Canon LV-8320

As a rule, video projectors are best at projecting movies and other video content, while data projectors excel at displaying PowerPoint and other business presentations. The Canon LV-8320 ($999 direct) bends that rule. This business projector did a decent job on our data image tests, but had surprisingly good video quality. Its audio isn't up to what you'd get with an entertainment projector, but the LV-8320 is definitely worth considering if your business or classroom presentations have substantial video content.?

The LV-8320 is an LCD-based projector. It has a rated brightness of 3,000 lumens, and a native WXGA (1,280 by 800) resolution, at a 16:10 aspect ratio compatible with many laptops.?

The LV-8320 is silver colored, with rounded corners. At the lens are focus and zoom (1.6x) rings. At 3.8 by 13.7 by 10.9 inches (HWD) and 7.5 pounds, this projector is portable, though a little larger than you may want to carry around regularly. It does come with a soft carrying case.?

It has a standard selection of ports for today's data projectors; Ethernet; 2 VGA-in (one of which doubles as component video); RS232; 2 audio-in jacks (one of which can serve as a mic jack) and an audio-out; video ports also include component, S-Video, plus an HDMI port, which last year's Canon LV-8225 ($799 direct, 4 stars) lacked. The LV-8225 is slightly smaller and lighter than the LV-8320, weighing in at 6.6 pounds.?

Testing

Data image quality, tested using the DisplayMate suite, was suitable for most business and classroom uses. Text was of average readability. Most colors seemed reasonably true, although one issue that I came across was tinting. Bright areas sometimes showed a slight yellow tint, and light grays often had a greenish tint that at worst was significant enough to be distracting. It was less prominent in High Contrast mode than in Standard or Presentation modes, but still visible. I'd hesitate to use this projector in situations where exacting color is paramount.?

Video was a pleasant surprise, better than average for a data projector, good enough to show lengthy clips as part of a presentation. You could even use it for movies, although you'd best sit close to the projector or use an external sound system as the audio from the one 10W speaker is on the faint side and not of particularly good quality.?

As an LCD projector, it's blessedly immune from the distracting rainbow effect that plagues many DLP projectors. Also, its lamp is relatively long-lasting when used in Quiet (aka Eco) mode, rated at 5,000 hours; in Standard mode it's a more typical 3,000 hours. Still, its bulb life pales in comparison with Casio projectors using that company's hybrid LED/laser light source, such as the Casio Slim XJ-A246 ($1,499 direct, 3.5 stars)?their LED lamps are designed to last up to 20,000 hours.?

The Canon LV-8320 is priced a little on the high side for a data projector of its capabilities. For about the same money, you could get a high-quality short-throw WXGA projector, such as the Optoma TW610ST ($1,000 street, 4 stars) or the NEC Display Solutions NP-M300WS ($1,099 direct, 4 stars)?both Editors' Choice models?that lets you project an image from very close to the screen.?

For a little more money, the Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 1775W Multimedia Projector ($1,199 direct, 4 stars)?a long-throw model?is much lighter than the LV-8320 and offers WiFi connectivity plus the ability to run presentations off of a USB thumb drive. The Epson showed excellent data and good video image quality in our testing, and had better than expected sound quality as well.?

The LV-8320 is a likeable projector, with surprisingly good video quality for a data projector. I'd like it a bit better, though, if its data images were more consistently tint-free.

?More projector reviews:

??? Canon LV-8320
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??? Casio Short Throw XJ-ST155
??? Casio Slim XJ-A246
??? 3M Mobile Projector MP410
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