Portable projectors such as Acer’s C20 pico projector don’t tend to vary much from a design perspective; by the time you’ve slapped together the necessary components for lens, input and a reasonably sized battery, there’s not a lot of space left for custom visual features, leaving the description that most of them look like a pack of playing cards being very apt.

The C20′s controls predominantly reside on the top of the projector, where you’ll find the controls for adjusting inputs and display characteristics, save for the focus wheel, which sits on the right-hand side of the projector body if you’re facing it directly. The C20 will take a variety of inputs. On the left-hand side, under a flap, you’ll find inputs for micro USB (a cable is provided) and microSD cards, as well as an A/V input socket for iPod. On the right-hand side sits a mini-HDMI (C Type) socket, and a “universal” IO socket.

Features

The projector within the C20 is a DLP-type with a native 16:9 WVGA (854×480) resolution, capable of up to a maximum (WXGA) 1280×800 display. Contrast ratio is stated at 2000:1, but, like most pico projectors, the ANSI Lumens rating is on the low side, compared to a traditional full-bodied projector — this one is rated at only 20 ANSI Lumens. For practical purposes, this means that you can use it in a lit room, but only just, and really only because the practical throw distance of the projector isn’t all that far in real terms.

It may have just been our review sample, but the supplied documentation with the C20 isn’t that impressive; a slender multi-language “quick start” guide that’s dwarfed by the warranty cards that come with it. What the quick start guide does suggest is that, with the right cables, the C20 should be a rather flexible projector depending on your needs.

It’ll connect up to USB drives via a micro-USB cable, laptops via a VGA cable, games consoles via an RCA cable, iPods via a 2.5mm to 3.5mm A/V cable and HDMI sources via a mini-HDMI cable. That’s all well and good, but you only get the VGA and micro-USB cables in the box. All the other options will involve tracking down and buying the relevant cables subject to your needs. For the purposes of our review, Acer supplied us with a compatible mini-HDMI cable, but it’s not standard.

If you don’t have a projection screen at your destination, Acer will also sell you a AU$49 15-inch portable projection screen. That’s portable in a slightly different sense to the projector; you could stow it in a bag, but never in your pocket.

Performance

Setting up the C20 was slightly more of a challenge than we’d initially anticipated. The projector lacks any kind of inbuilt tilt mechanism such as feet, and that makes finding the correct pitch angle rather hard without a tripod. We’d suggest adding a mini-tripod to the list of accessories that you should buy with the C20, although a stack of books will do in a pinch.

Once we’d set the angle appropriately, we then had to get the C20 to focus properly. This was a challenge on two levels. For a start, the projector’s native focus tends to render text or any straight lines used in things like clip art with a very soft tone. With video playback it’s less noticeable, but if you’re staring at a PowerPoint presentation for any length of time, it does become distracting. Good focus should assist with this, but the tiny focus wheel lacks granular precision, and we often wrestled with getting the best possible focus from it. Being such a tiny projector, scrolling the wheel often shifted the position of the focus, as well.

The C20 includes integrated speakers, but anyone looking for audio quality won’t find it here, and that’s not too surprising. On the plus side, there is a standard audio output socket, so you could improve audio easily at the cost of some portability.

The C20′s battery life was around an hour in our tests. For most business users that should be adequate, but you may want to pack the supplied charger just in case.

Conclusion

At AU$489, the C20 is among the cheaper brand-name pico projectors on the marketplace, but it’s not without its flaws and limitations. If you’re only making rather short presentations, and not using the speakers in any meaningful way, it’s fair — but not great value.

Sony expands its groundbreaking 3D home projector range with the affordable VPL-HW30ES

9th June 2011

Basingstoke, UK, 9th June 2011: Sony has today announced it has expanded its range of market leading 3D home projectors with the new, more affordable, VPL-HW30ES. Incorporating Sony’s latest lamp technology, dynamic lamp control system, movie fans have the opportunity to enjoy an unrivalled 3D cinematic experience, with stunning images that are three times as bright as Sony’s first 3D home projector, the VPL-VW90ES.

In order to achieve an optimal movie experience which feels natural on the eye, the VPL-HW30ES is equipped with Sony’s High Frame Rate SXRD Panel (1920ｘ1080), which helps to reproduce dramatically sharp and smooth motion and reduces the image motion blur for a crisper image (Motionflow) and deliver a dynamic contrast ratio of 70,000:1 and brightness of 1,300lm. In addition, “3D crosstalk” is significantly reduced thanks to the 240Hz SXRD panel drive system. The VPL-HW30ES is also capable of taking 2D video and simulating 3D images, bringing new life to classic movies from the past and allowing a wide variety of video content, such as live sports, to be enjoyed.

The VPL-HW30ES also enhances the customer viewing experience by enabling them to enjoy 3D and 2D pictures more comfortably. It has independent 2D/3D picture mode, which helps when you watch 2D and move on to watch 3D contents and you can watch the contents optimum picture image setting automatically. And the VPL-HW30ES runs very quietly with an advanced air discharge system by “22 db” which doesn’t disturb the overall cinematic experience.

“The launch of the VPL-HW30ES demonstrates Sony’s commitment to developing truly innovative products which allow more people than ever to experience 3D in their own living room,” said Tak Nakane, product specialist at Sony Professional, Sony Europe. “Built using Sony’s extensive 3D expertise, the VPL-HW30ES sets down a new benchmark for demanding movie-goers who want a high-end home cinema system at an affordable price.”

The VPL-HW30ES is compatible with Sony’s new active shutter glasses, the TDG-PJ1, which are 18 grams lighter than the previous model (59g compared to 77g). The TDG-PJ1 can be charged in 30 minutes to provide 30 hours of continuous watching. In conjunction with the new glasses, Sony has announced a new transmitter, the TMR-PJ1, which synchronises 3D content effortlessly to generate a high-quality natural 3D effect.

The VPL-HW30ES will be available across Europe in July 2011. The TDG-PJ1 and TMR-PJ1 are sold separately.