Infocus 7210

[Appleseed]

If anyone is interested, this is up for a limited time or untill they sell out which ever comes first I guess.



linky

Warranty: Two-Years Projector, 90-Days Lamp

Features:

HDTV-ready DLP projector (digital TV reception requires a separate HDTV tuner)
Widescreen 16:9 native aspect ratio (can also display 4:3 material)
0.8 720p DarkChip? 3 from Texas Instruments®
Native resolution: 1280×720 (720p)
Faroudja FLI2310 DCDi de-interlacer with 3-2 pulldown processing
Contrast ratio: 2800:1 (full on/off)
Light output: 1100 ANSI lumens
Auto-calibrating 7-segment, 5x-speed color wheel
Pre-calibrated to 6500K
Digital keystone correction (±20° vertical, ±9° horizontal)
Maximum Screen Size: 132?
Reverse image settings for ceiling mounting and rear projection
Compatible with NTSC, PAL, SECAM, PAL-M or PAL-N signals
Custom-designed all-glass Carl Zeiss optics
1.25X manual zoom/focus lens (long-throw)
220W/250W dual-mode UHP lamp (3000-hour rated life for 220W setting, 2000 hours for 250W)
Lamp (dual mode): 220-Watt UHP (3000 hours); 250-Watt UHP (2000 hours)
Actual lamp life may vary based on the ambient environment. Conditions that may affect lamp life include temperature, altitude, and rapidly switching the projector on and off.
Illuminated remote control
13-1/4?W x 4-1/4?H x 12-1/2?D
weight: 9.5 lbs.
Video inputs:

1 composite video
2 S-video
2 HD-compatible component video (accepts 1080i/720p/480p/480i signals)
1 ?M1-DA? (compatible with HDMI, DVI-HDCP, RGB analog, or component ? each requires an adapter cable)
1 HD15 (compatible with HDTV RGB, component or computer signals)
1 D5 component (compatible with HDTV, EDTV, standard TV sources, and, with an adapter, RGB SCART)
RS-232 port
Two 12-volt minijack trigger outputs (to operate an electric screen)

Infocus website linky #2 still listed for $2999

Reviews:
Projectorcentral
Hometheatermag
Ultimateavmag
Hometheaterspot

 

[Appleseed]

Wow, I really though there would be more interest than this. It's still available if anyone is interested.

 

[Tomer]

Well, it is a hell of a price on a great unit. I already have a 4805 which kicks arse, but is of course, DVD resolution only. The kicker for me is all I watch on my FP SDTV (ugh) and DVD's so an HD FP really does me no good at this juncture.

That said, I thought long and hard about upgrading anyway, but am concerned about InFocus not honoring their warranty if purchased through WOOT.

Not saying they wouldn?t, but I know they are very picky about "Authorized Dealers"

?PlayBig dealers are trained and authorized by InFocus.
This list of dealers purports to sell the Play Big line but is not authorized
by InFocus. InFocus Play Big products sold by unauthorized dealers are not under warranty by InFocus Corp.?

 

[bgudu]

thanks op

 

[Appleseed]

Ok I can understand your pause to get this for those reasons. There is no need for concern for SD though as the 7210 has the same deinterlacer that the 4805 has... Faroudja. Now for the warrenty.... well I'm happy to announce that Woot is an authorized reseller for Infocus. Also on warrenties if you are going to get this I would also recomend getting an extended warrenty for the bulb for about $80+ more. A very good investment indeed.


Link for Bulb warrenty.

 

[Kyle]

How does that work -purchasing a warrenty through a diff. place than where you buy the projector? It would still be valid?
I've been seriously considering purchasing a projector in this price range, and it seems like this would be a good choise...Combine this with that screen from hot deals under $200 and that's a pretty cheap replacement to my 56" RPTV that just crapped out on me...

 

[Tomer]

Well, after 4 days of trying to get confirmation on WOOT's status as an authorized reseller I give up.

I mailed WOOT and got the exact response I expected, none. I E-mail InFocus and got the same response, none. I called InFocus twice. Once she was calling me back, never did. Next time semi-Indian guy stumbled around, threw me on hold for 10 minutes, stammered back and told me they were not, but I am not confident with his answer.

I'm trying once more this afternoon, then I give up.

Small rant: These places *want* you to use E-mail and I respect that from a business standpoint, yet they never answer you E-mails or do so weeks or months after you send it. I, literally, got a response to a somewhat urgent (needed response within 7 days) E-mail inquiry from one company a full 2 months after I sent it. Are they fuggin kidding me??

 

[fleshconsumed]

I'm curious, how does this compare to Mitsubishi HD1000/HC1500? I was under impression that Mitsubishi units are better ranked and they can be bought under $1K from several major retailers? This is a truly honest question as I'm looking into projectors, what does this Infocus unit has to offer what HD1000/HC1500 don't?

 

[kki000]

man, i remember when the 7200 was 10 grand. Then the 7205 came and the 7200 was on sale for like 7995!!

