhere. It has a zoom lens that allows you to adjust picture size and a handy remote control that provides all the choices for any adjustments you need. Right out of the box, and without making any adjustments, the picture on "Annie Get Your Gun" (an exceptional DVD!) looked beautiful. I hyped the brightness, color, and contrast a bit and was even more pleased. Truly, this projector is just unbelievable and it is a thrill to share this review of its great performance with you. You don't even need a screen to enjoy the picture, as it will work on a white wall or even a sheet. A cheap screen will be better, however. Anyone with at least a five foot throw distance can enjoy this baby in a darkened room. I had mine about fifteen feet from the screen for an eight foot picture. Even with light on in the room, the picture can be enjoyed. This projector was introduced at $1,600.00 and was recently lowered in price because a newer model is coming out next year...BUT the new model will not include the fine Faroudja processor that is built into the unit. This processor is great at cleaning up imperfections in video. Jagged edges, video noise, and more will be smoothed out. As usual, I did much research into this and compared other models and read countless reviews to find the best bang for the buck right now. There are a few other models that average a couple hundred more and will probably give similar performance, but I don't think any other machine will come close for this price. So, if a big beautiful video experience is what you have been waiting for....go get one and enjoy! Just hook up your cable box or an inexpensive DVD player and you are in business. BOTTOM LINE: People who are going out and buying those huge rear projection TV's that are heavy and take up a lot of room paid from two to three thousand dollars and sometimes much more. You can have a picture double their size, that will have no "burn in" problems, take up no space, and almost certainly will have a superior picture....for a third of the price. The projector also has a THREE year warranty. I think Santa Claus came early this year...because it feels like Xmas here today! best to all, Sam
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