Epson EB-475Wi review

The projector is designed for use in a well-lit room and it stood up well to the fluorescent strip lighting in our labs. The lamp is rated at 2,600 lumens, dropping to 1,800 lumens in economy mode. Working in economy mode will extend your lamp’s life from 3,000 to 4,000 hours. It also makes the projector a lot quieter, as less cooling is required. The display brightness is a little dull compared to standard mode, but it was still easy to view even in our brightly lit test environment. We were pleased by the low cost of replacement lamps. At just £51, running the projector for an hour in standard mode costs less than 2p.

The 1,280×800 (WXGA) resolution is low, particularly when compared to 1080p projectors designed to serve double-duty as home cinema and business projectors. The low resolution results in a visible pixel grid when projecting at larger sizes. This is problematic in a device that’s going to spend a lot of its time displaying documents with a white background, as it gives everything a greyish tinge and is rather distracting.

Theatre mode is a little warmer, giving skin tones a more natural look, although the yellow cast we noticed in Presentation mode also becomes a little more pronounced. As the name suggests, it’s the mode best suited to watching films, but it’s important to note that this projector isn’t designed for showing videos. Its low resolution is fairly obvious at small display sizes, so if your work involves video production, you’ll need a HD projector. Movement is smooth, however, and the viewing experience is certainly comfortable enough for viewing film clips.

The EB-475Wi’s is primarily aimed at educational users, but there’s plenty that could be useful for businesses here, particularly if you work in a creative sector or simply do a lot of group brainstorming during meetings. It’s great value, as it comes with two digital pens and the full mounting kit, but if you plan on projecting over a large area you may find that its resolution is somewhat inadequate. It’s not portable, so you won’t be able to take it off-site for presentations, but it’s a good addition to a well-equipped meeting room.