The cost of projectors has fallen dramatically in the past couple of years and you can now get a reasonable home or business model for well under £1,000. These low-cost projectors do have some limitations, though, such as the lack of support for high-definition TV (HDTV).

However, Epson’s EMP-TW520 projector is officially HD ready. This means its 1,280 x 720 resolution is high enough to display a true HDTV picture in the 720p format.

It also has the HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface), which is required for use with devices such as Sky’s forthcoming HDTV set-top box, so the TW520 will be ready to plug and play when Sky begins its first HDTV broadcasts in 2006.

Other input options include composite, S-video, Scart and component video. There’s also a VGA port, so you can connect pretty much any type of domestic video equipment, games console or PC to the projector.

Of course, the most important feature is image quality, and the TW520 performs exceptionally well. One of the outstanding features of Epson projectors is their high brightness rating. Most projectors need to be used in rooms that have been blacked out.

That’s fine for watching films at home in the evening, but it’s a bit of a problem if you want to watch movies or other TV programmes during the day. Fortunately the TW520’s 1,400lumens lamp is bright enough to allow you to watch it in daylight without having to run around shutting all the curtains first.

At just under £1,200, the TW520 is obviously more expensive than lower-resolution projectors, such as Epson’s TWD1 (£899). However, its high resolution and support for HDTV make it an attractive alternative to large-screen plasma TVs – especially if you’re looking forward to watching the World Cup in high-definition on Sky in a few months’ time.