For data presentations in which high resolution isn’t critical, projectors such as the Dell 1210S ($449 list) with native SVGA (800 by 600) resolution provide a capable yet lower-cost alternative to the WXGA (1,280 by 800) and XGA (1,204 by 768) portable business projectors that have become commonplace. Though it largely lacks the bells and whistles of high-end models, the 1210S is easy to set up and use, and provides solid data image quality.
The 1210S measures 3.5 by 11.3 by 5.6 inches (HWD), with a black chassis, and weighs 5.3 pounds. It has a manual zoom lever, and a focus ring at the front of the projector. It’s tricky to focus without getting one’s fingers in the way of the image, but you can bring the image to a good focus nonetheless. The projector has a modest series of connections: two VGA-in and one VGA-out port; S-Video; composite video; audio-in and audio-out; and a USB type B port for connecting with a PC for remote mouse support.
The projector’s light engine is based on Texas Instruments’ DLP technology and rated at 2,500 lumens. The native SVGA resolution translates to a 4:3 aspect ratio befitting a data projector. The 1210S projected an image about 6 feet diagonally on our test screen from around 7 feet away. The image is bright enough to hold up to a fair amount of ambient light in a small room.
Data Image Quality
In our DisplayMate testing, the 1210S’s data image quality proved passable, adequate for typical business presentations. Although colors generally looked true, a few seemed a little off; for example, yellows were a dull, mustardy hue. In our text tests, white on black text looked blurred at the two smallest sizes while most projectors we test—including the Optoma Pro160S ($500 street, 3.5 stars) , the previous SVGA model we’d looked at—show blurred text only at the smallest size.
All DLP projectors are potentially subject to the rainbow effect, in which light areas appear broken down into their component colors to form rainbow glints when either your head or the image moves. People vary in their sensitivity to this effect (I seem to be of average sensitivity). The rainbow effect for the 1210S was about average for a DLP projector, more of an issue with video than still images; people who are particularly sensitive to it will likely be distracted.
Video Quality
Few low-end data projectors do well at projecting video, and the 1210S is worse than most. Many scenes suffered from posterization—abrupt shifts in color or shading where they should be gradual—and commensurate loss in detail. The rainbow effect was frequently evident. The audio, from the built-in 2W speaker, is decent for a low-end projector; though not loud, it’s reasonably clear. Whether or not you’d want to use this projector for even short video clips to accompany a presentation depends on how picky you are, and the nature of the content.
Sub-par video quality need not be a deal-breaker for a data projector, particularly a low-end model. If you do need a portable business projector that provides exacting color, tack-sharp text, and high-quality video, you’ll want to look at projectors such as the NEC NP-M260W ($850 street, 4 stars) and Epson PowerLite 1775W Multimedia Projector ($1,199 direct), both Editors’ Choice WXGA models. But if average data image quality will suffice, the Dell 1210S is a low-priced, easy-to-use option, suitable for giving presentations to small groups.
There are other alternatives more comparable to the 1210S. Be sure to check out the Optoma Pro160S; although it lacks remote mouse support, it’s rated at 3,000 lumens and offers an HDMI-in port. The Dell 1410X ($599 list, 3.5 stars) is basically the same as the 1210S but with XGA native resolution; its image quality was slightly better than the 1210S, showing most predominantly in sharper text.