Sharp PG-C20XE

Sharp is well known in a wide variety of fields, ranging from home appliances to large office copiers. It's also an active researcher and pioneer in the field of LCD technology, being the first company to release an LCD-based electronic calculator back in 1973. With such a heritage in LCD technology we were expecting a lot from its new PG-C20XE LCD projector and on paper, at least, it certainly looks capable.

The basic specification of the PG-C20XE is nothing out of the ordinary, featuring a fairly standard 150W bulb, producing 1,000 ANSI lumens output at a native resolution of 1,024 x 768. In terms of connection options, though, the projector is quite well stocked, featuring D-SUB VGA in and also S-Video and composite video inputs. There are also stereo 3.5mm audio ins and outs as well as stereo RCA phono inputs. Sharp has included a D-SUB VGA output too, although there's no PC Card functionality.

In terms of both looks and features, the PG-C20XE has an almost identical specification to that of the LPX100 from Iiyama (see Reviews, issue 82, p166). The similarities are further reinforced by the fact that the PG-C20XE features an economy mode setting, like the LPX100. This drops the ambient noise level to around 38db and reduces output brightness to 800 ANSI lumens.

However, despite the similarities between the PG-C20XE and the LPX100 in terms of features and basic specification, the performance in use is noticeably different. While the LPX100 wasn't a bad projector by any means, it didn't excel in any area and lacked the advanced features of some, like NEC's MultiSync LT155 (see Labs, issue 79, p102).

Sharp seems to have recognised the need to add something extra and has incorporated several features intended to boost image quality. These include 3D Digital Uniformity Correction, which compensates for LCD panel irregularities in uniformity, and ARA (Auto Response Adjust), which automatically recalibrates the image to ensure maximum quality. One of the most useful features of the PG-C20XE, though, is the intelligent image resizing and active digital keystone correction. Whereas adding keystone correction causes many projectors to lose aspect ratio - for example, squashing circles into ellipses - the Sharp maintains true uniformity. Text also remains quite sharp and easily readable, meaning the projector will perform well in situations where it must project at an angle.

The PG-C20XE performed well under testing using DisplayMate Multimedia Edition at the native resolution of 1,024 x 768 in 32-bit colour. The initial image was bright and even, and the manual zoom and focus controls were smooth and easily adjusted, resulting in a sharp picture.

The initial image adjustment also appeared to be successful, with no need to fine-tune the phase. I was particularly impressed with the resolution tests, with the PG-C20XE managing to reproduce all the test patterns accurately in both the horizontal and the vertical. The only criticism was a slight misregistration of the red in the horizontal and green in the vertical, causing slight coronas at the edges of small text or fine lines. This is only obvious close up, though, and from a normal viewing position it didn't appear to affect sharpness.

Focus was also good, although it deteriorated slightly in the corners, probably due to the lens effects, but this wasn't significant enough to be a problem. There was also minor high-contrast streaking and some interlace flicker.

However, the colour performance tests in DisplayMate highlighted a few more chinks in the PG-C20XE's armour. Greyscale shades were noticeably banded and lacked any real extension, with truncation at the bright end of the ramp and a shortage of really dark blacks. Colour fades were similarly banded and, as with the greyscale fades, bright shades were slightly truncated. There were also some dithering artefacts in darker shades.