Vivitek to shake up HD projector market with 1080p H1080FD at $999
By Darren Murph 
posted July 22nd 2009 5:47PM
posted July 22nd 2009 5:47PM
Sophomore slump? Fuhgetaboutit. After announcing its very first projectors last year with little to no fanfare at all, Vivitek is looking to get everyone's attention with an all new 1080p model that should hit US retail outlets this August. If all goes well, the company's H1080FD will hit just before CEDIA kicks off, and it'll be based on Texas Instruments' S450 chip / light-engine design with Dark Chip II technology. Other specs include 1,800 lumens of brightness, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio, a pair of HDMI ports, composite / S-Video / component inputs, an RS-232c control connector and a 12v trigger -- in other words, even the so-called AV junkie should find plenty to adore. If you're curious just how big of a deal this is in the sector, just have a look at how stoked Sanyo was to introduce an entry-level 1080p beamer 11 months ago at twice this price. [Via AboutProjectors]
IT IS ABOUT TIME!!!!
Wtf this suppose to be cheap?
I can get 52 LCD for 1000$ that look million time better than projectors
Ah, but can your 52" LCD show a 100" image? I submit that it cannot.
Yeah, but you are stuck at 52" with your LCD.
Projectors can do twice (way more, even) that size....and at a grand, that's cheap for a 104" 1080p. Great for showing UFC fights in the backyard and movies for the kids on the side of the house.
Go ahead, price a 104" LCD or plasma....LOL And then move it from place to place.
Yeah but no one cares about HD when you're all drunk in your backyard watching UFC. I could see how this would be nice for people who have real home theaters.. like the kind you see on Cribs. But then, they don't need it to be "cheap." Not that it really is when you think about how much the bulbs are going to cost.
Seriously? I have my projector in the basement(I'm sure it would work fine upstairs as we sometime watch stuff with all the lights on) with a 125" screen. It is freaking amazing! It was my first projector set up and it blew me away. I have a 56" upstairs(also 1080p) and it is no comparison. Split screen Halo is so sweet. I laugh and mock 52" TV's.
Bigger =/= better
I'll take 52 crystal clear that work on any room with or without light versus 100 blurry image that look like total crap
We aint in 1995 anymore TVS is not huge as they used to be , they are super slim and i can move the TV myself without any help
Drunk watching UFC? WTF is this, Hicksville?
Really... HD on the side of the house? For kids who don't care if it's 1080p or a low youtube stream as long as it's Sponge Bob? Sounds worth every penny of my $1000.. sign me up.
There is no blurring. In fact I need to be about a foot from my screen before I see the space between the pixels. I can have seats 6' from the screen with no problem. I think the last projector you saw was in 1995.
My 56" weighs like 70lbs. I can't move it my self because it is too big to hold. The projector is like 20lbs.
Also of note, this one is rated for 29db. Mine is 19db and I can't hear it at all. The PS3 is way louder by comparison.
No, this is America.
Don't tell me you watch UFC sober.
That's the problem with projectors and people today, everyone assumes "Oh, it's a projector, it must be blurry"
I have a 720p/1080p projector in my apartment at 100'' screen and it looks exactly like a TV. Yes, TV's are a bit brighter, but it's not to the point where it makes a huge difference. Go ask any person that actually owns a home theater projector and they will tell you the exact same thing.
As said before, this isn't 1995. Front projectors aren't crap anymore.
@DR House :but it is pointed for a different kind of customers.
LCD is way better (in quality) than a projector BUT a projector is portable.
Saying the "PS3 is louder by comparison" is like saying that "the space shuttle is louder than my car". I just started trying it out as an HTPC (the HDD on my regular HTPC is dying) using PS3 Media Server from my NAS and jesus christ, when you're just watching a movie and not concentrating on a game that thing is louder at 10 feet away than my servers at 3.
Try xbox360 then, i know someone turned it on when there is storms and earthquake in my home
I have a launch 60GB PS3 a little farther away from my head then the projector, about 5 feet, and all I hear is the PS3. The 360 at the same distance is much quieter unless the DVD is spinning then is is like a airplane. The 360 is a second gen elite which is a bit quieter than my original launch 20GB. I have a second PS3 on the 56" set and I can't really hear that and around 10 feet away. I'm sure it all depends on the set up but the PS3 is way louder than my projector. You need to be with in 2 or 3 feet with no other sound to hear the projector at all.
Projector setups are excellent where large screen size and/or portability matter. How many offices have you been to recently that have an "A/V cart"?
My brother has a dedicated home theater room (okay - not entirely dedicated. They call it the "den" and they put the christmas tree in there in wintertime.) in a $160k-$175k home. It's not extravagant by any means, but a projector makes a helluva lot more sense than a 150" TV would have. The picture still appears very clear because the seating is farther away than your typical 7 or 8 feet.
really fun
i can just imagine your avatar saying that
i though exactly the same.
