Infocus IN76 or Screenplay 5700

[Rocket47]

Hi All,
My first post.
Am setting up a Home Theatre (dedicated room) in a new house that is almost completed.
We were set on the Infocus SP5700 until last week when the local dealer advertised the arrival of the new Infocus Projectors. Basically we will get an Infocus but was after some advice.
It's around 5K for 5700, HD STB and 82in screen as the 5700 is the last one and a demo model but only used for about 20hrs.
IN76 is more expensive, with the STB and 92in screen we are looking at around 7.4K but really, we have a HD STB already so could do without that.
Comparing the two on the weekend, the IN76 has much more detail, especially in dark scenes (we demo'd on a 100in screen approx) and much smoother motion, viewing the same scene a few minutes apart in different rooms with the same light, or lack of light level. I wasn't sure whether the 5700 had a bit more depth apparrant but we did look at the IN72, IN74 in between. I think I might have made up my mind and it might be the IN76 for the HD compatibility.
Whichever one we get will be fed by a Marantz DV9500 DVD Player, Super VHS VCR, TEAC HD STB initially but am trying to buy for the future. I really am not interested in gaming or xBox.
The only thing that disturbed me slightly about the IN76 is that it looked as though the resolution was so damn good that it was possible to pick out the 'blocking' that is used in dark areas of commercial DVD's (presumably to save space where the viewer is supposed to not be able to tell the difference. I could not see this on the 5700 but of course, there wasn't as much detail in the dark areas - for instance when Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConnaghy are inspecting the below decks of La Amistad in Amistad. This might just be a crappy DVD master for all I know. Played some scenes from the West Wing where Bartlett (Sheen) is speaking to a crowd in the West and there are balloons in the background - they actually looked like rubber ie the shiny/matt sort of look and looked round which I guess answers the depth question.
Anyway, sorry for the long post but am really interested in poeples opinion because I would like to put the deposit down this week. (by the way, dealer advises that since we will be using a smaller screen than their demo room, digital blocking should not be as evident and of course, will dissappear on HD material). Rest of system is B&W Matrix 800, Boston Accoustics and Musical Fidelity. Many Thanks.

[bob corb]

The IN76 has a much higher contrast ratio than the 5700 so it has more definition in the lower grey black region. The IN76 looks a little costed down on paper (no faroudja processor and only the same colour wheel as the 5700) but apparently works very well (the new darkchip panel performs very well by the sound of it). There's no way I'd pay that kind of cash for a used 5700. You can get a factory repack 7200 (HD version of the 5700) on Ebay for under £800 and if you apply in less than 90 days (and pay£85) you can get a full extended 12 month warranty). You can also get a repack 7210 for under £2000 which will knock them all into a cocked hat.

I think your right to go with the IN76. What sort of connection were they using? A lot of folk claim that HDMI can give too honest a presentation and that component is more forgiving. Also the 5700 may have been running in native resolution i.e. 570 odd lines on a DVD picture exactly matching the resolution of the DLP panel, whereas the IN76 will be upscalling which will add interpolation errors/noise. I've never put the two side by side but it doesn't bother me, I'm just looking forward to HD arriving.

[Jim McC]

Rocket47, how was the fan noise on the IN76? A lot of people at Avsforum.com are complaining about the IN76 having loud fan noise, and cycling between high and low speeds. Thanks.

[WaveyDavey]

Originally Posted by bob corb

You can get a factory repack 7200 (HD version of the 5700) on Ebay for under £800 and if you apply in less than 90 days (and pay£85) you can get a full extended 12 month warranty). You can also get a repack 7210 for under £2000 which will knock them all into a cocked hat.

Could you provide a link to these 'factory repack' PJ's?

thanks

[bob corb]

I got my LP7200 from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/LuzernTech, it was just an impulse purchase but its paid off. I love it.

They are a certified Infocus reseller and you can check them out on their normal website http://www.luzernsolutions.com/solut...ontent=clients

I got my 106" screen from them too (its an Infocus screen so I figured it would be designed to match the PJ).

They deal with enquiries via email mainly but I did get a phone no when my paypal payment went wrong - they were very understanding and still gave good feedback.

