2. Walkaround

The first thing you notice about the IN72 is that, unlike most of the digital projectors on the market, it is not shaped like a box. The casing is a sleek shiny piano black with silver sides and plenty of curves for prestige buyers. Even more important is the swivel pedestal that allows you to rotate and tilt the projector, making is very easy to align with a screen compared to the adjustable feet normally used with projectors. The pedestal can also be removed for ceiling mounting. The zoom and focus controls are located on top of the projector and are well designed as both are circular dials placed within each other. The menu buttons are also on top of the display, but as with most projectors, the remote has all the same controls and is much easier to use. The input panel is in the rear of the projector and is clearly marked for easy configuration.

The IN72 is larger and heavier than many other 480p projectors, weighing in at 9.3 lbs and using the same casing as the 576p (IN74EX) and 720p (IN76) offerings from InFocus. Despite the unconventional design, I found the IN72 easy to set up and operate.

Under The Hood

The IN72 has a native resolution of 854x480 (480p), which is standard for entry-level home theater projectors. The light engine is a 0.55" DLP DarkChip2 with a 4x, six-segment color wheel, which should take care of most viewers who might suffer from occasional "rainbow-itis," especially when compared to projectors from a few years ago that have 2x color wheels. The brightness is 900 lumens in full mode and 720 in economy mode, which is 150 more then its predecessor, the SP4805. This is notable as one of the few gripes about the SP4805 is that it could use a bit more brightness. The contrast ratio is 2000:1, which is a bit low compared to some other recently released 480p projectors, but this measurement is better judged with real-world testing anyway.

The projector lamp is rated at 3000 hours maximum, which is interesting because it does not give separate estimates for full and economy mode like most projectors. I would imagine you should get anywhere from 500 to 1000 more hours out of the lamp if you use economy mode full time. Other features include 10-bit color processing, 1.2:1 recessed zoom lens, motion-adaptive deinterlacing and 20 degree vertical keystone correction. The IN72 includes one HDMI input, one DVI input, one component video, S-video, composite video, RGB and a 3.5 mm mini-jack.

The remote control has a good look and feel with very few buttons, which is always welcome in my book. There is a dedicated button for all different aspect ratios, as well as one to change inputs. The remote also has a button on the back side that, when pressed, provides a blue backlight behind the buttons. This helps to see the buttons, but only slightly. Also, if you hold down the same button, a small light shines out of the front of the remote. InFocus claims this is a flashlight that will allow you find the popcorn bowl in the dark, etc. With the supplied batteries, this light was barely illuminated. I put in some new batteries of my own, but there was no improvement. This light might help if you are about one inch or less from an object, but that's about it.

The system menus were easy to understand and access, and there are plenty of image-adjustment controls for tweakers if desired.