Optoma ZX212ST

Projectors that use either a hybrid laser-LED light source, like the Optoma ZX212ST, may not be new and exciting anymore, but they're still unusual. Along with laser-based projectors like the BenQ LX60ST, they boast mercury-free light sources that help keep the cost of ownership down, both by being designed to last the life of the projector and by using less power than traditional lamps with the same brightness. If that piques your interest, the ZX212ST is certainly worth a look.

The ZX212ST, the BenQ LX60ST, and a host of Casio laser-LED projectors, including the Casio XJ-H2650 and the Casio XJ-H1750 Pro Series, are all best thought of as variations on a theme. In each case, a laser shines on a phosphor element, and the phosphor produces the light the projector actually uses for the image. In the laser-LED projectors, the phosphor is responsible for green only, with LEDs handling red and blue. In the LX60ST and similar laser projectors, the combination of laser and phosphor produces all three primary colors, with a different phosphor for each color.

Optoma's particular variation on this theme includes a 20,000-hour rating for the light source, which works out to almost 7 years of 8 hour days, 365 days per year. More important, it's backed up by a three-year, 10,000-hour warranty (whichever comes first), which should increase your confidence in the light source's reliability.

Basics, Setup, and Connections
Aside from the light source, the ZX212ST is a fairly typical XGA (1024 by 768) DLP projector. Rated at 2,300 lumens, it's in essentially the same brightness class as the LX60ST and the much less expensive Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 93+ , which uses a traditional lamp.

One of the advantages that both the ZX212ST and the LX60ST have over the Epson projector is a short-throw lens, which can be particularly useful in a small room since it lets you project a large image from a short distance. In my tests, that translated to a 98-inch diagonal image (78 inches wide) from just 50 inches away.

At 9.4 pounds, the ZX212ST is most appropriate for permanent installation, or room to room portability on a cart. Beyond that, setup is standard for a short-throw projector, with a manual focus and no zoom. Image inputs on the back panel include the usual HMDI, VGA, and composite video ports, as well as S-Video, a mini-USB port for USB direct display, and both a USB A port and an SD card slot for reading files from a USB memory key or SD card. In addition, you can use the LAN connector or optional Wi-Fi adaptor ($30 street) to send an image over a network.

Image Quality

Data image quality for the ZX212ST is a touch short of excellent, but still easily good enough for most purposes. On our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, colors were fully saturated, but a little dark, particularly for red, blue, and yellow. However, color balance was excellent, with suitably neutral grays across the entire range from black to white with all color presets.

More important for data screens is that the projector did a good, but not quite excellent, job with fine detail. Both black text on white and white text on black, for example, were crisp and easily readable at 7.5 points. At 6.8 points, both were still readable, but with a slight soft focus effect. Also on the plus side, images designed to bring out pixel jitter were as rock solid over an analog (VGA) connection as with a digital (HDMI) connection.

Video quality isn't in the same league as data image quality. In my tests I saw posterization (shading changing suddenly where it should change gradually) and a moderate to major loss of shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas). These showed primarily in test clips that tend to cause those problems, but I also saw some minor loss of shadow detail even in scenes that most projectors don't have problems with.

The bigger problem for video, however, is rainbow artifacts, with light areas breaking up into flashes of red, green, and blue. This is always a potential issue for DLP projectors but is more of a problem with some than others and usually more of a problem with video than data images.

The ZX212ST shows few enough rainbows with data screens that it's unlikely anyone will find them bothersome. With video, however, the artifacts show often enough for anyone who's sensitive to them to find them annoying. This alone argues for limiting the projector to short video clips, if you use it for video at all.

Other Issues

The stereo sound system in the ZX212ST, with two five-watt speakers, earns half a cheer. Unlike the sound systems in some projectors, it's usable, with enough volume to fill a small conference room. However, the sound quality is distinctly tinny, and there's no discernable stereo effect. If you need good sound quality, plan on using an external sound system.

The 3D support is even less impressive. As with most 3D-ready data projectors, the ZX212ST comes without glasses, which cost $70 or more each. And unlike many recent projectors with 3D, it's limited to 3D support with computers only, over either a VGA or HDMI connection, at up to 720p.

Very much on the plus side are the projector's eco-friendly features. The light source, unlike traditional projector lamps, is mercury free, and it can help save on running cost. It actually saves money in two ways. First, you won't have to buy additional lamps over the projector's lifetime as with conventional lamps, which typically cost $200 to $300 each, and, second, the light source is not as power hungry as conventional lamps. I measured the projector at just 128 watts in Bright mode and 96 watts in Eco mode. When you're comparing prices to projectors with standard lamps, be sure to consider these savings in running cost as well.

If you ignore the advantages of its light source, the ZX212ST offers a potentially attractive combination of data image quality, brightness, and short-throw convenience, but at a higher price than equivalent projectors with standard lamps. Factor in the savings in running cost, however, and it's on a much more equal footing. Add in the three-year warranty for the light source, which you won't generally get with standard lamps, and you may well decide it's an attractive choice indeed.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/iQ534hmgFvM/0,2817,2419750,00.asp

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