Optoma EP1690

While most portable digital projectors for business use aren't meant to double as home-theater projectors, reviews say the Optoma EP1690 handles video better than most. It has a widescreen display and an HDCP-compliant DVI input, so it can display HDTV when hooked up to a cable box or other tuner. Reviews say the fan makes quite a hum, but it's not too intrusive during presentations. Reviews say it's bright enough for fairly large rooms, displays text very well and includes a laser pointer. There's a two-year warranty. If you don't need a widescreen, the Dell 2400MP (*est. $1,200) offers more brightness for the same price.

ProjectorCentral.com and ProjectorReviews.com specialize in projectors, test them objectively and reach essentially the same conclusion: The Optoma EP1690 is a great bargain for a widescreen projector, but only if you really need widescreen. The fact that Audioholics.com, geared to home-theater users, even reviews the Optoma EP1690 at all tells you the video output is better than you'll find from most business/classroom projectors. There is just a handful of user reviews at ProjectorCentral.com, but triple what you'll find at Amazon.com.