Dell 1200MP

Even at its full list price of £469 (ex. VAT), the Dell 1200MP is the best value on the market, whether you're looking at brightness, features or whichever yardstick you choose. It's a great choice for business presentations and should be particularly attractive for non-profit and educational institutions -- or any organisation with a tight IT budget. What more could you ask for?

Well, maybe pixels. Like other budget models, the 1200MP is saddled with low SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, which doesn't quite match up well to the XGA (1,024 x 768) and higher resolutions on today's notebooks.

At 2.24kg, the Dell 1200MP is one of the lightest budget projectors on the market -- 660g lighter than the BenQ PB6110, for example. And although it has a relatively high profile (10.1cm), its rounded edges will allow it to slip easily into any carrying case. We predict, however, that most users will tote it around in the superb, well-cushioned, durable case that Dell includes. For extra protection, the projector's lens is safely recessed more than 2.5cm behind the front panel, yet still offers convenient access to its focus and zoom control rings.

The top panel does not offer many controls, but the ones it has are well arranged and are all backlit with blue LEDs for easy identification in the dark. The all-important power button is easily recognisable. The remote control is relatively small and fits nicely in the hand. It lacks a laser pointer or mouse-movement buttons but does include well-placed buttons for going forward or backward in a PowerPoint slide show.

Despite its low price tag, the 1200MP features a rich assortment of cables. There are, in fact, no less than eight of them, including two audio cables and the increasingly important component video cable for use with DVD players and HDTV converters. All but two of the cables (AC and composite video) are equipped with Velcro straps for neat stowage.

The projector starts up somewhat slowly, taking 48 seconds for the image to appear. Perhaps that's time well spent, as the projector recognises the signal source (computer or video) and optimises the image, but it's more than twice the time the pricier Epson EMP 765 takes to start up. There is an automatic keystone-correction feature that senses the projector's elevation angle and ensures a rectangular image shape. Also, this projector has the handiest tilt adjustments we have ever seen: just press a button on each side, and the rear legs drop down to the desired length.

Our tests provided airtight evidence that Dell has violated the low-price/low-brightness law. The 1200MP delivered an amazing 1,940 lumens, just shy of the 2,000-lumen specification, but significantly brighter than other budget projectors we have tested, such as the Hitachi Performa CP-RS55 and the model it replaces, the Dell 1100MP. Its brightness rivals that of the more expensive, XGA Toshiba TDP T95U. The Dell 1200MP is certainly bright enough for all but the largest conference rooms. This model was similarly impressive in our checkerboard contrast tests, where it scored an enviable contrast ratio of 648:1 -- ideal for entertainment applications. It came up short in image size, however, with only a 91cm (36in.) projected image at a 154cm (60in.) distance. With regard to colour, reds and blues were accurately detailed, but greens were shifted to a yellowish shade.

In our highly critical subjective tests, the projector produced impressively sharp and steady images. Unfortunately, greyscale resolution was a bit low at the white and black extremes (we could resolve only 244 of 255 shades). Also, in our entertainment tests, the projector showed some jumpy motion during fast-moving video, its low resolution had trouble with HDTV, and its fan was a bit too noisy. Home-theatre buffs will want to look for a projector with a higher resolution, such as the £999 (ex. VAT) Dell 2400MP, which offers XGA resolution and an even brighter image (but a similarly loud fan).

To get the price down to £469 (ex. VAT), Dell includes only a one-year warranty but still manages to throw in its Next Business Day Exchange rapid-replacement service. Other warranty options abound, ranging from three years (add £57) to a three-year warranty with Dell's CompleteCare insurance coverage -- tack on an extra £149 for that. Dell's support features are commendable. The 65-page user manual is one of the nicest we have seen in quite a while, and the projector comes with a handy full-colour information card that's small enough to stay in the carrying case for quick reference. Online, you can download the user manual, check product-support FAQs, and seek more specific help either via a community message board or an email sent to a technician. Telephone support is also available, although its menu system confused us.

The standard warranty covers the lamp for only 90 days; replacement lamps for the Dell 1200MP cost £199 and are claimed to last for 2,500 hours. This yields a consumables cost of just under 8p per hour, which is about average for a budget projector.

Specifications