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MillimeterThe Class of 2000
Oct 1, 2000 12:00 PM, By Peter H. Putman
Will this group of projector graduates be able to cut it in the real world?
Find out which projectors scored well on our standardized tests and which may need to head back to school.
Hard to believe that it's October already, but the fourth quarter - traditionally the big roll-out month for new projectors first shown at INFOCOMM - is upon us. With it comes a never-ending parade of new models, ranging from featherweight designs to full-featured installation projectors. Trying to pick one that suits your needs is not an easy task.
As usual, I picked 11 models that I saw in Anaheim that looked interesting. All of the review units were either shipping at the time of this review or now are on their way to dealers.
The ultraportable category always draws a crowd, and was represented by InFocus' Lite Pro 335, Proxima's UltraLight DX-3, Toshiba's TLP-B2, and Hitachi's CP-S220W. Each of these projectors weighs five pounds or less, and three of them use XGA imaging devices (the CP-S220W is the lone SVGA entry in this review).
Desktop projectors are nearly as popular, and five of them make up this category, although three are borderline ultraportables. Mitsubishi's LVP-X400 leads the way, followed by Sanyo's PLC-XP20N, Sony's VPL-CX10, Panasonic's PT-L711U, and NEC's MultiSync VT540. The latter three projectors actually weigh less than 10 pounds, but have slightly larger housings (and feature sets) than the ultraportables listed.
Finally, I took a look at the installation market with Sharp's XG-V10WU and Barco's BarcoReality 6400DLC. The Sharp projector is brand-new, while the 6400DLC has been in the product line for almost a year. Neither of these boxes could be considered anything but installation or "roll-around cart" products because they both weigh more than 40 pounds. In an unusual twist, the LCD panels in both entrants are Sony's 1280x1024 polysilicon types.
The drill All projectors were put through a pretty intensive test cycle. First, each model was allowed to warm up for 20 minutes. The RGB inputs were calibrated using a combination of Kayye Consulting DisplayMate and Extron Electronics test patterns, while the video inputs were set up with Joe Kane's Video Essentials calibration DVD.
Next, I took measurements for ANSI brightness, contrast, uniformity, and color temperature. Each projector's zoom lens was set to its mid-point for these tests (the only reasonable way to measure light output) and the factory default color temperature setting was used with one exception - I set the Barco projector to its D6500K option, rather than its Projector White factory setting.
A variety of fine text patterns from an Extron VTG-200 generator, spreadsheets and Projection Shoot-Out7 CD-ROM test patterns, were used to evaluate lens quality and each projector's autosync function. Autosync is a circuit that goes by many different names and should correctly resize and center different input signals to fit the available native resolution of the projector.
Last but not least, I took a critical look at each projector's video quality, using Video Essentials and test DVDs, including The Fifth Element, Austin Powers 2, and a James Taylor concert DVD. For those projectors with HD compatibility, I used a Sencore 996 server and Panasonic TU-DST50 DTV tuner to look at a variety of 1080i programs. S-Video and component YCbCr/YPbPr were used for video and switched through an Extron Electronics 128HX Crosspoint component switcher.
Out of the box Some of this year's entrants were so small and light that I thought their shipping boxes were empty. It wasn't too long ago that any projector weighing less than 10 pounds was a big deal. Now, the barrier is five pounds, but it's still dropping. Several factors have contributed to this weight-loss program, such as smaller imaging panels - InFocus and Proxima use 0.7-inch, 1024x768 DMDs and Hitachi employs 0.7-inch, polysilicon LCDs. Toshiba's entry features a trio of 0.9-inch, 1024x768 LCD panels.
These projectors also make extensive use of small, short arc UHP and UHB projection lamps. Further developments in lens technology and space-saving microelectronics have shaved even more ounces and inches off. The results make my 1998 Toshiba notebook computer look like a sport-utility vehicle.
