Labs

Though it's large, the smart, corporate and symmetrical design of the Mitsubishi EX100U makes it an attractive unit.

It's a solidly built piece of kit, and is commendably quiet and cool in operation. While more compact units such as the NEC MultiSync LT180 start belching out heat seconds after being switched on, the EX100U kept its cool.

Setup and operation are relatively easy. Most functions are carried out using the traditional four-way pad with an enter button in the centre. The menu system isn't on a par with the excellent offering from HP in terms of ease of use or visual appeal, but it does the job.

The remote control feels cheap, but can act as a slide controller for presentations.

The

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range of inputs is reasonably wide, but there's no DVI port. Audio is fed in either using RCA photo plugs (one set each for S-Video and Composite) or using a 3.5mm stereo jack.

This projector really impressed us with its audio. It's loud, clear and offers a surprising amount of bass. Don't get carried away, but we'd be happy to run audio for, say, a training video through the EX100U.

Image quality, however, wasn't quite up to scratch. Sure, the projector's capable of producing a nice, big picture, but it lacks both crispness and vibrancy. In a darkened room, and on a projector screen, the picture looks pretty good, but it just can't compete with the models from HP or ViewSonic in tougher conditions. Perhaps worst of all, there was unpleasant flickering in some lighter colours that no amount of tinkering with VGA synchronisation would shift.

While some models here make a big effort to de-jargon most aspects of their operation, the EX100U remains very technical. There are no preset modes handily named 'presentation' and 'movie', for example.

Like the model from InFocus, the Mitsubishi EX100U is a reasonably competent projector that faces too strong competition from the others in the group. You'd be better spending an extra £20 on the excellent HP vp6321.