Epson EH-TW650 Review

Let’s start by seeing where the Epson EH-TW60 sits in the market place.  This projector is built for those looking for a more serious cinema experience but isn’t interested in one of the abundant cheap non branded models imported from various resellers.

If you are looking for a better quality home cinema experience then the EH-TW60 is a good starting point for those branching out into this area but aren’t quite ready to commit to a big spend.  If you have a higher budget, you can always spend more for the best quality.

This model will let you enjoy good quality high definition large images and is suitable for watching TV, sport, gaming and movies.

Functionality

The Epson EH-TW650 has a great range of connectivity to choose from.  It helpfully comes with two HDMI 1.4 inputs, one of which supports MHL (Mobile High-definition Link).  Having two inputs is useful if you have the projector mounted and might use alternatives sources.

There’s also a VGA connector, along with two USB 2.0 ports (Type A and B), and a composite video input.  To round off the port selection there are stereo analogue inputs if you wish to use the built in speakers, but more likely you’ll be connecting your source directly up to a surround sounds system.  Still, this is useful for occasions when this is not possible.

This projector comes with different presets to enhance your experience when viewing certain media, you can choose from Dynamic, Game, Cinema and Bright Cinema colour modes.  There is also a 2 watt speaker built in, but note that it is on the tinny side.  You won’t want to rely on this if you are looking for a home cinema setup.

Image Quality

With three 16:9 1080p LCD chips combined together and a lamp that Epson suggest has a brightness of 3100 lumens, the EH-TW650 is able to deliver decent images onto a white wall even with some ambient light.  It’s power also allows for an image up to 300 inches in size, handy for projecting onto the side of your house!  This is a very capable specification for the price point.

The down side of an exceptionally bright bulb is that the black levels can suffer, Epson however do claim a 15,000:1 contrast ratio.  The three LCD panels ensure great whites and colour mixing.  Right out of the box you’ll get to enjoy bright and punchy images, with clear accurate HD quality.  If we had to single out a weak spot it would be the lack of deep blacks.