InFocus IN83 Darkchip4 Home Theater Projector Review: Image Quality 7

Posted on July 8, 2008 by Art Feierman

InFocus IN83 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports

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Let's just say for now, that all those lumens, plus surprisingly excellent picture quality in brightest mode, made for excellent viewing. I got to watch a lot of US Olympic trials, some other sports, and plenty of HDTV in general.

First of all, in brightest mode, not only is the color better and more natural than most other projectors when you are squeezing out maximum lumen, but the IN83 is definitely one of the brightest out there in the 1080p projector category (without jumping to $10,000+). In brightest mode, only the Optoma HD81-LV can out muscle it, and not by much. The Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB can't quite stay with the IN83 at it's brightest, but we're talking about 1900 vs. the Epson's 1700. Thing is, the InFocus has better color too. Of course when it comes to best modes the InFocus is twice as bright as the Epson.

OK, with all those lumens, I got to try opening the motorized shades on my French doors for the first time in a long while (sun pours in). Not great, but considering I've only ever tried than with maybe 2 other projectors in over 100 reviews..

Here, first, is a shot of the room with them open, and the screen definitely looks pretty washed out. Keep in mind, though, that my Firehawk by its nature, is more sensitive to light from the left side, when viewing for far to the right.

Second, Here's another shot of the screen, but from straight back, same lighting:

Third, As you can see, it looks much better, (and even more so in reality), but I still wouldn't leave the blinds fully open for viewing, too much light. So, next, I closed both of them half way. A definite improvement:

fourth, That looks better in the pictures, and in reality, this lighting was very watchable, with the room still pretty bright.

Fifth, - as you can see, is blinds open to the 1/4 point. Even way off angle, very watchable.

Sixth, Here's a straight on photo of the screen, with that same lighting. Nice!:

I also viewed and photographed with the blinds fully shut and the ceiling lights on with moderate brightness. I set the exposure for the image on the screen, so the room looks definitely darker than in real life.:

OK, you get the idea, the IN83 has no problem with ambient light levels that would devastate about half the projectors out there, and would give most of the rest, trouble.

Let's now look at a few more images with blinds down, and ceiling lights on about half way (bright enough to read, but you'd probably like it brighter). Definitely, the IN83 is a kick-ass projector for sports viewing, and HDTV in general. I love all those lumens, combined with a great picture. My JVC RS1, I do believe, is insanely jealous. It may easily best the IN83 in black levels, but when you aren't in the dark, no comparison.