ViewSonic PJD7383i

On the spec sheet, the ViewSonic PJD7383i looks to lick most of the required boxes. It's a shorl-throw projector that delivers a clear, bright image that's over 1m (39in) from corner to corner from a distance of just 60cm from the screen.

The advantage of short-throw projectors is that they don't suffer from dimness, there's no hotspot if the display surface is reflective and you won't create a shadow when you walk up to the screen.

From a cold start the PJD7383i was ready to use in under a minute and clearly visible in a brightly lit room. There are plenty of connectivity options with two VGA ports, DVI. composite, S-Video and RCA video input. However, there's no HDMI - a strange omission given it says it's 3D ready. Also, its maximum resolution is 1024 x 768 so full 1080 HD isn't possible. However, for an office, this may not be a significant issue.

The PJD7383i is also an interactive projector - there's a special pen in the box that communicates with it. However, I wasn't able to test this as The PowerPC-dependent software didn't work with Lion.

My other criticism was noise. The PJD7383i was quite loud when running. However, if the unit is wall- or ceiling-mounted this is unlikely to be a significant issue.

The PJD7383i ships with a case and enough cables to get you going although it lacks a DVI lead. You can expect the projector to add about 5kg to your load if you plan on using it on the road.

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