[Muf]

I got my IN82 yesterday and spent most of yesterday evening installing it. My previous projector was the IN78 so any observations are in comparison to it and may be of interest to anyone considering a similar upgrade.

My room is quite small 11' 2" wide 14' long with an alcove at the back for the equipment, the ceiling is 8' high. My screen is white unity gain 16:9, 2.3 Metres wide (104" diag) and the bottom edge is 23" from the floor. The seating at the back wall gives a viewing distance of about 13'. I had my IN78 mounted inside the room but would have preferred to mount it at the far side of the wall shining through an aperture to reduce heat and noise. This was never possible because there is a stairwell there leading up to the bedrooms and with the low mounting position of the IN78 you would hit your head off it from the bottom step. Because of the increased offset of the IN82 I was able to mount it at the stairwell and because of the increased throw and size I had to move it back anyway. I had all the calculations done and the hole made in the wall before I got the IN82. I mounted the 82 on an aluminium plate 300mm x 500mm x 3mm and attached this with wing nuts to three threaded rods protruding from the ceiling. The wing nuts give me fine adjustment of pitch and roll and the whole assembly is pretty tight to the ceiling. Focusing is a two man job now but shouldn't need to be carried out too often. I use RS232 control for my equipment but the IN82 has a socket for a remote IR sensor. The IN82 is quieter than the IN78 but not as quiet as my cinema room now is. The reduction in heat build up means I will need to run the air conditioning less. There seems to be a third benefit to this installation method, a lot of stray light from the lens is reflected back in to the stairwell area instead of getting bounced around my cinema room. The cut out in the wall at the projector side is quite small and only lines up with the lower half of the lens, not the entire lens area. I will be able to fine tune this further when I get the hole framed properly.

What about the picture.
CONTRAST: The native contrast with the iris fully open is rated at 4000:1 compared to 3500:1 for the IN78 and the improvement is noticeable even with the very bright picture of the IN82. I was worried that closing the iris completely to achieve the rated 12,000:1 would result in an un-watchable picture but this is not the case. It is dim to the extent that your eyes take a few seconds to adjust after coming in from the lit hallway. I know some people like it that dim but I will probably be using a setting about mid way.
I have a basic lux meter and was going to do a comparison in brightness between the two projectors using the white screen of the inbuilt test patterns. My IN78 has about 870 hours clocked up and might be a bit dimmer than when new. Before I took it down I selected the white test screen and measured 13.5 fc at the centre of the screen. My plan was to put up the white test on the IN82 and find the iris setting that gave me the same level as the IN78 then observe the picture improvement at that setting. For some reason I only read 7.4 fc on the IN82 with the iris fully open so the white in the test pattern is far below the brightest white that the projector can produce. That was that plan out the window, I should probably have made up a white image in photo shop and displayed it from my HTPC. By the way I measured 2.2 fc with the iris fully closed.

RESOLUTION: I was not expecting a big improvement in this department with the 13 foot viewing distance but I have changed my mind now. There is a definite improvement in clarity of blue ray and HD material especially when your eyes get a chance to study detail in a fairly motionless image like a close up of someone’s face. Of course with the PC desktop and internet browsing the improvement is obvious.

COLOUR: There is a noticeable improvement here also the colours look much more realistic although the IN78 was very good. I have not played around with the settings yet but the out of the box colour settings do look much more accurate than the IN78.

REFRESH RATE: The EDID on the IN82 is great. For 1920 x1080 there is a whole list of refresh rates, 23Hz, 24Hz, 25Hz included. My HTPC is Vista based with Nvidia 8500GT, I have it connected in directly to the IN82 M1 input. When I went in to the Nvidia control panel I was able to select 24Hz and play Blue Ray without judder, this was not possible with the IN78. I find that the fast Zoom out from the Columbia statue is a great way to test for this.

