The Twenty Smallest Portable SVGA Projectors

InFocus LP400 (also Boxlight CD-40m)

The LP400 has been the InFocus solution for the cost-conscious mobile presenter in 1999. With an MSRP of $3,299 and a selling price under $3,000, there have been few challengers for this market niche. However, the entry of the Sony CS1 upsets the apple cart and creates a fascinating battle in the low-end market segment. The arrival of the CS1 at a list price of $2,999 and a street price of $2,699 will cause an immediate devaluation of the LP400.

Here is how the two competitors stack up in specifications:

The Sony CS1 has marginalized the LP400 by trumping it in every significant feature category and undercutting it in price at the same time. The CS1 is about 60% the size of the LP400, and it weighs about 1.4 lbs less when the LP400's Cable Wizard attachment is factored into the carrying weight. The CS1 has a 1.3:1 zoom lens, the LP400 a fixed lens. The CS1 will compress both XGA and SXGA signals, and the LP400 just XGA. The CS1 puts out less heat and fan noise, and its lamp life is twice that of the LP400.

The only feature in which the LP400 has an edge over the CS1 is brightness, with its 700 ANSI lumen rating as compared to the CS1's 600 lumens. However, as has been noted several times in this review, the human eye has a difficult time seeing the difference between 600 and 700 lumens when displayed side-by-side. So this particular factor is a non-issue in the comparison of these two projectors.

As a result of the new price/performance benchmark set by the CS1, the LP400 is overpriced at its current street price of $2,900. A fair market value relative to the CS1 is $300 to $400 under the CS1's street of $2,699, or $2,300 to $2,400.

Boxlight CD-40m