HITACHI PJ-TX10

When it comes to choosing a projector for the home market you should note that the criteria are different from those machines intended solely for use in an office environment. As the space in many modern homes is more limited than in an office, the throw-range can afford to be shorter. Also, because light can be excluded with more control in the home, projector lamps don’t need to be as high.

The Hitachi PJ-TX10 (£1000 inc. VAT) is an attractive LCD projector that’s finished in a silver white look. Weighing in at 3.5kg, this device falls just outside our standard criteria of 3.3kg for a portable unit. However, as it will only be used in the home, weight is less of a problem. The large body looks heavier than it actually is, and with no ceiling mounting bracket it’s designed for tabletop projection. The inclusion of vertical and horizontal Pitch-shifting means that the image can be positioned without too much trouble. Carrying on the home theme, where DVDs and computer games rather than presentations will be the main use, the unit has a native 16:9 (widescreen) setting as opposed to the 4:3 ratio of a business data projector.

The connections on the rear of the unit are conservative, but adequate for linking to a DVD player or even a PlayStation 2, and consist of audio, S-video, component ports and the standard analogue link. One factor that’s important in a home entertainment device is contrast. The greater the degree of shade between areas of light and dark, the finer the aggregate of shading will appear on the screen. With its 800:1 contrast ratio, the TX10 offers more than what we have come to expect from an LCD projector in terms of contrast.

While you will find higher degrees in DLP based systems, we found our review unit to be more than satisfactory, providing distinct areas of shade in DVD playback. The Hitachi PJ-TX10 is an attractive and stylish projector that definitely falls into the home entertainment side of projection rather than the office environment. While the device’s set-up is basic, we found that the quality of images, especially at this price point, to be excellent.

RATING: 7

PRICE: £851/£1000 (EX/INC. VAT)
BRIGHTNESS: 700 ANSI LUMENS
CONTRAST: 800:1
TECHNOLOGY: 0.6-INCH LCD
NATIVE RESOLUTION: 854 X 480 PIXELS
THROW RANGE: 1.5 – 7.8M
LENS - FOCUS: MANUAL
LENS - ZOOM: MANUAL
DIMENSIONS (WXHXD): 127 X 351 X 284MM
WEIGHT: 3.5KG
CONTACT: 01628 585000 WWW.HITACHI.EU.COM