Customer Reviews

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 705 HD 720p 3LCD Home Theater Projector

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've never written an Amazon review before, but I've learned a lot about projectors over the past couple weeks, and thought I should share.

As prices have been coming down, I finally decide to get a projector. 720p was plenty good for me. After reading plenty of reviews here and the various projector websites out there I narrowed my search down to the Optoma HD66 and the Epson 705HD, both going for +/- $650 at the time of this writing, and both highly rated.

A bit about me - I'm not a projector or electronics nut, but I do appreciate knowing that I have the best (or better) of what's out there when I do buy things of significant $$$. Male, early 30's. Don't watch any TV, just the occasional movie at home.

After much fuss, I decided to order the Epson. It seemed to have more features, had longer bulb life, and in the end I figured since I'm no projector connoisseur I would be more than impressed with its performance. However, I was not blown away enough, so I ordered the Optoma. I am keeping the Optoma, and returning the Epson. I tested both using a connection to my old Mac Powerbook G4 laptop, projecting onto a white wall painted matte white.

Here is what I learned:

Epson 705HD:

-LCD technology really does display "little pixels" that are visible if you are up close. Not really a big deal with a movie where things are moving all the time.
-Significantly brighter than the Optoma.
-Better designed box, integrated lense "cap" that slides, easier to use adjustable legs, more friendly packaging/manuel, carrying case. Basically you get the feeling that Epson put some thought into its product. Feels more name brand and consumer friendly.
-Supposedly has ~1000 bulb hours more than the Optoma when in Eco mode (a touch less bright than normal mode).
-Has a speaker (I didn't use it).
-Definitely better for office or daytime use.
-Blacks appear grey when compared to adjacent wall.
-Compared to the Epson, has a larger "screen size" to "distance from wall" ratio (I think this is called "throw"). Plenty big. In fact I had to "zoom out" as the screen actually felt too large for the distance I was from the screen. The projector was propped up on a table immediately behind my couch. Once adjusted it was fine. The large size could be great for the gamers out there though.

Optoma HD66:

-Feels more "made in China" with less fancy stickers and design.
-Not quite as bright as the Epson.
-I have yet to try this one during full daylight, but guessing the Epson would be better here. But this is fine with me b/c I figure if it's bright outside, I should probably be there instead of inside.
-Much better colors.
-Throw ratio not as good as Epson, but more than adequate for my needs.
-DLP really does have much better blacks. The "black frame" around the movies is a far cry from grey, and I have a feeling if I fool around with it, I can probably get it to almost disappear.
-Better picture quality - this was apparent to me and all 4 of my non-professional projector testing friends, and more apparent the darker the room is. The Epson is great, but the Optoma is like "Whoa - I wouldn't think I would be able to tell, but I can."
-Harder (though still possible) to discern the "pixels" - feels more like film.
-I was worried about the "rainbow effect". My friends and I were all able to see RGB shadows if we shook our heads back and forth wildly, and maybe a flash of it once or twice during the movie when our eyes would flick across the screen. Not really a big deal, though I guess some people are more "susceptible" to seeing it than others.

Both:
-Easily found my computer and displayed the correct resolution automatically.
-Amazing resolution.
-Plenty of adjustments to mess with color and whatnot. I only fooled around with these for 5 minutes or so. You can easily make the colors warmer or cooler.
-Have a small remote with plenty of functions. Batteries included.
-Do NOT come with HDMI, DVI, VGA cables. However, each does come with cable that allows you plug the traditional DVD player (the yellow, red, white "RCA?") cables into the VGA port.

Like I said in the end I am sticking with the Optoma HD66.

Since the reason to get a projector, for me, is to have a really great screen to watch movies on, I figured I should lean toward picture quality over features. If I watched TV for a lot of the day, the brightness and bulb life of the Epson may have swayed me in that direction. I hope this is helpful and saves you all some time.

I have owned this unit for a couple of months now and overall I'm very pleased with it.

I would urge you to read the review here: [...]

This is an exhaustive review, that I read (and was published after I bought the product) but I think it is a very fair and accurate assessment of this projector.

The basic rundown is, If you are looking for a cheap (in projector terms) and very bright home projector that can easily double as lightweight business projector, this is your man. The picture in our light controlled Home Theatre is very very good, its actually pretty sharp for a 720p unit and the color reproduction is great.

The one, downside is the black levels. The blacks, aren't that black and you will notice this more than you would normally as the projector is actually a WXGA resolution (1280 x 768) so you will get a light band above and below the 720p display of a home theatre picture (I mostly watch Blu-ray discs through a PS3). In real use, this hasn't been an issue, the color and overall picture quality are so good that you just won't notice/care. If you watch Bladerunner everyday, the black levels might, just might be an issue for you. Otherwise, don't worry, you won't be disappointed by this projector.

Of course, if you do use this as a business projector, then the full WXGA resolution will be used by your computer (I have used it with my MacBook Pro) and again, the picture is great and the super bright picture is great in meeting rooms where the ambient light levels are high.

You can't really fault this projector, at the [...] price point, its a great value, especially with the 2yr warranty that Epson gives you and the supposed long lamp life. I'm very pleased with its performance.

