• PC World
• » Input Devices

Whether your career involves sales, training, or finance, a portable projector can add energy and professional sophistication to your next presentation. Compact and light enough to take with you on the road, today's portable projectors weigh just 3 to 8 pounds--significantly lighter than the 10- to 15-pound models we saw a few years ago. The latest units also pack more power for the dollar, and they display brighter images at higher native resolutions; typically, portables use XGA (1024 by 768 pixels). Though street prices remain fairly steep, ranging between $4000 and $5000, these projectors offer portability and versatility that can pay off for mobile presenters.

The trend toward smaller projectors owes much of its momentum to Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing technology. In contrast to LCD technology, DLP uses a smaller-scale reflective system in which thousands of tiny mirrors project the image. LCD projector optics require larger panels, prisms, and mirrors. Compact DLP projectors still tend to be more expensive to produce than LCD units and feature brighter images overall; the larger LCD models generally deliver richer, more-saturated color.

The other trend to emerge in the past year: brighter projector lamps. Current portables are rated at between 700 and 1500 ANSI lumens, which is the industry-standard measure of light output. A 700-lumen projector is adequate for use in a small room with the lights down. A 1200- to 1500-lumen model, on the other hand, is suitable for use in large rooms with an office's low, ambient lighting--and will work well at distances up to 40 feet from the screen. All projector lamps lose their brightness over time. Many--though not all--manufacturers define lamp life as ending at the point when a lamp provides only half of its initial brightness; before buying a projector that you're considering, ask the vendor how it defines lamp life.

We evaluated six data projectors, three each in two weight classes. In the under-5-pounds group, we reviewed Compaq's $4999 MP2800, NEC's $4795 MultiSync LT155, and Sharp's $3899 Notevision PG-M10X. In the over-5-pounds category, we looked at Epson's $4899 PowerLite 715c, InFocus's $5399 Proxima DP6150, and Sony's $4999 VPL-CX10 SuperLite.

Both the Compaq and the Sharp units use single-chip DLP technology to display images; the other four projectors rely on a three-panel LCD design. All six have native XGA resolution and can resize images from VGA (640 by 480) to SXGA (1280 by 1024) resolution; only the Epson 715c and the NEC LT155 go higher, up to UXGA (1600 by 1200) resolution.

Since projectors appeal primarily to presenters, each unit includes an infrared remote control with an integrated pointing device that controls the computer attached to the projector. The projectors reviewed here support a USB, serial, or PS/2 connection--at least one type each--between the computer and the projector; some offer a combination of interface options. The built-in laser pointer found in the Compaq, NEC, and Proxima remotes make highlighting points in your presentation even easier; Sharp bundles a separate laser-pen pointer.

The units typically provide controls on the projector and the remote for adjusting image quality (brightness, contrast, color, and so on). But the Epson and the Sharp put most of their image-adjustment controls only on the remote.

Presenters who would like to leave their laptops behind will appreciate the PC Card slots on the Epson and the NEC. You can transfer static-image Microsoft PowerPoint presentations from a PC to removable media such as a CompactFlash card (when used with a PC Card adapter) or a PC Card hard drive, and then run the presentation directly from the projector. Simple presentations of this type are essentially a series of screen shots; forgoing the laptop means also doing without animation and sound.

In addition to handling presentations, portable projectors can display video--a training or marketing tape or a baseball game, say. Every projector we tested included the video and audio cables and ports needed to connect the projector to a PC or Mac, or to a video source such as a VCR, camcorder, DVD player, or television. The projectors here all have a computer (VGA) port and composite video and S-Video ports. The Epson 715c and Sony VPL-CX10 also provide component video ports. S-Video and component video can provide better signal quality because they separate the video signal into multiple, independently adjustable channels.

The Compaq MP2800 and Proxima DP6150 projectors both feature a DVI (short for Digital Visual Interface) connector to attach the projector to most digital graphics adapters. This all-digital connection in turn provides a cleaner, sharper projected image. The Compaq, the Epson 715c, and the NEC LT155 are the only tested models that offer signal support for high-definition TV. And only the Proxima offers a dual set of VGA ports for hooking up two notebooks--such as a PC and a Mac--at once, as well as VGA output for connecting a second monitor.

Though all the projectors include built-in sound systems, some fail to produce strong stereo sound. The Compaq provides a booming 8-watt single speaker, while the Proxima offers two 1-watt speakers, and the Sony two 0.5-watt speakers.

• See more like this:
• projector,
• ultralight,
• portable projector,
• XGA,
• mobile presentation,
• epson,
• nec,
• powerlite 715c,
• multisync lt155,
• compaq,
• mp2800,
• sharp,
• notevision pg-m10x,
• infocus,
• proxima dp6150,
• sony,
• vpl-cx10 superlite