Things aren't much bigger in the desktop category. Sony, Panasonic, and NEC created "Mini-Me" versions of their more conventional desktop models by using 0.9-inch, 1024x768 LCD panels, smaller fans, compact lamps, and possibly leaving them in the dryer too long. (Okay, I made that last one up.) While the Mitsubishi and Sanyo boxes are more conventionally sized desktops, the same advances in imaging, lenses, and optics are boosting brightness levels to new heights.
As far as the installation boxes go, there's no real need to save much space here. These two projectors can produce enough light to handle jobs that would have required a 150-pound projector three years ago. The Sharp and Barco projectors are designed for interchangeable lenses and stacking, not to mention permanent installs. Still, the idea of a 3000 lumen, 40-pound projector is pretty cool.
Eight of the review projectors come with at least one 15-pin RGB input cable, and some include either a bundled composite video/audio jumper, or separate stereo audio and composite or S-Video jumpers. (Sorry, you'll have to get your own cables for the two install boxes.) Many of the projectors support component video input signals (NTSC and HDTV), although the actual input connection varies by manufacturer. For Sharp, Barco, and Sanyo, that would be through either RCA or BNC jacks with the familiar green, blue, and red color-coding. For InFocus, Mitsubishi, NEC, Sony, and Panasonic, the connection is made through a 15-pin VGA jack, requiring an extra breakout cable.
Remote controls, menus, and connectors As usual, the user interfaces varied widely. Mitsubishi's menu structure is fast and easy to navigate, although the remote control is on the small side and has small buttons. A new feature is Mitsubishi's user-adjustable color matrix, which lets you dial in (or out) precise amounts of red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow to get the best possible white balance - not an easy thing to do with a short-arc projection lamp.
Sony's and NEC's menus are the most professional looking, and resemble those used on both companies' higher-priced installation projectors. They're pretty fast to navigate, although you have to do a fair amount of backing up and moving around to make different adjustments. In keeping with the latest remote trends, NEC's remote is a credit-card type with great response and good range, while Sony's is a small grip-type design.
Sanyo's remote is the familiar large, curved paddle, with minimal keypad buttons and a simple layout. Sanyo really needs to redo its menus - up and down adjustments require too many movements and the whole process is very slow. Panasonic's remote also is a credit-card type and has great range. However, the menus are very '80s looking and should be redesigned to appear smaller and easier to read.
Among the featherweights, Proxima's DX3 had the fastest (and sloppiest) remote/menu combination. The remote control, made by ASK, uses a trackball that's a little too responsive - I often jumped from one menu item to another in mid-setting. InFocus' remote is dirt simple and has all of six buttons, but it didn't have very good range. InFocus' menu adjustments are much better and more easily navigated.
Toshiba also uses a credit-card remote, but it didn't have quite the range as the Panasonic. However, the Toshiba menu adjustments are fast and simple. Like the other credit-card remotes, some key adjustments, such as autosync, are right on the remote - no need for a menu. Hitachi's credit-card remote is twice as large as the others (it looks like a Visa card on steroids), which allows for a more open button layout. This remote had average range, but the menu (although a bit on the large side) was easy to navigate.
Sharp's menu is the flip-down type, now found on all Sharp projectors, and is fairly quick to adjust. The remote is the familiar Interlink design, complete with mousedisk, and it has good range and fits in your hand nicely. Barco's remote is its own unique design with plenty of same-sized buttons, which are not backlit brightly enough. This makes for some confusion when adjusting the image, although the most common adjustments have their own rocker buttons.
Most of the projectors come with the usual digital goodies, such as digital keystone correction and digital image magnification. Some, such as Mitsubishi and Panasonic, include a picture-in-picture feature, although only Mitsubishi gives you two full-motion windows. Toshiba's projector has an automatic digital keystone sensor - you tip the projector up and the circuit adjusts the image to keep it square to the screen.
