Acer’s K11 projector is one of the largest on test, but it’s still lightweight and portable at 610g. While nowhere near as compact or attractive as the Samsung SP-H03, the K11 packs in a wealth of features, including the option to connect to HDMI sources, such as games consoles, and even the 27in iMac when using the right adaptor.

Offering a native SVGA resolution of 858 x 600 and a meaty 200 ANSI lumens of brightness, we found that the K11 provided one of the best pictures here without any need to adjust lighting conditions. This DLP LED device also produced a giant projection around 50in in size from as little as 2m away, with only moderate focusing required. Focus is controlled by manually rotating the lens, while most other features including keystone, picture and ratio settings, are controlled by buttons or the included remote control.

The K11 sits neatly on top of a tripod, or can be positioned on a table or shelf, providing there’s room for the composite, VGA and HDMI cables, though it doesn’t have adjustable feet to fine-tune positioning. The projector supports SD and SDHC cards, as well as USB 2.0 thumb drives for storing and playing media, so only a power cable needs to be connected to the device, adding to its portability.

It’s hard to fault the K11 when it comes to image quality, with most options and settings catered for, however, it’s let down by the 1W built-in speaker that distorts sound to a terrible degree. This isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker as audio is often handled via an external device, but should you be playing video via a USB drive or memory card you’re stuck with this relatively low quality sound.

The Acer K11 sits right in the middle of the ultra-portable and standard projectors in terms of performance, size and design, and, in that bracket, it does a good job. HDMI is a bonus, as is the 2,000:1 contrast ratio that provides a quality picture. The price is at the higher end of our scale, but for the additional cost you do receive a number of benefits. We’ve also spotted the K11 for sale online at a far lower asking price than its £380 RRP, so it’s well worth shopping around.