Sound & Vision Rated - Top Performing Projector Samsung SP-H710AE

The Short Form

$3,500 ($4,000 LIST) / 15.1 x 7 x 16.8 IN / 19.9 LBS / samsung.com / 800-726-7864

Plus

•Accurate color •Excellent contrast

Minus

•Expensive •Some rainbows

Key Features

•1,280 x 720-pixel DLP Projector •Inputs 1 DVI; 2 component-video; 1 S-video; 1 composite-video; 1 RGB/VGA; 1 RS-232C control •PRICE $3,500 ($4,000 List) Full Lab Results

Samsung designed this model to the specs of video guru and Digital Video Essentials author Joe Kane, so it has a lot to live up to. The silver SP-H710AE is larger and heavier than any of the other projectors, and it's the most expensive. It's the only DLP of the six to offer any kind of lens-shift control, and the menu system has more options than any save the Panasonic's. It does lack a late-generation HDMI digital video input, but its HDCP-compatible DVI connector functions the same way with the addition of an inexpensive adapter.

CONTRAST The Samsung SP-H710AE led the pack in depth of black and overall contrast ratio, and its score was helped significantly by the uniformity of its image - it maintained excellent brightness and neutrality across the screen. It also delivered more shadow detail in difficult scenes. In the shot of Lincoln walking down a shadowy corridor, I could make out more of his face than on the Panasonic or the Optoma, both of which were very good in this regard.

COLOR This is where the Samsung SP-H710AE set itself apart from the rest. While its out-of-the-box grayscale didn't hew as close to the industry standard as a couple of the other projectors', it came closer than any other after calibration. This consistent gray, combined with deep blacks, lent colors a richness that surpassed the rest of the field. On the first view of Jordan across the quad, her skin looked ever so slightly more colorful and natural. Primary color accuracy, especially that of green, also exceeded that of the others, although the Optoma's red measured slightly better.

DETAIL The Samsung SP-H710AE's crisp, noise-free image matched the best projectors in the bunch. High-def 720p from SportsCenter and 24 were as sharp as could be. On 24, for example, Chloe's chain necklace and Kim's eyelashes had more detail than with most of the other projectors, ranking on par with the Optoma and the InFocus. I did see a few characteristic DLP "rainbows," and more frequently than with a couple of other projectors, but they didn't appear often enough to be distracting.

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