Of the projectors that accept component YCbCr and YPbPr, all give you user-selectable aspect ratios (normal or widescreen). Barco gives you three selectable aspect ratios (5:4, 4:3, or 16:9/anamorphic), while Sharp has four (full 5:4, 4:3, anamorphic, and normal unscaled video). Although InFocus indicated HD-compatibility, it could only handle a 480p, RGB signal. Similarly, Hitachi provides a sync-on-green, on-off switch for component inputs, but the 480p test image remained all-green in either switch mode.
In terms of input connections, don't expect a lot on the ultraportables - one composite video, one S-Video, and one 15-pin analog VGA jack, plus a stereo mini-plug for audio that usually feeds a single, low-power speaker. Hey, you can't get that small without giving something up! In addition, the Proxima and InFocus units support the DVI standard, although Proxima has a dedicated jack, while InFocus ports analog and DVI through the same proprietary Y-connector.
Among the small, desktop units, things aren't a lot different. NEC's projector has one composite, one S-Video, and one 15-pin jack, plus a single RCA input jack for mono audio playback. That's kind of a wacky solution - it would have been just as easy to install a stereo mini jack. Sony's projector offers one 15-pin VGA input and one each composite and S-Video jack with dual stereo mini inputs. Panasonic's box fares a little better, with two 15-pin jacks, composite, and S-Video, plus RCA and Mini audio inputs.
Mitsubishi delivers the goods with a pair of 15 pin jacks and a DVI input, in addition to composite and S-Video ports, while Sanyo provides the two 15-pin inputs, composite, S-Video, and YCbCr component inputs. Both projectors have RCA and Mini input jacks for audio.
As you'd expect, the Barco and Sharp offerings let you get connected to your heart's content. Barco provides five different input jack fields - a row of five BNC jacks for RGBHV or YCbCr/YPbPr, a 15-pin jack, composite, S-Video, and even a serial digital video (SDI) BNC jack with a looped-output. Three fields of stereo RCA inputs auto-follow the selected video signal.
Sharp wins the prize for most inputs, having stolen a page from the Sanyo PLC-9000 series playbook. In addition to two separate composite and S-Video input jack fields, there are two component YCbCr/YPbPr jack fields, a 5xBNC RGB input, a 15-pin RGB input, and even a DVI input. Each input has its own stereo RCA jacks, and many of the RGB and video outputs have loop-out connectors.
Brightness, contrast, and white balance No real surprises in my performance measurement tests, except for a few of the projectors that were preproduction units. There's no question that projectors are getting much, much brighter - the lowest brightness measurement came from Hitachi's projector (a production sample), and it was well over 750 lumens. The other ultraportables came pretty close to 1000 lumens, while the desktop crowd ranged from 980 lumens to just under 2000 lumens. (Remember, my measurements are done at the zoom lens midpoint.)
Although it was close, InFocus' LP 335 took top honors for brightness (949ANSI lumens) among the featherweights with Proxima's DX3 (849ANSI) just behind. The DX3 had the decided edge in contrast, though, with 217:1 ANSI contrast in RGB mode and 280:1 in video mode. These were also the highest ANSI contrast measurements in the entire review, which shows you what a well-designed DLP projector can pull off.
Among the big desktop projectors, Mitsubishi's preproduction LVP-X400U took first place with 1961ANSI lumens and impressive ANSI contrast numbers (179:1 RGB and 151:1 video). Sanyo's PLC-XP20N wasn't quite as bright, but was still respectable at 1613ANSI lumens and 134:1 RGB/124:1 video contrast.
In the "Mini-Me" tilt, Panasonic's PT-L711U took the blue ribbon with 1279ANSI lumens, edging out Sony's VPL-CX10 (1040ANSI) and NEC's VT540's (984ANSI). However, it was another story with contrast - the VT540 blew by the PT-L711U with ANSI numbers of 186:1 (RGB) and 149:1 (video). The PT-L711U black levels were quite high and I couldn't get a really "contrasty" image, settling for 102:1 (RGB) and 94:1 (video). The VPL-CX10 also did well with 181:1 RGB and 133:1 video clockings.
