Sanyo PLC-XK3010

Sanyo has a wide range of projectors and its PLC-XK3010 is aimed squarely at the business and education market.

Based around a 3-panel LCD lamp, this is an amazingly bright device that comes with a 3000 ANSI lumens rating and 2000:1 contrast ratio.

In terms of design, the black and cream two-tone black casing is rather large and boxy, but it feels reassuringly rugged to the touch.

The lens is housed inside the unit and accessed via a lens cover that you need to manually pull out. The zoom and focus rings are also neatly recessed in the body, so there's little risk of damage when transporting this projector.

With an overall weight of 2.9kg, the PLC-XK3010 is quite large. While this limits the overall portability of the device, we found that for sharing between classrooms or meeting rooms it's more than practical.

When you start to set up this projector you'll find it comes with automatic keystone correction, so in most instances you won't need to use the menu controls on the top of the unit.

Controls on the back are something of a mixed bag. It has two VGA ports and an Ethernet socket, but no HDMI connector for high-definition use.

When it came to testing, the projected image was big and bright, and we found a great deal of warmth to images projected, especially when running video.

With a noise rating of 29dB, it's the quietest device in this group and the only one we didn't need to drop down into eco-mode to make more practical in quieter meeting conditions.

We really like the Sanyo PLC-XK3010. Sure, it's not the most portable of projectors, nor the ports the most flexible. However, the brightness and image quality make it a great choice for anyone keen to make the right impression no matter the lighting conditions.