You know I'm going to read almost anything which AH posts related to front projection and I'll definitely point out a gripe or two, but this is one of the better score sheets I've seen.
As always, I wish that more time would be spent going over the impression which the reviewer had of the projector which has been tested. What things were set to, how the setup was done.
Using a widescreen laptop typically has no impact on the projector if the desktop is extended for use instead of mirroring the main monitor. You throw away a lot of pixels when going to a 16:9 mode.
Likewise, it would have been nice to have some information about how video had performed and the flaws associated with using a business projector for home theater usage which is something many people, especially people that visit this website, will wonder about.
I agree that the performance of this projector sounds like it falls in line with the middle of the road and is VERY common to almost every single other business class LCD XGA projector under $1,000 which is currently on the market.
A five star value I would question - as I said - it is not unique anymore, or special, or a nice value, to get a $700 XGA projector.
Seriously: There are 50 projectors listed that are XGA resolution and cost less than $700. 49 of which are between 2000-3000 lumens...
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&mfg=&p=0-700&w=&r=3&br=2000-3000&ll=&t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=&dvi=&td=&i=d&is=&sort=pop
What makes this one such a 5 star value considering the very average performance?
I really am just wondering because the review doesn't really cover what sets this projector apart from the other 49 XGA projectors which seem to fall into the same category.
I would say that a value projector worth 5 stars would need to include a digital connection with HDCP on it at the very least - and keep the price under $700.
Five projectors (from those original 50) meet that requirement...
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&mfg=&p=0-700&w=&r=3&br=2000-3000&ll=&t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=&dvi=2&td=&i=d&is=&sort=pop
of those, the Sharp & the Boxlight both carry three year warranties, which I would consider more important for business use.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sharp-PG-F212X.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Boxlight-SeattleX22N.htm
I think I'm always going to give these reviews a bit of a hard time because there are so many reviews which cover 5+ pages of good reading with tests and such while these projector reviews tend to run pretty thin. I would love to see some additional information and personal insight from you guys and I think others would as well.
NO HDMI OR DVI = No digital connectivity. While not critical this year, the word is that in 2011 Blu-ray will be dropping analog outputs for HD resolutions on players. Likewise, no upconversion of DVD is available over component connections.