In the main tent, Sharp's XG-V10WU had it all over the Barco, in terms of brightness, and there's a strange explanation for it. The BarcoReality 6400DLC develops maximum light output in its Projector White setting, which is basically passing unfiltered light from the 400W metal-halide projection lamp through the LCD panels to the lens. The result was images with a noticeable blue-green tint, which won't bother computer displays, but also won't do video justice.
Selecting a lower color temperature (in my case, 6500 degrees K) adds a lot of red filtering to warm up the image, but also cuts down on light output. Just how much is lost? My unfiltered brightness reading for the BarcoReality 6400DLC was 2740ANSI lumens, compared to 1452ANSI in the 6500K setting.
In contrast, the XG-V10WU cranked out 3150ANSI lumens set in its Low color-temperature mode. Sharp has not been handicapped by its use of a metal-halide lamp - it has a pair of 200W UHP bulbs running in parallel, and is able to keep the white balance a little cleaner.
Speaking of color temperature, the high and low settings really didn't mean much this year. Only one projector, Toshiba's TLP-B2, had a measured color temperature under 10,000 degrees K after calibration, and some ranged as high as a frosty 18,000 degrees K. Even some radical color balance adjustments didn't drop these measurements significantly without adding a magenta tint to the image. That's the price you pay for all of those high-brightness, compact, projection lamps.
RGB image scaling RGB image scaling tests are a great way to separate the wheat from the chaff. This involves rapid switching of various RGB input signal rates to each projector to see how fast they can lock up and present a clean image.
Performance was all over the place, and some small projectors did better than larger and more expensive models.
Toshiba's TLP-B2 was the surprise of this year's review in terms of RGB scaling. Of the 25 different rates thrown at it from VGA-1 to 1600x1200, the TLP-B2 successfully locked up and centered 19 of them with no additional help from me. Two more signals cleaned up nicely with menu adjustments, although four ranked no-good.
That performance was topped by Sharp's XG-V10WU and Sanyo's PLC-XP20N. Both Sony's VPL-CX10 and Panasonic's PT-L711U also turned in an excellent performance, locking up on 18 signals with no further help.
Image quality To say that most of the projectors looked good with RGB signals would be almost unnecessary, particularly when those RGB signals matched each projector's native resolution. Still, three of the review models had exceptionally sharp and crisp images and text - NEC's VT540, Toshiba's TLP-B2, and Sharp's XG-V10WU. The Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sony, InFocus, and Hitachi were just a cut lower in image quality, followed by the Proxima and Barco projectors.
Only the Panasonic PT-L711U had some serious image problems, with uneven text sharpness and a physically loose zoom lens adjustment. Wiggling the Panasonic's zoom lens lever caused the image position to change and the image to go slightly out of focus. That's too bad, because this projector had a lot of other good things going for it.
Switching to video mode really opened up the field. In the ultraportable crowd, it was a toss-up between the Lite Pro 335 and CP-S220W for best video quality. Both projectors produced images that had accurate color decoding, little noise and grain, and moderate pixel scaling artifacts. Proxima's DX3 had noisy, grainy video that also was a little soft, while the Toshiba TLP-B2 was almost as noisy with noticeable scaling artifacts.
On the desktop, top honors went to Mitsubishi's LVP-X400U, with Sony's VPL-CX10 and NEC's VT540 right behind. All three had clean decoding, low noise, and minimal scaling artifacts. Sanyo's PLC-XP20N did a good job with color accuracy, but had unacceptable scaling artifacts. Panasonic's PT-L711U was a little better on noise than the Sanyo, but even worse with pixel artifacts.
