Adding to its roll of projectors, four 3D models and two interactive models were launched yesterday by Epson.
To replace their former home theater projectors, the EH-TW6000 and EH-TW8000, Epson released the EH-TW6100 and the EH-TW8100—two Full HD and 3D-capable projectors. The company claims that the target market for these projectors consists of those who frequently watch movies at home, purchase Blu-Ray discs, have a suitable dark room for movie-viewing, and are very particular about image and video quality. These two new projectors for the home theater are able to convert 2D content to 3D with a simple push of a button. They also have a split-screen function that gives users a dual display of two different content.
The EH-TW6100 and the EH-TW8100 have a 480Hz frame refresh rate that’s two times faster than other 3D projectors, thus minimizing the blackout time between 3D image frames. The EH-TW8100, specifically, features a lens shift capability that optically corrects skewed displays that one gets when one places the projector off-center from the screen.
The EB-W16 and EB-W16SK are the new education/business projectors in the line-up, and are the company’s first projectors to offer a choice between active and passive 3D. The former features an active shutter, while the latter is a dual-stack model that requires users to wear 3D glasses in order to experience the 3D effect. Projecting the video or image on a silver screen is likewise needed to achieve the effect. Unlike the home theater projector models, the two new education/business projectors have no 2D-to-3D converter, so they will only be able to beam content in 3D if it is already in 3D format.
The new Epson EB-400 series and EB-1400wi/1410wi, meanwhile, are packed with interactive technology. The former is a short-throw projector, while the latter models are ultra short-throw projectors.
The EB-1400wi and 1410wi are probably the most interesting models in the line of new products as it allows the surface on which the image is projected on to be used as an interactive whiteboard without having to hook them up to a PC. Users can write and doodle notes directly on the presentation using a special pen. This makes the EB-1400wi and the 1410wi perfect for use in collaborative design planning, brainstorming, formulating military strategies, and gaming.
Users are also given the option to use the surface as a plain colored whiteboard with handy sidebar tools such as pen color.
The EB-1400wi and the 1410wi feature compatibility with Microsoft Office Ink, which allows users to write on Microsoft documents and save them back into their native format, whether it’s .pptx, .xlsx, or .docx.
The interactive whiteboard feature of the EB-1400wi and the 1410wi also enables what Epson calls “multi-location interactive functionality.” Let’s say you are presenting to a panel in the Philippines and you will be co-presenting with someone in the US via video conference. With the use of the projector, the person in the US will be able to see in real time what you write on the interactive whiteboard, and vice versa, via the Internet. The two of you will be able to make notes on the same presentation at the same time.
The EB-1400wi and the 1410wi are also capable of projecting content from USB sticks, mobile devices, and Epson wireless printers and scanners via Wi-Fi. They are also able to save screens as .jpeg and .pdf files to USB sticks without the aid of a PC.
Prices of the new projectors are as follows:
- EH-TW8100—PHP 154, 200 (with 3D glasses)
- EB-W16—PHP 49,300
- EB-W16SK—PHP 96,500 (with 3D glasses)
- EB-1400wi—PHP 90,500
- EB-1410wi—PHP 94,500
- EB-400 Series:
- EB-421i—PHP 53,900
- EB-431i—PHP 63,900
- EB-426wi—PHP 63,900
- EB-436wi—PHP 68,900