Customer Reviews
X1 = Excellence!!! 
2004-09-15
After having replaced a fine 55" Mitsubishi HDTV with this projector, everyone who has viewed movies in my home theater can't believe the X1 sells for under $1000. Sure, it has no NTSC tuner nor any sound system worth mentioning, but that's precisely the point. All that stuff is outboard for even the most modest home theater enthusiast, and thus is redundant and unnecessary (as well all more costly) when purchasing any other type of monitor. The 7200 and 7205 are truly fine machines, but they are not worth the thousands of $$$s more than the X1, unless you are a fanatic. I still don't believe this unit performs as well as it does. DVDs explode into life and even Directv looks pretty sensational. Finally, remember the X1a and X2 do not include Farjouda processing. Big difference from my perspective. With the X1 you can't go wrong.
Home Theater Is Looking Good! 2004-08-18
The X1 projector is a great addition to my home theater. I ordered the composite adapter and DVD watching is superb. I also watch VHS tapes via the S-Video input and depending on the quality of the VHS tape, the results are unbelievable. I sold my 56" HDTV Monitor and bought the X1 and was skeptical about the claims made here at Amazon as well on the Home Shopping Network. Now that I have been using the X1 projector for the last 60 days and have gotten used to it, I don't ever plan on spending $2300 for a TV that is measured in inches and that weighs 300 pounds. I have my X1 setup in a light controlled environment in my semi finished basement and the presentation is approximately 10'x 11" diagnal, you can't get closer to the movie theater experience than that. I am using a Panasonic DVD player and a JVC amplifier for DTS, Dolby Surround, Surround 5.1 sound and 10 speakers for the audio. Like the one person's comments, I'm not a tech nut either but I know great video when I see it. There is a reason that merchandise stores display 100 TV sets on the main floor as soon as you enter the doors and hide the projectors in the back corner. Because once you have experienced the projector you will never want to spend more than twice the money on a TV that is limited in size as well as warranty care. My X1 was too easy to hook up to my DVD player, VCR (for TV channels), RCA video for the kids' Play Station 2 and amplifier. I am no longer a skeptic and when friends see the quality and size of the video of this light weight powerful unit they can't believe it. Some TV channels such as ESPN, MSNBC, TLC etc, I can watch in moderate light without any problem. I downloaded the latest software update from the http://www.infocus.com website simply by connecting my X1 to my computer and was done in no time at all. You need one of these if you enjoy home theater and for the price you can't go wrong.
The X1 really shines projecting DVD's. 2004-07-25
I bought the X1 as a business projector as well as home viewing of DVD's.
On the DVD front, this unit really really shines. I used my laptop and connected via the included vesa cable, selected the Film preset, and projected about a 70 inch diagonal image on a glass-beaded projection screen. The images were well saturated and gorgeous, as good as any movie screen.
I took the sound from my laptop headphones out jack and attached them to some Sony powered speakers and got great sound.
You will not be dissappointed with the DVD video quality of this unit, not for a moment.
People talk about seeing weird effects with the DLP processor. If you really try to analyze the heck out of the image, you might notice a little bit of slowness in the ability of the processor to keep up with fast moving images (like a person jogging across the screen). But basically, if you relax and go with the flow, you won't notice anything about the DLP image except how fantastic it looks.
Try watching "Under the Tuscan Sun" with this baby and you'll know what I mean. My girlfirend and I can't imagine what it used to be like watching movies on a normal (ie. 32 inch) tv screen. Once you've gone 70 inch diagonal (and greater, if you have room for a larger screen), you can't imagine watching video on those 40 or 50 inch little pooper screens.
As for business presentations, definitely pick another preset like Presentation. The presentation quality is good but not amazing. Probably better off with a non-DLP unit if presentations are your main bag.
Anyways, don't think a second about it. Get the X1 and never watch a DVD on a puny screen again.
know what you are getting and if its enough 2004-07-24
This projector is great for a set-up in a smaller room in which you are able to control the ambient light completely.
I bought this and use it in a studio apt. with bay windows, connected to my computer (which has a DVD player). The things I don't like are that my room is a little over 20 FT., and that makes the picture too big (you can't control the size of the image that much, its based on distance to the wall), unless I pull the unit further into the center of the room. I originally wanted to mount it on to the ceiling, but the distance is too great.
So I would recommend using it in a smaller room, about 15 ft or less.
The image quality is great for DVDs, just adequate for computer work (I'm farsighted and wanted a large screen to work on- its just not high enough res. for that.) Also, the image from a TV is not good and shows jaggy lines with the standard video in jack. I haven't found any resolution for that.
So, know what you are getting. A great home DVD theatre, but just not enough light output for daytime use, and not very good with standard TV signals, and not great for doing anything beyond simple powerpoint presentations. I would not hesitate to get a unit twice as expensive if the lumens were twice as much, there was more play in the ability to control the image size, and greater resolution than 800x600.