I must say that I was surprised with the quality of the video on Sharp's XG-V10WU. I gave this projector higher marks for video quality at the INFOCOMM Shoot-Out, and this one just didn't measure up when it came to component 525-line sources. The images were stable and essentially noise-free and colors were right on the money. But, the images never looked sharp enough for my taste, and there were more pixel-scaling artifacts than I'd like to see at this price point.
Barco's BarcoReality 6400DLC did a far better job of resizing video to fit the available pixels, resulting in clean, crisp images with good detail and minor pixel artifacts. This held true even in anamorphic and HD modes - all sources were sharp and stable. The catch? The black levels on this projector were too high, resulting in lower contrast scores and less "punch" to video images.
Speaking of HD, results varied across the board almost as much as with 525-line NTSC. The best overall HD images were seen in order on the BarcoReality 6400DLC, LVP-X400U, VT540, PT-L711U, XG-V10WU, and PLC-XP20N. Once again, the Sharp didn't look as crisp as it should have with the test 1080i source, while the Sanyo just had too much contrast and over-saturated colors.
Audio, fans, and other observations You want audio? Boom-box quality is yours from either the Barco or Sharp projectors, both of which have substantial speakers and enough power, 3W per channel, for a medium-sized conference room. Remember when Davis and Barco used to put 10W to 15W per channel in their older projectors?
The rest of the crowd will give you mixed results. Don't expect much from the ultras - they have tiny speakers and equally tiny amplifiers to go with them. Several of the ultras and desktops have only one speaker (NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi, and InFocus) and it doesn't take much to overpower the internal amplifier. You may have better results with your computer's built-in speakers.
Speaking of sound, several of the projectors had rather noisy fans, most notably the Sanyo. The Sanyo was even noisier than the Barco or Sharp installation projectors, so you may want to consider it for a ceiling installation. On the other hand, the NEC, InFocus, Proxima, Sony, and Panasonic projectors are about as quiet as you can get. The Hitachi was almost as quiet, but it got fairly hot during operation - this projector may benefit from a little more air flow.
Here are some other quirks that I noticed: The LVP-X400U had a high-pitched whine when any type of RGB image was viewed, and the pitch went up as the horizontal scanning frequency increased. I first observed this on the predecessor X300, and also have seen it on the newer S and X series portables from Mitsubishi.
Panasonic's PT-L711U has a digital zoom feature indicated on the remote control, but when I activated it, all it would do is throw a spotlight around a portion of the image. On Proxima's DX3, the color saturation and tint controls are located on different menus, which is wacky. Volume adjustments on the LP335 are only accessible from the menu using the remote control, although they are accessible on the projector's keypad, which is even wackier!
Sony's internal horizontal scan circuit actually will lock up on progressive scan DVD and DTV signals, but only if they are in the RGBHV format - and, you won't have any aspect ratio adjustments. Of course, Sanyo continues to make projectors with separate Up and Down indicator arrows on their menus that you must scroll to when making adjustments. This is opposed to the more common and logical select-a-menu-adjustment-item method. Time for a change!
Valediction Yes, projectors are getting smaller and brighter. Feature sets are increasing and so is input signal compatibility. It's nice that so many manufacturers support such component video formats as DVD and DTV. Now, let's get to work on improving image quality!
As usual, there were a few surprises in my review, such as the TLP-B2's RGB image sharpness, the quality of the VT540, the contrast performance of the DX3, and Sharp's RGB scaling performance.
Which are my favorites? Among the desktops, I liked the LVP-X400U, although I could do without that annoying whine. The VPL-CX10 delivers a nice package of features, and adding DTV compatibility would be the icing on the cake. NEC's VT540 is an impressive projector for the price, but there's got to be room in there somewhere for another speaker.
As for ultraportables, the Toshiba's image quality is hard to top and it doesn't seem flummoxed by most RGB input signals. As far as installation projectors go, I'll go with the Sharp even though its video performance could be better. In all other areas, it did a very good job and positions Sharp as a strong contender in the installation LCD market.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
