A review of NEC's VT460 LCD projector from Pete's monthly Between the Pixels e-newsletter

This just in: Pigs are flying; there was an ice storm in hell; and the Red Sox look like they might win it all this year. Impossible, you say? Until recently, I might have thought so, too. But then again, I never expected to see an LCD front projector for less than $1,000, either.

Oh sure, everyone's fantasized about the "$995 projector" that is going to jump-start the market and lead to projectors in every school, business, and home across the country and around the globe. Until now, it was more of a theoretical argument (you know, like time travel and perpetual-motion machines). But that all changed when NEC's new VT460 showed up on my doorstep. (I'll clarify how NEC came up with that $995 price point at the end of this article.)

The VT460 really doesn't look all that different from other projectors. It comes in an attractive silver-gray case, and is neither too small nor too big. (6.5lbs. and 12.2"x3.5"x9.1", to be precise). It uses three .7in. SVGA (800x600 pixel) polysilicon panels--no surprise there, SVGA always sells at a discount to XGA--and provides the basic composite, S-Video, and 15-pin RGB analog inputs you'd expect.

What else do you get for $995? How about a nice remote with an ergonomic design and good range, a minimal button complement, and direct input switching. There's also an internal 1W mono amplifier, a PC monitor loop-through jack, a USB input for remote pointers and accessories, and a DIN jack for PC control.

The supplied lens is plain vanilla with a zoom ratio of 1.2:1, and it's an all-manual design. You can hook up everything from VGA to XGA (and even some SXGA) signal sources and get 'em to work with the VT460. You can even watch 480i/p component video as well as 720p and 1080i HDTV programs.

In short, NEC's $995 projector is a very workmanlike projector design with a minimum of frills. But how did it perform under fire? I put the VT460 to the test with a bunch of signal sources from my desktop PC, notebook PC, two test pattern generators, two DVD players, and a pair of set-top DTV tuners.

Video quality with composite sources was average (the projector needs a better comb filter) but took big steps up with S-Video and component video inputs. 480p DVD video looked even better. One of the reasons is NEC's excellent color management--with the drive and bias controls, you can tune this projector to a real neutral D6500, unlike many other LCD boxes.

720p and HDTV were exceptional, although 720p test videos had an edge in quality because 1080i sources are decimated almost 70% to fit the width of the LCD panels. I don't recommend watching HDTV on this box, but if you must do it, you won't be aghast with the results. (Yes, you do observe the "screen-door" effect from the 800x600 pixel LCD panels, but for only $995, you'll get used to it quickly.)

The VT460 doesn't clip too much HD bandwidth at high frequencies--I've seen worse performances on $8,000+ home theater projectors. RGB images were sharp and detailed, particularly native and 1024x768 sources.

During my 25-step autosync test, the VT460 came through with flying colors and was able to set up 22 out of 25 test signals perfectly--including a few SXGA (1280x1024) sources. So, you can pretty much plug whatever video and PC sources you want into the VT460, and it's smart enough to figure 'em out and set 'em up just right for you. (That's great for the educational marketplace.)

And the performance numbers? After my usual grayscale calibrations, I measured 1419 ANSI lumens with the lens zoomed to mid-point. Depending on what gamma/brightness mode you choose, that number will vary by as much as plus or minus 10%. ANSI contrast clocked in at 188:1 with peak readings at 265:1--excellent numbers.

Brightness uniformity was very good at 79%, and color temperature uniformity was outstanding at +/- 274 degrees K. The supplied lens had minimal flare, some slight optical distortion and pin-cushioning when zooming, but rendered text crisply. Oddly enough, native 800x600 signals from my PCs didn't quite look as crisp as they could, given the 1:1 pixel map. (Perhaps a clock or phase error was to blame.)

All in all, this is a nice package of features and performance in a projector that would seem reasonable with a price tag between $2,000 and $3,000. At $995, it's an outright steal! The VT460's ability to show fine text with 1024x768 sources means you can get by with this projector for a lot of desktop presentations, charts, and graphs without having to spend the extra $1K to get native XGA.

I would have liked to see crisper text with all of my 800x600 test sources, a little better lens, and some improvements to video quality, but perhaps that's the price you pay for a lower price. So, how long before we see a sub-$1K projector with true XGA resolution? Look for such a product to make its appearance by the end of 2003, using LCD technology.

(Caveat Department: Now to clarify that $995 price point! The ESP of the VT460 is around $1,199 according to NEC, but a SMARTer Kids Foundation Grant (subsidized by NEC) is what actually brings the price down under $1K.)

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