InFocus X2 Digital Multimedia Projector

The InFocus X2 LCD projector may not be the smallest, lightest, or least-expensive budget projector on the market, but it is one of the brightest, and it can pump out a lights-on presentation in most boardrooms. Based on a 0.55-inch Texas Instruments digital light processing engine, this SVGA projector is tops in the budget class for brightness, uniformity, and contrast, but it has a frustratingly uneven focus and a cumbersome shutdown routine. At about AU$21990, the X2 puts out more light per dollar than any budget business projector, and the replacement lamp is rated for 4,000 hours of low-power use. The X2 could be a good choice for users who care more about power than portability.

Design
The InFocus X2 is an anonymous-looking projector that stretches the bounds of portability. At 249mm by 328mm by 107mm (WDH) and 3kg, the X2 is big for a portable projector. Add in the cables and the remote control, and you have a cumbersome 3.5kg travel package, and the InFocus X2 doesn't come with a bag. The recessed lens can zoom in and out by 10 percent, but the focus and zoom adjustment rings are so close together that they're easily confused. One and a half meters from the screen, the projector can create a 1 meter diagonal image, which is on the small side. Happily, for such a bright projector, it has minimal light leakage.

Features
The projector works in 4:3 or 16:9 mode and has a variety of colour-coded connectors for VGA-in and VGA-out, S-Video, and composite video, but the projector's audio connections are odd. The X2 has a miniplug output and stereo RCA inputs, but not the more convenient miniplug input. The projector does come with an adapter for connecting a notebook's audio to the projector's 2.5-watt speaker, but those little adapter bits are easy to lose. The miniplug input would be a better feature. It does have a unique 12-volt output for powering a motorised screen, but this feature is more trouble than it's worth for most users, because the motorised screens tend to be complicated to set up and use. The projector comes with a variety of cables, including a handy combination VGA-USB cable.

Getting the X2 started is a surprisingly quick task. The image appears in only 22 seconds, but it takes another 15 seconds for the projector to build to full brightness. The unit's 12-button control panel is oddly designed -- it's missing a power button -- and isn't intuitive. There's a separate on/off switch below, but you'll need to use the remote control for proper shutdown, then turn the fan off manually when the projector has cooled down. While we like the remote control's ability to navigate a PowerPoint show, make the screen go blank for quick notebook changes, and call up a variety of special effects, the unit lacks a laser pointer, an indispensable tool for giving presentations, so you'll have to juggle yet another tool. Changing the lamp takes a couple of minutes and involves snapping open a hatch, removing two bolts, and extracting the module by pulling on its power cable.

Performance
The CNET Labs' business projector tests show that performance is the X2's strong suit with 1,776 lumens of brightness, a phenomenal 97 percent uniformity, and a 516:1 contrast ratio, meaning that whites are white and blacks are black. Unfortunately, the projector's colour balance isn't as satisfying, particularly its greens, which look a bit yellowish. The image was always rock solid without any flicker, ghosting or streaking, but full-motion video appeared somewhat jumpy. The X2's exceptional ability to display sharp type makes for a good PowerPoint machine, but the focus is maddeningly uneven, with a soft spot in the upper-left corner.

Be warned: this is one loud projector -- loud enough to drown out normal conversations held next to the projector -- but its low-power mode can quiet it a little. Although its output drops to 1,432 lumens in low-power mode, it still outshines the brightness of its competitors' full-power modes.