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With its XGA (1,024-by-768) resolution and 5,200-lumen rating, the Epson PowerLite 4650 XGA 3LCD Projector ($1,929) is obviously meant for showing images that don’t need particularly high resolution at a size suitable for a large conference room or classroom. Beyond that, it offers excellent quality for data images, surprisingly good video quality, a generous assortment of connectors, and setup conveniences that include a 2X zoom lens. The combination is enough to make it our new Editors’ Choice XGA projector for a large room.
Among the more obvious competition to the 4650 ($1,628.99 at Epson)(Opens in a new window) is the NEC NP-P501X ($1,499.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , another top pick, and Epson’s own PowerLite 1965 XGA 3LCD Projector ( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) . The 4650 rating is 200 lumens higher than either of those models, which isn’t enough to notice at this brightness level, but its lens offers a substantially greater zoom, which translates to more flexibility for how far you can put the projector from the screen for a given-size image. It’s also the only one of the three with both vertical and horizontal lens shift.
Lens shift lets you adjust the image position without moving the projector and without tilting or swiveling it, which would distort the rectangular image into a trapezoid. The Epson 1965 doesn’t offer any lens shift. The NEC NP-P501X offers a vertical lens shift only. The 4650 offers both a greater vertical lens shift than the NEC model plus horizontal lens shift as well.
Basics
One key design feature that that the 4650 shares with both the NEC NP-P501X and the Epson 1965 is that they’re all built around three-chip LCD engines. The three-chip design gives them both advantages and disadvantages, compared with most DLP projectors, including the Optoma X401 , for example.
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In the plus column, all three LCD-based models are guaranteed not to show the rainbow artifacts (red-green-blue flashes) that at least some people can see with almost all single-chip DLP projector, because of differences in the way the two technologies produce color. In addition, the design ensures that the color brightness for all three matches the white brightness. With most single-chip DLP projectors, the two measurements don’t match, which can affect both color quality and the brightness of color images.
The key disadvantage compared with DLP projectors is that the 4650 lacks 3D support, which is nearly standard for DLP projectors. For most applications, this shouldn’t be an issue, but if you need 3D, you’ll obviously have to look elsewhere.
Setup and Brightness
The 4650 weighs 14 pounds 5 ounces, and it measures 6.3 by 18.6 by 14 inches (HWD), which makes it most appropriate for permanent installation or room-to-room portability on a cart.
Using Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations and assuming a 1.0-gain screen, 5,200 lumens would be suitable in theater-dark lighting for roughly a 265- to 360-inch (diagonal) image at the projector’s native 4:3 aspect ratio. Even with moderate ambient light, it would still be bright enough for a 175-inch screen. For smaller screen sizes, you can lower the brightness level by using Eco mode, a lower-brightness preset mode, or both.
See How We Test Projectors
Setup is standard for a projector equipped with 2X zoom and a substantial level of lens shift. I measured the vertical shift at 59 percent up or down from the midpoint, and the horizontal shift at 25 degrees left and right. Position the projector anywhere in this range, and you can move the image to center it on the screen without distorting the shape and then having to use digital keystone correction, which can introduce artifacts in some images.
The projector offers all the connectors you’re likely to need for image input. In addition to the usual HDMI, composite video, and VGA (for a computer or component video) ports, the choices include one DisplayPort, one S-video port, and five BNC connectors for three- or five-input component video. There’s also a network port that lets you both control the projector and send data over a network and a USB Type B port strictly for upgrading firmware. As an additional option, you can get a Wi-Fi dongle ($99), which plugs into a dedicated USB Type A port hidden behind a side panel.
Data- and Video-Image Quality
The 4650’s quality for data images is excellent. The projector handled our standard suite of DisplayMate(Opens in a new window) tests with no problems worth mention, delivering fully saturated, eye-catching color in all preset modes. More important for most data images, it also maintains detail well, with black text on white crisp and readable at sizes as small as 9 points, and white text on black equally crisp at 6.8 points.
Video quality is necessarily limited by the native resolution, but is still eminently watchable. Colors are a little dull, as expected for a low contrast ratio, but I didn’t see any motion artifacts, posterization (colors changing suddenly where they should change gradually), or other problems. It also helps a lot that, as an LCD projector, the 4650 is completely free of rainbow artifacts.
The audio system, with a 10-watt mono speaker, delivers more than acceptable sound quality, but the volume is a little low for a large room. If you need stereo, still better sound quality, or higher volume, you can connect an external sound system to the projector’s stereo output.
One other feature that demands mentioning is the ability—more commonly found in higher-resolution projectors—to let you show images from two sources at once. There’s no Picture-in-Picture mode, but you can show two images side by side and set them to equal size or with either side larger than the other.
Conclusion
If you want a projector with 3D support, you’ll need to look at DLP-based models like the Optoma X401. And if you’d rather have one that’s a bit lighter than the 4650, you should certainly consider the NEC NP-P501X and the Epson 1965, which are both excellent alternatives. However, for most applications that need an XGA projector for a large room, the Epson PowerLite 4650 XGA 3LCD Projector’s level of brightness, image quality, and convenience features—most notably its lens shift—make it hard to beat.
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The Epson PowerLite 4650 XGA 3LCD Projector offers excellent image quality at its native XGA resolution and is bright enough for a large room.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/epson-powerlite-4650-xga-3lcd-projector