InFocus ScreenPlay 7210 (used) - deal or no deal?

[lanemc]

wife and i went to Genesis Audio to get our feet wet in the HD projector arena & found the staff there very helpful. believe pretty much everything (new) off the shelf there is wildly out of our price range - but it gave us an idea of how nice these things can be.

the gentleman helping us did mention that he had a customer who is planning an upgrade and is looking to get rid of his InFocus ScreenPlay 7210 for ~$1500. said the owner is known/reliable to him & he'd never pass along the info. if he didn't think the product was in good shape. no reason not believe him - came across very professional and knowledgable.

the projector is ~4 years old he thought. what i'd like to know is if this sounds like a good deal or not? 4 years is a long time in this arena (i'd imagine) & is there something that would be better for nearly the same amount of $$?

he even printed off the specs/ratings/etc. from projectorcentral.com and sent it home with us along w/ taking our number for any other potential products that may present themselves. good experience for sure!

side note - said there's loads of people/establishments looking to them for the same reason we are - OSU v. USC Sept 13th.

showed us the room they are working on which will house ~60K of the latest/greatest there is to offer. viewing screen is going to be convex/concave, or something like that.

anyway, any advice/input would be really appreciated!

lane

[snodgrass23]

I'm not real familiar with that model, but I'd have a tough time spending that on a model that old. The digital projector is really just starting to come into it's own with the technology and reasonable prices. Because of this there has been significant picture quality upgrades each of the last couple generations along with lower prices. That projector does have the Darkchip 3, though, which is supposed to be a pretty good quality chip. Still, you should be able to find something cheaper that's just as good and new, or something better (maybe even 1080p) for about the same or slightly more.

I would also spend some time viewing the different types of digital projectors (LCD, DLP, etc) and decide which type you like. For picture quality, I like DLP generally, but I see the rainbows unless I'm viewing a high-end model so those were out for me. I got an LCD that seemed to fit my taste and I've been very happy with it. I think I paid right around $1000-1100 new for the one I got about 9 months ago.

[lanemc]

snodgrass23 - thank you for the reply and input - very much appreciated!

we did spend some time in each of the rooms at genesis (even the one in it's early stages as mentioned) and we decided that the DLP looked the best. these were all very high end projectors though (most ~ 10K) and i noticed no rainbows. i've read these can be quite distracting to those who do notice them.

your concern/advice is strikingly similar to the first comments discussed by my wife & i when leaving genesis. is it a bit pricey for a model several generations (likely) old? i told her - not to worry, i'm going to post here on the forum, the users there will know if this would be a deal or if we should keep looking.

may i ask where you purchased the lcd projector you eluded to in your reply? is it the Sanyo PLV-Z5?

we decided that we need to get this done soon (like to have the decision narrowed by this weekend even) so any/all input and advice is welcome welcome welcome!

lane

[snodgrass23]

Yes, the Z5 is the projector I was referring to in my reply. I honestly don't remember where I bought it from. I know I ordered it online.

One other thing the think about between DLP and LCD, is that LCD models tend to have more adjustments for offset and other mounting issues. Mine is ceiling mounted now in a good spot, but for a while it was too high and well off to the side. The Z5 was able to shift the image over quite a bit to get it where I needed it.

If you don't have any mounting/location issues, I would go ahead and pick up a decent 720p DLP projector which you should be able to find for @1000 or less. Ideally get it somewhere that would accept returns, but unless you start seeing rainbows or are very picky about your video, you'll likely be very happy with whichever one you get.

I'm also assuming you have light control where you will be watching it. The screen does wash out some with higher ambient light levels, mine is a bit hard to see dark scenes in the early afternoon. Things like football are usually fine since they are pretty bright throughout.

[lanemc]

thanks to the input on this board we were able to come to a decision -
we've decided to go with the Panasonic AX200U and buying from projectorpeople.com (someone here recommended them i believe).

http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_ax200u_home_theater_projector.htm

sounds like the perfect projector to get our feet wet - maybe even leave us wanting nothing more.

we haven't put our money down yet - just a matter of a day or two though.

any local users have an experience with this unit or projectorpeople.com?

thanks again, and we'll be sure to report back with how things are going. now on to the audio!!!

