Epson EB-W6 review

The Epson EB-W6 stands out among the grey boxes this month, with its Apple-esque white finish curving down to a partially hidden lens with a sliding cap. It's a projector you don't need to hide away, and its range of features only adds to the appeal.

On the back you'll find an HDMI port to go with the usual VGA and S-Video inputs and, uniquely this month, it's joined by a standard USB port and a SD card slot for running presentations, videos or slideshows directly from a USB stick or memory card. An integrated 7W speaker made a good, punchy partner to the HDMI port, although bear in mind there's no 3.5mm input, so you'll need RCA cables to get audio from a VGA input device.

It's a TFT projector, so it produces oversaturated colours that verge on the luminous in some cases, and it's also widescreen with a resolution of 1,280 x 800, which may appeal if video is used a lot in your presentations. Our tests showed plenty of detail, particularly at the high end, but a bit of a weakness with darker images; the comparatively low brightness of 2,200 lumens plays its part in this, with dark grey tones sometimes merging into one.

But the average image quality will do fine for much office work, and the Epson has value on its side. Not only is its £574 exc VAT purchase price reasonable given the features it offers, but it also won't hit you for a great deal more in the future. The initial lamp lasts 3,000 hours, or 4,000 in eco mode, and if you do reach that limit a replacement is just £118. Plus, with a three-year on-site warranty and a year for the lamp, the EB-W6 is amply covered should anything go awry.

The value is plain to see, even before we mention the three-second power-down and the 64in image size at 2m. The only major weaknesses we found were the noise levels and the fact that the auto-keystone correction led to an image with slightly disappointing focus. Unless you'll be projecting at quite an angle, however, the Epson is a solid everyday projector with plenty of extras to offer for that affordable price.

Author: David Bayon