Infocus IN5108

The InFocus IN5108 is a large, powerful projector that is designed for displaying images in bright environments. It does this capably, and it also acquits itself well when displaying high-definition video.

There is no denying that it is quite an ugly beast. Its grey finish is uninspiring to say the least. Function definitely triumphs over form, with a built-in carry handle on the unit’s side, as well as easily adjustable feet.

The IN5108 is certainly no Maxon Visimax: with measurements of 42cm by 32cm and standing 13cm high, you will need significant space for it. A weight of over seven kilograms means it is definitely not portable.

Setting it up is a simple procedure. HDMI is the chief input, but composite, component, S-Video, VGA and BNC are also available.

We hooked the IN5108 up to an Xbox 360 for gaming and HD video tests, as well as a Lenovo ThinkPad W700 (275854M) to test its presentation performance. A native resolution of 1400x1050 is close to the 1080p standard, so only a small amount of scaling is necessary. Alternatively, a 720p input will be accepted. This scaling does not impact heavily upon picture quality — the video delivered by the IN5108 was crisp and full of detail. Our HD gaming tests showed that the projector is capable of displaying vibrant colour in full-motion video.

A brightness level of 5000 ANSI lumens is overkill for almost any situation. We tested the IN5108 in a bright, day-lit room with fluorescent lights on and found presentation images displayed with no apparent loss of contrast or detail.

Sharpness is equally exemplary with fine-tuning available to make pictures consistently and brilliantly sharp. Presentations had great definition on graphs and charts, with no bleeding of colour or over-sharpening.

Contrast levels were not the highest we have seen, but the IN5108's high brightness is more important because of the projector's focus on presentations. The active iris mode works well to dynamically increase contrast, and this is the projector’s saving grace for gaming and video content.

With such a high brightness level we were expecting loud operation but thanks to the large body heat output is well managed by a quiet exhaust fan. A lamp life of 2000 hours in default mode is lower than we would have liked, especially given that many of these models will be set up in school halls and meeting rooms.

We were expecting the IN5108 to be a one-trick pony — only good for high brightness presentations in large spaces — but its ability to display high-definition content crisply and play video and HD games with acceptable quality left us pleasantly surprised.