Review: Six new projectors

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Compaq's MP2800 projector weighs three pounds and has plug and play features

By Richard Jantz

(IDG) -- Whether your career involves sales, training, or finance, a portable projector can add energy and professional sophistication to your next presentation.

Compact and light enough to take with you on the road, today's portable projectors weigh just 3 to 8 pounds--significantly lighter than the 10- to 15-pound models we saw a few years ago. The latest units also pack more power for the dollar, and they display brighter images at higher native resolutions; typically, portables use XGA (1024 by 768 pixels). Though street prices remain fairly steep, ranging between $4000 and $5000, these projectors offer portability and versatility that can pay off for mobile presenters.

The trend toward smaller projectors owes much of its momentum to Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing technology. In contrast to LCD technology, DLP uses a smaller-scale reflective system in which thousands of tiny mirrors project the image. LCD projector optics require larger panels, prisms, and mirrors. Compact DLP projectors still tend to be more expensive to produce than LCD units and feature brighter images overall; the larger LCD models generally deliver richer, more-saturated color.

The other trend to emerge in the past year: brighter projector lamps. Current portables are rated at between 700 and 1500 ANSI lumens, which is the industry-standard measure of light output. A 700-lumen projector is adequate for use in a small room with the lights down. A 1200- to 1500-lumen model, on the other hand, is suitable for use in large rooms with an office's low, ambient lighting--and will work well at distances up to 40 feet from the screen. All projector lamps lose their brightness over time. Many--though not all--manufacturers define lamp life as ending at the point when a lamp provides only half of its initial brightness; before buying a projector that you're considering, ask the vendor how it defines lamp life.

We evaluated six data projectors, three each in two weight classes. In the under-5-pounds group, we reviewed Compaq's $4999 MP2800, NEC's $4795 MultiSync LT155, and Sharp's $3899 Notevision PG-M10X. In the over-5-pounds category, we looked at Epson's $4899 PowerLite 715c, InFocus's $5399 Proxima DP6150, and Sony's $4999 VPL-CX10 SuperLite.

Both the Compaq and the Sharp units use single-chip DLP technology to display images; the other four projectors rely on a three-panel LCD design. All six have native XGA resolution and can resize images from VGA (640 by 480) to SXGA (1280 by 1024) resolution; only the Epson 715c and the NEC LT155 go higher, up to UXGA (1600 by 1200) resolution.

Since projectors appeal primarily to presenters, each unit includes an infrared remote control with an integrated pointing device that controls the computer attached to the projector. The projectors reviewed here support a USB, serial, or PS/2 connection--at least one type each--between the computer and the projector; some offer a combination of interface options. The built-in laser pointer found in the Compaq, NEC, and Proxima remotes make highlighting points in your presentation even easier; Sharp bundles a separate laser-pen pointer.

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The units typically provide controls on the projector and the remote for adjusting image quality (brightness, contrast, color, and so on). But the Epson and the Sharp put most of their image-adjustment controls only on the remote.

Presenters who would like to leave their laptops behind will appreciate the PC Card slots on the Epson and the NEC. You can transfer static-image Microsoft PowerPoint presentations from a PC to removable media such as a CompactFlash card (when used with a PC Card adapter) or a PC Card hard drive, and then run the presentation directly from the projector. Simple presentations of this type are essentially a series of screen shots; forgoing the laptop means also doing without animation and sound.

In addition to handling presentations, portable projectors can display video--a training or marketing tape or a baseball game, say. Every projector we tested included the video and audio cables and ports needed to connect the projector to a PC or Mac, or to a video source such as a VCR, camcorder, DVD player, or television. The projectors here all have a computer (VGA) port and composite video and S-Video ports. The Epson 715c and Sony VPL-CX10 also provide component video ports. S-Video and component video can provide better signal quality because they separate the video signal into multiple, independently adjustable channels.

The Compaq MP2800 and Proxima DP6150 projectors both feature a DVI (short for Digital Visual Interface) connector to attach the projector to most digital graphics adapters. This all-digital connection in turn provides a cleaner, sharper projected image. The Compaq, the Epson 715c, and the NEC LT155 are the only tested models that offer signal support for high-definition TV. And only the Proxima offers a dual set of VGA ports for hooking up two notebooks--such as a PC and a Mac--at once, as well as VGA output for connecting a second monitor.

Though all the projectors include built-in sound systems, some fail to produce strong stereo sound. The Compaq provides a booming 8-watt single speaker, while the Proxima offers two 1-watt speakers, and the Sony two 0.5-watt speakers.

Test illumination

To evaluate image quality, the PC World Test Center performed a side-by-side comparison of the projectors in each of our two weight classes.

We positioned the projectors to produce identical-size images. Because the Sharp PG-M10X lacks a zoom lens with an adjustable focal length, this projector had to be manually positioned relative to the others. We then viewed a series of slides chosen to emphasize the sharpness of either text or graphics, under two sets of lighting conditions: the ambient light of an office environment, and a completely dark room. Test images included color photographs, graphical Web pages, and color and gray-scale artwork.

All units were tested at their native XGA resolution. We also displayed a TV signal through each projector to evaluate how well the unit handled video. In selecting our Best Buys, we put a premium on overall quality of displayed text and graphics. Other factors we considered: sound quality, the ease of menu navigation, and the usability of the remote.

Our tests used the default projector settings, but all the projectors permit manual adjustment to optimize picture quality. For example, the Sony VPL-CX10 has a specific setting for improving text images by increasing the contrast, and the NEC LT155 provides choices for enhancing graphics in lighted and darkened rooms via gamma correction (which adjusts the overall image brightness) and color temperature options (which control image warmth).

The Compaq MP2800 clearly emerged as the top performer in the under-5-pounds group. In both lighting environments, it garnered the best overall ratings for text and graphics display. Text-heavy images--for example, a spreadsheet with columns of numbers (in 8-point Arial, Microsoft Excel's default font)--were particularly sharp and appeared uniformly brighter than those from either the NEC or the Sharp units. The Compaq's unique upright design throws the projected image higher, too, which may eliminate the need to adjust the projector's height.

In both sets of lighting conditions, the NEC LT155 displayed graphics marginally better than either the Compaq or the Sharp projector, exhibiting more vivid colors and crisper details. The Sharp projector displayed text-based images better than the NEC unit in both the ambient-light and the darkened-room tests.

The Proxima DP6150 bagged our Best Buy in the 5-plus-pounds group. Besides offering dynamic stereo sound and versatile input options, this model logged the best scores for display quality of text and graphics. Letters were sharp and legible, and graphics showed rich hues and dense color saturation. In test images of color scales, the Proxima displayed a greater number of discernible shades.

The runner-up in this weight class, the Epson 715c, bested the Sony VPL-CX10 across the board. The Epson couldn't touch the Proxima in most of our tests, but it came close with its high-quality images in ambient lighting. The Sony looked its best in the darkened room.

Projector weigh-in

For presenters who travel frequently and do lots of small-group presentations, we recommend the Compaq MP2800. Though this model is a little pricier than the other two sub-5-pound units here, its sleek design and superior image and audio quality make it an excellent choice.

If you don't mind the extra weight and cost--and you would like to use the projector in a broader range of presentation settings--we recommend the 1400-lumen Proxima DP6150. The brightest unit of the bunch, the Proxima's versatility and excellent image quality make it a superior all-around presentation tool.