InFocus LP530

Bright light conditions pose no problem for this all-round performer.

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Price: £3231.25

Manufacturer: InFocus

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Verdict

This is a superb portable projector that will handle any projection situation with ease; from difficult venues where the light streams in from all directions, to home cinema. It is particularly recommended for those with a large library of VHS video material which will benefit greatly from the Faroudja video technology.

Ken McMahon, Personal Computer World 16 Jan 2002

The InFocus LP530 looks to be an exciting proposition whether you're after a lightweight portable projector for business presentations, or have serious cash to spend on a home cinema system.

The XGA resolution (1,024 x 768) LP530 sets new standards by being the first portable projector rated at 2,000 ANSI Lumens. The LP520 is an SVGA (800 x 600) resolution model identical to the LP530 in all other respects.

A projector's light output is measured in ANSI Lumens. Typically, portable LCD and DLP projectors are rated at anything from 700 to 1,300 ANSI Lumens, so this is a big step up.

Additionally, the LP530 incorporates Faroudja deinterlacing for improved video performance. Faroudja is a respected name in high-end home theatre and the fact that InFocus isn't pushing this aspect of the projector's performance, instead concentrating on its strengths as a portable and conference room presentation tool, seems odd.

Possibly the fact that InFocus has announced a partnership with Toshiba to market a home cinema projection system (probably including Faroudja's technology) goes some way to explaining this.

The LP530 is elegantly designed. The top panel features the usual InFocus arrangement of buttons for the OSM as well as dedicated buttons for power, source, volume, standby and digital keystone correction. If only everyone would follow the InFocus example and put keystone correction where you can get at it quickly and easily (with adjustment that corrects for both up and down projection angles), life would be so much easier. All of these functions are replicated on the 16-button slimline remote.

At the back is the M1-DA connector which, using the analog cable supplied, connects both to the PC-VGA output and USB port for remote mouse control.

A digital cable is available as an optional extra. The rear panel also features S-Video, composite video and audio inputs.

The built-in 3w mono speaker, while no substitute for an external system, is more than adequate for a small conference room or classroom. An optional connectivity module provides a second (analog) computer input, component video, a monitor loop-through and an RS-232 port.

With the source connected you just hit the button and the projector does the rest, automatically polling the input sources for a signal. Resolutions up to 1,280 x 1,024 are scaled to the LP530's native 1,024 x 768. Focus and zoom are operated manually and the 1.2x zoom lens provides an image from four feet to 10 feet wide at distances from seven to 21 feet.

Image quality is nothing short of superb and this is in large part due to the additional light output. Though light spills from the front grille aperture, this isn't nearly as serious a problem as with some other InFocus models. At projection distances of around 12 to 15 feet we had no problem viewing both data and video with the room lights on.

As the Faroudja video deinterlacing can't be turned off, it's difficult to say how effective it is at improving picture quality; and any purely visual assessment is, in any case, likely to be highly subjective. All the same, in our view, the picture quality of VHS video was markedly superior to anything else we've seen, including other InFocus projectors.

DVD was a much closer call. The picture quality was excellent, contrast was good (rated at 400:1) and colours well saturated. The pixellation of flat colour was less obvious, but the image had a slight softness which was no less undesirable.

At 39dB the noise output is unobtrusive and you can reduce it further by operating the projector in low-power mode, which reduces the light output of the lamp to 1,600 lumens (more than adequate for most purposes), reduces the fan speed and extends the lamp life beyond the quoted 2,000 hours.

At well under 3kg (2.9kg with the optional connectivity module, 2.6kg without it) and a light output rating that puts the competition in the shade, the LP530 is without doubt the projector to take to venues where conditions are unfavourable. It's also a great home cinema choice.

Contact
InFocus: 0800 028 6470 www.infocus.com

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