Looking for a budget-friendly home entertainment projector? Well, the InFocus IN116X might just be an ideal fit for you. Starting at $399, the IN116X is priced competitively. Plus, it’s equipped with a range of features that make it ideal for a number of different applications, including home entertainment.
As a budget projector, the IN116X does have some limitations; it doesn’t have a built-in audio speaker, for example. But that’s to be expected from a sub-$500 projector. Yet, there’s a lot to like. The DLP-based projector is ultra-low maintenance, with an average lamp life of 4,500 hours. Plus, the image quality is perfect for watching TV or Blu-Ray content in the 1280×800 widescreen resolution. This isn’t a Full HD projector; but it works nicely in the living room for home video at a fraction of the price of Full HD set-ups.
InFocus IN116X: Pros
There are a number of applications that the IN116X does particularly well. The projector is 3D ready, has an HDMI input to connect with a Blu-Ray player and other digital devices, and the image quality is impressive. Here are a few highlights:
- Quality Brightness: The IN116X is rated at 3,200 ASNI lumens, which drops to 2,900 in eco-mode. That’s perfect for living rooms, which can be fairly dark but still let in some ambient light.
- Impressive Lamp Life: Cost of ownership is low for the IN116X, thanks in a large part to the long lamp life of 4,500 in standard mode and up to 10,000 in its best power-saving mode. That’s far above average. The good news: The IN116X’s replacement lamp is a low-cost investment starting at $248. The part number is known as SP-LAMP-093.
- Awesome Color Performance: Aided by InFocus’s BrilliantColor technology and a 15,000:1 contrast ratio, the IN116X delivers supreme color performance. The blacks are dark, the whites are brilliant white, and there’s substantial detail in the shadows.
- Useful Connection Options: The projector is equipped with a range of connections including HDMI, S-Video, Composite, and VGA. Plus, there’s a 3.5 mm audio-out jack for easy connection to external audio.
InFocus IN116X: Cons
Although there’s a lot to like, the projector does have its limitations. It’s not equipped with the feature set you’re likely to see from a more expensive home theater projector, but fortunately, the limitations are few.
- Occasional Rainbow Effect: As with many DLP-based projectors, the rainbow effect is occasionally present. Yet, it’s kept to a minimum, and the majority of users aren’t likely to notice.
- Limited Set-Up Flexibility: The IN116X weighs just about 5 pounds, which is great for portability. But it doesn’t have lens shift capabilities, and it’s a long-throw projector. So in very tight spaces, this might not be the best piece of hardware.
- No Built-In Audio: Many projectors these days are equipped with built-in audio, but that’s not the case with the IN116X. Fortunately, the projector has easy connections to external sound; but if you’re looking for a plug-and-play option, this might not be what you’re after.
Bottom line, at just about $400 new, the InFocus IN116X delivers quality performance, at a microscopic price. It might not have the most robust features, but if you’ll just be using this for home entertainment, it might just be an ideal set-up.