Epson is the largest 3LCD projector company in the world and in actual fact they provide the LCD imaging chips for many other projector companies. Yes, Epson makes printers and has large and growing portfolio of products, but did you know they are under the Seiko corporation umbrella?
Having said that I wanted to note that at CES this week Epson announced their new sub-$400 ($379, actually) portable Home Cinema projector. It may not be 4K or even HD but the new Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 600 can light up a screen up to 25 times larger than a 60-inch television. Even if you can't do the math, that's pretty massive.
Home theater projectors keep on getting better and less expensive too. According to Epson, the PowerLite Home Cinema 600 delivers three times brighter colors than any other competitor's model in the same price range. The specs say the Epson 600 sports a whopping 3,000 white lumens and 3,000 color brightness lumens and it is more than bright enough for a well-lit room. Hmmm... do ya think?
Trying to think of an application? How about a backyard movie night, or a Super Bowl party, or even a massive screen for the kids playing their XBox or Wii that tucks safely and neatly away when not in use? And hey, for the Missus you can even show off your wedding or vacation video in larger than life size (just like those old slide shows from the 70s).
To fit these various applications the Epson Power Lite 600 has four preset color modes, even a game mode. HDMI input? Of course, you can plug in a Blu-Ray or DVD player, streaming media player or gaming console. But for me the key feature is portability, this sucker is small and light. I know what you're thinking (he works for Big Picture Big Sound, so why is Ken impressed with portability?). Well, you've got a point there, but it is small and light enough to take anywhere and it does offer a really big picture (so there!).
Other points worth mentioning are the bulb life which is estimated to be between five thousand and six thousand hours. In the projection world that's pretty darn good. More good news is if you do need to replace it, the replacement bulb's list price is only $99. This projector comes with Epson's top of the line service and support, including toll-free access to Private Line service, a two-year limited warranty and 90-day limited lamp warranty.
The PowerLite Home Cinema 600 is expected to begin shipping in mid-January.
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