Customer Reviews

InFocus X2 Multimedia DLP Projector

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I did a lot of homework before buying this product (my first projector). If you've done the same, you'll know this is a great projector for home theatre use - with all the right features and a lot of bang for the buck. This is all true.

I sampled projectors with better/higher features and saw nothing worth twice the price. There is no doubt (unless money truly is NO OBJECT) that this is the projector to choose for home theatre.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, and having read and been warned by at least a dozen reviews (of the X1) which marginalized the ''rainbow effect'' I MUST SAY THAT THE RAINBOW EFFECT IS A INSURMOUNTABLE SORE POINT and my review will focus on exactly that. I don't know if any projectors exist in the world without this problem, but here it is in a more understandable form:

It seems that the picture is made of RGB images that alternate faster than the eye can notice (in other words, that there is a red image followed by a green image and then lastly a blue image - each a few dozen times per second). If you wave your hand infront of the projector very fast you can see the image break down on different fingers as different colors.

A similar effect manifests when your eye moves accross the screen very fast, or if a high-contrast, highly-bright image moves across the screen very fast. You will notice three objects instead of one (red, green and blue). For example, in a largely dark scene, a light bulb will seem to have three colors if you move your eyes fast around the screen. I suspect the scene with dueling light-savers in Star Wars to be the perfect example of a bad scene for the rainbow effect - it's mostly dark and has small bright features that move fast.

For me this is almost a deal breaker and I regret dropping a grand for a few features I probably wouldn't miss with an ''inferior'' projector. The problem is: I don't know what projectors there are out there that won't have this problem and have anywhere close to the performance of this one (adjusted for price).

Bottom line - best major purchase I have made since I bought a home with a finished basement!

I got the projector and mounted it on the ceiling in my basement projecting on a light-brown wall. I expected that I would need to paint the walls white, or get a screen, but was shocked by the amazing picture quality. Here are the details:

1) Comcast Cable with HiDef Box. Hidef program is so amazing it makes me want to cry. Sports programing blows the mind away. I even enjoy watching boring hi-def shows with the wife, like the Oscars, just because I am so amazed at how crystal clear the picture looks. You feel like you are there! Regular TV looks surprisingly great too, but setting it up right is critical. Make sure to change the aspect ratio back to Native (vs 16:9 when watching hi-def channels). Ensure that the HDTV cable box has the following settings:
Aspect Ratio (controls regular programming) = 4:3 letterbox
Output Type (controls High def programming) = experiment with 720P vs 1080i
4:3 overide (controls regular programming)= 480p.
I am also using the expensive $99 monster DVI cable to connect to the cable box. This is essential to make regular TV look great vs grainy. Get the DVI to M1 connections, wires and adaptors - you MUST budget this into your overall budget or the projecter will not be a great buy (see my "problem" section below).

2) X-Box. I purchased the Hi-Def cable/wire from Microsoft for $20. Once you buy the cables, you can go into the Xbox dashboard settings to allow for 720p and 1080i. Most games are in 480p and 16:9 format. The few Games in highdef look fantastic! You can check hdtvarcade.com to see the exact resolution of every game.

3) DVD player: Since the Xbox only outputs in 480i, I wanted to try the upconversion DVD players. I first tried the Denon 1910. That did NOT work when using a DVI cable!!! It might have been because it was refurbished or possibly it was because the Infocus X2 is not HDCP compliant?? I'm not sure, but the 1910 warns against non-HDCP compliant units and InFocus says that x2 is non-compliant - so that's my best guess. Next I tried the TOSHIBA SD-5970. That worked, and I hooked it up using the $99 Monster HDMI to DVI cable. I'm not sure if it was worth it, because DVD's look great, but NOT Amazing compared to HiDef Comcast programming. The verdict is still out, but I have never seen any of the DVD's like Finding Nemo that supposedly look MUCH better with progressive scan DVD's. I can't tell much difference between when DVD is set to 720p vs 1080i HDMI output.

Once again, everybody that comes over, including the sceptic wife, is shocked by our basement - they all say its like a full-scale theater, much bigger and clearer than a regular big screen TV and I don't even have surround sound yet - that'll be my next big purchase. Infocus X2 is highly recommended, but be sure to check out the problem section below:

Problems
1) My InFocus X2 does not have any component inputs. That means to get premium quality, you must come through the M1/DVI input. If you have a DVD, Cable box and Xbox like me, it is a real pain to switch the cable in the back (especially with a ceiling mount). I got myself a step ladder to make it easier. The DVI switcher for 4 DVI cables is TOO expensive, almost $400.

2) Be prepared to spend at least $3-400 after you get your InFocus to purchase DVI cables for the cable box, possibly HDMI cables if you buy a progressive scan DVD player, as well as adapters to connect your DVI cable to the M1 computer port... Its definitely worth it, but just be prepared. In my opinion, the progressive DVD player is optional (saves you approx $150), but the cables are mandatory.

