Projector Reviews

NEC VE281X DLP Projector – Review Summary

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A summary of the NEC VE281X Projector’s pros, cons.

March 2013 – Anthony Arrigo

NEC VE281X Projector: Bottom Line

NEC has produced a pretty solid performer with the VE281X. As mentioned in the review this unit was designed to be simple and easy to use so a variety of users could be comfortable with it. Designed for travel, the VE281X looks to be pretty durable and could easily withstand the rigors of travel. The VE281X is rated at 2800 lumens and from performance testing it can surpass that. However, when you run the projector in different color modes performance decreases. This however is by design, and if you run the projector in ECO mode you should expect years of use out of the VE281X.

For the educators, you will enjoy the projectors capabilities in terms of being able to grow with the changes in technology. The projector is 3D ready, so 3D content from your PC can easily be displayed and viewed with optional 3D glasses. When you combine the projectors brightness of 2800 Lumens and its contrast ratio of 3000:1, 3D content will really pop.

With a native resolution of 1024×768 it easy to think that this projector is not exactly the best choice since it has a 4:3 aspect ratio and most laptops run much higher resolutions. Not only that, they have 16:9 aspect ratios. The projector can display higher resolutions beautifully and personally would find it a waste not to take advantage of the higher resolutions because of the clarity. Ultimately, in my opinion, you are getting a high resolution projector at a standard resolution price. Not bad!

NEC VE281X Projector: Pros

  • Just have to vacuum the intake vent to maintain projector
  • Brightness readings were extremely close to the advertised brightness
  • Sharp image even when projecting higher than native resolutions
  • 3D Ready when projecting content from your PC
  • Estimated 6000 hours of lamp life when running in ECO Mode

NEC VE281X Projector: Cons

  • For very specific applications color may need adjustment
  • Lamp is not user replaceable. Must contact dealer for replacement
  • Limited inputs, but still very capable
  • Very limited zoom capabilities