11. Quality Optics

This brilliant idea, associated with 100% digital image processing and intelligent functions like RCP (Real Color Processing), put the HS51 in a class above most of its competitors. And Sony has put a lot of effort into the unit's build quality, in particular where the optics are concerned. The excellent-quality lens results in a sharpness that gives an almost palpable relief to the picture. During our tests with animated films like Shrek 1 and 2 and Monsters, Inc., the texturing seemed to come to life before our eyes as never before. The picture was fluid, even in movies where the action is most manic. The ochre and grayish tints in The Chronicles of Riddick looked splendid and every bit as good as DLP.

Where looks are concerned, it's vintage Sony: the projector is in gray and black, the remote control is practical but ugly and the stripped-down design's only jarring note is the front and rear ventilation openings, that look like radiators.

However, the HS51 is discreet where noise is concerned, too - it's the quietest projector we've ever tested, to the point where after we plugged it in we wondered if it was actually working or not.

In the Plus column

Price Build quality Contrast ratio almost identical to DLP Native 720 P Quiet operation Functionality

In the Minus column

Still not as good as DLP for the most demanding viewers