Infocus is selling a new projector on Woot. It looks like they're aiming it squarely at the gaming community. The specs are certainly underwhelming:

640 x 480 DLP
500 Lumens
1000 hour lamp life.

But it's not completely without merit. It lists for $499 and the lamps are only 80 bucks. With built-in speakers and a backpack available, it probably would make some gamers happy.

Jim

junk

junk


I would have to agree, especially for the price, for not much more you can get a pretty nice HD projector with better features all around.

With those specs & price, I would only be impressed if it was super-tiny, like the size of a soda can or so. I don't think it is that tiny though.

Is the sound module special in any way?

Where did they dig up a 640x480 DLP chip? Did Texas Instruments have a garage sale?

Actually, I don't remember TI ever making a 640x480 chip, even back in the 1x color wheel days.

Is there anybody who wouldn't take a used X1 over this toy? I think Infocus marketing have misjudged gamers' ability to parse and understand technical specifications.

It give me a bit of nostalgia, though...

http://www.bothan-online.com/IMG/jpg/mse-6.jpg

I would have to agree with the posts above. As a gamer, and one who previously gamed on an InFocus X1 (which was fine) - I'd say this misses the target...

For one thing - 500 lumens?! Brightness is one parameter that gamers will need over some other features (black level, color accuracy, etc.). So, for this to be both low resolution AND dim... it kind of kills it. If it were 2000 lumen and $399 with everything else as stated (even the low res) then it might merit some consideration. As is though, I certainly wouldn't recommend it to a friend...

Ahh, you guys are taking this too seriously. The first person to email me today with a question, that bought an IN1 last night from woot told me he got it for his two boys, aged 10 and 12.

And since someone mentioned it, sure, you could buy a used projector and a used stereo... but very few people want the headaches, never mind that they might need a very expensive lamp very soon.

Personally I'm not a fan of 480 res all-in-one projectors, but they are nothing new.
The lower priced Epson, and the first Optoma, and radioshack all-in-ones are all 480, although those are wide 480s. The newer optoma is SVGA 800x600 if I recall correctly.

BTW, supposedly they have optimized it for gaming, and see it particularly as a good match for the Wii. (they're even throwing in a Wii cable.)

When I started this post, I certainly did not expect any videophiles to go gaga over this projector. But most people are missing the point of the projector. It's aimed at gamers who are going to move this projector around, hence the built-in speakers and available backpack. If you're going to permanently mount a projector, it's a terrible choice. But if you're going to be moving it around, it fits the bill, although I don't understand the 640 x 480 resolution. The speakers look like they're probably louder than most all-in-one units, certainly something important to gamers. And the $80 lamps are a nice addition.

As an owner of an Optoma Movietime, I can vouch for the need for ease of use when moving these things around. This weekend, we're going to a Great Wolf Resort with a bunch of other families. We'll have two dozen kids in our room watching Ratatouille one evening. I certainly would not want to haul a projector, DVD player and sound system with me for something like this. With the Movietime, I pull it out of its case and literally minutes later people are watching a movie. Is it perfect? No way; it's only 480P, shown on a bedsheet or the wall, and the sound is far less than Dolby Digital. But it never fails to thrill anyone who sees it.

These projectors have a target audience. There are always compromises, but for many people they work quite well.

Jim

Buffalo Jim, I see we are on the same page! -art

Ages 5-12 + 60-100" screen = Happy Children!!! Plan and simple.

The Wii and the Gamecube have maximum rsolution of 480p, so back off. This is the under $3000 forum.

Yes, most people here are going to bash the HELL out of this thing, but hey I bet many of you would have bought a Fisher Price camera for a 5-10 year old, if you could get your hands on them. Even when you could've gotten 3MP camera for the same price. Ease of use is worth a few dollars, so easy a 7 year old can set it up.

I bet you could play soccer with this thing and it will still work. There would be no way I would give a young child my HD70 for a sleep over to play on their friends wall. This I would have no problem. But I would've likked a lower price...like $299.

I understand the sound system part, but I still feel that the bang-for-the-buck is not there.

$100 or more less cost and it would be much more apealing.

Really I guess the largest flaw that I see is the low lumens.

Buffalo Jim, I see we are on the same page! -art


I always thought I was the voice of reason...

Jim

Cute little thing...I guess. But what's with the 6seg/6speed colour wheel? Doesn't that trump the IN72's?

Would this thing really have a better colour wheel speed?

I think infocus missed the point.
1.)640x480 res....
2.)Low lumen
3.)price
4.)lamp price

The resolution is bad, i'm sure you could search around for an x1 for near the same price, which would kill this thing. The lumens are too low, way too low for gaming imo. It might be a good "toy" if its price wasn't $500.
And yes, lamp price. People here seem to see the $80 and say its cheap. However that is $80 for 1 lamp which last half as long as more common lamps. So in reality that is $160 . Then you also have to consider that you now have two lamps, each with the possibility of premature death, quite common, except now you're increasing the chances by 2x.
You can still get a 720p, 2500:1, 1000 lumen projector (acer ph530) for around $600 in some places, it just doesn't make any sense to by this thing. Basically, you won't see me recommending it to anyone.

Then you also have to consider that you now have two lamps, each with the possibility of premature death, quite common, except now you're increasing the chances by 2x.

Uh...what?

What you've just explained is common of any product - buy two and you could have two that break. Buy 12,000 and the same thing applies.

Do you buy single eggs so that only one might break on the way home instead of 12?

Then you also have to consider that you now have two lamps, each with the possibility of premature death, quite common, except now you're increasing the chances by 2x.

Uh...what?

What you've just explained is common of any product - buy two and you could have two that break. Buy 12,000 and the same thing applies.

Do you buy single eggs so that only one might break on the way home instead of 12?
Lol, yeah, that point was a bit of a stretch.

:) Good points otherwise.

$599 is way too high a price for so little tech.

Epson MovieMate 30s is now selling at about the same price and it's at least a real 480p PJ. And it's got a built-in DVD player.

junk

gaming @ 640x480 is a trend of the late 90's, and its gone along with voodoo 3d cards, this infocus pj is good only for wii owners (cuz wii has low res only), whoever has ps3 or xbox and would like to output 720p or 1080p or i... should go with a pj with a higher native resolution.. such as acer ph530.

OK. I have a Movietime and I'm sure it stomps this thing. Much brighter with 480P exact pixel mapping to SD DVD.
Yes this new projector is cheap but it's not even widescreen. It is NOT perfect for the Wii, as the Wii is widescreen 480P capable. If this thing was at least widescreen and a couple hundred lumens brighter then they could probably sell it.

If the thing had a SD TV tuner in it it would be at least something.

Absurd.

Just to let everyone know, our Optoma Movietime was a smash hit this past weekend. We literally had about 25 kids watching Ratatouille in our hotel room at the Great Wolf Lodge. There were so many kids, in fact, that the movie was tough to watch over the din of all the youngsters. But everyone loved it anyways.

Sure it's just a 480P projector, but I don't think anyone minded. Sound was fine and the screen (a white plastic table cloth) was 'adequate'. It's not something I would have wanted to try with a separate projector, DVD player and sound system. And that's the whole purpose of these things. You can tote them around and be up and running in minutes. You don't have to worry about cables or other nonsense. Just get the projector out and enjoy it.

I still don't understand the 640 horizontal resolution of the IN1, but the unit itself fills a niche at a price significantly lower than the Movietime. I'm quite certain that the people who buy this thing are going to be very happy.

Jim

$80 lamp is not a good thing when the lamp hour rating is 1000 hours. lol. This is not worth the money.