[jenspetermeyer]

I've heard good things about this projector. How does it work for HDTV and will it do 16:9?


Before I buy, I'd like to hear from people that own it or have used it before. thanks


**Please do not post prices or "where to buy"**

Also, just run a search. You'll find more than enough X1 discussion.

 

[sonicflood]

You may want to visit Technut Canadas (member here) FAQ:

X1 FAQ


There are numerous threads on the X1.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/find.gif if your friend!


It's a great projector. Also check out the BenQ PB6100. 1500 lumens, 3x color wheel & auto sensing inputs.


Sonicflood

 

[dmcdayton]

I demo'd X1 as proof to my wife that a projector was the way to go (she had a very negative opinion of PJ based on several expensive LCD PJs we demod at AV shop). Well she watched 2 movies that night plus HDTV till 2am (unheard of). I had picked up an HD box from Time Warner digital. We loved the images on HD as well as DVD..we immediately stopped considering RPTV (size does matter). Resolution doesn't seem as important as contrast to my wife (who wouldn't know a pixel if it poked her in the eye). Her untrained eye immediately equated "contrast" with high price. She laughed when I told her how much the X1 was.


All that being said, we noticed things we didn't like and can afford to spend more money to eliminate: light spill, bars at top and bottom for 16:9, requires adapters for VGA-SVideo input, rainbows on some material, noise. If we were on a stricter budget we would stop with X1 ....but if you can afford more then there are newer PJs coming out that seem like they will overcome some of these limitations at a reasonable price...I hope, I hope.


Read these forums through, they are a treasure trove.

 

[TimB]

Quote:

The video output from a DVD is basically 640x480 so, if you think about it the 800x600 of the X1 doesn't help that much. Pictures are always sharper in "Native" mode, with 1:1 pixel mapping. "Interpolating" to 800x600 gives a fuzzy picture and it makes sense -- it is not an even multiple of 640x480...

Well, yes and no. You're only going to use the full 600 lines in 4:3 material. A 16:9 movie is only going to use 450 lines of that. You can scale the 480 to 450, or some PJ's (don't know about X1 specifically) will just crop the other 30 lines from the bottom and/or top and display the remaining 450 at 1:1 (AFAIK - I'm a bit of a newb in digital myself)

 

[ChrisDuncan]

I think it's an excellent projector. Had I spent too much time reading about rainbows before I was ready to buy, though, I would have been hesitant to pull the trigger. Luckily, I never see rainbows, and as far as I know noone else watching with me has either. If I didn't know better, I'd get the impression that rainbows are almost inevitable and that the picture is inferior. But that's definitely not the case.

I think forum members whose post counts exceed their projector hours are not to be trusted. I value the opinions of people who actually wrack up some serious hours on their projector more than the "strange Golem-like creatures" who would rather discuss "PJs" and constantly scrutinize the picture quality than watch sports and movies.

 

[Joseph B]

FWIW, I've owned my X1 since October 2003 and still consider it to be the best "bang for the buck" entertainment value that I've ever spent my money on. Every time my family gathers to view an anamorphic DVD, as presented by this little gem, we truly feel as though we're "at the movies"!


We use ours for the display of DVDs' exclusively, since we don't have access to a HD source at the moment. This will change in February when our cable company finally starts feeding us some of the HD channels. We're really looking forward to see what the X1 will do with that kind of source material!


Rainbows? When we first purchased the pj we noticed them on some of the darker movies with a "moving" very bright background. It was never a big deal since it might affect perhaps one or two scenes in a typical movie. Just as others have reported here, after about two weeks we stopped seeing them altogether; and now see only a crisp sharp picture with (typically) better contrast than what we see at the real theater!

 

[fishhead65]

I use my X1 for HDTV via DIshnetwork. The PQ IMO is awesome. I'm sure it would be better with a high res projector, but everybody who see's HD stuff on my 80 x 45 screen says WOW! thats an amazing picture!, And it does 16:9 for HD stuff. SDTV will just be strecthed to fit. I can't wait until Dish starts adding more HD channels to their lineup. I haven't demoed other proj. but for under $1000, you wouldnt be making a mistake IMO.


BTW I don't see the pixels on HD stuff until I'm about 3 or 4 feet away!

 

[x-ming]

I sit about 10 ft away from 100" screen and can see pixels very clear. had to defocus a little, which mad image softer, but after a while I got used to it.


I only use it for DVD. HD is not as clear as my 53" Panny RPTV because of the low resolution, so I still use the RPTV for cable.


only saw rainbow once.


Tim, X1 crops 854x480 to 800x450 for anamorphic DVD to keep 1:1 mapping, as X1 faq points out.

 

[klipsch]

Absolutely love it. Rainbows have been overkilled to no end. If you are scared then go and demo the projector or a DLP equivalent. I use it for dvd's, pc and xbox gaming, and tv. I have only seen WM9 version of HD on the projector and it looks great.


I purchased mine when the rebate was going on for $900. I am in college and paying my way through by working as well. Money is tight and $900 is a big chunk of change for me, but there has never been a second guess for me. There is nothing like sitting back and relaxing to a big beautiful image after a long day at work and class with some friends.


I have about 350 hours on the bulb since May 2003. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I second sonicflood and urge you to use search to find more info about the projector and technut's FAQ is always recommended (although I've never read it).

