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Late last year, everyone was wondering exactly when the muchhyped next generation of lightweight XGA-resolution LCD projectors would be available. Well, the wait is over - and the products look great.
The new projectors aren't all alike, though. The Sharp Notevision5 uses a 0.9-inch microlens LCD made by Sony, whereas the In Focus projector reviewed this month does not.
The Epson LCDs used by the In Focus projector appeared to have more brightness, if a bit less contrast, than the Sharp projector. This could be attributed to the lamp as well as the lens, however. The In Focus projector uses a 120watt lamp from a European manufacturer; the Sharp uses a 150-watt lamp from Japan. You'd think 150 watts would mean a brighter image, but that's not the case here.
Sharp claims 800 ANSI lumens for the Notevision5, but I found at most 750 ANSI lumens in the brightest, wide-zoom setting, and I found an average between narrow and wide of 670 ANSI lumens. The In Focus LP750 is a bit brighter, and uses 30 fewer watts.
Sharp's representatives told me they...