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A/V Equipment Review
Looking for
an all-in-one
LCD projector
and DVD player
with stereo
speakers? This
new unit from
Epson has all
that and more.
by BARRIE SMITH
Epson EMP-TWD1 Home
Entertainment Projector
A
. . . A CLEVER BOX OF TRICKS
8 Silicon Chip
HOME ENTERTAINMENT projector? Yes, it’s a mouthful but the
alternative is to call this new piece of
gear a “DVD player-cum-LCD projector” (an even bigger mouthful).
The idea is simple but very appealing: build a good-quality DVD player
into an elegant LCD projector, slip a
pair of stereo speakers into the housing, and add some interfaces to deal
with incoming audio and video plus
some outputs for downstream audio
– and you have it.
I must say I was at first taken aback
at the Epson’s appearance – it could
have twinned with my Breville breadmaker! All white, box-shaped and with
minimal styling, it would not go amiss
in any hospital surgery. I feel sorry for
those with extensive AV systems built
into dark wooden cabinets.
Then the penny drops. Aside from
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sitting perfectly in those 21st century
decors with bleached timber and gloss
white finishes, the Epson is a piece of
home entertainment equipment that
could be sited virtually anywhere, in
any room, both inside the home or out.
You could even take it on vacation and
use it in the hotel or holiday home.
Business people will appreciate it
as it has arguably the best arrangements of any projector to present the
projected image from a wide choice
of positions, with wide lateral and
vertical centring as well as vertical
keystone adjustment.
You also gain in the connectivity
stakes, with no need to run cabling
from the DVD player to the output
device – and the backlit remote control
drives both. The DVD unit operates
right out of the box, with no cables to
connect and no settings to make.
Merging
Now that the industry is trying hard
to put the mockers on VHS we can look
forward to DVD as the main delivery
medium in the home. The concept of
combining a DVD player with a projector is a good one, removing the need
for a separate player and the TV itself
in one swoop.
In this reviewing business, I’ve
always had a soft spot for video projectors, mainly because I have a large,
light-coloured wall in a living space
that serves as an excellent screen for
the week or two turnaround that a
review of these devices demands. For
more permanent installations, I would
of course install a screen.
You can’t really argue with a picture
that extends 3.4 x 1.95 metres, with a
diagonal of 3.92 metres. There’s nothing else to compare with it, neither
plasma, LCD or one-box rear projection units.
But the truth is, you still need an
ordinary CRT set or similar for casual
viewing as well; six and a half square
metres of the ABC news before your
eyes each night is a bit stressing! But
get into a good movie, doco or live
event (Dylan at the Domain, Sting in
St Kilda or a rugby grand final) and
big-screen viewing is incomparable.
Possibly the only unfortunate aspect
to the Epson is that it uses a late model
DVD player (supplied by JVC) that delivers a 4:3 screen ratio picture while
growling away in the shadows is the
promise of 16:9 HD DVD units – that is,
if Sony and Toshiba can become pals
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The remote control handles
a host of functions both for
the projector itself and for the
inbuilt DVD player.
and merge their opposing formats; and
that seems highly unlikely!
That said, the projector does have
three TFT active matrix LCD panels
with 854 x 480 pixel resolution (16:9
ratio but not HD definition). You can
set up a screen image in the 4:3 ratio
or 16:9, with the latter achieved by a
lateral expansion.
Its maximum light output is 1200
ANSI lumens, adjustable down to 350
lumens to afford longer lamp life and a
more appropriate output for very short
projection throws. You could project
a 2-metre screen image from as little
as two metres away.
In my own case, the throw was six
metres with the 1.5x zoom lens set
at the telephoto end and light output
at maximum. Even in daylight, with
the curtains closed, I could enjoy a
bright and acceptable picture and at
night-time, the image quality was very
impressive indeed.
Configuration
This box of Epson tricks is just that
but with some seemingly odd configu-
How Big Is The Picture? It Depends On Distance
Fig.1: this diagram shows the relationship between screen distance and picture
size. You can’t beat a picture that’s several metres across the diagonal.
February 2006 9
Some controls are located at the rear and on the top of the case but most are
placed on the remote control.
A fold-down panel at the front provides good access to the various inputs and
outputs on the projector. Both S-video and composite video inputs are provided.
ration aspects thrown into its design.
At the front is the lens, offset to the
right. Beneath it is a hinged panel
which gives access to the signal interfaces, with jacks for composite video
and stereo L+R inputs, S-video, optical
audio output and an RCA output for a
subwoofer. There are no audio outputs
that you could link to an external stereo or surround sound system.
You can, as I did, also run the output
from a nearby VCR (linked to the antenna) to get broadcast programming,
as well as run tapes when needed.
The rear of the box has the disc
loading tray, an open/close button, a
10 Silicon Chip
headphone jack and, filling each corner, the speaker enclosures.
Move topside and you find manual
controls for zoom and focus, plus vertical and horizontal lens shift. A strip
of buttons affords entrée to power on/
off, source switching, audio level and
some DVD navigation functions. The
vertical and horizontal image shift
controls operate optically and are a
big plus, enabling you to position the
device off-centre, yet still be able to
centre the projected image perfectly.
There is digital keystone correction of
the picture sides, accessed through the
picture menu.
