On the 14th of February this year I received quite the surprise… I was robbed. They stole my pretty 42” Plasma and since my insurance is, shall we say, non existant I am now forced to replace it and have been trying to save up the cash and make a decision on what to get.
Personally I have always been intrigued about having a projector instead of a TV but the wife was adamant that we weren’t having some faded picture instead of a real TV. Then as luck would have it I was offered the opportunity to review the Epson TW550 Gaming and Movie projector.
And with that I was soon sitting in my lounge with this beauty next to me.
For those of you who like the stats.. here we go:
PRODUCT NAME
Epson EH-TW550
PRODUCT CODE
V11H499053
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
EH-TW550 Projector, Power Cable, Remote Control + Batteries, Soft Carry Case, User’s Manual
TECHNOLOGY
Projection System RGB liquid crystal shutter projection system
LCD Panel 0.59-inch with MLA (D8)
OPTICAL
Zoom 1-1.2 (Optical Zoom)
Screen Size 33″ to 318″ [0.9 to 9.0 m] (Zoom: Wide)
33″ to 317″ [1.08 to 10.8 m] (Zoom: Tele)
Keystone Correction Vertical: -30 to +30 degrees
Horizontal: -30 to +30 degrees (slide bar)
Projection Distance 60″ screen 1.68 – 2.02 m
Throw Ratio 1.30 (Zoom: Wide), 1.56 (Zoom: Tele)
Projection Lens F Number 1.58-1.72
Projection Lens Focal Length 16.9 mm-20.28 mm
Focus Method Manual
IMAGE
Colour Light Output 3,000 Lumens
White Light Output 3,000 Lumens
Resolution WXGA
Native Aspect Ratio 16:10
Contrast Ratio 5,000:1
Lamp Type 200 W UHE (E-TORL)
Colour Video Processing Full-colour (16.77 million colours)
CONNECTIVITY
Input: Video 1 x RCA (Yellow), 1 x S-Video
Input: Computer 1 x D-sub 15-pin (RGB)
Input: Digital 1 x HDMI
Input: USB 1 x USB A, 1 x USB B
Input: Audio 1 x RCA (Red and White)
ADVANCED FEATURES
USB Plug ’n Play Yes
PC Free Photo, Movie (Motion JPEG)
3D Formats Top-and-Bottom, Side-by-Side, Frame Packaging
Internal Speakers 2W
Direct Power On Yes
Security Yes
Colour Modes 2D: Dynamic, Living room, Cinema, Game
3D: 3D Dynamic, 3D Cinema
GENERAL
Dimensions D x W x H 243 x 325 x 77 mm
Weight 2.7 kg
Lamp Warranty 1yr or 750 Hrs – whichever comes first*
Projector Warranty 2 Years
Power Consumption: Lamp on 289W
Power Consumption: Standby 0.40W
Noise Level 36 dB
And for the rest of us who only really care about the experience then let’s carry on.
My biggest worry with a projector was that I’d need a dark room to really make it work well and as my lounge has no door but rather an archway into the rest of the house and my curtains aren’t black, so I was a little worried.
I shouldn’t have been. The brightness of the projector is well beyond what I expected. You can quite easily watch TV with the curtains open or with the lights on at night. Granted it’s not as crystal clear with a well lit room but it still works well and that was a pleasant surprise.
Movies
But this projector really starts to shine when the sun goes down and you switch off the lights. I rented some HD TV series from iTunes and sat down for a night of glory. It’s hard to put into words the experience of having your own personal high definition cinema in your house. The 3 metre wide picture was crystal clear and gorgeous.
Grabbing a box of popcorn and snuggling up with the family made it feel like we had rented out a cinema and were living the life of the rich and famous. Unfortunately we noticed a problem pretty quickly though. the iPad has no optical out and neither does the projector which meant the sound was being played through the small speakers in the projector. They manage to do the job pretty well but it is definitely a weak point for this projector.
Sports
Next up I plugged the projector into my HD PVR and started watching some football games and Formula 1. Now the PVR does have an optical out and with that connected to my surround sound, cold beer in hand and the HD sport beaming onto the wall I felt I was in the stadium and experiencing the depression of yet another Liverpool loss with my extended family in the stadium.
I even got up of the couch and stood next to Gerrard on the pitch… but then I got in the way of the beam and everyone shouted at me.. but hey I’ve done something most Liverpool fans would give their left leg for.
I didn’t notice any ghosting or blurring on the screen even with the fast pace of Formula 1 or the ball being blasted into the back of the net. This is easily the best way to watch sports.
