NEC HT510 - Summary, Pros, Cons

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Art Feierman

It's a tough decision deciding between the NEC HT510 and my two favorite $2000ish LCD projectors, the Sanyo Z3 and Panasonic AE700U. All are easy to set up, all provide very good picture quality. On the plus side, I like the color and the easy operation, but find the pixels to be more visible which could be an issue to those with larger screens who don't sit far back.

I see the NEC projector as more similar to BenQ's excellent, low cost PE5120, which is (like NEC's HT410) one step lower resolution at 854x480. The BenQ, except for even larger pixels and the resulting slightly less sharp image, I think comes out a touch better. Don't get me wrong, I liked the NEC, and, if your budget allows, though, I would recommend spending the significant, extra difference for the NEC, over the BenQ to get the extra resolution. Both are very plug and play, user friendly, well done projectors.

Back to how the NEC HT510 stacks up to the LCD projectors. Tough call. Overall I like the Sanyo for color, features, and warranty, but the NEC should be considered by anyone who wants to stick with DLP for "smoother" image. With DLP projectors, you are typically less aware of the projector, than LCD's which tend to have more minor artifacts (like slight vertical banding and some types of noise.

Certainly the NEC is particularly nice for those who don't have a permanent spot for the projector and want to pop it out of a closet when it suits them. You have lots to think about and this NEC projector is one of them.