Toshiba Projector Sports 'Extreme Short Projection'

Toshiba on Tuesday announced its portable TDP-EX20U, a $1599 digital projector that's Mac and PC-compatible. It costs $1599.

The TDP-EX20U is a Digital Light Processor (DLP)-based projector that sports 2300 ANSI lumens brightness, a contrast ratio of 2000:1 and IEEE 802.11g-based wireless networking capabilities. It features native 1024 x 768 resolution, as well. It can work without being connected to a computer using a USB interface and a thumbdrive; it can show JPEG-format presentations stored directly on a USB device.

The device is especially made for small conference rooms and other areas where there's not a lot of distance between the projector and the screen. Using what Toshiba calls "extreme short projection" capabilities, the TDP-EX20U can produce a 60-inch image from three feet away. The short distance allows the projector to produce more luminance or brightness for the projected image, according to Toshiba.

The projector can be networked and controlled remotely over a wired network, password-protected and accessible to network diagnostic software that supports Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), where it will report temperature, fan and lamp status.

The TDP-EX20U works with HDTV and DTV sources, and features two RGB 15-pin computer inputs, two inputs for composite and S-Video, two component inputs, stereo speaker, Type A USB port and Ethernet network jack. It also features variable audio out, digital zoom and auto set and "Blackboard" function that lets you adjust the image based on the color of the wall it's projected onto.