InFocus IN114x 3D-ready DLP projector: Low price, good value [Review]

Although it’s primarily designed for business and classroom use, the IN114x DLP projector is a good all-rounder that’s as suited to the home as it is to the office.

It’s affordable, offers decent image quality, and can display 2D and 3D content from a range of sources, including Blu-rays, PCs, and cable boxes. It’s not the smallest projector on the market, but it is compact and lightweight enough to make it easy to transport from location to location.

The IN114x is 121mm(H) x 292mm(W) x 220mm(D) in size and weighs 2.50KG. The projector’s design isn’t revolutionary -- the ports are on the back, the controls on the top towards the rear, with focus and zoom knobs towards the front -- but the lens is recessed, which means you’re not likely to damage it when transferring the projector to somewhere new. You can ceiling mount the IN114x if you’re planning to keep it in the one place.

The IN114x offers a wide array of ports -- 2 VGA inputs, a monitor out, S-video and composite video, HDMI 1.4, RS232C, and USB-B. A VGA cable is supplied. There are also three 3.5mm audio ports -- two for audio in and one for audio out. Sound through the projector is provided by a single 2 watt speaker.

Set up is easy and takes seconds. Just connect your inputs and plug it into the mains -- it uses a standard power cord (supplied) as found with desktop PCs. Hit the on button, and then wait around 5-10 seconds for it to come to life. The angle of the image is adjusted by twisting the feet on the underside.

The controls on the top let you access the menu and switch between sources. The projector comes with a small remote that offers all of the controls you could want including keystone buttons, magnify, volume, resize and overscan. The remote takes two AAA batteries, although none are supplied.

Now we come to the important part -- the image quality. Color reproduction is good, with the DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology managing decent yellows and reds here. The image is, as you might expect, a little soft (LCD projectors offer a sharper image), but text was very readable, even at smaller sizes. The IN114x offers a native XGA (1024x768) resolution but handles higher resolutions -- up to 1920 x 1200 -- well enough. The impressive contrast ratio of 15000:1 means blacks are very dark, and whites are nice and bright. The 3200 lumens lamp ensures the image is clear even when viewed in a well-lit room. There are preset modes that will adjust the image based on the colour of the surface you’re projecting on to.

While the native aspect ratio is 4:3 the IN114x can produce a 16:9 image without any loss of quality. The projector has a throw ratio of 1.9-2.09 and a zoom ratio of 1.1:1.

InFocus promises an average lamp life of 10,000 hours in Eco Blanking mode, 6,000 hours when in Eco Mode, and 4,500 hours when in normal mode. When you come to change the lamp, it’s just a matter of undoing the single screw on the side of the lamp door, sliding the door to the right and lifting it off.

You don’t get much documentation with the product, but the supplied CD includes user guides in a choice of languages.

At £292 from Ebuyer (with free delivery) this is a decent projector that delivers good quality images, is highly portable, and offers a good selection of ports and functionality. The controls on the top of the projector are pretty basic, but if you’re using the remote (and you will be if ceiling mounting), that’s not likely to be a big deal.

You can buy the InFocus IN114x from Ebuyer here.

The full list of specs is as follows: