Infocus X10/ IN80 Owners thread - Reviews, Settings, Screenshots and issues - Page 28

Guys - I'm playing with the idea of selling my X10...

Perfect condition with 1,019 Hrs. Any idea of value?

Thanks

Not that I have any intent of getting rid of mine but I've wondered the same thing. What would the value be. Given that some people bought these for 1200 bucks, and the cost of a bulb is 1/3 of that, I'd say it depends on the ability to transfer any warranty its got. If you can transfer the warranty, and if you can purchase the extension to it, then I'd say that would really help the value. But if not, I'd probably not pay over $500 for a used one, just because of the associated cost of bulbs and lack of warranty. To me those things are worth more than the pj itself.

An extended warranty is $250 for these. That's an additional 2 years. But like all CE products, unless you stole it you take a bath in it when you sell used. Sorta like paying dearly for the best years of an expensive car.

I'm at around 280 hrs on the lamp, and up until this time I've been using an iris setting of 36 on a 112" diag unity gain white screen. Half way thru the last movie I watched (the horrible Seven Pounds - sorry OT), I started sensing that the image was starting to look a little dim, so I changed the iris setting to 45 and all was good again.

It will be interesting to see if it's another 280 hrs or so before I open the iris some more, of if it will be sooner (or later).

Just curious what other people have been doing regarding opening the iris as the lamp dims.

My room is completely dark, but I never opened my iris on mine. I had about 400 hours on it when it went back for repair (not back yet though they say it should ship today). I presume it will have a new bulb but who knows. Mine was on low lamp mode it's whole life.

If you go back through this thread I think you'll find that your experience is pretty much the norm, and the settings you chose were also popular.

Hi K-Spaz,

Your X10 had to go back for repair? That stinks. I thought you just had a bad lamp and Infocus was sending you a new one.

Lamp failures have been VERY rare with Infocus projectors, so if the problem is something else, I'm not completely surprised. Hopefully Infocus will make things right. They should - they took care of me when my original X10 had a problem OTB. It shouldn't be long before you're back in business.

Regarding the iris settings, the great thing about the iris is that it allows you to maintain the same Ft-L over the life of the lamp, as long as you are not maxing out your screen size, and you are able to achieve a sufficiently bright image with a closed down iris when your lamp is new. The rub is, at what point do you start to open your iris as your lamp dims. With me it seems to be at the ~280 hour mark.

Well, I'll give a small update to my situation.

I received an email telling me my projector is on the way. The tracking says it'll be here on Tuesday. I hope cause we're cutting it close for any Christmas shows. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it works out.

Jeff, the first bulb came and unfortunately, they'd sent the wrong one. Missed by one number, just a mistake. They took care of that but of course that cost me another weekend without the pj. A replacement bulb arrived and I tried that but still no picture. The lamp would not strike. I made the assumption that my bulb was just fine, but of course without seeing it fire up in a good projector I cannot know for sure. The pj itself did fire up, but after several attempts to strike an arc, it would then shut down again. You could hear the fans go nuts on every try just like normal. It tried maybe 4 or 5 times and then shut down with the lamp warning light now on.

My options were to have the unit repaired or get a replacement. I wanted the repair (since I take good care of my stuff and didn't want someone else's issues). They pushed for me to get it replaced since it was going to be much faster. It turns out, the time is not much different. It took as long for my replacement as it did for their repair. My bulb wasn't old enough for me to care about the hours on it vs a new one. But in the end I did accept the replacement.

I think the best policy for someone going through this is to stay on the phone as recommended above. I think you really do get serviced faster if you contact them. I can't say for sure, but I really got the feeling that had I not called in 3 times checking on the status of mine, I would still be waiting.

The InFocus people have always been courteous and seem to direct you toward the best possible solution depending on your situation. In all truth though, I'd be happier if I were ignorant of these things, having not had the issues with my pj. I'm not going to go so far as to fault InFocus quality. I do live in a rural area and despite having a UPS on my pj, there are power issues here. I'd like to think that was not the problem with it but I don't honestly know.

I've asked here before if closing the iris causes heat buildup issues, but have never gotten a response. I may test it with my probe here and see if 100 vs 0 gives better vs worse internal temperatures. If so, I may switch to 100 with an ND filter. I know that's not the same as stopping down, but I'm considering it anyhow.

Yup.

And yes, you're right, they are courteous, but if you want anything to get done, you've got to spend a good deal of quality time with them on the phone.

Thanks for the update K-Spaz. Hopefully you will be back in business soon. I remember when my IN76 died and I had to go a month without a projector. Not good times.

As far as iris use causing heat buildup, I'd be really shocked if that was the case. You would probably know better than I because you've seen the inside of the lamp compartment, but from the photos at cine4home it looks like the most likely place the iris would be is right after the glass window in the lamp compartment. If that is the case, it shouldn't affect cooling. The lamp also appears to have a dedicated vent duct on the side which directs the heat away from the light path (and iris).

