NEC NP-P474U Business and Education Projector Review – Hardware

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Nikki Zelinger

NEC NP-P474U Business and Education Projector Review – Hardware: Overview, Inputs and Connectors, Lens and Lens Controls

Overview

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The NEC NP-P474U comes in white casing with a grey accent piece along the bottom. The recessed lens is positioned off-center and to the right when looking at the front of the projector. The lens has its own cap and the focus and zoom is on the lens itself. The front remote sensor is located to the left of the lens, with the hot air exhaust vent wrapping around to the left side of the projector (still looking at the front). This side is also home to the control panel, which is quite typical in layout.

Around the back, we have the inputs and connectors panel – I’ll get more into that in a moment. There is a Kensington Lock slot for added security, and the 20-watt mono speaker is on the back, as well as the AC input for power. Moving on to the other side of the projector, we have the cool air intake vents, which span almost the whole length of the side. The door for replacing the lamp is located on the top of the projector, along with a few other important things. The lens shift controls are hidden under a door just behind the lens, and the three indicator lights (Power, Status, and Lamp – but no Temp) are to its left when facing the lens.

Inputs and Connectors

The NEC NP-P474U has a healthy amount of inputs and connectors for business and education applications. Starting from the left, we have a USB Type-A port. Next to that is the port for wired LAN, and then the HDBaseT connector. Over to its right are two HDMI ports for connecting sources like Blu-ray and DVD players (and some computers). The old-school VGA Computer In and Out ports are on their right, with the Computer Out living underneath, and the RS-232C connector (for old school command and control) under that. A service port is to the right of the Computer Out.

Moving to the left, there’s an area with a group of inputs and connectors relating to audio and composite video. In the top section of this area is the Audio In and Audio Out ports for connecting external speakers, which you probably won’t need unless presenting in a very large room, such as a lecture hall. The composite Video In port is below that, alongside two other Audio ports. That does it for the inputs and connectors panel! Simple, yet complete. A quick note – one of the HDMI ports will be used for the Multi-Presenter Stick if you choose to purchase one of those.

Lens and Lens Controls

The NP-P474U has a 1.6:1 zoom manual zoom, manual focus lens.

The lens shift controls are located on the top of the projector, under an easy-release door.

The lens shift control knobs of the NEC NP-P474U.

❮ ❯

The lens of the NP-P474U is located on the front of the projector, is recessed, and is positioned slightly off center and to the right. The focus ring and zoom functions are manual and located on the lens itself. That’s a 1.6:1 zoom ratio, which means more placement flexibility during installation, especially when combined with the lens shift controls.

Those lens shift controls can be found on the top of the projector, under an easy-release door. The NEC NP-P474U has both horizontal and vertical lens shift – that’s +/- 20% for horizontal, +/- 30% for vertical. These controls are, like the lens, manual, but you’ll likely only be using them once, during installation. Now, if the projector is to be used across multiple classrooms (it’s certainly portable enough), that would be a different story. However, I think it is more likely that the NP-P474U will be installed where it will stay for a long time.

Lens shift is a great feature to have, as it allows some room for miscalculation when mounting the projector, whether that be ceiling, wall, or table mounting. The lens shift moves the image to be in alignment with the projection surface, which definitely helps if you’re a few inches off. That does it for this leg of the Hardware Tour! Time to move on to our discussion of the control panel, remote control, and the menus.

NEC NP-P474U Business and Education Projector Review – Hardware: Overview, Inputs and Connectors, Lens and Lens Controls

Overview

❮ ❯

The NEC NP-P474U comes in white casing with a grey accent piece along the bottom. The recessed lens is positioned off-center and to the right when looking at the front of the projector. The lens has its own cap and the focus and zoom is on the lens itself. The front remote sensor is located to the left of the lens, with the hot air exhaust vent wrapping around to the left side of the projector (still looking at the front). This side is also home to the control panel, which is quite typical in layout.

Around the back, we have the inputs and connectors panel – I’ll get more into that in a moment. There is a Kensington Lock slot for added security, and the 20-watt mono speaker is on the back, as well as the AC input for power. Moving on to the other side of the projector, we have the cool air intake vents, which span almost the whole length of the side. The door for replacing the lamp is located on the top of the projector, along with a few other important things. The lens shift controls are hidden under a door just behind the lens, and the three indicator lights (Power, Status, and Lamp – but no Temp) are to its left when facing the lens.

Inputs and Connectors

The NEC NP-P474U has a healthy amount of inputs and connectors for business and education applications. Starting from the left, we have a USB Type-A port. Next to that is the port for wired LAN, and then the HDBaseT connector. Over to its right are two HDMI ports for connecting sources like Blu-ray and DVD players (and some computers). The old-school VGA Computer In and Out ports are on their right, with the Computer Out living underneath, and the RS-232C connector (for old school command and control) under that. A service port is to the right of the Computer Out.

Moving to the left, there’s an area with a group of inputs and connectors relating to audio and composite video. In the top section of this area is the Audio In and Audio Out ports for connecting external speakers, which you probably won’t need unless presenting in a very large room, such as a lecture hall. The composite Video In port is below that, alongside two other Audio ports. That does it for the inputs and connectors panel! Simple, yet complete. A quick note – one of the HDMI ports will be used for the Multi-Presenter Stick if you choose to purchase one of those.

Lens and Lens Controls

The NP-P474U has a 1.6:1 zoom manual zoom, manual focus lens.

The lens shift controls are located on the top of the projector, under an easy-release door.

The lens shift control knobs of the NEC NP-P474U.

❮ ❯

The lens of the NP-P474U is located on the front of the projector, is recessed, and is positioned slightly off center and to the right. The focus ring and zoom functions are manual and located on the lens itself. That’s a 1.6:1 zoom ratio, which means more placement flexibility during installation, especially when combined with the lens shift controls.

Those lens shift controls can be found on the top of the projector, under an easy-release door. The NEC NP-P474U has both horizontal and vertical lens shift – that’s +/- 20% for horizontal, +/- 30% for vertical. These controls are, like the lens, manual, but you’ll likely only be using them once, during installation. Now, if the projector is to be used across multiple classrooms (it’s certainly portable enough), that would be a different story. However, I think it is more likely that the NP-P474U will be installed where it will stay for a long time.

Lens shift is a great feature to have, as it allows some room for miscalculation when mounting the projector, whether that be ceiling, wall, or table mounting. The lens shift moves the image to be in alignment with the projection surface, which definitely helps if you’re a few inches off. That does it for this leg of the Hardware Tour! Time to move on to our discussion of the control panel, remote control, and the menus.