PROBLEMS: The only problem so far is that I can’t get the HDMI input to recognise the HDMI output from my Denon AVC-A11XV amp, this worked ok on the IN78. It might just be a setting somewhere, I will have another look at it.

Jim.

[gazbarber]

Great mini review, in summary would you advise people with a similar quality 720p projector to IN78 (being one of the better 720p models) to upgrade to this, funds permitting? or do you feel its a more evolutionary improvement?

[Muf]

Hi gazbarber, I would definitely recommend the upgrade if it was being used a lot for HD but the IN78 is still a great projector in my opinion. I hope to get Kramer to do an un-biased review on the IN82 shortly, I am DLP biased, haven’t looked at an LCD since I discovered DLP. I know I should and I would also love to get a look at the JVC in a proper environment.

By the way I discovered there are two white screens in the test pattern set and I was using the darker one. I have taken the measurements now again and the IN82 is achieving the same brightness as my 870 hour IN78 with the iris close to the closed end of the scale. Well it was 2 am when I did it, sorry about that.

Jim.

[jacked]

Very informative Muf.
So is this your first look at 1080p through a projector ? I saw a difference in 1080p picture quality on a 40" LCD TV so I`ve been very anxious to hear the first opinions on the IN82 and for the phonecall from Sevenoaks !
I`ve got the Screenplay 7205 with really very little bulb useage on it and although it`s fantastic quality the idea of the IN82 with that spec could prove too hard to resist. My sources are Toshiba HD-DVD, Sky HD, PS3 and HTPC Media Centre so 1080 capability is a must at some stage.
Do you mind me asking how much you got it for ?

[Klippie]

Thanks for the review Muf, It sounds like the IN82 is a good upgrade from the IN78...

Now that you've got the light output set to a similar level as the IN78 how does the picture look now regarding black level, contrast colour etc. I'am curious to hear you comments as the two machines are DC3 chipped so should look similar.

How does the RBE look compared to the IN78.

Pictures please...

[Muf]

Hi jacked, yes this is my first taste of 1080p projector life. You will be pleasantly surprised when you get one. I skipped the 7205, I went from the 7200 (MT-8) to the 7210 that was a big jump in performance. Then I got the IN78, that was less of a jump but a fair improvement in contrast and noise level. Now the IN82 is another big jump.
Here in Ireland things tend to be more expensive than the UK and we also have a higher VAT rate (21%) so this might not be a good comparison for you. Retail including VAT is €4,754.

Jim.

[Muf]

Klippie, with the light output on par the 82 is a long way ahead on contrast and black levels. I don't have figures, my lux meter won't go low enough to measure the black level at the screen. I might be able to measure at a fixed distance fairly close to the lens but then I would have to set up the IN78 again.
Regarding RBE I was very sensitive to it in the beginning but rarely notice it now so I would be a bad judge. Kramer might take a look at it over the weekend and give his opinion.
Pictures, I don't even have my tools tidied away yet.

[jacked]

Originally Posted by Muf

Hi jacked, yes this is my first taste of 1080p projector life. You will be pleasantly surprised when you get one. I skipped the 7205, I went from the 7200 (MT-8) to the 7210 that was a big jump in performance. Then I got the IN78, that was less of a jump but a fair improvement in contrast and noise level. Now the IN82 is another big jump.
Here in Ireland things tend to be more expensive than the UK and we also have a higher VAT rate (21%) so this might not be a good comparison for you. Retail including VAT is €4,754.

Jim.

Hello Again
I had my first demo of the IN82 today with Bluray and it didn`t take long to convince me to get one, a really noticeable difference in quality from my 7205
I know you said you owned a 7210 so must be familiar with the brand, I`m just wondering if you`d know if the IN82 would accept the same mounting plate for a ceiling bracket ?
The one I saw today was on a table behind the viewing position so I coudn`t get to see the underside.
Thanks again.

