Spotlight: Small, Svelte Digital Projectors

Innovative Designs

Our nod for most elegant design goes to the InFocus LP120, which measures just 2 inches deep. This model tied for top marks on our graphics and motion tests, and produced sharp text (though its text screens lacked the brightness and overall impact we saw from the Dell and the Optoma). Sadly, the lens's focus and zoom rings are so close that we found it hard to adjust one without accidentally affecting the other, and the left side of the unit (where the fan is located) becomes unusually hot during operation.

The HP Digital Projector Mp3130 sports an unusual upright design that allows it to throw the image from a higher point of origin than the horizontally oriented units can, an asset in presenting situations where you need to raise the image (for example, to clear an object on the conference table). The unit's vertical orientation works against it in very dark rooms, however, as light spills out through its taller-than-usual front fan grilles and distracts viewers seated near the projector. At default settings, this model was a mediocre performer in our lab tests. Video showed artifacts and appeared muddy, especially in special-effects sequences on our DVD movie.

The biggest disappointment was the Plus Vision V3-131, which didn't make the chart due to its poor performance on our text and graphics tests (all of its images were marred by a grayish pall). This noisy model did well on our motion tests, though, and will suffice for use with many PowerPoint presentations.

Most of the units we reviewed will serve you well should you need a presentation projector to take on the road. All of them live up to their promise of portability.

Melissa J. Perenson