Dell 1200MP Projector; 310-7522 Projector Lamp

One company that is still under the radar somewhat when it comes to projectors is Dell, especially considering they have been in the market for years and definitely have a lot of support. The first things that usually come to mind when I think of home theatre and business projectors are the big names like Panasonic, Sanyo, Optoma, BenQ and Sony . However, name brands aside, Dell has been manufacturing quality computers and projectors and offering them at a low retail cost to consumers for quite some time and should be considered when thinking about a projector.

Obviously Dell has been selling Laptops for many years, and has developed a formidable brand, but its projector division is making ground by offering great features at low prices. An example of this is the Dell 1200MP, which came out a few years ago in 2006 at a price of $630 USD, and appeared to be aimed at entry level buyers. What many people did not know was the amount of value you received in terms of brightness and contrast.

The Dell 1200MP offers 2000 ANSI lumens of brightness which is plenty when used for smaller venues and presentations where the lights can be turned off. Ambient light can still be present as long as you are not attempting to do a daylight screening outside, as this will result in an image that is somewhat faint and hard to view. The lamp that powers the machine is a 200W UHP projector bulb, has an average lamp life of 2500 hours, and can be known as part number 310-7522 .

The contrast ratio is quite powerful at 2100:1 and will deliver dark blacks next to an array of colors allowing you to distinguish between even the faintest differences on the palette. As I mentioned earlier, most machines within this price range will not offer a contrast ratio of such high quality combined with such high brightness. One of these characteristics usually suffers, but Dell has managed to include a good balance on its most economically priced models like the 1200MP.

The native resolution is not exactly great at 800x600p, however it can be compressed up to 1400x1050p. Audible noise is also a little on the high side at 36.0dB, but the size and weight make it ultra portable at under 4 lbs. It can be hooked up to HDTV under 720p, 1080i, 576i, 576p but it does not offer DVI-I making it a little on the ancient side in terms of compatibility. Overall the Dell 1200MP is a great little projector.