Audio Video News

Many home theater fans have been holding out for affordable DLP projectors. Until recently, "affordable" was merely wishful thinking, with many Digital Light Processing™ -equipped projectors priced well above $10,000.

Allendale, NJ-based PLUS Corporation is changing all that. The 50-year-old manufacturer of communication and information products has tipped the home theater market on end with the introduction of the PLUS "Piano" HE-3100 projector, priced just a buck under three thousand dollars. Said to be the world's smallest and lightest home theater projector, the HE-3100 is capable of displaying standard definition digital video (480P) as well as common varieties of "legacy" interlaced video---NTSC, PAL, and SECAM.

At the projector's heart is a 0.7" dual-mode Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) with more than half a million picture elements. The Piano can display both widescreen 16:9 images in 848 x 600 pixel mode and 4:3 images in 848 x 480 mode without the need to "scale" either one. A Silicon Image SIL 503 "de-interlacer" converts ordinary 480I video to 480P without any apparent motion artifacts. PLUS Corporation has paid particular attention to color accuracy, employing a color filter running at 240Hz rather than the usual 60Hz, which can induce viewing fatigue.

The color filter has no clear elements to brighten the picture---a compromise usually made in the design of projectors for business presentations in well-lit rooms. Even so, the HE-3100's light output measures 450 ANSI lumens---or 3 foot-lamberts for a 7.5' screen and 10 foot-lamberts for a 4.5' screen. Contrast ratio is 700:1, meaning that onscreen black will appear truly black, not the charcoal gray produced by some projectors. The Piano's short-focus lens allows the projector to be placed relatively close to the screen, only 3.9' for a 36"-diagonal image. It's also capable of filling screens as big as 200" diagonally. PLUS Corp. has kept the costs down by eliminating some frills, such as an optical zoom feature; screen fill is achieved by adjusting the projector-to-screen distance.

The HE-3100's designers recognized that fan noise is one of the most annoying artifacts of video projectors, and made special effort to keep this one quiet. A low-speed "sirocco" fan keeps the projector's 1000-hour lamp cool while generating only 32dBA of noise. Replacement lamps are available from PLUS Corp., as is an optional ceiling mount. Inputs include three RCA jacks, a component video input, and a 24-pin DVI-D connector for use with computers. The UL-approved HE-3100 can display RGB signals in three modes: VGA (640 x 480, enlarged); SVGA (800 x 600, full); and XGA (1024 x 768, compressed).

Measuring only 9.3" W x 3.6" H x 7.8" D, the HE-3100 weighs less than five pounds, and is available in five colors: black, white, silver, blue, and red. A remote control and all necessary cables are included with the projector. Price is $2999 direct from PLUS Corporation, or through a network of authorized dealers soon to be announced.