Hello All.

Long time no speak....virtually ofcourse.

I am looking into a Infocus LP640 XGA projector for my little home theater with massive sound thus far.

Anyone have any thoughts, advice, and or other tips on this unit....including what screen would work best.

I am on a limited budget, which is why this projector makes sense at the $1000 US it costs...so I wont have too much left for the screen. I would prefer a 16:9 HD type screen...something easy to mount on a wall.

Thanks ALL.

I guess I'm wondering how you plan to use the projector? If your going to be watching any HD material at some point, you might want to consider a native 16:9 projector, especially if your thinking about using a 16:9 screen. Now, a 4:3 projector will work and the image will have to be scaled. I prefer to use a projector that will match my screen aspect ratio.

You might want to spend some time on projectorcentral.com I have a Sanyo Z2 and love the performance, and the Z3 and Z4 are now out. Panasonic also makes some nice models.

For a grand, I think you can find many options. You can also make your own screen, that is what I did, not hard. Or just use a white flat painted wall.

I do hope to watch some HD material on it at some point.
But this LP640 is about 1k US with 2200 lumens...I thought it would do the trick nicely. I guess I have to do my homework on the aspect ratios being native.

Thanks SirQuack.

Anyone else have any advice?

Just an fyi, high lumens is not what you want for a HT environment. Yeah, for an office work presentation situation you want this, not for HT. HT projectors are designed for just that environment, normally high contrast and lower lumen levels. ProjectorCentral has a list on the first page of HT projectors. To many lumens(punch) will drowned out the vibrancy of the colors. If you have a light controlled room, you don't need high lumens, unless you want to go blind. I think my Z2 is 800 or so lumens, and I run it in low lamp mode to conserve the bulb.

Thanks SQ.

Luckily this room is in a basement. One entry into the room has no door but very little ambient light passes through. I am sure 1000 lumens or less will be ok.

I did look at the Sanyo Z4 which seems adequate and nicely priced at $1699 with a free 2nd bulb and a free 92" screen.
I may just take the plunge and buy a universal ceiling mount to boot.

Thats the plan now.

****Also working on upgrading my ep500 (11months old) to a new EP600 so I can really break some stuff in the china cabinet at home. :-)

hey where you live....if you are upgrading the EP500 what are you selling it for ?
I may be interested in it later, I am only building a room 15 x 24 x 9 and two of these will do the trick , unless I get the siesmic's

Hey Troy, if you read the forum guidelines you will see we are not to discuss "selling" or "wanted" items...sorry dude.

Elite electrical projection screens are pretty cheap and the quality in not bad. Its about half the price of DaLite at about 80% the quality.
101" diagonal 16:9 Electric for $220
http://quadloft.com/concerti/mini-DSC_1168.htm
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=625&Nav=|c:280|&Sort=3&Recs=10

Saturn

Well I ended up buying the Sanyo Z4 (dont have exact model number) to project on a wall for now. It comes with a coupon for a spare bulb and a DALite 92" screen. So we will see the result.

Also upgraded to the ep600 for some foundation shaking.... Speakers are in Tenessee right now...so we will see if they make it to New Jersey in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

Cant wait to try the projector out....should be a fun weekend.

That sounds great! I wouldn't mind getting your impressions of the Z4 whenever you get to use it.

Howdy All. Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Get those DVD's Out!.....

Here is an update...I am beside myself.

I got my Sanyo PLV-Z4 and I love it. Right out of the box projecting on a flat wall with beige paint. OH MY GOSH!!!!
THIS IS AMAZING.

Now I have been looking at DLP/LCD/PLASMA TV's for a long time but to get this thing for $1600 with a coupon for a spare bulb and a 92" screen is a STEAL. I plugged it in just for giggles, but I was so impressed I just sat and watched. NO TWEAKING yet....and everything was PERFECT.

I would recommend anyone out there that is looking, to get one of these things and forget the TV.

More later.

Wow do I have issues. I got this projector running beautifully. But two problems. Any help would be appreciated.

1. When viewing a DVD at 16:9 I still have the black bars above and below the actual movie. Am I not using the correct settings on the projector?

2. My image flickers quite a bit when I use my EP600 sub. Only when bass effects are present. Is this a frequency issue...do I need to move that SUB far far away?? Right now its about 5 feet to the left of my projector which is sitting on a table.

Tarun, my guess is that your watching movies that are wider aspect ratios. Just because you have a 16:9 tv/projector, it will not get rid of black bars on wider material. 16:9 is the format for HD material (aspect ratio of 1.78) Many DVD movies are in 1.85 which will be ok on the 16:9 screen since it is very close, however, movies like Star Wars and many others, are in 2.35 aspect ratio, or those you will still get black bars.

I'm not sure about the flickering, my guess is that the vibration from the EP600 is affecting the image, makes sense. Or you have a lose cable that is rattling with the 600. What cable are you using to the projector?

SQ.
Thanks for the explanation on video.
That makes sense.

For now I have component cables from my HK 7300 to the Projector. HDMI is not an option just yet becuase my HK DVD player will not send a proper digital signal for audio with HDMI connected. HK is working on a firmware upgrade for the DVD player.

I have checked my connections...but I am now at vibration. I will have to test some more when I get home.

Could it be that the sub is shaking the projector? Or even the wall? As crazy as that sounds it's very possible! If the image starts vibrating when the sub kicks in then I would think that this is part of the problem.

Very possible, My Z2 is mounted on our basement ceiling, and sometimes when the kids are running around upstairs, it causes my projected image to shake.

This is not really a shake...
Its more like the image gets disrupted while playing.
Like a line runs through it or something.