The Sony VPL-VW40 projector impresses us in its clarity and precision of its pictures. It truly beats anything else in its class and its price tag isn't as shocking as some projectors on the market. Plus, its total freedom from technology noise could...

Exceptional picture sharpness; impressively little video noise; great design; decent price

Colours can look washed out; the image isn't very bright

We had our doubts about whether Sony could really translate its undoubtedly impressive SXRD technology down to the sub-£2,500 level. Thankfully, all of the things that make SXRD special really are present on the entry-level VPL-VW40, even if there are one

The Samsung SP-A800B projector has gotten the Hollywood touch. Joe Kane, the man behind the Video Essentials DVD, has tuned the colour settings and it's a masterstroke, as the A800B produces the most outstandingly authentic colour tones we've se...

Impressive detailing; pitch-perfect colours; exceptionally quiet runner; good price

Visible DLP rainbow effect; lack of depth in black levels; slightly blurred motion

It's clear that Samsung has nurtured the A800B into being with plenty of love and devotion, even going so far as to call in a renowned picture quality expert to help them 'tune' its colour performance for movies. But although the A800B cert...

The Panasonic PT-AX200E follows in the company's long line of excellent home projectors and jumps ahead with its stunningly low price. You'll find an excellent set of features, including a gaming mode, noise reduction system and a colour booster that help...

Remarkably low in price; excellent game mode; suffers no LCD 'chicken wire' effect

Black levels aren't great for movies; flawed dynamic contrast system; dark areas can look noisy

The AX200E isn't quite good enough at showing films to answer all the prayers of cash-strapped home cinema fans, but it certainly succeeds as a 'fun' option for the more casual big-screen user, especially if they're into console games

For such a compact package, the Panasonic PT-AE2000U packs a whopping 1080p punch. Its overall performance is impressive and it's excellent value for money. It produces deep levels of black, plus a solid feature package with lots of setup options and plen...

Excellent value; produces a deep level of black; solid feature package with lots of setup options like horizontal and vertical lens shift; superb connectivity including three HDMI inputs and a PC input

Inaccurate primary colours of red and especially green; not bright enough to drive very large screens

The Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p projector is a credible performer, especially when you consider its relatively low price

Acer's P1265 is a portable projector with a well-balanced selection of features, excellent image quality and an impressively low price tag. It's quiet too, and boasts an elegant design, thanks to its rounded corners and piano-black finish

Good image quality; laser pointer; good connectivity

Bulky and heavy; small control buttons

Acer's P1265 is great value for money and delivers impressive image quality, with higher brightness than you'd expect given its specification

Sony has delivered near perfection with the VPL-VW200's colour production. It's the most colour-accurate projector for its price range, adds some flexible setup features and it looks great hanging from the ceiling. This projector is absolutely the new hig...

Deep shades of black with excellent shadow detail; feature package includes panel alignment and blacking; solid connectivity

Expensive; some loss of resolution because of the scaler; MotionFlow dejudder processing creates artefacts and makes film look more like video; no horizontal lens shift

Although it certainly costs more than most of the 1080p competition, the SXRD-based Sony VPL-VW200 delivers one of the best pictures of any projector we've tested

This no-frills projector has accurate colour matching, a good range of connectivity options and a generous three-year warranty. It's capable of wireless networking via an add-on, and it's very easy to use. In terms of performance, it produces very pleasin...

sRGB mode; wireless capable (via add-on); long warranty

Small remote control

This no-frills projector has accurate colour matching, a good range of connectivity options and a generous three-year warranty

Sim2's HT3000E 'Full HD' DLP projector is a sensational piece of kit. It looks great but it's with image quality where it really comes into its own -- black levels are stunning and the set produces class-leading rich, vibrant colours and natural tones, wh...

Stunning image quality with class-leading black levels, brightness and motion; good connectivity; fair feature count

Not easy to use; demands that you have 10 grand burning a hole in your pocket

There's no doubt that with a price tag of £10k, for most of us the Sim2 HT3000E will be nothing more than a tantalising glimpse into the lifestyle of the rich and famous. But of course, just because most of us could never afford one doesn't mean tha...

The Planar PD7060 looks great, with a glossy black exterior, silver trim and rounded shape. Add to this a bargain price tag, plenty of connections, great contrast, detail, clarity and black levels, immersive dark scenes and improved motion handling and yo...

Remarkable value for such a good picture performer; nicely designed; well connected

You can occasionally see DLP's rainbow effect; not very quiet; doesn't particularly like low-quality sources

You probably haven't heard of Planar before. But on the evidence of the PD7060, you'll surely be hearing more about it in the future, for it's a really startling combination of high quality pictures and aggressive pricing that could well have more establi...

The projectiondesign Action! M20 is an HD Ready DLP projector which is practical and good looking, with a great picture quality enhanced by the BrilliantColour technology and DarkChip 3 DLP that it uses. It also uses the colour wheel better than any other...

Very practical and cute design; largely free of DLP's common side effects; extremely enjoyable picture quality

Only one digital input; motion sporadically looks slightly blurred; you need to be careful how you set it up

The projectiondesign Action! M20 is admittedly pretty costly by the standards of 720p DLP projectors these days. But it just about justifies that cost with a terrific design and a picture performance that's lifted a notch above most rivals by the addition...