If you think of the InFocus IN1028SL as the beginning of second-generation laser projectors for schools, businesses, and houses of worship, you get an idea of its potential to shine brightly. Able to deliver a quarter more light than other conference room projectors, the IN1028SL may not have the best color balance but its analog VGA port makes it a must-have projector in older schools and businesses that haven't gone fully digital.

A member of the InFocus Nemesis II Series (which includes the IN1026SL, IN1026ST, and IN1028ST), the IN1028SL takes a big step forward with a vertical lens shift knob, wired networking, and an outstanding monitoring and control interface. On the other hand, it does without the luxury of Wi-Fi and the ability to wirelessly cast a participant's screen to the projector.

Built for the long run, the IN1028SL doesn't require much in the way of maintenance and its five-year warranty can be worth several hundred dollars compared to projectors with shorter coverage.

Insights into Our Reviewer's Process

Check out this interview with Brian Nadel, comparing the Sharp XP-M401H-W 1080p Laser Projector and InFocus Nemesis II IN1028SL 1080p Conference Room Projector.

Features

InFocus has been busy with its Quantum Laser projector illumination engine that can boost a conference room projector's output 25 percent above the competition to the IN1028SL's specified 5,000 lumens, and beyond. This allows it to work well in a medium to large conference room, school lecture hall, a small auditorium or house of worship.

Starting with an innovative high-output blue diode laser array that uses a diffuser to reduce speckling, the Quantum Laser illumination bounces part of its beam off a phosphor wheel to create a yellow stream. The projector's dichroic mirrors split off red and green components. All three beams pass through the projector's four-segment color wheel on to TI's 0.65-inch DMD DLP chip imaging target and out the system's lens.

The projector delivers a bright and sharp 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution image. Its sealed optical elements mean the projector doesn't need a dust filter to periodically replace and InFocus rates the lighting components to last 20,000 hours or 30,000 hours in its low power Eco mode. In fact, it's as close to maintenance free as it gets and will likely only need an occasional dusting.

Like its peers, everything is manual, including its zoom and focus, although InFocus takes a big step forward for this class of projector by including a knob for shifting the lens up or down by 120 percent. It lacks a lock to keep the image from drifting over time, however, and there's no equivalent horizontal lens shifting (a common omission for any projectors within this class and price category). The IN1028SL has horizontal and vertical keystone correction for up to 30 degrees as well as four corner correction that can make quick work of squaring off an image.

Only available in white, the IN1028SL is on target as far as size and weight go, at 10.9 x 4.6 x 8.5 inches (WHD) and 6.8 lbs, and it uses a 19.5-volt external power adapter like those for high-performance notebooks.

With an external power supply, the IN1028SL gets by with a smaller fan. It still needs a foot of clearance around the projector to allow cooling air to freely flow in. Over the course of my testing, it never got above 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

It quickly became apparent that the projector is small and light enough for one person to install, easing its set up. InFocus sells Legrand-made ceiling mounting hardware ($370) that offers a compact design with three-axis adjustments. The projector worked fine with my generic mounting hardware, although some will see its three attachment points as barely adequate. The projector has three adjustable legs for use on a table, nook, or shelf.

Able to project 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10 images, the IN1028SL also works with Microsoft's 21:9 Teams Front Row video conferencing standard. The 1.6X zoom lens should be more than enough to fine tune the image's size for a variety of screen sizes. The 1.4 to 2.24:1 lens can project a bright 8-foot image (measure diagonally) 10 feet from the screen, perfect for a lecture hall, large conference room, or a small house of worship. The IN1028SL tops out with a 25-foot image, but it might be a bit washed out at that size.

There's also the IN1028ST short throw version that can project the same 8-foot image 41 inches from the screen at 4,000 lumens. On the downside, you will need to do without a zoom lens and its vertical lens shifting ability. Still, it makes sense in locations where the speaker will be standing in front of the projected image.

Whichever you choose, the ProjectorCentral Throw Calculator can simulate a variety of different scenarios to see if either projector fits into your room.

For schools and businesses that still use analog video, the IN1028SL stands apart from the crowd by continuing to include a VGA video port. It even has an old-school VGA video cable in the box. Chances are that the projector's pair of HDMI inputs will see more action, but the system lacks a video-out circuit for an overflow room or a screen on the teacher's lectern. In addition to an RS232 serial port, the projector has a USB Type A connector to power a wireless HDMI dongle.

