Guy's Christmas Shopping: Home-cinema projector

By Guy Cocker on 12 December 2005, 11:57am

Crave has been guilty of waxing lyrical about flat-screen TVs all year, but now it's time to redress the balance. In fact, I have to make a confession -- give me a projector over some crummy plasma any day. It's the only way to enjoy the cinematic glory of Gladiator, it makes playing Project Gotham 3 on the Xbox 360 a completely engrossing experience, and it's just plain scary seeing Ian Beale from EastEnders blown up to 80 inches tall. In fact, the projector is as important a feature in a serious AV collection as a DVD player.

The one I've had my eye on all year is the InFocus ScreenPlay 7205, which was the first projector to bring proper high-end home cinema down to a reasonably affordable price. Of course, I'd really prefer the monster Sim2 C3X -- a three-chip DLP beast that made high-definition video look crisper than a weekend in a Walkers factory. But the measly £5,000 budget laid down by my Crave overlords means my budget is tight, and I want to save my Santa freebie purchase for something else. And hey, it's only worth spending that amount of cash of you've got a proper home-cinema screening room -- the ScreenPlay 7205 can be set up in your front room, resting on the coffee table and shining directly onto your wall.

Of course, the people at InFocus would whimper at the thought of you shining their high-definition compatible, DLP-driven beauty onto a plain old wall, but the ScreenPlay 7205 is that good. I set this baby up at my housewarming party, shone The Work of Director Michel Gondry onto the wall and a bohemian mood was set instantly. It was also perfect for the morning after -- weary revellers strewn around the house gathered around the light show as it provided the ultimate hangover cure -- the sight of Tess Daly on CD:UK. Ah, home-cinema perfection, thy codename is 7205.

InFocus ScreenPlay 7205: £2,500

Guy has already bought these items:
Arcade Mania 150-in-1 Games Cabinet

He has £901 to spend before Christmas Day.
Click here to find out more about Crave's Christmas shopping spree.