We thought we'd bring you a little treat for the weekend, in the shape of an exclusive online review of the brand-new InFocus IN83 projector which has been getting the full test treatment in our home cinema room this week.
We've long been fans of the InFocus range, and last year the company won two out of our four projector Awards, with the IN82 picking up the overall Product of the Year accolade.
So can the slightly pricier IN83 continue this trend of excellence? Read on to find out how it performed...
InFocus IN83
£3500
5 stars
For
Curvaceous, sleek styling; simple enough to set-up and use; superb, colourful image; unbelievable detail, three-dimensionality and realism
Against
Well, InFocus isn't giving them away... we guess that's a shame
Verdict
InFocus had to raise the barrier, and we're chuffed to say it has; all hail the excellent InFocus IN83
We don't know about you, but we'd certainly forgive InFocus for settling in to a recliner, putting its collective feet up and enjoying the view. After all, the company's assault on the projector market has been unforgiving, seizing two of our four projector Awards last year.
But it isn't resting on its laurels: it has trimmed the price of the IN82 and now releases the IN83.
The smooth curves remain instantly recognisable, as does the tidy little remote control and intuitive menus. But there are thankfully a few tweaks internally. Most notably the IN83 houses the latest 1080p DLP chipset from Texas Instruments, the DarkChip4 – the IN82 uses the DC3 chip.
Elsewhere on the spec panel, there's also an increased brightness, with a maximum ANSI lumens rating of 1600, as opposed to 1500 in the IN82.
Staggering levels of detail
The end result is simply stunning. Watching Ratatouille on Blu-ray, sending the 1080p/24fps signal directly from the player, the level of detail and three-dimensionality is staggering. The rats look so good we're almost inclined to lift our feet up off the ground, individual strands of hair being clearly visible on the rodents' skin. And it's this subtlety that, again with Cars, helps to deliver brilliantly involving images.
Switch to some real-life action and it's just as pleasing. Letters from Iwo Jima shows fine contrast levels with truly deep, dark blacks underpinning bold but natural brighter shades, while the level of three-dimensionality and insight still impresses. Motion is smooth too, making this InFocus a stunningly desirable piece of projection technology that justifies the outlay and will take some beating.
Tech Specs:
Type DLP
Aspect ratio 16:9
Max image size (in) 300
Throw ratio 1.85 - 2.22
Resolution 1920 x 1080
HD Ready yes
Full HD yes
Accepts 1080p yes
24fps yes
HDMI 1.3a yes
Rated contrast 5000:1
Rated brightness (Lumens) 1600
Rated fan noise (dB) 30
HDMI in 1
DVI in 0
PC in 0
Component in 1
RGB Scart in 0
S-Video in 1
Composite in 1
Phono audio in 0
Dimensions (hwd, cm) 15 x 48 x 43
Weight (kg) 6.4
Technorati Tags: 1080i, 1080p, 24fps, DLP, high-def , InFocus IN83, projector, Texas Instruments