Can one of those aforementioned AV nerds explain if this is a good projector or is it crap?
darkchip II is a few generations old. the newest projectors use the darkchip 4 and really good projectors use 3 darkchip 4s... I'd spend a little extra money and grab a panasonic 3000u for about $2500. Sure its twice the price but it has a LOT of great features...
not bad, but if you can't wait, you can get the infocus x10 1080p projector now for $1200 here
http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4490483&SRCCODE=CCDAFFL&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC7BBTkw**%20**zuubkbzfwlCjC-d2CjC-uu&id=k26451&sessionid=gan_162154942
did you really just link to circuit city?
At one point a few weeks ago the infocus x10 was 1100 (at tiger direct) plus Bing cash back of 12.5% made it less than this....nice projector...frickin' huge though.
yeah. im thinking of getting the infocus too! sweet price for a 1080p projector
I guess if you really need the "portability." Meh.
wait isn't Vivitek one of those rebranding companies that just buys the cheapest possible stuff from random Chinese manufacturing plants?
I guess to have the competition on the market will be good.
it's very cool. though it more like a luxury item to me... does these still use those $200-300 bulbs? for economic purposes, i could get a pretty decent 1080p lcd tv for the price and run whatever you want to watch (a la hulu via pc) through the tv instead... the other reason? the posters protested about leaving my wall... bummer. would love to have one when they get smaller and cheaper.
Are your protesting posters pictures of pillaging pirates parading about with purple and pink pencils?
This looks pretty good to me except for the DLP thing. I've had my 1080p mitsu for a year or so and got it for the $1400 deal. It has better specs than this but they are close. My low lamp mode that I use is good for 5000 hours too. My deciding factor when I bought it was the the LCD's though. The provide much better mounting flexibility then the DLP's so we'll have to see all the spec's. Pretty good bang for the buck either way.
Might sound good. But I'm doubting the lamp. It might be ok, but I really don't trust that the bulb life is as long as they may claim or that the bulb is really as bright as they claim (a common set of problems when you go with a cheaper less known brand). I could be wrong though.
I'm always missing something in these releases. Is there, or what is, the refresh rate on these things? 60 HZ or 120? That's my deal breaker.
It's DLP so it doesn't mater
The Optoma HD20 is also due to be released anytime now at $999. It is also a DLP projector but from a company that has an established track record for decent projectors...
http://www.jr.com/optoma/pe/OTM_HD20/
http://www.jr.com/optoma/pe/OTM_HD20/
its only rated at 500 lumens . I wonder what dlp chip its using.
Actually the HD20 is said to have 1700 lumens...
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/Optoma-HD20-projector.html
There should be more information once the reviews of this thing start to come in. I just hope that it uses a good colorwheel as I have a problem with the rainbow effect that some DLPs generate
Just in time. I've been looking to replace my 720p projector for a while now. Anyone that thinks that a projector doesn't throw a quality image, hasn't seen one set up right. I have several friends with 50+ inch tv's that can't believe how good mine looks even at 720p. I wouldn't even bother upgrading, but the bulb is past it's prime anyway...
You wont get burn-in on your wall will you? Repainting would take care of the problem wouldn't it?
Have to be careful. If your projector has too many lumens, it will burn-in deep. Had to replace drywall to get rid of ours....
Just move your protector over an inch every day, then back the next day and you'll avoid burn in. It's low tech pixel shifting.
I'll take two, if I can sync them for 3D with nvidia's glasses.
The Optoma HD65 projector is about to be coming out with a 3D version and it will be around $600. This projector does 1080p/720p (720p native). The 3D will be just a firmware update and will make the projector 120hz as well.
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/news/2009/07/01/optoma-hd65-projector-receives-3d-upgrade/
Is this DarkChip 2 a single or 3 chip DLP? Single chip DLPs give me headaches and I see the rainbows. I've read the 3 chip DLPs do not suffer the same fate. Otherwise, not a bad price at all for 1080p and HDMI.
So this is a DLP and not an LCD? I can't seem to figure out where it says it's either DLP or LCD.
LCD TVs are great, but projectors are beautiful in teh dark and HUGE!
almost certainly a single DLP chip since three chip DLPs start at around $15K US according to the following article: http://www.aboutprojectors.com/news/2006/06/23/demystifying-dlp-lcd-and-lcos/
Panasonic PT-AX200U. End of story.
http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=23153
For $950 you get one of the best low-budget projectors out there, 2000 lumens brightness and 6000:1 contrast.
Reviews? Raving!
http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ax200u/proscons.php
It's 720p though, the one above is 1080. Don't get me wrong the 200u is a good projector as I've seen it used but compared to 1080 resolution you can't go wrong.
SnotRocket's got a good point. on even a 50" plasma 1080p will be barely noticeable, and then only from a few feet away which is always closer than normal viewing distance. with a 100" image you're damn well going to notice the difference between 1080 and 720
How much do replacement bulbs cost and how often do you have to replace?