Well-Priced Home-Theater Projectors

Sub-$2000 digital projectors for home-theater use are finally hitting the shelves. I looked at InFocus's digital $1699 X1, which the company says can be used for business, school, or home; but at 6.8 pounds it's pretty heavy to cart around. Philips's older but superb LC6231, meanwhile, has dropped in price to $1999.

In my tests, the affordable X1 produced good images from video piped directly into the unit from a DVD player. The quality of images tested through a PC by our lab, however, was mediocre for both text and graphics--and that's a problem if you intend to use the X1 for business. This projector works with a 2000-to-1 contrast ratio and has a lamp life rated at 3000 hours.

In operation, the X1 creates 37 decibels of fan noise--tolerable for business or school applications, but subpar for home-theater use. The LC6231, by comparison, produces a whisper-quiet 27 decibels of fan noise.

The X1's fan noise was moderately bothersome, but not so distracting that it spoiled my movie watching. If the projector were mounted on the ceiling, I doubt noise would be an issue at all.

As for imaging, the X1 uses Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing dual-mode technology, designed to generate brighter and crisper images than an LCD projector like the Philips can. It also incorporates Faroudja's Directional Correctional Deinterlacing technology to keep contrast high and colors stable.

When I viewed movies, the X1's images had crisp edges and smooth texturing, but contrast was a problem and required more fiddling with controls than I would have liked. The X1 has standard composite video and S-Video inputs, but lacks component video inputs, which evidently is a cost-cutting measure.

Persnickety home-theater shoppers can do better than the X1, if they're willing to pay more. For the rest of us, the unit's multiuse attributes and decent home-theater imaging make it worth considering.

SUMMARY

InFocus X1 Great price and multiuse attributes, but picky home-theater shoppers can do better--for more money. List: $1699