In order for the iris to affect cooling, the main air flow path would need to be the same as the light path (of which the iris is a part), and I don't believe a PJ would ever be designed that way for obvious reasons (namely that the light path on DLPs is sealed after the lamp compartment!).

EDIT: Saying it easier, if the iris is outside the lamp compartment, than it is in a sealed area of the PJ (light path/optical chamber) and by definition would not affect cooling.

Well, you really can't see a whole lot looking in there. And I didn't really give much thought to what was in there anyhow. I tried to minimize the time with the door open. Looking at those pics though, it looks like the iris is about halfway down the optic tube. So, I don't know what sort of effect that might have. If there's a board just near there and the light being choked off does cause heat buildup, it might be problematic.

Light is heat (radiant energy) just at a different wavelength. The way I figure it, 1/2 of all that 300w of light energy isn't leaving that black box when the iris is closed. Well, not till the fans move it out anyhow.

I was messing around and adding to my original post while you were responding - but the optical area of the PJ that appears to contain the iris would be sealed, so it should not affect cooling.

IMO I wouldn't worry about it, and would not switch to an ND2. An ND2 will be about the same as using an iris setting of 0 or 9 (I have an ND2 and experimented with it to see what iris setting was close to 50% reduction in light).

Jeff,
seeing your edit there, I suppose that's correct, IF the iris is in the middle of that tube (as it looks to me), then the only energy it could arrest is the energy that exits as light, and only a portion of that. So, the energy that becomes heat (probably the majority of the watts), goes out in the form of hot air moved by the fans.

In any case, I'll be testing it when it gets back (assuming it works).

I was thinking just the opposite. Because it's sealed, it might be a problem. But I'm just guessing here.


My other option was to use my lower gain screen, but, I was using that with the iris closed! (image at 104-106)

Got a situation brewing. I really want to get my projector mounted on the ceiling. Problem is it's an 8 foot ceiling with somewhere around a 12 1/2' throw. Basically when I mount it, i only want like a 3 or 4 inch offset and didn't know if there was a way to achieve this outside of using a mirror to bounce it. Cause if I mount it as is now, i'll have to keystone a bunch to get it to work (which i will not do) and that makes the screen way too small. Any ideas??

a low profile mount combined with tilting the screen should work. Look back through the posts, it is discussed a bunch.

Well, my projector arrived today, a day early. UPS must have known I was waiting patiently.

It looks great, what can I say. It's new (or near new). Certainly looks new, and the picture looks like new. I had a small issue with my new receiver altering the image, that wasn't very funny. I lost 14" of image area and I gotta tell ya that's a lot of real-estate without any picture. I solved that and now everything is much better.

All things considered, I'd give InFocus an A- on this. They could have been faster and there was an error early on. The website needs a little work as well. But then, they could have been considerably slower too, and they are in the process of changing buildings. Sooo, a little forgiveness is in order I suppose.

I don't know if its possible for the image to look better on this projector vs the old one, but, I sorta think this one looks better. I don't want to say it's a lot, but; well.... Must be that I've been projectorless for a few weeks.

Glad to hear it's worked out for you. It's good to hear that things do sometimes improve and InFocus did give you a better shake than I got, and that if something does go wrong early along under warranty, there's hope, albeit tempered with realism and patient perseverance, that they'll eventually step up and come through.

I should have mentioned in my original post that i have a drop down screen that i put up when not in use so i don't see how it would be possible to achieve tilting the screen without manually adjusting it every time, not exactly the turn it on and watch it simplicity my wife is wanting.....

If there is a way to do it with a drop down (automatic btw) then I'm all ears.

Glad to hear you're back in business.

My experience with Infocus when exchanging my defective projector was generally a positive one. It was painless enough, but it was a little annoying that the UPS call tag they sent me for the return of the bad PJ was based on the wgt of the projector, not the wgt of the projector AND packaging, so the call tag was underweight. The Mister-By-The-Book clerk at the UPS store would not accept it, so I wound up paying for the return shipment on my own dime because I could not be bothered with the hassle and delay of getting a new call tag and treking back to UPS.

Thanks Jeff,

It's great having things back up and running. I just watched District 9 and holy smokes did that look great. A bit much on the shaky-cam for my taste, but when they managed to sit the camera still it was pristine.

I can see where some who would have had an experience like mine would be pretty vocal and at least partially negative, but the truth is, InFocus has treated me pretty darn good. Good enough to keep me as a brand loyal customer when the day comes to upgrade this machine.

My first IN80 started overheating after 3 months. I took it back to Richer Sounds, who replaced it with a new unit because InFocus told me I could only have a reconditioned one.

3 months later, this one started overheating. In the end it would overheat from cold in 15 minutes. After reporting the fault I was told by InFocus that it would be replaced 'next week'.

