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Infocus HT - 1st Week of August

173 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by aviman33, Jul 11, 2001

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Discussion Starter · Jul 3, 2001

From what he says, it sounds EXACTLY like the LP530. So my guess is they have either decided to spin it as HT now, or it's yet another unreliable customer service person at Infocus.

--Les

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rlsmith

· #2 · Jul 3, 2001

This is not what the product manager told me at Infocomm.

See the following thread for my Infocomm report and related comments.
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/006720.html

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rl:

If I read your Infocomm report right, the new HT machine sounds more like the Seleco 200DM. If so, did you hear anything in your discussion that would indicate it will use the 6 segment wheel like the Seleco? Reports have it that this pretty much eliminates rainbow.

1600 lumens from a DLP would be very nice, particularly when combined with the 6 segment wheel and the already decent InFocus on-board electronics. With a list price around $5700, street price may be less than $5 grand.

Sweet! http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif Could be the perfect interim projector until affordable QXGA and/or other goodies like the next generation DLP chips and the spiral color wheel get going.\\

Dan

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aviman33

· #4 · Jul 4, 2001

I called Infocus and asked them about the new HT. To my supprise thay are actually acknowledging it and answering questions. The said its being released 1st week of August and the price is $5200 for the base unit and $500 for the plugin module. Base unit has a s-video input. You'll need the module for DVI and composite and so forth. Also its XGA. Sounds a lot like the LP530. I was so shocked to get an answer, I forgot to ask them if it has a 4:3 or 16:9 DMD chip and whether the color wheel has a clear section. Also forgot to ask whether this is the new TI chip with masking to increase contrast. Well, maybe someone else can call and pump out some more info.

Hope the street price will be $3500 or less.

Jon

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meva

· #5 · Jul 4, 2001

If its xga it won't have the six segment colour wheel.From what you say it sounds like an lp530 optimised for HT(along the lines of the sim2 ht250 but MUCH cheaper)

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rlsmith

· #6 · Jul 4, 2001

I don't know if the Infocus HT will have a 6 segment color wheel or not.

I do know that it will not have the new archimedes screw color wheel, because I asked; the product manager said it would be a while before those make it into the Infocus product line.

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aviman33

· #7 · Jul 10, 2001

Called Infocus again, and asked them if the LP530 and their new HT system are one and the same. The tech didn't know what I was talking about. So I referred him to their webpage www.infocushome.com. After seeing this webpage for the 1st time, he explained to me that whats shown on the webpage looks to him to be the LP530. And as far as he knows the LP530 is the only new HT projector they have.

Jon

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catullus

· #8 · Jul 10, 2001

I called Infocus a few days ago in order to confirm whether the dealers who claimed to have the 530 in stock NOW really did. The customer service rep told me that NO ONE has the 530 yet since it has not shipped, period. I then asked her about the Infocus HT projectors. In a tone of weary vexation she asserted, "The 530 IS the home theater projector." She seemed to have no knowledge of earlier Infocus releases which implied that there would be TWO HT projectors, that they would have 16x9 chips, come in 480p and 720p versions, etc. BTW, I am a very friendly person, even in the face of apathetic or uninformed responses to my questions, but after dealing with two RUDE RUDE RUDE Sony customer service people this week and the HO-HUM-WHY-ARE-YOU-BOTHERING-ME attitude of the lady at Infocus, I don't know whether it's worth even asking. All that really matters is CAN I BUY IT NOW? All the rest is rumor and aggravation.

Rather than crunching Xanax over this issue, I went ahead today and ordered an NEC LT 150. If I'm as pleased as Grant and Dave, then Infocus and Sony and Plus and Toshiba and all the others with new HT projectors but no reliable ETA can take all the time they like.

Mike

BTW, the June 12 Infocus press release about the 530 makes no special reference to home theater use, except for mentioning its suitability for "DVD players, HDTV, camcorders, and gaming consoles."
http://www.infocus.com/company/press...2_01_lp530.asp

The overwhelming emphasis of the release is on the machine's business applications.

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JasG

· #9 · Jul 10, 2001

It certainly sounds like Infocus has not yet officially launched their HT product.

Until they do, it is doubtful that the front line phone support folks will have much more information than folks here have gleaned from websites & Product Managers at tradeshows.

Don't be too hard on the customer service reps/techs, they are often the last to know the details of a new product.

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catullus

· #10 · Jul 10, 2001

Jon:

At THIS point you may be right. Perhaps it's simply a matter of redesignation.

But during Infocomm week an Infocus tech told me that he was not PERMITTED to discuss the HT projectors at that time, though he did know that they would be coming out. This is understandable, since the company might still have been tweaking the design and we HT fanatics ask so many spec-related questions. But we DID discuss the 530, whose specs had already been released. He made it perfectly clear to me that the HT projectors and the 530 (HT-friendly as it might be) were different products. Otherwise, why wouldn't Infocus ENCOURAGE their reps, at every station, to trumpet the arrival of the 530 to every HT fan who called them.

Mike

P.S. I know, I know, stop beating a dead horse, but I wrote down that tech's name and extension. I'm going to call him again, dang it. Let's see if he has been instructed to whistle another tune.

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rlsmith

· #11 · Jul 10, 2001

I was at Infocomm in Las Vegas and spent about 20 minutes with the Infocus product manager for the 530; this is in a previous thread that I referred to above. I am now quoting my previous post:

___quote from previous post

We also discussed the new HT machine. This machine will be very similar to the 530. It will however have the 480X848 DLP chip and will support a native 16X9 aspect ratio. It will support 480P component input however. It will be at a good price point. He says that we can expect an announcement "very soon". I suspect they would want it before CEDIA.

___

As you can see, the product manager told me that the new HT machine will be similar in appearance to the 530, but will have 16X9, and will support 480P component input (the 530 does not BTW). If you look at the infocushome.com web site, this seems to match up.

This is what I was told anyway.

Please note that it is not customary for support people to discuss new product offerings prior to official release. I think that Infocus tech support folks are pretty good, they may just not know about products beyond the 530 at this point.

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