Epson PowerLite Presenter Projector/DVD Player Combo Review

Performance

Once you the picture you want is displayed by the projector, you simply adjust the zoom and focus rings, shown in Figure 12. Both operate smoothly and so it is easy to make any needed adjustments.

Figure 12: The zoom & focus rings.

In our testing, the HDMI and/or VGA computer connection gave excellent results. While the USB connection was adequate, it was a little slow and sometimes slightly jumpy.

The beauty of this projector is that it has so many connection options. Besides USB, HDMI, and VGA hookups, it also has composite and component hookups. And it is so versatile that you may not even need a computer. You can put your presentation on USB key. The projector is capable of reading several formats, including JPG, MP3, WMA, DivX, and MPEG. Even more exciting is the ability to put your presentation on a DVD that can be popped right into the projector without the need of a PC. This projector can play music CDs and audio on USB devices and you can save your PowerPoint presentations as JPGs and play them from a USB thumb drive.

Whether you use a projection screen or a lightly painted wall, the PowerLite Presenter produces excellent quality video and presentations. It can display a 33” to 320” image from 3’ to 35.7’ away, respectively, so you can display big images from a short distance.

Epson’s 3LCD technology uses three separate imaging chips to use light more efficiently and produce colorful images. This projector lives up to Epson’s claims of amazing image quality as it delivers excellent color and detail.

The PowerLite Presenter has a native WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels) and a 16:10 aspect ratio. It can also handle 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and scale resolutions from VGA through to WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 pixels), so even the display from large widescreen computers and DVDs looks good.

With a maximum brightness output of 2500 lumens, the Epson PowerLite Presenter will produces bright images that can be seen in a normally lit room, making it suitable for a conference room, classroom or home. One thing to note here is that Epson measures white light output according to the ISO 21118 standard, a more rigid standard than the ANSI lumens rating used by some competitive products.

The Auto Color Mode selects the optimum setting, based on the ambient light and adjusts picture settings for the best viewing experience. In our testing, it worked quite well.

Not only does Epson’s E-TORL lamp which give adequate brightness, but it is energy efficient. Anyone who uses projectors on a regular basis knows the pain involved with having to replace expensive projector bulbs. Epson rates the Presenter lamp life at up to 5000 hours which may reduce the frequency with which the end user has to endure that pain.

Since most projectors have only mediocre sound , the sound quality of this Epson projector really impressed us. The twin built-in 10 Watt speakers and the virtual surround sound were as loud as most televisions. You can also plug a microphone into the projector when giving a presentation to amplify your voice without a special audio system.

The top and side of the PowerLite Presenter get hot, but we ran it for several hours without any overheating. The fan is pretty quiet, but certainly not completely silent.

Custom support options are available for business and academic use. All are generous and include a two- or three-year warranty, road service and Epson PrivateLine availability. A PrivateLine card comes with the PowerLite Presenter. This gives you a special 800 number to call for service. I called the number several times and found that service it be quick and right on target. One caveat here, you must register your product in order to use the special number and this is not explained in the documentation that comes with the projector.