Games
And yes do you really think I’d have a 3 metre screen and not play games?
First up I had to preview Gunslinger which is an on rails(ish) shooter set in the wild west. The huge HD screen looked awesome but it did take some time to get used to how far apart the bad guy on the left and right were, I literally had to move my head to keep focus of the people I was shooting at.
It’s not all good with the big screen though as small graphical issues become quite apparent when they are bigger than your head. But this was preview code so I moved onto old faithful, Black Ops 2, to see how that worked.
Best gaming experience ever… it’s as simple as that. You become immersed into the game so quickly and with a proper surround sound setup and a screen bigger than your standard vision it’s impossible not to thoroughly enjoy every part of the experience.
Granted you aren’t as good as you normally are if you sit closer and need to move your head to react but you can shrink the projection a bit, sit back and still dominate the opposition, unless the opposition is jimmytediblewyrm that is… he kills me every time and my kids think it’s hilarious.
Next up on the testing table was GRiD 2 which proved to be another great experience with the vistas and horizons of California and Paris looking incredible in blurring fast moving detail. But nothing was as spectacular as smashing into a wall at 250mph and zooming into full life sized slowmo to watch my death… ah destruction.
Moving on
3D
One of the big selling points of this projector is that it is fully capable of 3D movies and gaming. I don’t like 3D movies and gaming at all so I am not in a position to say whether it does it well or not. It doesn’t try force it on me though so for that I’m grateful
So why don’t we all have projectors?
Up to now it’s all sounded perfect but if they are that good then why doesn’t everyone have a projector?
Well two issues will stand in the way of a lot of people. The first being that if you don’t have a HD PVR you are projecting a standard definition picture onto a 3 metre screen and that looks awful. This isn’t a problem with the projector mind you but rather a problem with the picture you are beaming.
Not to mention a bad Netflix picture is all but unwatchable at that size.
The other problem is that you need a room big enough to justify a projector. My lounge is rather large and as such it makes for the perfect projector room. But if you can’t mount your projector at least 4 metres away from the wall the resulting size wouldn’t be much more than a large TV which by pure physics will always have a better end screen.
So if you have the room size and are mainly using it for HD then I can openly and honestly recommend this product. I cried big man tears when they took it away from me and I now have to save a little more to get myself one as I cannot imagine going back to a standard 42” TV after this.
The Epson TW550 has a RRP of R11 055 but if that is slightly high you may want to look at its little brother the Epson TW480 which apparently is the same just without the 3D capability for just over R8 000.
Thanks to Epson for providing the review unit and just remember that I’ll hate you forever for taking it away again.
Last Updated: June 28, 2013
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Argentil
June 28, 2013 at 13:09
Projectors are alright. I prefer the picture quality my Samsung TV affords (in all lighting conditions). You should also mention that projectors are nicely portable. I had a lan-buddy who swears by his projector. It really depends on the wants of the individual.
Gavin Mannion
June 28, 2013 at 13:17
Portability is a good point…
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 28, 2013 at 13:23
Indeed. That portability does help. Although I wouldn’t count on always having an available wall at lan though 😛 Haha. Can just imagine this:
“Does anyone have a large piece of whiteboard for me? This place has no open wall space!”
Argentil
June 28, 2013 at 13:28
Hah, take over the ceiling then.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 28, 2013 at 13:37
That image is way too funny in my head
HvR
June 28, 2013 at 14:29
Best thing is there is already a ceiling gaming chair:
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 28, 2013 at 13:13
I’d love to be able to do that but I really can’t see myself spending R11k or even R8k on a display unit of any kind really.
Gavin Mannion
June 28, 2013 at 13:17
Yeah there is that.. but my brother in law spent R13k on a 40″ TV so it’s not like they are overpriced by any stretch
Argentil
June 28, 2013 at 13:19
That sounds like an incredible ripoff. We got ours a year ago, Series 6 Samsung SMART TV, 42″, 6 x 3D glasses, 3 Bluray movies – R6999.
Gavin Mannion
June 29, 2013 at 07:49
That’s a bargain that you will struggle to find… great buy though
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 28, 2013 at 13:19
Well this is true. Comparing it to devices that can do what it can on a large scale then the price is actually pretty much the same.
But 13K on a 40″? Must have been 3D and smart right?
2scaly4j0o
June 28, 2013 at 14:25
16K for my Samsung 60″ FHD 3D… Was so worth it. I still shed man tears after 3 months.
HvR
June 28, 2013 at 14:30
funny how you go up another 15 inches you suddenly within new car price category.
