Category Archives: Display

Optoma EH400+ Digital Projector Review



This month, I’ve been tinkering with the Optoma EH400+ digital projector (DLP). Unlike last month’s diminutive ML750ST personal projector, the EH400+ is a multipurpose projector suitable for professional presentations in meeting rooms and training centres. Let’s take a closer look, though be careful as it’s very bright…

The EH400+ is about the size of a generous tin of biscuits, measuring 30 x 23 x 9.6 cm and weighing 2.5 kg. It’s entirely luggable, but prospective purchasers should note that there’s no carry case included in the box, though it is an optional extra. While we are on the topic, there’s only the projector, power lead and IR remote control in the box. It’s a standard kettle-style power lead (IEC C13) with no power brick.

White on the top and dark grey round the sides, the Optoma projector ticks all the standard projector boxes. Lens on front, buttons on top and ports on the rear. The recessed lens on the front will form an image on a screen from as close as 1 m to as far away as 12 m and at the furthest limit, the image will be over 7 m wide. That’s fairly big. The bulb puts out 4,000 lumens which is 5 times what the ML750ST put out, so can easily project a strong image in well-lit rooms. The large lens rotates smoothly through about 180 degrees to focus the image and there’s a lever on the top to zoom the image.

The buttons on the top of the projector offer the usual functions –  turning it on, adjusting the image, accessing menus, etc. but the main area of interest is round the back with a selection of connectors, ports and sockets. There are two HDMI, two VGA, S-Video, composite video, two stereo sockets and a network port. Yes, a network port….

Turning the projector over, there are three rubber feet for setting the EH400+ on a table or other smooth surface. The foot at the front spins out to about a 1 cm to raise the projector up. For suspension from a ceiling in a permanent installation, there’s a three-point mount.

Turned on, the EH400+ is pleasingly quiet, though it does put out some light through the fan along with a fair amount of heat, as you’d expect with something this bright.

Connect up the EH400+ to a PC or laptop via HDMI and it appears as a full HD (1920 x 1080) monitor and with a suitable OS you can do the usual tricks of either reproducing the current desktop or extending the desktop to the EH400’s display. In most environments, it’s going to be showing the same display as the monitor but it’s a useful feature to have.

As with most digital projectors, the EH400+ has an on-screen display (OSD) for configuring the display and all the usual options are there for keystoning, image shifting and similar. But unlike most other projectors, there are far more options than are usually available. For example, there’s a small suite of test patterns to ensure the image is displayed perfectly. There’s even an option to adjust the colour output to compensate for the colour of the wall being used for projection.

On the downside, I didn’t find that the projector was very good at finding the input source automatically and most times I selected the input manually with the remote. Once selected, it took a few seconds to lock on but after that, the EH400+ stayed locked on.

While Powerpoint presentations are likely to be the bread’n’butter of the EH400+, it’s perfectly capable of showing films and movies too. I connected up my Sky Q and watched a few movies plus the new series of Thunderbirds in HD and 3 m across. My son loved it. The picture was good and the colours reproduced well, which is one of the headline features of EH400+ giving an accurate sRGB colourspace. The bright 4000 lumens coped well with an ordinarily lit room and while the sound from the built-in speakers would be acceptable in a meeting or training environment as it’s pretty loud, the quality isn’t going to win any hifi awards from the audiophiles.

And don’t forget, with two HDMI ports, a media streaming stick like the Roku or Amazon Fire TV can be plugged in permanently and powered from the USB port.

There’s no wifi with this Optoma projector (optional extra) but there is a network port which, at a minimum, can be used to control the EH400+. The projector can work with some audiovisual systems such as Crestron and PJ Link. I’ve no idea about these, but the web interface was actually a fairly handy way to control the projector – no faffing around pointing the remote at the projector and scrolling through options – just point and click. It’s even possible to sent email alerts from the projector if there’s a fan error or lamp life is exceeded. The web interface doesn’t cover all the features available via the built-in menus but it covers the main ones. Here’s a screen shot.

That’s about it. In summary, the EH400+ comes across as a solid DLP workhorse that will perform well in professional environments, displaying presentations and media to a high standard with good colour reproduction. Priced at just under GB£750 inc VAT, this is definitely business territory and would be a good choice when replacing a legacy projector with a more up-to-date unit and more relevant connections. The network port and web interface is handy too, especially when the battery has died in the remote control.

The EH400+ can be bought through Optoma‘s partners including Currys PC World and Just Projectors. The Currys price seems a little high…

There’s a short video below and I must apologise for there being no demonstration of the EH400+’s projection capability. I didn’t have a suitable projection space and had to use a small screen which was incredibly bright at such a short distance. Suffice to say that the quality is impressive.

Update: I previously described this as a digital LED projector. It’s not, as DLP stands for Digital Light Proceessing.

Thanks to Optoma for the loan of the review unit.


MSI Launches Prestige Series Laptops For Ultimate Style & Productivity



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Computer hardware manufacturer MSI Computer Corp. has launched their Prestige Series of laptops that feature the best in technology and design, making them a great solution for creative professionals and multimedia enthusiasts.

The Prestige Series features MSI’s True Color Technology, which calibrates and correct display color based on the screen’s color temperature, visible color range, and grey level stage. The panels seamlessly match the standard sRGB color range to display incredibly accurate and crisp images.

“The Prestige Series laptops offer the truest colors available and ensures the images you see are accurately reflected in a camera, computer, tablet, mobile phone, TV or printer,” says Andy Tung, president of MSI Pan America.

MSI-PE-Series-2The Prestige Series lineup features 6 different color profiles to maximize the user experience for a variety of different scenarios: sRGB default mode for o
timum graphics, Gamer mode to increase brightness, Designer mode for increased clarity and crisper lines, Anti-Blue mode to reduce pesky blue light emission, Movie mode with optimized contrast for clearer graphics, and Office mode to reduce eye strain after long periods of use.

The True Color Technicolor LCD screens (which come in 15-inch and 17-inch versions) also include anti-glare protection, wide-angle viewing technology, and 1920 x 1080 resolution.

MSI’s Prestige Series laptops run Windows 8.1 and boast high-quality internals as well, including Intel’s Core i7 processor, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 950M GPU, Killer Gaming Network, Dynaudio sound with Nahimic Audio Enhancer, MSI’s Audio Boost, and support for up to 3 monitors simultaneously at 4K resolution with Mini DisplayPort and HDMI connectivity.

The Prestige Series laptops start at $1199 for the 15-inch models and $1299 for the 17-inch models. For more information, visit MSI’s website.


Philips to introduce a 4k Monitor at CES 2014



philipsLogo Philips is set to debut it’s new 28 inch 4K Ultra HD monitor at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas. The PhilipsUltraClear Display has a 4k (3840×2160) resolution and 1.07 billion colors. The 28-inch monitor (model 288P6) is also ideal for those seeking superb on-screen clarity and color accuracy. It also includes built-in stereo speakers for multimedia. Prices start at $1,199.99 MSRP and will be available this spring.

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The new monitor also has a unique base that allows you to raise and lower it for the best viewing angle for your needs. This base is called “SmartErgoBase” and includes a cable management system to keep down clutter and make things look more professional.

For more info about Philips Monitors see their website at http://www.usa.philips.com/c/pc-monitor/22098/cat/en/