Full Review

The Sharp XR-30S was the second most expensive projector in the value business category. It’s a little bigger than the others in the list, so it’s not exactly a portable projector.

The NEC NP200 and the Vivitek D825MS have the advantage of Sharp here, being both lighter and smaller. The specifications match favorably with the others, however. The native resolution of 800x600 is lower than the winning NP200, but is the same as the others in the Top 5.

The remote control of this one deserves a special mention. It is well laid out, and has a built in mouse for pointing out things on screen.

The remote control of this one deserves a special mention. It is well laid out, and has a built in mouse for pointing out things on screen. The projector can even darken portions of the screen and highlight others, all controlled by the remote.

It was in the DisplayMate tests that the Sharp XR-30S fell down the chart. It had trouble displaying sharp images in the corners of the screen, with haziness and fuzziness showing up in our focus test screen. These consist of hundreds of tiny black and white rectangles. The images was clear in the center, but the rectangles started to fade out towards the edges. This was disappointing, since in the other results were quite good. This flaw and the higher price let the Vivitek D825MS sneak past into second place.

Bottom Line

A low native resolution, but a high quality picture. If you don't need XGA, take a look at this.