NEC NP-UM330W Ultra Short Throw Projector Review

Overview

The NEC NP-UM330W is an ultra short throw classroom or business projector that will normally be wall or ceiling mounted just above the top and only a few inches in front of the projection screen/white board/white wall (the ideal location will vary by screen/image size). It gets a Hot Product Award because it offers a lot of performance for its modest price ($1299 MSRP and a street price that's a few hundred lower).

This NEC projector is designed for use with screen sizes up to 110 inches diagonal and for such a screen size the projector is placed just 20 inches in front of the screen (i.e., that's why it's called an ultra short throw projector).  It projects an image that is both bright, with up to 3300 lumens, and sharp, with its 1280 x 800 native resolution.   It is able to project an image with good focus over the entire image and that can be difficult to accomplish  in a ultra short throw projector.

With a suggested retail price of just $1299, it provides a very good value with excellent performance and would be a very cost effective choice for a school or business.

The projector can be controlled via the provided IR remote and/or controlled and managed via a networked PC equipped with the provided "NaViSet" software.   The NP-UM330W offers excellent performance for projecting presentations from a connected PC and also offers more accurate picture modes providing good image quality, with fairly accurate and well saturated colors, when displaying video and photos.

The NP-UM330W offers a variety of inputs including two HDMI inputs, a VGA (analog PC) input, and a microphone input allowing a presenter to use the projector's built-in speaker when making presentations.  Also images and slide shows can be presented directly from a USB flash drive plugged into the projector's USB port.

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The NP-UM330W offers a comprehensive selection of display modes including a DICOM simulation picture mode, for medical school training and medical imaging presentations.  This is used to provide a clearer picture of X-ray images (see details in the Special Features section).

NEC offers a very wide range of business and education projectors, with both lower priced models with less light output and higher priced models with additional features, higher resolution and/or higher light output.  NEC offers a lower priced model NP-UM330X that has a physical appearance similar to the NP-UM330W, but this lower priced model uses lower resolution 1024 x 768 LCD display panels.

Highlights

• Offers a bright image with 3300 rated lumens, in brightest mode
• Very sharp image provides excellent text readability for business/classroom presentations
• Picture Modes offered with good color accuracy suitable for displaying video and photos
• DICOM medical imaging simulation mode
• Wired networking built-in and optional wireless networking
• Can be controlled and managed from networked PC using supplied software
• Optional accessory kit available to create an electronic whiteboard