Next week came and went. No contact from InFocus. I contacted them and was told it would be replaced 'next week'. Now re-read this paragraph three times because that is what happened every week.

I emailed their VP, and was given a tracking number which arrived at a depot the next day. Unfortunately it didn't arrive at my house. 8 days later a courier company I've never heard of arranged to deliver it the next day between 9 and 5. Waited in all day, nothing, not even a phone call.

Called them today, and they say it will be delivered tomorrow (Christmas Eve). I won't hold my breath- I'll just look forward to Christmas with no tv.

Why was it overheating? I vacuumed the inlet and exhaust ports to no avail. Eventually I took out the bulb housing to find a fine metal screen behind the wires that is supposed to stop light leaking out. Because the inlet filters are so coarse, they let dust through, which blocks the metal screen. I've cleaned this inaccessible screen which has improved things however there is a similar screen over the exhaust vent which will need cleaning on the inside, to which there is no access.

The projector is not in a particularly dusty location, and to have to clean filters/screens every two months that aren't even mentioned in the user manual is just 'not on'.

I've asked InFocus if putting filters from a Dyson Vacuum cleaner over the numerous inlets would void the warranty on the new unit (if it ever arrives) but they won't answer.

Bad design. Bad customer service. They are really quite useless. Thanks for ruining my Christmas InFocus

I would attach a cord to the screen and then attach it to a weighted object on the floor to tilt it. You could either leave the object on the floor in place or mark it's position to make this an easily repeatable task.

It sounds like your unit is in an area that a lot dustier than you think it is. Especially if it's mounted near the floor or table top level.

Now, I'm not one of those people who's anal about cleaning every single day, but my projector was mounted without touching it for 5 months, and when I took it down, it had no dust in it, none. I have 2 cats in the house and there's a good bit of traffic in the room where it's located, including the cats. I also have a coal stove that's running and has been for some time. I have an open downstairs (makes a complete circle) and there's a fan running to circulate the heat from the coal stove so it heats the entire house. The room that follows where the coal stove sits IS the ht. So, if you've got a dust issue that needs addressed monthly, I'm hear to tell ya you've got to do something about that. The house has too much air moving in wall cells/insulation or whatever.

My house is old and been through a lot of renovation. I consider it to be horribly dusty. Now if my projector was mounted near the floor, I would almost bet I would have the troubles you describe. If you're not ceiling mounted now, consider it strongly. If you are, consider a different room for the pj or do some renovation to deal with the dust.

Hi cadoga,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Nothing is more frustrating than dealing with premature failures - especially twice. But if your 3 month old projector is shutting down after 15 minutes, there is no way that is due to dust buildup. Something else has to be at work here. A quick thermal overload after powerup is often a fan problem - maybe one is not working, or is not ramping up in speed properly as the heat increases within the case.

It's weird that it's happened twice though. Anything unusual about your setup - any heating ducts nearby, is the unit mounted in a confined area? Do you have frequent power issues (brown outs, etc) that may damage components?

Before it shut down, did the fans go into their highest mode, as loud as when you run the lamp on high? If they didn't, and the unit went into thermal shutdown with the fans still relatively quiet, then it seems pretty clear the issue is not dust.

It could just be that you ran into 2 consecutive units with bad fans or fan controllers. That seems like rather long odds, but you never know.

If the IN8x series had a cooling design flaw such that 3 months of dust buildup would cause it to go into thermal shutdown for typical installations, we would be reading many examples of people experiencing the issue. Yours is the 1st one I've read in any of the threads regarding the X10 or IN8x.

Hopefully you'll get your new projector tomorrow and life will be good again. Regardless of the cause of the problem, you have every right to be annoyed you had to deal with 2 faulty units. I hope the third time is the charm.

Is there a procedure for cleaning the dust out on this?

The 4805 had screens on the bulb.

Unless there are some official InFocus instructions out there, and until someone with more expertise chimes in, you can use this helpful fellow's handy procedure.


2182 hours on the lamp and counting...

The In8x series, like the IN7x series, was supposedly designed to be maintenance free (i.e. no need for the user to periodically clean filters). That's why there is no reference to cleaning in the manual.

Does anyone know if the X10 can be controlled from a dish network remote? Or even an Onkyo 606 remote?

I control mine (basicly) with my Yamaha receiver remote. I can pull up the menu but not navigate. But then I've never wanted to and didn't try all the remote codes to see if others might work. It's easier for me to pick up the other remote rather than navigate the buttons on this one. Power on/off is all I need , and that works.

I messed around with the colors of my X10 and now I think it looks worse. I don't know why I did it in the first place but does anyone have their settings readily available.

I'm in a dark room (No windows) and the screen is just regular ole black out cloth.

I tried to search this thread but the search function isn't cooperating with me.

Mike you should be able to go into the picture preset menu and pick default to reset everything.