NEC NP-V300W

By Tony Hoffman

The NEC NP-V300W data projector shares many of the strengths and weaknesses of the NEC NP-V260X that I reviewed earlier this year. Both are suitable for classroom or conference room use, both offer a good range of connection ports and have solid data image quality, they're lightweight but don't come with carrying cases, and their video showed significant (and potentially distracting) rainbow artifacts.

While the NEC NP-V260X is rated at 2,600 lumens and has a native XGA (1.024 by 768) resolution, the NP-V300W offers 3,000 lumens of brightness and WXGA (1,280 by 800) native resolution, a 16:10 aspect ratio. They both have light engines that employ a Texas Instruments DLP chip.

The NP-V300W is white, with rounded corners. Behind the lens are focus and zoom wheels. The projector is reasonably compact at 3.7 by 12.2 by 9.7 inches (HWD) and portable at 5.5 pounds, though it lacks a carrying case. (NEC sells a suitable case for $54.)

This projector has a good range of connection ports: 2 VGA-in ports for connecting to computers (each with its own audio-in jack) and one VGA-out for a monitor (with an audio-out jack); HDMI; ?S-Video; three RCA jacks for composite video and audio: an Ethernet port for LAN connectivity and an RS232 port for PC control. (The NP-V300W comes with software to facilitate such control of the projector.)

Testing

According to NEC, the NP-V300W's image size can range from 33 to 300 inches (measured diagonally), with projection distance ranging between 3.9 and 39 inches from the screen. I tested it about 8 feet from the screen, with an image about 60 inches diagonally. It was bright enough to stand up well to average ambient light.

In our DisplayMate testing, data image quality was typical of data projectors, and suitable for general business use.? Colors seemed fairly true, though yellows were a bit mustardy, and there was some mild reddish tinting to some grays. White-on-black type was more blurred at smaller sizes than we'd like, though black-on-white type is fine. I did notice more rainbow artifacts?in which colors break down into little red-green-blue rainbows, especially in images with high contrast between dark and light?than usual. People vary in their sensitivity to this rainbow effect, which is unique to DLP projectors, but it's generally less of an issue with data images.

Video is a different matter. Once again, I did see rainbow artifacts in our test clips, and more often than usual with a DLP data projector. They're likely to be distracting to people who are sensitive to the effect, and because of that I'd limit video use with this projector to short clips as part of a presentation.

Sound from the NP-V300W's 7-watt speaker is loud enough to fill a small to mid-sized room, and the audio quality is decent. Another plus is that the projector is 3D capable, compatible with TI's DLP Link technology, though to view 3D content you'll have to buy active shutter glasses?NEC sells them for $99, though they can be bought elsewhere for considerably less.

The NP-V300W is of typical brightness for a WXGA data projector, and has data image quality suitable for most classroom or business use. If you don't require the NP-V300W's brightness or resolution, the NEC NP-V260X provides a similar feature set for considerably less money.

The Canon LV-8320 costs a bit more than the NP-V300W, but provides above-par video quality to go with solid data image quality. As an LCD-based projector, it's free of the rainbow artifacts that the NP-V300W suffers, as is the Editors' Choice Epson Powerlite 1775W Multimedia Projector , a slim and light, eminently portable data projector that provides excellent data and video image quality. But neither of the LCD projectors can handle 3D content, as the NP-V300W can.

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