NEC Projectors

Education and business projection

NEC Visual Systems is the second largest provider of professional grade projectors and plasma displays, placing emphasis on quality, reliability and customer support. They make both portable and installation projectors, using both LCD and DLP technology.

Although NEC doesn’t offer any projectors under two pounds, their line of portable projectors offers a fairly broad range of options. All of the portable models are under eight pounds, and with an ANSI lumen output of 2000 to 3000, they’re bright machines. SVGA and XGA resolution are both available, and the contrast ratio begins at 600:1, peaking at 1600:1. A couple of these smaller projectors come with several automatic features, including auto start-up, focus, keystone correction and cool down. Starting at under $1000, an NEC portable is an affordable option.

NEC’s installation projectors get brighter, up to 4000 ANSI lumens, but the contrast ratio doesn’t go up in the bigger models. Even their largest is fairly small, weighing in at 16 pounds. Some of the additional features you have to choose from in the installation projectors include optional lenses and vertical and horizontal lens shift, as well as wired and wireless networking.

NEC makes one model designed specifically for projecting large images in tight spaces (it boasts “extreme short throw”). The WT610E is ceiling mountable, network-friendly and rear-projection capable. A DLP projector, it weighs in at 14 pounds, offers the highest contrast ratio of any of NEC’s current projection systems (3500:1), has a brightness rating of 2000 ANSI lumens and a native XGA resolution.

With no widescreen projectors in their current line-up, NEC has its targets set on the business, education and government market, so you’re more likely to find their machines in classrooms and boardrooms than in home theaters. Although they have produced home theater projectors in the past, NEC’s home entertainment choices are now limited to plasma displays rather than front projectors.

All NEC’s projectors (except for the WT610E) have a smooth, streamlined design that gives them a more subtle presence, an advantage that’s aided by their relatively small size. NEC is known for reliable machines with a strong selection of features and strong connectivity.