Pico-projectors are all well and good when it comes to the portable beaming of presentations and movies when on the go. The problem with many of them however is that an array of video and audio cables are needed to get the most out of them, often with the video connections incompatible with dinky ultra-portable notebooks.

Acer's C110 pico-projector looks to answer that problem. Needing neither a power adaptor or display port, it'll project 100 inch images onto your walls simply by connecting it to a source over USB.

While it isn't HD quality, it's specs put it comfortably at the top-end of the pico-projector market. Running at a native WVGA resolution (854 x 480) and maxing out at WXGA (1,280 x 800), it has a 20,000 hour lamp life, 1000:1 contrast ratio and brightness levles of 50 ANSI lumens.

Tiny at just 110x85x25 mm and 175g in weight, it also employs ColorSafe and DLP technology to ensure colour integrity remains top-notch even after prolonged use.

The projector will hit shelves this August, priced £199.

Sony have thrown out some details today on their latest 3D projector, the relatively affordable VPL-HW30. We say relatively affordable as it's still set to retail at under a pocket-pinching £2,000, but that's a far sight cheaper than the £6,000 its predecessor cost.

So what does two grand bag you then?

A full HD 1080p projector, the VPL-HW30 features a High Frame Rate SXRD Panel that when coupled with Sony's MotionFlow tech, should work well to reduce the amount of blur in fast moving images.

A 70,000:1 contrast ratio and a brightness of 1,300 ANSI Lumens should result in a deep, detailed picture too. Also, a 240Hz panel drive system will reduce the tricky problem of crosstalk in 3D images, while 2D to 3D conversion is also possible for what its worth, considering how poorly these conversion systems usually work.

However, to access the 3D features of the projector you'll have to shell out for a pair of TDG-PJ1 active shutter specs or two, as well as a TMR-PJ1 transmitter, both sold separately.

Keep an out for the Sony VPL-HW30 projector at your local AV retailer from July.

Name: EH-TW5500 (Epson)

Type: Full HD DLP Projector

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £749.99

BenQ surprised everyone with the quality of their W1000 projector when it launched in the back end of 2009. Offering superb picture quality for under a grand, it practically single-handedly redefined the the word "value" when it came to home cinema projectors. The BenQ W1000+ is something of a sequel then, refining the features of the first model and slashing the price to an even more attractive low. Is it another bargain offering?

First things first; the BenQ W1000+ isn't much of a looker. Though the "white with silver accents" design in theory should look good, in practice it's a very cheap-looking box, with ugly ventilation strips on the side and sticky control buttons on the top. Focus and horizontal picture-shift dials sit just behind the square lens housing, with this deep recess doing little to help the projector's already messy stylings. It's much better served by its connectivity options however, packing in two HDMIs, D-Sub PC port, component video port, and USB/RS-232 control ports; far more than you'd expect at this price range.

Thankfully, the looks department is one of the only places where the W1000+ betrays its budget price bracket. Capable of throwing full 1080p images out at a maximum size of 300 inches, the W1000+ is capable of superb images despite its bargain labelling.

That's mostly thanks to the refined colour wheel used here. Though the original W1000 projector was a fine offering, it did suffer greatly from the dreaded "rainbow effect" (causing solid stripes of red, green and blue to appear) that many cheaper projectors fall foul of. With a significant speed boost and freshly optimised waveform software in the colour wheel employed here, the BenQ W1000+ has all but eliminated this unsightly problem.

The image improvements over the W1000 model don't stop with the reduced "rainbow effect" either. Colour temperature is markedly better, while the contrast ratio jumps from 3,000:1 to 3,500:1. Upon initially firing up the projector things can look a bit of a mess, but the W1000+ offers fairly robust image tweaking options. Though you're only able to tweak three preset settings (Cinema, Dynamic and Standard) before delving into the advanced menus, doing so gives you full control over minute colour detail, colour temperature, gamma and white balance controls.