I would like to comment on the notion that the Epson HD 705 projects grainy images and lacks adequate black levels. I suspect that the real culprit is the source material or DVD player because I have played regular DVD, HD, and Blue Ray movies through the 705 and they all looked fine. The source material was familar to me, and if anything they looked as sharp on a 80 inch projector screen than on my smaller LCD television. Last week I used the Spears & Munsil calibration disk ( a must to get your LCD or Projector calibrated correctly ) to adjust contrast and brightness ( the factory settings on the 705 are much too high ) and the blacks are now very black; in fact the entire picture quality has improved across the board. My DVD players were the Oppo ( standard definition) and the Panasonic B60 ( Blue Ray). I couldn't be happier with this projector and the wonderful images.

I have been saving my money for a long time to buy a widescreen HD projector. I started with a SHARP office projector and upgraded to my previous setup which was an XGA Epson Powerlite 130c because my other one just didnt have enough lumens. My old Epson powerlite is almost as bright as this one, but it was great because it was 2200 lumens and i could watch it in the daytime. Well I bought this one for the same reason

Pros: It does exactly what its supposed to, which is to deliver my high def gaming and stream Hulu and Blu ray from my Girlfriends laptop. I paired mine up with an 11' 16:9 matte Da-Lite projector screen and it looks gorgeous all day all night. I really like how much you can zoom your picture size so i can watch all aspect ratios without moving it from its ceiling mount that i bought from amazon for 30 bucks. I don't know what the guy on the bottom of the screen is talking about because I love how detailed and lush everything looks even with all my lights on and windows open in the middle of the day. I would recommend this projector to anyone especially for people who are tired of watching their projector in a cave. These days I need the best of both worlds for High contrast Cinema and high brightness gaming and this unit delivers.

Cons: i noticed a slight "screen door" affect but every pixel is filled with color and light so I cant complain compared to the other projectors i sent back.

This went into a room with 2 story windows on the back wall and side wall. It is placed 17' from an ivory egg shell painted wall that it projects on producing a 153" picture. It is not ceiling mounted but set atop my audio equipment rack at the back of the room. In the day, as you would expect (there are no blinds or curtains on the second stories windows...yet) the picture is not that bright but certainly watchable. But that is the fault of my room. This replaced a 53" Hitachi HD rear projection tv that produced the same result. But in the dark, this is amazing. I have it connected via HDMI to a HTPC. We are very pleased with the picture as are our guests. We run it on the economy mode, which is preferred for bulb life. I would recommend this projector for the picture quality alone, but the price compared to others is outstanding. I purchased from Amazon early December for under 700 dlrs.

Update Jan 28, 2010: Read reviews form projectorreviews DOT com and projectorcentral DOT com at testseek DOT com (in the event they cut the link)or here: [...]. Both sites gave the projector awards.

Brilliant color, very sharp picture, great contrast, VERY bright, versatile inputs, long bulb life, cheap bulb (relatively..approx $175.00)....make this 720p projector a winner in its price range, let me repeat, in its price range....and keep in mind the low total cost of ownership. This or the Optoma HD65...buy whichever is cheaper (though Optoma's bulb won't last as long, is about 40% more expensive, and you won't have as many lumens to play with)...you'll do well with either.

I initially started with EX71, used that for a week and the replaced that with 705 HD. These 2 projectors are identical with very little differences:

EX71:

1. Black
2. Comes with 1 Yr Warranty (Bulb only 90 days)
3. Contrast ratio 2000:1
4. Max picture size is little bigger than 705HD
5. Extra USB cable in the box
6. Little cheap (though, the base price is same as 705HD)

705 HD:

1. White
2. Comes with 2 Yrs Warranty (Bulb only 90 days)
3. Contrast ratio 3000:1
4. Max picture size is little lesser than 705HD

I connected this with cable Box, Wii, PS3, DVD and everything gives a stunning result.
Cons:
1. The built-in speaker is very bad and it is mono.
2. Watching movies over USB connectivity gives a lot of lag and the pictures come frame by frame. USB can not be used for video.

I just throw the picture and video into it using HDMI and throw the sound to my external stereo speakers for the best result and I am very happy with this combination.

Great projector for the price. It looks better than my big screen tv. We use it outside in our backyard theater projected onto a 16 by 9 screen. Awesome.

I bought this projector (PJ) about a month ago. I had been shopping for about 2 -3 months for a PJ. My old Sanyo PJ was about 8 years old. Paid $2000 back then for it. I considered it old technology and wanted something newer, but didn't want to spend a whole lot of money. I was willing to spend up to $1000. I was thinking about Optoma HD 65 (720) / HD 66 (720) or the Optoma HD20 (1080). I read all the reviews and researched AV forums. I read that Epson had good customer service and stood behind their products. I'm not that technical and try to keep my expectations reasonable. I've PS3 / HD cable box / Wii hooked up to the PJ. Off course the HD / Blueray contents give me the best picture quality. The Wii output at standard definition is okay. I'm very happy with 720P. Not sure if 1080 is worth the added cost. This 720P PJ is well priced. The build quality is good. It is small and portable. Has a variety of inputs. The remote is functional and it is easy to set up. If you are on the fence line, just go out and buy it. Keep your expectations reasonable and you will be very happy.

I bought this projector specifically for a video installation project and for future projects because I do live visuals (VJing) and I would probably watch some movies on it. I've run it 5 times tops and on the 4th run at the ACTUAL FESTIVAL it decided to die on me 3 times and the lamp button came on. I've barely had it a month and it's been on for no more 20 hours and it's already dying!!! I even put it in ECO mode and it still died. Seriously?? Needless to say, it's being returned.

On a separate note, the image quality is fantastic but what does that matter when the darn thing won't last for 3 hours straight.