01WPRO 01 Budget Proj GT

7/3/05

11:39 am

Page 46

Group Test Budget models
Key Features 16:9 LCD panel native 854 x 480 resolution 800:1 contrast ratio 700 ANSI Lumens brightness Gamma adjustment Whisper mode 30-300in image size 100in image from 2.5m Connections Component video in 15-Pin PC in RGB in S-video in Composite video in Dimensions 350(w) x 156(h) x 284(d) mm

Hitachi PJ-TX10

Verdict
Sales Web www.hitachidigitalmedia.com
EASE OF USE LOOKS FEATURES PICTURE VALUE
YOU DONT HAVE TO LOOK VERY FAR TO FIND the main appeal of this LCD-based Hitachi offering. At just 900, its the most affordable projector in this group of budget models. Not that the PJ-TX10 looks cheap. As well as being unusually and attractively curvaceous, its got a surprising amount of pretty detailing, finished off by a chipper white veneer. The customary budget disappointment awaits us with the connections, as they include neither a DVI or an HDMI jack. This means no pristine digital video pictures and probably no compatibility with Skys upcoming high-definition services. Darn. At least theres support for analogue HD sources via a set of component video inputs, plus all the other usual lesser AV mortals (bar a Scart) and a standard PC connection. The TX10 is so easy to set up, youll probably find youve finished everything you need to do before you even realise youve started! People with limited living space can take heart from the combination of a naturally short-throw lens, exceptionally flexible 2:1 optical zoom and both horizontal and vertical image shifting. Home friendly? Not arf.
Then theres the black level response. While no rival for any of the DLP models in this test, dark scenes, like most of those between Cruise and love interest Taka, have enough black level to make Hitachis 800:1 contrast ratio claims seem less optimistic than those of most rival manufacturers. Then theres the TX10s fine detail response. Detailed shots such as those showing the massed ranks of Katsumotos army, complete with gorgeously decorated armour look much more textured and three-dimensional than you find with many 854 x 480 panels. Were not talking about world-beating levels of detail or clarity but if any aspect of a projector pleasantly surprises us, it deserves credit for it! With both the brightness and contrast performing above expectations, its unsurprising to find the TX10s colours pleasingly vivacious and solidly portrayed. Those The Last Samurai pink cherry blossoms look so rich youll want to be on the next plane to Japan.

Picking holes

The TX10 cant entirely hide its budget nature. The most curious problem is that darker scenes can suffer from a brightness imbalance: if you set the brightness levels right for the lighter bits of the picture, dark bits look too murky and forced almost like holes in the picture. Whats more, the blue mist during the battle where Cruise is captured reveals evidence of our old nemesis, the chicken-wire effect. Another oddity is the degree to which the picture quality drops off if you use the composite connection. To be fair, however, if you use the composite jack under anything other than the most dire of emergency circumstances, youre a couple of cans short of a six pack! To sum the PJ-TX10 up, its a fairly pedestrian performer by todays standards thats lifted into something rather more desirable by its record-breaking price tag. In other words, while to a degree you do only get what you pay for, its very far from being as bad as we might have expected at the price.

Colour coordination

The TX10 boasts a surprisingly fulsome set of AV-friendly features. These include adjustment of the red, green and blue picture components, noise reduction, gamma adjustment and progressive scanning for improving interlaced source images. We glanced at the TX10s specs before we got stuck into how it deals with our The Last Samurai disc. To be blunt, the 854 x 480 native resolution, 800:1 contrast ratio and 700 ANSI Lumens brightness rating are all really just par for the budget course. Thankfully, however, they translate into rather better pictures than wed expected. Luminous The Last Samurai scenes, like those where Cruise teaches the Imperial Japanese troops to shoot, really do look genuinely bright, running in the face of the uninspiring brightness rating.
VERDICT Outdone in performance terms by some of the new DLP models on the block but, if you can live with the lack of Sky HD readiness, its still good value

Overall

WHAT PROJECTOR