 

[kingnick]

Have about 300 hours on my x-1 and love it. As was said before best bang for the buck I've spent on a/v equipment. I think the combination of the x-1 with a htpc is a great way to go (if you don't mind fooling with computers). I run a myhd md120 card and use the htpc to tune basic cable and ota dtv. Watch one football game in hd and you will be hooked. Basically, if you've decided on fp and the x-1 has the connections to go with your gear I doubt you will regret not spending more $ on something else.

 

[mpilon]

Quote:

Originally posted by SportyBry I bought it while still learning about HT. The video output from a DVD is basically 640x480 so, if you think about it the 800x600 of the X1 doesn't help that much. Pictures are always sharper in "Native" mode, with 1:1 pixel mapping. "Interpolating" to 800x600 gives a fuzzy picture and it makes sense -- it is not an even multiple of 640x480... Now, I'm not saying DON'T buy it - I love mine. It's just that 1280x960 would probably be a more useful size or, failing that, 1024x768. I watch "bad" source material in "native" mode, so it is important when you set up your HT to be able to get a decent sized picture at 640x480 resolution too -- keep this in mind when calculating your throw distance for projector mounting... -Sporty

Sigh.


let's take this one slowly, and from the top:

on the X1, 640 pixels wide scales nicely to 800 -wide.


pictures aren't always sharper in 'native' mode because 'native' on the X1 isn't

native. NTSC pixels aren't square while X1/SVGA pixels are, so (I believe) a light horizontal scale is applied in native mode -- scaling is still done.


[ let's leave SWAGs about 'interpolation' alone ... the pixelworks scaler in the X1 in fact works very well.]


I too use native mode for bad sources. I've had to do it maybe 3 times in the past year;. all the rest I use 4:3 or 16:9.


("other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?")


my .0002 is that the X1 is a _great_ entertainment deal. strongly recommended.


Mark

 

[doubleJ]

I like my x1 for the price. If you're looking for a

 

[dmcdayton]

Quote:

I think forum members whose post counts exceed their projector hours are not to be trusted. I value the opinions of people who actually wrack up some serious hours on their projector more than the "strange Golem-like creatures" who would rather discuss "PJs" and constantly scrutinize the picture quality than watch sports and movies.

-ChrisDuncan


"Strange Golem-like creatures"?? Thanks! Didn't know there was a threshold required before offering opinion. I see you've met yours.


jenspetermeyer:

Buy one and return it if you don't like it. Circuit City/Best Buy both carry it so unless geography prohibits you can judge for yourself. My wife and I saw rainbows on Men in Black II (before I ever logged into AVS Forum to find out about rainbows) but enjoyed several other movies without issue...even with dislikes we thought it was very enjoyable and much better than LCD.

 

[matzamiller]

Love it, as many people say it is a good bang for the buck. On my limited budget the X1 works fine (I'm a relative noob) for DVD and Xbox. I've even watched some regular cable, and while it is not great, for the odd time it is watchable. (I do shrink the size though to make it a bit easier on the eye) I don't think many people give it the credit it deserves for it's menu driven control system, I find it very logical and easy to use, 5 mins out of the box and I'm watching movies and tweaking to my hearts content!!!!

Just my opinion.

 

[celticwolf]

I Have 1475 hours on mine and I just cant watch the old Sony 27" TV, that I put in the bedroom anymore. My GF had it on the other night and I just couldnt believe that I used that TV as my primary entertainment device for 5 years. It was so puny.


I use my X1 for everything, it is my computer monitor, my TV, and my Movies (VHS, DVD, LD).


I will never purchase a "TV" again.

 

[Malcolm_B]

I'm in the "It's the best I could afford at the time and I'm loving it" camp. I do see getting something better in the future, but it's been worth every cent so far!

 

[Zook250]

If you like watching movies and sports for the stories and action, you cant beat it. better color and depth than i could have imagined for the price.


if you watch movies and sports to count pixels etc, then maybe somthing a bit better would suite you.


i wouldnt buy anything better at the moment because i think that if i spent another $2000.00 to upgrade, the picture wouldnt be $2000.00 better.


i love mine.

 

[Cyrano]

Quote:

Originally posted by mpilon Sigh. Pictures aren't always sharper in 'native' mode because 'native' on the X1 isn't native. NTSC pixels aren't square while X1/SVGA pixels are, so (I believe) a light horizontal scale is applied in native mode -- scaling is still done. I too use native mode for bad sources. I've had to do it maybe 3 times in the past year;. all the rest I use 4:3 or 16:9. my .0002 is that the X1 is a _great_ entertainment deal. strongly recommended. Mark

Mark said it correctly, I believe. I use Native Aspect about the same amount as him. There is always horizontal scaling happening. That is the nature of the beast. The vertical scaling that occurs for 4:3 is pretty invisible. I use a Faroudja based DVD player in computer mode 95% of the time.


The X1 is an excellent machine at 1.5 times its price, at least. It really does a beautiful job. Do the Infocus free inhome demo - details in Technut's X1 FAQ.


Good luck

 

[jabbermacy]

I got my 4800 a couple weeks ago. Immediately my dad wanted to check it out. Next week my dad (who is the 'pinch a nickel till the buffalo screams' kind of parent) orders a full blown surround system and an X1. For me, that's all the evidence I need

 

[hardwired]

The thing that bugs me about the X1 is that it's only SVGA, which is great for dvd but doesn't really cut the mustard for HDTV as x-ming has alluded to.


Is their a PJ that does XGA with the same desirable traits (good CR, scaler, and relatively low noise) as the X1 for a few hundred more? When will we see the more HD desirable WXGA 16:9 DLP stuff hit the $1500 mark?