The most recent articles from PC Magazine

Sanyo PLC-SW20

Laurence Grayson — 2003-03-13T11:00:52.000Z

Laurence Grayson, PC Magazine, Thursday 13 March 2003 at 11:00:52

This LCD projector's low cost belies its good image quality and features.

When it seemed that every company making data projectors had chosen Texas Instruments' Digital Light Pipe (DLP) core as the basis for new products, we receive a unit that reminds us that there's an alternative.

Sanyo's PLC-SW20 might not be as compact as some of its contemporaries, but it will appeal to those looking for a non-DLP solution.

While not being an ultra-portable, this projector's 257mm by 76mm by 229mm chassis and 2.8kg weight is still small and light enough to be transported with ease. PC and A/V connectors are located at the projector's side and include composite and S-Video alongside a standard 15-pin VGA port.

However, digital signals via a DVI-I interface aren't supported. This panel also plays host to audio inputs for the projector's built-in 1W speaker, as well as a pass-through for an external amplifier.

A slimline remote control is supplied, with a front-mounted sensor offering an operating range of 5m that can be used as a remote mouse to operate your PC. assuming you're not at the PLC-XW20's maximum throw of 8m.

At this distance, the effective screen size is 200in diagonal, but this can be taken back to a minimum throw of 1.6m, which should be sufficient for even the smallest of presentation rooms.

Quick-release legs at the front allow for tilt and angle adjustments of up to 10 degrees, with digital keystone correction compensating for tilt distortion at the expense of image clarity.

Inside the PLC-SW20 sits a three-chip LCD engine, with individual LCDs for each of the primary colours. Thanks to this, the device doesn't give off the strobing effect that can occur on DLP-based devices.

Although LCD-type projectors can often demonstrate poor uniformity and misconvergence due to misalignment of each colour channel, we found virtually no evidence of this with our test patterns. Automatic calibration of analogue signals was reasonable, but required some adjustment to the phase settings for best results.

At 1,100 ANSI Lumens and a contrast ratio of 300:1, the PLC-XW20 is bright and clear enough for most situations and will rescale non-XGA resolutions up to 1,280 by 1,024 pixels.

Digital zoom allows you to enlarge parts of the image being displayed and a No Show button on the remote lets you quickly blank the display without turning it off. Overall image quality is also impressive.

Price: £799.99 (ex. VAT)

Details:

Display: LCD

Native resolution: 1,280 by 1,024

Contrast ratio: 300:1

ANSI Lumens: 1,100

I/O: VGA, S-Video, composite

Contact: Sanyo 01923 246363

www.sanyo.co.uk

Compaq iPAQ MP4800

Laurence Grayson — 2002-07-10T11:18:29.000Z

Laurence Grayson, PC Magazine, Wednesday 10 July 2002 at 11:18:29

Extremely capable, but the colour-conscious should look elsewhere.

Featuring a tapered magnesium alloy chassis and an air intake fan with a slightly retro look, the rather expensive Compaq iPAQ MP4800 projector is likely to attract those wanting to impress their audience before the presentation even starts.

However, if you're more concerned about colour quality, you might find that its performance doesn't quite live up to its appearance.

Using a Digital Light Processor (DLP) chip from Texas Instruments, the iPAQ MP4800 provides a native resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels, while the internal 200W lamp gives it an impressive maximum brightness rating of 2,000 ANSI lumens.

This should be more than enough for presentations without the need for a darkened room, although its contrast ratio will be better with the lights turned off.

While not as light as some, the iPAQ's 2.6kg carry weight makes it portable and it has a solid, durable feel. All the connectors are located on the left-hand side of the body, including DVI-I and VGA ports for digital and analogue signals.

Next to these are composite, S-Video, USB and audio-in connectors. The USB connector lets you use the supplied remote control as a mouse.

In operation, the iPAQ MP4800 is quiet, even more so if you engage the lamp saver mode which cuts fan noise dramatically. As you'd expect from a DLP-based projector, image reproduction is sharp, with no misconvergence problems and a quoted contrast ratio of 800:1.

However, you should note that the DLP engine might create a faint strobing effect in high-contrast images. Overall uniformity is good, but automatic calibration for analogue signals required a small amount of manual adjustment to eliminate phase jitter.

With the iPAQ MP4800 being such a bright projector, you might find that the top end of the greyscale is slightly bleached, but this can be trimmed with the brightness and contrast controls.

Graphically, the menu panel looks like an iPAQ PDA and is simple to use, but you might find that some features, such as keystone adjustment, are more easily accessed via the remote control.

What lets this projector down most is its colour reproduction. Although the clear section of the DLP colour wheel increases the level of brightness, it decreases colour gamut, so produces rather flat tones and a dull overall appearance.

However, it's extremely bright for its size, is easy to set up and use and has a pair of 3.5W speakers for basic multimedia presentations.

If reproduction and price are less important than portability and quiet operation, the iPAQ MP4800 is worth a look.

Specifications:

Display technology: DLP

Native resolution: 1,024 by 768 pixels

Contrast ratio: 800:1

ANSI lumens: 2,000

I/O: VGA, DVI-I, S-Video, composite.

