Guys, all this talk is not making sense to me. We have several people posting that they have bought and received the 3D-XL's in the UK. We have retail websites in the UK posting that they have already sold out their first batches and are waiting for new stock. Then, we have other people posting here that the release is delayed due to technical problems. The release is obviously is not delayed at this point, because we have people receiving them and posting about it. So, I think the simple reality here is that the company can only manufacture and deliver so many units in a certain amount of time. It will take a little time for the next lot to hit the UK retailers, and a little longer for the U.S. to get it's frst shipment of stock, which will probably go quickly once delivered.
As for the technical concerns, from all I've read, it honestly sounds to me like the thing works very well, as advertized. The negative review by "Trusted Reviews" was anything but trustworthy. It seems to me to have been performed by someone who isn't adequately qualified to render a reliable review in the first place. He sounded technically lost to me--like a guy who might shop at Best Buy for gadgets, and may even be a little technically inclined, but who doesn't really fully understand what he's reviewing. He didn't even appear to know about the left-right inversion issue, which some are coining "pseudo-stereo". He apparently watched a lot of video without catching on. He also made a strange comment about adding a silver screen to boost performance while recommending the DLP-Link glasses, which do not require or benefit from a silver screen and may even be hampered by it because of hot spots and a narrowed effective viewing angle. Silver screens are for polarized images and glasses, not active-shutter 3D. The "soft image" he reported might be explained as easily as his comments about screwy 3D picture (which was apparently due to the fact that he had not set the eye polarity properly before getting started--i.e., he didn't push "invert"). In other words, the "soft" picture could be because he had his Blu-ray setup incorrectly, was using crappy or long HDMI cables, had his projector in the wrong aspet ratio, or any one of a long list of setup failures falling in the realm of operator error. No offense to him, but seriously: a man should do his homework before posting a professional review with such negative statements about a product for the whole world to read. I don't put 2 cents worth of confidence in that review, and I think that the 3D-XL and the readers were done a disservice.
Now, with that said, Vivitek, Viewsonic, and Palme are all claiming to be coming out with products in the near future (between now and May) that will render the 3D-XL nothing special. In fact, if the guys don't hurry up and get the 3D-XL to the U.S., they may just blow a good thing for themselves, because people will not wait for it if something just as good or better comes along first. If it ends up getting pushed until April-ish for the U.S. units to arrive, people like me will probably just go ahead and wait until May for the Vivitek that produces a brighter image than other so-called "3D-ready" projectors in its price range and doesn't need a separate box to convert the 3D signal. It's plug and play, starting at around $800, and ending up around $1200 for a 3200-lumen, truly-3D projector. Similarly, if Palme comes out with the 3D Theatre before the 3D-XL hits the street, or Viewsonic beats them to the street with the VP3D1, well, see ya, 3D-XL; the early bird gets the worm, and I've been waiting on you since October.
I think that those other products will probably be delayed also, though, and I think the 3d-XL will be here in the States within about a month or 6 weeks. I'm no insider, though, so I could be way off, but based on what is going on in the U.K., that seems about right. A manufacturing delay may push that to later, though. I think, at this point, that it's a matter of the time it takes for manufacturing to fill the orders.
Just be glad, though, that the company is conscientious enough not to release the product before it's debugged. I'd rather wait than buy something that doesn't work as advertised.
Optoma, if you want a reliable review on this product in the U.S., send me a unit. I was the chief engineer for a large electronics company and can setup your product properly, put it to the test, and report on it in a way that doesn't leave people scratching their heads and wondering if I am qualified to render a review. I know how to research and ask questions to make sure I'm not the problem before making a statement for all the world to read that unfairly impugns the reputation of an otherwise good product. Apparently, the little bit of reading I've already done about your product has me a step ahead of the "Trusted" reviewer that just gave the 3D-XL a black eye in front of the entire world.
