Sharp PG-D3510X: Color & Picture Quality
Starting with my laptop connected via the analog VGA connection and fed its native resolution (1024 x 768), the PG-D3510X provided a sharp, detailed picture. Overall picture quality is quite good, without noticeable artifacts sometimes associated with DLP projectors.
In a departure from many DLP projectors we’ve reviewed, colors were quite accurate. While many DLP projectors have reds that are too dark and greens that lean toward yellow, the PG-D3510X has well balanced color, which can be further dialed in through the use of its color management system (CMS). The depth of color still falls short of some of the better LCD projectors we’ve reviewed, but it’s still more than sufficient for the PG-D3510X’s likely use.
Photo presentations can look very nice with the PG-D3510X, especially with the adjustment afforded by the CMS. If a particular presentation requires a particular color to stand out, or if the camera used tends to overemphasize a particular color, adjustments can be made in the CMS for individual colors. In particular, adjustments can be made to increase or decrease saturation, hue or brightness of each color.
Sharp PG-D3510X: Readability
The PG-D3510X provided a very sharp, clean image with a variety of source material. Bringing up our usual spreadsheet with a range of text sizes and colors, small (8 pt.) text was easily readable on a 65” diagonal projected image. This sharp readability continued with white text-on-black and yellow text-on-dark blue backgrounds as well.
The PG-D3510X also was at home with resolutions higher than its default 1024 x 768. Switching to 1600 x 1200 and then 1600 x 900, to test its ability to scale and resize these resolutions, the PG-D3510X handled the text spreadsheet as well as it did at its native resolution. While some projectors have difficulty accurately displaying the different colored text/background combinations in the spreadsheet, the PG-D3510X handled the higher-than-native resolutions quite well. As combining a higher resolution with a different aspect ratio can play havoc with the projector’s compression circuitry, this was very good performance. Small text remained quite readable and there was no color separation or overlap as can be found on some LCD projectors. This is primarily because of the single chip technology of DLP projectors versus a three-chip projector like an LCD, which can have issues due to misconvergence. Overall, the Sharp PG-D3510X turned in an excellent performance for readability.
Sharp PG-D3510X: Video Performance
To check out the PG-D3510X’s video performance, I used the DVD playback from my laptop computer, connected via VGA. While a 2000:1 contrast ratio is low among home theater projectors, it is a very good ratio for a projector this bright. While you’ll only get that range of contrast with Movie mode, the PG-D3510X still puts out over 1000 lumens in that mode, making it usable in less than a totally dark room.
Overall, the Sharp PG-D3510X projector did a solid job with video reproduction. When faced with a movie with a majority of dark scenes, the PG-D3510X falls short in comparison with similarly priced home theater projectors, but none of them offer the brightness of the PG-D3510X. For video viewing in an average lit room, the high brightness of the PG-D3510X in Standard mode still provides for a highly watchable image, making it a good choice in the classroom for short video presentations.
Unlike some of the competition, the PG-D3510X’s 7-watt amplified speaker has enough power to create an acceptable volume level for most classrooms and even some conference rooms, making it possible to use it for video presentations with audio.
While the PG-D3510X’s forte is not movie or TV viewing, it’s still able to provide video reproduction that is both pleasing to the eye and watchable with in less than ideal lighting conditions.
