schwoozer

Anyone happen to have a rough idea? My wife is dying to know.

Well, a Mad Dog enclosure that can make the drive external is also on sale this week for 24.99 with no rebate. So you could have a 200GB external for $75. The other Mad Dog drive enclosures are also on sale for 50% off, but I don't know what other models/prices exist.

I too have noticed that not all WMs are following this pricing structure (which I somewhat suspected would happen...hence the YMMV disclaimer). I've had Smallville season 2 ring up as 19.96 at one location.

I noticed this morning that Friends Season 1 is 13.72 as well. Although this WM didn't carry them, this MIGHT mean season 2 is also 13.72 (based upon the Season 1&2 pattern already established, as well as some similarities to Sam's Club pricing from a few months ago). Friends is also eligible for the same rebate mentioned above for Smallville.

I think this is a fairly standard practice at several supermarkets. When our daughter turned 1, my wife heard about this sort of thing and started calling around. All 3 supermarkets we frequented had free cakes for first birthdays. Moral of the story: if this is something that interests you, definitely check with yours.

I just wanted to mention that if your WM is sold out of these (meaning the slot is there on the rack, but there aren't any currently available) just keep checking. My one WM had previously been sold out of all the Raymonds, but when I went in there today, they had more copies. This seems to be a permanent price point.

I was at two different WMs yesterday and noticed that they are now selling Smallville season 1 and 2 and Everybody Loves Raymond season 1 and 2 for 13.72. There may be other DVDs that they lowered too, but those were the only two I noticed. Also, using the Warner DVD rebate, this means you can get the first two seasons of Smallville for 17.44. It seems they lowered prices some on other sets as well, as I saw all Seinfeld, Simpsons, and Futurama marked down to 29.96. However, this was the case at only one of the WMs.

I'll elaborate more on the geometry sometime tomorrow (I need to go to bed), but for now, I would recommend taking a look at the projection calculator at projectorcentral.com. I have no knowledge of refurb vs. new in terms of quality, though I have read of many satisfied (and a few unsatisfied) refurb customers. However, I do know that InFocus guarantees some low number of hours on the bulbs of their refurbs (I forget the exact number at the moment). This means lamp life (vs. a new unit) should not be a problem but it certainly isn't a guarantee and bulbs do burn out early from time to time even on new units (and are expensive to replace, about $300). Also, I should have included bulbs in my last post as another consideration for projectors. You cannot turn a projector on and off and on and off like you would a normal television. Using very rough time estimates, if you turn it on, it should stay on for at least a couple hours, then when it is turned off, stay off for several hours. Turning the unit on and off in short time spans will shorten your bulb life considerably. I'll explain the geometry (using my own experiences) tomorrow.

Again, following the same disclaimers of my original post (namely, no first hand experience, just lots of research on this unit and projectors in general)... -Most recommend no bigger than about 92" for the screen. In fact, InFocus makes one this size and it is sometimes bundled with the projector. -Contrast ratios always end with :1. So 16:9 actually refers to the aspect ratio (as would 4:3). Essentially it describes the dimensions of the viewable area...16:9 is going to be more rectangular (like an HDTV) while 4:3 will be more square (like a regular TV). Usually this factor alone will tell you the projector's intended market, as 16:9 is always used for home theater, while 4:3 is typically intended for business use (although there are a few 4:3 home theater projectors). -Many home theater projectors claim brightness levels of 1000 lumens (or more). Although perhaps true theoretically, most of the time calibration of the unit (in order to get an optimal picture quality) will cut the lumens in half or more. So a projector may claim 1000-1200 lumens, while, once setup properly, it will only project 400-500. The SP4805, on the other hand, stays pretty close to its advertised 750 because it comes out of the box calibrated very well. Lastly, please bear in mind that home theater projectors are not just really big TVs that you can hang anywhere. There are specific ways they need to be set up, which is actually why I am unable to purchase the SP4805 as I would like (my room geometry just will not work within the projector's specifications). Additionally (and more importantly), they are generally intended to be viewed in a darkened room. Although there are definitely ways to counter ambient light and some ambient light may be tolerable, the overall brightness of your room does need to be taken into consideration. I hope this helps.

I just got back from Sam's Club and they actually had several (though not nearly all) of these sets for only 15.23. If you can find enough of what you're looking for, 15.23*6 - 50 = 41.38, or less than $7 a set. This simply can't be beat.

These are currently free after rebate during CompUSA's 6 hour sale ($30 - $30 rebate). Amazingly, after reading the fine print, calling the rebates call center, AND talking with a CompUSA sales associate, there is NO LIMIT on how many of these you can get. I couldn't believe it when I didn't see "One (1) rebate per household" anywhere on the form. This is also available online. I can't post links yet, but it's sku 333067. I'm assuming that this will hold for when these are $5 AR on Black Friday as well.

I got my Staples ad this morning in my inbox, and you should be able to order the SP4805 online. In fact, it looks like no stores will actually carry this model, but instead they just place the order for customers as well. Of course, the one catch is that these are remanufactured units (not new...those are still $1K), but this does at least offer an option to those who don't have a Staples nearby.

Disclaimer: I am posting this opinion based on four months of online research, and not any first hand experience (unfortunately). If you are looking primarily for home theater performance, then the refurb Infocus SP4805 at Staples is likely your best choice. People rave about this machine so much that they have convinced me, and I would absolutely be getting it myself if I could get my room geometry to work (which I can't). In fact, it's such a good price I'm still tempted to get it just to TRY to get it to work. Also, it's the only one that is native 16:9 aspect ratio (the others may or may not do it, but are primarily built for 4:3). The X1a would be the second choice as this has alot in common with the 4805, and I think many have used this for home theater. The others are primarily business projectors.