LG DX130

The DX130 is a portable multimedia projector that sits at the top of LG's range. For such a small unit it has high brightness, decent contrast and surprisingly good colour reproduction. It performs well at most tasks, but it is quite noisy and sometimes prone to the DLP 'rainbow' effect.

Although though it boasts an impressive feature set, the DX130 is highly portable. It weighs 1.75kg and it is 265mm long and 205mm wide — smaller than a sheet of A4 paper. It's not that tall either: only 75mm with legs extended. Its buttons are easily accessible and the on-screen menu is clearly set out.

Setting up the projector is simple. At four metres, the projector is capable of throwing a 100in picture, which is on par with other portable projectors like the Acer P1265. The LG unit can handle a projection distance of up to 10 metres, at which distance it creates a 300-inch frame.

There are multiple PC video input ports. A VGA D-Sub connector is the default input, and DVI is also included. HDCP support through DVI means that the DX130 can play back any videos with digital-rights protection from a PC or high-definition player.

The DX130 also supports conventional analog connections such as component, composite and S-Video. A USB port is included for external control, and a 3.5mm audio socket allows a nearby laptop to be connected. The DX130's integrated speaker is a one Watt unit, and while it's enough to reproduce simple voice and audio in a quiet setting don't expect it to be up to the task of cinematic sound.

A default resolution of 1024x768 pixels is appropriate for typical business presentations. It's also able to scale 720p and 1080i high-definition content without any visible jaggedness or aliasing issues.

Video quality is quite good for such a small model. As expected from a DLP projector, brightness is very high at a quoted 3000 ANSI lumens. Combined with a decent contrast ratio of 2000:1, the image is quite pleasant to view. Black levels could be deeper, and some detail was lost in areas of high shadow — this is especially obvious in a film like Batman Begins. Although it isn't spectacular at displaying cinematic video, the DX130 is competent enough to rival entry-level multimedia projectors.

We did notice the occasional appearance of a 'rainbow effect' during fast motion on black backgrounds — this would commonly occur during the credits at the end of movies, for example. This wasn't frequent, however, and hardly detracted from the viewing experience.

When used in its element — displaying bright, clear, simple PowerPoint displays and graphs — the DX130 excels. Images are evenly lit, with no colour bleeding or fuzziness evident. Pictures are slightly over-sharp, but this can be easily sorted out with some adjustment through the comprehensive on-screen menu. If you want to use the DX130 for business presentations and portable multimedia you'll be pleased.

One small flaw is the DX130's noise level. When in standard brightness mode the projector is quite audible, with a low hum that is even enough to overpower the in-built speaker at lower volumes. Switching to the economy setting means that noise levels drop and lamp life is prolonged (to a maximum of 4000 hours), but at a significant cost to the brightness. If you're going to be using the DX130 in predominantly dark environments or anywhere without direct sunlight, economy mode gives an acceptable compromise between brightness, noise and lamp life.