Epson is throwing down the gauntlet to its rivals with the launch of a powerful new ultra-short-throw projector that’s bright enough to throw up massive visuals in daytime without breaking the bank.
It’s called the Epson Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670, and it can throw up 4K visuals at up to 120-inches, with immersive surround sound from Bose. Because it’s a UST projector, it only needs to be set back a few inches from the wall, making it ideal for anyone who wants a cinematic experience in the living room but lacks the space to set up a traditional overhead projector.
The Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670 is built upon Epson’s 4K Pro-UHD projection engine and features a 3LCD laser light source that generates white and colour lumens of 3,600, ensuring “impressive brightness and a vivid, true-to-life picture day or night”, the company promised. Pixel-shifting technology is employed to achieve resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, which means it’s not a “native” 4K model, because the total pixel count comes to just over 4 million rather than the 8 million found on true 4K projectors. To achieve the maximum 120-inch image, the projector needs to be placed 15 inches away from the wall or projection screen.
Picture quality is driven by 10-bit processing that enables the reproduction of more than a billion colours, and there are AI algorithms that help to optimise image quality, while the 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio is more than enough to ensure crisp highlights and detailed shadows. HDR10 and HLG are supported.
Epson said the Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670 comes with a powerful sound system too, incorporating a pair of full-range drivers and a woofer with bass that’s fine-tuned by the audio specialist Bose to deliver room-filling immersive audio. The sound system supports audio return, which means it can be hooked up to external speakers, and there’s the option to connect a wireless karaoke speaker too.
The projector is powered by the Google TV platform, which provides access to streaming entertainment from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and other services. Screen mirroring for mobile devices is also supported.
As for connectivity, there are plenty of options, with three HDMI ports and two USB slots for hooking the Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670 up to games consoles and other media devices. Gamers should be enthralled, for Epson promises 240Hz refresh rates and Auto Low-Latency Mode, making for extremely smooth and responsive gameplay.
Strangely, unlike most projectors that use internal sensors to aid in positioning and setup, the Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670 must be paired with a mobile application that uses a smartphone camera to “automatically correct projection distortion” and ensure an optimal image fit. Focusing must be controlled manually, so unfortunately it’s not a case of just plugging the device in and hitting play. But still, it should be fairly simple to get going.
If we add it all up, the Epson Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670 should be more than enough to create a cinematic movie experience in most viewing conditions with capable sound output, and it really doesn’t cost all that much in comparison to its competitors. On Epson's website, it's priced at £2,200.
Just last week, Hisense promised a similar experience without breaking the bank when it debuted its PT1 Triple Laser Cinema , priced at £1,999. A tad cheaper, perhaps, but also a lot less brighter, rated at just 2,500 lumens. That extra brightness on the Epson model will likely make a very big difference in daytime viewing conditions, and that could be well worth paying the extra £200 for.
