From $2,000*


As the resident A-Listed projector, Dell’s 3400MP came into this Labs with a lot at stake. However, its cracking formula of compact size, low weight, great image quality and low noise make it ideal for mobile presentations. At $2099, it’s also good value and inexpensive to run. Lasting up to 3000 hours (4000 in eco mode) and with replacement lamps at $318, the 3400MP costs only 11c per hour.

It has some nice features that aren’t immediately obvious, such as the fact that both rear feet are adjustable rather than just one. The comfortable and well-laid-out remote control includes a laser pointer and mouse control. And, the carry case offers the best protection here, with solid foam cut-outs to fit the projector perfectly. This leads to the heaviest travelling weight, though, at 2.7kg.

On the back, there’s a digital M1-DA connector instead of the analogue VGA port that all the others have. This multi-use port comes with a split cable, sporting both VGA and USB connectors at the notebook end for image and mouse control. It also has S-Video and composite inputs and a mini-jack for audio. The tinny mono speaker is no better than a notebook’s, though, so there’s little point in connecting it.

Many of the DLP projectors struggled to differentiate green Excel and blue Word icons in Windows, but with the Dell there was no such difficulty. Our PowerPoint presentation had crisp text and great colour accuracy in charts and photos. The sRGB mode made skin tones more realistic, but the movie mode proved perfect for photos, restoring some of the lost brightness while still having balanced colours. The Dell didn’t even break a sweat in our colour gradients test, with impressively smooth transitions. For videos, the movie mode provides better detail in dark scenes than most other DLP machines.

It wasn’t perfect, though: brightness was slightly uneven, being a touch darker at the top of presentations than the bottom, and we noticed the “rainbow effect” more than usual in video clips, indicating a slow colour wheel. At two minutes, it’s also the slowest to power down.

However, the two-year collect-and-return, next-business-day exchange warranty is better than most. Also, it’s the quietest projector here, measuring 40dBA as standard and 36dBA in eco mode. Together with the image quality, quietness and sturdy case, this is still the best ultraportable projector out there.