[Muf]

Hello jacked,
The mounting holes are in different positions so you would need to drill the plate, also the lens is at the opposite side. The most important thing is the offset, 116% for the 7205 compared to 136% for the IN82 so it will need to be mounted much closer to the ceiling. The IN82 has a longer throw as well so may need to be mounted further back. In my installation the IN82 is less than an inch from the ceiling. You can download the IN82 owners manual (Reference guide) from the support section of the InFocus site. All the mounting hole dimensions are on page 29, the thread size is M6.
Sorry for the delay in replying I have been engrossed by my new projector.

Jim.

[jacked]

Originally Posted by Muf

Hello jacked,
The mounting holes are in different positions so you would need to drill the plate, also the lens is at the opposite side. The most important thing is the offset, 116% for the 7205 compared to 136% for the IN82 so it will need to be mounted much closer to the ceiling. The IN82 has a longer throw as well so may need to be mounted further back. In my installation the IN82 is less than an inch from the ceiling. You can download the IN82 owners manual (Reference guide) from the support section of the InFocus site. All the mounting hole dimensions are on page 29, the thread size is M6.
Sorry for the delay in replying I have been engrossed by my new projector.

Jim.

Thanks very much for that.
I`ll see if I can download that manual and get more familiar with it before I take delivery. On the demo the IN82 was just behind the couch on a table and I noticed it was a lot quieter than my 7205 and now you are telling me that it needs to be mounted closer to the ceiling is great news, they have the same screen as me so I took my tape measure and I think I should be ok, I hope to god I measured it right !
What sort of things have you been watching on it ?
Thanks Jim

[Dreamer]

very good review Muf. I've had the themescene hd80 on my list until i seen a review of the infocus82 recently. Didn't think it was already out! I have a seleco crt and i'm about to go hd. This seems to fit the bill at present. I hope to have my new wooden ht room finished in a month or so and i am planning to have the pj behind the rear wall in another small room with a hole for the lens like your set-up. Can't believe i have found someone who has done what i am hoping to do and with the same equipment and i too live in Ireland to the north. Please could you post some pics of the hole in the wall for the lens and pj mount in particular and perhaps some screen shots if you have the equipment!!

thanks

[Muf]

Thanks Dreamer, I will try to get a few shots posted today or tomorrow at the latest. I have never posted photos before so will have to find out about required compression size etc.
When you say wooden HT room do you mean wood panelled?

Jim

[Dreamer]

The whole building is wooden. It's 16ft by 10ft. Out helping build it at the minute!! Taking pictures as we go along and will have to figure out how to post them too but am waiting till it is finished.

[Muf]

The Hole.

Don't look too closely at the standard of the wood work. Actually I had a lot of fun with the hole, there was a 4x2 stud right in the way so I had to cut it without going through the plasterboard on the far side because the hole on the far side was going to be much smaller . That was the easy part, the fun part was splicing a new piece of 4x2 on to the existing one inside the cavity.
I used some basic mathematics to work out how much lower the bottom edge of the hole needed to be on the inside and made a little box which slips in to the hole. The bracket is just a flat piece of aluminium from RS. I could trim it off nicely if I had access to a band saw but in fact I had it all measured and drilled before the projector arrived so that I could mount it asap. It has not come down since. The exhaust vent blows up the stairway so there will be no danger of overheating.

Jim.

[gazbarber]

All you need to do now is add a piece of glass and noise would become an extreme non issue.

Impressive, just got to make sure nothing touches it at the other end once calibrated/setup.

[Dreamer]

Muf this is great . Just running through options regarding a stud wall etc for the pj. May just enclose off half or less of the space for it. These pics are helping me so much!! Many thanks. Nearly got the frames for the sides done and that will be it for now. Could be another week before we get back to it so will be a few weeks yet until the main work is done but at least it gives me a chance to catch up with the latest pj's. If you are able could you post some screen shots of the In82 in operation and of your room in general.

