Product Review: Page (2) of 2 - 10/13/04

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Further enhancing its overall quality is the excellent color saturation, another positive attribute of LCD projectors over their DLP competitors that is obviously evident in the SP5000. In this case, the saturation was so intense I had to dial it back a bit, getting into the menus and tweaking the Gamma settings. There are three to choose from, Movie, which looked way too saturated, Presentation, which looked too bright, and then Photo, which I thought was certainly the sweet spot. I did notice that the blacks weren't as dark as I'd like, not able to match the DLP projectors that have graced our theater, but still, the blacks weren't so light that they were distracting. Even so, no matter which source I threw at it, whether it was DVD footage, computer signal or HDTV, all looked astonishingly good for a projector that costs less than $2000. Wow.

Another attribute that I immediately noticed was the extreme quiet of this projector, the most silent unit ever to perform in our test theater. When I first turned on the SP5000, it emitted a loud whoosh, and I started worrying that this was going to be one of those vacuum-cleaner-like experiences. But wait. As the thing warmed up, it got quieter and quieter, until it was whirring at barely a whisper by the time the lamp warmed up enough to project an image. I also noticed there was no light spill at all out of the front of the projector and hardly any out of the sides and top, keeping the screen away from any leaking light that could wash out its picture.

I also liked the adjustability of the SP5000. Its vertical and horizontal keystone adjustments, while not as finely tuned as I've seen on more expensive units, were still able to square up the picture from our off-axis roll-around test bench. And the other controls were all there, with every adjustment you can imagine, even including color temperature. And commanding it all is InFocus's powerful back-lit remote, where you can even be pointing the thing upside down and backwards and it'll still be seen by the projector. 

If you want to put together a respectable home theater and don't want to spend $5000 on a true HDTV flat panel, the InFocus ScreenPlay SP5000 is certainly worth a look. If you can, see if you can lay your own eyes on its output before you buy. Keep in mind that some people can see the screen door effect more than others, just like some people can see that weird "rainbow effect" on a DLP projector, where you can see colors separating out in distinct red, green, and blue. I must admit, I can't see the rainbow effect with DLP but can see the screen door effect on LCD projectors, but I don't find it so objectionable that I'd reject the SP5000. For $1900, it's going to be difficult to find a projector with a sharper picture, quieter fan, and more vivid color saturation than this one. Highly recommended.

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