Product Reviews

Mitsubishi's WL639U is the first business projector we've seen with a widescreen aspect ratio. It has a native resolution of 1,280x800 pixels, which is the same as most widescreen notebooks. This is particularly useful for presentations, because what you see on your notebook display matches what appears on the big screen exactly.

The WL639U has all the ports a business user will need. There are two D-sub inputs, so you can connect multiple PCs, and a D-sub output for a secondary display. The DVI input supports HDCP, allowing you to play protected HD video. However, there are no component or SCART inputs, so it's not suitable for home cinema use.

Mitsubishi describes the WL639U as an ultra-portable projector, but it's actually far too big to be carried around every day. Weighing a hefty 4.7kg and measuring 333x113x272mm, it is certainly not going to slip into a pocket on your laptop bag. It does come with its own bag, though, which means that it can be carried from a car to

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a meeting room.

The WL639U's size isn't that surprising when you consider its stunning 3,500 lumen brightness. This is enough to create a viewable image in any conditions bar strong sunlight. If you are doing presentations on the road, this projector should make an impact in any meeting room, however big or well lit it may be. The only potential problem is that the lens isn't designed to give you a big image at short-throw distances.

The powerful bulb limits the contrast ratio to 600:1. It looked fine when projecting text and diagrams, but lost detail in darker areas of video clips. It is capable of producing a clean white, and our colour test showed it's also capable of vivid shades. At full power, the lamp lasts a respectable 2,000 hours, but by reducing the output to a still impressive 2,500 lumens you can extend the bulb's life to 4,000 hours. In this mode, it will cost nine pence an hour to run, which is reasonable.

This projector has several useful features for business users. A network port lets you manage the projector's settings over a LAN, while a USB port gives you mouse control via the remote. The remote also has a built-in laser pointer for presentations.

The WL639U is a great projector to choose if you wish to include video in your presentations, as widescreen clips can be shown without letterboxing. It's also very bright and so it will make an impression in almost any environment. However, it's well over twice the price of Dell's 1800MPand will appeal only to those who really need to project presentations under bright lighting.