Discuss extremes. Rear in July we checked out an LED projector - the H109080FD - from new (for the UK) projection type Vivitek that value a cool 11 grand. Yet here we have been these days investigating a Vivitek projector that may be yours for that princely sum of £849. Which Include VAT.

Most brands really don't have wherever near this degree of value diversity inside their vary, along with the mind frankly boggles about the distinction in performance level I may expect to find in between the two models. Which is usually a fancy way of declaring that I cannot aid but be worried that the entry-level H1080FD will flip out to become as lousy as the H9080FD was outstanding...

Not surprisingly, the H1080FD would not deliver virtually as considerably sheer item quantity for your buck as its illustrious flagship sibling. Its 335 x 102 x 256mm dimensions are totally in line with the sort of coffee desk-pleasant fare seen with rival ultra-finances models through the likes of InFocus, Optoma and, inside distant previous, Panasonic.

The H1080FD is reasonably smartly dressed for this sort of a affordable unit much too, having a tidy white complete and tastefully rounded edges. The only issue that seems to be somewhat away aesthetically is its lens. It really is a very little affair - only somewhat more than an inch throughout - however it's been shoved unceremoniously inside a barrel that looks as if it absolutely was created with a considerably bigger lens array in head, with quite cheapo-looking black plastic 'screening' being accustomed to keep the lens in position.

The H1080FD's connections are outstanding for its money. Two HDMIs get the ball rolling, when I actually would only anticipate one particular on this sort of an reasonable appliance. But remarkably the projector also carries a USB port, an RS-232C manage port, a D-Sub PC port, and even a 12v trigger output you may use to automatically fire up a motorised screen.

It is really slightly disappointing to discover which the USB port is only there for company use, and wouldn't enable me play my digital photographs via it. But this kind of disappointment is scarcely unfair when you're referring to a projector as low cost as the H1080FD.

Turning on the projector's innards, the first point to say is the fact that the H1080FD, not surprisingly for its money, has ditched the H9080FD's LED lighting in favour of the straightforward 0.65in sole-chip DLP/230W lamp set-up.

Even so, impressively for that cost, the resolution of this chipset is a native Total HD one,920 x one,080. What's extra, the lamp is reckoned to pump out a high maximum of one,800 Lumens, though the projector's complete on/away from distinction ratio is reckoned being a respectable (for this level of the market place) 4,000:one.

The only concern We have with these figures is in the event the brightness is truly much too higher, hinting at a COMPUTER-biased photo performance instead of one thing suited to films, which have a tendency to favour strong black amount response more than brightness.

Setting the H1080FD up is a rather straightforward process. There are screw-lower legs with the projector's rear plus a pop-decrease leg to your front to help you angle the image effectively onto your display, whilst zoom/aim rings are made simply accessible through a hole in the projector's best facet.

Inevitably, even though, you will discover limitations. For starters, the optical zoom on offer is not exactly spectacular, using a throw ratio of 1.half-dozen-one.92. The lens is created with brief throw distances in thoughts, much too - a reasonably sensible shift to some extent, given the casual 'living space' use it's going to probably most be bought for. But it did make the H1080FD the first projector I've tested for fairly a though which is necessary me to put together away from my backside - outrageous! - and shift my projector stand forward from its usual situation right in the back again of my 5m extended testing place.

The other much more irksome established-up shortcoming could be the lack of any vertical or horizontal optical image shifting. This implies that many individuals will should use the projector's constructed-in electronic keystone adjustment facility to have the sides of their photograph hunting straight, with all the probable for damaging the picture that any sort of digital tomfoolery usually introduces.