HP EP7112

High-definition TV is looming on the horizon, and a number of companies have started to realise that a good projector can offer a real alternative to expensive large-screen plasma TV sets.

With this in mind, HP has released its new EP7112 Home Cinema Projector, which is aimed specifically at home users.

The projector's Barbarella-like design is certainly intended to attract the style-conscious. Its curvy plastic pod is a bit bulky, measuring 386 x 365 x 205mm, but only weighs 5.7kg so it's not difficult to move it around and get it set up properly.

Image quality is very good, and the simple controls on the projector's upper panel make it easy to quickly adjust options such as aspect ratio, focus and zoom. There's also a small hand-held remote so you can control the projector from the comfort of your sofa.

But, in order to concentrate on the home cinema market rather than business presentations, HP has consciously limited the number of input options. The projector has composite, component and S-Video sockets, but no DVI or VGA connectors. If you want to connect a PC you'll need to use some kind of converter, or an S-video output if your graphics card has one.

Given that a growing number of people are using their laptops or small, quiet computers such as the Mac Mini as part of their home entertainment set-up, this is a disappointing omission.

There is a more expensive model called the EP7122 which has a DVI interface, but this costs an extra £329. And, given that the EP7112 costs a not-inexpensive £999, we do feel that HP could have included a DVI interface as a standard feature.