Dell 2400MP Projector Review - General Performance

Overview
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons

In this section, we look at six catagoriesn of general performance and ergonomics, plus some additional comments.

Menus
Remote Control
Lens Throw
Light Leakage
Audible Noise
Lamp Life

Dell 2400MP Projector Menus

The Dell 2400MP main menu is a bit different from most other projectors. Instead of sitting in the center of the screen, when you depress the menu button on the remote, or on the projector's control panel, it runs across the entire bottom of the screen

. It seems a reasonable enough approach. When you select one of the primary menus, they do pop up in the middle of the screen (you have the option of moving them to different locations though the menu system, itself.) In the image above, hard to see (as it's highlighted) is the Exit menu tab on the far left.

We'll look at some of the key menus and features:

Input Select, and Auto-Adjust are pretty basic, no photos needed. Next (from left to right, is the Setup Menu shown to the left. Positioning the projector (front or rear projection, table or ceiling mounted) and aspect ratio, are the primary functions on this menu. You can also adjust keystone correction, or call up a Projector Info menu showing status.

The next primary menu over is the one most people will use most often, the Picture menu, as shown to the right and slightly below.

The Picture menu allows you to adjust brightness and contrast, and select color temperature. Unlike most business projectors, the Dell also lets you customize the color temperature.

Following that is the traditional RGB color adjustments. I should note, that many business projectors either lack this feature, or often don't allow access in computer mode, only video modes.

In the case of the Dell, well, it's nice to always have access, but then, one of the Dell's strengths is it's out of the box color, especially good for a DLP projector.

The Dispay menu comes next, and it offers a few interesting controls for those that like to adjust things. Most importantly there is the option of selecting from the presets - including, PC mode, Movie, Game, and a savable Custom mode, as well as sRGB.

In additiion, a digital zoom feature, and control of the images gamma balance among other controls are on this menu.

Our last menu to show you is the Lamp menu, pretty straight forward, as you would expect, with the lamp hours, a reset, Eco-mode (lower power, longer lamp life), and Power saving, which will power downt he Dell when left on, and no source is selected.

Remote Control

The Dell Remote Control, unlike the basic control panel on the Dell 2400MP, has plenty of buttons. At the top are the same buttons found on the control panel - your basic 4 arrow navigation system, with an Enter button in the center, and a Menu button on lower left. The power button is in the upper right.

The remote itself appears to have good range, however I say this without being able to test beyond 20 feet (with a bounce of the screen, in my testing room. A projector this bright can easily end up filling a 20 or 25 foot diagonal screen in a hotel ballroom, where the projector might end up 35 feet from the podium.

Back to the remote control. In the second section of the remote, are the volume up and down buttons and a volume mute, below that are Page Up and Down for basic Powerpoint control.

Finally there are six buttons at the bottom. A Source select, Auto adjust, keystone controls, the Video Mode (selects from the various Presets - PC, Movie, etc., and lastly a Blank screen button.

That's the story on the remote. It's medium sized, buttons are well spaced apart, and easy to memorize if need be. Overall, a good functional remote control. It is not, however backlit, but then very few remotes for portable projectors are these days, as the projectors have gotten sufficiently bright that the lights stay on.

Lens Throw

I'll start by restating here what was mentioned in the overview. The Dell 2400MP has a 1.2:1 zoom ratio. This is the norm for small lightweight projectors in this size class. The lens is a moderate zoo filling a 100" diagonal 4:3 ratio screen from 13.5 to 16.2 feet back (measured to the front of the projector). Many projectors to fill the same size screen will tend to sit a little closer to the screen, and some significantly so.

Light Leakage

The Dell has a huge vent in the front. To allow lots of air to pass through, it's pretty open. As a result a visible amount of light comes out, mostly off angle. It's not a whole lot of light, but more than most projectors shed. If you are considering the 2400MP, for video in dark rooms, you'll see the light, but it shouldn't be a problem. If you need the 2400MP for your home theater - for the brightness in the daytime if you can't fully darken the room, then at night, the light leakage could be a minor annoyance.

Audible Noise

Not the noisiest, nor the quietest, but definitly, on the noiser side of portable projectors. In low power mode the Dell 2400MP, claims 33 db, not much better than the 36 db claimed in full power mode. The small drop is not surprising as the Dell's brightness only diminishes by about 15% in Eco mode, while most other projectors tend to drop about 20% and sometimes more in their low power modes. If you are looking for a quiet projector for a small room at maximum brightness, this isn't it, but then, if you have a small room, even with full lighting, and maybe some daylight pouring in, you should be able to run it in Eco-mode, because it is so bright.

Lamp Life

Not surprising, the 2400MP is rated 2000 hours at full power. What is unusual, is that it only claims 2500 lumens in Eco-mode (most other projectors with 2000 hour lamps in full power, claim 3000 in their eco-modes). Now this makes great sense, since the brightness drops off only 15%, and with most other projectors, the brightness drops 20% - 25%. Of course if you are looking to use low power for big lamp savings, this Dell won't save you much at all.

Other comments:

The Dell 2400MP is a size larger than some of the slightly less powerful DLP projectors like the Optoma TX-700 that is also part of the 6 projector comparison, but it has the power to justify it's larger size. If you are a medium to large room presenter that travels, you will probably find the 2400MP's size to be reasonable enough.

Overview
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons