The manual zoom control has only a rather modest 1.2x range of adjustment, providing a throw ratio of between 1.85:1 and 2.22:1. It’s therefore important to consider where you want to mount the projector and your desired screen size before purchase. If you have a small room, you may not be able to get the picture big enough. At 476 x 148 x 432mm, the projector itself is pretty large and could easily dominate a room.
A distinct lack of control buttons on the projector body means you’ll be using the remote control to carry out most tasks. Infocus has paid considerable attention to the design of the controller, which has an expensive two-tone gloss black and silver look and a soft blue glow illuminates the buttons so you can use it easily when the room lights have been dimmed.
However, the projected 'on-screen' menus themselves are a little disappointing. Small, grey, word-heavy dialog boxes pop down from the top left corner of the screen with a distinct lack of descriptive icons. You won’t be spending a lot of time in the menus though, because compared to many projectors there are relatively few options to get to grips with here.
InFocus has given considerable attention to the remote control
For example, we’re used to seeing image presets for various view modes, such as “Cinema”, “PC” and “Video”, which are absent on the X10. However, once you’ve set up the picture to your liking you can create up to three presets of your own.
Of course, there’s much more to a pleasing picture than a high pixel count. We want 1080p in order to get the best possible quality from our Blu-ray Discs, but a poor 1080p projector can easily be outclassed and out-priced by a good 720p model – especially if your screen size isn’t large and you’re not sitting with your nose pressed up against it.
Bearing this in mind, we weren’t sure what to expect from the X10. Thankfully, we were very pleasantly surprised. The picture quality is pretty good. It’s sharp and vivid, although perhaps lacking a little of the subtlety found on more expensive projectors.
COMMENTS
Re: Have you ever heard of the Optoma HD800X?!
Agreed - i'd emailed similar comments to this to the author this morning, no reply or change in article. Seems very strange that even casual research would not bring this up, and makes me wonder if this is based on a recycled press release..
@Peter Kay
Good to see another CRT owner on here. I got a Barco Graphics 808s for $400 last year - utterly black blacks, fantastic shadow detail, and gorgeous colors with some modded color-filtered lenses. And it'll keep on truckin' for another six or seven thousand hours or so, I'd guess - dirt cheap to buy, dirt cheap to run, and will handle pretty much the same resolutions as anything. Love it, love it, love it.
Then again, it's taken me 18+ months to learn how to set it up and I'm still not done. :)
@Luna
It looks like both the X10 and the HD70 have a 4x colour wheel, so the rainbow effect is reduced. I remain a little sceptical though despite the fact it's been some time since I've watched a 1 chip DLP and the colour wheel I saw was undoubtedly much slower. The statement is always that certain people see 'the occasional rainbow' - a few years back I was shown a demo of the batplane sequence in Batman (Tim Burton version) and it wasn't 'occasionally' - it was a rainbow every couple of seconds.
Have you ever heard of the Optoma HD800X?!
"Full HD is what we all want, but until the release of the X10 from InFocus, a projector capable of displaying a full 1080p image would have cost you the proverbial arm and a leg."
The first sentence gives away this badly researched review already, the Optoma HD800X 1080p DLP projector has been available for the best part of a year even in the UK, for just above 900 quid and with a 6 speed colour wheel which all but eliminates rainbow effect and has gotten very good reviews all over the net.
But if you search for Optoma or HD800X on TheReg you get no results...
@Peter Kay
When I decided I wanted to go the PJ route poor color reproduction, DLP rainbow or LCD screen-door effects were among my biggest worries. I couldn't (and still can't) afford a top of the line unit so it was either bottom of the crop or a ~36" LCD. I finally pulled the plug and got a 720p HD70 for a whopping $920 and ya know what, I couldn't be happier. Well I suppose I could actually as I'm sure a $5k PJ would have been even more awesome, with many more features. Would-have could-have should-have - fact is I don't have that big a coin to drop.
Ever since I got it set up my house is fairly often used for movie-nights and none of my friends or family ever complain. Of anything. I don't see any rainbows and no one else ever did, the colors may not be 100% true, but what is true anyway?
I would agree with you to the extent that HQ = money and if you were watching the likes of the X10 and some high priced, high quality unit side by side it would likely be a no-brainer verdict, but in the absence of that, the only question is do you like what you (can) have - I do. I certainly prefer it to a 50" plasma which is not only twice as expensive but in my case less than half picture size. So when my bulb finally gives up the ghost I may well go for the 1080p X10.