But again, that being said, I'm in no rush to stop inviting people over to watch movies in my own makeshift theatre!
Good Projector 2004-05-21
I am writing this, because i made my decision mainly over the others opinions and i will be very happy if i can help others with their decision. I am not an expert but i can tell you that i am very hapy with the result. My wife was very pesimistic about the idea of buying a projector but now she is also accept that result is impressive. This is my first projector and i don't think i need an upgrade for a while. I'am using it mainly for dvd. I have a 100" screen. Colours and contrast are very good but there are minor problems with dark scenes. If you want to use X1 during the day you have to have a light control because this is not a projector you can use it in a bright environment. Seting up X1 is easy. Component video is deffinitely giving the best result but s video is also not bad. For component video you have to use a special adaptor and it was difficult to find when ý bought the X1. If you can not find it you can use a VGA to 5BNC cable (like me). It can accept progressive signals but you should decide whether your source or the procector's video processing is better. X1 has a Faroudja video processing and it is very good. I know the rainbow isue is a problem with DLP projectors (Specialy projectors with 2X color wheel like X1). But i am at the lucky side. I have more than 300 hours on the lamp and neither me nor My wife or any of my friends see any rainbows yet. I think, if you don't see the rainbows you can not go wrong with this projector. Result is perfect for the price. I think this was the best 950$ i spend for my home theatre. PS: you can find lots of useful information about X1 at http://members.shaw.ca/technut/x1faq (unofficial X1 FQA page)
Awesome, when it works. 
2007-05-08
I've owned this projector for about 2 years now and I keep it in the family room where it is used daily. Like others have posted, it's an excellent projector... until that noise kicks in.
We are deciding whether or not to pay $350 for it to be fixed by our local service dealer or to buy a new HDTV.
I would say, if you buy an Infocus projector, get the X2 since this is not manufactured anymore.
That said, image quality is quite good, especially HD. For computers, it only goes up to 1024x768. When it was working, it "Wow"'d anyone who saw it and was an awesome addition to the home theater.
The best deal (or not??) 
2007-01-05
I did my homework before buying the projector and the x1 came up on top of the list. Right price, amazing picture quality and great reviews. I was impressed! So I went ahead and bought it, Jan. 2004 ($999). First bulb lasted 2000 hrs (not bad I thought), picture was great. The best deal I made! I thought. Then the noise came, a horrible grinding noise coming from the unit started right after the warranty expired. Coincidence??? Who knows! Base on what I've been reading lately it seems like more and more people are coming out with the same problem. The noise is now so loud and annoying (table-saw cutting wood) I had to stop using the projector. I wrote to Infocus but they want $259.00 without even seeing the unit. I don't think Infocus will fix it right anyways so I guess I'll be shopping for a new projector next week and it sure won't be an Infocus this time. Fool me once shame on you, full me twice shame on me. Thanks Infocus, I'm now the proud owner of a $1000 dead bat hanging on my ceiling!
Bad design, bad customer service, chainsaw noise 2006-01-01
After a lot of research we bought an X1 in July 2003 for home theatre use. For the price, you couldn't complain - we watched TV as well as movies and loved it so much that we recommended it to a friend who purchased one. About 3 weeks before the 2 year warranty expired it started getting noisy, but the problem would come and go so (regetably) we didn't act on it straight away. As it got worse we contacted Infocus who refused to do anything about it because the warranty period had expired. The noise was created by a problem with the fan that cools the colour wheel. The fan itself is probably a $20 part, but the bad design of the projector meant that you couldn't just replace the fan, but had to replace the whole colour-wheel assembly - at a cost of $1000 for the part!!! (more than the cost of the projector). A few months after the noise started the globe exploded. Needless to say, we are now in the market for a new projector and its not likely to be an Infocus model.
no better projector for the money 2005-10-31
Anyone who is considering buying a projector but doesnt want to spend their life savings should definitely look into the X1. The faroujda processor is used through the S-video and composite connections and makes even the most modest DVD player look amazing. for an SVGA player, this machine is absolutely amazing. Don't waste your money buying a more expense projector, unless you are an absolute perfectionist you wont notice the difference. By the way, firmware for the Infocus 4800 can be downloaded onto the X1 for greater availability to adjust the picture (dont send in your projector with the different firmware though or they will void the warranty).
SD cable will look good, but it is definitely worth it to kick down a couple bucks to get HDTV. WOW! what a picture
Get the new X1 upgrade ....screenplay 4805 
2004-09-16
I'm planning to get this projector but I found out Infocus repackaged this x1 for the consumer market called the "Screenplay 4805", it's basically the x1 with newly added upgrade extra features. The best place you can get is not online but at Costco for only $1300 with a FREE 72" screen included....what a steal...where can u get a projector with a free screen....wow!
-DJ
