Acer U5200 review

Acer's new projector has more features than you can shake a laser pointer at, from 3D to network management, but are these actually of any use to businesses? Jim Martin polishes his glasses for a closer look.

IT Pro Verdict

The 3D feature is a gimmick most businesses and schools can do without. Few projectors can match the U5200’s extremely short throw ratio though, so if you’re happy to live with the imperfect image quality in exchange for the ability to wall-mount the projector immediately above or below your screen, it’s a decent choice.

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The fans were remarkably quiet, and we appreciated the audible beep to indicate when the projector had been turned on or off. If you plan to ceiling mount it, the manual zoom control won't be a problem, but bear in mind that the lid isn't powered, so you'll have to leave it open. When on a table, you can close it to prevent dust entering.

Another gripe is the poorly designed remote control. Buttons are small and have equally small, hard-to-read labels. Unlike other remotes with a direction pad and a Enter' button in the middle, the U5200's has a Menu button in the centre. Enter and back are located above. One small consolation is the bright laser pointer, and also the fact that the remote can double as a mouse control.

It takes around 20 seconds from turning the U5200 on to a clearly visible image, but well over a minute to shut down. Once in standby, power consumption is less than 1W. If there's no input signal detected for five minutes, the projector will automatically turn off.

So what's our verdict?

Verdict

The 3D feature is a gimmick most businesses and schools can do without. Few projectors can match the U5200’s extremely short throw ratio though, so if you’re happy to live with the imperfect image quality in exchange for the ability to wall-mount the projector immediately above or below your screen, it’s a decent choice.

Display Size: 72-300in Resolution: 1,024 x 768 Display technology: DLP Brightness: 2,500 ANSI lumens Contrast Ratio: 4,200:1 Connections: 2x D-Sub in, 1x D-Sub out, 2x HDMI in, S-Video in, composite in, 2x USB2, 1x mini-USB2, 1x Ethernet, 2x minijack audio in, 1x minijack mic in, 1x minijack audio out, 1x RS232, 12V DC out Adjustments: Keystone, wall colour, colour mode, red, green, blue levels, degamma, colour temperature, saturation, tint, front/rear, floor/ceiling projection modes, sharpness, aspect ratio, VGA out in standby. Dimensions (W x D x H): 420 x 340 x 145mm Power consumption: 320W active, 0.7W standby Speakers: 2x 10W Security: Kensington lock VESA mounting: N/A Warranty: two years collect and return (one year lamp) Part code: EY.JC205.001

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