Price: £3,099 (ex. VAT)

Contact: Compaq 0845 270 4222

www.compaq.co.uk

Optoma EP753

Laurence Grayson — 2002-07-03T08:57:35.000Z

Laurence Grayson, PC Magazine, Wednesday 3 July 2002 at 08:57:35

The Optoma EP753 provides a level of performance and features that easily justifies its price.

Although Optoma might not have as high a profile in the UK as projector manufacturers such as InFocus or ASK Proxima, it's been producing and selling products worldwide since 1991.

The latest addition to its range is the EP753, a compact data projector with considerable appeal.

It might not be a sub-2kg ultraportable, but it's still very compact, weighing only 2.9kg thanks to a lightweight magnesium alloy chassis. It's driven by a single-chip Texas Instruments Digital Light Pipe engine, which provides a native resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels.

What's even more impressive is the level of brightness provided by this product's lamp, which is rated by the manufacturer at 1,600 ANSI lumens and is more than enough for presentations in typical ambient office lighting.

Its larger form factor also allows for more effective cooling, making it much quieter than most ultraportables.

A wide range of connectivity options are provided, with both 15-pin VGA and DVI-I ports for analogue and digital PC connections, as well as S-Video and composite for standard A/V equipment.

There's a VGA pass-through for driving an additional display, as well as an RS232 port for connecting a mouse. The projector's 1.2X zoom lens provides a throw range of 1.1m to 12.4m, with an equivalent screen size of 22 to 305in., respectively.

The projector's single 3W speaker provides audio output where external amplifiers are unavailable.

The primary controls are located on the top of the projector, with dedicated signal select, auto-calibration and volume controls sitting alongside a cursor-style menu interface that provides quick and logical access to additional settings, such as brightness, contrast and keystone correction.

Image quality is very good indeed, with excellent uniformity and none of the misconvergence between colours that can affect LCD-type projectors.

The benefits of a contrast ratio of 600:1 are clear, with good tonal reproduction. Our only criticism would the auto-calibration feature, which left slight noise (phase jitter) on our test images which manual adjustment failed to correct.

Price: £2,126 (ex. VAT)

Specifications:

Display: Digital Light Pipe

Native resolution: 1,024 x 768

Contrast ratio: 600:1

ANSI Lumens: 1,600

I/O: VGA, DVI-I, S-Video, composite, RS232

Contact: Optoma 01923 691 800

www.optomaeurope.com

Sharp Notevision PG-M15S

Laurence Grayson — 2002-04-26T10:34:20.000Z

Laurence Grayson, PC Magazine, Friday 26 April 2002 at 10:34:20

If you don't need an XGA resolution, this would make an excellent, and less expensive, choice.

Joining companies like Compaq and Toshiba, Sharp has added an ultraportable data projector to its product lineup. However, where some models have made sacrifices for the sake of portability, there appears to be nothing missing from the Notevision PG-M15S's feature set. In fact, it even manages to include some features that aren't even included on larger models.

Weighing just 1.6kg, Sharp's PG-M15S uses a single chip Digital Light Processor (DLP) to provide a native resolution of 800 by 600 pixels. An XGA version, the PG-M15X, is also available for £3,995 (ex. VAT). This, combined with a 120W High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamp, gives the unit an impressive level of brightness, rated at 1,100 lumens by the manufacturer, and a quoted contrast ratio of 500:1.

As well as being lightweight, the Notevision is small, with a footprint of 225 by 177mm and a thickness of 66mm. This isn't as compact as some other products, such as the InFocus LP130, but doesn't detract from its portability and the magnesium alloy casing gives it a solid, robust feel.

Both digital and analogue PC connections are supported via the DVI-I port at the rear, as well as composite and S-Video connectors for alternative video equipment. The PG-M15S is also unusual in that it provides a signal pass-through (15-pin VGA), so you can use a PC with a single analogue VGA output without losing the use of the monitor.

It can project an image of over 6m wide at its furthest throw. However, a narrower beam means this requires a projection distance of over 10m, making it less suitable for presentations in smaller rooms. However, the PG-M15S does have an integrated 2W speaker.

An adjustable foot at the rear helps you to adjust the tilt of the unit in both directions, something else that's often overlooked on ultraportable projectors.

Image quality is very good. Like all DLP-based products, uniformity is excellent and, unlike LCD projectors, misconvergence isn't an issue, even in the corners of the display. Detail is sharp, with no colour streaking and only the faintest ghosting noticeable under close inspection. For non-native resolutions a variety of image rescaling options are provided, but can be disabled if you prefer a clearer, 1:1 pixel ratio.

A fault that it shares with some of its competitors is fan noise, a byproduct of cramming a high-temperature lamp into such a small space. However, where other products become too hot to touch after prolonged use, the PG-M15S stays significantly cooler.

Taking size and resolution into account, it's hard to fault the Notevision PG-M15S. The longer throw length can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on requirements, and fan noise is a price you have to pay for miniaturisation.

There are slightly smaller projectors capable of higher resolutions, but if you don't need an XGA resolution, then this would make an excellent, and less expensive, choice.

Contact

Sharp: Sharp House, Thorp Road, Manchester M40 5BE

Tel 0161 205 2333, Fax 0161 205 7076

www.sharp.co.uk