Black levels are strong, with the W1000+ retaining great detail even in murkier scenes, with white levels equally vibrant. Black and white images were the worst perpetrators of the "rainbow effect", though in no way as severely noticeable as with similarly priced projectors. Colours, once fine-tuned, can be reassuringly realistic too, though red levels remained stubbornly dominant. For once, we'd encourage using the Brilliant Colour mode: though it can initially be overwhelmingly vibrant to the point of being unrealistic, use the menu screens to tone it down and you'll get a surprisingly punchy image. Fast-paced action scenes do little to rock the projectors motion capabilities too remaining relatively judder-free through a Blu-ray screening of The Watchmen. Overall, full HD images retained a clarity and sharpness rarely seen in projectors that break the £1,000 mark, let alone one that sits some £250 below it.

The projector even comes with a 3W built-in speaker. Now, a 3W speaker is of course in no way a fitting match for an epic movie screening. But in keeping with the projector's budget charms, it does make the W1000+ a far more portable prospect, allowing for modest audio playback if you're to bring this unit around to a pal's house, without the need to lug an audio system around with you too.

Our main quibble come with the auto-keystone functionality. The projector failed to find the natural oblong shape of our 16:9 source material on a flat wall perfectly parallel to the lens. It took an age to reposition the projector and manually tweak the keystone settings before the image was taper-free. Likewise, the 1.2x optical zoom and a lack of an optical vertical lens shift meant positioning the image was far more difficult than it should have been.

Verdict:

At a penny shy of £750, the BenQ W1000+ is an absolute steal. Building significantly upon its already-rather-good W1000 predecessor, the W1000+ offers full HD cinema thrills at a price so competitive it's likely to get the more expensive projector manufacturers quaking in their overpriced boots. While the keystone function and optical zoom range leave a little to be desired, the picture quality is far better than the value-price tag would lead you to believe. An excellent purchase then for the budding home theatre enthusiast.

Name: EH-TW5500 (Epson)

Type: LCD Full HD Projector

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £3,573.44 from Epson

LCD projectors have in the past had a notoriously poor black level response, but continued improvements to Epson's DeepBlack system have consistently impressed. However, the EH-TW5500 projector comes with a premium price tag, significantly higher than comparative LCD projectors. Can it justify it?

A sturdy, no-nonsense build, the curved black chassis of the EH-TW5500 is an intimidating 360 x 450 x 136 mm. It's not frilly, but will comfortable sit among most cinema set-ups, be it floor or ceiling mounted thanks to its non-reflective matte finish. Inputs are sensibly rear mounted, with two 1.3a HDMI ports, a component video input, and an RGB PC input among the connections. The long, black remote control was again sturdy and simple, but a nice back-light feature beneath the buttons made it easy to use in a darkened room.

Set up, via a manual 2.1 optical zoom and manual focus and lens shift dials was simple, allowing images from as little as 30 inches to as large as 300 inches to be produced. While we found the manual horizontal and vertical lens shift dials preferable to the sometimes shoddy results motorised units deliver, we were a little disappointed with the way that turning one dial often knocked out the positioning of the other, making it sometimes difficult to fine-tune the projection placement. Two retractable legs below the projector are also offered, should the lens shift not be sufficient.

Menus are again workmanlike, overlayed onto whatever you're watching on screen, but clear and concise, offering colour temperature controls, calibration tests and frame interpolation intensity settings.

If it all sounds a little safe-but-prosaic right now, you'd be mostly right. But fire the projector up and you'll be totally blown away.

