The MT500 was connected via the DVI output to our test PC and via YUV to the Xbox. We chose the PC gamma mode, which gave the projected image a boost. At 1024 x 768, the image was perfectly stable, and the characters on the Windows desktop were much more legible than on projectors with lower-resolution matrices. During our game sessions, the MT500 performed very well, delivering a bright, high-contrast image with little aliasing.

The MT500 is obviously the most expensive of the projectors we tested, but it was also the best. The very cinema-like image this Toshiba model delivers refreshes your enthusiasm with each film, and you never get tired of watching your favorite scenes over and over again. Even better, it makes you want to screen all the films in your video collection again just for the enjoyment. Its brightness lets it project an image of up to 98" (2.5 meters) with aplomb.

The only obstacle is the price - quite a bit higher than that of its little brother, the MT200, which offers an excellent quality/price ratio for $600 less and 1,500 more hours of lamp life. But if you want a large, high-quality image without pixelation due to short viewing distances, the MT500 is for you. And what's more, it's already compatible with the HDTV format, and its results can even be improved if you connect it to a progressive scan DVD player.

The most expensive model we tested.