InFocus IN83 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Pros and Cons

Posted on July 8, 2008 Art Feierman

InFocus IN83 Projector: Cons

Limited placement flexibility due to lack of lens shift and limited, 1.2:1 zoom lens
Still uses their proprietary MD-1A connector (a DVI adapter is included), a regular DVI or HDMI would be preferred. (there is one standard HDMI port as well)
While black levels really are very good, even better black levels might make this hands down, the best projector in its class. It would be gret if the next generation sported a first class dynamic iris (in addition to the manual one)
Could use additional user savable settings

Click to Enlarge. So close.

The InFocus IN83 belongs on a very short list of the best under $10,000 1080p home theater projectors. When one considers the best of the competition, in terms of picture quality, the InFocus has the distinct advantage of being the brightest of the group.

Click Image to Enlarge

Mind you, it isn’t the brightest of all the 1080p projectors, the Optoma HD81-LV is brighter still, but it can’t match the naturalness of the IN83’s picture. It translates this way: If you want an especially bright projector with great color accuracy, a natural film-like picture, one with more than enough lumens to easily handle large screens, look no further. I’ll discuss my opions on how the IN83 stacks up with key competitors, lower on this page.

InFocus IN83 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities

InFocus IN83 Projector: Pros

Extremely bright home theater projector, both in “best” and “brightest” modes
Outstanding color accuracy after calibration (in part thanks to starting with better color accuracy than most competitors, to start with)
ISF Certified
Darkchip4 DLP processor for superior contrast
Excellent shadow detail
Extremely sharp, crisp, image
Very good black levels but falls a little short of the best projectors in class
Digital image shift
Good color management tools, but not exceptional
Good user manual – better than most
Very good menu layout
Good remote control
Good warranty
HDMI 1.3 with support for Deep Color and 24fps
Supports 3rd party anamorphic lenses with appropriate aspect ratio
Nicely shaped look, piano black finish