Big-screen brightness : Epson EH-TW6600 Review

There’s something more than satisfying about watching a movie or TV show on a 100 inch screen.  Sadly, that’s going to set you back a ridiculous amount of money if you’re looking for a fancy new TV at that size – and I don’t think JB HiFi stock anything that big.  So if it’s go big or go home for you, worth checking out the Epson HE-TW6600.

This unit is not small, at 40cm across and 30 deep it’s a big unit.  Almost 7kg too, so hardly portable – but that’s not at all what this is for.

If you’re setting up a man-cave, home-theater or want something big for the lounge room – the Epson TW6600 will be perfect.

For a “standard” projector setup, this is great – but it’s the capabilities at obscure angles or distances which make it shine.

If you’re projecting off-centre, lets say you’ve got a set of shelves off to one side of the room to sit it on, or the projector needs to sit much lower than normal because of where you’re placing it.  No problem at all.

The adjustments possible on the lens here are remarkable. Around 60% adjustment on the vertical axis and 25% horizontally mean you can move the picture where you need it to be with just a couple of simple dials on top.

 

 Uses Epson’s Three Chip LCD technology

Then in the software you can adjust the screen shape to ensure you’re projecting an accurate 16:9 (or 4:3 / 21:9) screen.

Focus is as standard a fine tune on the front of the lens while the scaling for my mind was also a key feature.  Having tried several projectors of late, this was the only one which allowed me to reduce the screen far-enough to sit the projector at one end of my room and project onto a set sized screen at the other end.  I know you’d think you’d want the biggest projected screen possible, but if the room is long and narrow that will present problems with some machines.

 

There are speakers at the back, so sound is available plug and play, but if you’re lashing out on a projector – think about hooking it up to your home speakers. I’ve connected this one to my Sonos sound system and that’s been the perfect solution.

Lumens Lumens Lumens – if you’re looking for Lumens this thing has 2,500 of them – frankly, I don’t know if the average person would know the difference from one to another in this price range, but I can tell you in a dark room this is spectacular.  In a lit room the picture is still excellent.

As with any projector, a bright room isn’t their greatest place – but still – works a charm if you’re ok for it.

Around the back you’ve got RCA inputs, Component Video, D-Sub, two HDMI, one USB for source content and one of those HDMI is MHL compatible so connecting a modern android phone will allow you to quickly share your family photos after a holiday:)

Priced around $2650 which means you’re in the TV market for at best a 70 inch screen, however I think if you’re thinking projectors you’re certainly thinking much, much bigger than that.

You could do a lot worse than the TW6600 from Epson, and if you get it going in the man-cave you’re going to need a new chair – something very comfy because you’ll be spending a lot of time in there.

Oh, and something I should add (Thanks John!) – A replacement lamp?  $99 – that’s a fantastic price – given you should expect between 3,500 and 5,000 hours from the lamp.

Epson lamp life projections show:

• 3500 hours ( Power consumption: High )
• 4000 hours ( Power consumption: Medium )
• 5000 hours ( Power consumption: Eco )

[schema type=”review” rev_name=”Epson TW6600 Projector” rev_body=”Big Unit, Big Screen, loads of inputs, great colour and brightness” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2015-02-16″ user_review=”5″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]