Last year I purchased an Infocus IN72
We have put 2000 hours on it and we love it. I am selling it to purchase a 720p projector. Any help on the decision would be greatly appreciated.
We will be viewing mainly SD tv, but also HDDVD, DVD, and Wii on this projector.

Here is what I have found so far:

Screenplay
The most expensive of the three. Lamp is also the most expensive.
http://www.woot.com/special.aspx?k=vip7210

HC1500
At about 800 from amazon it is not a bad deal. Apparently the brightest of the three, but I am not sure that is real important to me since 600lumens has been fine for the last year.

HD70
Cheapest lamp and comes with a good lamp warranty that we will likely use at least once.
http://www.visualapex.com/lcdprojectors/lcd_projectors_Details.asp?VA=Optoma&chPartNumber=HD70&SE=Optoma&KW=HD70
Resolution does not exactly match that of 720p, but I am not sure how big of a problem that is.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Chris

The 7210 is far superior to the other two. It is a high end unit vs. the other two being "budget PJs". 7210 has superior lens, DC3, better de-interlacer.

7210 to some may be the noisiest of the three (but quieter than a 4805, not sure of the IN72). Also it has an offset which should work with most except very low ceilings.

Thanks for the response.
How much difference in picture quality do you think I will see?
I have 10' ceilings, so offset should not be a problem.
Will they all be better than my in72 on standard material, or possibly worse?
I sold my IN72 and screen for $50 less than I paid last year, so I am definitely buying a new projector soon.
Any recommendations on screen material are welcome.
Thanks
Chris

Sounds Like it's deff worth the price over the HC1500...

I'm kinna regretting my HC1500 purchase esp since they couldn't sell me the bulb warranty...

and the woot price is not that much more if it is substantially better.What are the projection size specs on it? There is nothing listed for it a Projector central.

Would the HC1500 or the HD70 look better than my IN72?

Would the HC1500 or the HD70 look better than my IN72?

I think this will depend greatly on what you're watching. I had the same upgrade fever and got the HC1500. I am too very disappointed. I mostly watch SD DVDs and regular basic cable through my DVD recorder, and the HC1500 was several steps bellow my old X1 with the SD material.

With HD however, it looked certainly better, but I wouldn't say that it blew the X1 away. If I remember correctly the IN72 has the Faroudja DCD-i, which is far superior than whatever crap they put in the Mitsubishi. If you're going to watch anything other than native 720p material, I'd say that at least the HC1500 will be a downgrade. Can't say about the HD70, but since the latest reports on people finding for $499 at Best Buy, I am going to do my best to try it out.

"If you're going to watch anything other than native 720p material"

Any HD material will be an upgrade. DVDs will have less screen door.

HD70
Cheapest lamp and comes with a good lamp warranty that we will likely use at least once.
Resolution does not exactly match that of 720p, but I am not sure how big of a problem that is.



The HD70 is 1280x720 - how is that NOT 720p???

When viewing a 720p PJ vs a 480p PJ from 2x the screen width, they may very well look almost identical, until you really look at it again more closely. The incremental improvements in detail and consequently color and sharpness will standout as you continue to compare and you will be able to sit closer without screendoor marring your image.

Could have swore that the spec for the optoma was x768, but apparently not. I have decided to go with the mitsu. Detractor for the infocus was noise, and there seems to be a lot more people who have gone with the mitsu over the optoma. I suspect there will be little difference.
I think I may upgrade to HDTIVO, anyone want to buy a S2 with 1TB of storage and a 2 year contract?

Upgraded from an SP4805 to an HC1500. Very happy.

The only thing the HC1500 doesn't do a lot better is black levels, though they're both Dark Chip 2 projectors and neither have an iris, so I wasn't really expecting much of a difference.

Screenplay 7210 > HC1500 > HD70

Could have swore that the spec for the optoma was x768, but apparently not.

What's the value of 768 vs standard 720p? Are you under a misunderstanding?

I don't have a problem with the HC1500, just wondering why you think you need 768.

The HD72 is 1280x768; the HD70 is only 1280x720.

x768 is nice in that you can do real 1024x768 for computer use, or shift up/down a 1280x720 those extra rows. But x720 vs x768 should be one of the lowest concerns on the decision making pole, especially for movies/games use.

My 7210 is noticeably noisier than my 4805. The HC1000 a friend got is much quieter. The 7210 knocks the socks off the 4805. I think it's the easy $1k pick, barring some personal issue with the unit's noise level.

The SP7210 was designed to sell for $8K. The others were designed to sell for $800. To maintain their original price/performance ratio - the others need to be selling for $80...

One of these things....is not like the others....

The SP7210 was designed to sell for $8K. The others were designed to sell for $800. To maintain their original price/performance ratio - the others need to be selling for $80...

One of these things....is not like the others....

Not sure where you're getting $800 from. The HC1500 was $1500 and the HD70 was around $1000.

But yeah, the SP7210 was designed to be a high end machine while the other two have always been budget offerings.

