Canon LV – 7392A
While the LV-7392A had no issues receiving
a 1080p signal via HDMI (the analog RGB input accepts up to 1,920x1,200 pixel
resolution), the image looked the sharpest when it matched the projector’s
native XGA resolution. And despite the panel’s 4:3 aspect ratio, 16:9 content
showed up pretty nicely when we selected the appropriate aspect ratio setting.
There are six preset display modes to
choose from: Standard, Presentation, High Contrast, Cinema, Blackboard, and
Color board. Adjusted image settings can be further saved into four user modes.
On the whole, text looked sharp from the center of the screen all the way to the
edges. We did notice some slight corner softness due to the light falloff, but
that’s to be expected of any data projector. For video, we saw very good
details; there’s no doubt this was aided by the auto iris function, and the
fact that we were in a darkened room. The 10W monaural speaker isn’t of very
high sonic quality, but it did get the job done as everyone in the 6x6m room
could hear the audio track clearly.
Epson EB – X15
During use, noise level typically hovered
around 40dB (Epson lists 37dB). This dropped to 29dB when Eco mode was used,
and it was noticeable difference. Like the NEC M311XG, the lens cover is built
in, and when you slide it shut, it will ‘mute’ both the image and audio. While
the EB-X15’s 1.2x zoom lens isn’t the most flexible here, it probably won’t
matter much unless you’ve a very tight space. Case in point: We still managed a
big 100-inch image with a 3m projection distance.
During
use, noise level typically hovered around 40dB (Epson lists 37dB).
If you need the brightest image, Dynamic
mode is the way to go. We found Presentation mode to strike the best balance
between text clarity and color accuracy. Theater mode did wonders to blacks in
movies, but this mode ends up dropping light output to about 1,700 lumens.
Overall, the EB-X15 puts in a strong performance in the brightness and
uniformity departments. Colors also appeared very bright and vibrant. Turning
on Eco mode drops brightness by about 24%, but you get an extra 1,000 hours out
of the lamp.
Sony VPL – EX245
On paper, the VPL-EX245 with its 3,200
lumens brightness is the brightest projector of the lot. And indeed, its light
output did top the chart when we tested it. However, it’s also important to
point out that the difference between the four projectors in terms of light
output is fairly minimal. But credit where credit is due: text was sharp and
highly legible even at non-native resolutions, and colors were (for the most
part) rich and accurate. Gradients looked smooth too, possibly aided by the
projector’s 12-bit 3D gamma correction circuitry.
On
paper, the VPL-EX245 with its 3,200 lumens brightness is the brightest
projector of the lot.
If you don’t need all that light output, we
found Presentation mode to be a good set-it-and-leave-it preset for both text
and image projections, due to its good blend of brightness and contrast.
Expectedly, Cinema mode is best used when you‘ve control over the ambient light
due to its low brightness; but it did nail the color temperature to our
preferred 6500K. While all four projectors performed fairly similarly in the
DVD-watching tests, we found ourselves liking the VPL-EX245 just a tad more
because of its fi lm-like picture quality.
And The Best Business Projector Is …
For most business and education users, the
number one feature to look out for in a data projector is brightness, because a
lot of times, it’s neither possible nor practical to have a darkened room. In
fact, some presenters rather have all the lights turned on, so that they can
maintain eye contact with their audience. Now here’s the good news: with
brightness ratings between 3,000 and 3,200 lumens, you won’t go wrong with any
of the four projectors in this roundup. The Sony VPL-EX245 was the brightest
out of the box, but the Canon LV-7392A was just a few lumens behind in reality.
While the LV-7392A put up a good
performance, its flexibility score suffers due to its 1.2x zoom lens. It does
have an HDMI input, but so do the rest. Data image quality-wise, the fight was
between the Epson EB-X15 and the NEC M311XG. Ultimately, we gave it to the
former due to its excellent keystone adjustment options. If you’re looking for
portability, the EB-X15 is a great choice due to its (comparatively) compact
size and light weight.
All in all, the NEC M311XG gets our nod for
the Best Performance award for getting the most number of things right. It
consistently performed well in our image quality tests (both data and video),
and it packs a slew of useful features like a 1.7x zoom lens, USB viewer, and
Crestron Roomview support. It also offers a super-long lamp life of up to
10,000 hours.
The winner of our Best Value award is the
Sony VPL-EX245. Capable data and movie performances aside, with things like
dual VGA inputs, USB media viewer, and 1.6x zoom ratio, its feature-set rivals
the slightly more expensive M311X. Take note though, the lamp lasts just 3,000
hours at the High lamp mode. It’s also the heaviest and bulkiest projector of
the lot.
