Hi guys.

Long story short...

I have an Infocus 4800 I bought at the very onset of the model. As most of you know, it was replaced shortly after introduction by what most believe is a far superior unit, the 4805. Those of us early-adopters were left holding the bag. Story of my life since I started HDTV in 1998.

Anyway, I don't watch the 4800 very often unless there's a major sporting event on. I have a 96" 16:9 pulldown screen right in front of my Mits 62" DLP RPTV. I watch the Mits 90% of the time. I suppose I'd watch the projector more if it had a little better picture. All of my source material is HDTV, DVD, HD-DVD or Blu-Ray HD.

Here's the deal. If I could get a better projector for around $1000 or less, I'd chunk the 4800 and write it off as a lesson learned. If not, I'd keep on using it and be happy with what I have.

What would you do? If you'd buy something, what would it be in that price range?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,
bob

There is alot of good talk going around about the Mitsu 1000U (recent price drop) and the Optoma HD70. Both 720p projectors and within your stated price range or less. Check out the numerous threads on them. So much information you brain will hurt (at least mine did).

The HD1000u will annihilate the 4800 for $899 at Projector People; it's 1280x720p HD. Even the 854x480p Infocus 4805 would crush it though.

I'd sell it and use part of the money to get the better unit.

The HD1000u will annihilate the 4800 for $899 at Projector People; it's 1280x720p HD. Even the 854x480p Infocus 4805 would crush it though.

I'd sell it and use part of the money to get the better unit.

Thanks to both of you. That's pretty much what I thought but I wanted to run it up the flagpole and see if anybody saluted. Didn't know Mits had such an aggressively priced projector.

I'm assuming you meant the HC1000U and that the "D" was a typo or am I looking at an older/inferior model?

Thanks guys. Anybody else?

I've found some pretty aggressive pricing on 3000U's too. Are they twice as good as the 1000U? They're about twice the cost but still within reason.

Wilson, it's the HD1000u. The advantage the HC3000 has is darker blacks. I've seen the HC3000 for $1449 at one of the Mits. auth. dealers.

Optoma HD70 for under a 1000$. What else is there? :)

Sell your 4800 on eBay, you'l l get about $375-$425 for it. Then use that money to upgrade to a Mits. 1000u.

Thats what I did... and I'm very pleased.

I also chose the Mits HD1000u but I just saw the panny 900 (last year's LCD king) for $1050ish + a blockbuster rebate, if you have installation challenges with the 35% offset HD1000u (if you have low ceilings) then you can consider that.

I think the offset is gonna be a challenge based on my calculations but I'm gonna work around it. I've read a TON of posts on this forum last night and this morning about the HD1000U and I just can't seem to find anything bad about it. I called Projector People and Stacey offered me a killer deal that I just can't walk away from.

Now I have a somewhat obscure question.

What is the maximum practical image size (retaining brightness, contrast and minimizing SDE) that this projector can handle and not wash out?

I have two ways I can organize a rather large room so I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm probably going with a 16:9 104" screen (I already have this mounted for my 4800) but I could rather easily rearrange the room to accomodate up to a 20' throw if I wanted to which would give me about a 166" 16:9. If I go with a ceiling mounted system, I have basically unlimited flexability from 20' in.

If screen size was the driving factor, what would be the maximum you guys would put with this guy given the parameters I've defined?

Here's a biggie... anything expected at CES that should make me wait a week or two before pulling the trigger? I'm not in that big of a hurry. ;)

Thanks. Excited again!

-bob

I haven't fired mine up yet, but I think it could support that size, especially if you had a positive gain screen (then wall's the limit!). Only thing is this unit, like all, will darken considerably after the breakin period (100-150 hours). Worst case with the super size screen is that you need to go into bright mode (vs eco) sooner than you would otherwise (like maybe after 1 year instead of after 2, or rather, after 1,000 hours vs 2,000). Worth it :) Just be sure to figure in 1.3x minimun seating distance from that mammoth screen. 1.5 would ensure no SDE with the 720p.

Nothing at CES except maybe lower prices on HD-DVD/BRD players - get the PJ set up now!