Review The 3M CP45 is a combination HD camcorder, 5Mp Camera and LED-lit LCOS projector. Not much bigger than a couple of copulating iPhones, it can film and throw an image up to 65in onto a convenient wall.
3M seems to be touting it at families who can’t be bothered to upload their holiday shenanigans to YouTube, but having spent a few days with it I’m wondering if it’s better considered a business presentation tool? Indeed, 3M sells a dinky 26in folder up accessory screen specially made for boardroom presentations. However, this is more likely to be found partnered with the company’s MPro range of pocket projectors – super serious and all dressed in black, they miss out on the camcorder fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Review I’ve actually written several introductions to this review. One opened extolling the benefits of 3D projection over 3D TVs. I thoughtfully proposed that the key problem with 3D flatscreens is that they’re just too small – rather than confound and entrance you with 3D, they merely present you with a window and invite you to peer through.
Added dimension: Sony’s VPL-HW30ES
My second intro casually dismissed the 3D angle altogether, concentrating on the fact that this is Sony’s best ‘affordable’ 2D projector to date: a cut-price descendant of the high-end VPL-VW90ES, which treats 3D as an optional extra. Read the rest of this entry »
Review BenQ’s W1200 Full HD projector is shocking. Shockingly good that is. I’ve seen plenty of inexpensive single chip DLP projectors over the past few years, and while I’ve admired their functionality I’ve never hankered after a single one. Typically, they’re noisy to run, prone to rainbow colour fringing – that DLP exclusive image artefact seen around objects of high contrast – and just don’t have the chops for serious AV.
Lost halo: BenQ’s W1200
But the W1200 is different, and after running one for a couple of days actually I actually pondered downsizing from the projector I currently own (which is more than three times the cost of this model). The W1200 is priced around £1200, but can be bought for less. Read the rest of this entry »
2010 is supposed to be the year that 3D breaks into mainstream home entertainment but most of the PR puff has been focused on expensive TV sets. Acer does a good job of making this currently tiny market a damned sight more interesting with its H5360, a sub-£600 ’3D Ready’ digital projector.
3D ready? Acer’s H5360
The H5360 is a small-ish (268x192x80mm) and light-ish (2.2kg) DLP projector built into a shiny white casing that will look at home in a modern living room, and pretty smart in a boardroom. Home movie theatre enthusiasts should note that it’s ‘HD Ready’ credentials extend to 720p only, not 1080p: the H5360′s native resolution is 1280×720 pixels. You can use an enhancement mode to mimic 1920×1080 resolution, but interpolating pixels like this never works as well as you wished it would.
The lens can be adjusted for a zoom using a dial lever conveniently located on top of the unit. Focus, however, is adjusted using a notched ring, snugly and inconveniently located around the red-hot lens itself. So many projectors are built like this, but why? After setting up a projector, you only ever set the zoom once, but fiddle with the focus all the time. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Billed as the first 1080p projector available for under £900, Optoma has taken a no-frills approach to cram maximum HD goodness into its HD20 home cinemaprojector. Compact at 324 x 234 x 97mm, it houses a full HD 1080p DLP device to satisfy film buffs and big screen HD gamers.
Back to basics: Optoma’s HD20
The HD20 comes with a standard set of inputs suitable for a budget home cinemaprojector. A pair of HDMI 1.3 ports is complemented with a standard VGA connector as well as composite and component video. There’s also a standard 12V output for triggering your motorised screen, should you have one.
The lens throw ratio of 1.5 – 1.8 allows for a picture ranging from 0.96m to 7.64m in diagonal at a distance ranging from 1.5m to 12.5m. A replacement lamp will cost you around £180. Brightness output is specified at 1700 ANSI lumens, which actually makes it Optoma’s brightest home entertainment projector.
Optoma’s quoted contrast ratio of 500:1 may appear bafflingly low at first glance. Yet, for many years, projector manufacturers have told downright lies about their performance characteristics. Brightness, quoted in lumens, was often based on theoretical lamp performance unachievable in any real-world situation. Similarly, overblown and rather useless contrast ratio specifications abound. Read the rest of this entry »
