Review: InFocus IN76

After a surprisingly long absence, InFocus returns to the projector fray with a vengeance

Once upon a time, InFocus ruled the home projection market with its extensive and oft-updated Screenplay range. But then it all went a bit quiet. Until now.

InFocus’ return to the UK scene makes an impact on a number of fronts. For starters, the Screenplay sub-brand has gone, leaving the new model simply called the InFocus IN76.

Next, the slightly drab aesthetics of InFocus projectors of past is replaced by a striking, almost circular, design finished in glossy black and silver, and handily mounted on a rotating, tilting foot.

Connections, meanwhile, prove outstanding for a sub-£2K projector, including as they do two separate digital video inputs, plus options for PC, component video, S-video and USB.

The IN76’s claimed specifications read well too – especially the HD-Ready native DLP resolution of 1280x720, a strong contrast ratio of 3000:1, and an unusually high brightness of 1000 ANSI Lumens.

The video-processing engine looks the business, too. It’s a 10-bit affair from acclaimed third-party outfit Pixelworks, and as such can take in and work with the 1080p HD format being promised for Blu-ray discs.

Getting the IN76 ready for action is straightforward considering what a sophisticated projector it is. The remote control, for instance, is backlit and well laid out.

That jointed foot, meanwhile, makes it easy to get a picture on your screen, no matter how weirdly shaped your living room. And the on-screen menus never blind you with science or overburden you with scrappy sub-menus.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of features to play with, though. For instance, you can adjust the gamma levels, the white peaking settings, fleshtones, a noise-reduction system, the colour temperature and the red, green and blue components of the image individually. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

So, has InFocus been idly twiddling its thumbs in the protracted period since its last new projector? Most certainly not.

The most immediate impact of its classy pictures comes from their sheer clarity. There is practically no sign of any sort of video noise anywhere.

DLP technology’s common troubles with fizzing noise over horizontal motion and green dotting in dark areas seem a thing of the past: fine details look devoid of colour moiré; sharp edges are free of shiny echoes or jaggedness; and general unpleasantness like grain or dot crawl has all gone.

There are sporadic flashes of DLP’s tell-tale colour striping in your peripheral vision, but this occurs far less commonly than is usual for a sub-£2K projector.

All this image cleanliness leaves you more free to enjoy, and get lost in, the other strengths of the IN76’s pictures – strengths which include some outstanding black levels able to render dark parts of a film with total confidence and a superb degree of subtle shading.

Colours are also more natural in tone and well saturated than we’re used to seeing in the affordable end of DLP/LCD projections. And the Pixelworks scaling engine works its magic to deliver both a superbly sharp picture with HD sources and an outstandingly clean standard-definition image.

Such a talented scaling system frankly has no business being on a projector as cheap as £1,700.

If you’re looking for a top-class movie projector that punches absolutely miles above its price weight, your bucks should stop here.