The Twenty Smallest Portable SVGA Projectors

Mitsubishi S50 

With an ANSI lumen rating of a startling 1100, the Mitsubishi S50 holds the distinguished honor as the brightest projector among the Twenty Smallest and Lightest SVGA projectors on the market. And at only 7.0 lbs, it pumps out more lumens per pound than any other projector in its class. The product was just announced for COMDEX, and is scheduled to commence shipments in February. The S50 has an MSRP of $5,995, and no street pricing will appear until it ships. Meanwhile, we can anticipate a showdown between the S50 and Toshiba's aggressively priced high performance TLP-450, rated at 1000 ANSI lumens.

Comparing these two little powerhouses, the Mitsubishi has a slight edge in several categories. It is about a pound lighter, 20% smaller in volume, and has a slightly higher lumen rating at 1100 to the Toshiba's 1000. (This lumen difference is not an issue, as the human eye cannot detect the difference between 1000 and 1100 lumens when displayed side by side).

Both of these projectors can accept an SXGA signal. However, the Toshiba can also take a UXGA (1600 x 1200). For a consumer that would want to use a native SVGA projector to display UXGA images, the Toshiba is the only answer. For the vast majority of buyers, UXGA compatibility is an unnecessary feature.

So the Mitsubishi will have a competitive advantage in that it is slightly brighter, slightly smaller, and a little lighter--all good things. However, the Toshiba has two very important advantages. First, it is shipping today, whereas the Mitsubishi is not.

Second, the Toshiba sells on the street for about $3,700, or about 25% off its list of $4,995. The Mitsubishi's announced retail price is $5,995. Once it begins to ship, we expect the street price will come in at around $4,000. Based on its performance advantages, the Mitsubishi should sell at a premium of about 10% over the Toshiba, which is about where they will be. Both of these projectors will be excellent values relative to each other, and relative to the other competitors in the category.