Projector Review - Eiki LC-XNB2U & LC-NB2U, Canon LV-7325, Mitsubishi X70

Eiki LC-XNB2U and LC-NB2U

$7,995 (LC-XNB2U) and $5,995 (LC-NB2U)

Pros: A bright, colorful projector equipped with motor-driven zoom lens. PC Card slot for computerless presentations. Good video performance.

Cons: Not as lightweight as many other projectors on the market.

Weight: 9.2 pounds (Eiki claims 8.8 pounds). Data and power cord plus remote control weigh an additional 1.8 pounds.
LCD size and resolution: XNB2U: 0.9-inch XGA (1,024 x 768); NB2U: SVGA (800 x 600).
Optics: Three-panel, dichroic-cube system with optical integrator, microlens array and polarization conversion. Motorized-zoom and -focus projection lens.
Lamp: 150-watt UHP.
Measured brightness: XNB2U: 1,173 ANSI lumens; NB2U: 1,072 ANSI lumens (average of wide- and narrow-zoom settings). XNB2U: 1,220 ANSI lumens; NB2U: 1,079 ANSI lumens in the wide-zoom setting. (Eiki claims 1,200 ANSI lumens max.)
Measured ANSI contrast: XNB2U: 159-to-1; NB2U: 186-to-1.
Connections: One 15-pin standard computer data input with audio. One combined composite and S-VHS video input with stereo audio input. Projector includes an RGB monitor output, audio outputs and a serial connection for mouse or computer control.
Video compatibility: Accepts most popular video sources up to SXGA.
Speakers: One 1-watt, built-in speaker.
Accessories included: PC Card slot and laser-pointer IR remote control.

The navy blue XNB2 and light gray NB2 projectors are upgrades from the previous Eiki Notebook series of LCD projectors, the XNB1 and NB1, I reviewed last year (January 1999). These new units have been extensively revised, losing half a pound in weight and practically doubling their light output. Eiki has raised the price a bit to pay for these improvements -- the new models' prices are $300 to $800 more than last year's prices, depending upon whether you take the W unit without microlenses and PC Card slot or the U unit (reviewed here) with both microlenses and the PC Card slot. The new price is worth the increase in performance, though.

Eiki increased the old unit's light output by using a 150-watt UHP lamp in place of the 120-watt lamp the XNB1 and NB1 projectors used. It also installed microlens arrays on both the XGA and SVGA systems and enhanced the general optical system. The resulting performance is mighty impressive. I measured 1,220 ANSI lumens in the XNB2U's wide-zoom setting, which is more than the advertised 1,200 lumens. The SVGA-resolution NB2U is also rated at 1,200 lumens, but measured 1,079 ANSI lumens in its wide-zoom setting, which is within the 10 percent margin of error I am willing to accept. In the average between wide- and narrow-zoom settings, the XNB2U measured 1,173 ANSI lumens and the NB2U 1,072 lumens.

With the same settings used to measure brightness, I measured the XNB2U's ANSI contrast ratio at 159-to-1, which is above average for an LCD projector. The NB2U's ANSI contrast was even better at 186-to-1. I also like to quantify contrast ratio through the white-black sequential contrast ratio (which is how some manufacturers spec their products). The XNB2U measured 314-to-1 sequentially (the XNB1 had hit 173) and the NB2U measured 326-to-1 -- both well above the manufacturer's claimed 250-to-1.

These are honest, solid-performing projectors in almost every area. I measured the two projectors' color saturation at 15.9 -- almost even with the old XNB1's 16.0, but a bit below the 16.2 color-saturation average for a three-panel, x-cube-based system, and almost a full point below the best, most color-saturated projectors. The XNB2U's white point, at 3.72 units away from standard D65, was good -- but the NB2U's, at 2.29, was even better.

Both projectors' images showed relatively good uniformity (9.9 and 6.9 percent variation respectively for the XNB2U and NB2U) but weak corner brightness. The XNB2U had only about 61 percent of peak still carried in the corners; the NB2U was a little better with 71 percent in the corners. Last year's XNB1 had less brightness variation and more light in the corners (almost 85 percent) but only half the brightness. The increased roll-off in the new series is hardly noticeable, however, and both Eiki models still delivered beautiful onscreen images with both DVD video and computer graphics.

As most modern projectors do, the new Eiki units have easy-to-use snap-down elevator feet in front but they lack screw-adjust feet in the back for tilt control. The case has a standard-size handle on one side. All the connectors -- power, data, video and audio -- are in the back, but, as a lot of projectors do, these Eiki models lack USB connectivity.

