Why You Can Trust CNET Epson EMP-DM1 review: Epson EMP-DM1
The Epson EMP-DM1 is a manageable size and would be a reasonable purchase as a projector to bring out on special occasions but the overall picture quality and lack of a lens shift feature let it down.
The first question we asked when taking the Epson EMP-DM1 out of its packaging was, "why doesn't Blockbuster have a stock of these to rent out along with some DVDs?"
Epson EMP-DM1
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
It wasn't until entertainment retailers such as Blockbuster began stocking DVDs that the format really took off and consumers got over their dependence on tape. It wasn't long after that they also realised there was decent money to be made from renting out games -- and with them came additional revenues from renting games consoles.
Surely projectors are the next step? And if they are, the EMP-DM1 seems like an ideal product to help the evolution of home entertainment.
Design
The boxy EMP-DM1 measures 320mm wide, 230mm deep, 135mm high and weighs in at 3.8 kilograms. The mostly white unit is offset by a grey bottom which houses a built-in DVD player, so there is no need to connect it to anything in order to watch a movie -- except possibly a set of decent speakers.
Features
The unit does have two eight-watt stereo speakers, which are usable but far from ideal. Unsurprisingly, the sound lacks depth and bass. In our tests, we found it far more pleasurable to plug it into your hi-fi -- we paired our review unit with the Apple iPod Hi-Fi.
We found that watching television shows was acceptable but when it came to a feature film there was no option but to plug it into a decent set of speakers.
The biggest selling point is the unit's built-in DVD player, which makes life very simple when watching a movie and means the unit is completely portable.
DVDs simply slide into a slot in the front of the projector and the menus can be controlled using the remote or controls on the top of the unit.
Performance
Picture quality is not great until you consider that this unit retails for just over AU$1,000. The serious home cinema buff is likely to cringe at the relatively huge pixels but for anyone simply looking for a large screen, this projector is an adequate performer.
One major drawback was the lack of a lens shift feature, which means the projector needs to be placed directly in front of the chosen screen (or wall). This lack of flexibility meant that in our testing room, there was a choice of watching a very satisfyingly large screen that was at a slightly skewed angle or a perfectly formed picture that was, in terms of size, no bigger than a decent LCD monitor.
Another anomaly was that the aspect ratio setting seemed to work randomly -- switching between full wide-screen and 4:3 ratio worked fine on some DVDs but had no response with others.
The projector is designed to be mobile. It has a handle on one side that neatly folds onto the projector's body when not required. Also, the EMP-DM1 has a sliding panel that protects the lens and manual focus dial when being transported.