Stories by: Dave Jansen

Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 isn't a simple experience but it is far easier to learn than the high-end packages and has far more power than a basic suite.

The Mitsubishi Electric HC1100 is a DLP home theatre projector with a native resolution of 1280x720. It's capable of projecting images in standard and high definition modes to a maximum resolution of 1080i. We performed a battery of tests on each mode, and received pleasing results. For a DLP projector, it delivered excellent image quality across standard and high definition modes with no visual aberrations. Our only trouble came when connecting the unit to a PC, but even then, the problems we found will not have any real-world impact on the overall performance of the unit.

The Hewlett-Packard LP3065 is a 30in, 16:10, widescreen LCD monitor with a native resolution of 2560x1600. Apart from the lure of being a massive monitor, it also can handle three dual-link DVI-D sources and has flawless image quality. However, it is not without its limitations. We found it had problems scaling to lower resolutions and due to the high native resolution, it will only work with specific supported video cards.

So far, DLP rear projection models we have reviewed were largely disappointing. We have seen future models that looked spectacular and the Toshiba 62CM9UA comes very close. In our tests, it passed everything with flying colours across all AV modes, possessing only a few viewing problems.

There's usually a huge difference between a high end LCD television and a lesser-known brand, so when we got the MediaStar MD32AS into the test centre, we prepared for the worst. Imagine our elation when we fired up the panel to discover a high quality display with excellent colour reproduction and a contrast ratio that, from a visual standpoint, stood toe to toe with units over $500 more in price.