 ProjectorCentral Reviews |
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Awesome Home Theater for under $5,000 - Apr 12, 2002
Recommended Home Theater Projectors - Feb 5, 2002
InFocus ScreenPlay 110 - Feb 5, 2002
CES 2002: Report from Las Vegas - Jan 12, 2002
| ProjectorCentral User Opinions |
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| User Reviews |
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David Beckemeyer - Apr 2, 2002
| Application: |
Home Theater |
| What I Like: |
Video quality is great, especially colors. I like the small size and light weight. |
| Comments: |
The quaility and reliability has been terrible. Please avoid this product. Infocus doesn't seem to have the bugs worked out for the home market yet. It is unreliable and they are unable to diagnose or solve the problems. It has been out of service more than it has been in use. Infocus has made my HT experience a nightmare, a very expensive nightmare. |
Jim Wade - Mar 25, 2002
| Application: |
Home Theater |
| What I Like: |
I am writing this review because I feel like I need to give back something to this web site. I am a
professor at a medical school and love data. I am rather obsessive and like to review throughly
a product before purchasing it. I knew very little about home theater projectors which made me
uncomfortable spending several thousand dollars on a projector, especially since there were
so many alternatives to choose from. I started my journey by reading magazines and doing
web based searches. Doing the web searches frequently turned up the web site, "projector central."
I was blown away by the amount of free information there. I studied the reviews, and the specs provided
on the projectors. I reviewed what were listed as the "most popular" projectors. In many
instances, all data sources pointed to the Infocus LS 110 or what is also know as the
ScreenPlay. I saw a review in PC World and a business magazine, but by far projector
centrals review of the projector was the most intensive. The reader is encouraged if you
have not done so already, to read over this review. It provides you with the technical data
on the workings of this projector. In my review I will give you a straight word from
the end user's point of view. Okay, the editors at this web site would like me to use this
section to tell you what I like about the projector. The only other projector I have regularly
used is the Toshiba VPL 21. I often use projectors when teaching at the medical school. The
Infocus is slightly less bright (1300 v. 1000 Lumens) then the Toshiba. In my family room though
with ambient light lowered the LS 110 does just fine. I have used as video sources: Direct TV
Satelite, VHS video cassette, and DVD (coming from - and don't laugh - my kids Sony Playstation 2).
I project the image on to the DaLite Versatol 70 x 70 screen. I find the LS 110 unforgiving.
What I mean by this is that it is incredibly accurate in its image rendering. On my Proscan TV
all DTV images (using S video connections) are esentially the same quality image. Not so with
the LS 110. I learned that there is significant variablility between channels within the same
source (e.g., DTV). The good news is that with a good source (not DTV shows of childrens
content - i.e., noggin), the picture is excellent. I watched a DVD through the PlayStation 2 that
I got from the local library and I could see individual hairs on the singers head. The LS 110 is
light and relatively compact. It weighs a shade under 7 pounds. It comes with a module that
snaps on the back to allow for component video inputs and several addtional computer inputs.
You don't need to use this extra module at all if you run S video or composite connectors.
Incidently, on e-bay I see that folks sell the additional source module for about $100. You
don't need to buy it as it comes bundled for free with the projector. Also, with the projector is a
soft carrying case, a remote, and several connector cables (6 feet in length). Another thing I like
about the LS 110 is it's price. To get the quality of this projectors image, along with the
versatility in terms of source material signal it will accept (see projector centrals review)
a few years ago you would be talking of a projector costing at least 3 times its price.
I found the best place to buy the LS 110 is off e-bay. There are several vendors that are selling
it as "buy now" at about $3800. You don't have to spend the $4800. that many of the
web based folks are asking. The noise level of the machine pretty low. Indeed this weekend
I began placing the projector on the coffe table right next to me. Once the sound of the
show began I forgot about the projector. |
| Suggestions: |
The projector central review raised the issue of light emitting from the unit. I also found this to
be the case. The projector's fan displaces the heat through the front grill. Through these
ventilation slots light from inside the unit leaks. In my family room I did not find this to
influence the brightness of the screen image. The reviewer also found that the menu
navigation was cumbersome, and that the unit would not respond to remote selections
if the remote signal was bounced off the projection screen. I did not find this to be the case
with my unit. It has relaibly responded to remote control input that is bounced off the projection
screen. I do agree that the menu navigation is a little cumbersome. There are menus that are
three levels deep. One final note, the air displaced from the unit by its fan smells like burning
insulation. My wife and kids smelled this odor and asked me if everything was alright with the
projector. My hunch that this is entirely normal. Indeed with time I bet this order goes away
(as it does from the underside of a new car). |
| Comments: |
I want to point out in this fast changing world of projectors that this review was written on
3/25/02. At press time the LS 110 appears to be the projector to beat for the price/performance
ratio. The bottom line is that after two weeks of viewing (about 30 hours) I would do the deal
again.
Jim Wade |
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