Though the claimed contrast ratio of 200,000:1 is probably a little bit generous, there's no denying the quality of black level response on the EH-TW5500. It's astonishingly deep, retaining texture and detail in the Predators Blu-ray we watched, with no wash-out in dark scenes thanks to the dual-layer notched iris design, which adapts intelligently to jumps in light output. Colours were equally well catered for with natural skin tones, and bold, solid bursts when watching Avatar. Extensive scene mode options, including everything from "Vibrant" to "Cinema Night" modes, made the projector usable even in strong ambient lighting. Of course it was quite washed out, but with the brightness setting pushed high we could quite comfortably manage plenty of daytime viewing. It's worth noting that the projector does get reasonably hot at times though; an Eco Mode does well however to counteract this at the expense of brightness, also managing to make the fan system nearly silent at the same time.

Of equal merit to the black response levels is the afore-mentioned frame interpolation settings. Whereas previous Epson projectors have struggled with terrible artefacting when interpolation is switched on the EH-TW5500's system performs admirably, even on the highest settings. Movement is smooth and clean, and scaling it back made for a significantly smoother experience when gaming, with little notable drop in response time.

Verdict:

The Epson EH-TW5500 is one of the finest, if not the finest LCD projector we've ever seen. Superb HD clarity, vibrant colours and black response levels usually unheard of in an LCD projector, it goes a long way to justifying its premium price tag. It lacks the 3D capabilities that the latest wave of LCD projectors are touting, but for a unit capable of almost industrial-level performance, it can't come recommended more highly.

Sanyo are to add a brand new model to their range of short-throw, short-focus projectors, the PDG-DWL2500J. Not content with being able to produce images as large as 110 inches across, Sanyo's latest light box can produce 3D images too.

That short-throw technology is pretty impressive on its own merit too, producing 3D visuals from a distance a little as 2.4 centimetres.

In terms of connectivity, the projector features a HDMI port and Ethernet socket alongside a 10watt speaker, while the bulb throws out 16:10 aspect ratio images with 2,500 lumens of brightness. The resolution is a bit of a let down though, only at WXGA natively.

It'll cost a pretty penny when it launches next month in Japan for 450,000 Yen (£3,295 circa), but home cinema enthusiasts are probably looking at a glimpse of the future here.

Who needs a 3D TV when you can bag yourself a 3D projector for around half the price? That's what ViewSonic's PJD6531W 3D ready projector offers. It's out this month and comes in at a cheap £649.99.

So what's to get excited about here? Other than the price tag and the 3D capabilities via a firmware update later in the year, this short throw projector can produce widescreen images up to 60 inches across from a distance of just 1.9 metres.

Images are beamed with 3,000 lumens of brightness, which means day-time viewing shouldn't be half bad. An eco-mode will also save the bulbs life expectancy, promising 6,000 hours of constant usage. There is also a HDMI input and PC display inputs, making it handy for gaming, Blu-ray viewing and presentations alike.

If there's one shortcoming however it's that the images have a max resolution of 1280x800 WXGA 720p, rather than the superior 1080p. If that isn't a problem for you however, this projector is definitely worth getting in for the World Cup.

InFocus have announced the launch of their ScreenPlay 8602 projector, a great looking bit of full HD Home Theatre kit that will throw 300 inch images around your living room at a native resolution of 1080p.

The ScreenPlay 8602 has a contrast ratio of 30,000:1 which should produce deep blacks, and 1300 lumens of brightness for comfortable day-light viewing.

120Hz support, a manual lens shift, two HDMI ports, image warping for uneven surfaces and automatic celling detection all feature. There will also be interchangeable decorative skins for the projector, to help it fit in alongside the rest of you home theatre kit.

No news on pricing yet, but for more info click here.

Making sure Avatar looks as good at home as it did on the big screen, Acer ready their new S5200 3D ready video projector.

The projector is able to produce 3D imagery by using DLP 3D Ready technology. Using 120 Hz refresh rates, it can transform a flat surface into a 3D screen thanks to a combination of a PC with a compatible graphics card and special 3D glasses, producing two images on the screen at once which your mind processes as one.

A short-throw projector, the S5200 can deliver an 81 inch screen from as little as a metre away. Acer's ColourBoost II + tech should also ensure colour performance remains solid, no matter what the ambient lighting conditions.