[kmark40]

Just purchased this pj and was initially blown away by it from every single source (and input) pumped into it. Was a little worried when I tried the blacker than black test on both the THX optimizer and the DVE HDDVD. Have just intalled firmware 2.5 and can confirm that this upgrade has eradicated the BTB problem (and the 24fps judder). Before (on the THX brightness calibration) I was not able to see the THX logo, no matter what I did. Now it is visible and each gradient up to the 8th shade is now also visible). I HIGHLY recommend this PJ !

[Muf]

Welcome to the club, mine has 336 Hrs clocked up so far.
There was a discussion on the blacker than black issue on the US forum and I discovered that it is visible when the colour space is set to RGB Video whereas the default was RGB so just a matter of settings. Could I ask what version of firmware you had before the update, mine came with 2.4. I downloaded the V 2.5 when it came out but it gave an error at the step where you proceed with the upgrade that is after it successfully recognised the IN82. I am now thinking there might have been a bug in the 2.5 version they posted initially. I have just downloaded it now again and although it is the same version the file size is slightly larger. I will try the update again in the next day or so when I get a chance.

Jim.

[kmark40]

If I recall, it was your discussion regarding BTB on AVS forums that I first read about the issue. My former FW was 2.4 and the new shadow detail that I can see is whilst in REC709 in the colour space option. I didn't have to change to RGB Video. Theres not much discussion re this PJ. Either thats a good sign or people aren't buying it?

[serial45]

Originally Posted by kmark40

Just purchased this pj and was initially blown away by it from every single source (and input) pumped into it. Was a little worried when I tried the blacker than black test on both the THX optimizer and the DVE HDDVD. Have just intalled firmware 2.5 and can confirm that this upgrade has eradicated the BTB problem (and the 24fps judder). Before (on the THX brightness calibration) I was not able to see the THX logo, no matter what I did. Now it is visible and each gradient up to the 8th shade is now also visible). I HIGHLY recommend this PJ !

About to order this projector, decided on this over the JVCHD1.

How can i update the firmware when it arrives? do you do it via a terminal at the back?

Thanks in advance mate

[kmark40]

Download Firmware v2.5 from here http://www.infocus.com/support/Produ...tors/IN82.aspx

connect a laptop/pc via serial lead ( null modem female to female type. I had to use a serial adapter as I have no serial port on my pc)to the RS232 port on the rear of the PJ. Then follow the onscreen instructions. It is easy. Where you buying? Avwow gave me a good deal.

[serial45]

Originally Posted by kmark40

Download Firmware v2.5 from here http://www.infocus.com/support/Produ...tors/IN82.aspx

connect a laptop/pc via serial lead ( null modem female to female type. I had to use a serial adapter as I have no serial port on my pc)to the RS232 port on the rear of the PJ. Then follow the onscreen instructions. It is easy. Where you buying? Avwow gave me a good deal.

Just looking at AVwow now mate, what deal did you get?
The price match + 5% deal looks pretty amazing!

[keithlewin]

Good review Muf

I've just ordered my IN 82. I'll be completely new to projectors. You mentioned a problem with the HDMI recognition from the Denon. I too have the AVC A1XVA and don't want any problems. Have you fixed the issue? I'd be keen to know as I'm still within cancellation timeframe on the projector if need be. I'm very excited but nervous of compatibility issues (I was so disappointed that I couldn't get 1080p from my Denon to my Pioneer 506 plasma and don't want to repeat the experience). Cheers. Keith

[jacked]

Originally Posted by keithlewin

Good review Muf

I've just ordered my IN 82. I'll be completely new to projectors. You mentioned a problem with the HDMI recognition from the Denon. I too have the AVC A1XVA and don't want any problems. Have you fixed the issue? I'd be keen to know as I'm still within cancellation timeframe on the projector if need be. I'm very excited but nervous of compatibility issues (I was so disappointed that I couldn't get 1080p from my Denon to my Pioneer 506 plasma and don't want to repeat the experience). Cheers. Keith

