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Sub-$1,000 projector

BenQ's 2,000-lumen projector can be found for prices as low as $729 on some Web sites. The 6-pound, DLP-based unit has SVGA resolution (800 x 600 pixels) and a 2,000-to-1 full-field contrast ratio. BenQ ships the MP610 with a remote control, a VGA cable and a soft carry case. Price: $750. Contact: BenQ Corp., 866.700.2637, www.benq.com.

Runner up: Xerox DP820 Price: $999. Contact: Xerox Corp., 800.275.9376, www.xerox.com.

Microportable projector (less than 4 pounds)

It's tiny (2.4 pounds), it's bright (1,500 lumens), it's inexpensive ($1,299) and it puts a nice, crisp image on the wall. What more could you want? Oh, and the company throws in a nice projector case as well.

Price: $1,299. Contact: Dell Inc., 800.757.8434, www.dell.com/projectors.

Runner up: NEC LT20 Price: $1,495. Contact: NEC Visual Systems, 800.632.4636, www.necvisualsystems.com.

Portable DLP projector (4 to 8 pounds)

Calling it the "world's first truly automatic projector," NEC designed the LT35 with autofocus, auto-image-adjust, auto-source, and, well, basically auto-everything. Its specs — 4.4 pounds, XGA resolution, 3,000 lumens — aren't too shabby either. Price: $2,195. Contact: NEC Visual Systems, 800.632.4636, www.necvisualsystems.com.

Runner up: Dell 2300MP Price: $1,299. Contact: Dell Inc., 800.757.8434, www.dell.com/projectors.

Portable LCD projector (4 to 8 pounds)

A nice short-throw lens, 3,000 lumens of brightness, wireless capability and several extras make the PT-LB30NTU an admirable traveling projector. The 5.7-pound, LCD-based projector has XGA resolution and features a technology that boosts contrast to improve the look of an image in a lit-up room. And you can project a 100-inch-diagonal image from less than 10 feet away. Price: $3,799. Contact: Panasonic Corp. of No. America, 800.528.8601, www.panasonic.com/projectors.

Runner up: Canon LV-7245 Price: $2,499. Contact: Canon U.S.A., 800.652.2666, www.canonprojectors.com.

Conference/classroom projector

With high detail and high brightness, the CP-SX1350 is a perfect projector for sharp corporate presentations. Its specs include SXGA+ resolution (1,400 x 1,050 pixels), 3,500 lumens of brightness and a 1.5X-zoom lens. Price: $5,145. Contact: Hitachi America Ltd., 800.225.1741, www.hitachi.us.

Runner up: Toshiba TDP-TW300U Price: $3,200. Contact: Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., 800.316.0920, www.toshibadirect.com.

Large-venue projector

Christie Digital's LX66 proved an admirable projector in the Presentations lab last spring, blasting nearly 6,500 ANSI lumens on the screen with the help of its dual 300-watt lamps. In our tests, projected data and photographic images were near perfect, and, as we wrote in the May issue, video tests were "lucid and beautiful." Price: $18,995. Contact: Christie Digital, 866.880.4462, www.christiedigital.com.

Runner up: Digital Projection Titan 6000SX+ Price: $29,995. Contact: Digital Projection International, 770.420.1350, www.digitalprojection.com.

Large-venue projector, widescreen

The PLV-WF10 has WXGA resolution (1,366 x 768 pixels), dual 250-watt UHP lamps, nice speakers and a slew of AV connections for any type of installation. It's also 4,000-lumens bright and has the company's Real Color Manager system, a set of tools that provides white balance, color separation and gamma correction. We gave this projector a nine out of 10 in the Presentations lab.

Price: $12,995. Contact: Sanyo North America Corp., 888.495.3452, www.sanyolcd.com.

SXGA+ projector

The Realis SX50 gets extra brownie points for being the first projector to combine LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) imaging technology and SXGA+ resolution (1,400 x 1,050 pixels) with an affordable price tag. The result is a high-detail projector that doesn't skimp on color or brightness, with 2,500 lumens of lamp power and images that projected pretty, bright and clean in the Presentations lab. Price: $3,999. Contact: Canon U.S.A. Inc., 800.652.2666, www.usa.canon.com.

Runner up: Dell 5100MP Price: $3,499. Contact: Dell Inc., 800.757.8434, www.dell.com.

Most innovative projector

In a year of lackadaisical projector development, Mitsubishi went out on a limb with its tiny, LED-based PocketProjector. The 14-ounce, battery-powered projector fits in a pants pocket and is perfect for those intimate presentations in the booth at your local coffee house. Price: $799. Contact: Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc., 888.307.0349, www.mitsubishi-presentations.com.

Runner up: Plus V-339 Price: $1,995. Contact: Plus Vision Corp. of America, 866.427.8855, www.plus-america.com.

plasma display

Though other companies have shown bigger prototypes, LG Electronics calls its 71-inch MW-71PY10 the world's largest "in-production" plasma display. It ain't cheap, but for anyone who wants the biggest and the best, this humongous flat-screen display provides 1080p resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) and a 1,200-to-1 contrast ratio for deep, dark blacks on the screen.

Price: $75,000. Contact: LG Electronics, 800.243.000, www.lgusa.com.

Runner up: Panasonic TH-65PHD7UY Price: $10,000. Contact: Panasonic Corp. of No. America, 800.528.8601, www.panasonic.com

LCD display

This LCD display comes with 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution and dual inputs to accommodate either an analog or digital signal. It has an 800-to-1 contrast ratio, a 170-degree viewing angle, plus extras such as picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture technologies to let you display a presentation slideshow next to a video clip or perform other content combinations. Price: $6,999. Contact: Samsung, 800.726.7864, www.samsung.com.

Runner up: Sharp PN-455 Price: $9,595. Contact: Sharp Electronics, 866.484.7825, www.sharplcd.com.

RP display

The 1080p-resolution 6580iFB is an LCOS-based rear-projection display perfect for detailed graphical presentations or HD video. Brillian says the display's pixels have a 90 percent fill factor, which eliminates any perceptible screen-door effect. The 65-inch display is only 21 inches deep and can be mounted in-wall or on a stand. Price: $9,999. Contact: Brillian Corp., 602.389.8888, www.brilliancorp.com.

Runner up: Sharp 65DR650 Price: $21,000. Contact: Sharp Electronics, 866.484.7825, www.sharplcd.com.