The lamp is said to have a respectable 4,000 hour life, with a contrast ratio of 2,500:1. Brightness levels max out at 3,000 ANSI Lumens, which should make daytime viewing comfortable.

Connections include 2x component video, 1x HDMI, S-Video and composite.

The Acer S5200 3D projector costs £649. That includes a 5 year warranty on the DLP chip and 1 year warranty on the lamp, regardless of hours used.

Sony are set to launch the Bravia VPL-HW15 full HD projector. Priced in roughly the same bracket as a top-end HD TV (circa £2000), Sony are pushing it as an affordable entry point for home-projector enthusiasts.

Boasting a 1920x1080 resolution projected to sizes up to 300 inches diagonally, the projector has been engineered to handle images requiring a fast response time, such as action movies, sport and gaming, optimised with 3SXRD technology.

The projector features a contrast ratio of 60,000:1, with Sony hoping that the dynamically changing Advanced Iris 3 incorporated into the lens can prevent the washed out colours that cripple other home projectors.

Bravia-synced One Touch Play, a 1.6x manual zoom and an adjustable lens shift and focus are all set to feature, as well as high-res optimised SD images through the Bravia Engine 2.

"We're always looking to innovate and upgrade our home cinema suite of projectors to ensure we are offering our customers the very best in home cinema projection," says Takayuki Nakane, Marketing Manager at Sony Professional, "And thanks to continuous engineering advances we can offer this for a price that makes HD viewing available to a wider market than ever before."

Keep an eye out for a full Tech Digest/ HDTVUK review of the Bravia VPL-HW15 in the near future.

I'm always pleased when Optoma shows off new products, and it's used CEDIA this year to do just that.

As well as the HD82 HD projector which launched in the UK in February, Optoma showed off its new sub-£900 HD20, high-spec ThemeScene HD86, plus a sneak peek at Optoma's new state-of-the-art 3D projectors.

HD20

The HD20 is a full 1080p DLP projector but at economy prices. It features 1,700 ANSI lumens brightness, 500:1 ANSI contrast ratio, balanced colour rendition, 29dB noise level, two HDMI inputs and filter-free no maintenance design.

Granted, in some settings it won't be powerful enough but it's fine for use in rooms with some ambient light. Optoma also guarantees that image and colour quality will remain as new for at least five years.

Available from July priced around £900.

Epson is celebrating the twentieth birthday of its 3LCD projection technology, with its first projector launched in 1989, and the first home cinema projector to support HDMI 1.3a launched in 2006.

Pictured is the first 3LCD projector - quite different to some of the sleek models available today.

Graeme Davidson, Epson UK Ltd said, "As its inventor and pioneer we're proud to be celebrating 3LCD's 20th anniversary. Our innovation has constantly raised industry standards for producing vibrant, true to life images. We're proud that millions of our projectors are not only being used in the most demanding business environments, but are also bringing cinema experiences into people's homes. What's more, over the years we've developed proprietary technology that has enabled us to reduce overall energy efficiency of the projectors by 90 percent - making them a great choice for environmentally aware businesses and consumers."

Related posts: Epson announces double-speed driver for 3LCD projectors | Sony introduce BRAVIA-branded AW series 3LCD projectors | Epson EMP-TW1000 3lCD 1080p projector boosts range | More HD Projector news...

Sanyo has announced the latest in its line of high definition projectors. The single-chip DLP PDG-DHT100L features a bright 6,500 lumens from its dual lamp system, 7,500:1 contrast ratio, full 1080p native resolution, and twin colour wheel system.

The colour wheel can be easily changed by the user, with one wheel being optimised for brightness and the second for rich colour reproduction.

Other features include picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture functionality, a 25,000 hour active maintenance filter and sealed optical engine, and compatibility with Sanyo's uncompressed HD wireless data transmission system.

