The Acer X1261P is rated at 2700 lumens. To get out the maximum brightness, the projector was placed in Bright mode (its brightest), and contrast raised from default 52 to 57 (above 57 brightness did not further increase).
The Acer, with that extra contrast adjustment boost, beat its 2700 lumen claim, with 2914 measured lumens (since the zoom ratio was so minor - 1.1:1 the lens was at wide angle).
With the better balanced default contrast, the Acer still impressed with 2409 lumens. Dropping the Acer X1261P projector to Eco-mode (contrast still on 52), 1996 lumens.
Translated, that indicates a drop of approximately 18% when switching to eco-mode (which claims to improve lamp life from 5000 hours to 6000 hours).
All the other modes are measured with lamp on High (contrast 52). Images comparing the different modes' brightness and color can be found on the Image Quality page
| Acer X1261P Brightness | |
|---|---|
| Mode | Lumens |
| Bright | 2409 |
| Presentation | 2056 |
| Standard | 1693 |
| Video | 1210 |
| Picture | 1401 |
| Game | 1129 |
| Education | 1391 |
| User | * |
Whatever mode you last make a change to, becomes the User mode. Say you go into Video mode, and reduce contrast. The menu then says User mode. It will hold those settings until the next time you make a change to them, or if you select a different mode, and make a change to it. In other words, you can't have more than one adjusted mode at a time (which isn't a big deal).
All considered, this Acer X1291 is more than bright enough in the classroom. It is one of the few projectors reviewed for the Education report that actually beat brightness claim, but far more important is what that means: This Acer can easily handle a classroom or comparable sized training or conference room with plenty of lights on when viewing non video and non-photo based presentations or coursework. Of course, dark videos and photos changes the game, time to turn down a few lights.
Presentation Mode
Brightness Mode
Standard Mode
Education Mode
Video Mode
User mode
Picture Mode
As you can see from our images, the Acer does just fine on a typical 5 to 6 foot screen! Of course in 3D, where the whole 3D system, including the glasses, sucks up at least 75% of total brightness reaching your eyes, this projector will need the room no more than moderately lit, but that's better than a number of 3D projectors that aren't as bright as this one. With low lighting, 3D content can be astonishing. The general feedback from educators is 3D done well can dramatically increase student interest and attention! Well, we're all ofter that!
The Acer X1261P has a single 2 watt speaker. For a sub-five pound portable, the sound is pretty good, but it's not a match for many of the larger projectors we're reviewing, targeting education, which sport typically 5 to 16 total watts (some projectors are single speaker, some stereo). The two watts is adequate for supporting perhaps a video with people speaking in a conference room. Fidelity is definitely "small projector." If you will be often having music playing through the speakers as part of what you are showing, you likely will prefer a projector with fuller sound. It's not real tinny, but it's no better than many laptops.
Audible noise on the Acer X1261P was surprisingly quiet. I was actually extremely impressed that this small of a projector is as quiet as it is at full power, especially since DLP projectors tend to be noisier than the 3LCD competition. Even at full power, in a small room, the fan noise should not require any effort for your voice to carry over.
I am most pleased to report that it is quieter than most of the other projectors in the Education Projector Report.