Both Eikis did a reasonable job resizing a 1,280 x 1,024 SXGA signal, but the XNB2U's resized SXGA was much clearer than the NB2U's version. And, as you would expect, the NB2U's resized XGA image was also no match for the XNB2U's crisp native-resolution XGA images.

When it comes to video, though, both projectors performed almost faultlessly. With a DVD signal, both exhibited good color saturation, contrast and great brightness. Both projectors are great performers for the price.

Contact: Eiki International Inc., 800.332.3454, www.eiki.com.

Canon LV-7325

$7,795

Pros: A bright, colorful projector equipped with a motor-driven zoom lens. PC Card slot for computerless presentations. Good video performance. Reasonable price.

Cons: Heavier than today's lightest units. Turbo Bright mode washes out images, so it's not worth using.

Weight: 9.7 pounds (Canon claims 9.4 pounds). Data and power cord plus remote control weigh an additional 1.8 pounds.
LCD size and resolution: 0.9-inch XGA (1,024 X 768).
Optics: Three-panel dichroic-cube system with optical integrator, microlens array and polarization conversion. Motorized-zoom and -focus projection lens.
Lamp: 150-watt UHP.
Measured brightness: 1,068 ANSI lumens (average of wide- and narrow-zoom settings); 1,099 ANSI lumens in wide-zoom setting (Canon claims 1,200 ANSI lumens max).
Measured ANSI contrast: 160-to-1.
Connections: One 15-pin standard computer data input with audio. One combined composite and S-VHS video input with stereo audio input. Projector includes an RGB monitor output, audio outputs and a serial connection for mouse or computer control.
Video compatibility: Accepts most popular video sources up to SXGA.
Speakers: One 1-watt, built-in speaker.
Accessories included: PC Card slot and laser-pointer IR remote control.

When you put the Eiki projectors reviewed this month next to the Canon LV-7325, the family heritage is easy to spot -- they're cousins and both owe their existence to Sanyo, the original equipment manufacturer. Canon uses an almost Apple iMac color scheme on its translucent blue and gray projectors and has a button scheme that's easier to operate in the dark, but otherwise, these projectors look similar. They have some significant differences, however.

Canon claims 9.4 pounds for the LV-7325, but my digital scale showed 9.7 pounds -- almost 0.5 pounds heavier than the Eiki XNB2U. And, like the Eiki unit, the Canon LV-7325 also sports a PC Card slot for computerless presentations. But the big difference is a Canon enhancement (or at least that's what it's supposed to be) being marketed as Turbo Brightness.

What happens when you switch the projector into "turbo" mode? When I flipped on the turbo switch, I almost jumped. The image looked awful -- maybe a little bit brighter but with less contrast and lower color saturation. In general, images just looked washed out. With the turbo setting off, however, the projector's images looked fine.

What is this turbo feature? Well, all Canon has really done to "turbocharge" this projector is to adjust the color-filtering optical apparatus with a lever to get more light, lowering the color saturation in the process.

Canon claims 1,500 ANSI lumens in turbo mode, but I could only find 1,315 ANSI lumens in the turbo setting with the zoom lens in the brightest, wide-zoom position -- about a 10 percent boost in brightness.

The turbo's 10 percent increase in light is hardly noticeable, but the loss in color is obvious. As trade-offs go, this isn't a good one.

Measurements for the Canon were comparable to those of the Eiki projectors, but both the contrast and color saturation dropped in turbo mode. In addition, the LV-7325's images had even less uniformity (10.9 percent variation) and weaker corner brightness than the Eiki projectors had. Canon claims 90 percent "in the edges," but I found only about 59 percent of peak still carried in the corners.

Overall, the Canon's onscreen images were almost as good as the Eikis' when projecting DVD video or computer graphics, but the turbo mode does as much damage to video images as to still images. If I ran Canon, I would dump the turbo switch, lose some size and weight and pay more attention to the projector's assembly, but keep the cool color.

Contact: Canon Visual Communications Systems Division, 516.328.5960, www.usa.canon.com.

Mitsubishi X70

$7,499

Pros: A small, lightweight, zoom-lens-equipped LCD projector that delivers solid, even brightness with high contrast and a six-color adjustment palette. Good video performance.

Cons: Doesn't meet brightness specification.

