InFocus X9 Projector - Physical Tour
11/12/2008 - Art Feierman
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Appearance
The X9 is a very small (though not the smallest - which I believe is the Optoma HD65) home theater projector. 
It is basically rectangular projector, with a little sculpting, and I'd say that while hardly "stylin", it is cute. The InFocus X9 is finished in a combination of shiny black, and flat black surfaces.
The zoom lens is mounted off center to the right (when looking at the X9 from the front). There is a single screw thread adjustable foot in the center below the front, and two more feet for a stable three point stance, in the rear (only one is adjustable). The hot air exhaust is in the front on the opposite side from the lens.
The top of the X9 finds the manual zoom and focus controls recessed, right behind the lens. Further to the back, is the recessed area that holds the remote control, has the infra-red sensor for the remote, and the Power button for the projector.
The inputs are all located across the back of the InFocus X9. The lamp door is located on the bottom, and the projector will need to be removed from a ceiling mount, to change the lamp. Fortunately, that would be extremely infrequently, thanks to the exceptional lamp life of the X9.
Control Panel
This is easy! The entire on-board control panel of the InFocus X9 home theater projector consists of a Power button. All other controls are only accessable through the remote control.
The Power button flashes it's LED blue light when at rest, solid blue, when on, and will switch to red patterns to indicate problems. To control the other features, you must use the remote control, which, when not in your hand, stores on the top of the X9.
Input/Output
The InFocus X9 comes with a pretty basic set of inputs. No surprises here, except that it is one of the very few home theater projectors with only one HDMI input. That input is HDMI 1.3 with support for 24fps and Deep Color.
In addition, there is one computer input - a standard HD15 computer connector - which can alternately be used as a component video input. There is also a regular component video input with the usual three color coded RCA input jacks, plus the obligatory S-video and composite video inputs. There is also a stereo mini jack for audio input. Lastly, there is a serial connector for control of the projector from a computer, or room control system.
Menus
The X9 has five main menus. They are Image, Display, Default, Language and Info. Shown immediately to the right, is the Image menu, which is the one users will access the most frequently. The Image menu has the usual goodies: Display (preset) mode, Brightness, Contrast, Color (saturation), Sharpness, Color Temperature, Degamma, and a few other settings.
Notably there is no way to do a grayscale calibration, as the usual separate R,G, and B controls are lacking on the X9.
The Display menu is ne
xt. It is pretty basic, offering keystone adjustment, aspect ratio selection, and projection mode (ceiling, table, rear ceiling, rear table). In addition there are horizontal and vertical controls for re-aligning a computer signal, if the auto feature is a little off.
There are a number of key features to be found on the Default menu, starting with the Source lock. With Source lock off, the projector will scan for the first source it finds. With it on, it will go back to the last source used, when powering up. There is a fan control for high altitude, and an off/on option for the 
lamp reminder feature.
Then come two of most important features on the menu. Eco-mode (low power) Off/On, and Brilliant Color Off/On. Other features on this menu include Auto Power off (no source), Audio controls, and Reset functions.
Remember, we recommend Brilliant Color to be on with this projector.
There is also an Auto Power feature which will shut down the X9 projector after a period of time when it sees no source signal.
There are two additional main menus, not shown, one is for language selection (menus), and the other is an Info menu that provides data on lamp hours, source signal, and the projector's firmware version.
Remote Control
The X9 is a strange beast, when it comes to its remote control. It is the first time I can recall seeing a "credit card" sized remote on a home theater projector, or, at the very least the first time, in a few years.
Before I get into the remote's features, a warning. The X9 has no control panel. Other than the remote control, there is only the Power button on the projector. Misplace the remote, and you can still turn the projector on and off, but, that, folks, is it. No way, for example to change display mode (presets), source, or any other settings, if you lose the remote or the battery dies.
I don't know how long that little button battery will last (a long time, probably). When the battery finally dies, get ready to run to Radio Shack, etc., for a new battery, so you can resume using your projector.
