The Sony VPL-EW345 ($2,000) offers a 4,200-lumen rating, WXGA (1,280-by-800) resolution, and the convenience of a 1.6x zoom. It also delivers high-quality data images, better video quality than most data projectors, and a better-than-typical audio system. Despite a few minor shortcomings, including a zoom control that's tough to adjust precisely, it's a solid WXGA projector for a midsize to large conference room or classroom.

Like the somewhat brighter Epson PowerLite 1975W WXGA Wireless 3LCD Multimedia Projector£1606.56 at Amazon UK, which is our Editors' Choice WXGA model for midsize to large rooms, and the NEC NP-P401WSEE IT, another top pick, the VPL-EW345 is built around a three-chip LCD engine. The design provides important advantages over single-chip DLP projectors: They can't show the rainbow artifacts (red-green-blue flashes) that most DLP models show at least occasionally; and they deliver the same level of color brightness as white brightness. The two levels tend to differ for DLP data projectors, which can affect both color quality and the brightness of color images. (For more on the topic, see Color Brightness: What It Is, Why It Matters.)

The one disadvantage the VPL-EW345 has compared with most DLP projectors, including the NEC Display Solutions NP-M352WS£2642.7 at Amazon UK, is that it doesn't support 3D. This won't be an issue in most cases, however, since few data-projector applications need 3D functionality.

Connections and Setup
The VPL-EW345's size and weight—at 4.1 by 14.4 by 10.2 inches (HWD) and 9 pounds 2 ounces—makes it small enough to carry with you if necessary, but it's best suited for permanent installation or for placment on a cart. Setup is mostly standard fare, with the 1.6x zoom giving you significant flexibility for how far you can place the projector from the screen for a given size image.

One minor setup issue is that the zoom ring offers a little too much resistance. Pushing gently on the focus ring tab doesn't move it at all. If you slowly increase the force, it eventually moves suddenly and too far at once, which makes it tricky to get the zoom adjusted precisely. I didn't see the same problem with the manual focus, which offers just enough resistance for sure control, making it easy to get sharp images.

Connection choices for image inputs on the back panel include: two HDMI ports; two VGA ports, one of which also supports component video; both composite video and S-Video ports; and a USB Type B port for direct USB display. In addition, there's a USB Type A port for reading files directly from a USB memory key and a LAN port for controlling the projector, as well as for sending images, but not audio, over a network. You can also plug Sony's optional Wi-Fi dongle ($89) into the USB Type A port so you can connect the VPL-EW345 to a network wirelessly or connect to it directly from a PC or mobile device.

Brightness
The VPL-EW345 can easily throw an image that's big enough for a midsize to large conference room or classroom and bright enough to stand up to ambient light. As a point of reference, according to Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations, 4,200 lumens is bright enough in theater-dark lighting for a 247- to 334-inch image (measured diagonally) at the VPL-EW345's native 16:10 aspect ratio, assuming a 1.0-gain screen. Even with moderate ambient light, it's bright enough for a 164-inch image.

Unlike most projectors, the VPL-EW345 doesn't use its brightest lamp mode for its default setting. Instead, it comes set for Standard mode, which is referred to as an Eco mode on most models. If that's not bright enough, you can change the setting to High, or, if it's too bright, you can choose Low, which you can think of as a second, lower-brightness Eco mode. You can also lower the brightness further by using one of the lower brightness preset modes.

The projector also includes two other unusual settings that affect brightness. The first is a Constant Brightness option, which is off by default. Turn it on, and you'll see a noticeable drop in image brightness regardless of the lamp brightness setting. As the lamp ages and gradually loses brightness over time—as with all standard projector lamps—this setting is meant to compensate for the expected diming and keep the image at the same brightness.

For obvious reasons, there was no way I could confirm the feature works in the short time available for testing. Assuming it does, however, if you wind up installing the projector with the image brightness at the lower end of the suitable range for the image size and ambient light level, turning the Constant Brightness feature on can ensure you won't have to fiddle with brightness settings repeatedly as the lamp ages.

The second setting is a power-saving feature called Lamp Dimming. By default, it gradually and imperceptibly dims the image, starting 10 seconds after a static image comes onscreen, and then pops back to full power as soon as there's some change more significant than simply moving a mouse cursor. I found the sudden increases in brightness highly distracting, and not worth whatever savings you get in running costs. This is a minor issue at worst, however, since you can easily turn the feature off if you don't like it.

Image Quality
The quality for data images is near excellent, making it easily good enough for most purposes. On our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, the VPL-EW345 did a little worse on color balance than most models, with slight tints in some shades of gray in every predefined mode except Whiteboard. However, the tints are minor enough not to be an issue unless you're using gray-scale images.

See How We Test Projectors

Color quality was just short of excellent in our tests, with suitably vibrant colors, although green was a little less saturated than it should be. More importantly, the image held detail well. Both black text on white and white text on black, for example, were crisp and easily readable at 6.8 points.

Video quality is just a touch below the level I'd expect to see in a low-end 720p home-entertainment model. That makes it a lot better than most data projectors can manage, and eminently watchable. The guaranteed lack of rainbow artifacts by itself makes the VPL-EW345 a far better choice than almost any DLP data projector if you need to show much video.

Conclusion
The Sony VPL-EW345 doesn't match the Epson 1975W for either brightness or image quality, which is enough to keep the Epson model firmly in place as our Editors' Choice WXGA projector for a midsize or large room. But the VPL-EW345 is still a solid choice. Assuming its slightly lower brightness is enough to give you a suitably bright image at the size you need, it's worth considering, particularly if you want its more unusual features, like Constant Brightness or Lamp Dimming, which will help keep running costs down.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.