[Scott]

Really nice choice! I do not have any direct experience with Projector Central; however, I have read nothing but really good things about them.

[snodgrass23]

Good choice. It was on my short list when I bought my projector.

[lanemc]

just a quick note about 'projectorpeople' -

called to confirm my order this am (ordered last night ~9pm online) which i thought was really quite nice. spoke with stacey who was able to manipulate the projectors shipment so it would arrive on saturday when my wife and i would be home to sign for it. very nice!

also, with our order we got a complimentary 26' HDMI, an additional years warranty from panasonic & $400 worth of blockbuster movie rentals (also from panasonic). unbelievably, feeling no buyers remorse on this purchase - i typically do when making these type of buys.

again, i'll make a note of what i think about the projector 'out of the box'.

also, thanks again for all the helpful info received here!

[snodgrass23]

I think you'll be really happy once you get it up and running. What are you using for a screen?

[lanemc]

more importantly, what am i going to do for sound?! :blink:

well, we're not sure. again, we have absolutely zilch as far as experience in this venue. we don't even know how large of a picture we can produce and still have it watchable/clear. optimal situation, about as large as a full or queen sized sheet. my wife is handy with a sewing machine so we'll probably make something out of material that's not 'see thru' with gromets and hooks at each corner to maintain it taught. stick it up on the house.

we've found some screens for use outdoors, but they're all quite pricey for the use we plan to give it.

any experience with this? any advice about making awesome audio on a budget - under, say, $500?

pretty excited over here!

[snodgrass23]

So is this going to be mostly used outdoors, or just on certain occasions?

[lanemc]

no, only used outdoors on rare occasions (maybe twice/year) for warm weather buckeye games airing in the evenings.

the projector will be used in our basement when finished and will be part of a home theater setting. plans are for the basement to be finished over the next couple years. will be doing it myself as i'm able.

good quality on a good budget i guess (notice i didn't say 'great' for the budget part)

once again, bang for your buck!

thanks for your time.

[snodgrass23]

In that case, I would probably get some white material, maybe a vinyl or something that would hold up to moisture and make the screen yourself. The biggest limit to your size will be brightness and how close you'll be to the screen. When it's starting to get dark, or already dark, you could probably get away with a 15 foot wide screen.

For cheap audio in this situation, I'd look at a set of < $100 computer speakers. You should be able to get a 4.1 or 5.1 system for that price that would get plenty loud and would be easy to setup and tear down. Some of them even have remotes. It's also really easy to hook up an mp3 player to them since their standard connection is the same as your headphones.

[lanemc]

the computer speakers are a great idea - would've never consider them, but they will be perfect for us until we're ready to sink some money into a quality system in a year or so.

saw a few sets (5.1 i believe) endcap'd & on sale at best buy a week or so ago.

sorry for the nievity of this next question - but i won't need any sort of 'tuner' or surround sound box in addition? just hook the speakers up to the HD directv (hr21) along with the projector and viola!?

thanks again for your 'budget mindedness'!

[snodgrass23]

You should be able to find an adapter to output your stereo RCA jacks into the din jack for the normal speaker input cable. You're obviously only going to get stereo, but you should be able to setup the rear speakers to mirror the fronts on most speaker setups. Splice in some long wire for the surrounds and you should have a pretty good sound coverage.

I think some of the speakers also have external boxes with additional inputs. You don't need the receiver part, because its biggest job is volume control and outputting the amplified signal, both of which the speaker set already does.

[lanemc]

quick note as it's late - the projector arrived today while i was at work. my wife hooked it to our directv HD box and set it on an end table ~10 feet from a bare wall (white, eggshell finish). i got home and couldn't believe my eyes - all i could say was 'WOW!'

watched a little preseason NFL & i just couldn't be more pleased with our purchase. i can only imagine how nice it's going to look on a high quality screen.

i'll get some sound come thursday, i hope - and then i'll get the full impression.

life is good!:ecstatic:

thanks for any & all assistance received. i'll be sure to follow up soon with more details - best as i can provide with my limited knowledge.