If you need a high-resolution business projector for showing detailed data images, the InFocus IN119HDx ($549) may sound almost too good to be true. It combines a low price, 1080p (1,920-by-1,080) resolution, and suitable brightness for a small-to-midsize room, and is also light enough to carry with you. That makes it of obvious interest, particularly if you're on a tight budget or need the portability.

What's most striking about the IN119HDx ($725.00 at Amazon) is its low price. Compared with the Panasonic PT-RZ370U , which is our Editors' Choice high-resolution data projector for midsize rooms, it costs significantly less. The Panasonic model is meant primarily for permanent installation, and is loaded with expensive features, like lens shift. A more telling comparison is to the BenQ MH630 ($569.99 at Amazon) , which offers similar brightness, size, and features, but still costs more. It also weighs more, making the IN119HDx the more portable of the two.

Brightness

InFocus rates the projector's brightness at 3,200 lumens. As with the vast majority of single-chip DLP models, however, the IN119HDx has significantly lower color brightness than white brightness, which can affect both color quality and the brightness of color images. (For more on color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, Why It Matters.)

That said, using the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations as a point of reference, 3,200 lumens would be bright enough with a 1.0-gain screen in theater-dark lighting for a 221- to 299-inch image (measured diagonally) at the projector's native 16:9 aspect ratio. In moderate ambient light, the appropriate size would drop to about 145 inches. For smaller screen sizes, you can lower the projector's brightness by taking advantage of its Eco mode, its lower-brightness presets, or both.

Setup, Image Quality, and Audio

At 4.7 by 11.5 by 8.7 inches (HWD) and 5 pounds 6 ounces, the IN119HDx is easily small and light enough to carry on the go or store away easily when you're not using it, but also appropriate for placement on a cart or permanent installation. Setup is standard, with a manual focus and a manual 1.3X zoom. Connectors for image sources are limited to two VGA ports for computers and component video, one HDMI port for a computer or video source, and both S-video and composite video ports. The HDMI port supports 3D with video devices like Blu-ray players.

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Our standard suite of DisplayMate tests turned up more problems with the IN119HDx than is typical, making the quality for data images well short of excellent, but still good enough for most purposes.

As is common for projectors with a difference between white brightness and color brightness, colors are nicely saturated, but some—including red, blue, and yellow—are notably dark in terms of a hue-saturation-brightness model in some predefined modes. In addition, I saw a noticeable lack of brightness uniformity in the test unit and an annoying level of dynamic moiré in patterns designed to bring out that issue.

The lack of brightness uniformity, with the left side of the screen cooler than the middle section, was significant enough in testing to see even with a screen full of text breaking up the visual field. However, it's unlikely that anyone will find it bothersome. The same can't be said of the dynamic moiré, but unless you use patterned fills rather than solid blocks of color in your graphics, you may never see the problem. You can also avoid it entirely by using a digital (HDMI) connection instead.

The IN119HDx does an excellent job holding detail. White text on black, for example, was crisp and readable at sizes as small as 6 points in my tests. Black text on white was highly readable at sizes as small as 5 points. It also helps that the image is nearly free of rainbow artifacts (flashes of red, green, and blue) for static data images.

Unfortunately, rainbow artifacts show often enough with full-motion video to be annoying to anyone who's sensitive to them and bothered by them. Video quality is acceptable otherwise, but lengthy video clips are best avoided, in case there's anyone in your audience who sees these artifacts easily.

If you need sound, plan on plugging an external system into the IN119HDx's stereo audio output. The built-in, 2-watt speaker offers acceptable sound quality if you're close enough, but the volume is too low to fill even a small room. The fan is also louder than typical, with a 30dB rating even in Eco mode, and easy to hear from 15 feet away. I'm not usually bothered by fan noise, but found it hard to ignore. If it's one of your pet peeves, you'll almost certainly find it annoying.

Conclusion

If you need a top-quality, high-resolution image for a permanently installed projector, and you're not on a tight budget, the Panasonic PT-RZ370U is still the obvious choice. It's also worth looking at in any case, just to see what you're giving up with lower-cost models. If you want to stay with a low price, but are willing to pay a bit more for a bit better image quality, you should certainly take a look at the BenQ MH630. However, if price or portability matters most, the InFocus IN119HDx belongs in the running, with a lower price than the BenQ model, a lighter weight, and enough bang for the buck to make it a more-than-reasonable choice.

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