Acer PH110

The Acer PH110 is physically small, measuring just 265 x 198 x 92mm and weighing a mere 2.3kg, making it easy to transport between rooms in the house. The silver-and-white projector features a recessed lens to protect it from shunts during transportation, and a wide grille to maximise airflow to help cool the lamp.

It produces a 54" image at a distance of 2m, which would be quite adequate for a small lounge room. One interesting design quirk is the location of the telescopic feet to adjust the display angle. Acer has positioned these feet at the rear of the machine, making it impossible to raise the height of the image. While fine for a permanent ceiling or bookshelf installations, this would be annoying if trying to use the projector from a coffee table.

It runs at a native resolution of 854 x 480 (480p), but can scale up to handle a resolution up to 1280 x 1024 pixels, making it compatible with 720p and 1080i HDTV content. Default output is in a 16:9 native aspect ratio, which makes it ideal for watching movies, and the 1100 ANSI lumen brightness rating is ample to overcome brightly lit rooms.

The DLP projector produced clear images, although they were a little washed out at full brightness. The projector offers an economy mode that dims the display and extends the projected lamp life from 2000 to 3000 hours. The image would be a little dull if you were using the projector during the day, but ideal for a darkened home theatre environment.

The rear panel sports S-Video, composite and VGA ports. There's a basic headphone jack, but no other audio outputs to speak of; hardly a problem considering it's designed for use in a home theatre. A small white remote control provides access to keystone adjustments, source selections and image properties.

The PH110 is a basic unit, devoid of bells and whistles, making it ideal for a first-time buyer. The minimalist rear panel, simple remote control and sparse menu are easy to navigate, and you can be up and running in minutes. A basic setup sheet is provided, but there's no printed manual to speak of, just a PDF version on the supplied CD-ROM.

If you're after an inexpensive home theatre projector for watching movies, the PH110 is a good starting point.