reviews

HCC Review - Epson EMP-TW-700
November 2006

Epson EMP-TW700 Projector
HCC Editors Choice for Lounge-Cinema or use with a PC.

First Impressions

What more do you want? This is Epson at it's best.

Epson EMP-TW700 Projector

The Epson EMP-TW-700 is very similar to the Panasonic AX-100 in fact they use the same LCD engine.

Screen shot from the Epson TW700

TW-700 is on top of the list if PC connection is needed, it just seems to work better than the AX-100 the text is sharper, no doubt at all.

We like the lens shift on the TW-700 more, it's not as fiddly as the AX-100. The smooth lines are a matter of personal taste.

Brightness

This the reason most would choose the Panasonic AX-100 over the TW-700 or is it?

Out of the box..

Take two

When we fisrt put them side by side (above) we were shocked to see the Epson easily looked the brightest.

It turns out you must have the dynamic iris on to get the most out of the Panasonic.

Lights on both running flat out..

We were intererested to text the ANSI lumens because on the face of it this was close!

The TW700 looks very bright but the tests will tell..

"Real World" contrast ratio test.

Readings are between the black and white squares.

Contrast Ratio

On paper at 10,000:1 the TW700 is a winner.

Using our Real World contrast ratio test (above) the TW700 scored 520:1 in Theatre Black2 mode. This is a better score than the AX-100. See the link below if you want to go into this in more depth.

[Learn more about Real World CR]

ANSI Lumens

Using the ANSI or standard CR test on the TW700 the result is a massive 2328 lumens (Epson only rate it at 1600 lumen) which is within 5% of a new Panasonic AX-100.

Put simply there is almost no difference in the
brightness between the TW700 and the AX100!

Image by 3-LCD

more

The image quality was excellent as you'd expect from the makers of the 3-LCD engine, as we've mentioned the TW700 also seems to be forgiving on different input sources making it very flexible to use.

Summary

You would consider the TW-700 if you were hot on the Pana AX-100. It may come down to price, which brand you like or the look of the projector. You may need to look at warranty fine print if you're still having trouble choosing.

The AX-100 would be the better choice if you're sitting too close to the screen because the image is smoother up close.

If it's sharpness you want and you're at the correct distance from the screen it's time to buy an Epson.

The Epson EMP TW700 has the edge over the Panasonic in some other areas too, you need to consider what your main source material is going to be if it comes via PC then it's Epson TW700 winning again.

I run a multimedia PC at home (in a living room 6M back) so for me its got to be the TW700. Had I only seen the AX-100 I'd never had know any different, that's the thing when you start to compare there is always an "if only.." .

After all the DLP hype now we hear some of the biggest players are going to produce a LCD model if they haven't already done so. If they can get it together as Epson has, they will sell more projectors as anyone that's seen one in action can tell you it's a fantastic image with no DLP headaches or rainbows.

HCC - November 06

Special thanks to AIM Digital Imaging for supplying the test unit.