3) No way to turn off unit with remote (and yes it is still a little noisy in whisper mode, but once the movie starts you can't hear it anymore). I have it set-up so that after it cools/powers down I just turn off the entire unit on the wall switch since it is ceiling mounted.

Good product, forget about service. I e-mailed InFocus about my faulty projector 8th January 2005
it is now 7th January 2006 and I still do not have my projector. That's right, it's been ONE YEAR since
my projector stopped working, I have given up on it being repaired (it was under warranty) and am now
struggling to get it back so that I can repair it out of my own pocket. Check this company's record at
the Better Business Bureau, it is deemed to be unsatisfactory due to unanswered complaints.

If you only want to use this projector to watch sports in HDTV, then I suspect you will be quite satisfied. In a dark room with HDTV it can be truly breathtaking!

Keep in mind that you will not get a good picture until you have eliminated almost all surrounding light. But, the "rainbow effect" makes watching movies almost painful. Whenever the movie has a bright light mixed with a dark background you will not see a white light, but a fast-moving rainbow. I have not seen this when watching sports.

Normal analog TV channels do not look very good on a projected screen like this. Even digital channels look grainy. But HDTV looks awesome! There is not really a "screen door effect" in HD to speak of. I get a huge 100" picture at about 14 feet away. At $700, I consider this projector to be a bargain.

Even though this projector seems to be ideal for HDTV sports, I am concerned about the ability to view future HDTV signals because this projector is not compliant with the HDCP stanard that may govern future HDTV broadcast. If that happens in the US, like it has in Europe, this projector would become worthless.

The noise level of this projector is higher than I expected, but once the sound is on you hardly notice.

I read the comment about the "rainbow effect", and decided to by the projector anyway, because it seemed like such a good deal, and I never noticed this artifact on any other projector. It definately has a beautiful picture, and makes watching movies a lot of fun, but about every twenty minutes when I blink or move my eyes there is a bright white imagine on the screen I notice a flashing stripe of red, blue and green on the borders of the white part of the image. It doesn't ruin the movie, but it is kind of distracting. Also, the fact that I can make this happen by moving my eyes quickly creates a distracting temptation. My girlfriend and roommate don't notice this at all (except when they intentionally move their eyes quickly around the screen). It's not a huge deal, but if I had to make the decision again, I would probably buy a different projector. I have never noticed this effect on other projectors, so I think there is something wrong with this one.

I purchased this multimedia projector on behalf of a local non-profit organization after comparing its specifications with other projectors with similar prices. Several comparable projectors are available currently, and I chose this one because of good experience with its previous model (the X1) and slightly better specs.

Our initial experiences with this unit have been completely satisfactory. The controls are easy to use, the output is bright and sharp for an audience of around 40 people. I was disappointed, however, to discover that it has only one adjustable leg toward the front of the projector. That leg is used in tilting the projected image upward, but we had to use found materials to level the unit. Two legs would be better!

I have to rate this product and this company as horrible!!

I purchased the X2 in 12/2004. Everything was fine. In 6/2005, the lamp blew. Less than 300 hours on it!!! I called the company. They said sometimes it happens. I questioned the projector. They said I just needed a new lamp. $300.00 later.....oh, you can only get the lamps from them. You can only get service on the X2 from them.

I get the new lamp. It just blew again-about 700 hours-half of what the life should be. Additionally, the fan died-which may be why the lamp blew. Maybe there was a problem with the fan a year ago (when it was STILL under warranty but they wouldn't look at it!!!) No. They say no.

The projector was ceiling mounted and never moved since it was first put in place. The projector was blown clean on a regular basis. This projector was not mistreated or misused.

Infocus says "sometimes this happens".

They, for $250, plus $30.00 shipping, will fix the fan. I also need to buy a new lamp-another $300. The company keeps saying-"It is out of warranty", "sometimes this happens", "1400 hours is just what some lamps get", etc., etc,. etc.. They will not accept that perhaps this was a defective product.

I will get a new projector-I can buy a new one for what they want to charge to maybe fix my current one. My new projector WILL NOT/WILL NEVER be an Infocus product.

They have failed to stand behind their product. Their service is overpriced and their technical support and customer service is nothing more than drones citing manuals and warranties.

Don't buy Infocus!!!!

There is no Faroudja DCDi processing in this new device. So please change your information about the machine.

The de-interlacer chip is unneaded as long as you use all progressive sources.

In fact when you input HDTV it uses the same scaler as the X1 and H30 projectors.

The image quality is great. Just dont try and watch TV on it, you'll claw your eyes out.

I can't push that enough, the projector is awesome, as long as you use NO interlaced sources.

Very good image quality from DVD player, lots of good functions.

But can't connect to my laptop. Though I tried to use (VGA to DVI to M1) adapter and cables, eventually failed.
So, returned it.

As my laptop does not have DVI port. I did not test whether DVI to M1 can get it work.

The S-video connection from laptop to projector works, but terrible image quality.