Epson EMP 765

By Brian Nadel
Price as Reviewed £ 1649

Packed with features and able to blast more than 2,000 lumens of light in a large conference room, the Epson EMP 765 is worth the money if you want big projector power in a small package...

It's far from the lightest or smallest business projector on the market, but the Epson EMP 765 squeezes the abilities of a conference-room projector into a remarkably portable case. With more than 2,000 lumens of light, it's bright enough for a lights-on presentation or a digital classroom lesson, and it's packed with features, including wireless networking, the ability to run a show from a memory card and LAN management for IT administrators. The 765's £1,649 (ex. VAT) price tag is a bit steep, but it's worth it if you need the power of a large projector in a small package.

Built around three 0.7-inch LCD panels, the silver-and-grey Epson EMP 765 has an XGA native resolution and weighs a light 1.8kg. Its 27.6cm by 19.3cm by 7cm dimensions are typical for the portable-projector class, and with the included padded case, remote control and key cables, the 765 hits the road at a total weight of 3.2kg. The Epson EMP 765 can fill a screen as large as 12.1m and can project a surprisingly big image from a short distance away; we filled a 30in. screen from just a metre away. We really like the automatic keystone correction, which displays a perfectly square image regardless of the angle you're projecting from. With the ability to support both 4:3 (the PC standard) and 16:9 (the DVD standard) pixel arrangements, the 765 can handle standard and high-definition video formats.

Although it lacks an HDMI connector, the Epson EMP 765 is a well-connected projector. It features both USB A and USB B ports, so you can plug in a notebook or pull images and video from a camera, a flash key or an external drive. There are also ports for VGA, audio, S-Video and composite video.

The Epson EMP 765's control panel is on top of the projector, and the buttons are large and intuitive. There are dedicated controls for manual keystone correction, volume and menu navigation, as well as status lights for lamp life and overheating. Atop the projector are controls for manually adjusting the focus and zooming up to 1.2X -- both easy adjustments, thanks to protruding knobs. The included remote lets you adjust volume, input selection and digital zoom, among other things; however, it lacks a laser pointer.

It's the 765's Type I/II PC Card slot that sets it apart from the crowd. You can use it with the included Wi-Fi card to monitor the projector over a LAN or to show images stored on a network drive or a nearby notebook -- no Ethernet cables needed. The downside is that before displaying slides or digital images over the network, you first need to convert them with Epson's EMP SlideMaker 2. In our tests, the projector worked like a charm with a variety of flash cards and USB memory drives but balked at a 2GB PC Card hard drive. When connected to a network, you can take advantage of the 765's EMP Monitor software, which can change the image source, make minor image adjustments from afar, and even send email when the lamp burns out or is in danger of overheating.

Make no mistake: with the ability to deliver 2,148 lumens of light in Presentation mode, the 765 is among the brightest projectors in the portable XGA class, although it's slightly off Epson's advertised 2,500 lumen rating. Theatre mode reduces the brightness level by 25 percent; the low-brightness setting delivers 1,616 lumens, which is the equivalent output of the BenQ PB6110 at its high-brightness setting. With all this brightness comes a downside, however: when maxed out, the 765's fan is among the loudest we've encountered, even if it's not quite overwhelming. The low-brightness setting reduces the noise to an acceptable level. The Epson EMP 765 has an average brightness uniformity of 75 percent, although we noticed a hot spot in the centre. Unfortunately, the projector's colour temperature shifts from one side to the other, giving the image a pink cast on the right and a blue one on the left.

Like those of other LCD projectors, the Epson EMP 765's measured 204:1 contrast ratio can't match the 500:1 ratio that's common on DLP projectors today. On the plus side, its images were rock solid, without any ghosting and with only occasional flicker. It displayed some of the sharpest type and images we've seen, making it great for text-heavy presentations.

Firing up the Epson EMP 765 and putting an image on-screen takes only 23 seconds -- just long enough to make sure your notebook is powered up and connected. The 765 shuts down, cools off and is ready to be packed up in a miraculous 4 seconds. Most projectors, such as the Hitachi Performa CP-RS55, take more than a minute.

Maintenance for the Epson EMP 765 is easy: we love the pull-out air filter and the ability to quickly cool down the 170-watt lamp and change it with a screwdriver. Bulbs are rated for 3,000 hours in low-brightness mode, which is about 500 more hours than we typically see, but replacements cost a princely £349 (ex. VAT) each.

Epson's on-site warranty for the EMP 765 covers parts and labour for three years. Epson's Web site features troubleshooting advice, software downloads, detailed FAQs and manuals. If you need personal attention, you can use the dedicated email link, chat online with an Epson support expert or talk to a tech-support representative by phone. Epson's support line, which is charged at national rate, is open on weekdays between 9am and 5.30pm (9am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 5pm on Sundays).