^^^ Please excuse the Ad. I can thank Shaw for that. ^^^
Ramblings of a Technology Nut |
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A techno-weenie based in Victoria BC, Canada reveals how he wastes all his time on computers and electronic entertainment.
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InFocus X1 Projector
My new Home Theatre purchase, after extensive research, was the InFocus X1 Projector. It may not be a thing of beauty on the outside, but it projects a beautiful image. My main criteria was affordability, and this projector fits the bill. It is one of the least expensive projectors available at this time, at around $2,000 Canadian. That may sound like a lot if you haven't looked at projectors before, but the price range starts there and goes up to $10,000 or more. A good Home Theatre projector can easily cost $5,000 without being extravagant. But I decided that for my first projector, I should stay at the low end of the price range so long as I wasn't having to compromise too much. And if I couldn't find something decent at the low end, then I was going to hold off until prices came down or until I won the lottery. I mean, it's not like I need a projector, this is a luxury item for me. But the great thing about the X1 is that I don't feel that there are a lot of compromises. You get a heck of a lot for your money. I won't go into too much depth about the features and specs, you can read those for yourself at the product site. The highlights for me are that this is a DLP projector, so I don't have to worry about burn-in even if I use it for computer and video games (a drawback for CRT and Plasma screen technologies), and it includes high quality Faroudja DCDi signal processing, which is often not included in projectors costing much more. But don't take my word for it that this is a fantastic bargain-priced projector, I urge you to read the review at Projector Central for an independent opinion. Perhaps in awhile I'll write a more critical review on my experiences with the X1. It is not completely without flaws, but I'm very happy with it. Given a choice between this and a rear projection TV or CRT TV in the same price range, I like this. I'd even pick it over a more expensive Plasma TV. Of course, each of them has their pros and cons for a particular situation, but none of them can match my 7 foot (yes, that's 84" diagonal) widescreen picture. Not big enough for you? Just move the projector back a bit further. If you're looking for a movie theatre type of experience, you can't beat it. More about Home Theatre coming soon. I've done a lot of research lately, and I'll try to share some of what I have learned.
technut returnsYes, I've neglected my weblog for over a month. I don't have a great excuse, but I think I can explain it. I've been distracted by several things.For one, I'm a news addict. Especially television news. If there are any big stories, I'm glued to the TV. And Space exploration, manned or unmanned, is also one of my favourite subjects (lots of technology). So with the loss of the shuttle Columbia, there was lots and lots of news that I couldn't tear myself away from. It also brought another of my interests into play, which is problem analysis and failure analysis. I've always been fascinated by shows that analyse why something failed or why an accident happened, but usually those shows come out months or years after the fact. The failure analysis of the Columbia has been played out in public in real time with an almost unprecedented degree of openness. Even though the investigation has mostly dropped off the news now, there is still lots of information coming out of NASA and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board hearings on NASA TV. Another distraction has been my indepth research into a new purchase I recently made and the time I've spent with it since. I'll save the details for another post, but it has to do with Home Theatre. This is not a subject that I had looked at much (other than with envy) because decent equipment seemed out of reach for my budget. The good news is, as a result of all that research, I found something I could afford and it works great for my purposes. Stay tuned for more. And finally, the distraction I'm almost ashamed to admit to, Reality TV. I can't get enough of it. And the networks have been loaded with it this season. I find Reality TV much more entertaining than scripted shows. It's not that I care who wins the money or who gets the guy/girl. But I find human nature and behaviour very unpredictable, especially compared to the logic-driven devices I spend too much of my time with. So I like watching how people react in a situation, no matter how contrived the situation is. Even if the situation is contrived, their reactions are real based on the situation they find themselves in. You can't fake a reaction. Even if you are faking a reaction that is different than what you are really feeling, that act of faking is still your reaction to the situation. You can't get escape it. Whatever you do, it is a genuine reaction. I wouldn't dream of staring rudely and remarking on people's reactions in real life, but put it on TV and I can stare at it with fascination and comment all I want, and I feel pretty guilt free about it. That is, except for knowing that a lot of people look down their noses at people who enjoy Reality TV. But I'm not alone in my passion for it, all you have to do is look at Reality TV's rising Nielsen ratings to realize why the networks are putting more of it on TV than ever before. So now that you know what distracted me, you can probably predict that I am still pretty distracted. Big news stories? We've got 'em with the Iraq situation. My Home Theatre purchase? Still loving every moment I spend with it. Reality TV? A bit of a lull for the moment, but that won't last long. And of course there is family life, which believe it or not has to take precedence over my weblog. But I will make more of an effort to add a new post from time to time, if for no other reason than to document my interests so that I can return to them later when I have more time.
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