However, just think about it: the lens
is at the front, so the image is formed
ahead of the unit. The disc tray is at the
rear, so banish any thoughts of pushing
the Epson hard up against a wall or
cabinet back if you want to load a DVD.
And don’t forget, the speakers are at the
rear corners – same problem.
I figure it this way: the ideal location
for the EMP-TWD1 is mid-room, with
sufficient throw to form a screen image, yet with the unit given sufficient
back-space for the speaker output to be
enjoyed by the audience, who should
presumably be seated even further aft.
The mid-room location would seem
to be appropriate, as the lens’ focal
length seems to be computed to work
with relatively short throws; in my
case, the 6-metre projector-distance
was achieved only by setting the zoom
at full telephoto. However, when midroom mounted, a 1.20m-wide image
can be generated for a throw of just
1.50m.
The output of the 2 x 10W sound
system is quite respectable and uses
a pair of 13.5 x 3cm speakers. What
helps the sound quality is a simulated
surround output that works quite
well with movies and the like – but
of course, it’s not a patch on a true
multi-speaker surround system.
There is an unusual degree of control of the audio output: three presets
include Natural, Smooth and Off. I
went for the latter, in spite of some
invigorating guff in the manual about
how JVC have come up with LFO
modulation to correct “the alpha
wave frequency fluctuation” that falls
between the left and right channels of
a stereo signal. And more: the remote
allows you to not only vary the audio
level but adjust the treble output.
Picture control
The unit will handle programming
in NTSC 3.58/4.43/PAL/PAL-M /PALM/PAL60/SECAM standards. You also
have the option of an interlaced or
progressive-scan display. The EMPTWD1’s DVD player uses a “digital
direct” reading system to produce
smooth play and prevent blurred or
pixellated images. This system processes the film source as progressive,
without conversion to interlace.
A useful feature in these days of
digital cameras is the unit’s ability to
project JPEG stills of any dimension up
to 8192 x 7680 pixels. You can even
run a slide show.
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The DVD tray is located at the rear of the unit. Building
the player into the main projector housing is a good idea.
Picture quality can be adjusted in
brightness, contrast, saturation, tint
(for NTSC programming) and sharpness. Other picture presets include
Dynamic, Living Room, Theatre and
Theatre Black – the latter is useful
in a completely darkened room and
an internal filter creates more natural
skin tones.
Information can be called up on
screen to inform you of the lamp hours
accumulated, the text turning to yellow when the lamp needs changing.
Lamp life is quoted as 2000 hours at
high brightness and 3000 hours at
the low setting. A replacement lamp
costs $349.
Remote
This is a busy appliance. The remote’s 43 buttons are essential for
more than the simplest of settings –
and don’t forget that a complete tally
of DVD controls is also found here.
Then you find there’s a toggle
switch: “Function” is the default setting for all operations. If your DVD
displays chapter numbers, you switch
over to toggle position “123” and
punch in the numbers directly, instead
of coursing around the screen to hit
the thumbnail.
Familiarising yourself with the
remote’s buttons is the essence of the
Epson; the range of control is exemplary and there are some unexpected
and very human touches.
An on-screen button displays the
state of the DVD output: the bit rate,
chapter number and running time. You
can also set up a looped playback of
a favourite scene or you can arrange
playback of selected chapters in any
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The knurled wheels on the top of the projector case give
good control of the projected picture geometry.
order. The Epson has also presets for
auto-off and a sleep timer.
If your luck matches mine, come
Friday evening, it’s relax time, the DVD
has been loaded, the movie has been
running for a minute or two – then the
phone rings. With the Epson, simply
tap the “Break” button on the remote:
the DVD stops, the screen washes to
white with a small pulsing coffee-cup
icon (so you don’t trip over the dog in
the dark), and all systems await the
master’s return. It’s a nice touch.
Comments
Having often sat patiently while a
projector slowly warms up from a cold
start, then seems to spend another eternity powering down, I was delighted to
find that the Epson is a rapid operator
– warm-up takes only 20 seconds until
an image splashes onto the screen and
cooling down takes just nine seconds.
This can be partly attributed to the use
of a cleanable, replaceable, external
air-filter.
Although we’re dealing with an
SD (standard definition) picture, the
on-screen quality is among the best I
have seen, with bright, fully-saturated
colour and excellent definition. There
was no rainbow effect visible but there
was some evidence of a screen-door
effect, which “disappeared” after a few
days of familiarity with the Epson. A
smaller picture also helped diminish
the latter. No fast-motion artefacts are
SC
apparent and the unit is quiet.
Features & Specifications
Disc formats: DVD video; Video and Super Video CD; Audio CD and
CD-R/RW (MP3, WMA, JPEG); DVD-R/RW.
Display: three 14mm TFT active matrix LCD panels.
Resolution: 409,920 pixels (854 x 480).
Light output: 1200 ANSI lumens.
Focus, zoom, lens shift: manual.
Lamp: UHE 135 watts.
Power: 100-240V/50-60Hz AC; maximum draw 230 watts.
Inputs: composite video and stereo audio, S-video.
Outputs: subwoofer port; optical output; headphone jack.
Audio: 10W + 10W RMS.
Dimensions (WHD): 340 x 180 x 310 mm.
Price: $2499.00.
Contact: Epson Australia 1300 361 054 or www.epson.com.au
February 2006 11
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