We recently got our hands on the stylish Samsung D400S conference room projector. Even though it started shipping 12 months ago, it's worth a fresh look because it is one of only five XGA projectors in our database that combines a 4,000-lumen rated output with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio at a street price under $1,500. Its striking curves make it stand out from common boxy designs, and it will capture your audience's attention before you even turn it on. Out-of-the-box video projection is excellent, and if Ferrari built a projector, it might very well look like the D400S. A slight change has been made to this model to reduce standby power consumption to less than one watt, and this variation is called the D400SF. Both can be found on the market at this time. Other than the standby power draw, there is no difference between them.

Brightness and Uniformity: With brightness at its maximum setting in Monitor 1 mode, the D400S puts a robust 3,575 ANSI lumens on the screen. This kind of brightness overcomes normal ambient light in any room and is well suited to medium/large conference rooms and/or larger screens.

The other six modes include Games (1,875 lumens) and Sports (2,655 lumens) for game aficionados, Standard (1,590 lumens) and Monitor 2 (3,350 lumens) for the computer crowd, and Movie (1,450 lumens) for film devotees.

Brightness uniformity of our test unit is a not-too-impressive 60%, but the slightly brighter lower portion of the image is normally only visible in spreadsheets and text documents with a large amount of white space.

Connections: The D400S input panel includes one HDMI, one VGA, one 3-RCA component, as well as S-video and composite video. For remote sensing and control, there are both RS-232 and USB connectors.

Attractive Design: The casework for the D400S is one-of-a-kind. It is a little larger than many in its class, but the sweeping lines and curves set it apart from the crowd. There is ample room on the rear panel for connections, and the controls on the top of the projector are not mechanical; they are touch sensitive. There is plenty of room for airflow to cool the lamp assembly, and very little light leaks from the chassis. It is an attractive tradeoff of size vs. performance.

Size and Weight: At 12.8 pounds, this is no "runway model" projector, but its size contributes to its relatively low noise level (bigger, slower fans), and if it is ceiling-mounted, no one will care anyway. Besides, its styling will almost certainly overcome any reservations about its girth or weight.

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