Ultra-short-throw projectors are great for viewing large when you don't have the space to set up a long-throw beast. Epson has now released a new PowerLite model that can throw 80-inch 4K visuals from just an inch away from a wall or screen.
The PowerLite 810E is billed as Epson's first 3LCD extreme-short-throw lamp-free laser display with 4K Enhancement Technology, and is primarily aimed at classrooms, workspaces, museums and event spaces rather than consumer living rooms.
The unit boasts a 0.16:1 throw ratio that produces 80-diagonal-inch images when positioned only an inch away from the display surface. Pull it back to 4 inches and that increases to 100 inches corner to corner while the maximum 160-inch display area is achieved by putting a distance of 14 inches between projector and wall/screen.
The 810E is built around a 3LCD three-chip projection system for native 1080p resolution with pixel-shifting 4K Enhanced capabilities. There's support for 4:3, 16:6, 16:9, 16:10 and 21:0 aspect ratios, and frame interpolation, HDR and "scene adaptive gamma image processing" promise smooth and detailed visual output. A split-screen feature can also be served up with the help of the companion mobile app, allowing for simultaneous multi-device casting.
A laser-diode light source is reckoned good for up to 30,000 hours of use, and can put out 5,000 lumens of color/white brightness, the system reportedly offers 2.5-million:1 dynamic contrast, and manual keystone correction is on hand to help with setup, along with manual-focus digital zoom.
Cabled connectivity shapes up as HDMI, USB, HDBaseT and RS-232 ports, with a handy wake on signal feature included plus built-in media player support. There's Ethernet LAN as well, and cooked-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Miracast for screen mirroring from a mobile device. The unit also rocks a pair of speakers "to fill virtually any room" and an optional wall mount is available for permanent overhead installation.
The 27.3 x 13.5 x 5.7-in (693 x 342 x 144-mm), 27.6-lb (12.5-kg) PowerLite 810E is on sale now for US$3,299. A similar 815E model with a black chassis instead of white is expected to follow in September.
Product page: PowerLite 810E
