InFocus IN1 Home Theater Projector Review - General Performance

Overview
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons

This is definitely the shortest General Performance page I have ever created in a projector review. That's mostly because the InFocus IN1 is such a basic projector.

InFocus IN1 Menus
IN1 User Memory Settings
IN1 Remote Control
Lens Throw and Lens Shift, Pixel Structure...
SDE and Rainbow Effect
IN1 Projector Brightness
IN1 Light Leakage
IN1 Audible Noise Levels
IN1 Projector Screen Recommendations
IN1 Calibration
Image Noise

IN1 Menus

There are no menus. Just a choice of Inputs, plus volume and brightness up/down controls.

IN1 User Memory Settings

There are no other adjustments you can make, so no user-savable settings are needed.

IN1 Projector - Remote Control

No remote control, either.

InFocus IN1 Lens Throw and Lens Shift

The IN1 has a fixed throw lens, that is, no zoom capabilities. To fill 100" diagonal of wall or screen, the projector will have to be 12 feet, 6 inches back from the screen (or wall). That is measured from the front of the projector. If your screen is half that size, then the distance would also be half. You can easily figure out the screen size from any distance, or the distance from any screen size, using a calculator, and starting with the 100" numbers above.

IN1 SDE and Rainbow Effect, Pixel Visibility

The IN1 is a DLP. As such, pixels aren't very visible, even at this low resolution. For the type of product, and the market it is reaching, I don't think there is any real screen door effect issue.

I was surprised, however about the Rainbow effect. InFocus has done a very good job here, it seems, in that I am slightly sensitive to the Rainbow effect (which bothers only a very small percentage of the population). I hardly noticed it while working with the IN1. The data sheet doesn't say what the color wheel speed is, but I suspect it is a 4x, not as fast as the fastest speeds in more expensive projectors, but much faster than most entry level DLP projectors.

IN1 Projector Brightness

Most impressive, especially considering that InFocus only rates the projector at 500 lumens.

After adjusting for the correct setting for Brightness (see measurements and calibration below), the IN1 measured a rather impressive 853 lumens.

That makes it comparable or close, to many stand alone projectors in their brightest, mode. Since most projectors have a bright mode that is designed for best TV/sports, you'll find that the IN1 is at least comparable in brightness to most of those projectors. Most projectors absolute brightest mode (typically with names like Dynamic), are a little brighter, but then they tend to push green way up in brightness, at a serious compromise in color accuracy. The IN1, on the other hand, has Green well balanced with Red and Blue, as would those best bright modes on other projectors. In this case, for TV viewing, the IN1 is definitely more color accurate than most stand alone projectors in their all out brightest mode.

IN1 Projector - Light Leakage

None to speak of. A total non-issue.

IN1 Audible Noise Levels

The IN1 is fairly quiet. It is quieter than the typical stand alone DLP home theater projector, and this should not be an issue for any potential buyers. For those that find the IN1's noise to be an issue, those people are likely to be more critical of other areas, and probably are not shopping for an IN1.

IN1Projector Screen Recommendations

A screen is always better than a white or off white wall, but the IN1 works fairly well even with walls. It's a matter of expectations, and the biggest expectation will be size, rather than slight color shifts caused by off white walls. Got wallpaper, and no screen? Hang a sheet!

To match a low cost all-in-one projector like the IN1 Game projector, I'll presume a low cost screen. Pull down screens are the cheapest, and most are light weight and easy to hang. You can also consider portable tripod or pull up screens. Screens will start at around $100. I would recommend white surfaced screens as the best match. Going to a high contrast gray screen will improve black levels slightly, but that's not likely to be a primary focus for IN1 buyers.

Remember, this is a 4:3 aspect ratio projector, not the 16:9 typical of home theater models. As a result, you should choose a 4:3 ratio screen.

IN1 Projector Measurements and Calibration

Only one mode - default, and here are the numbers

100IRE (white): 7943K
80IRE (light gray): 8014K
50IRE (medium gray): 7912K
30IRE (dark gray): 8252K

There's nothing, however to calibrate. No way to adjust color, just brightness.

When it comes to the brightness control, the default setting is a little dark.

I recommend that instead of the default, you move the brightness bar 5 or 6 visible steps up from default. I'm talking about the actual movement of the graphic bar. It seems to take two presses of the brightness up button, to move the bar once.

These color temperature measurements above, are actually rather close to ideal for TV/sports viewing. In viewing TV - both standard and HDTV, including some football, The Tonight Show, etc., I still found the overall image to be a bit undersaturated, and reds seem weak. Nonetheless, the IN1's TV picture quality from a color standpoint, is definitely better than it is for movie viewing.

It really is a shame that InFocus didn't create one additional setting, specifically for movies. That likely would have been the difference needed for the IN1 to earn our Hot Product Award. Close, but not close enough!

IN1 Image Noise

Nothing significant here. There is the usual bit of background noise found with most projectors (especially DLP types), and there didn't seem to be any jaggie problem either. I did not run the usual HQV disk, as there were no significant issues visible when viewing, and it's not an area where IN1 shoppers are going to be critical.

Visit the next page for basic warranty info. It's actually a very short page! Then, on to the Summary page.