The last LP7200 I saw went thru auction last week for £770, it was a few months back when mine went thru (3rd of 3 they had - they went for £920,£980 and £1020). It arrived in completely new packaging, all new books and wires, you wouldn't know it was repacked. At the time various high street shops were knocking out repacked 5700 for £1700 so it made a lot of sense to me.

[Rocket47]

Originally Posted by Jim McC

Rocket47, how was the fan noise on the IN76? A lot of people at Avsforum.com are complaining about the IN76 having loud fan noise, and cycling between high and low speeds. Thanks.

Hi Jim McC!
I did not notice the fan noise of the IN76 and for all of the viewing the sound was turned down. It was a relatively mild day here in Melbourne but the room was not cold. My wife actually commented (after hearing the 5700) that the IN76 was very quiet. We could hardly hear it but of course, we were in there for an hour maybe so perhaps it needs a couple of hours to start 'changing gears' on the fan?

[Rocket47]

There's no way I'd pay that kind of cash for a used 5700. You can get a factory repack 7200 (HD version of the 5700) on Ebay for under £800 and if you apply in less than 90 days (and pay£85) you can get a full extended 12 month warranty). You can also get a repack 7210 for under £2000 which will knock them all into a cocked hat.

Many Thanks Bob, I probably should have mentioned that I'm in Australia where the dollar floats between about 75-80 US Cents and the value of a small round flat rock.
The 5700 was $4999-- retail and now they have the demo model, they are talking about $4900-- for the projector, a LP Morgan Screen (locally made and not bad by most accounts) and a (normally) $799-- HD Strong STB or Freeview to you. The Screen is 82in and normally $1160-- so all up it's not a bad deal based on Australian prices, just a month ago before the arrival of the IN76 it would have all cost $5958--. However, I still think it's the IN76 for me - more future proof and I will try the Component vs HDMI when I get it set up and see which is better. When you mention the 899GBP that's about $2250-- of our dollars depending on the exchange rate so probably still a better deal.
I assume the blocking that I mentioned and the extra distortion that you mention with upscaling is because it is trying to upscale something where the detail is not in the original signal?

[Rocket47]

Sorry, that should have been "just a month ago it would have been just a shade under $7000-- for the lot.

[Rocket47]

One more thought. The 7210 is around $7999-- here which is $2000-- more than the IN76 so there is a limit to my budget somewhere. That puts a 7210 here (even with an attractive deal) not to far on the right side of $10 Grand Australian. I can buy a lot for that difference, like a new processor to replace the old Onkyo 777 (which I will be using for a while as a processor, feeding a Musical Fidelity HT600) or, more realistically from my wife's perspective, perhaps a driveway and some furniture for the new house!

[bob corb]

Originally Posted by Rocket47

I probably should have mentioned that I'm in Australia...

You jammy b####r. You'll need good blackout blinds then!

I agree with all your comments, the IN76 is a great PJ. If my 7200 goes bang thats what I'd replace it with. Some of the blocking will simply be visible because the IN76 is that good that it can resolve down to that level of detail. Hopefully with HD / Blu-Ray and mpeg 4 processing that wont be so obvious. You may be able to smooth it away by some set up fiddling.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Rocket47]

Originally Posted by bob corb

You jammy b####r. You'll need good blackout blinds then!

I agree with all your comments, the IN76 is a great PJ. If my 7200 goes bang thats what I'd replace it with. Some of the blocking will simply be visible because the IN76 is that good that it can resolve down to that level of detail. Hopefully with HD / Blu-Ray and mpeg 4 processing that wont be so obvious. You may be able to smooth it away by some set up fiddling.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

No worries (now you really know I'm from Australia) Bob, will definitely post some reports when I get it set up. Won't be for 4-5 weeks when the house is finished. Yes, I have the wife readying herself to get the sewing machine out and get some good blockout material. We are really looking forward to it which is unusual as normally my wife is "yeh, I can see the picture what's wrong with it" type of person. We have included a dedicated room in the house (much cheaper than fitting it out later!) and are planning to have the curtain go across the back of the room (covering the only window) and curve around slightly at the edges. We didn't want the window but here in Victoria they have a 5-star engergy rating system which means you must have a window in every room to use the sun's light to help heat the house. A bit academic I would have thought since we live well out of Melbourne where it occasionally snows!
Many Thanks once again for you helpful comments.

