Before long, you won't be bragging about how many inches your projector can throw out. Oh no, you'll be boasting about how many LEGOs you can slide between the lens and the wall. Joining the quickly evolving short throw revolution is Epson's latest duo (each requires 2.1-feet to throw 60-inches), which both feature a native 1,280 x 800 resolution, 500:1 contrast ratio, automatic 4:3 / 16:10 / 16:9 detection and resizing, a ten-watt built-in speaker, VGA (x2), S-Video and composite inputs and an Ethernet port to boot. From what we can gather, the only differences in the EMP-400We are the additional security features (those pesky kids...), a longer warranty and a bundled wall mounting bracket. All in all, we'd opt for the £999 ($1,956) EMP-400W -- unless, of course, you've got a room / house full of mischievous youngsters, in which case we suppose it's worth a few extra hundred pounds to rest easy protect your investment.

[Via AboutProjectors]

It's amazing what a breakthrough does for perception (and competition), eh? Shortly after taking a look at the impressive PLC-XL50 from Sanyo, Toshiba has announced an "extreme short projection" offering of its own. This one, however, requires three whole feet in order to toss up a 60-inch image, which seems sort of ridiculous compared to the three inches needed by the aforementioned Sanyo. To its credit, the TDP-EW25U does boast a higher resolution (1,280 x 800), and it also features a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, DLP technology, 2,600 ANSI lumens, USB / RS-232 ports, integrated 802.11b/g WiFi, VGA, a built-in mono speaker and jacks for audio input. You'll also find password protection and a bundled remote, which may or may not push you to throw down $2,369 to claim one as your own.

[Via AboutProjectors]

Make no mistake, the whole "only 3-inches needed for a 80-inch image" bit got us pretty jazzed up, so we couldn't skip the opportunity to take a look at the PLC-XL50 all setup and proving itself at CES. Sure, crawling all up under the table to get a closer look was heavily frowned upon, but it was totally worth it. Peep the pics below!

Sure, Sanyo's PLC-XL50 only features a 1,024 x 768 resolution, 2,000 lumens and a 4:3 aspect ratio, but all of that matters quite a bit less once you realize that it can beam out an 80-inch image with just 3-inches of space. You heard right kiddos, this thing only needs three tiny inches to totally take over your wall, and subsequently, the mounting options here are nearly endless. Additionally, it sports a built-in mono speaker, VGA input / output, audio in / out and a price tag of $3,295. Quite the premium for the short-throw goodness, eh?

[Via VisualApex]

Here we have it, the black mamba of short-throw projectors: 3M's DMS800. The 0.7-inch DLP projector mounts to the wall yet throws a 1,280 x 1,024 image with a 1,300:1 contrast in sizes ranging from 50 to 85 inches thanks to that long, telescoping neck which can extend up to 4.2-feet. Inputs are available for DVI-I, D-Sub 15 RGB, component, composite and S-Video sources. You can even combine the built-in Ethernet with an optional, external sensor and you've got yourself a digital white board to share on the network. The entire kit will set you back ¥715,000 (about $6,292) as of today in Japan. Still confused? Click through for a sample installation.

[Via Impress]