94 ACER HApprox www.acer.co.uk/www.amazon.co.uk
Pocket PJ to tickle your fancy
This dinky HD Ready machine aims to ll a niche, says Chris Jenkins
If you fancy a video projector for the odd movie, sporting event or games session, but youre not in the market for some ceiling-mounted monster and a roll-up screen, perhaps this compact Acer will be to your liking. You can see why online retailer Amazon thinks it has mass appeal; its small, its cheap, its quiet, its easy to set up, and because its fairly bright you can probably get away with projecting onto a white wall. The H5350 is a DLP model with a maximum image size of 762cm. A decent set of connections includes HDMI, S-video, VGA, component video, composite video, audio and USB, and theres a pocket-sized remote control. The projector runs hot, particularly in Eco mode, but I was generally impressed by the quality of the picture. given its dimensions. For 400, its more than adequate for the occasional movie-fan and ideal for games-players hankering for a bigger killing eld; it might even tempt the more serious but cash-strapped home theatre buff.
G Its very small (just 187 x 267 x 80mm), light at around 3kg, and sports an easy-to-use menu. G Brightness, colour and skin tones are well up to the mark; colour temperature is easy to adjust to the 6500K standard.
G This is a 720p model designed mainly for PC/presentation use, so it wont satisfy the HD hardcore. G Lens zoom capabilities are limited, so its probably only suitable for smaller rooms; I had to position it a good three feet closer to my xed screen than usual.
G DLP rainbow effect is perceptible, though its not as bad as that of some projectors costing three times as much; and some chip structure is visible.

VERDICT

Acer HApprox Price check: www.techradar.com/443748

Overall: In Brief

The Alfred Hitchcock Story (Titan Books) 25 Approx With Vertigo celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Titan Books has decided to release a revised edition of this 1999 tome chronicling the life and career of the Master of Suspense. A treasure-trove of info, trivia, themes and photography.
SAMSUNG LE32AApprox www.samsung.co.uk

In praise of 32

Rik Henderson can see the appeal of this small, stylish HDTV
Samsung aspires to be the king of LCD, with an extensive range of stylised TVs in pretty much all sizes. Its Series 6 models are the high-end honeys Full HD screens with redtinged bezels and high-end features. The 32 LE32A656 is the smallest of the lineup, but still manages to sport Full HD resolution glass, claimed 15,000:1 Dynamic contrast, and future-proofed pluggery including four HDMI inputs, D-Sub PC jack and USB 2.0 port. And with prices as low as 575, its no wonder its one of the UKs best-selling TVs. Really rather nice. G The four HDMI v1.3 inputs mean connecting your components should be a doddle. G The red-infused bezel adds to the feel of high-class design.
G The Dynamic picture preset if best left avoided it makes images look gaudy and noisy unless you tone down contrast, colour and brightness. G The TVs 2 x 10W audio performance is mediocre at best. G Lacks the 100Hz feature found on larger Series 6 models, which may disappoint badge-hunters although at this size Id argue that it doesnt make a huge difference
G Pictures are generally excellent, with deep blacks, dynamic colours, well-handled motion and real sharpness with HD sources.
HOME CINEMA CHOICE DECEMBER 2008
Samsung LE32AApprox Price check: www.techradar.com/412398

Overall:

HCC162.acer 94

25/9/08 3:22:37 pm

HOME CINEMA SET-UPS
Everything but the screen

>>>RATED

UNDER 1,000
BEATING AT THE heart of this thousand
pounder is Onkyos outstanding 7.1 receiver. HD surround sound decoding, a Faroudja chip to upscale interlaced video to progressive and ve HD inputs (2x HDMI, 3x component) are all superb for the price. At 140W, it doesnt have wall-shattering power, but its great for rooms that arent big enough to swing an elephant in. Budget Blu-ray players dont yet exist, so weve gone for Cambridge Audios superb upscaler. Whack in any old disc and the DV99 will hump it out in 1080p glory. Black levels are spot on and pictures are more stable than a concrete outhouse. Itll even play DivX movies from a USB key. How neat is that? KEFs egg-shaped KHT 1005.2 speakers add a serious degree of style and cope admirably with Onkyos 140 watts. A grand well spent.

ONKYO TX-SR605 400

www.eu.onkyo.com

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO DV99 150

www.cambridgeaudio.com

KEF KHT 1005.2 400

HOME CINEMA PARADISO

FOUR HEAVENLY AV SETUPS.

www.kef.co.uk LOVE All round upscaleability, compact speakers HATE Eighties looks, not super powerful
WE SAY Serious value for money in every eld

And a display to match.

SAMSUNG LE32A656 690
www.samsung.co.uk Four HDMIs, support for 24fps Blu-ray players and scoops of style
WORDS LUKE PETERS PHOTOGRAPHY PIXELEYES
SEPTEMBER 2008 T3.COM 115

TTT154.rate_gt3 115

8/7/08 12:34:31