As for the differences from the mits, hard to say. The infocus pj is from a line that originally was priced 5k+, while the mits is a purpose built product to crack the 1k market. Im not sure if you'll actually see any differences on the screen, but there are some in the actual hw.

The Darkchip3 is the best of the 720p class chips and is technically better than the dc2 in the mits.
The infocus also doesnt have a clear section in the color wheel, that should give it a small edge in absolute black. The clear section is added to improve the brightness in the mits, but the infocus was widely considered a light canon in its class anyway.

As mentioned, the infocus should have better scaling due to its integrated faroudja chip.

So all things considered the infocus is the winner on paper anyway.
This is a hot deal...

 

[kki000]

review

It's hard not to recommend the 7210. At $6,999, it is so much cheaper than its competitors, you really can't put it in the same category.

They do fault the lack of an iris, but nothing sub 1k has one now anyway...

 

[Katana]

Here is a mini review posted on avs:

Hi,

Murphy talked to me and said he was being bombarded with questions on the 7210 and asked if I could write some Pros and Cons on it to answer some questions.

First, use the following link and see if the PJ will work for your situation. The minumum ceiling to screen is based off the Infocus mount. You can get other mounts that can get the PJ closer to the ceiling by at least 2". So figure than distance off the mount you plan to use. Also, I wouln't use 1000 lumens but probably 500 would be fine for calculations using its best mode.

http://www.infocus.com/upload/librar...culator_en.xls

Murphy asked me to compare this to a few other PJs he has been getting questions on. He asked me to compare this PJ with: Sharp 12KII, Marantz VP4001, Mits 1500 and Sammy 710, since I have used all of the PJs. I'd say that this in a different league than the Mits or VP4001 and not worth comparing. You can may find a couple things those do better but as an overall PJ they are not as good.

The 7210 really has a totally different design goal than the Sharp 12KII. The Sharp will give better picture quality with smaller screens and a very dark light controlled room. The Sharp can use high power mode and open the Iris to get some of the brightness the 7210 has but it loses it other advantages in those modes. The Sammy is in the middle.

In a nutshell. If you want a bigger screen or watch with some ambient light the 7210 will trump the Sharp.

I'll make another comment on the 7210. If I were to demo the 7210, 12KII, and Sammy 710 side by side to 100 average researched consumers 90+ of them would pick the 7210. It's only us last <10% that might pick one of the other PJs. By researched consumers I mean somebody that might browse these forums and read some reviews, not debate every aspect of PQ and live on these forums like we do

Black Level:
For you black level addicts this PJ isn't for you. It does do very good blacks but not as dark as the 12KII but better than the Sammy 710. Of course the 12KII is not even close in brightness. The Sammy 710 is in the middle.

Contrast:
It might not have the best on/off contrast ratio but has a very respectable ANSI contrast. No projector can achieve the deepest blacks and brightest whites at the same time. It is much easier to lower the black level to achieve higher on/off CR number.

If I were designing a PJ and wanted to double on/off CR on a PJ it would be much easier to add an iris and cut my black level by half than to double the brightness of the PJ. What I am trying to say is specs don't tell the whole story and really only worthwhile if they are done on calibrated machines by the same person in the exact same conditions. Most people will be thrilled with the contrast on this PJ.

Brightness:
This is one of the brightest PJs around when calibrated and probably nothing else comes close at this price. Bright can be very addicting.

Colors:
Very good colors, very slightly oversaturated but not objectionable. Grayscale is very close out of the box. Color decoder is excellent. Most will enjoy the 'Pop' this PJ provides. The darker green segment really helps with dark areas.

Noise level:
I haven't heard this cycle like the reviewer from PJ central stated. Maybe that was with older firmware or the temperature sensor was kicking it up into high fan mode. It is one of the noisier PJs compared to the others listed. I would probably find it objectionable if mounted directly over my head, otherwise you'll notice it only until the picture starts. Not as loud as the older 7200 or 4805 for comparison.

Processing:
I like the Faroudja processing for SD and for 480i this PJ does a great job. A 720 signal is obviously this PJ's preferred signal. 1080i deinterlacing isn't as good as some of the newer processors like Pixelworks DNX, HQV or Gennum. It does have a variable speed color wheel to lock onto different frame rates. The average Joe would probably never notice the differences but videophiles might consider a Blue Ray or HD-DVD player with better processing capabilities.

Lens:
Very good quality lens and one of the areas the less expensive PJs can't compare. On par with Shap 12KII and Sammy 710.

Sharpness:
This PJ is verys sharp. On par with the Sharp 12KII and Sammy 710.

Aesthetics:
Looks like an older business projector. It definitely takes last place in this category compared to the others.

Value:
This is an excellent deal for this level of performance! I am amazed at some of the deals lately and this has to be one of the better ones.

Hope this helps.

Bob

If I had the money right now I'd be all over this. You really can't beat this projector at this price range.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Hmmm, I did a search for replacement light bulbs and light bulbs for InFocus are significantly more expensive and less available than for Mitsu units...