These days more and more people are considering purchasing a Projector. Why? Well, many of the old clarity problems are gone, there’s fewer distortions, and they’re simpler to use than they used to be. In other words they’re TV’s but bigger, more portable and with more connections for your other devices. So we’re seeing people jump ship, and get on board the big Projector rocket into the stars. Owning a Projector really is that good if you choose the right one of course. Choose the wrong one and you’ll be back to your old TV and no time. This is where I come in, making sure you don’t make a bad decision (I’m so nice). I’ll be giving you the pros. the con’s, the details, and if there are any, the hidden flaws in Projectors that manufacturers don’t want you to know about. And we’ll start right now with the Epson Home Cinema 740HD 720p, HDMI, 3LCD, 3000 Lumens Color, and White Brightness Projector.
PROS
- 15000-1 Contrast Ratio
- 720p HD
- 300 Inch Maximum Screen
- Short Set-up Time
- Excellent Portability
- 10000 Hour Lamp Life
- Great Color Technology
- Excellent Connection
- 3000 Lumens
CONS
- No lens Shift
- IPad Users need an adapter
Overall Impression
Size and Design
There’s another cool reason why people are buying Projectors. Ever try taking your TV to a friend’s house because to want to watch a movie and he only has a 32 inch? I’m guessing you didn’t. Too much effort right? Projectors are much lighter; this one weighs only 9 pounds. So they’re built for travel, and they’re built for ease. Put it into a bag, or suitcase. There are models that are even lighter than this so this is by no means the most portable Projector on the market. But it is easy to transport. There’s a little set-up time but you no longer have to lower your living standards when you go to another place and I’m guessing you’ll have a lot more friends with this. If you had a 300-inch Projector, I’d say come on over friend. The measurements are 14.3 inches, by 14.2 inches by 6.2 inches so it has a small footprint too. The design is also good with its white finish, attractive lens, and curved features. So if you like your technology to look as attractive as you do, then this might be a good purchase
Performance
The set-up is really easy and it can be done in under 20 minutes. One annoying point is that you must use Keystone given that there’s no lens shift. Be careful using Keystone or you will import distortions and it will affect your enjoyment of the product. I’m going to tell you about the image quality below. It’s extraordinarily good, which makes it all the more frustrating that they couldn’t add a lens shift option for the set-up. Still, as long as you’re careful with Keystone, it shouldn’t impact you.
What’s the lamp life? This is the first question you should always ask about a Projector because one sad day you’ll need to replace the lamp. So it’s about running costs. The average is around about 6000 hours but this one lasts 10000 hours. That’s 10000 hours of viewing before any extra expenditure. So far so good
Moving onto the picture it’s 720p. What’s the difference between 720p and 1080p? Not a whole lot so you’ll still be getting a great picture. It does mean that you’ll never have 3D on the 740HD so if you’re thinking that with a few add-ons like a transmitter, you’d be 3D viewing, then think again. Honestly, unless you’re an expert in pixel-based technology, you won’t notice the difference in the 2D picture. With a 15000-1 Contrast Ratio the Blacks and Whites appear sharp and distinctive. The Color Technology works well too, so you don’t typically have to put up with distortions and rainbow artifacts even after rolling the screen out to the max.
You can get 84 inches of screen size by placing the Projector only 8 feet back and 126 inches from 12 feet back. So we’re talking about huge screen sizes in the living room. Outside you’re looking at 300 inches from 20 feet back. These really are excellent throw distances that will satisfy anyone. Epson has however been slightly naughty in their description of the connections. Going to their website you’ll see a massive list of all the devices this machine will connect to. It includes everything from Tablets, to phones, to Blu-Ray, DVD, to Laptops and Computers. The list kind of gives the impression that you can hook more than one of these up at once. There’s only 1 HDMI connection though so you won’t get HD with your Blu Ray and your Laptop hooked up at the same time. But they were right that you can hook all these devices up. You’ll need an adapter if you own an iPad and want to stream movies from the internet. From a conventional tablet, you can stream these movies immediately. Hook your camera up with the USB connection too. For phones, the connection is slightly slow because there’s no MHL connection.
Less good news comes in the form of the Speakers. In short, they’re terrible. It’s a common problem with Projectors and I’d suggest you hook up your own speakers. If you did this, you’d have great sound. If you don’t have any or don’t want to buy any Speakers then this is not the model for you. As far as Brightness goes, you get 3000 Lumens. This is enough for you to take it out into the backyard for movie nights with the family. You can also take it outside at night for gaming. The response time is pretty good and you’ll receive images of the size your TV could never give you. Best not take it outside in the afternoon though because you won’t get a good picture in daylight. In the afternoon some advice would be to view indoors, with the curtains or blinds drawn.
Final Thoughts
It comes at a fair price for a machine that produces a 720p picture with great color technology. There are no distortions and you can really push the screen out of large sizes over 200 inches. At 3000 Lumens you get enough brightness to watch outside in the evening as well as indoors. And, the connections offer streaming from a variety of devices with the only caveat being that you must hook one up at a time. The speakers need improving but the overall picture quality makes up for that, as does the design and the portability. The Lamp Life lowers running costs so you’re getting a machine that will last a long time for the money. Look over some of the points I’ve made again, and work out whether this is right for you. I think it’s an excellent deal.
