Do you want the movie theater experience in your home, but dislike the aesthetics of having a huge flat screen television taking up a huge chuck of your living room real estate? Then you might be in line for a home projector like the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD.
The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD ($610) provides a range of functions and uses with widescreen and high definition support, enabling users to watch everything from sporting events and television shows to movies from cable and satellite as well as play video games. It even supports music and still digital images.
Display Features
A power-friendly home theater projector that projects an HD-quality display, the PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD is a small, 11.6” x 9” x 3.1” device that weighs only 5.1 lbs—less than my first notebook computer! With a size comparable to a shoe box, the device can be easily stored out of sight when not needed. The very portability of the projector, along with its VGA connectors, enables it to be taken on the road and used for business presentations as well. A built-in security cable and padlock hole gives users a sense of security as it can be locked down both at home and on the road.
One of the key factors in a home projector is the light system that powers the device, and that is a strength of the PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD Projector. It features 2500 lumens color light output as well as 2500 lumens of white light output, giving it bright, clear, sharp colorful images even in brightly-lit rooms. The projector is powered by Epson’s 3-LCD, 3-chip optical engine that uses 25% of the energy that single chip DLP solutions take, and has an energy-efficient E-TOR lamp from Epson that is designed to deliver the best lumens per watt in the market and has a 4,000 hour life span when used in normal mode and a 5,000 hour life span when used in ECO mode. ECO mode also uses less energy and generates less fan noise.
The Cinema 705HD comes with four different color modes that are optimized for video in different environments. It features 720p (1280 x 720) Hi-Definition performance with a contrast ratio of up to 3000:1. It includes the company’s Auto keystone ±30 degrees technology to keep images clear and focused and has 1.2x optical zoom, enabling easy setup. It supports both PAL, NTSC and SECAM.
Flexible Use
The small size and its range, from 2.8’ to 28.6’, enables the PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD Projector to be a mobile system suitable for more than just indoor entertainment. It can be used not only with a portable screen, but with the side of a house or a garage door to show movies outside in good weather.
The projector has a HDMI video connection that enables it to attach to an HD cable or satellite TV receiver, HD DVR or HD camcorder. With its USB slot a flash drive can be added that enables the user to run a slideshow of digital images. The USB connection also allows it to be connected to a computer to run movies or images stored on the PC. Users can also connect their iPod to the project to display videos and play songs stored on those devices as well.
An included a remote control with batteries provides viewers with a range of options aside from the traditional power on/off, mute, menu and volume control including source search selection, slideshow, USB display, aspect, color mode, e-zoom, freeze, page up and down, mouse functions and, if needed, help.
Accessories
Epson offers a wide range of additional options for the 705HD, including a 50-inch, 60-inch and 70-inch portable pop-up screen, an S-video cable, component to VGA cable, Kensington security lock, and a universal projector ceiling mount. In addition, it carries the expected replacement parts, such as replacement lamps and air filter sets.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The projector system is designed for people who seek something different than a static big screen experience at a price point that will not break the bank. Designed for a variety of jobs from a work tool, core home theater hardware or for weekly kids’ movie night projected on the side of your garage, the projector meets the needs of a much greater variety of users than rival technologies. The ability to quickly and easily move, set up and store the device is an added bonus and its support of a wide range of broadcast systems allows users to have a wide range of options on what they wish to use it for.
It comes with, a CD-based user manual, component adapter and a soft carrying case. A two year projector limited warranty, a 90 day limited lamp warranty and Epson Private Line dedicated toll-free support is also included.
