InFocus Work Big IN10 projector

Good Gear Guide

  • Review
  • Specs
  • Images
  • User Reviews
  • Buy Online

When Infocus talks portable, they don't beat about the bush. The Work Big IN10 is a pocket rocket of a projector. It projects good quality images and can be carried around in a bag that's smaller than most women would carry under their arm. It is a DLP projector and has a native resolution of 1024x768 pixels. It can project sources that are 16:9 aspect ratio via interpolation but it is primarily a 4:3 business projector. While it works quite well, it is not without its problems. However, these are the same issues we have been seeing in Infocus business projectors for some time now.

Pros

  • Compact and lightweight, integrated speakers

Cons

  • Brightness, contrast and colour reproduction problems at default settings; overbearing white levels; uses proprietary M1-DA port; too expensive

Bottom Line

The Infocus Work Big IN10 is as tiny as business projectors come and can produce a reasonable image after calibration. It would best be suited to medium-sized boardrooms due to the throw distance and heat production.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 2,699.00 (AUD)

Special Offers

To test the projector we connected it to a PC via the provided M1-DA to D-Sub cable. What is M1-DA you ask? It is an offshoot of the DVI format also known as a VESA Plug and Display. It is useful as it can carry a digital signal but can also be used for analogue as well. It isn't used in many devices and as far as projectors are concerned, we have only ever seen it used by Infocus as a means of saving space on the rear panel.

In the case of the IN10, the M1 port is used to connect analogue D-Sub or component video but can also be used with a DVI port as well. However, only the D-Sub cable is provided in the sales package and should you lose it, the only place to get a new one will be from the manufacturer.

The first thing we noticed when viewing the projected image is that is was very similar to the quality seen on the Work Big IN24 and Work Big IN34. The desktop appeared too bright with all white elements overpowering the rest of the image, and colours were muddy and too dark. In the past, we learned how to fix this problem. The projector needs to be set to the "movie" or "film" preset and the colour temperature needs to be changed to "cool". Brightness and contrast also need to be adjusted but we found that the more you add of either, the more detail was lost in the image. There is a certain amount of compromise that needs to be made and a degree of image aberration that you will need to learn to live with. Those that expect plug and play usage may find themselves disappointedly bogged down in arduous calibration.

We found the throw distance to be quite good for a business unit. From a minimum distance of 1.52 metres the image size is 82 centimetres (measured diagonally) and from a maximum distance of 9.85 metres it can reach up to 6.77 metres. If you don't have a lot of space in the boardroom, this can represent a problem as the minimum throw distance may not work for you, but from the back of the room in a moderately sized boardroom, the image size will be more than adequate.

For something so small, the IN10 produces a great deal of heat. It isn't unbearable but in a small boardroom it could be a problem if the projector is used for extended periods. Thankfully, the projector isn't too noisy which is good since it doesn't have a quiet running mode.

The Work Big IN10 isn't the best business projector that Infocus has to offer, but it is certainly the smallest. That said, even though it is so compact and would be extremely convenient to setup for a quick notebook presentation -- the price tag is way too high especially considering the image quality issues.

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the PC World newsletter.

Be the first to comment.

Post new comment

Users posting comments agree to the Good Gear Guide comments policy.

Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.

Most Popular

Tethering tutorial: How to use your iPhone as a modem
Capacitive vs resistive touchscreens
LCD vs plasma vs LED TVs buying guide
How to pick the right size TV for your living room
Google Wallet makes payments possible through Gmail

Best Deals on PCWorld

ProjectorsView all »
TVsView all »
Home EntertainmentView all »
MonitorsView all »
Digital VideoView all »