In recent times, LCD home-cinema projectors have lagged behind those of the DLP variety. OK - both have their disadvantages; the 'rainbow effect' introduced by the colour wheel in the case of DLP, and the 'chicken wire' presentation caused by the pixel structure of the panels in LCD designs.

Today, DLP's rainbow shimmers are nowhere near as obtrusive. And DLP's superior black-level performance has won the technology plenty of friends. But could the goalposts be ready to shift once again? Quite possibly, on the evidence of Yamaha's LPX-510 - an exciting 1280 x 720p LCD design with all kinds of visual tricks on board.

Quite beastly

The LPX-510 certainly looks like three-and-a-half grand of projection hardware. It's sleek, silver and - by contemporary LCD standards - a fairly bulky beast. A sizeable short-throw lens (at a projection distance of 12 feet, it can serve up a 100in. diagonal 16:9 image), can be adjusted in both vertical and horizontal planes by means of a pair of adjustments mounted on top of the projector - which also duplicates the compact handset's full range of controls (menu, input selection and so on). Turn to the back panel, and you're greeted by an impressive collection of connectors.

There are two sets of five phono terminals (marked A and B) that can be configured to accept RGB - Scart sources are thus catered for, provided the right cables are used - or component signals. They're perfectly happy with hi-def (both 720p and 1080i) and standard-def progressive and interlaced (480i/p and 576i/p) sources, meaning that the LPX- 510 can cope with practically everything you could chuck at it.

You also get composite and S-video inputs - which would typically cater for your VCR - and a Japan-specific 'D4' terminal (analogue component, basically) that you'll probably never use. The crowning glory is a high definition compatible HDMI digital input. Finally, there's a serial port and a 12V output which could trigger a motorised screen.

Installing this quiet-running projector is straightforward - adjustable feet are a boon for shelf-mounting, while a combination of lens shift, focus and zoom settings help you eke out a decent picture. Even the last resort that is digital keystone correction worked surprisingly well. As with most projectors, the LPX-510 can be configured for floor/ceiling mounting and front/rear projection flipping the image vertically and/or horizontally depending on your selection.