InFocus IN83 Projector: Typical Capabilities

Posted on July 8, 2008 by Art Feierman

InFocus IN83 Projector: Typical Capabilities

Click to Enlarge. So close.

Lamp Life
Fan noise - reasonably quiet
3 user settings
Overall image noise
Price performance when compared with other projectors sold only by "local installing dealer"
Typical complement of inputs

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InFocus IN83 Projector: Competitive Aspects

Here are quick impressions on how the InFocus IN83 stacks up against some of the other best projectors. Of all the projectors I'll mention, only one, the Optoma, shares the IN83's limited placement flexibility. The rest all have lots of adjustable lens shift, zoom lenses with significantly more range, and the ability to be shelf mounted. Therefore I won't reiterate those points below.

Let's go.

InFocus IN83 vs. Epson Home and Pro Cinema

Click to Enlarge. So close.

I've always said the Epson image was just a little hard, not fully film-like, but a great picture, with plenty of "wow" and "pop". By comparison, though, the InFocus really does have a film-like quality, and is definitely more natural looking.

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Add to that, the InFocus's strengths, a slightly sharper image, and over double the brightness in best mode. The two produce about the same brightness in brightest mode, but the InFocus definitely has the better color accuracy and picture quality in bright mode. The InFocus, despite its Darkchip4, still can't quite match the blackest blacks of the Epson, but isn't far off.

Epson has a slight advantage in warranty (with the Home version), two years like the InFocus, but with an overnight replacement program for both years, while the Pro version is the same, but three years. Two excellent projectors at different price points, but overall, the brightness and sharpness of the InFocus will have many finding it to be their preferred choice, despite that it is roughly double the price.

InFocus IN83 vs. JVC DLA-RS1x, and DLA-RS2

Click to Enlarge. So close.

The JVC DLA-RS1x and RS2 are both excellent out of the box (slightly better than the IN83), and all three are very film-like.

Certainly the RS2 is the best of the three in terms of black levels, and none of these three use a dynamic iris. I'd give the RS1x a slight advantage in black level performance, compared to the IN83.

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After that, though, the IN83 shines - it's roughly 50% more lumens in best mode, compared to the RS1x, and double the lumens of the RS2, is a huge plus for many, especially those with large screens (over 110 inch diagonal), and it is easily double the lumens of the JVC's in brightnest mode, which really is a plus for those that watch with some ambient light - especially HDTV, SD-TV and sports in general.

The RS2 may still be the best of the best in picture quality, overall, but those lumens, and extra sharpness are major strengths of the InFocus IN83, that will please all but the most hard core black levels fanatics. Of course the RS1x is less expensive, while the JVC DLA-RS2 is roughly the same price as the InFocus IN83.