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NEC NP216 Projector – Performance

Posted on October 3, 2013 By Art Feierman

NEC NP216 Projector - Brightness

The NP216 is rated at 2500 lumens and unlike many projectors, this rating was right on target.  Using the standard lamp setting, High Bright picture mode (the brightest), measured at 2494 lumens at mid-zoom range.  It’s hard to be more accurate than that.  As you might expect from its limited zoom range, the output showed little variation at the extremes.  At full wide zoom (again in High Bright mode), we got 2568 lumens and at full telephoto zoom, 2360 lumens.  All further measurements were taken at the mid-zoom point.  Using Presentation mode, the output only dropped to 2128 lumens, which should be more than enough for most users.  Next, Graphic mode displayed a significant drop to 1425 lumens.  Video and Movie modes were virtually identical at 1002 and 1030 lumens respectively and sRGB mode brought up the rear at 1322 lumens.

Going from Standard to Eco mode resulted in an relatively small drop of 12.7% (from 2494 to 2176 in High Bright mode).  This makes the use of Eco lamp mode quite viable for most presentation venues.  This is not only a plus from a power-saving aspect (the NP216 has a carbon meter that shows you the reduction in carbon emissions in Eco mode), but also extends the rated lamp life from 3500 to 5000 hours.  It’s nice to see a multimedia projector that maintains a good degree of brightness in Eco mode, even more so in the NP216’s price range.

Audible Noise

The NEC NP216 is rated at 34 dB.  While NEC doesn’t specify whether this rating is with the standard or Eco lamp setting, this noise level is typical in Eco mode for projectors in the NP216’s class.  Subjectively, this rating seems about right and the standard mode is not obtrusively louder.  In neither case would the fan noise be distracting during a presentation.  Combined with the sound level that can be achieved with the 7-watt built-in speaker, it’s also unlikely that fan noise would be a problem when using the built-in sound.

Networking

Connecting the NP216 to a computer network via its RJ-45 jack permits remote management and control of the projector.  The user can also enable NP216 to send warning notifications of malfunction via email.  As an IP address is set for each projector, multiple projectors can be connected to the network and controlled via a web browser by any computer on the network as well.

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