2scaly4j0o
June 28, 2013 at 14:41
HvR – 20″ = 50 cm = half a meter so that is massive improvement also it could have been worse… http://www.dionwired.co.za/audio-visual/tv-bluray-dvd/televisions/lg-84-inch-uhd-3d-led-tv.html but yeas… I could have gotten myself a Big Boy scooter 🙂
HvR
June 28, 2013 at 14:59
If you 72″ to 75″ you already at about R90k to R100l.
But if you want to go big, go proper big:
http://www.takealot.com/tv-audio-video/tvs-projectors/sony-84-inch-x-series-4k-ultra-hd-bravia-led-tv,29547514
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 28, 2013 at 14:32
I’m happy with my 42″ LG
2scaly4j0o
June 28, 2013 at 14:42
We all must be content at some stage 😛
HvR
June 28, 2013 at 15:00
me 2, less than R5K
Argentil
June 28, 2013 at 13:19
I’ve just noticed it’s an HD-ready projector and not Full HD. So it’s a 720p resolution?
Vampyre Squirrel
June 28, 2013 at 13:20
Yep, it’s 720p.
Argentil
June 28, 2013 at 13:26
The purist snob in me asks: Is this 2007?
I kid though.
Vampyre Squirrel
June 28, 2013 at 13:32
The TW9100 is full HD tho and 3D, just lower Lumens (2400lm) which makes day light a bit of a pain depending on reflections etc
Vampyre Squirrel
June 28, 2013 at 13:19
I had the immense joy of playing with the Epson EH-TW9100 a little while back and hooked a PS3 up to it and played some games in 3D… that was awesome. The Lumens makes a huge difference, and with 2400lm or more you don’t REALLY need to worry about room brightness, but it does make the experience better if you can make it quite dark in the room, but you’ll be paying for 5000+ lumens to make the experience great in any lighting, but then you lose the HD and 3D support.
It’s just the pricing on projectors that puts me off… but then again they have come down in price over the last while.
hairyknees
June 28, 2013 at 13:23
Used to work for Epson back in the day, and I agree that their projectors are really epic 😀 I will seriously consider getting one some day!
Ultimo_Cleric N7
June 28, 2013 at 13:24
But does it bake?
DadGamer
June 28, 2013 at 13:28
Cool review. If I was to project an image at such high dimensions, I’d want it in 1080p, though.
And do projectors still have the issue of their (expensive) bulbs having a limited life-span?
Gavin Mannion
June 29, 2013 at 07:47
Limited lifespan.. but as Hamster said above it’s 30 000 hours or more.. that’s longer than most TV’s last
Happy Hamster
June 28, 2013 at 13:38
I have a LG FULL HD LED 3D projector i bought in germany last year *not available in SA* it has 30 000 hours on the lamp and got a extra with it which i can take to LG SA and they will replace it for me , im watching netflix through it and my picture is as if i stream to my TV
Gaming is amazing , BF3 , F1 ext makes it look as if your really there
and Despicable Me on 3D is crazyyyyyyyyy
DrKiller
June 28, 2013 at 14:06
Projectors and Plasma’s are 2 things I never have a look at as they always have lighting problems! Its not like I ever use my TV only when sun is done 😛
Jimmwyrm
June 28, 2013 at 14:47
Wahaha… Cheers Gav, always a pleasure to shoot you, projector or no XD
Gavin Mannion
June 29, 2013 at 07:47
My wife thinks it’s weird that my kids laugh evilly when you join a match 😉
Khulani Ndlovu
June 28, 2013 at 15:23
Great review, seems like a cool projector though i always have preferred Gaming on my TV but for movies definitely cool, 😉
Draco Lusus
June 28, 2013 at 15:56
A friend spent R7-8k on an HDR projector, and another R7 on a proper projector board, with solid wood boarders. Playing the latest Mortal Kombat on a 3x2m screen was AWESOME. What TV can you get for R15k nowadays? 51inch LED? I’d straight up go for a projector if I had the cash.
Paul Fouche
July 17, 2013 at 09:13
WOW!!! i have acquired one of these devices and i can say , it is Legend
Shafiqur Rahman
July 27, 2016 at 02:37
My EPSON EH-TW550 projector was working good since it creates problem with the HDMI.All devices via HDMI are working pretty well, but NO LAPTOPS and PC are responding via HDMI after about 200 hours of use. Engineers of the EPSON support team are just a piece of s**t. they don’t even admit the problem, let alone solving it. Can anyone help me resolve the issue?