Sim2 C3X: cinema projection 'for the (rich) masses'

The incessant march of technology can be a bad thing -- you finally get your hands on that Motorola V3 and then Nokia's 8800 comes along and comprehensively out-styles it. But when technology halves in price in just over 18 months, it can only a be good thing for the consumer. We saw home-cinema specialist Sim2 do just this yesterday when it cut the cost of three-chip DLP projectors from £25,000 to £11,000.

LCD and DLP chipsets may have brought home cinema to the masses, but the super-elite still want high-definition uber-projectors for their garage or loft conversions. Last year, three-chip DLP projectors made this dream a reality. Utilising a separate chipset for each segment of the colour wheel, they were a ridiculously high-end approach to home cinema perfection and offered the sort of deep contrast and wide colour range that was previously the domain of the multiplex. Three-chip projectors are the Holy Grail of home cinema, the top of the line, the creme de la creme, the Ferrari Enzo of AV.

The C3X range is big news for home cinema fanatics, and we were lucky enough to be one of the select few to see the latest technology in action. Fully high-definition compatible and operating at an ultra-quiet 25dB noise level, even we had to contain our excitement when it was unveiled, shamelessly stroking the thing at the first opportunity. The physical size of the C3X has been massively reduced from the first generation models, but it was sadly still a little too big for us to smuggle out in our backpack.

While the high-definition demonstration was reasonably impressive, we were more amazed at how well this HD projector coped with a standard DVD of Star Wars: Episode 2. We were occupying chairs that had seated the likes of Woody Allen in the BFI's exclusive screening room, and blasting onto the huge cinema screen, the C3X was indistinguishable from a cinema projector.

There's not much we wouldn't do to get our hands on one of these. Expect a full-on review soon, as well as a gander at Sim 2's super-stylish LCD TVs. - GC

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