[Rocket47]

Originally Posted by Rocket47

Hi All,
My first post.
Am setting up a Home Theatre (dedicated room) in a new house that is almost completed.
We were set on the Infocus SP5700 until last week when the local dealer advertised the arrival of the new Infocus Projectors. Basically we will get an Infocus but was after some advice.
It's around 5K for 5700, HD STB and 82in screen as the 5700 is the last one and a demo model but only used for about 20hrs.
IN76 is more expensive, with the STB and 92in screen we are looking at around 7.4K but really, we have a HD STB already so could do without that.
Comparing the two on the weekend, the IN76 has much more detail, especially in dark scenes (we demo'd on a 100in screen approx) and much smoother motion, viewing the same scene a few minutes apart in different rooms with the same light, or lack of light level. I wasn't sure whether the 5700 had a bit more depth apparrant but we did look at the IN72, IN74 in between. I think I might have made up my mind and it might be the IN76 for the HD compatibility.
Whichever one we get will be fed by a Marantz DV9500 DVD Player, Super VHS VCR, TEAC HD STB initially but am trying to buy for the future. I really am not interested in gaming or xBox.
The only thing that disturbed me slightly about the IN76 is that it looked as though the resolution was so damn good that it was possible to pick out the 'blocking' that is used in dark areas of commercial DVD's (presumably to save space where the viewer is supposed to not be able to tell the difference. I could not see this on the 5700 but of course, there wasn't as much detail in the dark areas - for instance when Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConnaghy are inspecting the below decks of La Amistad in Amistad. This might just be a crappy DVD master for all I know. Played some scenes from the West Wing where Bartlett (Sheen) is speaking to a crowd in the West and there are balloons in the background - they actually looked like rubber ie the shiny/matt sort of look and looked round which I guess answers the depth question.
Anyway, sorry for the long post but am really interested in poeples opinion because I would like to put the deposit down this week. (by the way, dealer advises that since we will be using a smaller screen than their demo room, digital blocking should not be as evident and of course, will dissappear on HD material). Rest of system is B&W Matrix 800, Boston Accoustics and Musical Fidelity. Many Thanks.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. Finally put the deposit down yesterday, for the screen also. Will post impressions once it's all set up in about 4-5 weeks. Got the Infocus IN76 in the end and the LP Morgan 92in screen. Can't wait to see what it looks like with my crappy $80 DVD Player and then really sit back and enjoy when I hook up the Marantz DV9500 when it arrives!
Regards for Easter to all!

[ZippyCat]

Rocket,

Keep us up to date with how the IN76 performs with the Marantz, as I’ve been contemplating partnering my IN76 with one.

[mrfreezetas]

We carry Infocus at work here in Tassie.

A IN76 turned up a week or two ago (had ordered the IN74) and immedietly took out the box and quickly set up.

Wow, great picture and very little noise.
Hopefully get time this week to set up correctly and have an extended play with it.

Running Yamaha DVD S1500 DVD into a Yamaha RXV2600 to the projector over component.

Would like to compare it to a Sim2 Domino 30.

[Rocket47]

Thanks.
Are you by any chance a Home Theatre Dealer?
Reason I ask is that the equipment you specify is carried in Melbourne by Encel Stereo and I know they have some affilliated dealers in other states (Queensland, WA and possibly Tassie).
I looked at the Yamaha S2500 and almost bought one but I did some comparisons and the Marantz was just being discontinued and got rave reviews. Can't wait to see it hooked up to the IN76!
The other thing that swung it for me was the lip-sinc adjustment as I had read that this can be a problem with some PJ and of course, I have a few DVD's where the lip-sinc is out even without any influence from the PJ/DVD Player combination.
I looked at outboard lip-sinc but too expensive. The only unfortunate thing is that the Receiver (an Onkyo 777) only has S-Video but I will use that for the Laser Disc Player (yes, I still have one of those if it ever comes back from repair/service with Pioneer!) and the two S-VHS machines we have and have had the PJ cabled for HDMI, DVI, Component, S-Video and Composite so will probably by-pass the receiver for DVD and STB for the time being.