HP MP3320

by James Stevenson
Price as Reviewed: $1,399.00

Getting the 3.8 pound MP3320 set up was an absolute breeze thanks to the intuitive on-screen menu system. The measured brightness of 2248 lumens was a little under the rated 2400, but that measurement was good enough for second-best in our roundup. The 242:1 contrast ratio was only third best, but the MP3320 handled the rainbow effect better than most other DLP projectors we've seen.

Operation wasn't quite as smooth as we would have liked. Oddly, the left and right buttons on the remote are used to move up and down on the menu's different levels instead of the up and down buttons. We also had some trouble using the mouse feature on the remote; the speed seemed to change at will. On the plus side, we liked the zoom feature and easy-to-use manual focus ring. The cool-down time of 17 seconds was also tops in this roundup.

The MP3320's video performance left us a bit cold. When we ran our DVD tests the colors didn't seem right, and the resulting look was faded compared to the other projectors. The audio from the unit was hard to hear, and there wasn't enough sound for even a small room.

It's not the most affordable projector in this roundup, but the HP MP3320 delivers the best balance of performance and portability.