David Neiger10 July 2008, 8:00 AM
A compact lightweight business projector with a bright image that does the basics.
The Sharp XR-32S data projector is designed for business presenters on the move as it is relatively lightweight (under 3kg) and is very easy and quick to setup.
The front of the bright white unit has the lens with manual focus and zoom, remote control sensor and ventilation. The rear of the unit has a single VGA input (which means you will need a separate switch box if you use multiple computers), monitor out, S-Video and composite inputs and stereo audio inputs to drive the inbuilt mono speaker. There is also an RS-232C (serial) cable to allow you to control the projector from the computer and a USB mouse connector to allow you to move the mouse with the projector remote. A Kensington key lock attachment is also built in to secure the projector.
Setting up the projector is a no brainer. Simply plug it in to the power, connect the computer and video sources using the supplied cables and turn it on. Whilst there are full controls over colour and brightness the default settings are fine. The unit is quick to power on taking around 30 seconds from plug in to near full brightness with a welcome screen to guide you through focusing and adjusting the zoom. If the projector is not perfectly aligned with the screen, this can be adjusted with the keystone correction function. You don’t even need the remote as most controls are duplicated on the top of the projector.
Whilst the unit is only SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, it will accept inputs up to SXGA (1,280 x 1,024) and widescreen (1,280 x 800) although these images are scaled. SVGA effectively limits the projector to Powerpoint type presentations and standard definition video. Forget spreadsheets or complex graphics as SVGA just won’t give you enough screen real estate.
Rated at 2,500 lumens, the image is bright enough to display well even in a reasonably well lit room, provided the projector is not too far away from the screen. We tested it at 3 metres and found the image was quite viewable even in daylight. Sharp claim a contrast ratio of 2,000:1 which is adequate for video and more than what's required for presentations although we found blacks were not as dark as we would like.
The projector uses DLP technology which provides for excellent colour rendition with a good range of greyscale, however, this projector, as is common with most single DLP chip projectors, suffers noticeably from the “rainbow effect” where moving bright white objects leave a rainbow coloured trail behind them. Although this is subjective, some members of the audience will notice this effect more and consequently find long presentations strenuous to watch. The XR-32S also suffers from the “screen door” effect where each pixel is surrounded by a thin, but noticeable border. If you are far enough away from the screen you probably wouldn’t notice it, but in a small room, it can be very hard on the eyes. Although everyone will perceive things differently we found that around 5 – 10 minutes of staring at the screen gave us noticeable eye fatigue.
Whilst the projector has a zoom lens to enlarge the image, at 1.15x, you might as well just move the projector as it is not enough for anything. The other criticism is that the sound from the inbuilt mono speaker is so tinny that you might as well just use the built in speakers on your computer.
The unit is not expensive and will do the job if you need to do presentations or display short segments of video. It is quiet, produces a bright image and is claimed to run around 4,000 hours without needing to replace the bulb. However if you need high resolution for detailed presentations or high resolution video with quality sound, the XR-32S probably is not for you.