1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Not the best, but pretty darn good for the price
Date of Review: Sep 19, 2006
The Bottom Line: Buy it if you're trying to stay in the 1200 and less price range, but not if you're looking for absolute perfection.
I bought this projector about a month ago from Newegg. Post rebate, it cost me 850 including shipping, which was well within my budget.
To rebuild the projector by the sum of its parts:
Picture:
The colors are very good, and the options for brightness, contrast, video type, and color temperature seem quite sufficient. The picture seems geometrically correct, and you have to move pretty close to the picture before screendoor comes into play. You won't find many 1024x768 projectors in this price range, either.
Brightness is good, even in eco mode. The throw distance isn't too bad...I'm getting a 72 inch picture at about nine feet throw. This is not nearly the 90something inch claim that I see online, or the 110something inch claim that the booklet makes, but it still is not bad.
However, despite the 3x color wheel, claims of a solid picture, etc, I can still see the rainbow, taste the rainbow, sometimes even smell the rainbow. I am particularly sensitive to it, and you'll probably only notice it if you dart your eyes across the screen. It gets worse with low resolution sources. But with a full 1024x768 source, it is bearable and your brain will readjust you within a few weeks of watching it for the most part. The rainbow is lessening for me as time goes on.
I have also found that there is a one inch space around the visible picture where the lamp is producing light, but the projector does not actually produce a picture, so there is a black bar all the way around. It's not a big deal, but I do wish that the projector was utilizing that whole space to give me the extra 2 or 3 inch picture corner to corner.
Inputs:
There actually is a DVI-I input, even though most sites that sell it do not list this. Excellent! Note, however, that if you wish to purchase the wireless kit to do wireless transmissions to the projector, that kit will take up the DVI input.
There is also a VGA input, which is good and expected, but if you need to run in a component input, you have to buy a component to VGA converter because there is not a component input.
So be forewarned about that.
Usability:
Menus are pretty intuitive, it does autosearches for inputs, and the noise levels are pretty low. Lower than the noise my computer makes, so I can't even hear the projector.
Light leakage isn't too bad, but it does leak some through the vents.
Lamp:
Expensive. Close to 400 bucks. But in eco mode, it will last 4000 hours, so they offset one another. Altogether, you probably win because 4000 hours is 2 hours a day for over four years. You may not replace your bulb before you replace your projector.
Durability:
The case seems pretty sturdy, doesn't flex too much or anything, and it doesn't rattle or creak I move it.
All around, there are some minor flaws, but they are acceptable based on the price.
