NEC NP-V260

The NP-V260 ($440 street) from NEC Display Solutions of America is a budget data projector best for use at one school or office, though it?s portable in a pinch. Its features and resolution are modest, but its data image quality is fine for running typical business presentations.

The DLP-based NP-V260 has a native SVGA (800 by 600) resolution?a 4:3 aspect ratio befitting a data projector?and its brightness is rated at 2,600 lumens. It?s one of several budget SVGA data projectors we?ve reviewed recently; others include the Epson PowerLite S9 Multimedia Projector ($499 direct, 3.5 stars), the Dell 1210S ($449 list, 3.5 stars) and Optoma Pro160S ($500 street, 3.5 stars).

Though fairly lightweight at 5.5 pounds, the V260?white with rounded corners?is large for a portable SVGA data projector, measuring 3.7 by 2.2 by 9.7 inches (HWD). It does not come with a carrying case, which is unusual these days even with budget projectors. These factors, and its lack of a port for a USB thumb drive (which lets you run standalone presentations without the need for a computer), largely limit the NP-V260 to fixed-location duties in a classroom or conference room, though you can travel with it in a pinch. (You could buy a carrying case for it for about $50, but most of the competition is throwing it in for free.)?

The NP-V260 has a modest collection of ports, including VGA-in with component video; S-Video; an RCA video jack; an audio-in jack; and an RS232 jack for PC control.

Data and Video Image Testing

The NP-V260?s 2,600 lumens proved adequate for throwing a 65-inch diameter image on our test screen that held up reasonably well, even with considerable ambient light. In data image testing using the DisplayMate test suite, image quality was suitable for a typical business presentation. There was some tinting (white areas sometimes looked slightly yellow or bluish, and yellows looked mustardy) and color fringing at the intersection of bright and dark areas. The smallest size of white-on-black type looked fuzzy, and some white letters showed traces of color.

All DLP projectors are potentially subject to the rainbow effect, in which light areas appear broken down into their component colors to form rainbow glints when either one?s head or the image moves. People vary in their sensitivity to this effect (I seem to be of average sensitivity). With the NP-V260, I saw occasional rainbow glints; they?d have the potential to distract someone more sensitive than I.

Video testing also revealed traces of the rainbow effect, as well as a motion artifact in which darker solid areas in changing scenes sometimes showed a structure of very fine striations. It happened infrequently enough, and was subtle enough, that it wasn?t too distracting.

Other Issues

The projector has a single 7-watt speaker that?s loud enough to fill a small conference room with sound, even if its audio isn?t of particularly good quality.

The NP-V260 is 3D ready, compatible with DLP Link, though you?ll need active shutter 3D glasses (about $50 a pair) to watch 3D content.

Other budget SVGA projectors, such as the Epson PowerLite S9, the Dell 1210X, and the Optoma Pro160S, have similar feature sets and data image quality. Those models have one thing the NP-V260 lacks: a carrying case.? If you plan for your projector to stay put, the NEC will do fine for basic business presentations. If you need something more, the Editors? Choice NEC NP-M260W ($850 street, 4 stars) throws in the case, provides higher (WXGA, 1,280 by 800) native resolution, adds a wealth of features, and has better image quality for both data and video.

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