Setup is straightforward. We had to adjust settings both to minimize jitter and to reposition the image to avoid cutting off one side, but the process was painless thanks to the well-designed menu system, and the result was only a little shy of the rock-solid image a digital signal would produce. Zoom and focus are both manual and easy to adjust. Buttons on the remote are packed too close together, though, and labeled with such tiny letters that finding the right one can be hard, but that was the only issue we had with the control.

We measured brightness at 1,305 lumens, about 65 percent of the claimed 2,000, which is enough to stand up to typical lighting conditions with a reasonable size image. The contrast ratio was on the low side, however, at 126:1. The brightness variance of 1.27:1 was better than average, but the difference was enough for the bottom third of the screen to appear slightly brighter than the top on some screens—an observation confirmed by our measurements.

Image quality was good to excellent. Our DisplayMate test screens showed no major flaws, but we saw some minor problems—most notably a slight flicker in one of several patterns designed to show whether pixels are locked in place. Quality over both S-Video and composite-video connections was good, although it suffered from a little noise. The volume was loud enough to fill a small conference room, which is more than most projectors can manage.

The most attractive feature of the 76c is its price, but that's not the only reason we like it.

Check out our projector comparison table.