I don`t know if this helps you at all but my IN82 has been installed for about 2 weeks and it really does produce a stunning picture.
It is connected via HDMI to the new Yamaha RXV-3800 amp but when you first power everything up the IN82 took an age to lock onto the HDMI and display a picture. Eventually the picture shows up but as soon as you changed sources on the amp the picture goes off and then takes an age again to re-sync.
I have now found the solution; there`s an Autosource option in the menu settings that was activated and you would think that would be correct, but when I de-activated this option and came out of the menu the IN82 searched for an image and re-synced in a matter of seconds.
So, now this setting is off and even when you switch sources on the amp, the projector re-syncs in seconds and shows the picture.
It`s now 100% perfect, you can buy in confidence.
Cheers,
Dave

[kmark40]

I've had mine about the same amount of time now and since the fw update, I can't find any fault watsoever. Even SD is stunning on it. I'm just really surprised that there isn't more chat about this item!!!

[celtic13]

Hi all

Could someone give an indication of how noisy this projector is...can you detect the spinning wheel?

Best regards

Paul

[Muf]

Originally Posted by kmark40

If I recall, it was your discussion regarding BTB on AVS forums that I first read about the issue. My former FW was 2.4 and the new shadow detail that I can see is whilst in REC709 in the colour space option. I didn't have to change to RGB Video. Theres not much discussion re this PJ. Either thats a good sign or people aren't buying it?

Sorry for not posting sooner, I did the firmware update last week and it worked flawlessly. The file name and size was different than the one InFocus had on the support page for the first week or so even though the version number was the same, there must have been a bug in the one they put up initially.

Regarding the lack of discussion, I find that on the forums a few products get a lot of hype and become the centre of discussion. Pretty soon one could be led to believe that anything else is not worth considering. There are probably many worthy projectors that don't get mentioned much here.

Jim.

[Muf]

Originally Posted by keithlewin

Good review Muf

I've just ordered my IN 82. I'll be completely new to projectors. You mentioned a problem with the HDMI recognition from the Denon. I too have the AVC A1XVA and don't want any problems. Have you fixed the issue? I'd be keen to know as I'm still within cancellation timeframe on the projector if need be. I'm very excited but nervous of compatibility issues (I was so disappointed that I couldn't get 1080p from my Denon to my Pioneer 506 plasma and don't want to repeat the experience). Cheers. Keith

I updated the firmware last week to version 2.5 and a few days later I tried the HDMI through the Denon again. My amp is the AVC-A11XV by the way. Strangely the problem still seemed to be there but after going through the settings in the Denon it suddenly started working. I don't know exactly what I did, just changed some of the HDMI settings and then changed them back again so that in effect everything was back as it was before I started. If I had tried this with the 2.4 firmware it may have worked too. It was as if the Denon had somehow married itself to my previous IN78 projector and refused to talk to the IN82 until the setup procedure was executed again. Who knows what strange data is traversing the HDMI link apart from those that dreamed it up.

I had a very pleasant surprise with my amp last week after acquiring a PS3. I was considering the upgrade of my Denon from XV to XVA spec so that I could have 1080p switching along with HD audio. I hooked up the PS3, set it to 720p and got the HD audio working. Kramer was visiting at the time and he suggested trying it at 1080p, I said the screen will just go black (I already tried 1080p from my HTPC when I first got the IN82). We tried it anyway, well lo and behold 1080p worked just fine through the amp. According to the Denon site the XVA upgrade is required for 1080p up scaling and 1080p switching. Now I don't need the upgrade.

Jim.

[Muf]

Originally Posted by celtic13

Hi all

Could someone give an indication of how noisy this projector is...can you detect the spinning wheel?

Best regards

Paul

It is fairly quiet Paul but not silent. It does not have the distinctive colour wheel whine that the earlier DLP's had, just low whoosh from the fan. The exhaust is toward the right side of the room as you face the screen so the noise would be more noticeable at that side. I have mine mounted outside the back wall of the room so I can't hear it at all.

Jim.