I have decided to go with the mitsu.

Cdenton - You said that you were going with the HC1500 - Did you get it? What did you you think about it? How's it going so far?

krasmuzik;One of these things....is not like the others

LOL :D

Yah but the other Pjs are shiney and cooler looking .

I love my ugly Sp-7210.


Murph:)

Don't forget the sweet built-in handle on the 7210 ;)

LOL :D

Yah but its the other Pjs are shiney and cooler looking .

I love my ugly Sp-7210.


Murph:)

i would have allready bought the 7210 but the throw is too long. where can i get the mitsu for 800?

I am sure kras is talking about general street prices.

the going rate for the HC1500 is around 825.00...i have not seen it for less unless you are getting a refurbished model...on a side note you might want to see if you can get a good deal on an HD1000U as they are basically the same projector (minus 100 ansi lumens which is not something you can see anyways) for a good deal. i just picked one up for $550.00 (with a few hours on it but not many in eco mode) and i sold my InFocus IN72 w/ 1400 hours on it for $550.00 so i basically upgraded for free.

trust me, lots of people still want (they don't know much i admit) the IN72 and will pay well for it. i have been very happy with this projector and i have not had ANY issues with it..just time to upgrade and i refuse to pay 400.00 for a new freaking bulb when i can get a brand new projector for not much more than that. just my thoughts on this. i have not seen the HD70 for 500.00 but if i did i would have jumped on that too!

I'm about to pull down my IN72 and throw up the HD70. This is an interesting discussion. I actually did a side-by-side of the IN72 and HD70, and checked the brightness levels using a digital camera. My initial impression was that the IN72 was brighter, and it certainly is quite a bit larger physically.

However, I use my PC as my primary source, and the difference here was remarkable. 480p (848x480 on the IN72) is really not so great for using a PC or browsing -- but it can accept 1280x720, and looks ok, albeit a bit blurry. But switch to the HD70 and it's perfectly crisp, 1:1, and beautiful.

Of course, HD video looks fabulous on the HD70 compared to the IN72, while DVD looks identical to me (I don't really notice any screen door effect at all).

Another difference: the IN72 has both DVI and HDMI inputs, while the HD70 has only HDMI. I use both of them now (DVI from the PC, HDMI from the DVD player), and will need to make some changes for the HD70. I think I'll use an adapter on the back of the PC to convert my DVI output to HDMI, and then use component cables for the DVD player, which I rarely watch anyway.

send me a pm and I will tell you where to get the HC1500 for $800 from a forum sponsor.

I'm about to pull down my IN72 and throw up the HD70. This is an interesting discussion. I actually did a side-by-side of the IN72 and HD70, and checked the brightness levels using a digital camera. My initial impression was that the IN72 was brighter, and it certainly is quite a bit larger physically.

However, I use my PC as my primary source, and the difference here was remarkable. 480p (848x480 on the IN72) is really not so great for using a PC or browsing -- but it can accept 1280x720, and looks ok, albeit a bit blurry. But switch to the HD70 and it's perfectly crisp, 1:1, and beautiful.

Of course, HD video looks fabulous on the HD70 compared to the IN72, while DVD looks identical to me (I don't really notice any screen door effect at all).

Another difference: the IN72 has both DVI and HDMI inputs, while the HD70 has only DVI. I use both of them now (DVI from the PC, HDMI from the DVD player), and will need to make some changes for the HD70. I think I'll use an adapter on the back of the PC to convert my DVI output to HDMI, and then use component cables for the DVD player, which I rarely watch anyway.

The Optoma HD70 does NOT have DVI.

... and then use component cables for the DVD player, which I rarely watch anyway. That or you can use a switch and run just one cable to your PJ.

The Optoma HD70 does NOT have DVI.

Oops! I meant that the HD70 does NOT have DVI, only HDMI. Post corrected. Thanks for pointing out my typo, reconlabtech.

i just ordered 7210 from woot. How do i know whether the order has been processed? Do they send out an email confirmation? thanks.

I currently have an Optoma H31 that has a dimming bulb. I am considering and upgrade to either the HC1500 or the H70 or just get a new bulb. I don't have HDTV and primarily watch SD DVD and SD TV. With out having HD would it be worth while to upgrade? I am tempted to the higher lumens of the HC1500 because I do have a fair amount of ambient light during the day but don't want to take a step backwards as far a picture quality goes when viewing SD material.

I currently have an Optoma H31 that has a dimming bulb. I am considering and upgrade to either the HC1500 or the H70 or just get a new bulb. I don't have HDTV and primarily watch SD DVD and SD TV. With out having HD would it be worth while to upgrade? I am tempted to the higher lumens of the HC1500 because I do have a fair amount of ambient light during the day but don't want to take a step backwards as far a picture quality goes when viewing SD material.

I'm running the IF 4805 and have several friends with the HC1000/1500. SD material looks better on the 4805. Without HD, an upgrade wouldn't be worth it IMO.