Weight: 7.4 pounds (Mitsubishi claims 7.0). Data and power cord plus remote control weigh an additional 1.6 pounds.
LCD size and resolution: 0.9-inch XGA (1,024 X 768).
Optics: Three-panel, dichroic-cube system with optical integrator, polarization conversion and microlenses. Manual-zoom and -focus projection lens.
Lamp: 150-watt UHP.
Measured brightness: 851 ANSI lumens (average of wide- and narrow-zoom settings); 870 ANSI lumens in wide-zoom setting (Mitsubishi claims 1,000 lumens as typical).
Measured ANSI contrast: 174-to-1.
Connections: One 15-pin standard computer data input with stereo audio input and monitor output. One combined composite and S-VHS video input with stereo audio input. Projector includes two serial connections for computer-mouse emulation with the IR remote -- one USB and one nine-pin mini-DIN.
Video compatibility: Accepts most popular video sources up to SXGA.
Speakers: One 1-watt, built-in speaker.
Accessories included: IR remote control with built-in laser pointer.

This new Mitsubishi projector is the thinnest, lightest projector of the bunch this month, even though it uses the same basic construction as the Eiki and Canon projectors. The big difference in weight is because Mitsubishi uses a manual-zoom lens instead of a motorized zoom, although a smaller case and no PC Card slot shave a few ounces as well.

For whatever reason, the Mitsubishi doesn't appear to have the same kind of optical efficiency as the Eiki or Canon projectors do, even though it uses the same basic lamp and LCD structure. I only measured 870 ANSI lumens in the X70's wide-zoom setting and I found the average between wide- and narrow-zoom settings at 851 ANSI lumens. Mitsubishi claims 1,200 "peak" ANSI lumens -- whatever that means, since the ANSI measurement methods result in an average that is supposed to eliminate "peakiness." Anyway, Mitsubishi also talks about a "1,000 lumens typical" spec for the X70, which I'll assume is closer to what other manufacturers use as their real ANSI specifications. But no matter how you read the specs, the X70 doesn't quite reach them. Nevertheless, 870 lumens in a 7.4-pound projector is an eminently respectable performance, and the images the X70 creates look good, with high contrast and almost no variation across the image, a good indicator of excellent engineering.

With the same contrast and brightness settings used to measure ANSI lumens, I measured the Mitsubishi's ANSI 16-point contrast ratio at 174-to-1. I also quantified the contrast ratio through the white-black sequential contrast test and found the X70 measured an amazing 423-to-1 sequentially.

The Mitsubishi's extra contrast is easy to see when you look at an image containing a lot of shadows: the X70 keeps good gray scales with clear detail in the dim shadows, which projectors with less contrast simply turn black.

I measured the X70's color saturation at 16.2 units, which is better than the Eiki and Canon projectors' and right on the mean value for a three-panel system. The X70's white point, at 3.04 units away from standard D65, was also better than average. But the real story with the Mitsubishi X70's image is the way its colors are adjusted and presented. Mitsubishi uses a "patented" color algorithm called ColorView Natural Color Matrix that allows six color adjustments to the projector's color palette. Most small LCD projectors allow the user to adjust the color tint anywhere between red and green, but that's about all. With the Mitsubishi six color adjustments, instead of just red and green, you can independently adjust the amount of red, green and blue you see in the image. You can also independently adjust the part of the color spectrum between the three primaries, making it possible to adjust cyan, magenta and yellow along with red, green and blue, for a total of six color adjustments. Put it all together and you can re-create colors onscreen with the Mitsubishi X70 that other projectors can't even dream about.

The X70's images also had much better uniformity (only 2.5 percent variation) and much better corner brightness (at least 91 percent of peak still carried in the corners) than the other projectors did. In fact, I'm willing to bet the cause of the X70's lower ANSI lumens values is its above-average evenness and bright corners. Whereas the Eiki and Canon projectors use a 4 x 5 integrator lens array, the Mitsubishi uses an 8 x 10 integrator lens array, which is four times the number of integration lens elements packed into the same small area. The result is an extremely even image that measures a little less bright in ANSI lumens but looks better.

Like any good little projector, the X70 has one easy-to-use snap-down elevator foot in front, along with two screw-adjust feet in the back for additional tilt control. It also uses one of my favorite cable arrangements, with the power cable, both serial cables (one is a dedicated USB) and the data, video and audio connectors, in one neat package on the left side. Overall the Mitsubishi is a great performer in a small package.

Contact: Mitsubishi Display Products Divison, 800.843.2515, www.mitsubishi-presentations.com.