4805

[rookie]

Hello,

I was thinking about getting the Infocus 4805. I question that I have is.... Front projection VS LCD rear projection VS Plasma . Will a front projection produce the same image quality while watching a High-definition station or playing a DVD

Thanks Ron

[rookie]

I'm guessing this a stupid question??

[Nick M]

I'll try and help out.

First off the 4805 cannot display high definition video. It has a native resolution of 480p, whereas HD resolution comes in at either 720p or 1080i depending on who you get the definition from. Therefore if you attempt to feed a 720p or 1080i resolution image to it, the 4805 will degrade the high-rez video to 480p.

Plasma will be the brightest of the three in a sunlit room, front-projection will give you the biggest image for the $ but you will need a fairly dark/shaded room and with the 4805 the detail maxes out at 480p, and rear-projection LCD is halfway between the two. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. You should read some other posts to get an idea of these, and go see for yourself about the rear-projection and plasmas at any big chain electronics dealer.

Good luck.

[George Bellefontaine]

Ron, I have owned RPTV and Front Projection at the same time. The best way I can describe the two is that Front Projection is very much like the cinema experience, while the smaller 40 to 70 " RPTVs tend to look like video. Now high definition will certainly change that, so I guess it's a matter of how big a picture do you want. For the really big cinema experience of say an 8 to 12 foot screen it will certainly have to be front projection.

As Nicholas said, the 4805 does not have hidef resolution, but it certainly has the dvd res and some owners claim a hidef picture looks amazing on their 4805.

[Dean McManis]

Rookie,

I think that you need to try and see the 4805's picture yourself.
Outside of a tiny few super-expensive displays, most every display has to downconvert 1080i to match the display's native resolution.

Plasma displays are cool, but they are pricey for the image size.

LCD and DLP rear projectors (like plasma displays and tube TVs) have built-in tuners and are more like a traditional TV.

But there is a huge advantage of screen size with a front projector in terms of cinematic impact.

You need more room light control with a front projector, and a unit like the 4805 is limited to it's 480p native panel resolution, even with HDTV input. But you might be surprised how good 480p can look, even blown up big. :T

If you think that you will be watching a good deal of HDTV material in the future, you might want to pay a couple hundred dollars more for the 1280 X 720P native Infocus SP5000 (that's what I bought). But the 4805 has a surprisingly good picture quality, and you should take a look at it yourself if possible.

-Dean.