By marketing the EH-TW5650, Epson does not hide its objective: to compete with the BenQ W2000 which is a benchmark among Full HD Home Cinema models. A large, particularly well-calibrated image, quality sound and very good ergonomics (from the remote control as from the interface) … this is what Epson EH-TW5650 must compete with. Let’s see if this Full HD model which promises good brightness (2500 Lumens AINSI) and a high contrast ratio takes the distance.
On the design side, this video projector displays a sober design. Thanks to its white chassis and its fairly compact size (30 x 28.5 x 12.2 cm), it should be discreet in the living room, especially if it is hung from the ceiling (3.5 kg). Epson does what it takes to make your life easier. The EH-TW5650 not only has a 1.6x zoom, the traditional vertical keystone correction function, but also a horizontal keystone correction and a vertical lens shift. Flexibility in terms of installation which is the first strong point of this model.
A contrasting and bright image…
From the first hours of use, we see that the high brightness and the high contrast ratio touted by the manufacturer are verified during use. We even take a little visual slap in bright cinema mode, in which the image of the EH-TW5650 “bursts the screen” when reading a cartoon – but also when watching a film in shimmering colors.
The dynamism of the image is perceptible to the naked eye and comforted by the measurements of our probe. In this case the brightness measured at 327 cd / m² places this video projector among the brighreview models … and that’s not all. The contrast ratio is also excellent with a measurement of 6542: 1, always in bright cinema mode.
A brilliant image therefore which, in our opinion, nevertheless forces us to plunge the room into darkness to really benefit from its projections. However, in this mode, despite a very good contrast ratio, the color fidelity is not perfect. This mode, ideal for watching a cartoon for example, makes the skin tones appear a little too red, for example. The color fidelity becomes better again under the classic “cinema” mode where the brightness is less important (286 cd / m²) but nevertheless sufficient and the contrast ratio even better (9547: 1) notably thanks to more intense blacks.
However, whatever the film projected and the mode used, the EH-TW5650 ensures the spectacle and was able to convince our audience “general public” by its image quality. As for the comparison with the BenQ W2000, the latter delivers more accurate images since the color fidelity is almost perfect, but the projections are less bright.
… Adjustable as desired
For the more picky and for those who like to put their fingers in the settings, note that Epson – like BenQ by the way – has another strength: software know-how. Indeed, this video projector offers many menus that allow you to configure the image with little onions.
The basic options allow you to intervene on the brightness, the contrast, the gamma – which is quite classic – but also on the color temperature (on 10 levels). The most demanding can go to the advanced options to manually adjust the hue, brightness and saturation for each color: red, green, blue, cyan, magenta and yellow. The most motivated should therefore be able to adjust the image to envy and create personalized profiles.
Project content from your smartphone
In terms of connectivity, in addition to the two HDMI sockets, the EH-TW5650 has a Miracast-compatible Wi-Fi connection. This technology which consists in making a pure replication of the screen of your Android smartphone or tablet on another screen makes it very easy to display videos played from Netflix or YouTube or even your vacation photos and videos.
With a little dexterity (and depending on the title), it is even possible to have fun with a mobile game on the giant screen. The latency in the display is not too disabling, but there is still a (slight) loss of quality in this wireless video broadcast.
IPhone and Android smartphone users, as well as Windows or MacOS computer users can use the Epson iProjection app to stream photos and documents from their devices. This connection does not allow you to do as much as the screen duplication proposed by Miracast, but it has the merit of offering a very practical wireless link.
Noise, consumption and ergonomics
There is one thing that could motivate you to use the “cinema” mode rather than “bright cinema”, it is the noise. In fact, in the latter mode, the ventilation volume goes from 33.1 dB (which is almost inaudible) to 40.1 dB. Nothing that a hi-fi system can cover this said. But in bright cinema mode, the projector heats up (63 degrees against 53 degrees) and consumes more also (263 watts against 192 watts).
To conclude, a weak point and a strong point. The weak point first concerns the ergonomics of the remote control. The keys are not backlit and the inscriptions quite small, which does not make it easier to read, especially if you have vision problems.
The strong point concerns the ease of access to the dust filter and the lamp. Note also that Epson announces a very long lifespan for its lamp since it would be 4500 hours in normal mode and 7500 hours in eco mode. What to be quiet for a while, even if the cost of the lamp itself (about 90 euros) is not exorbitant.
