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The Eiki and Epson projectors reviewed this month break the mold for cost and performance. The performance is so great that the real "victims" of the success of these two projectors will not be the smaller lesserperforming projectors, but, rather the low end of the traditional fixed-installation, high-brightness projector class. Projectors in this category-which deliver somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 lumens at a price point of $50,000 and up- had better watch out. Both of these smaller, much cheaper-projectors are delivering similar brightness levels.
Eiki LC-X1
$15,995
WEIGHT: 37.6 pounds. LCD SIZE AND RESOLUTION: 1.8 inch XGA 1,024 x 768.
OPTICS: Three LCD panels in an x-cube based dichroic system with polarization conversion, 16 x 12-element optical integrator and motorized zoom lens.
LAMP: 400-watt, AC metal-halide lamp.
AVERAGE MEASURED BRIGHTNESS: 1,252 ANSI lumens.
MEASURED ANSI 16-POINT CONTRAST: 198-to-1.
CONNECTIONS: Two computer data with stereo audio (5 BNC and 15 pin), two S-VHS video (mini-DIN) with stereo audio inputs. Two 3 BNC component (Y, Cb, Cr) with composite-video and stereo audio inputs. Includes RS-232 connection port and "wired" remote control connector and two Universal Serial Bus connectors.
VIDEO COMPATIBIUTY: Accepts most video sources up to and beyond 1,280 x 1,024 lines (including most graphics workstation signals).
SPEAKERS: Two 3-watt, built-in speakers.
ACCESSORIES INCLUDED: Two IR remotes (one wired, one with mouse).
CIRCLE 3M ON READER INQUIRY CARD
The Eiki LC-X1 (based on the Sanyo PLN-9000) uses polarization conversion, a popular method of doubling the light efficiency of an LCD projector. Although many projectors in this class use polarization conversion, none of them come close to the Eiki in brightness.
I measured the Eiki LC-X1's brightness at 1,429 ANSI lumens at the wide-zoom lens setting close to the manufacturer's claimed brightness of 1,500 ANSI lumens. I also recorded an average brightness between wide- and narrow-zoom settings of 1,252 ANSI lumens, which, with the 400watt lamp, computes to about 3.13 lumens per watt. Good, but no where near the Epson's efficiency. (High efficiency would let Eiki use a smaller lamp and quieter fan.)
Eiki also delivers the goods in terms of contrast ratio. The Eiki LC-X1 has a 12 x 16 array of integrator elements, and after adjusting the projector's brightness and contrast controls for optimal performance, I...