As a credit card sized remote, first of all, it has no backlight, so to use it in the dark, you'll have to learn where your favorite buttons are.
The other limitation of credit card remotes, is typically very limited range. As it turns out, though, the X9's remote fared pretty well in this regard. I think that InFocus'es decision to put the infra-red sensor for the remote control on the top of the X9, proves to be a wise choice (instead of front, back, or both).
The IR sensor actually sits recessed in the area where the remote snaps into the projector for storage. That means just pointing up, if you have ceiling mounted the projector, and you are pointing right at the sensor. If you put it on a table top, as I do for extended viewing, I found that I had no problem getting the remote commands to the projector by pointing the remote at the ceiling and getting a bounce back to the X9's sensor. When you consider that the (cathedral) ceiling in my room averages about 17 feet in height, and the projector is less than 3 feet off the floor, I found that to be very acceptable performance. Without a front sensor, forget bouncing the signal off of your screen, but, since it worked so well bouncing off the ceiling, no issue! In fact, I found the X9 easier to control by remote, than a significant number of projectors with standard type remotes. I'm talking specifically about the ones I have reported as not having good range.
The other thing about credit card sized remotes, is that, being so small, they have a limited number of buttons/features.
In the case of the X9 remote control, as shown here, the top left button is the Power button (red). Press once to turn on the projector, and twice to turn it off. Next to it, in the center, is the "disp-mode" which is their abbreviation for Display mode, and let's you select from the presets - Movie, sRGB, Game and PC, and also the User mode. On the right is the Reset button.
Moving to the next row, the left has the computer source select, while the two buttons to the right, select from the video sources.
The next three rows combine to control menu functions plus some extra features.
There are the four arrow keys, in a diamond layout with the up-arrow menu navigation in the top center of those three rows. That button doubles as a keystone correction adjustment if the menus are not open. To it's left is a Freeze button for, of course, freezing the video, and on the right side, is a digital zoom feature (more of a business projector feature).
The middle row has the left arrow, Enter, and right arrow functions. When the menus are not open, the left arrow button functions as a source selection button, the right arrow, performs a re-sync of the image (again mostly for interfacing with a computer).
On the third row of this group, is the Menu button (left), then the down arrow, which is another keystone correction control when menus are closed, and on the right, is a button to lock the source. (Press again, to unlock).
That takes us to the bottom row, which on the left, has an AV mute button, and on the other two buttons are volume up and down.
Lens Throw
The InFocus X9 has a 1.1:1 zoom lens, which is about as minimal a range as one can purchase and still call it a zoom lens. Most DLP projectors have 1.2:1 - which buys you, typically, almost an extra foot of placement flexibility. This is a projector you will set on a table top, or ceiling mount. Lacking lens shift (like most DLP projectors), it is not suitable for putting on a rear shelf, and even if you were willing to shelf mount it low (below the bottom of the screen), it is unlikely that you would be able to place it far enough back in distance, to not completely overshoot the screen.
From a measurement standpoint, from the front of the lens, the InFocus X9, can be placed as close as 11.2 feet, and as far back as 12.3 feet
Lens Shift
The X9, as is typical of most DLP projectors offers no adjustable vertical or horizontal lens shift. As with virtually all projectors, the lens has a predetermined amount of fixed offset. This will allow an X9, sitting on a table, to be placed slightly below the bottom of your screen area, or an equal amount above the top of the screen area, if you are ceiling mounting the X9 projector.
Anamorphic Lens
The InFocus X9 has no support for an anamorphic lens, which, makes perfect sense. We cannot imagine anyone who is buying a projector in this price range, spending far more for an anamorphic lens, than for the projector itself. Anyone even remotely considering such a thing, would end up spending more for an X9 plus an anamorphic lens and sled (if it was supported), than for, say, the new 1080p Panasonic PT-AE3000U, with it's anamorphic lens emulation.