Available from March, its US RRP will be $21,995. Details of UK availability to be confirmed.

Related posts: Review: Sanyo Xacti Dual HD 2000 Camcorder | Video Review: Sanyo Xacti HD 1010 camcorder | Sanyo shows off new range of high-def Xacti Dual camcorders | More HD projectors...

Optoma has today announced its latest DLP-based home high definition video projector. The ThemeScene HD82 features a 20,000:1 contrast ratio (680:1 ANSI contrast), and naturally is able to handle full HD 1080p.

It can project up to a whopping 150 inches (12.5 foot) diagonal and uses a range of technologies including PureMotion to insert frames to reduce motion blurring and judder, PureColour for vivid, balanced colour reproduction, and PureDetail for a pin-sharp picture.

Epson has announced that it is to start using the Colour Light Output (CLO) measurement on its projectors.

Developed by Lumita at the end of 2007, CLO works on the same principle as the white light brightness measurement.

How is Colour Light Output measured?

Three RGB colour patterns are divided into nine separate areas. The luminance of the nine areas is then measured for each pattern, and an average value taken for each of the patterns. Finally, the Colour Light Output is calculated by adding the average values of the three patterns.

So expect to see a new measurement listed in Epson's future video projector specs.

Epson

Italian high-end projector manufacturer SIM2 has announced what is probably its most advanced, sleekest-looking high definition cinema projector to date.

The C3X LUMIS HOST builds on the standards set with the Grand Cinema C3X Series, boasting an amazing 35,000:1+ contrast ratio, dynamic iris, DynamicBlack technology and a new "dimmable" lamp.

Acer has announced its latest DLP-based video projector which can handle high definition content and comes with ColorBoost II technology for enhanced picture quality.

With a resolution of 1.680 x 1,050 pixels, it won't display a full HD video without scaling, although it will happily accept high-def signals via HDCP-compliant HDMI.

Offering a brightness of 2,500 ANSI lumens and 2,000:1 contrast ratio, the projector can thrown an image up to 82 inches even from a projection distance of one metre.

Quiet, at 28dB in Eco Mode, it offers 3,000 hours of projection life and a built-in speaker. It comes with a remote control and laser pointer, so is geared particularly for business users, and offers several power-saving modes.

Available for £539 (excluding VAT).

If you're in line for a new projector or home cinema system, you might want to get yourself to the Stuff Live / What Hi-Fi Show this weekend for some great deals on Epson gear.

Offers only available at the show include £100 off the EMP DM2, now £399.99; £200 off the EMP TW420, now £449.99; and £400 off the EMP TW2000, now £2,599.

If you've been waiting (im)patiently for the VPL-HW10 high definition projector which was announced at IFA this year, then your wait is nearly over.

It's coming at the end of October (that's about as precise as it gets) for £1,760.

In an attempt to lure you into its projector goodness, Sony is offering a Blu-ray player worth £249, or a replacement lamp worth £260.

Take a look in more detail on the product page.

Here's a bit of component news, in that Epson has developed a new double speed D7/C2 Fine Panel, upping the display rate to 120 frames per second.

The panels will be fitted in new high-end 3LCD projectors from Epson. In addition, the number of integrated circuits has been reduced from four to one, by embedding the mini-LVDS interface function onto the video signal processing IC.

This news isn't going to make any immediate difference to consumers, and won't affect lower-end projectors which will continue to display 60fps video, but moving forward it will allow Epson to develop more advanced high definition projectors.

Sanyo has announced the latest in its line of high definition LCD projector, the PLV-Z3000.

This full HD 1080p projector uses Sanyo's TopazReal HD technology, which is a 3D colour management system that changes colour phase and level to obtain "perfect" colour reproduction - some 216 billion colour combinations, in fact.

The 120Hz projector introduces 5:5 pull down, for accurate rendition of the source material. Presumably, a UK version of the projector would run at 100Hz. It can also handle 24fps video.