NEC LT170 - Summary, Pros, Cons

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Art Feierman

Wrap-up

or a small DLP projector, the NEC LT170 offers more power than most, a basic feature set, but with some interesting twists (jog dial, tripod ability, lots of security features), and an unusual style although its still a “box”. Ease of use is very good, as are menus, noise is average, color, well we discussed that in length. Overall, it’s a step up in performance from most of the 1000 to 1100 lumen DLP projectors out there. If you need good power and a small package, this NEC projector is a good choice.

Alternatives

If you really want plenty of power and excellent color, you’ll probably have to go a bit larger and size, and up about a pound to projectors like Epson’s Powerlite 730c (2000 lumens, LCD) or Panasonic’s LC-76U. Both were Award winners in the last Portable Projector Report.

The Panasonic is physically much larger (and a pound heavier) but similar in price, while the Epson sells for about $600 more and weighs only .4 lbs more. We are just starting to see more featherweight DLP’s with more than the usual 1100 lumens. If you are looking to compare, you might also look at another award winner, BenQ’s PB2220, which has a more traditional look and feature set, weighs 3.8 lbs, and claims 1700 lumens. For those needing less power (1000 – 1200 lumens) there are a number of other DLP’s to consider as well, but if you want bright and light, the field is very limited.

Overall NEC has launched a very nice DLP projector, that doesn’t look like every other projector out there. NEC will certainly end up with lots of pleased users. While you might be able to find something better for your needs, it will be a lot easier to find significantly worse! NEC gets credit for trying some new things in this model, particularly the Jog dial, and sealed light path.

Pros, Cons and Typicals

PROS

Unique look and feel
Good menus, Ease of Use
Rugged
Good video color
Economy mode
Security features
More powerful than most featherweight projectors
Better than average compression technology

CONS

No monitor out (for desktop computer users)
Limited zoom lens
Poor reds and yellows in presentation mode (typical of DLP’s)Noisy (slightly more so than most featherweights)
- Accurate presentation color comes at a price (loss of over half of brightness)
No remote mousing