The 15-watt speaker should be adequate for most office and school uses, but it has a distinctly hollow sound to it. Happily, the IN1028SL has a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack for using an external sound system but does without a microphone input for making the teacher or speaker heard.

The IN1028SL connects to a building's networking infrastructure via a 100Mbps Ethernet port and works with Creston 2.0 projector control software. Better yet, the LAN connection opens a wide world of monitoring and control with the projector's built-in user interface. After typing its IP address into a browser window and setting up a password, the projector's operation and configuration are right there at your fingertips.

While the System Status page has the basics (name, IP address and Mac address), the real gem is the Projector Control page that let you turn the IN1028SL on or off and change the source or Display mode. Other pages provide access for using DHCP auto IP addressing or a static network address as well as emailing alerts and fine-tuning operation with Crestron remote infrastructure.

Still, the IN1028SL is a card short of a full deck by lacking Wi-Fi networking. This means that students and participants can't wirelessly cast their screens directly to the IN1028SL. Although InFocus doesn't sell an external wireless adapter, it is not hard to find an option through retailers.

Its physical control panel is straight-forward with an on/off key as well as buttons for opening the menu and navigating within it. It's easy to adjust the keystone correction settings and change the input. That said, the remote control adds depth with an AV Mute, volume control, and individual keys for selecting the source. It uses a pair of AAA batteries and had a 28-foot range.

The IN1028SL comes with a five-year warranty, which is head and shoulders above most competitors that offers one to three years of coverage in this class of projector. More to the point, it's likely to save several hundred dollars versus an extended warranty.

Performance

Color Modes. The IN1028SL has four main display modes that start with the high output Bright and Presentation settings. There're also configurations for Cinema and Gaming that provide different brightness and color balance levels. That said, it lacks a neutral color mode, like sRGB or Rec. 709.

In addition, the projector has a couple of automatic modes for specialty material that start up based on the video signal's content. The 3D mode kicks in when the video signal has been coded for alternating visual fields. You will have to wear 3D glasses, though, to take advantage of it.

The projector also has two automatic high dynamic range settings that come into play when the signal has been encoded for HDR playback. Unfortunately, the projector lacks intensity adjustments for this mode.

Presentation Viewing. With 5,122 ANSI lumens at its disposal, the IN1028SL has light to spare and puts up an image that's roughly 25 percent brighter than others in its class; it's also 2.4 percent over the projector's 5,000 lumen spec. The problem is that it pushes the balance too far toward the green end of the spectrum, resulting in an image dominated by lime and avocado colors. It should be fine for showing tabular material, like spreadsheets, although it's not acceptable for photos, video conferencing or web video.

The IN1028SL's Presentation mode tempers this with some pink tones added in. It's not a bad look but it goes too far for my eye. It puts out 3,872 ANSI lumens, well off the projector's 5,000 lumen spec. Still, it should be OK for leaving the lights on and shades up for a business meeting or classroom lesson.

Video Viewing. In Cinema mode, everything got a lot warmer, and the fan noise was greatly reduced, making it good for showing a Web campaign or a video lesson in school. This mode delivered 3,421 ANSI lumens.

Finally, the Gaming mode was a surprisingly good match for photos with a naturalistic color balance and put out 3,440 ANSI lumens. InFocus does not market the IN1028SL as a gaming projector, so only includes this mode for its brightness and color, rather than low latency (Gaming and Bright yielded a 49.5-millisecond lag). That said, it's the most neutral imaging that the IN1028SL delivers.

Conclusion

If raw brightness counts for everything in your conference room, classroom, or house of worship, the InFocus IN1028SL can light up a room like no other projector in its class. Go ahead, leave the lights on and the shades up because its more than 5,000 lumens can blast a screen with light. Among the brightest projectors in its class, the price to pay is a top brightness mode color balance that leaves a lot to be desired with too much green in the mix.

Still, the IN1028SL adds luxuries for businesses, schools, and religious organizations with a legacy analog video input, vertical lens shifting, and a five-year warranty that is matched with a low maintenance approach to its design.

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our InFocus Nemesis II IN1028SL projector page.